October 2



WWE ECW

October 2, 2007

Recap by Sassy

Comments by Sassy in italics.

For those of you who have not heard, John Cena was injured during a match with Mr. Kennedy on this week’s Monday Night Raw.  Cena has a torn pectoral muscle and the estimated time he will be out of action is six to eight months.  He has been stripped of his title and will not be available for No Mercy. The Cena/Orton feud that has been building is on hold, at least until Cena returns. I had the match on DVR and after seeing the breaking news this morning, I played it back.  I had noticed one time during the match Cena was holding his arm and if it is true that Cena received the damage that early in the match, I would think everyone in the Raw locker room would want to avoid facing him in a match.  This boy is tough.

ECW is being broadcast from Dayton, OH, on the Sci-Fi channel.

Ringside announcers: Joey Styles and Tazz

Ring announcer: Tony Chimel

Tony Chimel was on ECW last week.  Justin Roberts, previously on ECW, is now on Friday Night Smackdown.  No word on why the change was made.

We open with Mr. McMahon entering the ring. McMahon is there to announce that John Cena has been injured and will require immediate surgery to repair a completely torn pectoral muscle. McMahon is going to tell us who is responsible and we see a recap of the match of Cena beating Mr. Kennedy and then Randy Orton showing up to beat up on a tired and now obviously injured Cena. McMahon says that Cena will be out from six months to a year and informs the audience that Cena is no longer WWE champion.  McMahon then says that at No Mercy there will be a Championship match to find a new WWE champion.

I got it Vince.  Bring Mr. Kennedy back after his thirty-day suspension like he’s a saint and then we showcase the man who never GOT suspended – Randy Orton.  Good job.  And you wonder why ratings keep falling? 

CM Punk, ECW Champion, is introduced and enters the ring. Punk is certainly an audience favorite. 

Punk tells us that No Mercy is this Sunday and that he should be more focused on Tommy Dreamer and Elijah Burke.  Punk says that he is more focused on the match last week between Punk and Matt Stryker and after Punk beats Stryker, Big Daddy V takes him out.  Punk says he still respects V and that V has Punk’s attention. Stryker and V are on the monitor and Stryker tells Punk that what V did was not to get Punk’s attention, it was a statement.  V wants the ECW Championship and until V gets a title shot, he will pay Punk no mind. V and Stryker wish Punk luck on his next contest.

Mike Knox

Vs.

CM Punk

Current ECW Champion

Audience favorite:  CM Punk

My favorite: CM Punk but I think Knox has talent.

Winner: CM Punk with a GTS, pin and a three count.

I noticed the audience was having a hard time getting involved in this match. Punk flew out of the ring onto Knox onto the floor next to the announcer’s table and did not land well on his arm. I have to say that Punk and Knox were mismatched but not based on skill.  Both men can wrestle but Punk is a high flyer.  There is no extreme or hardcore in this match and I think we have a true ECW live audience. It was a clumsy GTS but it appeared to be because of a size difference between the two opponents.

I am assuming that the pressure on the ECW performers is great due to the bad ratings.  One can only hope that WWE notices it isn’t because these men aren’t working the ring. Bad matches and worse story lines are killing ECW, not the talent that is available. It was obvious that Punk and Knox were having a hard time and I suspect that was in part due to lack of live audience enthusiasm.

Commercial break.

Back from commercial break.

Balls Mahoney is in the ring and he says that some people have been saying he has been acting like a lovesick puppy but he remembers Miz hitting him last week.  Mahoney says that is not important now, he needs and answer from Kelly Kelly and he calls for her to come out to give her answer. Kelly comes to the ring with her teddy bear and the bear is wearing a Balls Mahoney t-shirt.  Mahoney asks her again and the audience is cheering her on. Kelly says she will go out with Mahoney and then the Miz and the rest of Extreme Expose comes to the arena.  Miz is there to collect Kelly but Mahoney has other ideas and lays Miz out. Kelly stops Mahoney from going after him. Miz tells Kelly that she knows he took over the management contract for Extreme Expose. That means what Miz says goes. If Kelly goes out with Mahoney, she will be out of Extreme Expose and she will be out of ECW. Kelly leaves the arena with Miz and Mahoney is left with the teddy bear. 

THANK YOU BALLS MAHONEY! Hit Miz again a couple more times for the rest of the viewing audience. His push is getting somewhat annoying. Mahoney should be the one getting the push – and in the ring, not just in front of the mic.

Commercial break.

Back from commercial break, we get a recap of Cena’s injury via commentary courtesy of Joey Styles.

Elimination match for the title shot against CM Punk at No Mercy.

Elijah Burke, weighing 231 lbs., from Jacksonville, FL

Vs.

Commercial break.

Back from commercial break.

Tommy Dreamer, weighing 255 lbs., from Yonkers, NY

Audience favorite:  Tommy Dreamer

My favorite: Tommy Dreamer although I do like Burke’s style.

Commercial break during the match.

Winner: Tommy Dreamer with a DDT, a pin and a three count.

After the match, Armando Estrada enters the arena to congratulate Dreamer but tells him that the elimination chase is not over, there is one more contestant left. That is Big Daddy V.

Tommy Dreamer

Vs.

Big Daddy V

Audience favorite:  Tommy Dreamer

My favorite: Tommy Dreamer

Winner:  Big Daddy V with a pin fall and a three count.

And you have got to be kidding!  I was really into this elimination match series to see who would face Punk at No Mercy.  Not only was it a joke, the audience didn’t think it was a good idea either. If no one purchases No Mercy it won’t be because Cena is out of action.  It will be because the matches aren’t worth seeing – and that goes for not allowing  Dreamer to face Punk. Dreamer, who is about all that’s left of true ECW, or Burke would have been great in a No Mercy match against Punk.

I don’t know who is in charge of scheduling the ECW cards, but with the lack of live audience enthusiasm and the ridiculous matches I saw, its no wonder ECW’s ratings are so bad.  It isn’t that you don’t have the talent. Why isn’t anyone using it? Mahoney is great and instead of being in action, he’s chasing some blonde. Isn’t Morrison back from his suspension?  As much as I believe the suspended wrestlers shouldn’t be showcased when they return, Morrison is good in the ring and would have impressed the fans. Why was Morrison a no show? All the other suspended wrestlers were performing on Raw and had major matches and story lines, including Kenney and William Regal who had previously shot off their mouths about NEVER doing drugs – and then getting suspended for being on the  Signature Pharmacy client list. Matt Stryker, who can perform in the ring, is busy doing nothing but running around behind Big Daddy V and V, who has no competition on ECW, is going to No Mercy in a major title match.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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