by Greg Parks, Torch Columnist

ECW on SyFy TV Report
Aired February 2, 2010
Taped earlier this evening in Memphis Tenn.


- WWE Open.

- They opened the show with the requisite panning of the crowd and Josh Mathews announced that Vince McMahon would address the future of ECW tonight.

- Ring announcer Savannah threw it to WWE Hall-of-Famer Tony Atlas, who introduced Abraham Washington. His guest tonight is Christian. If Vince wants to overhaul ECW, what better way to do it than by interrupting a Washington monologue. That would be a symbolic statement. Washington came out and said the reason he hasn't been on the show lately is that because NBC wanted to steal him away and replace Conan O'Brien with him. Abe asked Tony if he knew why he turned down the job. "Because you're not that good?" said Atlas. Spot-on, as usual. No, he said he turned it down because he knew the WWE Universe would miss him too much. Atlas took a shot at Washington's "comedy," and Abe responded by saying with Mr. McMahon coming out later, perhaps Atlas won't have a future. Anyway, Washington finally introduced Christian.

Washington said he wanted to be the first to congratulate him on his Rumble victory. Has Christian not been out of his house in the last 48 hours? Washington did say Christian is the longest-reigning champion currently in WWE. Christian said he has taken on every challenger and beaten every challenger. He said he looked forward to future challengers, which brought out Zack Ryder and Eva Mendes. Ryder wanted to talk about the real news. Ryder then pointed to the big screen, where Gregory Helms' mugshot was on the screen. Ryder complained about the double-standard of Hurricane and said, "stand back, there's a criminal coming through!" Christian asked Ryder if he was mad at Helms or jealous of Helms because he actually made it on TMZ. Ryder came back by saying he was in the Rumble and Christian said he blinked so he must've missed it. Ryder asked if Christian was upset by this, considering what it did to the ECW brand. Christian said everyone makes mistakes, like Tiffany giving Abraham Washington a talk show. He then took a shot at Ryder's hairdo. Christian said Ryder's biggest mistake was hooking up with Tila Tequila (Rosa). The two almost came to blows when Abe got between them and closed out his show. Didn't we already see a Ryder vs. Christian feud a month or two ago that lasted like two weeks? Not that I'm complaining about Ryder getting TV time. As for Helms....I can only hope he goes on Smackdown so C.M. Punk can save him.

- Mr. McMahon will address the future of ECW later tonight.

[Commercial Break]

- Mathews plugged WWE.com and its coverage of the Royal Rumble.

- Byron Saxton thanked Skillet for "Hero," one of the official theme songs to the Rumble.

- An exterior shot of the FedEx Forum in Memphis was shown. Go Grizzlies! (though they got thumped tonight).

1 - SHELTON BENJAMIN vs. VANCE ARCHER

Benjamin started his attack aggressively, catching Archer off guard with body shots in the corner. Shelton dove over the top rope (without touching the ropes) and landed on Archer on the outside. As Benjamin was coming back into the ring though, Archer caught him with a kick to the chest. Benjamin suplexed out of a chin-lock and then he clotheslined Archer from behind. Benjamin attempted another high-risk move on the outside, but Archer avoided it and Shelton went face-first into the padded guardrail. Archer tried to regain his bearings as they went to break about 2:00 in.

[Commercial Break]

Benjamin was trying to work his way out of a rest-hold, but couldn't do so. Archer threw Benjamin into the corner, where Shelton collided with the turnbuckle chest-first. Standing suplex by Archer, as apparently they're trying to present him as the ECW's version of Mike Knox based on Mathews' commentary. Sidewalk slam for a near-fall. Archer missed a running knee in the corner, and Benjamin went after said knee. Archer came back, but Benjamin countered a suplex with a neck-breaker for two. Attempted roll-up in the corner by Shelton, but Archer sat down on it. He tried to get the pin, but either they were too close to the ropes or the ref saw Archer go for the rope for leverage, so he had to break it up. Archer followed with another roll-up, feet on the ropes, for the win. I'm assuming the previous pin was supposed to be the finish.

WINNER: Archer, at 9:48. Archer still isn't showing a ton in the in-ring or charisma department. He's lacking that something that prevents guys from moving up the card.

- The Raw Rebound aired, focusing on the Vince vs. Bret confrontation.

- Mathews plugged Exclusive after-Raw footage that will air this Friday on Smackdown. Well, that explains something that came up on today's Livecast, why they would do such a stunt for only the live crowd.

- In a match just announced, Christian faces Zack Ryder in the main event of tonight's show.

[Commercial Break]

2 - YOSHI TATSU vs. TRENT BARRETA

Goldust came to the ring with Tatsu, and Caylen Croft with Barreta. The two men had some fast-paced exchanges to begin the match. Tatsu was thrown out just above the bottom rope, but held on and quickly came back in. Barreta found the ropes to avoid Tatsu and that break allowed him to take over on offense. Standing dropkick to the chin for a pin attempt. Chinlock by Barreta. Tatsu fired back with a back-body drop and a few kicks. Tatsu rolled through on the snap-mare and kicked Barreta in the chest. Barreta tried to suplex Tatsu off the top, but couldn't do it. Instead, Barreta landed a hurricanrana off the top for a near-fall. Barreta argued with the ref, a rookie mistake, as it allowed Tatsu to kick him in the head for the victory.

WINNER: Tatsu, at 3:59. Perfectly suitable match, though I don't know where this feud is really headed. It's early, but I hope it's not going to be the Cryme Tyme vs. Hart Dynasty of 2010.

- Former ECW Champion Mr. McMahon will return to the brand he held the title for, and he'll have a big announcement next.

[Commercial Break]

- Savannah introduced the Chairman, Mr. McMahon. Vince announced that in three weeks, ECW will be going off the air. Well, that's pretty direct. He thanked everyone from the cameramen to the producers for making ECW the success it was. He also thanked everyone in the crowd for making the next show a success, a show that will be on the same night, timeslot and network that ECW airs on currently. He said it would the next evolution of WWE and the next evolution of television history. That's quite the statement. Then McMahon left. Mathews and Saxton at ringside looked upset about the possibility of losing their jobs.

- Gregory Helms was in the ring. He introduced Ezekiel Jackson and William Regal. Helms asked Jackson about his loss to Christian and Regal told Helms it's been a tough week for him. He said it has, but he's just trying to do his job. Regal said it was about to get worse. Jackson nailed Helms with a forearm and the two men unloaded on Helms, with Regal being especially fierce. Jackson with a uranage to finish Helms off. Whoops, I lied, Regal's knee trembler did it. Then Christian ran out with a kendo stick and ran off the heels.

[Commercial Break]

- B.B. King's Blues Club was shown as they came back from break.

3 - CHRISTIAN vs. ZACK RYDER

Christian was in the ring already to save time. I would've loved to have heard William Shatner doing a rendition of Ryder' theme song last night. A pair of-lockups led to a stalemate. Ryder was on offense and choked Christian in the middle rope. Spinning heel kick by Christian as Ryder went to the apron to recover. He stuck a shoulder into the rib of a charging Christian. Ryder got his face planted on the apron, then Christian dropkicked him through the ropes and almost into the announce table. Rosa distracted Christian while he was on the second rope, and Ryder capitalized by catching a dropkick attempt and doing more choking in the ropes. Christian fought out of a side headlock, but got caught in a rough-rider leg lariat by Ryder for two. Christian went to the top and hit a cross-body for two. Christian missed a corner charge, but face-planted Ryder. After working over Ryder with the middle rope, he dropkicked his opponent off the top for two. Sunset flip, but Ryder sat down and got a near-fall. European uppercut off the middle rope for two. Killswitch was effective, but Ezekiel Jackson ran out for the DQ.

WINNER: Christian, via DQ, at 5:25. Fun, high-energy match.

Jackson, with Regal in tow, continued his assault on Christian, throwing him into the steps outside the ring and standing over him as the show closed. Looks like that feud isn't over quite yet.

Greg Parks has been covering Smackdown for PWTorch.com since January of 2007. You can also read his frequently updated blog in the VIP forum. Check out his column each week in the PDF-exclusive version of the Torch Newsletter. Also, look for his Tuesday chats with James Caldwell each Tuesday afternoon, posted on the Torch website. Comments, questions and feedback are welcome, and can be sent to g_man9784@yahoo.com.

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