ECW on Sci-Fi TV report
September 8, 2009
Report by Dominick Mayer, PWTorch specialist

Title sequence.

Tonight’s main event: Christian and Tommy Dreamer vs. Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov.

Next, the Hurricane intro runs, and he makes his way to the ring. They’re avoiding his video in nearly every shot, so I can’t tell if they’re still contradicting themselves. Paul Burchill is out with Katie Lea as the opposition.

1 -- THE HURRICANE vs. PAUL BURCHILL

Burchill corners Hurricane early in two different corners. They duck clotheslines from each other, then Hurricane gets a cross body block out of the corner for a short two count. Hurricane goes for a leg scissors on the mat, but Burchill forces him off. Hurricane gets an arm drag, and follows up with a modified abdominal stretch. Burchill picks him up from that position and hits a somewhat sloppy looking tilt-a-whirl slam. Burchill gets a hard suplex for one. Burchill applies a chinlock to get the crowd going. Hurricane gets out, but Burchill cuts him off with a clothesline. Burchill gets two running knees into the corner for two. Burchill picks Hurricane up and gets a nasty sidewalk slam/backbreaker cross. Hurricane flips out of a lift, but gets clotheslined again for two. Burchill with a ton of offense so far. He rushes the ropes, but Hurricane pulls the ropes down and gets a plancha to ringside on Burchill. Hurricane gets thrown into the apron and then turns around into a Pele. Break time.

[Commercial Break]

Burchill has Hurricane in a chinlock out of the break. This match has been insanely one-sided thus far. Hurricane starts fighting back by forcing Burchill into the corner. Hurricane gets a cross-body off the top at 10:00 for a nearfall. He puts Burchill up top, but Burchill gets a powerslam off the top. He’s slow to cover, though, and only gets two. Hurricane gets a Hurricane-rana for another nearfall. Crowd is eating this one up. Hurricane looks for the Shining Wizard, but Katie Lea jumps onto the apron for the distraction. However, Burchill ends up running into her, before falling back into the Eye of the Hurricane for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Hurricane in 12:00. Another good match between these two. They work well together. This seemed to be a blow-off for the feud, as with two lengthy wins over Burchill, Hurricane can’t go much farther from here unless they at least add another wrestler. Meanwhile, I hope Burchill doesn’t get pushed down now, as he’s improved a lot in the past month with the aid of this feud.

A recap airs of last week’s attack by Christian and Dreamer. Backstage, Savannah is with those two. Dreamer gives the “ECW is my blood” promo, and then Christian talks about taking a stand against Regal’s faction. Savannah gets a seductive look going. That was awkward.

[Commercial Break]

Shelton Benjamin is on his way out to the ring after the break. Sheamus is out as his tag team partner. Yoshi Tatsu is out first for the face team, and then Goldust.

2 -- SHELTON BENJAMIN & SHEAMUS vs. YOSHI TATSU & GOLDUST

Shelton and Goldust start off fast, with Goldust keeping pace. Impressive. Benjamin tackles him into the corner, where Sheamus tags in. Goldust then tags Yoshi in, who flips around Sheamus but gets distracted by Shelton long enough to get clotheslined. Sheamus takes over on offense before tagging Shelton back in. Shelton gets a sunset flip, but Yoshi tries to tag out. Sheamus drags him back and tags Shelton in. Shelton gets flipped out of the ring, but stops Goldust just before Yoshi can tag out. Yoshi kicks Sheamus in the back, long enough for the hot tag to Goldust, who goes after Sheamus at speed. He takes Shelton out of the corner, but takes an elbow to the kidneys from Sheamus.

WINNERS: Benjamin & Sheamus in 4:00. Mostly unimpressive match. Okay while it lasted, but the post-match was the real story here.

Post-match: Sheamus yells at Shelton for stealing his win. They brawl down to the floor before the refs come out for a pull-apart. Glad they’re going this intense. I still don’t know if Benjamin is supposed to be a heel or a face, but it looks like he’ll be playing face against Sheamus. This whole post-match continued to show how far ahead ECW is of Raw in terms of mid-card development.

[Commercial Break]

Zack Ryder is out for apparently a jobber squash. Rory Fargo is out as the opposition.

3 -- ZACK RYDER vs. RORY FARGO

Not sure why they need a squash for Ryder right now. Anyway, he slaps Fargo around early on. Fargo gets a schoolboy rollup, but Ryder puts the boots to him right after. He punts Fargo in the head while yelling "Come on, bro!" He gets a running boot into the corner. Ryder finishes things off with a modified playmaker using his knee for the win.

WINNER: Ryder in 1:30. I don’t get why this was here other than to get Ryder on television. A squash after weeks of feuding with higher-ups feels awkward.

Striker and Grisham run down the Breaking Point card thus far.

Backstage, Tyler Reks is talking to Tiffany about the Superstar Initiative. Regal walks in with his henchmen, which makes Reks head out. Regal asks how Tiffany could let Christian and Dreamer get away with their attack last week. Tiffany said it was fair after what the Roundtable did in previous weeks. Regal cuts a really creepy promo about the conquest of both men, ending at Breaking Point this Sunday. They exit.

[Commercial Break]

Regal is out for the main event with his men in tow. Dreamer out, then Christian to round things off.

4 -- VLADIMIR KOZLOV & EZEKIEL JACKSON (w/William Regal) vs. TOMMY DREAMER & ECW CHAMPION CHRISTIAN

Kozlov throws Christian around and gets a bearhug to start. Christian does the speed thing around him. Christian gets a hard slap, and Kozlov steps back, slowly tagging in Jackson. Christian tags Dreamer in, who gets flung aside by Jackson. Dreamer gets a few strikes in, but gets powerslammed. Dreamer sidesteps a charge, sending Jackson to the floor. Christian then gets dual baseball slides on Jackson and then Kozlov. Christian goes for a plancha, but Jackson catches him, only to get taken down by Dreamer from the apron. They break apart for the final commercial as Regal makes a hysterical grimace in close-up.

[Commercial Break]

Dreamer and Christian hit a double Russian legsweep out of the break. Interesting. Jackson takes Dreamer down with a shoulderblock. Regal on the outside: “Are you okay, Tommy?” Kozlov gets a Jim Duggan charge on Dreamer and then tags Jackson back in. They get a double shoulderblock, and Dreamer is barely moving. He kicks out of a pin attempt, though. Jackson gets an underhook submission and takes Dreamer back to the corner, where Kozlov comes in and gives him a belly-to-belly suplex. Dreamer wants the tag, but Kozlov bearhugs him on the mat. Dreamer gets to his feet, but Kozlov forces him into another corner. Kozlov puts him on the top rope, but Dreamer shoves him off. Dreamer gets a boot up on a corner charge and then hits a flying lariat from the second rope.

This gets him the hot tag to Christian, who’s really fake-tanned tonight. He gets his combo of missile dropkicks from the ropes for a nearfall. He slaps Jackson in the face, but gets forced into the heel corner by Kozlov. He fights both back, but gets a shoulder to the face for a close two. Jackson tags back in and gets two backbreakers back to back. He locks in a modified surfboard, but without the knee. Jackson gets a belly to back suplex for another nearfall. Christian gets pushed back to the heel corner again, where Kozlov comes in for some headbutts. Kozlov sets in the torture rack as Dreamer calls for a tag. Kozlov gets a fallaway slam on Christian while looking straight at Dreamer. Christian kicks out at two, but then Jackson tags back in and applies the same underhook submission as earlier. Underhook suplex, but Christian’s close enough to the ropes to save himself. Kozlov tags back in and gets a series of shoulders in the corner.

Christian comes off the top rope and takes the big man down long enough to get another hot tag to Dreamer. Jackson tags back in as well, and Dreamer gets a Thesz press to take Jackson down. Dreamer with a bulldog for two. Dreamer with a neckbreaker, and then he heads up top. A frogsplash from Dreamer, but Kozlov breaks up the pin. He and Christian fight to the floor. Regal jumps up on the apron long enough for Dreamer to turn around into Jackson’s uranage for the pin and the win.

WINNERS: Kozlov & Jackson in 16:00. That match felt quite a bit longer than it actually was. Kozlov and Jackson’s tag offense is interesting, as it’s really methodical and fits the characters, but it’s not exactly thrilling to watch. This thing was so one-sided that it’s pretty obvious Christian is retaining Sunday, unless they really want to push Regal as a force of nature.

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