The ECW X-Press: 1/6/09

1/6/2008

Pre-show run-through:
Last week, Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry was interrupted by a driven Jack Swagger; we’ll see a rematch tonight.  Paul Burchill debuted on ECW, and The Boogeyman came to getcha as well as protect midgets.  We’re gearing up for the Rumble, and while usually that means a filler title match where the champ will retain, period, that doesn’t apply so much to ECW because no one is winning the Rumble and challenging the ECW Champion with his shot.  Which is to say, if we have Swagger vs. Hardy at the Rumble, we just might have a new champion, whereas if this were RAW, Hardy would be champion coming out no matter what.

(opening video)

Jack Swagger hits the ring, and it looks like we’re starting out with wrestling rather than talking for once.  Jack still claims to be the #1 contender, and this match will be a good indication of how seriously they want us to take him.

 

Jack Swagger vs. Finlay
Waistlock for Jack, Finlay rolls through.   Swagger gets a hammerlock, Finlay gets a legsweep and tells Swagger to smile.  Swagger hits a headlock takedown, and Finlay with an elbow to the face and European uppercuts.  Leg bar for Fit, and Swagger gets to the ropes.  Uppercuts and hip toss for Finlay, and he clotheslines Swagger from the ring.  Midget shenanigan time, at least we’re getting it out of the way early as Horny with the Lowpei, and SWAGGA does not approve, throwing the midget to the barricade.

(ads)

Back from ads and Finlay is busted open at the mouth.  It is from a big boot, per the replay.  Odd thing to bust a capsule for.  Back suplex for Swagger, and he moves into an arm lock.  Armdrag gets Finlay out, but Jack stays on top and works the arm some more.  Finlay bails and nails Swagger as he follows.  Back in the ring, and clothesline for Swagger, and he returns to the armbar on Finlay’s left arm.  One arm DDT and the Regal knee lift for two.  Geez…that already sucks as a finisher, do we have to cheapen it by letting other guys in the company use it as a transition move?  Hammerlock for a bit, and eventually Swagger hits a sweet shoulder breaker.  He whiffs on a leg drop, though and Finlay roars back.  Boot to the head, right-handed clotheslines and seated senton.  Shoulder thrust, ~FINLAY ROLL!  I seriously mark out for that move.  Finlay misses a corner spear into the post.  They trade roll-ups.  Finlay counters a belly to belly attempt and pounds away, but on a charge Swagger throws up a knee and hits the Doctor Bomb to end it!
Winner:  Jack Swagger by SWAGGA Bomb @ 11:38

This could have been a little better with a little less submission work and a little more chain wrestling.  But I’m not complaining at all, these two are both great and together they were greater.  For a submission-based match, it was strong at a level you don’t see too much anymore with Angle and Benoit out of the company.  Swagger continues to impress, Finlay does what Finlay does, and the midget shenanigans were not a part of the finish.  It also got a GREAT amount of time, so we actually got some in-ring storytelling. Top notch.  From now on, in honor of the great Matt Striker, I’m sticking with SWAGGA Bomb.
Match Rating:  7.4/10

(ads)

 

Backstage, Jack Swagger confronts Teddy Long.  He’s beaten Tommy Dreamer, Ricky Ortiz, and Finlay.  Now he wants his title shot.  Teddy says he’ll get the title match next week.  Jack says next week ECW will have a new champion and new face.

Meanwhile, Ladies match!  Forgive me for not leaping for joy, bad back you know.  I’m very skeptical every time we start letting a random hot chick with three OVW matches wrestle, as opposed to ladies like Victoria.

Katie Lea Burchill vs. Alicia Fox
Katie with some kicks to the midsection.  Alicia flips (sort of) through an armdrag attempt and hits a monkey flip and crossbody.  Paul provides a distraction allowing Katie to kick Fox out of the ring.  Rollup for Foz, some punches and two dropkicks.  Axe kick, surprisingly a good one.  Katie with a hotshot and backbreaker wins.

Winner:  Katie Lea Burchill by Backbreaker @ 2:10

Alicia was fine relative to what I expected.  It still wasn’t a good match, though.  Too short, and pretty much all developmental moves for both ladies.  If you’re getting airtime on national television, I kind of expect you to do something that lets me know you’ve wrestled for at least fourteen days.  At least the right person won, I was half expecting a crap rollup win for Fox ala Kelly/Victoria.
Match Rating:  2.4/10

(ads)

Recap of RAW: Orton/Y2J vs. Cena/HBK.  I sure hope we get Orton/Cena at Wrestlemania, as Orton deserves it and it’s the only matchup that makes sense to me right now.

The Boogeyman vs. Bret PYRO!
If the Bret PYRO reference doesn’t make sense to you, Boogeyman’s pyro went off as the jobber was being announced.  It kind of sounded like Bret Hart, though.  Boogeyman with a punch and a headbutt.  He uses the ropes for a throw, and slings Barnes (according to Striker; I’m sticking with Pyro) into the buckle.  This match has too much dead space, Boogey’s taking like 15 seconds to look menacing between each move.  Corner splash, and the pump handle slam and we’re done.

Winner:  The Boogeyman by Pump Handle Slam @ 2:09

Dear Boogeyman,

Please go away.

Sincerely,
Glide
Match Rating:  2.9/10

(ads)

This show’s lack of Miz and Morrison is disturbing.  Speaking of MnM2, their good buddy The Esteemed Admiral Ackbar recently went on a camping trip where word is he was able to get his mind off of traps…

 

Matt Hardy vs. Big Drippy (non-title)

Hardy with punches and kicks but gets thrown down.  Headbutt and some kicks for Drippy and we head into the Drippy Special which I’ve described enough that I don’t know that I’ll bother here.  Hardy is thrown from the ring when he tries to fight back.  Hardy manages to throw Drippy into the steel steps.  Back in the ring he goes to some leg work.  Side Effect countered and Henry goes to the nerve hold.  Hardy fights back but eats a big boot.  Henry missed a corner charge, and Matt throws him to the outside.  Atlas tries to distract but gets clobbered and Hardy with a diving crossbody to the outside!

(ads)

Henry has regained control when we return, but Hardy hits a jawbreaker to escape the neck wrench.  Henry hits a sweet vertical suplex, he should do that more often since he’s the World’s Strongest Man and all.  Headbutt knocks Hardy down to have his chest stood on.  Hardy fights back with some punches, and chop blocks.  Henry with a JUMPING body block, which was about eight times cooler than his usual body block.  World’s Wettest Slam attempt but Mark’s knee gives out.  Twist of Fate countered but Hardy keeps control with a boot and hits a crappy diving bulldog.  Twist countered again into something like a reverse suplex, but the big splash misses and Twist of Fate ends it!
Winner:  Matt Hardy by Twist of Fate @ 7:31

It was again pretty tolerable for a Drippy match; pretty much in-line with all their other matches save the PPV encounter.
Match Rating:  5.9/10

Overall Analysis: 
This show started out well, but it didn’t follow through.  After a freaking awesome opener, they made the mistake of having four matches instead of three, which always means two of the matches are completely half-assed affairs.  In this case, the ladies match and a Boogeyman squash.  Seriously…how do either of those help the brand?  You know…Finlay is pretty much god.  I just realized that I hate his gimmick more than any other gimmick…EVER.  And yet I still consider all his matches must-watches.  How great is that?  Finlay for Champ.  Leprechaun for Roadkill.  Anyways, I can’t give this show a good rating with two god-awful matches and no MnM2, but I will say I’m legitimately looking forward to Hardy/Swagger next week, so they’ve done a great job in some ways.
Overall Show Grade: C

Discuss it on the wrestling forum

Comments

1. Comment #1

   Frankly heroic use of Admiral Ackbar and a great article as always. Does look like they could have done a lot better with a Boogeyman promo instead of a match - at least he's partially entertaining there sometimes. I'm not interested in seeing him make jobbers eat worms.
   
   Here's hoping Victoria gets a title sometime soon, and Val Venis makes a triumphant return to take the ECW title.

   Posted by The General on Thursday, January 08, 2009

2. Comment #2

   Not to bad, but you not following through (again) on an Elijah Burke refrences drops your article a grade. Ya gatta deliever what the people want! B

   Posted by Edgehead on Thursday, January 08, 2009

3. Comment #3

   I noted last week that I have more fun with the Burke references when I'm not having to constantly force them. It'll pop up again, but not weekly.

   Posted by The Glide on Thursday, January 08, 2009

4. Comment #4

   Excellent my show grade B+ very nice but i think the boogeyman should stay tah
   
   Mr Burns

   Posted by Mr Burns on Thursday, January 08, 2009

5. Comment #5

   I thought it odd that a show with a 7.9 match garnered a C, while the decidedly lacklustre one last week garnered a B-. Methinks you just want to see MnM2. And there's nothing wrong with that.

   Posted by Dominic Korgath on Thursday, January 08, 2009

6. Comment #6

   Possibly true Mr. Korgath. That, and two-minute matches piss me off.

   Posted by The Glide on Thursday, January 08, 2009

7. Comment #7

   whats with the coding under some of the matches? am i supposed to see that? :D

   Posted by Gale Force on Thursday, January 08, 2009

8. Comment #8

   I don't see it, so I can't fix it. But I've seen it before, just realize the panel for posting these is a bit buggy.

   Posted by The Glide on Thursday, January 08, 2009

9. Comment #9

   Makes sense to me; keep up the great work Glide

   Posted by Edgehead on Thursday, January 08, 2009

10. Comment #10

    Your article is the only thing keeping me in the ECW loop. Love Ackbar :D What they should have done is switched Boogeyman into the promo, and MnM2 into a tag team match against the Colons. I might have actually considered watching ECW then with MnM2 in a match.
    
    Overall rating... C-, started well, ended well, but what was in between was criminal. Good article all the same

    Posted by Sean Ryker on Thursday, January 08, 2009

11. Comment #11

    It's a Tarp!
    (I would like to see more of those and it makes up for no EB reference of the week)

    Posted by Eddie Rox on Thursday, January 08, 2009

12. Comment #12

    as always, great job glide. I completely agree with you on Swagger, that guy's the future; he proved it to me with his Extreme Rules match against Dreamer some weeks ago. Hardcore AND storytelling? Color me flabbergasted!
    His amateur skills should be a great backup too, WWE scene is lacking technical prowesses, since Chris, Eddie and Kurt left.
    I'm sad now ;(

    Posted by havok on Friday, January 09, 2009

13. Comment #13

    Survive If I Let You

    Posted by Tazz on Friday, January 09, 2009

14. Comment #14

    Technically Chris, and Eddie didn't "leave" they died only kurt left

    Posted by EddieRox on Friday, January 09, 2009

15. Comment #15

    R.I.P The ECW X-Press

    Posted by The Bad Guy on Saturday, January 17, 2009

16. Comment #16

    I'm gonna miss it :(

    Posted by RockyVlad on Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Leave a comment

Your name:

Comment:

Your e-mail:
*you have to confirm the comment via mail

Please Keep your comments appropriate, and PG rated at all times. Any comment that violates the game rules will be deemed spam, and won't be published.