WWE TV Reports 7/1 Twilling's ECW Live Coverage: First appearance by new ECW Champion Mark Henry; Matt Hardy, Finlay, and Hornswoggle vs. John Morrison, The Miz, and Chavo Guerrero By Rich Twilling Jul 1, 2008 - 10:01 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing ECW on The SciFi Network Taped in Tulsa, OK [Q1] A video recapping Mark Henry’s championship win at Night of Champions was shown. The opening video aired, which included all of the new members of the roster, and fireworks lit up the stage. Mike Adamle and Tazz welcomed us to the show… Twill’s Two Cents: In the commercial before the show, Mike Adamle said, “ECW, coming to you from the city of Oklahoma.” The problem is: ECW is being taped in Tulsa. Justin Roberts introduced the new ECW Champion, Mark Henry. Henry came out with a big smile on his face. Henry said he was the savior of ECW. He said neither Kane nor Big Show is the world’s strongest man. He called himself the epitome of a champion… Tommy Dreamer’s music hit and he, along with Colin Delaney, came out to the ring. Henry told Dreamer he better be there to congratulate him. Dreamer said he was there to be the first to challenge him. Henry said Dreamer did a lot for ECW in the past, but Henry is the future. Henry told Dreamer and “his little friend” to take a walk. Dreamer said Delaney and Henry were physical mismatches but Colin is all heart. Dreamer asked Henry if he knew the legacy behind the ECW title. He pointed to Tazz and reminded us all that he was the Human Suplex Machine. He said Tazz broke his neck for the ECW title. Henry, to his credit, said he did respect the title and Dreamer needed to earn a shot. He thought for a second and finally said, “You know what? You got it.” Dreamer said he would wrestle tonight like he never has. Henry told Dreamer he meant Delaney gets the title shot. He said if Delaney wins, Dreamer would get his shot. Delaney accepted. Henry shoved the mic into Delaney’s chest… Twill’s Two Cents: If Delaney “has his shot,” and he wins, would he not then be the champion and thus, Dreamer would not need a shot at Henry? I am guessing this will be a non-title match, but it came out wrong. By the way, Henry was solid on the mic. Finlay, Matt Hardy, and Hornswoggle made their way through the backstage area. Horny stopped and shot them with a water gun. Finlay laughed… [C] [Q2] 1. Finlay, Matt Hardy, and Hornswoggle defeated Chavo Guerrero (with Bam Neely), John Morrison, and The Miz in 11:27. Tazz asked, “What about the irony of Hornswoggle bringing a squirt gun to the ring?” Funny! Tazz joking put over the tag title match at the PPV as a tough test for the champs. Adamle did so seriously. Hardy and Miz started the match. Hardy ended an irish whip sequence by hitting a nice armdrag and keeping the armbar locked in. He scored a nearfall with a bulldog. Finlay came in but Miz was able to tag Morrison. Adamle gave the fans some Finlay history, which was admittedly impressive. Yes, it is common knowledge, but it shows he is trying, or being fed lines. Chavo tagged in and threw Finlay out of the ring. He tried a baseball slide but Finlay pulled out the ring skirt and attacked Chavo. Miz and Morrison came over but Hornswoggle took them out… [C] Chavo had a reverse chinlock applied to Hardy coming back from the break. Miz tagged in and hit a snap suplex for a one count. Miz and Morrison hit the combination slingshot/knee bridge over the top rope elbow. They need to name that move. Morrison continued to keep Hardy grounded. Tazz put over the positive fact that Matt Hardy and Finlay are now on the show. Then he threw Hornswoggle’s name in there. Hmmm. Miz scored a nearfall with a big closeline. Morrison tagged and continued the onslaught, but Hardy hit the Side Effect. Finlay and Chavo received tags at the same time. Finlay impressively took out everyone. After chaos ensued, Hornswoggle hit the Tadpole Splash on Chavo while the referee was distracted. Finlay hit the Celtic Cross for the win… Twill’s Two Cents: Finlay looked great but the match was largely forgettable given the workers. The announcers made mention that Chavo said in a WWE Magazine article that if Hornswoggle even tried the Tadpole Splash on him, there would be bad consequences. I guess Chavo is about to feud with Horny and Finlay. Hardy looked weak here. He should have cleaned house and scored the pin. [Q3] Adamle plugged the Mark Henry vs. Colin Delaney match as a title opportunity for Dreamer… [C] The Raw Rebound was shown and of course, the C.M. Punk championship win was profiled, beginning with Edge’s promo, followed by Batista’s beating down of Edge. Punk beating Edge for the title, JBL’s challenge and subsequent removal of John Cena from the building, and Punk defeating JBL were prominently shown in the recap… Tazz congratulated Punk, an ECW alumnus. Backstage, Dreamer warned Delaney that he was facing Mark Henry. Delaney said he knew how much the ECW title meant to Dreamer so he had to do this for him… Teddy Long was shown talking to a Carlito lookalike. Armando Estrada came in and demanded to know the status of his contract. Teddy told Armando not to bust up in his office like that. He said he was starting a “Superstar Initiative” in an effort to bring in new talent. Atlas Ortiz introduced himself to Armando. Long told Armando he would be facing Ortiz next. Ortiz pulled away a handshake offer and as he walked away, Tiffany looked on with impressed eyes… [C] [Q4] 2. Atlas Ortiz defeated Armando Estrada in 6:05. Ortiz came out looking like a complete tool, doing the “I know you” finger point during his entire entrance. Ortiz wore Fubu looking red pants and classic Nikes. Ortiz’s football background was profiled and he used Hacksaw Jim Duggan like shoulderblocks. Armando hit a single arm DDT for a one count. Estrada taunted the crowd with each move he performed. Ortiz called an irish whip spot (loudly) but they botched it. Armando quickly snapmared Ortiz. The pace remained horribly slow. I am actually checking the time as this match progresses, which is something I rarely do. Atlas hit two armdrags and a dropkick for a nearfall. He then won the match with a backslide… [C] Twill’s Two Cents: That was horrible. Also, a supposed new star needs six minutes and a backslide to beat someone that was beaten by Colin Delaney and Hornswoggle in the same night? Ugh, that was a terrible segment. Mark Henry made his entrance one minute before the top of the hour, followed shortly by Delaney and Dreamer. Tazz plugged The Great American Bash and by the way, the new GAB race track logo is horrible… [Overrun] 3. Mark Henry defeated Colin Delaney (with Tommy Dreamer) in a non-title match in 2:35. Adamle reiterated the point that this is a non-title match. Tazz and Adamle gave Colin little to no chance. Henry licked his lips as if he just saw the buffet table for the first time. Colin took the fight to Henry, but Henry overpowered him. When Henry missed an elbow, Colin hit two quick dropkicks before Henry regained the advantage with a closeline. Henry hit a headbutt and gorilla press slam. Henry hit the World Strongest Slam for the win… Henry celebrated as Dreamer checked on Delaney in the ring… Twill’s Two Cents: Well, I am glad Henry did not lose, even in a fluke, because that would have made him look weak. However, the whole situation seemed pointless, sort of like the rest of the show. ECW has had some solid shows lately, but in my opinion, this was not one of them. Let me know if you agree or not. Feel free to email me at dotnetrich@gmail.com. Feedback may wind up in a mailbag column. 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