by James Caldwell, PWTorch columnist

ECW TV on Sci-Fi Live Report
March 6 in Tucson, Arizona
Week 39 on Sci-Fi

We start the show with a recap from last week's TV shows, with heavy emphasis on Trump vs. McMahon and Lashley vs. Umaga. No footage from Raw last night, though.

Before the ECW intro could finish airing, Vince McMahon's music interrupted and out strolled McMahon. He soaked up the boos from the live audience, then he recapped Steve Austin being named last night as special referee for McMahon vs. Trump. McMahon forced a smile and said under his breath, "Who's of course a long time acquaintance of mine." He said he's very much looking forward to his comments later. Classic McMahon line if he were the ringside broadcaster. McMahon, affected by the "What?" chants, stumbled over his words. He recovered as only McMahon can, by admitting his error and killing the "What?" chants by saying, "Tucson sucks." McMahon hyped his billionare bitchslap, then said Bobby Lashley could tell the fans all about that after Smackdown last week. McMahon introduced an entire video package on that split-second moment, complete with slow-motion and five different close-up shots. That's how you put over an important move. McMahon then said he showed up at the arena earlier in the afternoon only to find Lashley standing right outside his office. He said he could smell fear before he saw the tears welling up in his eyes. McMahon told us a story about Lashley looking him in the eyes and apologizing. McMahon emphasized that Lashley humbly apologized, to which McMahon said he would not accept the apology unless Lashley issued that apology in front of the public. McMahon then introduced Lashley to a loud ovation. Best crowd reaction for Lashley in months.

Lashley came out all smiles and stood his ground with McMahon, who handed him a mic to issue his apology. Lashley said he does want to apologize. He smiled, then apologized to everyone in the building and watching worldwide before extending a hand to McMahon after calling him by his first name. "Did you just call me Vince?" McMahon asked. Lashley ignored him, then tightened his grip a little bit. Then a little bit more. McMahon stuttered and asked what was going on. Lashley then turned serious after driving McMahon to one knee. He shouted at him that if he ever puts another hand on him again, he would break him in half. Lashley released his grip then threw down the mic. McMahon tried to get life back in his hand as Lashley walked away. Effective opening segment.

[Commercial Break]

[Q2]

We saw a video on Ashley's Playboy cover shoot. Joey Styles talked about the issue hitting newsstands on Monday.

1 -- BALLS MAHONEY vs. HARDCORE HOLLY

Hardcore jumped Balls before the match, then went on the attack. Tazz, apparently longing for Christmas season, sang a quick tune: "Deck the halls with Balls of Holly." Only on ECW. Balls then came back with Balls punches and went up top. He went for a top rope leg drop, but Holly moved in plenty of time. He then gave Balls the Alabama Slam for the win. Out of nowhere, Snitsky hit the ring and took off Holly's head with a big boot to the face. Apparently, he had a fight with his razor this week and his face lost. That's a nasty looking face.

WINNER: Holly in 3:00. Standard "recovery" match for Holly to rebuild some momentum after losing to Lashley last week. (*)

Backstage, Rebecca asked C.M. Punk about the Money in the Bank match. He talked up WrestleMania, then said he's going to Smackdown this Friday night to face Mr. Kennedy. Elijah Burke interrupted, which drew Punk's ire. Burke talked up Punk and said he's a future champion. Punk, not showing too much patience, said he wanted to hear Burke's point. Burke said Punk has to make a choice because he's offering him a chance to join the New Breed. Punk thought about it for a split-second, then RVD interrupted and told Punk not to waste his time talking to Burke. He said Burke can't even spell E-C-W. RVD told Punk to watch him show Burke what ECW is all about when they wrestle tonight. RVD left, then Burke quietly told Punk to think about it. Punk stood in careful thought as they cut to a break. This is officially a great TV show.

[Commercial Break]

RVD came out with the Originals, then we saw footage of Kevin Thorn beating RVD last week. Burke then led out the Originals, who slowly walked out to ringside to build up the tension.

[Q3]

2 -- ROB VAN DAM (w/The Sandman, Sabu, and Tommy Dreamer) vs. ELIJAH BURKE (w/Kevin Thorn, Ariel, Marcus Cor Von, and Matt Striker)

Loud "R-V-D" chant after the opening bell sounded. Burke and RVD exchanged arm drag takeovers as Styles and Tazz discussed the issues between both new vs. old. Styles said he doesn't see C.M. Punk joining the New Breed, but Tazz said to watch out. RVD then caught Burke square in the face with a kick and Burke collapsed to the mat holding his mouth. RVD then caught Burke with a splash near the ropes and both men spilled to the outside. New and Old stood their ground while Burke and RVD recovered on the floor.

[Commercial Break]

Back from the break, Burke had RVD in a chinlock while both sides pounded the mat to encourage their respective wrestler. Burke went to a surfboard stretch and RVD fought to his feet with encouragement from the fans. He escaped, but missed with a corner splash and accepted a dropkick to the face. Burke took RVD face-first into the corner and drove an elbow to the back of his head. He then lowered the knee pads and used his bare knees for a two-knee smash to the back. RVD came back with a leaping fist smash, then he built momentum with a series of clotheslines. He executed a money flip out of the corner followed by a windmill kick to the face. RVD hit a split-legged moonsault, but scored a nearfall only. RVD then went up top for Five-Star and connected, but the camera cut to the New Breed at the wrong time, so we missed the impact. RVD then made the cover for the win as the Originals held back the New Breed. After the bell rang, they instantly went to a replay of the finish since they missed it on the first try.

Afterward, RVD celebrated with the Originals, then Tommy Dreamer took the mic and said they're not going to stop bringing the fight. Sandman pointed at the WrestleMania sign with his cane, then Dreamer made a challenge for an eight-man tag match at WrestleMania. The New Breed didn't react as they stood their ground on the outside. Sandman continued to point at the Mania sign hanging above the arena.

WINNER: RVD in 11:00. Competitive, methodical match. What's been noticeable on WWE TV lately during this hot run is that there haven't been any blow-away matches, but they've nearly all been meaningful, competitive matches. For WWE's purposes of building up intrigue for Mania, that's more effective than guys trying to have a five-star match every time in the ring. (*3/4)

[Commercial Break]

[Q4]

They cut to ringside where Chicago White Sox players, including A.J. Pierzynski, were behind the announce table goofing around after a long day at spring training. TNA's got to be loving Pierzynski right about now. Styles then introduced Nick Bockwinkel as the fourth Hall of Fame inductee.

Extreme Expose did their half-time performance to Sean Paul this week. Quite rusty on the choreography.

We then saw footage from the top of the show when Lashley tried to squeeze the life out of McMahon's hand. Tazz and Styles plugged the Trump vs. McMahon contract signing on Raw tomorrow night before giving one final plug for Steve Austin's appearance in the next segment.

[Commercial Break]

Styles plugged Mick Foley on next week's show. After a brief pause, the glass broke and Steve Austin walked out. After doing a four-corner salute, he paused to survey the crowd. Austin went for the cheap pop saying home tonight is Tucson, Arizona. He said the funny thing about Arizona is that it's really dry and really hot, which makes him really thirsty. He asked for a cold beer, downed half of the beer, then said he came out to talk about Trump vs. McMahon. He said what's really important is hair vs. hair since he has no hair himself. Austin then said he's calling McMahon vs. Trump right down the middle with no favors to anyone.

[Q5 -- over-run]

Austin then surveyed fans in the front row, including Joe Crede of the White Sox, on what they wanted to see at Mania. They answered that they wanted to see McMahon get his head shaved. Austin talked up Lashley and Umaga as physical specimens, then said it wouldn't be beneath him to give someone a Stunner if they cross him during the match. Austin said he was going to be in D.C. on Monday to make sure nothing goes wrong when McMahon and Trump put their names on a piece of paper because anything can happen when two billionaire assholes are in the same ring. He said the bottom line at Mania is that someone will have his head shaved bald. Austin then drank beer to close the show. Rough around the edges, yet entertaining at times with Austin in control of his running monologue. Austin's better when he has someone to play off.

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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