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ECW ROUNDTABLE REVIEWS 11/17: Donofrio, Mayer, Parks rate and review

Nov 18, 2009 - 7:48:51 PM
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Tony Donofrio, PWTorch.com Contributor (7.5)

The only thing that brought this down was the opening segment of the show. For all of us that like to wonder (out loud sometimes too) why Shelton Benjamin doesn't get a main event push...he showed you us why again on ECW. His mic skills never seem to improve. I don't mind the Zack Ryder and Rosa pairing so much, but something was just off about that opening segment with those two.

The rest of the show was high quality programming. I was surprised that Hurricane didn't lose and was not forced to unmask. With that said, the match was entertaining. Paul and Katie Lea Burchill both deserve a push (yes, Katie Lea too in one of the women's divisions) and I'm hoping that they get that push on either Raw or Smackdown now.

CM Punk being back on ECW was a nice surprise, even if it is only for one week. However, why wasn't Punk being on ECW advertised? It seems like WWE doesn't want the show to break the 1.0-1.1 ratings ceiling that it consistently can't crack. The same could've been said weeks ago when Chris Jericho showed up on ECW. Why doesn't WWE want to advertise this, it just doesn't make sense. With all that said, he was very entertaining in all the backstage segments he was in and solid in the tag match (as expected). Seeing Christian get to mix it up w/Punk and Jericho recently though just frustrates me even more knowing that Christian could be having great matches weekly and monthly in a higher spot with the WWE on PPVs. On this edition of ECW though, it was exciting to see the two former TNA World Champions team up against William Regal and Punk. The match spoke for itself and was very entertaining. The only problem is (and the same could be said for Raw) that it didn't do much to promote Survivor Series this Sunday.

Dominick Mayer, PWTorch.com Contributor (6.0)

A decent enough show, but I'd like to point out how depressing it is that this is the first time CM Punk has looked like a star in a couple months now. It's remarkable how the inability to push young talent can kill ANY push. This having been said, he comes in and gets the pin on the ECW champ. It sets up the PPV well enough (better than anything Raw has been doing), but it's still counterproductive to having ECW not be the afterthought show/talent farm.

That rant aside, the Burchill-Hurricane match was pretty entertaining. The ending was compelling, and it was a good way to move both men forward. Benjamin and Ryder are trapped in limbo again, but at least they're being kept on TV I guess. And then we have Vance Archer. I actually don't mind his build, but just because of how often these builds for big men have happened on ECW recently (Kozlov 2.0, Zeke Jackson, Sheamus), it's starting to get a little bit redundant.

Greg Parks, PWTorch.com Contributor (6.5)

ECW hasn't really had to worry about building to PPV matches lately, what with being shut out on the last few events, so it was nice that WWE threw them a bone and put a tag match on the show that would promote one of the elimination matches at the PPV. And it was quite entertaining to boot. Punk's opening promo broke my smugness meter, it was so off-the-charts.

The Ryder-Benjamin opening joust was kind-of interesting, kind-of train-wrecky. While it was good and built toward the next match, and each person played their part about as well as expected, something just felt like it was missing. I guess I feel like Ryder's attitude that really made that character is gone now that he's swooning over Rosa. I don't mind Rosa with him, but I don't think he should be so googley-eyed over her all the time.

Burchill vs. Hurricane was a nice blow-off match, made better by the fact that my roommate and I were on opposite sides, cheering for the opposing wrestler quite vocally in our apartment. I'd like to see Burchill come back to ECW as a masked bad-guy character to oppose Hurricane's good-guy image, without referencing that it could be Burchill (at least, immediately).


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