ECW TV Review
August 21, 2007
Live from Columbia, SC
Aired on the Sci Fi Channel
Report by Jason Combs, PWTorch.com Contributor

Week number two of my ECW Television report, and on this evening we stand a mere five days from arguably the second biggest pay-per-view of the year, WWE Summerslam. After a setback last week on ECW, will C.M. Punk be able to regain momentum as he heads into his ECW Championship showdown with John Morrison? Mr. McMahon is also scheduled to appear tonight, and continue the search for his illegitimate son.

ECW opens up with a brand new intro video and theme song. Joey Styles welcomes us to ECW, and the ring is shown already filled with instruments of plunder. New General Manager Armando Estrada is in the ring, and he announces an opening match, to be contested under "Extreme Rules". The first participant introduced is Big Daddy V. Joey and Tazz unsuccessfully roll their R's when saying Estrada's name. Estrada introduces an ECW Original to face Big Daddy V, "The Innovator of Violence" Tommy Dreamer.

(1) Big Daddy V defeats Tommy Dreamer in an "Extreme Rules" Match via pinfall. Tazz informs us that under "Extreme Rules", there are no rules! Tommy tries to slam V, but is unsuccessful. Big Daddy V smashes Tommy with a kendo stick, and a chair, and then sets up a shopping cart in the corner. Big Daddy V delivers a bodyslam, and then hurls Dreamer shoulder first into the shopping cart. V attempts an avalanche, but Dreamer moves, and this sends V into the shopping cart. Dreamer goes outside and pulls a table from under the ring, but his plan is thwarted by Big Daddy V. V sets up the table in the ring, but Dreamer hits him with a trash can, which V "no sells". Dreamer hits the ropes, but is caught in a Samoan Drop right through the table! 1, 2, 3 and the match is over.

Mr. McMahon and Jonathan Coachman are shown walking backstage.

They continued with the monster push of Big Daddy V. Where it might give a smaller wrestler some credibility to beat Tommy Dreamer in an "Extreme Rules" match, I think it really doesn't add much to the character of Big Daddy V. He has already been established as an unstoppable monster, so putting him in a match where weapons can be used doesn't really provide any additional depth. He is still portrayed as unstoppable, and Tommy Dreamer is still buried.

A Summerslam video montage airs.

An ECW World Title graphic for Summerslam airs

A video package highlighting C.M. Punk and his "Straight Edge" gimmick airs. This is good because it defines Punk, who he is, and what he is here for. I think it is important to remind the fans of who these characters are, and what drives them. This is especially good for Punk because he hasn't had many opportunities to make his intentions known on the mic.

Tonight we will see a tag team match in the main event: C.M. Punk & The Boogeyman vs. John Morrison & The Miz

Coach talks to Mr. McMahon about a "bathroom encounter" he had in New York City, and that the result of that encounter could be....Balls Mahoney. I believe they edited this (or a similar segment) out of Saturday Night's Main Event.

Elijah Burke is on his way to the ring. His opponent will be Balls Mahoney, who Joey and Tazz ponder the quandary of him being the son of Mr. McMahon.

(2) Balls McMahoney defeats Elijah Burke via pinfall. There is a small "Balls" chant as Mr. McMahoney enters the ring. The two lockup, and Burke takes control early with a standing side headlock. Balls fights out of it, and shoots Burke into the ropes and takes him down with a shoulderblock. Burke traps Balls in a standing arm bar, and slaps Balls upside the head. Balls reverses the hold into his own arm bar, until Burke escapes with a hair pull. Burke goes back to work on the arm of Mr. McMahoney, but Balls tries to get in a succession of punches. Burke rams Balls into the post, and then drops his hand stand elbow drop out of the corner. That is an impressive move, but sometimes it looks like Burke may shoot himself right over the ring post! Burke continues to work on the arm, which from a psychology standpoint, makes sense since Balls uses high impact punches to soften up his opponent. Burke hits a running shoulder block to a seated Balls, and the impact is absorbed entirely by Balls' shoulder. Burke delivers a bodyslam, but it takes a toll on his back. Burke goes for a suplex, but Balls turns it into an inside cradle, which gets a two-count. Balls hits some clotheslines with his non-injured arm, and then goes into his succession of punches (showing no signs of having his left arm worked over). Burke misses a splash in the corner, and Balls uses a schoolboy to pick up the win.

This match was not particularly exciting. Balls Mahoney is such a high impact wrestler, that having him go hold-for-hold with Burke leaves something to be desired. Elijah Burke needs some more athletic competition to work with in the ring. The schoolboy pin is used to much in the WWE, that I have to wonder, with so many great wrestlers working as road agen....err producers, how come they keep coming up with these same lame finishes?

A video package highlighting the ECW World Champion John Morrison airs. This is similar to the Punk video, as it highlights his character, and voices over his catch-phrases. This was a good video, but I think the Punk video worked better, since Morrison has had several promos in the past few weeks.

A Summerslam ad airs, showcasing the much anticipated match-up for the World Heavyweight Title, The Great Khali vs. Batista.

At Summerslam, it's the "Return of Robocop"! Oh wait, no, it's just the return of Triple H. Apparently he will be bigger, faster, and stronger.

Balls McMahoney runs into The Miz and Extreme Expose in the back. The Miz calls him Balls McMahon, and then asks Kelly Kelly Kelly Kelly if she would date him if he were rich. Of course Miz cut her off. She did get a wink in for Balls before she left.

Video recap of last weeks Richards-Thorn match, and the way Thorn was DQ'd for his third straight loss to Stevie.

Joey conducts an interview with Kevin Thorn, who is backstage. Stevie attacks Thorn in the back, and the two brawl until several referees come to break them up. This was effective because it gives Stevie some fire in this feud, rather than simply getting fluke wins.

Tazz and Joey give us a rundown of the current card for WWE Summerslam.

Mr. McMahon and Coach are sitting in the back. Coach says he has one more idea of who Vince's son could be. He brings in C.M. Punk. Vince does not want C.M. Punk to be his son because the straight edge lifestyle doesn't mesh with Mr. McMahon's lifestyle, which involves drinking and other recreational activities. Punk says he there is one other thing he doesn't do, he doesn't have unprotected sex with women who eventually file paternity suites against him, and get him kicked out of his home and left as a national disgrace. Punk was very serious here, and he came across better than a lot of faces would have in the same position. It's proof that you can disrespect Mr. McMahon, but you can accomplish it without having to be cutsie and funny.

Cena-Orton package airs hyping their match at Summerslam.

(3) John Morrison & The Miz (w/Extreme Expose) defeats C.M. Punk & The Boogeyman via pinfall. C.M. Punk is the first participant introduced. They air a quick recap video of Punk's wins over Morrison in the "15 Minutes of Fame" and the SNME tag match. The Boogeyman comes out with his over-gimmicked entrance. John Morrison is introduced first for his team, which I think is a mistake. The champion should always be introduced last, as it adds a sense of realism and prestige. Extreme Expose accompanies The Mizerable to the ring. The Miz and Morrison do appear like they belong together as a regular team, or a part of a stable. They both have that cocky, rockstar type attitude. Miz and Punk start off, and Punk drops Miz with a couple Muay Thia kicks, and then makes the tag to Boogeyman. Miz wants no part of The Boogeyman, and he heads out to the floor. Boogeyman scares the girls, who jump to the other side of the ring. Commercial break. We're back, and John Morrison has C.M. Punk locked in a rear chinlock. Punk is able to escape and hit a jumping side leg lariat. Boogeyman comes in, and Morrison doesn't want any part of him either. Boogey spits worms at Morrison, who bails out to the floor. Boogey goes after, but he's caught by a knee from Morrison on the way back into the ring. Morrison hits an enziguiri, but Boogeyman is able to battle back. Boogey pulls Morrison out of the corner, causing Morrison to do a complete flip. Morrison tags in Miz, and Boogey goes to work on him with a body slam and a big splash. Boogey catches and holds Miz's leg, while Punk tags in and hits him with an enziguiri of his own. Morrison knocks Punk off the second rope while he was waiting to nail Miz. The Miz rams Punk back first into the ring, and throws him back into the ring. Miz scores with some mounted punches, and Joey talks about his aggressive streak. Morrison locks in a neck wrench, but Punk hooks Morrison in his own neck wrench, and the two struggle to gain an advantage. Morrison hits his inverted back breaker/neck breaker combo. Maybe we can call that the "Break On Through"? Miz pounds away on the neck and back of Punk, and then slingshots Punk into a waiting forearm shot from Morrison. Morrison checks in with a springboard elbow drop to Punk, who was prone on the knees of Miz. Punk hits a modified powerslam, but is unable to make the tag to Boogeyman. Kelly Kelly is heard cheering for Miz. The crowd chanted something that was either "She's a crackwhore" or "Miz can't wrestle". It was difficult to discern. Punk hits a sunset flip powerbomb from the second rope, but his tag attempt is broken up by Miz. Morrison takes out The Boogeyman on the outside, but Punk hits a springboard cross body to the outside. He then hits his springboard clothesline on The Miz in the ring. Punk hits the GTS but Miz made the blind tag to Morrison who hits the corkscrew neckbreaker, and makes the pin on Punk to get the win for his team.

The Morrison & Miz combination worked well together as a unit. It might be a good idea to put these two together in some type of "cool guy" stable. I like the idea of having Punk battle both guys, and not be able to make the hot tag to his partner. It puts some more sympathy into the baby face, and that's what you want going into a big championship match this Sunday. I think it is clear, after tonight's pin on Punk by Morrison, that Punk will be winning the title at Summerslam. If that's not the case, then I have no idea where ECW goes from here!

We suggest these recent related articles...

PARKS'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 10/8: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Thursday show, including Roman Reigns & Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt & Braun Strowman

METZGER'S ROH TV REPORT 10/4 & 10/7: IWGP World champ Okada vs. Roderick Strong main event, plus Briscoes vs. Time Splitters, more from "Field of Honor," Overall Reax

MCMAHON'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 10/7: TNA Title Series kicks off, Bound for Glory fall-out, more; Overall Reax