By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
June 24, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Night of Champions (last episode before PPV)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the forty-first edition of ECW Storylines and Feuds.

For those wondering about the Intrigue Level system that I employ, you can refer to the numbers as follows:

10 (excellent), 9 (great), 8-6 (very good, good, pretty good), 5 (decent; has its good and bad qualities), 4-3 (needs work, poor), 2 (bad), 1 (terrible)


ECW Champion KANE vs. THE BIG SHOW vs. MARK HENRY (5 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

Mark Henry went one-on-one this week with the Big Red Machine as Big Show joined Tazz and Adamle on commentary. The big-man match saw Kane slightly distracted when he ascended the ropes while staring at Show at ringside. Henry was able to knock Kane off the ropes, hoist him into position for the World's Strongest Slam, deliver the move, and pick up a very big win on ECW TV.

Okay, the result of this clean win (with a very slight distraction) by Mark Henry over the ECW Champion was quite a surprise, and it was done in a relatively short amount of time. Apparently, WWE has added Henry, who is now an ECW Superstar, to the Night of Champions ECW Title Match. This is a decent build for the upcoming Triple Threat, and WWE has been throwing their weight behind Mark Henry as of late. A win over Kane certainly counts as credibility-lifting. The storyline, however, is a little unfocused and slightly underdeveloped.

Originally, the issues were between Kane and Big Show. Later, Henry stepped in to challenge the winner of Sunday's PPV match; however, apparently the plans have changed. Also, the draft has placed each man on a different show when Kane moved to Raw, Show stayed on Smackdown, and Henry shifted to ECW. So, the feud is more cumbersome than it used to be, but that shouldn't cause too many problems. By this point, most viewers realized that these three supersized giants are going to fight it out for the title. In one sense, it's really that simple.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Kane: Finlay, Big Daddy V, Shelton Benjamin, Chuck Palumbo, Chavo Guerrero
Big Show: Floyd Mayweather, The Great Khali
Mark Henry: Undertaker, Kane

CM PUNK vs. WWE Tag Team Champions JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ (8 weeks)

This week's ECW kicked off with ECW General Manager Theodore Long wishing Mr. McMahon a speedy recovery and saying that his thoughts are with him after the "accident" on Raw the night before. Long then introduced the newest member of the ECW roster (at the time), Matt Hardy. The United States Champion walked out for some in-ring action. He teamed with Raw Superstar CM Punk to face John Morrison and The Miz. The matchup concluded with Hornswoggle distracting Miz, allowing Hardy to nail the Twist of Fate on Morrison for the three count. After the match, Hardy and Punk toasted one another with their respective holdings (the U.S. Title and the Money in the Bank briefcase) as the WWE Tag Team Champions argued at ringside.

From the looks of things, it appeared as though Matt Hardy was about to embark on a new feud with Morrison and Miz. This week's ECW tag match suggests that the possibility still exists. However, Punk will presumably not be appearing on ECW starting next week as he tries to squeeze into a spot on Monday Night Raw. Plus, Finlay and Hornswoggle may continue their feud with the WWE Tag Team Champions after Sunday's PPV matchup. Everything is still in the air at the moment with the dust not yet settled from the draft, and that makes everything more difficult to predict and analyze. I'd assume that this Punk-Morrison-Miz feud is completely finished and that Hardy will likely pick it up from here. But who could his partner be?

Intrigue Level (out of 10): n/a

Previous Feuds
Kane: Finlay, Big Daddy V, Shelton Benjamin, Chuck Palumbo, Chavo Guerrero
CM Punk: Elijah Burke, John Morrison, Chavo Guerrero
John Morrison & The Miz: Jesse & Festus, Yang & Moore, Dreamer & Delaney

KOFI KINGSTON vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN (10 weeks)

Also this week, Shelton Benjamin fought longtime rival Kofi Kingston in an ECW Extreme Rules Match. The match featured weapons like a microphone, steel stairs, and garbage cans. It ended when Kofi caught Shelton with his Trouble in Paradise kick, covered, and scored the win. Afterward, the Jamaican Buzzsaw celebrated as Benjamin writhed on the mat.

Unfortunately, after ten weeks of solid build, this feud has just been scrapped as one of many casualties of the draft. On the bright side, the feud helped Kingston get a good feel for his character while often providing the most entertaining segment on the ECW brand each week. Now Kofi will test the Raw waters, while Benjamin tries to find a place on Friday Night Smackdown.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): n/a

Previous Feuds
Kofi Kinston: n/a
Shelton Benjamin: Kane, CM Punk, Money in the Bank

COLIN DELANEY vs. ARMANDO ESTRADA (14 weeks w/ 5 weeks hiatus)

Nothing was done this week to continue this feud. Neither wrestler showed up on ECW. So, with no continuation at all in the last two weeks, this one is likely over.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): n/a

Previous Feuds
Colin Delaney: John Morrison & The Miz
Armando Estrada: n/a

EVAN BOURNE vs. MIKE KNOX (3 weeks)

During Knox's entrance, WWE replayed footage of last week when, after Evan Bourne fought Matt Striker in a match, Knox knocked him out cold with a kick to the head before spiking him with his corkscrew faceplant. This week, it was Bourne's chance to avenge that assault. The bout ended when Knox caught Bourne with a backbreaker, then immediately turning that into his faceplant finisher (which Adamle referred to as the Knox Out) for the emphatic victory.

This is an odd, yet slightly intriguing pairing. The juxtaposition of their styles and characters could provide some nice TV in the coming weeks. This week, Knox established himself as a threat to newcomer Evan Bourne. WWE should, however, begin to show us more behind whom Bourne is as a person through either mic time, backstage vignettes, video history packages, or some time on commentary with Tazz and Adamle.

The relatively little that is known about Mike Knox almost helps his particular character simply because he looks like a guy who you wouldn't want to get to know and who wouldn't share anything with you anyway; he's the reclusive, introverted heel character. Now WWE needs to find out how they can develop Bourne's character to make him a good fit (not only for Knox, but for the ECW or WWE brand as a whole). It's only his first month on TV, so they still have plenty of time. But the sooner WWE introduces us to this new character, the better.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6

Previous Feuds
Evan Bourne: n/a
Mike Knox: Kelly Kelly, Tommy Dreamer

WWE Tag Team Champions JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ vs. FINLAY & HORNSWOGGLE (3 weeks)

The only part of the show to really hype their upcoming WWE Tag Team Title Match at Night of Champions occurred in the first match of the show when Hornswoggle provided a distraction, which led to a victory for CM Punk and Matt Hardy. Beyond that, there's nothing to analyze.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6 [same as on Smackdown]

Previous Feuds
John Morrison & The Miz: Jesse & Festus, Yang & Moore, Dreamer & Delaney
Finlay: Kane, Rey Mysterio, The Great Khali, Mr. McMahon, JBL
Hornswoggle: Mr. McMahon


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Kane vs. Big Show vs. Mark Henry?
(2) CM Punk vs. John Morrison & The Miz
(3) Colin Delaney vs. Armando Estrada
(4) Kofi Kingston vs. Shelton Benjamin


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Matt Hardy vs. John Morrison & The Miz


Thanks for reading, everyone. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, feel free to email me at newthtorch@hotmail.com. I greatly appreciate all the feedback that I receive, and I will respond to every email. Please insert a word in the subject line that deals with a wrestling topic or write something such as "WWE," "feud," or "Nunzio" so that I know it's not junk mail.

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