Thursday, July 27, 2006
That did not suck
Hey, depending on the (lack of) speed of Blogger, I should have a new template here. I hope the 4 of you who've actually found this blog like the new template. Drop me a line and lemme know what you think!
This week's episode of ECW most definitely did not suck. And it probably was good enough to give one hope for future episodes. But the last time that I got optimistic about ECW, WWE made me pay for it by delivering a big stinking pile of poop the next week. So I am going to temper my expectations for a turn-around, and just say that I enjoyed this week's episode.
Though I was a little unsure of what to expect after the show once again opened up with Kelly and Mike Knox. While Kelly wasn't dancing, the "highlight" package was choke full of Kelly dancing. And really, what's the difference? The package ended with three replays of that wicked cane shot to the head that Kelly took last week. That's exactly the kind of thing that got ECW kicked off of Fox Sports back in 1994, actually. But SciFi is probably a little more lenient about such things, since they frequently air shows that have women getting hacked to itty bitty pieces by psycho mass murderers/aliens/demons. But I digress.
Knox says he isn't going to allow anyone to knock around his girlfriend (ugh), so he challenges Sandman. Again. This time around, Sandman starts a massive comeback after taken mucho abuso from Knox. Sandman grabs a cane, heads into the ring for some ass whipping (caning?), but Kelly jumps between Sandman and Knox. She's gonna defend the abuser? Actually, that's the closest thing to realism in this whole stupid-ass angle. Sandman yells at Kelly to get out of the way, but he actually should've been watching for interference, because for some reason Test comes flying into the ring and destroys Sandman. A two-man beatdown commences, culminating in a flying, twisting neckbreaker (or whatever the hell he is gonna call it) by Test. Sandman is out!
Why am I recapping this match? Dunno, it's late and I got distracted.
Part of the reason that this episode clicked with me is that the backstage bits actually seemed to have some relevance this week. Tommy Dreamer attacking both Test and Mike Knox is obviously part of the ongoing Dreamer -vs- Heyman feud. Which should lead to "classic ECW -vs- WWE-ECW" feud. I like where this is going. On that same subject, Heyman's personal security force actually did something this week, and we are obviously supposed to start wondering who the wrestlers are underneath that gear.
The other interesting backstage skits were setting up Big Show -vs- Sabu. And it is about friggin' time. I am already sick and tired of Show defending the ECW title against random WWE wrestlers. Who the fuck thought that was a good idea? Whoever it was should be fired. Immediately. As good as the Show/Flair title match was, it shouldn't have happened. Show should be having those types of matches against ECW wrestlers! Why not have Show -vs- Balls? Show -vs- Stevie Richards? Show -vs- The FBI? Sure, there's no doubt who is going to win. But there's no doubt that Show was gonna beat Kane or Flair, either. Why showcase WWE talent? Give that spot to ECW wrestlers, and let them get some respect for wrestling a title match. But yet again, I digress.
Kudos to Little Guido for taking a hellacious ram into the wall in the lockerroom by Heyman's security team. And then for doing his best to make the Vampire Fertig look good in Fertig's debut. I had major worries that Fertig was gonna suck badly. But he actually had a pretty good debut match, and his gimmick didn't seem too horribly retarded once in the ring. The only thing I didn't like is Taz and Joey not having a name for Fertig. Seriously, dudes, if a wrestler doesn't even have a name yet, he shouldn't be in the ring. It makes the commentators sound stupid to spend 5 minutes saying, "And this guy, whoever he is, hits another suplex."
The Justin Credible -vs- Balls Mahoney was much better than it had any right to be. Balls looks like a new man in the ring; he obviously is loving this run with the new ECW. And Justin Credible is being a true professional by doing the job to get just about everyone else on the roster over. He made Balls look like gold out there. If both these guys keep performing at this level, good things are gonna come from it.
And then there was the main event, or, as I like to refer to it, Big Show Beats Some WWE Dude. And again, the main question that comes to mind is: why? Is this something that ECW is demanding? Or does Vince see ECW as just another way to promote his WWE guys? (For that to be true, though, Vince would have to not care that his WWE guy are being beaten by the ECW Champion.) Dunno, but I hope that gets fixed soon. Show/Kane put on as good a match as they could. But that isn't saying much. Fortunately, we got a clean pin in this one. And then we had Sabu attacking the Big Show after the match. Very good end to the match, but the rest? Eh.
Managing expectations
Okay, so I said that I am not going to get excited for next week's show, because every time I do, the next show sucks ass. And I definitely shoulda learned not to think that ECW has hit a turning point. But next week's show should be a monster. The stars are aligning in such a way for big things to happen. At next week's show:
But don't get your hopes up. 'cuz it could still get shitty very quickly.
¶ 6:48 AM
This week's episode of ECW most definitely did not suck. And it probably was good enough to give one hope for future episodes. But the last time that I got optimistic about ECW, WWE made me pay for it by delivering a big stinking pile of poop the next week. So I am going to temper my expectations for a turn-around, and just say that I enjoyed this week's episode.
Though I was a little unsure of what to expect after the show once again opened up with Kelly and Mike Knox. While Kelly wasn't dancing, the "highlight" package was choke full of Kelly dancing. And really, what's the difference? The package ended with three replays of that wicked cane shot to the head that Kelly took last week. That's exactly the kind of thing that got ECW kicked off of Fox Sports back in 1994, actually. But SciFi is probably a little more lenient about such things, since they frequently air shows that have women getting hacked to itty bitty pieces by psycho mass murderers/aliens/demons. But I digress.
Knox says he isn't going to allow anyone to knock around his girlfriend (ugh), so he challenges Sandman. Again. This time around, Sandman starts a massive comeback after taken mucho abuso from Knox. Sandman grabs a cane, heads into the ring for some ass whipping (caning?), but Kelly jumps between Sandman and Knox. She's gonna defend the abuser? Actually, that's the closest thing to realism in this whole stupid-ass angle. Sandman yells at Kelly to get out of the way, but he actually should've been watching for interference, because for some reason Test comes flying into the ring and destroys Sandman. A two-man beatdown commences, culminating in a flying, twisting neckbreaker (or whatever the hell he is gonna call it) by Test. Sandman is out!
Why am I recapping this match? Dunno, it's late and I got distracted.
Part of the reason that this episode clicked with me is that the backstage bits actually seemed to have some relevance this week. Tommy Dreamer attacking both Test and Mike Knox is obviously part of the ongoing Dreamer -vs- Heyman feud. Which should lead to "classic ECW -vs- WWE-ECW" feud. I like where this is going. On that same subject, Heyman's personal security force actually did something this week, and we are obviously supposed to start wondering who the wrestlers are underneath that gear.
The other interesting backstage skits were setting up Big Show -vs- Sabu. And it is about friggin' time. I am already sick and tired of Show defending the ECW title against random WWE wrestlers. Who the fuck thought that was a good idea? Whoever it was should be fired. Immediately. As good as the Show/Flair title match was, it shouldn't have happened. Show should be having those types of matches against ECW wrestlers! Why not have Show -vs- Balls? Show -vs- Stevie Richards? Show -vs- The FBI? Sure, there's no doubt who is going to win. But there's no doubt that Show was gonna beat Kane or Flair, either. Why showcase WWE talent? Give that spot to ECW wrestlers, and let them get some respect for wrestling a title match. But yet again, I digress.
Kudos to Little Guido for taking a hellacious ram into the wall in the lockerroom by Heyman's security team. And then for doing his best to make the Vampire Fertig look good in Fertig's debut. I had major worries that Fertig was gonna suck badly. But he actually had a pretty good debut match, and his gimmick didn't seem too horribly retarded once in the ring. The only thing I didn't like is Taz and Joey not having a name for Fertig. Seriously, dudes, if a wrestler doesn't even have a name yet, he shouldn't be in the ring. It makes the commentators sound stupid to spend 5 minutes saying, "And this guy, whoever he is, hits another suplex."
The Justin Credible -vs- Balls Mahoney was much better than it had any right to be. Balls looks like a new man in the ring; he obviously is loving this run with the new ECW. And Justin Credible is being a true professional by doing the job to get just about everyone else on the roster over. He made Balls look like gold out there. If both these guys keep performing at this level, good things are gonna come from it.
And then there was the main event, or, as I like to refer to it, Big Show Beats Some WWE Dude. And again, the main question that comes to mind is: why? Is this something that ECW is demanding? Or does Vince see ECW as just another way to promote his WWE guys? (For that to be true, though, Vince would have to not care that his WWE guy are being beaten by the ECW Champion.) Dunno, but I hope that gets fixed soon. Show/Kane put on as good a match as they could. But that isn't saying much. Fortunately, we got a clean pin in this one. And then we had Sabu attacking the Big Show after the match. Very good end to the match, but the rest? Eh.
Managing expectations
Okay, so I said that I am not going to get excited for next week's show, because every time I do, the next show sucks ass. And I definitely shoulda learned not to think that ECW has hit a turning point. But next week's show should be a monster. The stars are aligning in such a way for big things to happen. At next week's show:
- Kurt Angle returns
- C.M. Punk debuts
- Sabu and Big Show will forward their hostilities
- Tommy Dreamer should explain why he attacked Knox and Test
- Sandman will be out for revenge
But don't get your hopes up. 'cuz it could still get shitty very quickly.
¶ 6:48 AM
