WWE "ECW on Syfy"
Taped earlier tonight in Louisville, Ky

[Q1] The ECW commercial plugged the championship reigns of C.M. Punk and Mark Henry, who will face each other tonight. The opening video aired and fireworks lit up the stage. Josh Matthews and Byron Saxton welcomed us to the show...

Christian made his way to the ring with street clothes on and his belt draped over his shoulder. Christian put over the ECW Homecoming saying the winner would face him at the Royal Rumble. C.M. Punk's music hit and he came out to the stage with Luke Gallows.

Punk said nothing Christian had to say was more important than what Punk had to say. Punk started to speak, but Christian was laughing. Punk asked why Christian was laughing. Christian said he saw something last night he thought he would never see, Bret Hart hugging Shawn Michaels. He followed by saying he is seeing something he never wanted to see, Punk back in ECW.

Punk said he was back in ECW to win the ECW Championship. He said being straight edge meant he was better than everyone else. He said ECW was the place that had the youngest and brightest stars WWE has to offer, and he would be their shepherd.

Christian asked if Punk being straight edge meant he had to make it look like he hasn't showered in two weeks. Funny. Christian forced Punk to name his opponent. Punk said "Mark Henry" in an unconfident voice. Christian said Punk will not win the tournament and will not face him at the Rumble...

Twill's Two Cents: Solid segment. Christian is a natural on the mic and Punk is always great. Cannot go wrong with a segment like that. I would love to see a Punk vs. Christian program, only on Smackdown for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Chavo Guerrero was hyped... [C]

Did you know? WWE had more live events in Europe than the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL combined.

[Q2] 1. Shelton Benjamin defeated Chavo Guerrero to advance to the ECW Homecoming finale in 4:46. Chavo tried the three amigos right away, but Shelton blocked the third one and hit a German with a bridge for a two count. They traded offensive moves and nearfalls.

Chavo applied a single leg Boston Crab and had it locked in for about a minute. Chavo hit a swinging hurricarana and went to the top for the frogsplash. Shelton rose to his feet and hit Paydirt on Chavo for the win...

Twill's Two Cents: Good five minute match between two workers, about what you would expect from these two.

A graphic of the seven men who have advanced was shown; Punk vs. Henry was hyped to fill the final spot... [C]

Footage was shown of Tommy Dreamer losing to Zack Ryder last week and per what Tommy said before the match, that was his last match in ECW...

Zack Ryder and Rosa Mendes came out to the stage. Ryder said Dreamer was in the past and that he was dead and gone. He said he stopped the heart of ECW, destroyed the soul of ECW, and forever changed the show. ECW was now about one man, Zack Ryder...

Twill's Two Cents: Nice follow up to Ryder beating Dreamer last week, but I'm afraid that's all they're going to do with it. Nice promo by Ryder and as a fan of his, I hope they do something big with him.

[Q3]Highlights of last night's face to face between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart was shown. The video continued with the end of last night's show with Bret and Vince McMahon. We all know how that ended up...

Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson were shown walking split screen backstage... [C]

2. Ezekiel Jackson (with William Regal) defeated Vladimir Kozlov in 5:08. Just like last week, neither man received a response from the crowd, even with Regal out there. Kozlov knocked Jackson to the floor and hit some kicks upon his reentry into the ring. Jackson took over and worked on the leg of Kozlov.

Jackson wrapped the leg around the ring post and continued to focus his attack on said leg. Zeke was actually very impressive with his numerous maneuvers and relentless attack on the leg. After a short burst by Kozlov, Jackson hit a vertical suplex. He followed with his finisher for the win...

Twill's Two Cents: That was odd. I'm just not used to seeing such a clean win. Jackson hit a few moves, hit his finisher, and scored the pinfall. The crowd was not into it at all, but Jackson looked relatively impressive with his various leg submissions. He has to add to his arsenal though.

[Q4] Mark Henry was stretching backstage and Tony Atlas approached him. Atlas asked Henry if he could walk to the ring with him. Henry was smiling until Atlas laughed. "No way," said Henry. He walked away and Atlas continued to laugh... [C]

3. C.M. Punk (with Luke Gallows) defeated Mark Henry to advance to the ECW Homecoming finale in 10:37. After being tossed across the ring, Punk hit a few effective kicks, but Henry caught the last one and dumped Punk over the top rope... [C]

A much better Mike Tyson commercial aired promoting his hosting Raw next week. Back from commercial, Punk was still on the floor as Henry looked over him from the ring. He lured Henry to the floor and delivered a drop toe hold onto Henry into the ring steps.

Punk hit a series of knees and then elbows to the back of Henry's head and neck. He followed with a reverse neckbreaker for a two count. He applied a leg scissors around Henry's head and screamed, "You aren't so strong now Henry."

[Overrun] Henry rose to his knees but Punk hit to huge kicks and followed with a third and scored another nearfall. Out of nowhere, Henry hulked up and hit a series of headbutts. He whipped Punk into the corner and followed with a running splash.

Henry backed up and tried another running splash, but he missed. Punk hit the running knee lift in the corner. He attempted the bulldog but Henry whipped Punk toward the referee. Punk tried to stop his momentum and distracted the referee in the process. The distraction allowed Gallows to kick Henry. Punk followed with a kick to the head of his own for the win...

After the match, the announcers ran through graphics of everyone that qualified for the ECW Homecoming finale next week, which is being billed as an "Over the top rope challenge." ...

Twill's Two Cents: Always a pleasure to watch Punk in the ring and he especially shined tonight. His offense looked like a blueprint for those wondering how to get to Mark Henry. He truly brought him down to size and looked great in victory. Henry did a lot of selling and was solid in his role as well.

What did you think of the show? Feel free to let me know by shooting an email to dotnetrich@gmail.com.

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