By James Caldwell, PWTorch.com assistant editor

WWE - ECW on Sci-Fi TV Report
April 7, 2009 - Year 3, Week 45 (Week 149 overall)
Taped in Austin, Tex.

After the revised ECW intro video with Morrison all by himself after The Miz was drafted to Raw last night and Kozlov featured, the show opened with Josh Mathews and Matt Striker plugging tonight's triple threat match between Finlay, Dreamer, and Christian in the Championship Chase to Jack Swagger's ECW Title.

In-ring: John Morrison came out first...and all alone. Evan Bourne then came out as his opposition tonight.

1 -- JOHN MORRISON vs. EVAN BOURNE

Morrison took control early on, but Bourne snapped off an arm drag to ground Morrison on the mat. Bourne then wanted a top rope move, but Morrison cut him off. Bourne ended up on the apron and Morrison smashed him in the face with a knee strike to knock Bourne to the floor. Morrison worked Bourne over on the floor, then took him back in the ring to continue delivering a beating. Morrison put Bourne in a reverse torture rack to squeeze Bourne's lower back for an attempted submission, but Bourne suddenly spun out of the submission into a modified head scissors. That was sweet. Bourne sold the back, then warmed up a dive to the outside, but Morrison ran back into the ring and nailed Bourne with a knee to the gut to cut him off. Cut to break with J-Mo in control.

[Commercial Break ... Smackdown plug: Batista vs. Ted DiBiase on Smackdown. Wait a second...didn't they just have a Draft to eliminate these cross-overs from brand to brand?]

Back to the action where Morrison had Bourne in a deep headlock. Mathews talked about Miz and Morrison mocking Bourne on recent editions of the Dirt Sheet, which may not be in-tact after Miz randomly turned on J-Mo last night. Morrison cut off Bourne's comeback at 11:00 with a back heel kick, then he strutted around the ring before delivering more offense. Bourne suddenly came back with a series of palm thrusts, but Morrison grounded him with a modified Rings of Saturn. Some new camera shots took us closer to the action from the corner turnbuckle.

[Q2]

Match continued with Bourne escaping the submission mat hold and landing a smashing left-arm clothesline. Bourne bringing some power offense tonight. Bourne snapped off a huracanrana, then a standing dropkick, followed by a spin kick for a two count. The wrestlers collected their breath, then Bourne took Morrison to the corner and nailed a palm thrust. Bourne then jumped onto Morrison's shoulders and kinda did a huracanrana with Morrison helping him out on the flip to the mat. Still looked good. They went into a series of pin exchanges before Bourne took Morrison over the top rope to the floor with a cross-body block.

Both men made it back into the ring, then Bourne nailed a double-knee smash from the top rope. Bourne was slightly perturbed and not being able to finish off J-Mo, so he went for kick strikes. Morrison blocked a third and wanted the Moonlight Drive, but Bourne countered with a knee strike. Bourne then dragged Mo to the corner and wanted the Shooting Star Press, but Mo popped to his feet and nailed Bourne with an enziguiri kick. Morrison then dragged Bourne into position for the Moonlight Drive off the top rope. Morrison then made the cover for the win.

WINNER: Morrison in 18:00. Heck ya. That's what I call an ECW TV match featuring the top young talent in the company. I'll have to revise my Draft Analysis column, as I forgot to include Morrison in the Top Tier with Swagger, Bourne, Kidd, and Christian on ECW. Morrison delivered the goods in his first singles action without The Miz by his side in quite some time. Bourne was stout as well, especially busting out some new power offense and strikes. Excellent work. (***3/4)

Post-match: Morrison celebrated the victory while Striker called it a Match of the Year contender. Mathews called it a five-star match after they replayed the highspots of the match. Wouldn't go that far, but WWE has apparently forgotten about HBK vs. Taker, so why not. ... Backstage: They showed Vladimir Kozlov walking backstage for his first match on the ECW brand.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: Kozlov came out for his first match on ECW. In the ring, being hailed from Knoxville, Tenn. to get the local pop, was David Floridia (sp?)

2 -- KOZLOV vs. POOR DAVID

Kozlov wanted a boot to the throat early on. David suddenly mustered the nerve to head to the second rope and Kozlov shoved him to the mat. Kozlov landed a series of headbutts to the chest, as Striker made reference to Mathews getting a nose-bleed last night. Kozlov with the modified Rock Bottom for the win. Post-match: Kozlov took the mic and cut a promo in Russian. He hates everyone. Something about Russian outlet malls or perhaps dominating everywhere. ECW will be no different, he said.

WINNER: Kozlov in 1:00. Good, effective use of the squash match formula to give Kozlov a fresh start on ECW. (n/a)

Backstage: Finlay and Hornswoggle were doing deep knee-bends to prepare for the triple threat match tonight. Hornswoggle was on a stack of plywood to be on Finlay's level. Off they go.

[Q3]

[Commercial Break]

Announcers: They focused on Mathews and Striker sitting ringside to discuss the Triple H vs. Randy Orton feud. They plugged the 2009 supplemental draft happening at 12:00 p.m. EST on WWE's website tomorrow night.

Backstage: Interim GM Tiffany was with Paul Burchill and Katie Lea to discuss some issues going on with the ECW brand. ECW champion Jack Swagger then interrupted to talk business. He suggested the very first "Superstars" show on WGN feature a Q&A session with Swagger. Tiff said it's very interesting, but she already decided the #1 contender to the ECW Title will be determined on Superstars. Swagger didn't like his idea being shot down. She gave some constructive feedback that she still wants the ideas. Tiffany then closed with a parting word that she was very impressed with Swagger's match last night. "You're welcome," Swagger said.

In-ring: Christian came out first for the triple threat main event. It's up next.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: Tommy Dreamer came out, then Finlay and Hornswoggle. Look at the excited kiddos in the audience. Tons of kids with their parents in the audience.

3 -- CHRISTIAN vs. TOMMY DREAMER vs. FINLAY -- Championship Chase match

Deal is that one person gets eliminated, then the two remaining are apparently on WGN this Thursday for the #1 contender match to face Swagger at Backlash. Finlay cleaned house early on, then Christian was knocked to the floor a minute in. Dreamer and Finlay battled in the ring as Horny shouted noises of encouragement to Finlay.

[Q4]

Match continued with Christian trying to re-enter the ring, only to have Finlay bump Christian to the floor. Christian should just chill on the floor for the remainder of the match and let the other two go after each other to eliminate one of them. That obviously wouldn't be the honorable thing to do, though, and Christian is an honorable man, so he re-entered the ring and was quickly knocked to the ropes again. Dreamer then clotheslined himself and Finlay to the outside. Christian sprung to his feet and went up top for a double splash on the floor. Who's going to Superstars? Find out after the break.

[Commercial Break]

They returned from break with Finlay shoving Christian off the top turnbuckle into the guardrail on the floor. Christian all over the floor tonight. Back in the ring, Finlay attacked Dreamer as Horny tried to get Dreamer to give it up. Let me re-write that. Hornswoggle encouraged Dreamer to submit to Finlay's mat-based attack in order to give Finlay the victory this week. Striker was then handed a note that he screwed up. No DQ or count-out tonight. Finlay continued to dominate Dreamer, but Dream wouldn't take a three count. Christian snuck back into the scene as Dreamer made his comeback, then Dreamer smashed Christian into Finlay. Suddenly, there was a double pin, but both men kicked out.

At 11:00, Finlay and Christian collided heads and collapsed to the mat along with Dreamer. Christian pulled himself up, then went up top, only to have Finlay crotch him. Finlay wanted a superplex, but Dream had other ideas. He hung Finlay upside down, then climbed up top and superplexed Christian for a two count. Dreamer re-hung Finlay for the E-C-W basement dropkick and he connected. Dream wanted to end it, but Finlay shoved him to the outside. Christian was prone on the mat, so Finlay approached him, only to have Christian pull out a small package for a close two count. Finlay popped up for the rolling hills, but Christian slipped to the floor. Dreamer then surprised Finlay with a DDT, but Fin kicked out.

Christian tried to sneak attack Dreamer with the Killswitch, but Dreamer blocked and hung Christian in the ropes. Dreamer tossed Finlay into Christian, then rolled up Finlay for a two count. Striker said Christian should just chill in ropes since he was tied up rather than do anything. Finlay then grappled Dreamer and gave him the Celtic Cross mid-ring for the pin and the win. Dreamer is out. Finlay vs. Christian on Superstars. Winner gets Swagger at Backlash.

WINNER: Finlay at 15:00 to eliminate Dreamer. Excellent main event. They created a real sense of peril for all three men to see who would eventually get the fall in the match. Dreamer had enough offense to stay credible and pick up his Quest to the ECW Title storyline with the storyline of him being "that close" in the Championship Chase. Excellent piece of booking to conclude this week's show. (***)

Post-match: They recapped the highspots of the match after showing Finlay and Hornswoggle staring down Christian, who was finally released from the ropes. They closed with a nose-to-nose stare down between Finlay and Christian. Finlay extended his hand and Christian shook. Christian pointed to himself and said he's taking it home. Finlay wasn't so sure. End Show. Hot snap, that was an awesome show.

We welcome your 0-10 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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