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By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
July 15, 2008
Upcoming PPV: The Great American Bash (last episode before PPV)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the forty-fourth 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 MARK HENRY vs. TOMMY DREAMER & COLIN DELANEY (3 weeks)

Summary:

To kick off the show, Tazz stood in center ring and introduced Mark Henry as the "World's Strongest Champion." Henry, accompanied by Tony Atlas, made his way to the ring with a huge smile on his face and the ECW Title in his hand. Tazz started by announcing that at the Great American Bash, Mark Henry would face Tommy Dreamer for the ECW Championship. He then got to the question on everybody's mind: why did he do what he did last week? Atlas said that Henry offered to let him carry his bags. "Now I wouldn't just carry anybody's bag," Atlas said, "but I will be gracious to carry the bag of the World's Strongest Champion, Mark Henry." He then got some cooking pans out for a demonstration.

Atlas took a guy from the front row and had him attempt to bend one of the pans; it didn't budge. He then handed the same pan to Mark Henry, who took about thirty seconds to crush it into the shape of a taco. Suddenly, Tommy Dreamer's music hit, and he approached the ring for a confrontation. Dreamer said that he's been working out training for their match and that he wanted to give the strength test a shot. Henry gave him a pan, and Dreamer struggled to alter its shape. After giving up, he used it to crack Mark Henry over the head, felling the ECW Champion. Dreamer then walked up the ramp as he proudly held the dented pan into the air. After a commercial break, Teddy Long told Dreamer to leave because he wouldn't tolerate the kind of civil unrest that's been transpiring on Raw lately. Dreamer angrily left the building.

Later in the back, Mark Henry and Tony Atlas interrupted a conversation Colin Delaney was having with Tiffany. Atlas told Colin that he had nothing to worry about because he knows that Colin had nothing to do with what Dreamer did to Henry earlier in the show. But then Henry attacked him, putting him into a bear hug before military pressing him and dropping him onto an equipment box. Tiffany quickly ran for help.

Analysis:

The opening segment was effective in multiple ways. First of all, it explained (kind of) why Tony Atlas turned on Dreamer and Delaney last week; he clearly respects Mark Henry for his strength, something that he has always valued. It also gave viewers something new to see from Mark Henry. We all knew that he's a strong guy and that he has won strength competitions, but instead of seeing the usual short Henry squash match that proves said strength, WWE gave us a segment that showed us something new. I often say that they should include wrestlers in more non-wrestling segments, backstage vignettes, appearances outside the arena, etc. in order to show us different variations or elements to their characters, and this opening strength demonstration was a good way to go. It also set up Dreamer-Henry for Sunday's PPV.

As for the characters, WWE is definitely on the right track to turning Mark Henry from a two-dimensional traditional monster heel figure into something more unique. Henry's showing good progress the scenes he takes part in, and he is growing into his new role. Tony Atlas's new character is also intriguing, and many questions still remain: What actually is his position? Is he really playing the legend who will do anything for a payday? Will he still be carrying Henry's bags three or four weeks from now? And how does the ECW Champion see him? Does Henry still consider him a worthless legend who deserves nothing better than being his assistant?

If Atlas continues to play the willing assistant and Henry absorbs all the praise and compliments along the way without really changing his opinion of Atlas (proving that Henry's on another level of arrogance), WWE could really play out that interesting tandem. Atlas's explanation this week wasn't complete, however, and it would be a shame for him to fall into a conventional manager role (which often results in people slowly fading into the background).

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Mark Henry: Undertaker, Kane
Colin Delaney: John Morrison & The Miz, Armando Estrada
Tommy Dreamer: The New Breed, Elijah Burke, John Morrison & The Miz, Mike Knox

WWE Tag Team Champions JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ vs. FINLAY & HORNSWOGGLE (6 weeks)

Summary:

No sign of Finlay and Hornswoggle this week, but John Morrison and The Miz were in tag team action against the Hardys. The match saw Morrison hit his corkscrew neckbreaker on Matt Hardy. Morrison covered, but Jeff fell on top of both of them (Morrison and Matt) when delivering his Swanton Bomb. Matt then pinned Morrison to score the pinfall. After the match, the referee held up the Hardys' hands before both brothers jumped to ringside to give fans high-fives.

Analysis:

The Morrison/Miz-Hardys match was really strong, but other than elevating Morrison and Miz as good champions, it didn't advance their ongoing feud with Finlay and Hornswoggle.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5 [down 0.5 since last week]

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

CHAVO GUERRERO (w/ Bam Neely) vs. EVAN BOURNE (1 week)

Summary:

This week, Chavo Guerrero went one-on-one with Evan Bourne. The bout ended when Chavo attempted a splash from the ropes. Bourne lifted his knees to counter the move; then he ascended the ropes, landed his impressive Shooting Star Press, and covered Chavo for the big upset win. After the matchup, Bourne celebrated with a giant smile on his face as Bam Neely looked at him angrily.

Analysis:

The potential here for Evan Bourne to break out as a legitimate WWE star is intriguing in and of itself. Over the last year, they have elevated Chavo Guerrero's status on the roster; he's even been ECW Champion for some time. When he wasn't defending or trying to regain his title, he was eyeing Matt Hardy's United States Title or he was involved with the main event storyline on Smackdown between Edge and Vickie Guerrero. So, he's had a great deal of television time over the past few months, and an upset win by newcomer Evan Bourne should be considered an amazing accomplishment. Will WWE follow this up with more interaction between these two next week, or will Bourne and Chavo move on to something new?

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6

Previous Feuds
Chavo Guerrero: Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, Kane
Evan Bourne: n/a

ECW General Manager THEODORE LONG vs. ARMANDO ESTRADA (7 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

Summary:

Estrada didn't appear on the show, and the only segment featuring Teddy Long was the scene where he reprimanded Tommy Dreamer for cracking a frying pan over Mark Henry's head.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 3 [down 1 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Theodore Long: Vickie Guerrero
Armando Estrada: Colin Delaney

EVAN BOURNE vs. MIKE KNOX (6 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

Summary:

With Mike Knox squashing someone new (Shannon Moore) and Evan Bourne upsetting Chavo Guerrero in singles competition, it looks as though this one is officially over.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): n/a

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


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Evan Bourne vs. Mike Knox
(2) Matt Hardy vs. Chavo Guerrero
(3) John Morrison & The Miz vs. Finlay & Hornswoggle?
(4) Theodore Long vs. Armando Estrada?


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Braden Walker vs. ?
(2) Ricky Ortiz vs. ?
(3) Mike Knox vs. Shannon Moore


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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