Well, my first ECW review seems to have gone over well.  So here’s the second.  Tonight’s main event is Christian vs Yoshi Tatsu for the ECW title.  William Regal and his crew and Zach Ryder probably won’t like that.  Shelton Benjamin should be looking for something to do with Sheamus running to Raw.  And there’s a new announcer.

We open with a video for Yoshi Tatsu, promoting the title match.

And the show proper starts with Abraham Washington.  The one part of the show I can’t stand.  His guest tonight is Tiffany.

They’ve got a big show tonight so he’s going to do something he never does.  Stop running his mouth.  Tony starts laughing so much Washington threatens him with the unemployment line.  Tiffany’s theme is “Insatiable?”  Did someone forget to mention the PG thing.

When asked about ECW not having an impact at Bragging Rights she points out the number of stars on the show who had their first break on ECW.  She promises that next year it will have an even bigger impact.  The reason Sheamus left is because she doesn’t want people who don’t want to be here.  So he got to leave.  Provided he wrestles one last match, tonight against Shelton.  And her arm is healing well. 

Regal comes out and demands a title shot.  She refuses and says he may never get one.  After she leaves Regal has a tantrum tossing around the furniture.

We’re then introduced to Josh Matthews new partner, Byron Saxton.  They then show another video about Yoshi. 

Time for Sheamus’ last match on ECW.  There’s a replay of Benjamin pounding Sheamus last week.  And interview with Shelton talks about Sheamus saying he was mediocre.  He says Sheamus is a coward and he’s running to Raw without doing anything to impress anyone.  He’ll leave with a new respect for the Gold Standard.  One of Shelton’s best promos.

Sheamus with several shots to the head and slams Benjamin’s head into the corner.  Shelton fights out of the corner and then clotheslines the Celt out of the ring.  He steps to the apron and then delivers a springboard split leg moonsault to the floor.

When we get back Sheamus’ arm is wrapped around the ringpost and Shelton is working it.  Hammerlock and he rams him into the turnbuckle.  He wants to snap it on the top rope but Sheamus slams him to the ringpost.  Then on the floor he picks Shelton up and rams him backfirst into it.  Kneedrop tot he back by the Celtic Warrior.  Chinlock.   Shelton elbows out, but ends up in a tilt-a-whirl slam.  Hard whip to the corner and then he steps on Benjamin’s head.  Another knee to the back and another variation on a chinlock.  She stops an attempt to fight out short. 

Overhead belly to belly by the Gold Standard.  And they’re trading punches.    Shelton takes the advantage.  He’s whipped to the corner, leaps to the top and comes off with a clothesline.  A couple of clotheslines then he hits Stinger Splash.  Sheamus ducks a Dragonwhip but Shelton ducks a clothesline and hits a German Suplex. 

Sheamus hotshots him into the ropes the hits the pump kick for the win.

Rosa is babbling about clothes to Gregory Helms.  She then wonders what he wanted to ask her.  “I just said hello”  Paul Burchill and Katie Lea show up.  She tells Rosa to leave.  Birchall wants Helms to pass a message onto Hurricane to meet him in the ring next week.

A video of the Bragging Rights tag match

Savannah interviews Christian.  He says Yoshi is the most deserving guy on ECW cause he went out and got some wins unlike some people, cough, William Regal.  Yoshi makes him excited for the future.  He will be a champ in the future.  Just not tonight.  Christian has been mentoring him and tonight he’ll learn the most important lesson any young talent can learn.  How to cope with defeat.

Christian comes out wearing a T-shirt rather than his ring jacket.  I really prefer the jacket.  Yoshi Tatsu has yet another new set of tights.  Gold would be appropriate on any other show but ECW with their supposedly platinum belt.  He’s carrying something, I thought it was a microphone at first.

Sexton even points out the tights on commentary.  

Tatsu with a waistlock.  Christian backs him into the corner.  Tatsu gets one kick.  He tries a second but Christian dodges and gets a waistlock.  Tatsu take him down.  Christian works a headlock against several attempts to escape.  Tatsu slips out and slaps on a headlock of his own. 

Flapjack by Christian after some rope running.  Springboard sunset flip.   Tatsu with backbody drop and a flipping senton.  Backslide.  Back to a headlock.  Tatsu sent outside but pulls himself in and rolls into a schoolboy for two.

Christian’s working a  headlock on  the mat.  Yoshi shoves him into the corner,  but runs into an elbow.  Christian goes up top but is thrown off.  Yoshi leaps over the top, but misses the champ and lands very awkwardly.  Christian hits his own move over the ropes.

Crossbody by Tatsu.  His leg looks fine.  Christian with a neckvice.  Tatsu elbows out.  Christian hits a backbreaker out of a reverse DDT.  Chinlock with a knee to the back.  Christian rams his head into the turnbuckle

Yoshi blocks a tornado DDT  then goes up top and hits a spinkick off the top rope.  Rapid fire kicks by Tatsu.  Christian sends him into the corner but misses a charge then Tatsu hits a roaring elbow. 

Kilswitch blocked by a kick to the back.  Tatsu sent into the ropes and Christian stands on his back, heads to the outside and decks him. 

Second rope dropkick by the champ, but a top rope misses and Tatsu jackknife covers him.  Double knees in the corner by Tatsu.  Reverse DDT by Christian.  Killswitch blocked by a kick to the back

Tatsu rolls through a springboard sunset flip and hits a kick.  Another Killswitch blocked after Christian ducks the finishing kick.  Pendulum kick after dodging a corner charge, followed by a diving Euro uppercut by the champ. 

He finally hits the Killswitch for the win, then checks on Yoshi.  Ezekial and Kozlov come down and flatten both men, hitting a double Uranage on the champ.  Regal hold the belt and stand over him.

Despite only two matches in an hour ECW felt jam packed tonight.  Both matches were excellent. 

I do feel sorry for Shelton.  It seems like he’s going to be in line for a push but with his and Sheamus’ feud cut short he didn’t get much chance to look good against the Celtic Warrior.  And at one point during the match, when they were getting ready to transition the advantage back over to Sheamus he was pretty much wrestling like a heel.  That’s something he’ll have to work on.

Meanwhile Christian did several nasty spots, such as choking a friend on the ropes without seeming like he was going to cross the line.  I’m almost surprised that Regal’s crew didn’t attack before the end of the match, sparing Yoshi the pinfall loss. 

I still feel they’re going to far with the pushing Regal to the head.  His best role outside of authority figure as a heel is coldly calculating.  Making him crazy doesn’t really work for me.  I do hope Tiffany decides to make him earn his title shot.

4 Comments

  1. Saxton is only supposed to be around until JR recovers. Striker will be on SmackDown until then with his old ECW broadcast partner Todd Grisham. I've got to admit, Saxton is pretty damned good at commentary from what I heard tonight. That ring announcer still sucks though, she's got to go.

    As far as Benjamin's feud ending early by Sheamus leaving (which was a pleasant surprise for us at RAW in Buffalo last night), it's not the first time it's happened to him – his feud with Kofi Kingston came to an abrupt end when Kofi was drafted to RAW and Benjamin to SmackDown in the 2008 supplemental draft.


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