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By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

ECW HITS

Opening Segment: After last week’s very good ECW, this week’s was back to normal as it was just o.k. Though it did get off to a good start. It wasn’t a great start, as the feats of strength from Mark Henry are just redundant at this point, but it was good. Matt Hardy’s show opening promo was strong, highlighting his excitement over the opportunity at SummerSlam to become ECW Champion. I also liked his come back after Henry bent the bar that bars and pans don’t fight back, but he will. It was a nice way to start the build to this David vs. Goliath match.

Colin Delaney: In his previous persona, Delaney found himself in the Hit column several times. After a heel turn, I was worried he would no longer deliver. He played the underdog babyface character very well, but would he be able to do the same as a heel? So far the answer is “yes.” I thoroughly enjoyed his performance with Henry in the back stage area. Henry’s facial reactions to Delaney were spot on as well. I like the idea that he is trying to please Henry and Tony Atlas, who don’t really care about him at all. Plus, he still took a huge bump at the end of the show when Henry threw him out of the ring. I don’t know how long this heel character can work for him, but you could say the same about the babyface character also.

Mike Knox: I was confused as to why Mike Knox attacked Finlay after his bad tag match (more later). So, it was good after the commercial break when Leena caught up with Knox and we got an explanation. We haven’t heard Knox talk much, and he delivered a solid and straightforward promo. Finlay is showing signs of weakness, and he made a statement by going after him. Everything he said about Finlay was right. He is no longer the man who loves to fight. Part of why I enjoyed this promo from Knox is that it hopefully is a sign of things to come for Finlay who will want to prove Knox wrong. I don’t know if a Knox vs. Finlay feud will be good, but I am looking forward to seeing what Finlay does to try to prove Knox wrong.

ECW MISSES

Miz & Morrison vs. Finlay & Hornswoggle: That was 12 minutes of bad wrestling. It wasn’t all bad. There were some nice moves and moments during the match, but for the most part, I was bored. This is one case where I say the match was too long. Seeing Finlay fight The Miz and John Morrison for that long really started to drag after awhile. The two on one beating went on too long. It wasn’t believable that Finlay would be able to be so competitive in what turned out to be a handicap situation for most of the match. Sure, Miz & Morrison got the win, but their credibility has been damaged lately, and having that much trouble in a two on one situation isn’t going to help. Recently, WWE has given the fans the start of some could be very good matches, only to have the matches cut short in about 2 minutes or so. But, they give this match 12 minutes? I am a fan of Miz & Morrison, and Finlay, and even Hornswoggle in certain situations. This wasn’t a good one for anyone involved. That is why I was happy with what Knox did and said afterwards.

Braden Walker: Walker has only been on ECW once before, in a rather lackluster showing vs. Armando Estrada a few weeks ago. But now, he is playing buddy buddy with Matt Hardy? I don’t have a problem with Walker. He had a good run in TNA. But, you have to do something more to build up a guy, than to have him tell the biggest babyface on the roster that he has his back. Hardy didn’t even know his name. It was just an awkward scene. The cheesy play off of Walker’s TNA persona of “the Wildcat” was out of place too. I guess WWE never saddles a guy with a lame gimmick or name. This is the problem with a new talent initiative. ECW is introducing several new names at the same time, and in only an hour, they don’t have the time to do it properly. We still don’t know anything about Evan Bourne, other than the fact that he can jump high. We are starting to get a little character development from Ricky Ortiz, but not from Walker yet.

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and TNA Impact each week. Email him at jmezz-torch@sbcglobal.net.

For another view from the original Hitlist author, compare Jason Powell's views to mine by visiting prowrestling.NET's "Hitlist" section here.

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