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This was an odd episode of ECW TV. Not odd in a good way, so I'm going with a low thumbs up. I did like the Shelton Benjamin vs. Zack Ryder match with Shelton showing good fire and the crowd buying into his comebacks now that he's been consistently presented as a babyface. How his victory over Ryder earned him #1 contender status for the ECW Title was not well explained, but I'll take Christian vs. Shelton in a ladder match any day of the week.
Christian's post-match promo really bothered me, though. It felt like a "TNA promo" talking more about a subjective, insider evaluation aspect like "stealing a show" or "having a five-star" match rather than "I'm better than you and I'll prove it in the ladder match at the TLC PPV." I understand WWE wanting to sell the PPV match on the basis of the audience possibly seeing a great spectacle match that will entertain and thrill, but you can't get away from finding out whether Wrestler X is better than Wrestler Y. The audience won't stay tuned long-term unless there is an actual issue in play.
The final segment with Ezekiel Jackson kinda sorta turning babyface on Kozlov and William Regal was completely out of left field and didn't have any context or build-up to it. Kozlov and Jackson have been off TV for a while and there was no sense of tension leading to Jackson's split. The combination of no back-story and Jackson being a rather lifeless character standing in the background for William Regal led to the audience just shrugging their shoulders. We were missing several chapters in the story here.
Dominick Mayer, PWTorch.com Contributor (5.5)
Watching last night's show, I felt like I had seen an episode of ECW three weeks in the future, without any of the buildup or context to explain what I was seeing. Shelton Benjamin is suddenly fighting for the ECW Title? Zeke Jackson is face now? Matt Hardy is appearing on ECW? As far as that last one, I guess it's for the DVD, which is another rant for another time. Abe Washington was his usual uninteresting self, but his segments always come off better with a game guest. (Best one ever is still Sheamus and Goldust squaring off and totally boxing Washington out.)
I didn't mind the promo about Christian wanting to steal the show, because fans see ladder matches with that expectation in mind, so I think it plays into that. The ending of the show was awesome as far as Yoshi Tatsu stealing a win out of nowhere, but a drag because the post-match was a total misfire in every way. The crowd was downright confused, and Kozlov having the emoting capacity of a robot didn't help. I don't know why they're ending the Roundtable "stable" so soon, as it gave two big men who need a lot of work something to do. Now what?
Greg Parks, PWTorch.com Contributor (5.0)
Not sure what to make of this episode. Shelton against Christian could be a good match, but there's no issue between the two. Benjamin had a nice match with Zack Ryder, probably their best yet, but I hate to see Ryder being left by the wayside again. The Abraham Washington Show was quite watchable this week, and Tony Atlas has become a perhaps unintentionally funny sidekick.
It felt weird coming back after commercial with Christian going right into his promo, but it was weirder that they cut out before William Regal's backstage promo was finished. The turn(?) by Ezekiel Jackson was, as James said, out of left field. I don't really know where they go from here, unless they keep Zeke heel and have him challenge Christian. Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.
