ECW on The SciFi Network
Taped in San Jose, Calif.

[Q1] The opening montage aired... Mike Adamle and Tazz introduced the show...

1. Hornswoggle beat Armando Estrada in 2:15. Before the match, Hornswoggle broke Armando's cigar in half. Armando chased him to ringside, where Horny tripped him up by dumping a bucket filled with marbles onto the floor. Horny ran under the ring and Armando tried to pull him out, but instead pulled out Finlay. In the end, Horny hit the Tadpole Splash and scored the clean pin...

After the match, Tazz actually asked Finlay what it's like underneath the ring. He said there are leprachauns, little people, hobbits, fat people, skinny people, and "even people your size under there." Well, the last line was funny anyway... [C]

Powell's POV: Can Armando just go back to managing Umaga now?

Video footage aired of Layla dancing in the ring during the commercial break... The announcers recapped Evan Bourne's short stint in ECW...

2. Evan Bourne pinned Matt Striker in 2:30. The wrestlers traded offense during the opening minute.

[Q2] Borne performed a standing backflip onto Striker, who lifted his knees. Moments later, Bourne nailed a Shooting Star Press for the win. After the match, Mike Knox hit the ring. He attacked Bourne and left him lying... [C]

Powell's POV: Another good match for Bourne. His offense is really getting over with the live crowds. It will be interesting to see how he does in a match against a bigger wrestler like Knox.

An ad aired for the WWE Draft on USA Network... After the break, Mike Knox was still in the ring and he was pacing back and forth...

3. Kofi Kingston fought Mike Knox to a no-contest in 3:00. Kofi jumped around a lot while Knox used power moves. Kofi took control of the offense, but Shelton Benjamin's music played. Shelton came out and roughed up Kofi. He went for a spinning kick, but Kofi ducked and Shelton accidentally kicked Knox instead. After Kofi left, Shelton was shown trying to explain what happened... [C]

Powell's POV: Let me get this right, they built up Knox by having him attack Bourne so that he could look weak against Kofi and then get kicked in the head by Shelton. Ugh.

[Q3] "Highlights" aired from Raw of Vince giving away money... Backstage, Finlay and Hornswoggle signed a contract to face The Miz and John Morrison at the Night of Champions pay-per-view while Teddy Long and the smoking hot Tiffany watched on. Horny bit Tiffany's hand for some odd reason. The Miz showed up and protested, so Filay hit him with a shillelagh... C.M. Punk made his ring entrance for a match against John Morrison...

A "Did You Know" graphic noted that ECW is the highest rated program on Sci-Fi network in all demographics...

Powell's POV: It's sad that a throwaway show like ECW draws better ratings than a Sci-Fi classic "Battlestar Galactica." Don't get me wrong, that's good news for WWE, but it is depressing to know that so few people have watched BSG. Not a BSG viewer? Enjoy sci-fi? Rent or buy the DVDs now.

4. C.M. Punk pinned John Morrison in 9:30. Morrison was in control two minutes into the match as the crowd started a short chant for Punk.

[Q4] Morrison drove his knee into Punk's side while hooking his left arm and leg. He released the hold briefly and went back to it. Adamle thought he had applied a different submission hold, but Tazz immediately corrected him. The submission move lasted quite a while, but Punk eventually worked his way out of it and hit a high knee and a powerslam.

Later, Morrison hit a nice running knee to Punk's face and regained control of the offense. He scored a couple of nearfalls and showed frustration that he was unable to finish the job. He went for a sunset flip or something over the top rope. Instead, Punk caught Morrison and hit the GTS for the clean win...

After the match, The Miz walked onto the stage and announced that Morrison was still one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions. He cut a quick promo while holding a towel up to his face to sell Finlay's attack... The announcers hyped a Big Show and Kane confrontation for after the break... [C]

Powell's POV: Not their best match, but still the most entertaining match on this show. I wonder if this will be their last match for a while with the draft coming up on Monday.

[Overrun] Teddy Long hyped the ECW Title match for the Night of Champions pay-per-view. He introduced Big Show and Kane separately. Show was still sporting a black (and yellow) eye, but it looked significantly better than it did the morning after he suffered the orbital bone injury. Teddy said he was going to give them a chance to say whatever they wanted.

Show took the mic and said they've been partners, opponents, friends, and lovers. OK, I made up that last part. He said Kane has something he wants and he's going to take it at the pay-per-view. I'm pretty sure he was talking about Kane's ECW Title belt. Kane said Show has no idea what Show is willing to do to keep his ECW Championship.

Show said he went through hell to get the title match and vowed to win it. "Well, big man, hell is standing right here in front of you," Kane said. Mark Henry's music played and he stormed onto the stage. Henry took a mic and said they should save their strength because he plans to go after the winner for the ECW Title, assuming he's not draft on Monday night.

Show and Kane reached out and grabbed Henry simultaneously and chokeslammed him. They jawed at one another while standing face-to-face to close out the show... An ad aired for Monday's draft on Raw...

Powelll's POV: This show wasn't as entertaining as the last two episodes. There have certainly been worse episodes of ECW, but this one was slower than the last two shows. I just don't think Show and Kane could have said anything to get me excited about their match. I'm sure both guys will try hard and it should be decent for a big man match, but it still feels like another step down for Show given how over he was coming out of WrestleMania 24.

Be sure to check out Rich Twilling's ECW report by clicking here.

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