CM Punk retained the ECW Championship

Ringside announcers: Joey Styles and Tazz

Ring announcer: Justin Roberts

ECW is being broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia.

We hear Elijah Burke’s music and Burke enters the ring. Burke says he is there to congratulate Punk on his victory at Unforgiven but the next time Burke faces Punk for the title, Burke will win.

We hear Kevin Thorn’s music and Thorn enters the ring. Thorn tells Burke he had his chance at the title and blew it so it is time for Burke to step aside and let someone who deserves it, like Thorn, have a shot. Burke and Thorn get in each other’s face.

We hear Tommy Dreamer’s music and Dreamer enters the ring with Burke and Thorn. Dreamer tells Burke and Thorn that he has done something that neither of them has ever done in their career and that is win the ECW Championship. Dreamer tells them that he is an ECW original and he knows more about what it takes to win than either of them.

We hear Stevie Richards’ music. Richards enters the ring. Dreamer tells Richards he should know what the ECW Championship means to Dreamer and Richards says he is the only person who did not get pinned last week and if anybody deserves a chance at the title it is Richards.

We then hear the music of Armondo Estrada, ECW General Manager, and Estrada comes to the arena. Estrada tells them that none of them are qualified to be the number one contender yet. They will all get a chance to work their way through the elimination chase to a title match at No Mercy. It will begin with a fatal four-way match among the four of them. Three men will continue and one man will be eliminated from competition tonight. Estrada calls for a referee and the fatal four-way begins.

Elijah Burke

Vs.

Kevin Thorn

Vs.

Tommy Dreamer

Vs.

Stevie Richards

Audience Favorites: Tommy Dreamer and Stevie Richards

My Favorite: Stevie Richards, well, okay, Tommy Dreamer too. I just have this "thing" for Stevie Richards lately.

Commercial break during the match.

The three wrestlers who will continue to battle for the title shot: Tommy Dreamer, Kevin Thorn and Elijah Burke. Stevie Richards was eliminated.

Kevin Thorn and/or Elijah Burke wins the match by pin fall. Thorn actually was the one on top of the heap, Burke pinned Richards and since Richards was on the bottom of the heap, he is eliminated. The announcement named Burke as the winner.

In all honesty, any one of these four men deserve a shot at the title. Burke just had a title shot and it would be fair if one of the other three got the next chance. Thorn has the most power, Richards is the most agile, and Dreamer is the toughest and can take the hardest hits. Burke is good and he does make CM Punk work to keep his title belt. I’m disappointed Richards got eliminated. The fans were on their feet during parts of this match. It was a good job by all four men in the ring. I don’t like the fact that we have commercial breaks during the best matches.

Commercial break.

Back from commercial break, we see The Raw Rebound film clip of the John Cena – Randy Orton feud. Here we go again. ECW spends all of its promotion time stuck with promoting Raw and Smackdown.

We are backstage with CM Punk and Elijah Burke. Burke has a WWE magazine with Punk on the cover. Burke wants Punk to autograph the magazine because it will be worth a lot of money after Burke beats Punk for the championship. Punk tells Burke good luck and Burke says Punk said last week luck is for losers. Punk says he knows what he said and goes on his way, leaving Burke looking a little bit confused.

The Miz enters the arena accompanied by Extreme Expose and the Teddy Bear. We have an Extreme Expose number courtesy of The Miz. They all stay for the next match.

I'm not certain what the point of this Extreme Expose is supposed to be except to show a lot of skin and prove the girls could work at your local strip club. This is only an hour show and taking time away from the wrestling talent seems like a big waste.

Balls Mahoney, weighing 310 lbs., from Nutley, NJ

Vs.

Mike Knox, weighing 260 lbs., from Phoenix, AZ

Audience Favorite: Balls Mahoney

My Favorite: Balls Mahoney

Winner: Balls Mahoney with a spine buster and a three count.

Balls gets the mic and calls for Kelly. He asks her to go out with him. She doesn’t say no, so Balls takes it as a yes as Miz leads her out of the arena.

Knox is a powerhouse but Mahoney is a bit stronger. Not a bad match but the first match of the night would have been difficult for anyone to top.

Commercial break.

Back from commercial break, we see film clips from Unforgiven: Cena and Orton, Undertaker and Mark Henry. There are encore presentations of Unforgiven all week long.

We see a film clip of the feud leading up to tonight’s main event, a match between Big Daddy V and Boogeyman.

Commercial break. Again.

Back from commercial break:

Big Daddy V., weighing 487 lbs., from Harlem, NY

accompanied to the ring by Matt Striker

Vs.

Boogeyman, weighing 265 lbs., from The Bottomless Pit

Audience Favorite: I’m not sure

My favorite: I’m not sure

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

The first thing you think when these men get in the ring is will the ring hold? That’s a lot of weight to throw around inside a squared circle. Big Daddy V is a big man, but Boogeyman is a well-built wrestler and he’s quick. Of course, I don’t care how big you are, when someone like V stands on you, it has to hurt. I'm not liking Big Daddy V's character. I hope he pulls it off. On the other hand, I absolutely hate the Boogeyman's worm thing and would like to see more emphasis put on Boogeyman as a wrestler and less on a gross character.

ECW has put on two good matches with the first match being more along the lines of great. It would be nice if Raw and Smackdown would follow suit. It is much more entertaining when the show is centered around talented wrestlers instead of goofy story lines.

WWE Raw / September 17
Wrestling Bodyslam . Com