Hey there, WrestleZone readers! My nameâs Kevin. Some of you may know me from my column, Offbeat Shenanigans, which can you read in the Editorials section of the site. But now, in addition, Iâll be doing the weekly âtakeâ on ECW on Sci-Fi. Hereâs the first one…for the November 13, 2007 broadcast.
The Hardy Boys reunited, yet again, to open up ECW. Taking them on was the team of MVP and Kennedy – who are also no strangers to working together. This match was a downsized version of the six-man tag from Raw, but it was still fun to watch. It featured some good teamwork from the brothers Hardy early on, before Jeff was tagged in and beaten up for a while.
After a commercial break, Jeff managed to tag in a fresh Matt, who really took it to Kennedy. Itâs interesting to see that, two nights in a row, theyâve teased Matt vs. MVP without having the two tie up once. Jeff was tagged back in, and made a Swanton attempt but…OUCH. Nothing but canvas, as Kennedy maneuvered out of the way. MVP was tagged back in, and all the energy left the match.
Donât get me wrong, I love MVP. Honestly, I think heâs one of the best promo guys in all of wrestling right now, and a definite future main eventer. Still, after all that excitement, MVP soon had Jeff locked into the second sitting abdominal stretch of the match. Iâm not any kind of authority on how a wrestling match should be laid out, but that single change of pace sent me from the edge of my seat back to my previously worn butt groove.
The contest came to a finish when Kennedy knocked Jeff out of the ring, where he landed HARD. MVP pulled Jeff back in and made the three count.
The most interesting thing to come from this whole segment was the boutâs aftermath. Matt and MVP began arguing about the fall Jeff had taken. MVP said it wasnât his fault. Kennedy came into the ring with a chair, ready to attack the Hardys. MVP prevented him from doing so, thereby protecting Matt and Jeff. This was a really cool way to show the shades of grey in MVPâs character.
Originally scheduled for this weekâs ECW was a different tag match altogether. Kane and Rey Mysterio were set to face Finlay and Big Daddy V. Plans were changed for as-yet-unknown reasons, when Big Daddy V couldnât make it to the ECW tapings. Instead, we got Kane chokeslamming Matt Striker. Kane needed to be on the show, but surely this couldâve been a one-on-one match. Striker is a great in-ring talent who rarely gets to compete.
Another shrunken version of a Raw tag match: Michelle McCool and Kelly Kelly (Blondes) vs. Melina and Layla El (Brunettes). This, too, served a purpose, promoting Survivor Series and giving a bigger spotlight to the two faces. (Mickie James, in my opinion, shined the brightest on Raw.) McCool, Kelly, and Layla are all showing considerable improvement in the ring, and this was a solid back and forth match. In the end, though, the old addage was true, and blondes did have more fun on this weekâs ECW. McCool dodged a splash from Melina, then hit a Chick Kick variation, which was actually not a variation at all, for the pin. Thereâll be a 10 Diva tag match at Survivor Series, which will include the four girls we just saw.
The main event was a rematch from last Fridayâs Smackdown: CM Punk taking on Jamie Noble. Man, this was a terrific match! Itâs a shame that John Morrisonâs and The Mizâs guest commentaries were so loud they often detracted from what was going on in the ring. I do have to admit, though, that I cracked up when Morrison described the threat he posed to opponents. âWhat if Jesus knew kung fu? Thatâs what theyâre dealing with.â
Noble and Punk have experience wrestling each other, and not just on last weekâs edition of Smackdown. In fact, Noble (wrestling under his real name, James Gibson) won the ROH World Title from Punk in 2005. On ECW this week, the two put forth a wonderfully executed, pure wrestling match. There were some great counters, as well as a few choice high impact moves. And, letâs face it, CM Punk is a really smart wrestler. Noble had worked his left arm for most of the match so, when it came time for Punkâs knee lift / bulldog combo, Punk shifted the headlock into his right arm before going for the takedown. Itâs little touches like this that remind us of what we just saw…in this case, all the time Noble invested into working over Punkâs arm.
The matchâs end came when Noble went for what, presumably, was to be a Tiger Driver, and Punk countered into the Go to Sleep. Winner: the champ, by pinfall. After the pin, Miz and Morrison hit the ring, each laying out the victor with his signature neckbreaker variation.
All in all, this was a really tight show. It was filled to the brim with matches, which is a rarity in both WWE and TNA, nowadays. Both the first and last bouts really delivered – especially the main event. I canât, for the life of me, figure out why Noble isnât being put into the ECW title match at Survivor Series. He has as good a feud going with Punk as both the challengers, after last week and tonight. He always works his tail off, and heâs consistently entertaining to watch. So, if Noble isnât going to be in that match, maybe he should be moved to ECW after the pay-per-view. Iâd really like to see Morrison turn face, then feud with Miz. Meanwhile, Punk (assuming he keeps the title this Sunday) could defend against Noble for a while.
As with all things, weâll see. But weâre still in the current week and, as such, itâs time to rate this weekâs episode of ECW. The biggest question for most any week-of-the-pay-per-view broadcast: how did it do at building the upcoming event? The answer: pretty well. About as well as Raw did (a good thing), while wisely using matches instead of promos. This is more ECWâs style, after all. On a 1-10 scale, this weekâs show gets an 8.0.
Iâll be back here next week, with my take on the November 20th broadcast…when we might be looking at a new ECW champion. â~Til then…donât forget to read Offbeat Shenanigans, down in the Editorials section!
