12/29 Twilling's WWE "ECW on Syfy" Live Coverage: Tommy Dreamer vs. Zack Ryder in what could be Dreamer's last WWE match, Evan Bourne vs. Mike Knox, Matt Hardy vs. Finlay

WWE "ECW on Syfy"
Taped earlier tonight in East Rutherford, N.J.

[Q1] The ECW commercial aired promoting the return of Matt Hardy and Evan Bourne to ECW. The opening video aired and fireworks lit up the stage. Josh Matthews and Byron Saxton welcomed us to the show. Christian was introduced and he came out to the announce booth. He said it was an honor to meet Bryant Gumbal. Funny...

Matt Hardy made his entrance. Hardy eyeballed Christian. I cannot help but think Hardy and Christian made history in TLC II at WrestleMania X-Seven, and now they are feuding over a basically worthless championship...

1. Matt Hardy defeated Finlay in 5:14. Finlay worked on Hardy's knee as Hardy did his best to wrestle through the pain. He was able to hit the Side Effect for a two count. Christian took away from the match because he was so good on commentary. Finlay scored a two count after Hardy missed a moonsault. Hardy hit a Twist of Fate, that looked more like a Stunner, for the win...

Twill's Two Cents: Solid and unspectacular opener. Christian was very entertaining on commentary and showed why he would make a great heel.

Mike Knox vs. Evan Bourne was hyped for later in the show. Backstage, Zack Ryder was walking with Rosa Mendes. They ran into Tommy Dreamer. Ryder asked why he was still there. Tommy called Ryder a catchphrase and stupid haircut. He said if Ryder defeated him tonight, he would leave ECW forever... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: I like that they are having Dreamer go out effectively by putting somebody over on his way out.

[Q2] Did you know? ECW was the number one show on Syfy last week...

Ezekiel Jackson came out to the ring in street clothes to absolutely no reaction. Jackson cut a promo and he spoke like he had an accent. He called Vladimir Kozlov the weak link in a strong chain. Kozlov's music hit and he came out to the ring. He knocked Jackson from the ring and Jackson retreated...

Twill's Two Cents: Well, Big Zeke is definitely not a promo guy. The crowd didn't react to this at all.

Backstage, Christian approached Tommy Dreamer and asked him if he was ready for tonight. He told Tommy he loved him like a brother. Tommy cried and said he still wanted a rematch. Christian said he would get one if he beat Ryder tonight... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: Why did Dreamer wait so long to ask for a rematch?

2. Evan Bourne defeated Mike Knox in 3:43. Knox violently whipped Bourne into the barricade on the floor. Bourne barely beat the count back into the ring. Knox hit a unique running high cross body for a nearfall. He missed a double knee drop and Bourne went to the top.

[Q3] Bourne was able to knock Knox to the mat from the apron. He immediately went to the top rope and hit Air Bourne for the win. Bourne celebrated after the match and a graphic was shown of those who have qualified. Next week, C.M. Punk vs. Mark Henry vs. Chavo Guerrero was announced...

Twill's Two Cents: Good match despite the clash in styles. Knox should be wearing gold somewhere, so him losing here is disappointing, but Bourne moving on is a positive thing. I like next week's main event with three former champions.

Dreamer was shown talking to Tiffany. She wished him luck and he began his final walk through a WWE hallway... [C]

Footage aired of John Cena vs. Sheamus from Raw last night. The hype for the match was very well done. The match itself was disappointing...

Matthews and Saxton promoted Bret Hart hosting Raw next week. Backstage, Yoshi Tatsu was attempting to teach Japanese to Goldust. They were approached by Caylen Croft and Trent Barreta. They took a shot at Tommy Dreamer. Yoshi said something in Japanese and they walked away...

Tommy Dreamer made his entrance... [C]

[Q4] 3. Zack Ryder defeated Tommy Dreamer in 11:06. Dreamer scored two nearfalls with a bulldog and powerslam early on. Ryder turned the tides and was able to get Dreamer to the floor... [C]

Back from commercial, Ryder was working on Dreamer's arm. Dreamer tried a fallaway slam, but the arm gave out on him and Ryder followed up with a single arm DDT for a two count. Ryder missed a move in the corner and Dreamer hit a reverse neckbreaker. He almost won the match with a spinebuster.

Tommy went to the top rope, but Ryder caught him with a series of right hands. Dreamer pushed him off and jumped at him. Ryder tried the Zack Attack but Dreamer countered. They traded nearfall attempts. Ryder went to the top, but Dreamer placed him in the tree of woe. He hit the running dropkick and DDT for the pin. The referee counted to three, but Ryder's foot was under the rope.

The referee kept the match going and Dreamer went right back on the offensive. He placed Ryder on the ropes and tried a back suplex but Ryder rolled over on Dreamer in the air. The impact allowed Ryder to cover and score the three count...

[Overrun] After the match, Dreamer remained in the ring with a microphone in hand. Dreamer pointed out the first time he was in the building. He said he saw a live Piper's Pit and Piper called out a woman from Yonkers (Dreamer's hometown).

Dreamer thanked everyone from the original ECW and the new ECW. He said he made it in ECW and WWE. Tommy started to tear up and told a story about his daughters. When asked at school what their daddy did for a living, one of them said, "My daddy falls down a lot." The other one said, "But he always gets up."

A shot of Tommy's wife (former ECW star Beulah), and Tommy's two daughters was shown. Tommy thanked the fans one last time and told him he loved them all. He grabbed his girls at ringside, kissed his wife, and carried them up the ramp. At the top, he set his girls down and did his pose. He told his girls to wave, they did, and he carried them to the back...

Twill's Two Cents: Wow. That was a pretty damn special moment. Dreamer was right; he did make it in WWE. He came in as a part of the invasion storyline and was really just a background player. When ECW was reincarnated, Dreamer stepped back into the ring and did a lot of nice things. He has a WrestleMania match and ECW Championship on his resume, long after his in ring career was supposedly over. I have a lot of respect for Dreamer and wish him all of the best as he moves on.

What did you think of the show? Feel free to let me know by shooting an email to dotnetrich@gmail.com.