7/29 Powell's ECW Live Coverage: New ECW play-by-play announcer debuts, Matt Hardy appearance
Jul 29, 2008 - 10:00 PM |
ECW on The SciFi Network
Taped in Hershey, Pa.
[Q1] Highlights aired from last week of Matt Hardy winning the four-way match to earn a shot at Mark Henry's ECW Title at Summer Slam... The opening video aired... Tazz introduced the show from ringside and introduced Todd Grisham as his new partner. Grisham asked if he was supposed to call his color commentator Tazz or The Tazz...
Matt Hardy came to the ring for a promo. He was quickly interrupted by Mark Henry's entrance music. Henry and Tony Atlas walked to the ring. Atlas said it was time for another demonstration. A crew member handed Henry a thin bar of steel. Henry bent bar in half. "You Matt, you will break," Atlas said.
Henry handed the bar to Hardy, who teased striking him with it. Hardy said they're not having a bar bending contest at Summer Slam, they're having a wrestling match. He vowed to become the next ECW Champion at the pay-per-view...
A backstage shot aired of Ricky Ortiz getting himself pumped up for his match. Tazz questioned whether Ortiz could go 2-0... [C]
Powell's POV: Solid segment, nothing special. I think Matt's nose grew a little when he claimed he was "psyched" when he found out he was drafted to ECW. I remember the look on his face and psyched is hardly the word I'd use to describe it.
They aired a Saturday Night's Main Event commercial during the break that hyped the eight-man tag match, and Edge vs. Jeff Hardy...
[Q2] 1. Ricky Ortiz defeated Chavo Guerrero (w/Bam Neely) by DQ in 4:15. After some mediocre action, Chavo went for a cover with his feet on the ropes. Neely reached up and tried to hold Chavo's legs for leverage, but the referee caught him and DQ'd Chavo.
Afterward, Neely held Ortiz's legs while Chavo hit the frogsplash. Evan Bourne came out and hit a springboard dropkick on Chavo, then dropkicked Neely off the ring apron...
Backstage, Colin Delaney approached Henry and Atlas, and asked why they left him hanging in his match against Tommy Dreamer last week. Atlas said they were giving him a chance to prove himself. Atlas said Colin had to do something impressive to role with the World's Strongest Champion. Colin begged for another chance to impress them, so Atlas suggested he face Hardy and added that they'd be in his corner this week...
Grisham hyped another John Morrison and The Miz vs. Finlay and Hornswoggle match for after the break... [C]
Powell's POV: Grisham has settled in nicely. He's a lot like Michael Cole in that it's easy to just zone him out and watch the show. That's not much of a compliment, but at least I don't find myself waiting for him to make mistakes like the guy he replaced.
[Q3] 2. John Morrison and The Miz defeated Finlay and Hornswoggle in 12:00. Horny debuted a new orange vest, which didn't go unnoticed by Grisham. Finlay worked the bulk of the match and then tagged in Horny for a couple of crowd pleasing spots before the break. [C]
After the break, Finlay worked a chinlock on Morrison and roughed him up with punches, kicks, and a headbutt. Later, Miz shoved Finlay into the ringpost and he sold a shoulder injury. Horny tagged himself into the match and charged toward Morrison, who picked him up and dropped him on his face before scoring the pin.
[Q4] After the match, Mike Knox entered the ring and kicked Finlay. He turned his attention to Hornswoggle. Finlay grabbed the shillelagh, but Knox turned around and delivered another boot to the head before he could use it... [C]
Powell's POV: This match wasn't nearly as entertaining as their recent pay-per-view opener. It wasn't horrible, but they didn't rediscover the magic they had during that match. I like the idea of a Finlay vs. Knox feud. I think Knox could learn a lot in that feud. Better yet, it would be a return to singles matches for Finlay, meaning Horny would probably stop wrestling.
Backstage, Lena approached Knox and asked him to explain his actions. He said Finlay went from being a man who loves to fight to being a man who dances around the ring with a leprechaun. "He's soft," Knox said. "And around here soft makes you a target. And I just took my shot"...
A video hyped Generation Rescue's involvement in Saturday Night's Main Event...
Backstage, Braden Walker joked with Matt Hardy about his match with Delaney. "Yeah, he's a real wildcat," Hardy said. Walker said he'd have Hardy's back. "Don't worry about a thing...brother," Walker said. Hardy asked Walker's name and they shook hands... [C]
Powell's POV: A cute nod to the TNA crowd with the Wildcat reference. Walker was overly nice, so I'm assuming he's turning heel. He stressed the word brother. Here's hoping they're not doing a lost Hardy brother gimmick or something.
[Overrun] 3. Matt Hardy pinned Colin Delaney in 3:00. Henry and Atlas walked Colin onto the stage, but they watched the match form there despite telling him they'd be at ringside. The cameras focussed on Henry and Atlas talking on the stage as much as they did the action in the ring.
Colin hit a missile dropkick early and went for a cover, but Hardy kicked out right away. That was the last of Colin's offense. Hardy finished him off with the Twist of Fate and scored the pin.
After the match, Henry and Atlas walked down the ramp and entered the ring. Henry picked up Colin and tossed him to ringside. Henry and Hardy exchanged words (no mic). Henry asked if Hardy really believes he can beat him. "I believe," Hardy said. "You know I believe." Henry and Atlas left the ring. On the ramp, Henry said, "You gonna get yours," to close the show...
Powell's POV: They are doing a nice job of building up the Henry vs. Hardy match. They're big fish in a small pond, but they come off like the real stars of the promotion. There's some chemistry between them, and I like the Colin storyline a lot more than I thought I would.
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