ECW on The SciFi Channel
Taped in Manchester, N.H.

[Q1] The show opened with John Morrison and The Miz sitting in the ring for "The Dirt Sheet" segment. They bragged about winning best talk show in the latest WWE Magazine. They simultaneously resolved to win the Royal Rumble and go on to WrestleMania. They bickered a bit over that and then moved on to resolutions for other stars.

They said Evan Bourne revolves to move out of his mother's basement. John Cena resolved to take acting lessons "so his next movie isn't as terrible as The Marine." Batista resolved to wear a helmet in the ring so he doesn't get more concussions. Triple H resolves to by a family size nasal something or other.

Miz and Morrison turned their attention to Finlay and Hornswoggle. They said Finlay resolved to stop wearing tighty whiteys so that his next son isn't like Hornswoggle. Morrison said that's more of a temperature issue. Finlay and Hornswoggle came to the ring. Finlay grabbed a mic and put in front of Hornswoggle, who mumbled some gibberish.

"What he said was..." Finlay said before throwing a punch at Morrison. Miz returned fire with a microphone shot. Miz and Morrison ganged up on Finlay. They chased Horny under the ring, but couldn't find him. Rather, Boogeyman came out from underneath the ring, which led to Miz and Morrison running backstage. Finlay, Horny, and Boogey stood in the ring together...

Powell's POV: Nice to see these guys finally get some mic time, but they never really put over their tag title win. Strange. I think the tag titles hold about as much value as the WWE Diva's Title these days. Too bad.

Todd Grisham and Matt Striker hyped Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry... [C]

1. Matt Hardy defeated Mark Henry (w/Tony Atlas) by DQ in a non-title match in 10:20. Henry controlled the first couple minutes of the match while the announcers put over the fact that Hardy's schedule despite the holidays.

[Q2] Grisham noted that Jack Swagger is the No. 1 contender for the ECW Title, but Henry could put himself in line for a shot at the belt by winning the match. Striker pondered whether Swagger may have struck a deal with Atlas to have Henry soften up the champ. Henry continued to control the action leading into the commercial break. [C]

Hardy made his comeback after Henry missed an ass splash. The crowd rallied behind Hardy as much as they did for anyone on Raw last night. Hardy hit the Side Effect for a good nearfall. Atlas stood up on the apron, but Hardy saw him and punched him. Hardy went for the Twist of Fate, but Henry shoved him off just as Jack Swagger entered the ring.

Swagger hit his powerbomb finisher on Hardy and left the ring. The referee called for the bell and DQ'd Henry. The announcers noted that Henry didn't look pleased with Swagger's interference. He took a couple cheap shots at Hardy and then left the ring and complained to Atlas about Swagger... [C]

Powell's POV: Good match. Hardy and Henry have developed nice chemistry and there's a big match feel when they work together. The Swagger interference was a surprise in the sense that they had Henry show frustration with a fellow heel. A like the finish and I also liked the match placement. It will probably be downhill from here, but it delivers a message that viewers shouldn't just tune in for the main event segment.

A Kizarny vignette hyped his debut for Friday's Smackdown...

[Q3] 2. D.J. Gabriel (w/Alicia Fox) defeated Paul Burchill (w/Katie Lea) in 5:35. Burchill wore a stocking cap to the ring in his never ending quest to find the right look. Can't blame the guy for trying. The announcers said it was his first appearance in ECW. Gabriel and Fox did their usual dance routine to a tepid reaction from the crowd.

Powell's POV: Freaky ass Amy Winehouse could dance nude next to Alicia Fox and I would still find it hot.

Striker pointed out that Gabriel was unbeaten in ECW. He labeled Burchill as his toughest challenge yet. He also noted that Burchill is a former rugby player who stopped playing because it wasn't physical enough. Burchill controlled the bulk of the action, but Gabriel scored the pin out of nowhere... [C]

Powell's POV: I feel bad for Burchill. I don't understand why they don't get behind the guy. He's on a losing streak like MVP, only it's worse because it's never acknowledged on television. In other words, it's not a storyline, they just aren't giving him a push.

Another Behind Enemy Lines video aired... Backstage, Boogeyman sang a song while eating worms. Horny danced around. Boogey emulated him. Ugh... A recap from WWE Raw aired of the Shawn Michaels and JBL saga...

[Q4] 3. The Miz and John Morrison defeated Boogeyman and Finlay (w/Hornswoggle) in 5:55. The heels spent most of the match working over Finlay. Boogey's involvement was limited to a double clothesline outside the ring and breaking up a pin attempt. Late in the match, Finlay cleared Miz from the ring, but Morrison rolled him up for the pin.

After the match, Finlay scared Morrison back into the ring, where Finlay hit the Celtic Cross. Finlay grabbed some kids at ringside to dance with him and Horny in the ring to close the show. Grisham congratulated Striker on winning the best announcer of 2008 to close the show...

Powell's POV: It's hard to complain about a Boogeyman match when he never tagged in. Nice win for Miz and Morrison. Too bad the tag titles seem like an afterthought. As expected, Hardy vs. Henry was the highlight of the show, but it was still a decent hour.

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