By James Caldwell, PWTorch columnist

ECW TV on Sci-Fi Alternative Report
November 14 in Manchester, England
Week 23 on Sci-Fi

- We begin with a recap of Hardcore Holly turning on RVD to close last week's show.

- Joey Styles welcomed Elijah Burke to the broadcast table to fill Tazz's spot. Burke said the "E" in ECW stands for Elijah Burke Productions.

- There was a contract table in the center of the ring. Big Show and Paul Heyman walked to the ring and Show showed off his ECW Title belt. Heyman introduced himself, which drew big boos. He thanked the fans for their irrelevant opinion. Heyman then said the bad news tonight is that due to last week's events, RVD will not be in the building. Heavy boos. Heyman said it was for RVD's own well being. He then said the good news is that he has the honor and privilege - loud "RVD" chants - of presenting the most dominant champion in ECW history, Big Show. Show raised his arms in the air after Heyman introduced him to draw in more boos from the crowd. Heyman then talked about the Elimination Chamber match and five of the six participants. RVD and Punk's names received the strongest reaction. Heyman held up a contract for the sixth slot in the match. Hardcore Holly's music played and they showed Holly walking backstage. Lashley cut him off and slammed him into a garage wall. Lashley's music hit and he turned to walk to the ring. Show stepped out of the ring to meet Lashley, but Lashley speared him hard to the ground. He then walked into the ring and grabbed the contract. Lashley signed his name to the contract to become the sixth participant. Heyman and Show retreated up the entrance ramp. Lashley then held up the ECW Title belt. They enhanced the crowd noise to create strong cheers for Lashley. Nice opening segment. Lashley had a more intense look on his face, which worked well.

[Commercial Break]

- Styles narrated clips of the opening segment with Lashley signing his name on the contract. Show, Heyman, Test, and Holly argued backstage. The wrestlers accused Heyman of screwing up the contract situation. Heyman said he tried to make the announcement legitimate. Show said they run the show and nothing has to look legitimate. Heyman then said they should make Lashley feel welcome by putting him in the main event against Holly. Show said he likes that. Test nodded affirmatively.

1 -- C.M. PUNK vs. MIKE KNOX (w/Kelly Kelly)

They showed Sylvester Terkay, in a nice suit, standing over Burke on commentary. Styles said Knox asked for a re-match after losing last week. Punk landed kick strikes early on before scoring a nearfall following a side suplex. Knox slipped to the outside and the fans booed. Punk then tried to catch Knox with a baseball slide, but Knox moved out of the way. Kelly showed concern for Punk, but Knox shoved her aside. Punk then kicked Knox and Knox flew into Kelly. Punk showed concern for Kelly after she fell to the floor. Knox took advantage by smacking Punk in the back of the head. He then took Punk back into the ring and went to work. Knox slingshot Punk into the corner, then landed right hand blows to the lower back. Punk made a brief comeback, but Knox cut him off with a back breaker for a nearfall. Knox applied a Boston Crab and sat down on the back for added pressure, but Punk crawled to the ropes to break the hold. Knox went back to work on the lower back with a seated surfboard stretch followed by forearm blows. Punk fired back with right hand blows, then a charging kick off the ropes. Knox slipped to the outside to recover. Punk then flew through the ropes with a suicide dive. He continued to sell his lower back as he caught his breath on the floor. Back in the ring, Punk hit a springboard clothesline for a nearfall. He then hit a charging kick in the corner into a running bulldog for a nearfall. Punk made a mistake coming off the ropes and he ran into a tilt-a-whirl back breaker for a nearfall. Punk came right back with multiple hand strikes before hitting the urinagi into the Anaconda Vice. Knox fought the hold for ten seconds before tapping out. Kelly clapped and smiled as Punk had his hand raised. Knox rolled out of the ring and Kelly tried to show concern. Once Knox left, Kelly smiled in Punk's direction.

WINNER: Punk via submission in 9:00. Really nice, competitive singles match. The match slowed down in the final few minutes before the finishing sequence, but it was part of the story of the match with Punk favoring his back and Knox not being as conditioned as Punk. Kelly's subtle involvement gives the match an extra kick.

[Commercial Break]

- Matt Striker was backstage for a lesson on quotes. He talked about America vanquishing the evil English empire. Striker said the men who have wrestled in previous Elimination Chamber matches come out of the match a shell of their former selves. This led to a video package on the destruction inside the Chamber. Good use of Striker to set up a video package on the match.

- Punk was backstage for a promo. He talked into a mic held by an unidentified person. He welcomed Lashley to ECW. Punk said he's going to be like a kid in the candy store in the Chamber match because he gets to compete against five of the top athletes in ECW. Punk said the best thing about being locked inside the Chamber is that it's every man for himself. Direct and to the point. Good promo.

[Commercial Break]

- They showed a video package on fans snapping up tickets for WrestleMania in Detroit.

2 -- DAIVARI (w/Great Khali) vs. TOMMY DREAMER

Dreamer walked into the ring and got in Khali's face. Daivari then caught Dreamer from behind with a blow to the left knee. Dreamer quickly came back with an overhead slam. He stalked Daivari in the corner, then Daivari popped him in the knee. Daivari went to work on the left knee with a half crab. Dreamer reached the ropes to break the hold. Daivari tried to work the knee from the outside, but Dreamer shoved him into the guardrail. Dreamer set up for a move out of the corner, but Khali tripped him the mat from the outside. Khali then crotched Dreamer into the ringpost, causing a DQ. After the match, Khali executed his two-hand chokeslam on Dreamer.

WINNER: Dreamer via DQ in 3:00.

[Commercial Break]

- Styles talked about Lashley's attack on Big Show at the beginning of the show before signing the Chamber contract. He then talked about the competitors in the match. The camera focused on Show, Heyman, security guards, and Test ringside to watch the main event.

[Commercial Break]

3 -- BOBBY LASHLEY vs. HARDCORE HOLLY

We joined the match in progress with Lashley whipping Holly into the corner and following in with a hard clothesline. Lashley then executed an elevated vertical suplex. Burke, channeling Gordon Solie, called the suplex by its old pronunciation. Lashley missed with a corner splash, which gave Holly the opening to ground and pound Lashley. Holly ran over Lashley with a hard clothesline, then they exchanged standing blows. Holly went for some sort of top rope move, but he stepped off the top rope like he was stepping off a diving board and ate a big boot to the mouth. Lashley then put Holly in the Torture Rack and crunched Holly's back by falling to his knees. He then went up top, but Holly crotched him. Holly followed with a superplex for a nearfall. He went up top again, but he jumped into a belly-to-belly suplex. Lashley charged Holly in the corner with a hard clothesline. He hit a running powerslam and went for the cover, but Big Show pulled the referee out of the ring, causing a DQ. Test and security then entered the ring and jumped Lashley. Punk and Sabu then hit the ring. They clotheslined Test over the top rope to the floor. Sabu flew onto Test with a plancha. RVD then hit the ring and smashed Holly in the face with a chair. Lashley then executed a double spear on the security guards. The fans cheered and chanted for RVD as he stood in the ring opposite Lashley. RVD did his "thumbs to the shoulders" chant with the fans before Lashley signaled he wanted the belt around his waist. The fans didn't like Lashley's gesture. RVD and Lashley stared at each other while Heyman led Show around the ring toward the entrance ramp to close the show.

WINNER: Lashley via DQ in 6:00. Competitive match to fill a main event slot. I like that Lashley's character isn't completely defined on ECW. He's a babyface against heels, but RVD is clearly more popular than him. It gives Lashley some room to work with different opponents without having to chase cheers or draw boos. Going into the Chamber match in a few weeks, it makes sense to have a tweener in a key position on the show.

We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this show for an "ECW Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. To contribute your thoughts on ECW TV, click here.

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