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ECW ROUNDTABLE REVIEWS 1/26: Caldwell, Donofrio, Parks rate and review
Jan 27, 2010 - 5:03:36 PM
James Caldwell, Torch Assistant Editor (6.5)
Good showing from the ECW brand leading to the Royal Rumble PPV. It was odd putting the ECW Title hype match in the opening match and the "young bucks" six-man tag in the main event, just like it was odd seeing DX in the opening segment on Raw and nowhere else the rest of the show. Nothing wrong with either, just odd based on DX being all over TV prior to this week's Raw and Christian-Zeke being the focus of TV for six weeks (if you include the Homecoming program building to Christian vs. Zeke). Perhaps WWE has some information that fans tune in to the beginning of ECW and tune out by the end of the show and WWE wanted to get the strong hype for the Rumble right out there at the top of the show.
As for the tag match, Kane was a good addition to the Christian vs. Regal & Jackson program. Jackson was made to look impressive up against another monster to make him more of an imposing threat to Christian at the Rumble, Christian took a pinfall loss to look in jeopardy of losing the belt on Sunday, and Jackson's star is being built in the process. No one believes Christian is dropping the belt on Sunday, but WWE executed basic booking here.
The six-man tag main event was solid for building up the young stars on the brand. It wasn't particularly memorable, but Yoshi stood out, Zack Ryder stood out as the top veteran on the heel team, and Croft & Barreta continue to get some good exposure.
Tony Donofrio, PWTorch.com Contributor (7.0)
This was a hard show to rate. It could have topped out at an 8.0 or bottomed out at a 6.0. So, using basic mathematical fundamentals, I gave it an average of a 7.0 (my junior high and HS teachers would be so damn proud). There were only two matches this week, but they were both quality matches. What's not to like about a one hour show giving you two quality matches with one solid interview segment and the Royal Rumble hype video (which just doesn't seem to get old). The only weak point for the show was really Shelton Benjamin's interview and the quick attack by Vance Archer...and that was a small miss, at that. The only thing that stopped this show from being higher is because, while the matches were solid, they weren't great. However, the quality of the matches weren't bad enough to pull the shows rating down either.
Seeing Ezekiel Jackson doing the brunt of the work in the opening match was a positive. He is vastly improved both in the ring and on the mic. Christian, William Regal, and Kane were all solid (as should be expected from three polished veterans) in the ring, as usual. The six man tag was another match that obviously won't be remembered in two weeks because, as I said, it wasn't exactly a 5 star classic. But again, solid work all around. This is a short review but because it was a quick, yet crisp, hour of wrestling programming, this is about all that needs to be said.
Greg Parks, Torch Columnist (6.0)
I'll be honest, the opening tag match really couldn't hold my attention. Perhaps I shouldn't have judged the book by its cover, but Kane and Ezekiel Jackson are two of my least-favorite in-ring performers in WWE at this point. Christian taking the loss made sense, as it gave Jackson that extra dose of credibility heading into the Royal Rumble. I did like Shelton Benjamin getting attacked by Vance Archer, usurping Benjamin's interview time. It was unique and simple enough to work.
The main event six-man tag was a solid outing for all six guys, who each got to look good at different times during the match. Yoshi Tatsu is finally growing on me, thanks in large part to his in-ring work. More importantly, the fans are getting behind him, a good thing for his future and for WWE. I'm still wondering what Croft & Baretta's long-term prospects are on ECW with no other tag teams on the brand.
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