ECW - August 29, 2006 Hello again, and welcome back to your favorite ECW recap blog. We're up for some fun. Probably. I'm gonna do this in real-time again, 'cuz that's kinda fun. And it keeps me from procrastinating publishing the entries.

• Paul Heyman's gonna wrestle? WTF? What happened to accentuating the positives and hiding the negatives?
• It didn't take long for an RVD -vs -Bob Holly matchup. What happened to long, drawn-out feuds? I can only guess that we're gonna see some type of screwy ending to this match.
• Oh! I just realized that we didn't start out this week with a Kelly Kelley dance. That's a very good thing. This episode is already one of my favorites of the series.
• Hey, Tazz just tried to explain why these two are wrestling already. "That's the way we do it here in ECW. We don't talk about it, we get in the ring and fight."
• Slow, methodical, kinda plodding match. RVD brings the good stuff, though, and Bob Holly did a good job of making RVD look effective.
• Holly with a chair? That might not be the best idea against RVD. Ayup, RVD gets the chair and beats the crap out of Holly with it. And Ayup, we get a DQ win for Holly for the finish.
• A DQ in ECW? WTF?
• Renee Dupree in ECW? WTF?
• The Big Show is out very early in the show. I must've missed something at the beginning of the show, because Show doesn't look like he's gonna be in the main event. Oh, wait, that's right, Paul Heyman is gonna be wrestling in the main event. WTF?
• Show's bragging about taking out DX, and the upcoming Raw PPV. Because nothing says ECW like DX? Or the McMahons?
• Oh, god, DX just got an invite to ECW. Bleh.
• "Nobody but nobody can beat me." Thanks for stopping by, Show.
• Luna Vachon is topless! Oh, wait, that's Shannon Moore. He still isn't polished enough to wrestle yet? I am beginning to think we aren't going to see him actually wrestle. In the weeks that they've been teasing Moore, both Fertig and CM Punk have made their debuts, and Mike Knox has basically burned through a career.
• Speaking of CM Punk, we have Punk -vs- Stevie Richards. This is probably a better way to showase Punk, as Richards is more his style than Justin Credible. And this match was a lot more exciting than Punk's last couple (though it could've used the crowd involvement that Punk's debut match had). Richards is lookign crisp, almost like Stevie wanted to make the most out of this opportunity to get in the ring on tv.
• Punk's butterfly backbreaker is an awesome-looking move. And Punk's kicks look devastating. But the uranage is only so-so, and the Anaconda Vice just looks silly. Punk's moveset could use some tweaking, and he can use some mic time every week.
• The only thing more impressive than a Sabu match is a Sabu video clip. Sabu has deserved to be pushed as one of the top stars in wrestling. The best thing about the new ECW is that Sabu gets that push. As a Sabu fan, I've gotta say, I'm loving this.
• Previews for The Marine. WTF?
• Hey, Matt Striker! I was glad to see that Scaia ripped me off, er, I mean agreed with me that Striker may just be a perfect addition to ECW. Striker's intellectual elitist snob gimmick is anti-everything that ECW is about. It's brilliant, I tell ya. Brilliant!
• Speaking of which, Stiker is out next, and the focus of his tirade this week is the Sandman. Someone's got a caning coming to 'em...
• "Ossified from his gigawater"???
• Ayup, here comes Sandman! Striker should run here. Draw this out. Either that, or have Striker show his wits and outsmart Sandman. This could be a fun feud!
• Hey, Striker both outsmarted Sandman AND ran away. That was awesome! The timing was a little off, though. Striker was expecting Sandman to charge long before he did, and had a hold of his chalkboard too soon, telegraphing what was coming. And the supposed stapling of Sandman's head didn't look like stapling. But other than that, this was a fun bit. Just what the doctor ordered!
• BALLS! With Kelly? Hmmm...
• As they should have, ECW gave a great send-off for Kurt Angle. As much as I am going to miss seeing him in the ring, it is a good thing that Kurt is out of wrestling for now. The last thing I want to see is for Kurt to cripple himself for our viewing pleasure. Hopefully, some time off to rehab his body, mind, and spirit will get Kurt back to where he needs to be.
• So is tonight the night we get to see who is behind Heyman's security squad's riot helmets?
• Even as ECW's #1 face, Sabu still slaps away fans hands in disgust when they try to pat him on the back on his way to the ring. I love that.
• Oh, off comes the helmets but the security squad are wearing masks. Tease!
• Whoa! Awesome spot, as Sabu goes to do a triple-jump moonsault onto Heyman. Sabu stops on the top rope, then jumps from there out onto Big Show, who is outside the ring. Big Show tries to slam him, but Sabu rolls the slam into a DDT on the floor. Very nice spot.
• Oh, but now Sabu is all alone against Show, the Security Squad, and Heyman (theoretically). Someone's gotta come to Sabu's aid, wouldn't you think?
• Heyman looks like he is having a blast playing the heel. Who woulda thunk that Paul E. would turn into Mr. McMahon?
• Big Show calling for the Security Squad to set up a table. That's gotta be a bad idea.
• Sabu with a comeback, but it is silenced by a ginormous clothesline. Then a gargantuan headbutt. Show just revels in the "Big Show Sucks" chants. Show should never be a face; he's born to be a heel.
• RVD! Van Dam's gonna help out Sabu? Well, 'til the headbutt, anyway. But a Van Daminator silences Show. Van Daminator #2! And now RVD flies, taking out the security squad. That leaves Heyman alone in the ring with Sabu! Standing Arabian Facebuster on Heyman! Heyman on the table! Sabu goes for a triple-jump, but Show spears him right out of the air. Awesome spot!
• Bob Holly? Holly takes out RVD with an Alabama Slam through a table. OUCH! Show with the chickenwing backbreaker on Sabu, then a spinning legdrop. Show pulls Heyman on top of Sabu, and the pinfall is academic. Heyman's a puddle on the mat, but he's also the winner of the match.
• And Holly's not done! Another table, and who's gonna go through it? Sabu, of course, as Show chokeslams Sabu through to end the show. Brutal.

Damn, all in all, ECW was an excellent show tonight. There's maybe too much of Raw and DX, but other than that, there's nothing to complain about. This makes, what, three weeks in a row of quality shows? Maybe four weeks? Long enough that we can forget about the garbage that was thrown out the first few episodes and concentrate on some general goodness. Sure, this is nothing like the original ECW. But judged on its own, the new ECW is officially the second best pro wrestling show going today.  ¶ 8:42 PM