ECW on Sci-Fi
Date: November 7, 2006
Location: The Mark of the Quad Cities, Moline, Illinois
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

Yep I’m still doing these. It’s been nearly three months but I’m still doing these. In case you’ve forgotten, we’re getting close to December to Dismember and the Extreme Elimination Chamber which is pretty much the worst PPV ever. Tonight we’ve got some qualifying matches which I don’t think we’ve had up to this point. Then again there’s a good chance I’ve just forgotten them. Let’s get to it.

After a recap of last week’s main event (Big Show/Test vs. Holly/RVD) we’re ready to go.

Extreme Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: CM Punk vs. Mike Knox

Before we get going, Kelly gets caught smiling at Punk so Knox sends her to the back. A fast rollup gets two for Punk as does a leg lariat as Knox is in trouble early. Punk hooks the Vice in the ropes ala the Tarantula and the springboard clothesline puts Knox on the floor. All Punk so far. Mike finally hits a knee to the ribs to take over and gets two off a bicycle (Brogue) kick. What is with big guys that use that move?

Punk gets a forearm up in the corner but a springboard rana is caught in a powerbomb for another close two. Knox, the big oaf that he is, misses a charge in the corner so Punk can fire off some kicks. The corner knee looks to set up the corner bulldog but of course it fails completely as Knox counters into a backbreaker. Knox loads up a superplex but Punk shoves him down and hits a high cross body for another close two. Since we’re still in 2006, a bunch of kicks set up the Rock Bottom and the Anaconda Vice gets the tap out for Punk.

Rating: B-. You could tell Punk was good because he got Mike Knox to look solid in nearly every match they had. Punk going to the Chamber was obvious as he was the hottest thing they had on ECW at this point and he was destined to be a star. Good stuff here and one of Knox’s better matches ever.

Sylvester Terkay and Elijah Burke are here and promise to bring Elijah Burke Productions to ECW. Great.

Here are Heyman and his security guards with something to say. Heyman has the gorilla head from last week and we get a clip of him costing RVD the main event last week. Tonight it’s Big Show/Heyman vs. RVD/Holly where either someone will get their face kicked in or someone will be extremely embarrassed. Also there’s an open contract for anyone from Raw or Smackdown that wants the last spot in the Chamber and they’ll be able to sign it next week. Heyman says he has to leave to go do some cardio which sends Tazz into hysterics.

Daivari vs. Little Guido

Daivari tries to jump Guido early but gets punched in the face for his efforts. Guido hits some really basic stuff before walking into a hot shot to stop him cold. Daivari stomps on him a bit but walks into an elbow to the face for two. This clearly isn’t going to last long. That would be correct as Daivari sends Guido hard into the corner and hits an arm trap DDT for a quick pin. Nothing to see here.

Khali hits the Plunge on Guido post match.

Video on The Marine.

Extreme Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Test vs. Tommy Dreamer

They start fast with Dreamer hitting a Cactus Clothesline to put both guys on the floor. Since we’re in a Dreamer match though he’s in trouble early with Test ramming him back first into the post. Back in and Test loads up the pumphandle slam, only to have Dreamer slip down his back and hit a neckbreaker for two. A sitout spinebuster gets two more for Dreamer and he chokes away on the ropes. That’s not a nice guy there Tommy. Test kicks him low as he deserves, setting up the big boot and the Test Drive to advance to the Chamber.

Rating: D+. Eh it’s Test vs. Tommy Dreamer. Was there ever a doubt as to who was going to win here? At the end of the day there was nothing surprising either way here as Test gets a push he doesn’t deserve and Dreamer is a jobber who can’t pull off his ultimate goal. This was watchable but pinning Dreamer is hardly an accomplishment.

Rob Van Dam/Hardcore Holly vs. Paul Heyman/Big Show

I smell either a screwjob or a comedy match or even worse: both. Show and Van Dam start with the big man talking trash until Van Dam kicked him in the legs to shut him up. Rob immediately goes after Heyman but gets crushed by a splash and chopped in the corner. Show pounds him down and breaks up a few tag attempts to Holly. The fans are clamoring for a hot tag here which sounds like the screwjob to me.

We head to the floor and Holly backs down from the security. So much for being HARDCORE I guess. We head back in for a clothesline from Show who isn’t interested in trying to get a pin. In a disturbing image, Heyman does jumping jacks on the apron, much to Taz’s disgust. Show holds Rob’s arms so Paul can slap him in the face.

Another Van Dam comeback is stopped by Show but he misses a charge and gets kicked in the face. The chokeslam is countered via a DDT and there’s the hot tag, immediately followed by the turn from Holly. Yep I was right. Holly beats the tar out of him and hits an Alabama Slam on a chair as the match is thrown out.

Rating: C-. The crowd reaction on the heel turn was surprisingly solid but the match before it was generic stuff. Heyman never actually got into the match which doesn’t really surprise me. At least it wasn’t unfunny comedy and they went with the only interesting combo they had. Holly turning was probably a good idea as he’s a natural jerk in the first place.

The heels celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. For an ECW on Sci-Fi, this was about as good as you’re going to get. The Chamber is coming, but man alive is it going to SUCK. Holly turning is the big story here and it’s the right move to turn him as I don’t think people were really buying him as a face. On top of that we’ve got the incoming star next week to enter the Chamber match. Good show this year.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:

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ECW on Sci-Fi
Date: November 28, 2006
Location: HSBC Arena, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

It’s finally the go home show for December to Dismember which means this is the end of an era in ECW. After this, the last of the terrible ECW stuff ends and we get into the real WWECW, meaning the quality goes way up. The main event tonight is Lashley vs. Big Show, which you would think would have gotten more of a build. Let’s get to it.

We open with Heyman, flanked by his security, in the ring to talk about the Chamber. He explains the rules of the match to us including telling us that each pod will contain a weapon. The new information for us tonight is what those weapons will be. The weapons will include a chair, a crowbar, a table, and a barbed wire ball bat and we get a demonstration of each. Oh man they knew this was going to SUCK.

Theme song.

RVD knows he might not walk out of the Chamber but the chance of being ECW Champion again makes the risk worth it.

Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam

Sabu says that he’ll sacrifice anything to be ECW Champion. Yeah he talks here, why do you ask? Feeling out process to start until Van Dam takes him down with a monkey flip for two. Sabu wisely grabs a leg but Van Dam arm drags him down for two more. Sabu’s top rope rana doesn’t work as Rob hangs onto the top rope before scooting down the rope to sit in the middle of it. Sabu tries a springboard dive but Van Dam jumps off the ropes into a cross body in a great midair collision.

We take a break and come back with Van Dam landing on the apron but not being able to suplex Sabu to the apron. Sabu tries a sunset bomb but Van Dam holds the ropes, sending Sabu crashing to the floor. A moonsault over the ropes mostly misses Sabu but Van Dam still gets two off a German suplex. Sabu takes the knee out and hits a springboard legdrop tot he back of Van Dan’s head. A slingshot legdrop misses though and Rob connects with Rolling Thunder. Back up and Sabu hits some springboard shots to the face for two but Van Dam blocks a springboard tornado DDT, setting up the Five Star for the pin.

Rating: D. The chemistry was really lacking here for two guys who have worked together as much as these two have. Sabu didn’t botch that much stuff so this would be considered a good performance for him. He’s so much better when he he keeps the crazy stuff to a minimum but the match never clicked here.

Video on Big Show vs. Lashley.

Hardy Boys vs. Elijah Burke/Sylvester Terkay

Terkay is a big MMA style guy who never did much in America. Jeff and Burke get things going with Hardy taking Elijah down with a headscissors. Off to Matt for a top wristlock won by Matt before Jeff comes back in with a dropkick for two. Terkay comes in and drills Jeff with a slam but misses a hard charge into the post. Matt comes in with a Side Effect for Burke and some clotheslines for Terkay. The Hardys double team Terkay down and hit Poetry in Motion, followed by the Twist/Swanton for the pin.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here but it wasn’t terrible. At the end of the day the Hardys were slumming it in ECW until they were ready for their real reunion tour on Raw and Samckdown. The match wasn’t anything of note but then again neither were Burke or Terkay in WWE at all.

Post match MNM, the Hardys’ opponents on Sunday, run in and lay out the brothers.

Some fans in Augusta (PPV site) are ready for the PPV. There was a press conference which is pathetic given how laughable the PPV has been. Note that there are a total of two matches announced and we’re five days from the show.

CM Punk vs. Test

Test pounds him down in the corner to start but Punk fires off forearms of his own. They head to the floor where Test is sent into the post before going back inside for a springboard clothesline from Punk. Test comes back with a tilt-a-whirl slam and a chinlock but Punk sends him to the floor for a suicide dive. Punk sends him into the steps and they fight into the crowd for the double countout.

Rating: D+. If this sounded like it had no transitions and was just move after move, that’s exactly what it was. Test was such a generic heel at this point that there wasn’t much you could do with him. He reminds me of TNA’s Gunner during the period where Gunner was Mr. Intensity. There’s nothing to that and it’s really hard to get invested in a character like him.

Heyman tries to talk Big Show out of the match with Lashley but Show keeps walking.

We recap the Hardys’ match and beatdown by MNM. MNM says that was just a sample of how baller they are. Nitro’s words, not mine.

Another video on the Chamber.

Bobby Lashley vs. Big Show

Non-title of course. Lashley pounds away to start but Show comes back with a quick clothesline to take him down. A suplex does the same and Show follows it up with a superkick for no cover. Show continues his slow lumbering offense before going to the middle rope, allowing Lashley to suplex him down. The spear puts Show down but Heyman calls in his security for the DQ.

Rating: D. Big Show was such a disaster at this point and he was in desperate need of some time off to heal up and lose weight. The match was slow and dull with the majority being spent on Big Show walking around and waiting to do anything of note. The match just sucked as a result, much like a lot of ECW stuff around this time.

Test comes in to join in on the beatdown as Big Show hits a chokeslam. Heyman slaps Lashley over and over and Big Show knocks him out with the belt. Show covers him and Heyman counts a pin to end the show.

Overall Rating: F+. Oh man they knew December to Dismember was going to be terrible. Literally there are two matches announced and the rest of the show isn’t going to be announced until the show itself. As I said, the show is going to be a turning point for the brand and things won’t be the same afterwords. This show was terrible with everything being about the Chamber which did nothing to make me interested in the show at all. Absolutely awful all around with nothing of value at all.

Here’s December to Dismember if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2010/12/25/merry-christmas-have-some-december-to-dismember/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon for just $4 at:

ECW on Sci-Fi
Date: November 21, 2006
Location: Nassau Coliseum, New York City, New York
Attendance: 10,500
Commentators: Joey Styles, Taz

I’ve really got to stop these five month breaks between reviewing shows. The main story here is we’re a week from Survivor Series and two weeks from December to Dismember. Yeah there was a week between PPVs and WWE was still surprised when the ECW show bombed. Tonight we finalize some plans for the Extreme Elimination Chamber match with RVD defending his spot against Hardcore Holly. Let’s get to it.

We open with Heyman narrating a video on Lashley jumping Hardcore Holly to take the last spot in the Extreme Elimination Chamber and taking Big Show down.

In a special treat tonight, the Hardy Boys will reunite.

Matt Striker has his classroom set up in the ring and says that we don’t have to wait for December to Dismember to see destruction. He compares his time as a teacher to Lashley’s tour of duty in the military but gets cut off by his opponent.

Bobby Lashley vs. Matt Striker

Lashley clears the classroom stuff out of the ring, including launching a DESK over his head. I’m talking about one of the big desks, not a school desk. Striker finally comes into the ring and is tossed around like a doll. A delayed vertical suplex sets up a spear and the Dominator ends Striker quick.

We get a clip of Jeff retaining the IC Title over Johnny Nitro in a ladder match last night.

Hardy Boys vs. Full Blooded Italians

Matt starts with Guido and cranks on the arm. It’s quickly off to the banged up Jeff to stay on the arm. The Hardys take turns cranking on the Italian’s limb before dropping Guido with a double back elbow. Tony Mamaluke comes in, only to walk into the Spin Cycle to put him down as well. Trinity, the Italians’ barely clothed manager, trips Jeff up to put him in trouble for the first time.

Mamaluke and Guido drop a double elbow on Jeff for two and it’s the Italians’ turn for some double teaming. Jeff finally fights up and hits a double dropkick to set up the hot tag to Matt. House is cleaned and the middle rope legdrop gets two on Guido. The Side Effect to Mamaluke sets up a middle rope powerbomb/neckbreaker combo to kill him dead. Matt lays Mamaluke out with the Twist and the Swanton is good for the pin.

Rating: C. Just a glorified squash here but there were a few dollars to be made off a Hardys reunion run so I can’t blame them for taking a shot here. The team still looked good together and were much more dangerous given their singles success around this time. The Mamalukes could have been any two guys and had the same result.

Heyman tells Van Dam that if he loses to Holly tonight, Holly gets his Chamber spot.

CM Punk vs. Kevin Thorn

Punk tries a go behind but Thorn pounds him down with ease instead. CM comes back with some kicks to the ribs, only to be dropped throat first on the top rope for his efforts. A backbreaker gets two for Thorn and it’s off to an early chinlock. Thorn transitions to a Boston crab as Kelly Kelly comes out to cheer Punk on. The cheering works as Punk slips through his legs and hooks the Anaconda Vice for the quick submission.

Post match Kelly celebrates with Punk but Ariel comes in for a catfight. Punk makes the save and the good people stand tall. Mike Knox stares them down from the ramp.

Here are Big Show and Heyman with something to say. Show talks about how dangerous the Chamber is going to be while using words like barbaric and brutality. He’s up against five challengers in the match but he likes his odds. No one from Undertaker to Flair to Batista has been able to beat him….and here’s Lashley. Bobby is ready to go but Show walks away, only to slug Lashley down. He loads up the WMD but Lashley beats him to the punch and sends him to the floor. Lashley wants to fight but Heyman holds him back.

Video on the EVILS of the Chamber.

Rob Van Dam vs. Hardcore Holly

This is extreme rules and the winner goes to the Chamber. Before the match, Test fires Holly up in the back in a pointless moment. Were they running 15 seconds short or something? They slug it out to start with Rob taking over and kicking Holly in the head. Rolling Thunder gets two on Holly and Van Dam takes him to the floor for the spin kick to the back. We take a break and come back with Rob catapulting Holly into the bottom rope and hitting a spinwheel kick in the corner.

Rob stalks Holly but gets launched head first into a chair wedged between the ropes during the break. Holly stomps the chair onto Rob’s face for two and a hot shot onto the chair gets the same. Off to a chinlock for a bit but Van Dam comes back with a Stunner over the top rope to put Holly down. Van Dam tries to bring in another chair but Holly dropkicks him right back to the floor. Back in again and Hardcore puts the chair over Rob’s face for a guillotine legdrop, crushing Van Dam’s face.

Holly can’t follow up due to banging his leg on the chair and both guys are down. It’s Holly up first and stealing the timekeeper’s belt to give Rob a whooping. Van Dam knocks it out of his hands and kicks Holly in the face to get himself a breather. They slug it out with Rob taking over before superkicking Holly down.

A monkey flip sets up a top rope kick to the chest followed by the skateboard chair shot to the face. Rolling Thunder onto the chair gets two but Holly pelts the chair at Van Dam’s head to put him back down. Holly gets crotched on the top and superplexed down onto the chair, followed by the Five Star onto the chair for the pin.

Rating: C+. This started slow but got better in the end. As usual in ECW, the heels being very weak make these matches hard to get into. I mean, I’m supposed to believe Hardcore Holly is going to beat Rob Van Dam? Anyway, Holly was trying and the weapon shots weren’t bad, but the guys in the ring made it too hard to buy into.

Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t a bad show and they’re doing a good job of setting up the Chamber. Sabu and Test were barely here at all and RVD and Punk have their own stories going on instead of the Chamber, but Lashley is a monster who could hang with Big Show. By this point it’s clear that this is the WWE version of ECW instead of the original and thank goodness for that.

Here’s Survivor Series if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/11/12/survivor-series-count-up-2012-redo-2006-man-this-year-sucked/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon for just $4 at:

ECW on Sci-Fi
Date: June 13, 2006
Location: Sovereign Bank Arena, Trenton, New Jersey
Attendance: 5,100
Commentators: Joey Styles, Taz

So this is the debut of ECW on Sci-Fi which I found online out of boredom. Since I’m getting dangerously close to the end of the ECW PPVs, I figured I’d do the first and last shows of ECW on Sci-Fi and TNN just for the heck of it. This show is considered a miserable failure so let’s find out why. The main event is a battle royal to determine who fights Cena at Vengeance. ECW came back officially two days before this so it’s brand new and this is the big debut. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the second One Night Stand which was where the If Cena Wins We Riot sign debuted. Cena says he’ll be on ECW tonight, thereby killing ECW on its opening night. This was supposed to be the real ECW but you could tell that was never going to happen a few seconds after it debuted.

Heyman opens us up here and brings out RVD. They even have the hole in the brick wall entryway. RVD is WWE Champion here, having won it two nights ago. His voice reminds me of a less depressed Vin Diesel for some reason. They keep saying he’s the champion without saying WWE. Heyman declares him the ECW World Champion. Taz says no one knows what RVD is feeling. I think that should say no one knows why RVD never won the title in the original ECW. He says he’s just going to defend both titles. Van Dam wants the other one because it spins.

And here’s the #1 contender: Edge. Edge is ok because he could have made it in the original ECW I think. He cost Cena the title at Vengeance so he’s WAY over. Edge spears him after complimenting him. He goes through the crowd and Cena is behind him. RVD and Cena fight over who gets to beat up Edge. This of course allows Edge to escape. And remember, this is ECW. Pay no attention to the argument going on over the WWE Title with WWE guys.

After a house show ad, Heyman gives a speech to the locker room and says they’re invading Raw on Monday. You know it might work better if you didn’t say it on national TV.

The Zombie vs. The Sandman

And this right here is where ECW died completely. Since they could only get on Sci-Fi, they tried to get more sci-fi stuff on the show, hence this. And cue Sandman to not Metallica. Styles and Taz don’t even try to take this seriously. This is like a bad indy show joke or something. Sandman canes the heck out of him to a great pop and the White Russian Leg Sweep ends this in like 10 seconds. Dust flew off of Zombie. No rating obviously.

Kelly is an exhibitionist and wants to take off all of her clothes.

DX is coming back. On ECW. Shoot me. Better yet shoot Heyman as he doesn’t deserve this.

We see the whole Taz destroying King match from the PPV two days ago. It’s a 30 second squash but we see the whole thing, including intros.

Kurt Angle vs. Justin Credible

Angle would be in TNA later this year so what does that tell you about their luck? He had been the big guy sent to ECW to make them credible which to be fair is a good idea since he was in ECW before he was in WWE if you squint really hard when you look at it. Also his personality fits for ECW so it’s not that much of a stretch. Angle of course destroys Justin by throwing him all over the place and treating him like a video game character. Justin shoves him and Angle hits something close to the Tazmission to make him tap in maybe 90 seconds, which is somehow the longest match of the night, tripling the second place offering so far. No rating again obviously. He calls out Orton for a rematch at Vengeance.

Heyman says he’s throwing out everything he had planned and we’re having an extreme battle royal for the shot against Cena at Vengeance.

Read the Rise and Fall of ECW.

An unnamed character (Kevin Thorn) looks up at the ECW sign as Joey and Tazz say he couldn’t be what they think he is (vampire).

Kelly comes out to strip for us. She only has one name so far. She gets down to her underwear and unhooks her bra and puts her hands over her chest and leaves. Was there a point to that at all?

Extreme Battle Royal

Tommy Dreamer, Sabu, Big Guido, Little Guido, Stevie Richards, Big Show, Roadkill, Danny Doring, Al Snow, Tony Mamaluke, Balls Mahoney

So despite Heyman saying 10 there are 11. Sure why not. The weapons are all on the floor which completely goes against the logic of a battle royal. Balls has a bad cover of AC/DC. Show has hair here. That’s not something I’m used to. Wait didn’t he get his head shaved before this? Everyone runs from Show and it’s almost impossible to keep track of who is eliminated and who is just running. Roadkill takes a fallaway slam and we go to a break. No one has been eliminated since they all went through the ropes. We get some token weapons shots and I want this to end.

Taz tries to play this off as being more extreme than anything else and I feel sorry for him. Sabu sets up a table. Everyone jumps Show and it does nothing at all. Show puts out Snow. And Doring. Uh Richards too. Might as well say Roadkill too. Balls Mahoney is number five. This is all in a row so I’m not skipping anything. Dreamer goes after Show with something made of metal and of course it does jack. He goes through a table on the floor. It’s Show, the FBI and Sabu. Show puts all three of the non-fake Arabians out in about 45 seconds and then Sabu hits him while he’s on the ropes to win it.

Rating: F. Oh sweet mama this was bad. Show literally eliminated everyone other than Sabu in less than 4 minutes. There’s domination and then there’s this. One of the worst battle royals ever to fittingly close out one of the worst hours ever.

Overall Rating: G. This is one of those weird shows that actually goes beyond failing and blazes new territory. Other than the main event if you want to call it that, the longest match was less than 100 seconds long. One match had a zombie and one was from a PPV so it wasn’t even new. They had no freaking clue what they were doing with this and it showed badly. They more or less redid the whole thing the next week when this bombed so terribly. Not even worth it for the historical value. Terrible show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon for just $4 at:

ECW on Sci–Fi
Date: February 16, 2010
Location: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Byron Saxton

Well as you can tell this is the final edition of the modern ECW show. There are a total of two matches on the show: a tag title match and Big Zeke, a muscleheaded no talent hack that would never have gotten more of a second look in ECW and Christian who would have been ok there. Take a guess as to how this is going to end. NXT would debut the next week so let’s get to it.

We get to meet the NXT rookies and pros tonight.

Tag Titles: The Miz/Big Show vs. Goldust/Yoshi Tatsu

Miz has three belts at the moment, all of which would cause him to become my #1 draft pick in the fantasy league. Doesn’t this make you riveted to the screen? I mean it’s clear that two guys like Dust and Tatsu have a great chance to win the belts here. Goldust and the smaller champion start us off. Yoshi is fast but Goldust comes in and gets drilled by Show as we take a break.

Tatsu comes in and kicks a lot which gets him nowhere. Show busts out a headlock takeover of all things. Well that’s not something you expected. Yoshi has an eternal flame of pride. This just isn’t that interesting as there’s just a total lack of drama and it’s hurting things here. Goldie comes in and cleans the kitchen (not enough to be the whole house) but gets punched and the Skull Crushing Finale ends this.

Rating: D+. It looked like they were trying but come on: Tatsu and Goldust? Is that really the best they could do? They couldn’t bring Dreamer out of mothballs for this? It just didn’t do anything for me and while it was ok, no one cares about Goldust as a serious contender at this point and Tatsu hadn’t done a thing. It just fell flat and that’s never good.

The first pairing we see is Jericho/Barrett. Barrett is obsessed with money apparently. Where did that aspect of his character go?

Next up is Hardy/Gabriel. Gabriel is a cross between Johnny Damon and Adam Lambert.

Tiffany, the GM still and not a member of Blonterouge or whatever the name is now, addresses the ECW audience and is interrupted by Ryder and Rosa. He wants into the title match and says there’s nothing Tiffany can do about it.

MVP and Skip Sheffield are a team. No not really.

We do the final Abraham Washington Show and I have a feeling this isn’t going to be funny. He thinks they’re in St. Louis to get cheap heel heat. He talks about how he’ll be a free agent soon so people get to pay for him. He says he has the biggest name in wrestling for his final guest and of course it’s himself. Cue Shelton for no apparent reason.

Shelton really was bad on the mic. This is painful. He reminds Abe that everyone is a free agent now and gets interrupted by Vance Archer who had been feuding with Shelton for awhile. The Dudebusters come out and say they’re the most important thing on the show. Kozlov comes out and yells. Dang Vince really wanted to kick the original ECW to death didn’t he?

There’s the big brawl and Washington is mad because they’re messing up his furniture when he’s a single payment away from getting his security deposit back. Kozlov and Shelton shake hands and leave for no apparent reason.

Another pairing is Carlito and Michael Tarver.

The I think fifth pair is Daniel Bryan and Miz. And cue the IWC exploding over it.

We talk about the Elimination Chamber since that’s on Sunday.

Christian and Slater are announced.

Christian comes out and says it’s been a year since he came back. ECW isn’t a demotion to him but rather home. He talks about how he got to be the star on ECW and he’s loved every bit of it. Tonight is for the ECW Originals and for ECW. Oh come on now you know he’s losing. There’s an ECW chant for you. He’ll be proud to be the final ECW Champion. This came off well and made ECW sound very respectable and like a good thing.

Punk and Young, who apparently has incredible strength, will be a team.

ECW Title: Ezekiel Jackson vs. Christian

This is under Extreme Rules and Christian brought a shopping cart of weapons. Christian gets him to the floor and here’s Ryder to be a jerk. He gets beaten up like a little nitwit and Tiffany bounces down to the ring to take down Rosa. Back from a break and it’s all Big Zeke. Christian hits the Pendulum Kick into a trash can lid into Zeke.

Regal and Zeke set up a table but get it knocked into their faces. Some WEAK kendo stick shots give the advantage back to the Canadian. This was far better on the first viewing. Regal interferes and breaks up the Killswitch and Jackson slams Christian through a table to completely kill the history of ECW forever. Until TNA redoes it soon and kills its corpse.

Rating: C-. It’s ok but the ending was again fairly clear. You knew Vince was going to go with the big title change to end things and that it would be fairly stupid. The match was ok at best but with three interferences for Jackson it became watered down and overbooked. Glad to see they kept with the original ECW vision on that one.

We close the show and the brand with R-Truth being Otunga’s pro and the big musclehead holding the ECW Title. I’d love to see Heyman’s reaction to that.

Overall Rating: D. This was just bad. It’s really more of a commercial for NXT than anything else. Christian’s speech was nice but this was about ending ECW once and for all which was just done to let Vince have a good feeling about it at the end of the day. I wish this had been the end of ECW but of course TNA wants to get a few more dollars out of it while they can so here we go all over again. ECW dies once again with nothing to show for it. Yeah I’m stunned too.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my book on the History of the WWE Championship from Amazon for just $5 at:

ECW on Sci-Fi
Date: November 14, 2006
Location: Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester, England
Attendance: 15,266
Commentators: Joey Styles, Elijah Burke

We’re in England with about three weeks to go until December to Dismember. Tonight’s main story is who will be debuting as the new star from either Raw or Smackdown to fill in the final spot in the Chamber. We had a good show last week so hopefuly ECW can keep up the roll that they’re on. Well that is if you consider one week a roll. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Holly’s turn last week.

Tazz had knee surgery so Burke is filling in on commentary.

Here are Heyman and Big Show to the ring where there’s a table and chair set up. I’m guessing this is for the contract signing. Heyman says there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that due to what happened last week, RVD isn’t here tonight. However, Big Show IS here, which you would think we would get given that he’s standing right there. On to Elimination Chamber, which is a controversial match for some reason. Heyman lists off the five guys in the match so far and asks if someone from Raw or Smackdown is coming in to fill in the last spot.

To the shock of no one, Hardcore Holly is shown walking through the back. Before he can get here though, Bobby Lashley from Smackdown destroys Holly and stares at the camera. Heyman and Show are panicked as Lashley (a very muscular and legit amateur wrestling champion) comes to the ring. Big Show goes to the aisle to stop him but Bobby spears him down and signs the contract.

Post break Big Show, Test and Holly ask why Heyman had the whole open contract. Heyman: “I wanted to make this look legit.” Big Show: “WHY? We run this whole place!” That’s a really good point actually. Heyman makes Lashley vs. Holly tonight and Big Show tries to tell Holly that it’s a good idea.

CM Punk vs. Mike Knox

This feud has to end soon. The fans seem to love Punk here as does Knox’s girlfriend Kelly Kelly. Knox pounds on him to start but Punk sends him to the floor. A baseball slide misses and Mike pounds Punk down, only to get kicked in the head. Knox falls down but lands on Kelly in the process. Mike doesn’t seem to mind though as he pounds CM down some more. Back inside now and Knox goes after the back with a suplex and a catapult.

Another shot to the back gets two as Kelly is back up. Punk tries a suplex but his back won’t hold up, allowing Knox to hook a Boston crab. We finally get a rope break so it’s off to a bow and arrow hold by Knox. Punk escapes a suplex and starts firing off his strikes but the running knee in the corner eats elbow. Well his jaw eats the elbow but you get the idea.

Punk knocks Knox to the floor and hits a suicide dive, drawing an ECW chant. The springboard clothesline gets a VERY clothesline two as does the knee/bulldog combination. Mike comes back again with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker but Punk backflips out of a belly to back suplex. He fires off his rapid strikes and it’s Rock Bottom and Anaconda Vice for the tap out.

Rating: B. Where in the world did this come from? These two beat the tar out of each other and we got a very good match out of it. The back stuff was fine and it was good to see Knox stick with it throughout the entire match. Punk winning is the right move of course but if you can get a good match before the inevitable ending, that makes it all the better.

Here’s Matt Striker in the back who talks about various great phrases through history, the last of which is of course from the Revolutionary War. This leads to a video on the Elimination Chamber.

Punk welcomes Lashley to ECW but says he’s taking the ECW Title in the Chamber. More solid work from Punk here.

Here’s Daivari with something to say. He demands that he and Khali be welcomed to ECW. Oh ok he has a match.

Daivari vs. Tommy Dreamer

Khali stares Dreamer down to start but Daivari chop blocks Tommy before the bell. Dreamer doesn’t seem to mind and stomps Daivari down in the corner. A dropkick takes Dreamer’s knee out and the leg work continues. Daivari gets kicked into the barricade and misses a top rope cross body as Dreamer fights on one leg. A low elevation flapjack puts Daivari down but Khali crotches Dreamer against the post for the fast DQ.

Dreamer takes the Punjabi Plunge post match.

Bobby Lashley vs. Hardcore Holly

The match starts during a break and Big Show, Test and Heyman are at ringside. A delayed one armed suplex takes Holly down and he heads to the floor. Holly sends Bobby face first into the steps and we head back inside. A bulldog takes Lashley down and we hit the chinlock. Holly goes up but jumps into a boot which at least knocks him down. Bobby starts his comeback and hits Abyss’ Shock Treatment for two. Lashley goes up and gets crotched followed by a superplex from Holly for two. Hardcore goes up but jumps into a belly to belly suplex. There’s the running powerslam but Big Show pulls the referee for the DQ.

Rating: C-. Not much here and there was never any doubt that Lashley was going to win somehow. I don’t see why they didn’t just have Lashley get the pin here as Holly isn’t in the main event at the PPV so what’s there to protect? Either way, not a terrible debut in ECW for him but the lack of a pin is kind of lame.

Test, Big Show and Holly triple team Lashley until Van Dam, Sabu and Punk make the save. The show ends with Van Dam and Lashley standing tall. They stare at each other a lot as well.

Overall Rating: B. The opening match was really solid and we got a major plot development for the Chamber so how can this be anything but good? Once the Chamber is done we’ll really start to pick things up around here which is what will make the shows a lot more interesting. Good stuff here as ECW has one of their strongest shows yet.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

ECW on Sci-Fi
Date: November 7, 2006
Location: The Mark of the Quad Cities, Moline, Illinois
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

Yep I’m still doing these. It’s been nearly three months but I’m still doing these. In case you’ve forgotten, we’re getting close to December to Dismember and the Extreme Elimination Chamber which is pretty much the worst PPV ever. Tonight we’ve got some qualifying matches which I don’t think we’ve had up to this point. Then again there’s a good chance I’ve just forgotten them. Let’s get to it.

After a recap of last week’s main event (Big Show/Test vs. Holly/RVD) we’re ready to go.

Extreme Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: CM Punk vs. Mike Knox

Before we get going, Kelly gets caught smiling at Punk so Knox sends her to the back. A fast rollup gets two for Punk as does a leg lariat as Knox is in trouble early. Punk hooks the Vice in the ropes ala the Tarantula and the springboard clothesline puts Knox on the floor. All Punk so far. Mike finally hits a knee to the ribs to take over and gets two off a bicycle (Brogue) kick. What is with big guys that use that move?

Punk gets a forearm up in the corner but a springboard rana is caught in a powerbomb for another close two. Knox, the big oaf that he is, misses a charge in the corner so Punk can fire off some kicks. The corner knee looks to set up the corner bulldog but of course it fails completely as Knox counters into a backbreaker. Knox loads up a superplex but Punk shoves him down and hits a high cross body for another close two. Since we’re still in 2006, a bunch of kicks set up the Rock Bottom and the Anaconda Vice gets the tap out for Punk.

Rating: B-. You could tell Punk was good because he got Mike Knox to look solid in nearly every match they had. Punk going to the Chamber was obvious as he was the hottest thing they had on ECW at this point and he was destined to be a star. Good stuff here and one of Knox’s better matches ever.

Sylvester Terkay and Elijah Burke are here and promise to bring Elijah Burke Productions to ECW. Great.

Here are Heyman and his security guards with something to say. Heyman has the gorilla head from last week and we get a clip of him costing RVD the main event last week. Tonight it’s Big Show/Heyman vs. RVD/Holly where either someone will get their face kicked in or someone will be extremely embarrassed. Also there’s an open contract for anyone from Raw or Smackdown that wants the last spot in the Chamber and they’ll be able to sign it next week. Heyman says he has to leave to go do some cardio which sends Tazz into hysterics.

Daivari vs. Little Guido

Daivari tries to jump Guido early but gets punched in the face for his efforts. Guido hits some really basic stuff before walking into a hot shot to stop him cold. Daivari stomps on him a bit but walks into an elbow to the face for two. This clearly isn’t going to last long. That would be correct as Daivari sends Guido hard into the corner and hits an arm trap DDT for a quick pin. Nothing to see here.

Khali hits the Plunge on Guido post match.

Video on The Marine.

Extreme Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Test vs. Tommy Dreamer

They start fast with Dreamer hitting a Cactus Clothesline to put both guys on the floor. Since we’re in a Dreamer match though he’s in trouble early with Test ramming him back first into the post. Back in and Test loads up the pumphandle slam, only to have Dreamer slip down his back and hit a neckbreaker for two. A sitout spinebuster gets two more for Dreamer and he chokes away on the ropes. That’s not a nice guy there Tommy. Test kicks him low as he deserves, setting up the big boot and the Test Drive to advance to the Chamber.

Rating: D+. Eh it’s Test vs. Tommy Dreamer. Was there ever a doubt as to who was going to win here? At the end of the day there was nothing surprising either way here as Test gets a push he doesn’t deserve and Dreamer is a jobber who can’t pull off his ultimate goal. This was watchable but pinning Dreamer is hardly an accomplishment.

Rob Van Dam/Hardcore Holly vs. Paul Heyman/Big Show

I smell either a screwjob or a comedy match or even worse: both. Show and Van Dam start with the big man talking trash until Van Dam kicked him in the legs to shut him up. Rob immediately goes after Heyman but gets crushed by a splash and chopped in the corner. Show pounds him down and breaks up a few tag attempts to Holly. The fans are clamoring for a hot tag here which sounds like the screwjob to me.

We head to the floor and Holly backs down from the security. So much for being HARDCORE I guess. We head back in for a clothesline from Show who isn’t interested in trying to get a pin. In a disturbing image, Heyman does jumping jacks on the apron, much to Taz’s disgust. Show holds Rob’s arms so Paul can slap him in the face.

Another Van Dam comeback is stopped by Show but he misses a charge and gets kicked in the face. The chokeslam is countered via a DDT and there’s the hot tag, immediately followed by the turn from Holly. Yep I was right. Holly beats the tar out of him and hits an Alabama Slam on a chair as the match is thrown out.

Rating: C-. The crowd reaction on the heel turn was surprisingly solid but the match before it was generic stuff. Heyman never actually got into the match which doesn’t really surprise me. At least it wasn’t unfunny comedy and they went with the only interesting combo they had. Holly turning was probably a good idea as he’s a natural jerk in the first place.

The heels celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. For an ECW on Sci-Fi, this was about as good as you’re going to get. The Chamber is coming, but man alive is it going to SUCK. Holly turning is the big story here and it’s the right move to turn him as I don’t think people were really buying him as a face. On top of that we’ve got the incoming star next week to enter the Chamber match. Good show this year.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

ECW on Sci-Fi
Date: October 31, 2006
Location: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

It’s Halloween (ish) and the main story is that Van Dam can challenge for the world title anytime he wants. Things are starting to pick up a bit around here, but the Test/Holly stuff is dragging it WAY down. Striker isn’t much either but he’s not terrible as a character. We’re inching closer to December to Dismember and it’s the go home show for Cyber Sunday 2006 as well. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of the main event from last week. Why would Heyman give ROB VAN DAM a LADDER match to get his world title shot?

Here’s Heyman in the back with something to say. Apparently Van Dam has picked December To Dismember for his title shot, but Heyman says that the stipulations were never named. They’ll be two of the six men in the first ever EXTREME ELIMINATION CHAMBER!!! Oh dear goodness…..not that. Please?

Theme song.

Tonight it’s Van Dam/Holly vs. Show/Test.

Extreme Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Sabu vs. Kevin Thorn

There are various people in Halloween costumes at ringside but they’re no one in particular. Sabu takes out the leg of Thorn and quickly knocks him out to the floor. Sabu hits part of a flip dive to the outside and a slingshot splash back into the ring. Thorn comes back with a sitout powerbomb and it’s off to a chinlock. Sabu will have none of that and comes back with a pair of springboard elbows for two. An Ariel distraction allows Thorn to clothesline Sabu out of the air for two but Kevin walks into a springboard DDT for a delayed two. Another slingshot legdrop sets up the camel clutch to send Sabu to the Chamber.

Rating: C. This was a quick match to send Sabu to the Chamber. Thorn never quite worked and was never pushed as a top guy on ECW, so it’s not like this is a big loss for him. For a TV opener though this was fine and the ECW fans still love Sabu, so there was never any doubt at all as to who was winning.

Sandman talks about how he’s going to get the match against Umaga when a clown (not Doink) comes by and gets beaten up with some cane shots. Ok then.

The Marine stuff because we can’t go a week without hearing about it. Now they’re talking about the alligators in the movie, I kid you not.

Tazz gives Joey a noose for Halloween. This show is getting creepier every minute.

Daivari vs. Shannon Moore

This is Daivari and Khali returning after about three months off all WWE TV. Daivari cranks on the arm to start and gets two off a slam. They slug it out and after a quick burst of offense from Shannon, a DDT gets the pin for Daivari.

Khali destroys Shannon post match.

RVD isn’t worried about the Chamber and isn’t surprised that Heyman would pull this. He looks rather stoned here. Holly comes up and talks about the back injury he had a few weeks ago. They’re partners tonight. He says he’s got RVD’s back tonight in a nice pun.

It’s time for an ECW Diva Halloween Costume Contest. There are only three chicks in it: Kelly, Trinity and Ariel. Trinity is in her usual attire: a thong and topless other than caution tape in certain areas. Ariel is in her usual attire and admits it’s not a costume. Kelly is….CM Punk? Yep that’s apparently right. Since she’s the only one in what you would call a costume, she should win but come on: Trinity is in caution tape and that’s it. Thankfully, Trinity wins by a landslide. Apparently she’s a crime scene. Ok then.

Post contest Mike Knox comes out to yell at Kelly. Punk makes the save and beats down Knox.

After a break Knox challenges Punk to a match next week.

We look at the people in costumes again. There are a few whose faces you can’t see.

Rob Van Dam/Hardcore Holly vs. Big Show/Test

Test and Van Dam get things going with Test choking away in the corner via a boot. Van Dam avoids a charge in the corner but a middle rope cross body is caught. Rob escapes and kicks Test down but stops to jaw with Show. Another spin kick puts Test down and here’s Holly. Holly chokes in the corner a bit and gets a boot up in the corner to stagger Test again.

The fans are all over Big Show and it’s back to RVD. Test gets in a shot though and rams Van Dam into Show’s foot. For some reason there’s no tag though and Test is knocked to the outside. Rob charges into a forearm from the apron but cross bodies Test to the floor as we take a break. Back with the same match we had before we left and Test clotheslining Van Dam down for no cover.

Test chokes away in the corner and it would be nice to see a tag. Instead Test does Van Dam’s thumb point and gets caught with the stepover kick. There’s the tag to Holly and now it’s Big Show with the tag as well. After some basic kicks to the legs from Holly, Show goes into his usual offense, which means standing on Holly and doing basic moves that mean more because he’s huge.

A headbutt puts Holly down and it’s back to Test. Holly tries to fight out of an arm hold but Test runs him right back over. Show sits down on the arm Test was working over but misses a slow motion Vader Bomb. There’s the hot tag to Van Dam who goes toe to toe with Show and takes out the leg with a reverse chopblock. Rolling Thunder gets two as everything breaks down. The referee goes down as Holly hits the Alabama Slam on Test, only to get kicked in the face. Van Dam and Big Show head to the floor and a gorilla hits Van Dam in the back with a pipe. That and the chokeslam get the pin for Show on RVD.

Rating: C-. This was a watchable main event tag, but it ran nearly twenty minutes, which is a lot for a match featuring the four guys in here. I believe all four of them would wind up in the Chamber so this was kind of a preview for that. The costume was a bit pointless but it was Halloween after all so it’s understandable I guess.

Heyman is the gorilla.

Overall Rating: D+. This was all about starting the Chamber build which while sounding good on paper would wind up being a near disaster in execution. Either way, this wasn’t a horrible show overall, but it was a pretty weak time for the show at this point. Things would change huge after the PPV though.

Here’s Cyber Sunday if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/10/28/cyber-sunday-2006-a-moment-that-always-makes-me-laugh/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

ECW on Sci-Fi
Date: October 24, 2006
Location: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

More ECW goodness here as we inch closer to Cyber Sunday and the Champion of Champions match which means we’re inching closer to December to Dismember and the night ECW was thrown off a cliff. The main event tonight is a ladder match between Van Dam and Big Show, which may or may not be for a shot at Show’s title. The only other thing I have to say is this is being written six years to the day of the show which isn’t interesting but it fills in some lines. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap from last week with Van Dam pinning Big Show. During that match, Hardcore Holly saved Van Dam from an attack by Test.

Theme song.

Here’s RVD to open things up. He brags about being the first guy to beat the Big Show and says he wants the world title shot now. Here’s Heyman with his security who praises RVD and has a contract for a title match for RVD. But that contract is going to be held above the ring and must be retrieved using a ladder. Why would Heyman agree to give Van Dam his specialty match to get a title shot? Why not make it like a body slam challenge or something like that? Either way, the security jumps Van Dam but gets beaten up just as quickly.

CM Punk vs. Matt Striker

Punk immediately hits a kind of spinebuster to take Striker down and Striker is in trouble on the mat. We get some chain wrestling before Punk sends him down to escape a cravate. They trade a series of hammerlocks but Striker finally grabs the rope to escape. Punk fires off knees to the head but gets sent shoulder first into the post. Striker works on the arm for a bit but Punk kicks him in the head to escape. The knee in the corner and the bulldog sets up Punk’s finishing sequence but Mike Knox runs in for the DQ.

Rating: D+. This was a squash until we got to Punk getting beaten up for the DQ. Striker was a fine character as the whole teacher thing worked really well, but at the end of the day the guy was not any good in the ring at all. There are only so many ways you can get around that and Striker never found one. Punk vs. Knox hopefully will end soon.

We get a quick recap of Holly going after Heyman a few weeks ago which also sets up Holly vs. Test tonight.

Test vs. Hardcore Holly

Holly pounds away to start and Test is all BRING IT ON. Test drops to the floor and Holly is fine with taking it out there. He isn’t however fine with being sent into the post and being sent back in for more pounding from Test. Holly comes back with a kick and a legdrop as the fans aren’t thrilled with this match.

Test gets tied up in the ropes and Holly pounds away even more. That’s what this whole match has been for about three minutes or so now: punching and occasional kicking. Holly suplexes Test over the top and out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Test with a body grip on the mat. During the break Test rammed Holly’s back into the post three times. How nice of them to put that during the break and let us see this rest hold instead.

Test sends Holly into the corner for two and puts on a bearhug. Holly escapes and kicks a bent over Test in the face to put both guys down. A big back elbow puts test down as does a clothesline. Holly hits a top rope clothesline for two but Test elbows him down and goes up, only to get crotched. Holly gets two off a middle rope legdrop before escaping the pumphandle slam. The Alabama Slam is countered too so Holly kicks Test in the very low abdomen. Test pokes him in the eye and sends him shoulder first into the post. That and a rollup with a handful of tights gets the pin.

Rating: D. There are multiple problems here. Problem #1: the match sucked. It was mainly punching and kicking and boring back work which didn’t go anywhere. Second, at the end of the day this is Test vs. Hardcore Holly, the latter of which wrestling as a face. Holly, in this character at least, is one of the least likable guys in ECW. The other problem is the same one I’ve said many times: these guys are career midcarders in the WWE and it’s really hard to care about the two of them fighting. They’re on ECW because they’re not good enough to make it on Raw or Smackdown, and the match is evidence of that.

Post match Test hits Holly in the back with a chair a few times.

More Marine nonsense.

We run down a few matches for Cyber Sunday, including picking Umaga’s opponent. Sandman is an option, and Sandman says he thinks he’s the best option because it’ll be violent and bloody. Well Sandman never was much of a talker.

Rob Vam Dam vs. Big Show

It’s a ladder match and if Van Dam wins, he gets a title shot at Show at some point in the future. The bell rings after a break which is nice as we don’t have to waste part of the match later. Van Dam immediately gets a ladder which is a smart move….I think. Show throws the ladder out so Van Dam starts firing off kicks. He hits a slingshot legdrop to the back of the head to take over and brings the ladder back in. Show comes back with a headbutt and chop to take over.

Rob gets whipped into the ladder in the corner, sending him to the floor. Show tries a different approach, lifting the ladder in the air and swatting at the contract. Rob gets in a shot and brings in another ladder to blast Show in the head. Show is cut open and Van Dam leans a ladder against the corner. He shoves the ladder at Show and kicks said ladder against Show’s head. Nice move.

Rolling Thunder hits the ladder which is on top of Show but Rob’s back is hurt too. Rob goes up but Show shoves him onto the ropes to slow things down again. A ladder to the back keeps Show down and man is the champion bleeding badly. Show stands on a ladder on top of Van Dam and Rob is in trouble. Show spears Rob down to stop a comeback attempt and hits a simple punch to the head to take Rob down again.

Van Dam gets slammed down onto the ladder but Show’s Vader Bomb misses….as always. Are heels that confident that they keep trying the same moves over and over again even though it’s NEVER worked? There are big welts on Rob’s sides. The left side of Show’s face is COVERED in blood. He can see well enough to chokeslam Rob down but he’s slow and fat so it takes him forever go climb the ladder. Rob climbs up even faster and hits a seated senton into a rana over the top. Rob gets up and sprints up the ladder to get the contract for the win and the title shot. Apparently Van Dam gets to pick the time and place.

Rating: C+. The idea for a Big Show ladder match is to have the other guy use the ladder while Show uses his size and power with the ladder as the occasional prop. That worked here as it was Van Dam bouncing off Show the entire match and a high risk/leverage move that got the win for Van Dam. Good match here, especially for an ECW main event.

Overall Rating: C-. The main event was good, but the rest of the stuff here wasn’t working. Guys like Test and Holly are not interesting, especially when they’re the same guys they’ve been for years but on Tuesdays instead of Mondays. The main event stuff is fine, but the heels on this show other than Big Show are horrible at this point. Good main event, but a weak show overall.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

ECW on Sci-Fi
Date: October 17, 2006
Location: Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

We’re thankfully back to a normal wrestling show this week without the stupid 13 year old fan service. The main event tonight is Big Show vs. Rob Van Dam in a match that could set up a future title shot down the line. Looking at the card, we have five matches packed into an hour long show. That’s not bad at all and hopefully will make up for last week. Let’s get to it.

Matt Striker vs. Sandman

Singapore cane on a pole match. Sandman is already busted open from his entrance. They stare at each other to start before Striker sprints to the corner, because Sandman could never possibly catch him. In a bit smarter move, Striker goes after Sandy’s leg to keep him from being able to climb. Striker misses a middle rope elbow to the knee but Sandman can’t get to the cane. Matt backdrops Sandman off the top and actually gets the cane first. A few shots to Sandman don’t do much as Striker swings and misses, allowing Sandman to get the cane. After a few shots, Striker bails and loses by countout.

Rating: D+. The blood (from both guys) was helpful but this wasn’t even four minutes long. What are you expecting out of a gimmick match that doesn’t even go that long? This was a feud that worked as you kept waiting to see Sandman get to maul the weasel, but it would have been better if Striker was built up some more.

CM Punk vs. Rene Dupree

This is a rematch from last week. Rene slaps him to start, ticking off Punk enough that he charges into a quick hot shot. Rene gets in some more offense but Punk leg lariats him, hits his quick strikes, the Rock Bottom and the Anaconda Vice for the fast tap. This was nothing.

Mike Knox hits the ring post match but Punk is ready for him. Knox bails immediately when Punk calls him into the ring.

Rob talks about working his way back to the top and earning a shot at Big Show tonight. Van Dam says he’s the best at ECW (his words) and he can slay the dragon. He’ll get a shot eventually and he’ll be ready.

Here’s Test with something to say. Joey continues in vain to try to convince us that Test is a completely different guy now that he’s in ECW, as in he’s more intense or something. That’s the problem with most of the guys that came over to ECW: they’re the same guys we’ve seen for so many years and there really isn’t anything different. Test shows us a clip of Holly’s back getting sliced open a few weeks back and another of Test saving Heyman from Holly. Test makes fun of Holly for being out, which brings out Balls Mahoney to challenge him.

Test vs. Balls Mahoney

Balls jumps him to start and gets beaten down for his efforts. Mahoney’s shoulder is sent into the post and it’s off to an armbar because Test is such a known technical wrestler. Balls fights up and hits his signature punches and the Nutcracker Suite for two. Not that it matters though as the big boot takes Balls’ head off and the TKO gets the quick pin. This was just a step above a squash.

Sabu vs. Shannon Moore

For the first time during the intros, December to Dismsmber is mentioned. Oh sweet goodness we’re reaching that time already? Sabu takes him down very quickly and hits a leg lariat, sending Moore to the outside. A big flip dive takes Shannon out again and they head back inside. After some required generic offense from Moore, he misses a Whisper in the Wind style move and a slingshot legdrop gets the pin for Sabu. Another squash here.

Big Show talks about the Champion of Champions match at Cyber Sunday and doesn’t seem concerned about the match tonight.

Big Show vs. Rob Van Dam

Non-title here. They stare each other down for a bit and RVD points at himself. Rob pounds away to start and goes for the legs but gets kicked in the face for his troubles. Show gets guillotined on the top rope and a top rope gets gets two for RVD. Show knocks him to the floor as we take a break. Back with Show in control and dropping some elbows. There’s a chop in the corner and Rob tries some shots to come back, only to get run over again. Rob comes back with more right hands and another top rope kick, followed by Rolling Thunder for two.

Show comes back with a spear but it only gets two. The fans are getting way into this which is kind of surprising given how the match has been going so far. A Vader Bomb Elbow misses but a clothesline puts RVD right back into the corner. The referee gets bumped and Van Dam counters the chokeslam into a DDT. He loads up the Five Star but Test shoves him off the top and stomps away. Test grabs a chair and pokes Van Dam in the ribs with it but Hardcore Holly runs out and hits Test with the chair. Holly cracks Show with the chair twice and the Five Star gives Rob the upset win.

Rating: C+. I wasn’t liking this one at first but once they got rolling with Van Dam staying in there no matter what and trying to find a way to slay the giant I got into it. Someone had to give Show a challenge eventually and there’s no one more popular or credible than Van Dam in ECW. Better match than I was expecting.

Overall Rating: C+. What a difference it is when you get some wrestling instead of some stupid gimmick for the show which was mentioned all of once this entire show. RVD is the best choice for a challenger to Big Show as I don’t think he ever got a full rematch unless it was right after he lost the title. Much better show this week as we’re starting to get to December to Dismember.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews