ECW on The Sci-Fi Channel
Taped in New Orleans, La.

[Q1] The opening montage kicked off the show... Todd Grisham and Matt Striker introduced themselves as the camera panned the crowd, including a fan sign that read, "Nick Hogan drove me here." Ouch. The announcers plugged Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry for later in the show...

1. Jack Swagger defeated Finlay (w/Hornswoggle) in 14:55. The announcers noted that Horny headed underneath the ring before the match. Striker joked that they would find out what's under the ring if Horny was ever featured on an episode of "Cribs." Funny. Horny climbed out from underneath the ring just in time to hit a cross body block off the ring apron while the ref was distracted by Finlay.

Striker wasn't amused by Horny's antics, so he threw him hard to the ground. Finlay, who had a bloody lip and/or lip, roughed up Swagger and checked on Horny as the show cut to commercial. [C]

Powell's POV: Striker might bill himself as a wrestling nerd, but he's so much more up to date on pop culture than the other WWE color commentators. I won't be surprised at all if he is moved to Raw or Smackdown via the draft or even sooner.

After the break, Swagger controlled the offense while Finlay continued to bleed from the nose or lip. A replay showed that Swagger caught Finlay with an elbow to cause the wound.

[Q2] After some back and forth action and a couple of nearfalls for both wrestlers, Swagger hit the gut-wrench powerbomb finisher and scored the clean pin. The announcers immediately noted that he's still undefeated and is the No. 1 contender to the ECW Title... [C]

Powell's POV: Big win for Swagger. Finlay has done plenty of jobs over the years, but he usually avenges them quickly. I'm pleasantly surprised by the clean finish. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I hope TNA learns that heels can win clean matches and not destroy the credibility of the babyface.

Backstage, Jack Swagger interrupted Teddy Long and Tiffany. He said he's been No. 1 contender for weeks now and wants to know when he's going to get his shot. Teddy said he and Tiffany decided that Swagger will get his shot at Matt Hardy in an ECW Title match next week...

Powell's POV: I have a bad feeling that it's going to be a cheap finish with Mark Henry interfering after Swagger interfered in his match against Hardy last week.

2. Katie Lea Burchill (w/Paul Burchill) pinned Alicia Fox (w/D.J. Gabriel) in 2:10. Striker noted that this was Alicia's first ever match in ECW. Alicia hit a couple of one-footed dropkicks early. I'm not sure if that was her intent, but even Striker called them one-footed dropkicks. in the end, Katie hit a knee to the back and scored the clean pin...

Powell's POV: I've seen worse diva's matches. Nothing particularly memorable, just short and basic.

[Q3] [C] A recap of WWE Raw aired...

3. The Boogeyman defeated Brett Barnes. The announcers stated that this was Barnes's first match in WWE. In the end, Boogey hit a pumphandle slam and scored the pin. Boogey gave the newcomer the worm treatment after the match...

A split-screen shot aired of Hardy and Henry walking backstage... [C]

Powell's POV: It wasn't a memorable first appearance for Barnes. Total squash.

Just in case we missed the first 2,000 ads, WWE was kind enough to remind us that Mr. Kennedy's movie was released on DVD today...

[Q4] 4. Matt Hardy pinned Mark Henry (w/Tony Atlas) in a non-title match in 10:45. Henry controlled the opening minutes, but Hardy came back and punched Atlas off the ring apron. He climbed to the top rope and hit a cross body block onto Henry, who was standing on the floor, as the show cut to commercial. [C]

After the break, Henry was back in control of the match. He suplexed Hardy and came up selling the left knee injury. Hardy took shots at the knee by striking it with elbows and clipping it from behind. Grisham sold the story by noting that the ground was the last place Henry wants to be.

Later, Hardy went for the Twist of Fate, but Hardy avoided it. Hardy came right back with a bulldog off the second rope. Hardy caught Henry with a kick to the gut and went for the Twist of Fate again, but Henry threw him off and then missed a big splash. Hardy finally hit the Twist of Fate and scored the clean pin...

An ad aired for next week's Matt Hardy vs. Jack Swagger title match to close the show...

Powell's POV: Nice match. I like the way they continue to tell the story of Hardy targeting Henry's knee. They've used that story in their past matches and it's cool that they've stuck with that story. I'll have even more to say about the ECW show in Wednesday's ECW on Sci-Fi Hitlist.

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