By James Caldwell, PWTorch.com assistant editor

WWE - ECW on Sci-Fi TV Report
April 7, 2009 - Year 3, Week 46 (Week 150 overall)
Taped in London, England

After the ECW intro opened the show, Josh Mathews and Matt Striker welcomed us to ECW. Out first to start the show were Finlay and Hornswoggle, who hugged Finlay before Finlay talked about Horny being drafted to Raw last week. (boos) Tonight is his last night on ECW. (boos) Finlay then handed the mic to Hornswoggle, who grunted and grunted before shouting, "I - I - I - want to wrestle!" Crowd popped and chanted, "Hornswoggle" before Horny hugged Finlay's leg. Finlay said Hornswoggle wants some action tonight.

Hornswoggle then tried to say good-bye, but Tyson Kidd's entrance music interrupted. Out came Tyson Kidd along with Natalya. Kidd sarcastically said the little midget wants to say good-bye, which is just fine by him because that means more time for him. Finlay and Kidd exchanged Teletubbies and troll references, then Natalya said Bret Hart lied because "The Best There Ever Will Be" is Tyson's destiny. Natalya said she can beat Hornswoggle, and they need to run off to make room for superstars like them. Horny then chased off Natalya by taking a bite out of her. Upset, Nat challenged Horny to a match on the other side of the break.

[Commercial Break]

1 -- HORNSWOGGLE (w/Finlay) vs. NATALYA (w/Tyson Kidd)

The match started with a mini-feeling-out process. Haha. Crowd anticipated some action and Horny slapped Natalya to incite her. Tyson then tried to hop on the apron to run interference, but Finlay yanked him down to the floor. Suddenly, Hornswoggle rolled up Natalya from behind for the win to go out in style. Afterward, Finlay and Hornswoggle led a few kids in the heel-to-toe tap to send 'em home happy to commercial.

WINNER: Hornswoggle in 1:30. Fun little deal. Just a fine send-off for Hornswoggle, who will hopefully find a role on Raw tormenting some heels in an undercard storyline to fill time in between main event programs on TV. He could still be useful even if he's not with Finlay. (n/a)

[Commercial Break]

[Q2]

Backstage: ECW GM Tiffany was consulting with someone, then Natalya interrupted with Kidd and demanded that Hornswoggle be fired. Tiff told her to calm down and show some respect. She said the two of them don't get to barge into her office and walk all over them. But, here's what she's going to do. On WWE Superstars on Thursday, it will be Finlay & Horny vs. Kidd & Natalya. Kidd complained about the match going down. Tiffany said they don't have to worry about Hornswoggle anymore, anyways, since he's moving to Raw.

Announcers: Mathews and Striker talked on camera about the Triple H vs. Randy Orton feud. Cue up the Raw Rebound focusing on last night's happenings with Orton pinning Hunter to set up the six-man tag at Backlash with Hunter's WWE Title on the line. After the RR aired, Mathews and Striker broke down the Backlash card.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: Evan Bourne came out for some singles competition before the commercial break. Katie Lea then brought out Paul Burchill to face Bourne.

2 -- EVAN BOURNE vs. PAUL BURCHILL (w/Katie Lea)

Burchill and Lea were in their home country, but no love from the crowd. Katie distracted Bourne early on, then Bourne tried a head scissors, but Burchill smashed him with a backbreaker across his knee.

[Q3]

Burchill continued to dominate the smaller Bourne before Bourne with strikes before nailing an overhead toss for a two count. Back to the mat where Burchill wrapped up Bourne with a rear attack. Crowd started to get ancy as Burchill continued to slow down the pace until Bourne fought back with blows to the gut, then a knock-down kick strike. Burchill tried to grapple Bourne, but Bourne flipped him to the floor. He then measured Burchill for a dive to the outside, but Burchill ran back into the ring. Bourne made the proper adjustment and rolled him up for a two count.

They reset the action before Burchill caught Bourne out of the corner for a Samoa Joe/E. Honda front slam. Bourne went up top, but Burchill cut him off. He tried a power move on Bourne, but Bourne countered with a Jack Evans reverse rana. Burchill wasn't quite sure how to take the hold, though. Bourne then dragged Burchill to the corner and nailed the majestic Shooting Star Press for the pin and the win. "Beautiful," Mathews said on a slow-mo replay post-match. "The elevation is sick."

WINNER: Bourne in 10:00. I try to be fair to the wrestlers working hard in the ring, but I just don't see much with Burchill. It's frustrating because he has the size to be a good performer, but he currently doesn't have the ability to involve the crowd in a match. His facial expressions are non-existent and he just doesn't have "it" as a performer in the ring with the current William Regal lite gimmick. Perhaps he could find it with a different gimmick (yes, again) and a haircut to allow his facial expressions to tell a story in the ring. Bourne was good bumping around for Burchill before picking up the victory. (*1/2)

Video package: They showed Kozlov training in an Under Armour t-shirt. He kicked a few beer bottles off a table to show his kick-striking ability. He said he is coming for championships in ECW. "Everyone must fall," he said. Kozlov said he will be champion in the voice-over. Graphic said "Next..." in an ominous font.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: Kozlov stomped out to the ring ready to kick another bottle. Already in the ring was the dog-haired Frankie Sloan, who received a generous reaction for being the British Commonwealth champion, as Striker pointed out. Kozlov took the mic pre-match and said Russian outlet malls are superior. (Er...something like that.) He wants domination.

3 -- KOZLOV vs. FRANKIE SLOAN

Bell rang and Kozlov went for the headbutt offensive attack. Kozlov gave him a modified Rock Bottom for the easy win.

WINNER: Kozlov in 1:00. Just a squash to continue re-establishing Kozlov. If Christian wins the ECW Title on Sunday, we know who his first feud will be against.

Backstage: They showed ECW champion Jack Swagger walking down the hallway dressed in a nice suit. He had a very stern look on his face. No big Swagger-like grin tonight.

[Q4]

[Commercial Break]

Superstars plug: Edge vs. Kofi Kingston in the TV main event. Expect Everything.

In-ring: ECW GM Tiffany was already in the ring for the ECW Title contract signing. After the random music stopped, Tiffany welcomed us to the official ECW Title contract signing for Backlash. First out, the #1 contender, Christian. Hot reaction for Christian, who had a lot of peeps in London. Christian posed in the ring, then stood on his end of his table. Tiffany introduced ECW champion Jack Swagger next. Swag looking sharp tonight in the suit. Swagger showed off the threads to the hater ringside fans, but he was subdued not being dressed to wrestle.

With all parties present for the official document signing, Christian and Swagger stared across the table toward each other. Neither man wanted to be the first one to sit down per Tiffany's instructions. Swagger then initiated the seating of the parties. Tiffany said everyone reviewed the terms of the contract earlier today. Christian opted not to offer any comments, so he affixed his signature to the document. Swagger wanted to say something first.

"What? No witty one-liners to make everyone laugh? You mean to tell me you have nothing to say?" Swagger said. Christian didn't react. Swagger then signed his portion of the contract to make it official. Tiffany reviewed the document, then Swagger cut a promo. He said Christian just showed up in WWE after being gone "for years" and thinks he can act like he's all that? Swagger said a new class emerged while Christian was gone and the head of the class is Jack Swagger.

Christian continued to sit there without reacting. Swagger said he'll give some love to Christian for winning the Elimination Chase, but reality has set in that he's looking across the table to see a less confident Christian, who must be realizing that Swagger is bigger, faster, and stronger. Swagger told Christian that he simply can't beat him. "That's why you have nothing to say," Swagger declared.

Christian continued to sit with hands folded, then Swagger stood up to leave. Christian cut him off and said that's not it. He said he'd like to have some fun at Swag's expense - like pointing out Swagger wearing the same suit he wore to his high school graduation. He said the material is endless, but at the end of the day, it doesn't mean anything until he takes him out at Backlash. Christian said Swagger can focus on being Swagger, but he's going to focus on making Swagger the biggest, strongest, and fastest...ex-ECW champion in history. Tiffany thanked them for the comments as Swagger chuckled. She took off, then Christian and Swagger stared each other down.

Swagger then held up the ECW Title belt for Christian to get a good look at. Suddenly, Swagger struck Christian and knocked him down. Christian tried to fight back, but Swagger clotheslined him to the mat. Swagger then grappled Christian and sent him straight through the table with a hard powerbomb. Striker asked whether that was the act of a confident champion or a desperate man. Swagger then put his jacket back on, smiled, and held up the ECW Title belt to a chorus of boos. Mathews: "Swagger struck first, but how will it end at Backlash?" Boom, call your cable provider. Great angle to sell the ECW Title match, which I believe could sell a few additional buys for Sunday. Swagger is such a great, confident champion right now and Christian is the sentimental favorite. Both are due for a show-stealing PPV title match.

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