ECW on The Sci-Fi Channel
Taped earlier tonight in Memphis, Tenn.

[Q1] The opening montage kicked off the show... Josh Matthews and Matt "Beer Can" Striker introduced the show...

1. Evan Bourne defeated Mark Henry (w/Tony Atlas) by DQ in 4:40. Henry was all over Bourne to start the match. With Bourne lying on the mat in a corner, Henry went outside the ring to bend him around the ring post. Later, Bourne mounted a quick comeback. He went to the top rope, only to have Atlas reach up and grab his leg. The ref saw it and called for the bell.

After the match, Atlas apologized. "You are sorry," Henry responded. He said Atlas screws up everything. He said he didn't need Atlas and would have beaten Bourne had it not been for his interference...

The announcers narrated highlights aired from last week of the six-man tag main event, and hyped Christian vs. Tyson Kidd for later in the show... [C] Zack Ryder made his ring entrance. His opponent was already in the ring. A pre-taped promo from Ryder aired with him saying he's more than just a "woo woo woo" guy....

[Q2] 2. Zack Ryder pinned Dustin Carwile in 2:00. Ryder hit a nice missile dropkick off the second rope that got the crowd's attention. He hit an unnamed move and scored the pin...

Powell's POV: Here's hoping Ryder getting the squash means we get a break from Vladimir Kozlov this week. I'm still digging the Ryder character.

Backstage, Hurricane Helms interviewed Finlay, who was nursing black eye from last week. Helms said Finlay still gutted through a match with Jack Swagger on WWE Superstars. Finlay didn't say when he was coming back, but he delivered the "eye for an eye" line regarding Swagger...

Tommy Dreamer made his entrance. The announcers said it could be his farewell appearance on ECW... [C]

Powell's POV: For those who haven't been following the story, Dreamer has to win the ECW Title on Sunday or he'll walk away.

After the break, Katie Lea Burchill cut a promo as she and Paul Burchill walked to the ring. She said it was Dreamer's privilege to face her brother in his final match on ECW...

3. Tommy Dreamer pinned "The Ripper" Paul Burchill (w/Katie Lea) in 5:30. Bruchill was in control early. Dreamer came back with a pair of hard slaps to the chest, but Burchill shot him down again. Dreamer came back with an inverted DDT and went for a cover, but Burchill's arm was under the ropes. Burchill returned fire with a brainbuster for a near fall. In the end, Dreamer DDT'd Burchill and scored the clean pin...

Powell's POV: Normally, it would be that time of the week for me to piss and moan about Burchill losing another match. I don't like seeing the guy lose, but Dreamer is the one in the ECW Title match so it was totally logical to have him win. I'm looking forward to the three-way title match. I just hope they give Dreamer some time to sell the match on the mic since it's billed as his final match in ECW if he fails to capture the belt.

[Q3] [C] The Randy Savage DVD aired. Freak out!... After the break, Tommy Dreamer was standing in the ring. He started to deliver his farewell address, but he was interrupted by Jack Swagger, who mockingly referred to him as "the heart and soul, the last ECW Original, blah, blah, blah, blah." Nice.

Swagger said the only person who cares about that stuff is Dreamer. He said Dreamer's claim that he'll walk away from ECW if he doesn't win the belt on Sunday is a last ditch attempt to make himself relevant. Swagger said he's going to beat Dreamer in the hardcore match (a/k/a Extreme Rules match) and will never have to see him again on "my show."

Dreamer said he hopes Swagger understands someday that it's not about personal glory. He said he's putting his career and life on the line. He said would never disrespect himself by grasping for whatever little glory he thought he may have. "Next week, I will stand in this ring the new ECW Champion." The crowd cheered...

Powell's POV: Decent segment that could have been better with more time. Swagger came off well, but Dreamer didn't get enough time to get over the emotion of his angle. It also would have been nice to hear from Christian since he's also in the match.

The announcers ran through the Extreme Rules pay-per-view lineup while sitting at ringside...

Powell's POV: They may have sold me on ordering the show had they delivered the exact same pitch in the ring rather than at ringside. Yes, I'm joking.

The Hart Dynasty made their entrance for the main event match... [C]

Powell's POV: I can't wait until WWE has another television taping or pay-per-view in Canada. The live crowd will go absolutely nuts for this trio.

[Q4] 4. Christian pinned Tyson Kidd (w/David Hart-Smith, Natalya) 15:50. There was a cool spot early where Kidd leapt off the second rope and Christian let him hit the mat and then used his momentum to drop him on his face. They went to ringside and Smith distracted Christian just long enough for Kidd to spear Christian into the ring steps. [C]

Powell's POV: Yes, Golden Coral is sponsoring this WWE show too. Don't forget that it's like a seven-day cruise, only on this cruise there are hefty women who line their huge purses with plastic and steal food, old people pay $12 for a buffet and then drink coffee and one cinnamon roll, and if you listen closely you can usually hear the sound of someone throwing up to make room for more food. Oh, and there's no boat, water, or chicks in bikinis. At least you better hope there are no chicks in bikinis.

Back from the break, Kidd had Christian caught in a half-crab momentarily. Later, Christian hit a missile dropkick for a near fall. Kidd came back by sitting down on Christian's sunset flip attempt from the second rope for another good near fall.

[Overrun] Kidd springboarded off the top rope, but Christian caught him in a power slam for another strong near fall. Christian hit the fulcrum kick in the corner and went to the second rope. Jack Swagger came out, which distracted Christian long enough for Kidd to push him off the rope. Kidd hit a legdrop off the top rope for a great near fall.

Swagger walked to the ring and walked up the steps. Tommy Dreamer ran out and shoved Swagger off the steps. Dreamer did a cannonball roll onto Swagger and Smith at ringside. Back in the ring, Christian came back with the Unprettier (or whatever it's called now) for the 1-2-3.

Afterward, Dreamer entered the ring as Christian celebrated. Dreamer applauded Christian and then offered him his hand. Christian accepted. Dreamer kicked Christian in the gut and DDT'd him. Dreamer picked up the ECW Title belt and kissed it before setting it down and leaving the ring...

Powell's POV: Damn good match! I actually bought into the possibility of Kidd scoring the upset when Swagger came out and Kidd hit the top rope legdrop. That was really fun. Kidd looked strong in defeat, and, more importantly, they set up the pay-per-view title match. A strong show from start to finish. Rich Twilling will be by on Wednesday with the ECW Hitlist. Thanks for watching along with me tonight.

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