By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
August 19, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Unforgiven (third-to-last episode before PPV)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the forty-ninth 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 (w/ Tony Atlas) vs. MATT HARDY (5 weeks)

Summary:

In the main event of ECW, Matt Hardy faced Mark Henry in a SummerSlam re-match for the ECW Title. The match saw Hardy hit his Twist of Fate before attempting a pin attempt. However, Tony Atlas grabbed Hardy's leg and pulled him to ringside to break up the cover. That interference ultimately allowed Henry to deliver his World's Strongest Slam for the victory.

Analysis:

Does Hardy's second loss in an ECW Title Match signify the end to the Hardy-Henry feud? Probably not, considering how both matches ended in an interference by Tony Atlas. Also remember that the General Manager of ECW is babyface Teddy Long, so it's not unlikely to expect that Long would book something in the near future to make things fair for Hardy. Plus, with only two episodes of ECW left until Unforgiven, WWE might as well keep this one going. It would be nice, however, to see a new angle to the storyline in the coming weeks. Hardy should also be given some mic time next week to confront Henry about his cheat-happy manager.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7.5 [same since last week]

Previous Feuds
Mark Henry: Undertaker, Kane, Tommy Dreamer
Matt Hardy: Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch, MVP, Chavo Guerrero

CHAVO GUERRERO & BAM NEELY vs. EVAN BOURNE (6 weeks)

Summary:

This week, ECW hosted a six-man tag team matchup featuring Miz, Morrison, and Chavo as they faced the team of Evan Bourne, Tommy Dreamer, and Super Crazy. The bout ended when most of the action spilled to ringside. Miz was able to get into the ring and snap Dreamer with a neckbreaker for the win.

Analysis:

WWE continues to tout Evan Bourne as the new cool thing on their roster. At one point in the broadcast, Todd Grisham said that we were "watching Evan Bourne do what only Evan Bourne can do." And now they've thrown Super Crazy into the fray to perhaps slowly grow a group of people who will execute fast-paced, high-flying in-ring action. Bourne is exciting to watch, and he's growing more and more popular each week.

ECW has actually started a healthy trend of successfully establishing major babyface stars: CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, and now Evan Bourne all began on ECW and have made a name for themselves in WWE. Their unique styles of wrestling have won over many fans, and WWE seems to have implemented a working formula: introduce them on the Tuesday night brand, and if they become stars, advance them to bigger and better things. Their stories may also be a sign that fans are looking for a new type of wrestling. But I must also emphasize that their uniqueness rests in the fact that they stand out from WWE's normal style. If everyone on the roster wrestled like Bourne, it wouldn't work. So, this is a case where WWE is using their established style to their advantage by pushing someone different.

As for Bourne-Chavo, the feud still has nice elements, but WWE needs to start incorporating either a new angle or some more explanation. It started with Bourne upsetting Chavo in singles competition; he's also beaten Chavo's hired bodyguard, Bam Neely. From there, the storyline was simple, yet strong: this new guy showed a lot of potential and surprised a ring veteran with some wins. But now we have seen Bourne face his opponents in single and tag team competition with no additional intrigue beyond watching his in-ring work. It seems time for either a new opponent or more mic time for Bourne via interview, promo, vignette, backstage scene, etc.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7.5 [down 0.5 since last week]

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

FINLAY & HORNSWOGGLE vs. MIKE KNOX (4 weeks)

Summary:

Finlay entered the ring with Hornswoggle to call out Mike Knox. He even said that he purposely left his shillelagh in the back so that Knox had no reason not to get in the ring face-to-face. Knox came out, but was reluctant to enter the ring. As he began to walk toward the back, the Fighting Irishman subsequently jumped him from behind, prompting a brawl that would make its way up the ramp and then to the concrete floor on which the ramp sits. Officials eventually broke up the fight.

Analysis:

After a month, this feud is about where it should be. We were introduced to the situation when Knox blindsided Finlay with a post-match attack. We later found out Knox's problem—namely, that Finlay, someone whom Knox respected at one point, has gone soft after defending Hornswoggle from villainous forces like Mr. McMahon and JBL. This week's brawl gets the excitement going (as much excitement as you can get with a Mike Knox feud).

Unlike WWE's past attempts to push Knox, I think this one may actually be successful simply because they have gone about it so well. Everything that's happened has been backed up by a logical explanation, and the problem is clear between two people that completely disagree. Now we wait for a series of matches to allow Finlay and Knox to settle their issues.

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

Previous Feuds
Finlay: Kane, Rey Mysterio, The Great Khali, Mr. McMahon, JBL, Miz & Morrison
Hornswoggle: Mr. McMahon, Miz & Morrison
Mike Knox: Kelly Kelly, Tommy Dreamer, Evan Bourne


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Tommy Dreamer vs. Colin Delaney


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) John Morrison vs. The Miz vs. Tommy Dreamer & Super Crazy
(2) Ricky Ortiz vs. Gavin Spears


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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