ECW on The SciFi Network
Taped in Las Vegas, NV

[Q1] The opening video aired and fireworks lit up the stage. Todd Grisham and Matt Striker welcomed us to the show. Mark Henry and Tony Atlas came out to the ring. Footage was shown of Mark Henry taking out both Jamie Noble and Matt Hardy last week...

Atlas said Henry sent a painful message to Hardy last week and they would continue to send painful messages until they received what they wanted: an ECW Title shot.

Teddy Long came out and reminded Henry that he had his opportunity at No Mercy but did not get the job done. Long continued by saying Henry would be one of three candidates the fans could choose from to face Hardy at Cyber Sunday. The other two candidates would be decided through qualifying matches on tonight's show...

Evan Bourne made his ring entrance. He offered Mark Henry a handshake. Henry accepted but Bourne pulled his hand away... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: Atlas being the one giving the message about "painful messages" is redundancy at its finest. Henry is getting screwed here. I hope he wins the fan balloting but if Evan wins his qualifier, I do not see him losing the vote.

1. Evan Bourne defeated Chavo Guerrero to qualify for the Cyber Sunday fan voting in 13:03. Chavo, after an extra long pause, successfully grounded Evan with an arm bar. Evan was able to counter Chavo and apply similar moves.

[Q2] Bourne knocked Chavo to the floor. He then hit what appeared to be a twisting suicide dive as the show went to an abrupt commercial... [C]

Bourne hit a standing moonsault coming back from the break. Bourne came up limping and Chavo took advantage. He hit a rolling Liger kick (nice call by Striker) for a two count. Bourne hit a series of kicks and rolled Chavo up for a very nearfall. Bourne tried a top rope hurricarana; Chavo rolled out of the way and Bourne crotched himself. Chavo scored a nearfall.

Chavo applied a half crab and they showed the Bourne replay more than once. He is impressive even when he misses a move. Chavo hit two of the three amigos but Bourne hit a spinning kick. With Chavo sitting on the top rope, Bourne hit a hurricarana jumping from the mat. Amazing. He followed up with the Shooting Star for the win...

After the match, Mark Henry attacked and laid out Evan Bourne...

Twill's Two Cents: Very good match. They told a story with the mat and ground work. Beyond that, there were some very enjoyable high flying moments. All in all, this was a huge win for Bourne and a great match for the fans.

The second qualifying match for tonight is going to be Finlay vs. John Morrison...

A Boogeyman return video aired. These are not exactly John Cena quality... [C]

[Q3] The Smackdown Rebound aired with footage of Jeff Hardy defeating MVP and Vladimir Kozlov hitting him with the battering ram. This led to promoting their one on one match that will air this Friday...

Teddy Long was on the phone but he was distracted by Tiffany. She was wearing a showgirl's costume. Jack Swagger approached Long and asked why he was left out of the qualifying matches. Long informed him that he was new and needed to work his way up.

Tommy Dreamer came in and asked for a title shot after Cyber Sunday. Teddy said he would take it under consideration. Swagger asked if the door was a time warp. He told Dreamer it was not 1996 anymore. While some people were establishing their legacies, Dreamer was bastardizing his. Swagger took off...

Twill's Two Cents: Swagger has a bit of a lisp. He was great here and why in the hell would Tommy Dreamer think he deserves a title shot? I want a shot too Teddy.

Grisham and Striker informed the fans of the voting options for the Chris Jericho vs. Batista title match at Cyber Sunday...

John Morrison and The Miz made their way through the backstage area... [C]

2. Finlay (with Hornswoggle) defeated John Morrison (with The Miz) in 15:54. Striker said he was going to be Repo Man or Bastion Booger for Halloween. Finlay applied a single leg lock but Morrison countered it into an armbar. They continued to counter each other impressively on the mat.

[Q4] The pace stayed pretty slow early on with Finlay working on the left leg of Morrison. Morrison scored the first nearfall after hitting a series of punches and kicks. A "Johnny Nitro" chant broke out. Extra points if you can list two more of Morrison's former monikers.

Miz grabbed Finlay's leg. Morrison charged at Finlay, who threw him over the top rope onto Miz. Hornswoggle jumped through the middle and bottom ropes onto both of them. He retreated underneath and ring. Miz was pulled with him. I wonder if Brie Bella is under there... [C]

Morrison worked extensively on Finlay's arm. Finlay had a glimmer of hope but charged unsuccessfully into the steel post with his shoulder. Morrison went right back to work on the arm and shoulder. Finlay hit three big closelines followed a two Irish whips into the corner.

Finlay went for the Celtic Cross but Morrison reversed it into a tandem move. Hornswoggle appeared in the ring and sat with his head in his crotch. Striker said "I do not want to know what he is trying to do." Finlay tried to use the shillegleh but Mike Knox intercepted it. Morrison hit the springboard Shining Wizard for a two count.

Knox was pulled underneath the ring and it was revealed that Cryme Tyme was under there the entire time. They handed the shillegleh to Finlay, who knocked Morrison out and scored the pin. Cryme Tyme, Finlay, and Hornswoggle celebrated in the ring. Finlay then knocked out Cryme Tyme with the shillegleh. Finlay and Hornswoggle were all smiles. At the top of the stage, Mark Henry attacked him and hit the World's Strongest Slam...

Twill's Two Cents: The match never hit second gear. They did some fantastic work focusing in on specific body parts, but they did not ever get going. I like the way the shillegleh bit was altered. I could see them doing that successfully for awhile.

Interesting show. The work in the ring was the focus tonight. What did you think? Let me know by shooting an email to dotnetrich@gmail.com.

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