By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
September 9, 2008
Upcoming PPV: No Mercy (fourth-to-last episode before PPV)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the fifty-second 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 MATT HARDY vs. MARK HENRY (w/ Tony Atlas) (8 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Matt Hardy kicked off ECW by saying, "This is a dream come true." He ran through a list of thank-you's, but Mark Henry cut him off.

-Henry got right to the point, clubbing Hardy to the floor with his forearm. Hardy recovered, however, knocking Henry to ringside before felling Tony Atlas with a Twist of Fate.

-The main event match featuring Matt Hardy and Finlay vs. Mark Henry and Mike Knox ended when Hardy hit the Twist of Fate on Knox for the win.

Analysis:

Many people have waited years for Matt Hardy to win a world title, and although the ECW Title clearly carries less weight than the WWE and World Title, it still has value and resulted in a somewhat memorable moment. The opening segment featuring Hardy eluding Henry's beating and getting some payback on Tony Atlas was a nice way to start his title reign. Perhaps, despite the massive size difference between Hardy and Henry, WWE is going to portray Matt as a champion with a good strategy and great veteran instincts. He doesn't immediately come across like a guy who's going to have to run away from his larger opponent and have to rely on luck to slip out of matches with victories.

The main event match further cemented Matt Hardy as a force to be reckoned with. Over the past few weeks, he's shown that he can beat anyone on ECW (even Mark Henry, who only won matches with the help and interference by Tony Atlas). It looks like this Hardy-Henry feud is going to continue with Mark Henry demanding a re-match for the ECW Title, so their rivalry will presumably culminate at No Mercy. The decision to keep the feud running from here is probably not a bad one after all because now the title has a new home, and consequently, the dynamic of this feud has shifted dramatically. It almost feels completely new. Also, ECW's roster is still very thin. WWE is making the right move by extending this particular storyline instead of shooting a new opponent at Matt Hardy right away.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7.5

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

JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ vs. EVAN BOURNE (1 week)

Summary Quick Shot:

-John Morrison faced Evan Bourne in singles competition this week. The match ended when The Miz distracted Bourne as he was about to hit the Air Bourne. Morrison capitalized with a springboard kick to Bourne's head, earning him the victory.

Analysis:

The potential for this feud is really strong as both Evan Bourne and John Morrison are exciting to watch in the ring. This feud essentially started Monday when the Raw-ECW talent exchange continued with a tag team match featuring Bourne and Rey Mysterio versus Miz and Morrison.

Evan Bourne probably got all he could have out of his feud with WWE veteran Chavo Guerrero, so it was time for something new. Not only could this feud result in some interesting matchups over the next few weeks, but Miz and Morrison seem like the perfect duo to bring out more of Bourne's personality and character. If WWE utilizes The Dirt Sheet—or if they simply show clips from the WWE.com version—Miz and Morrison could be of great assistance to help connect Evan Bourne with viewers. Maybe he'll even start talking in promos and backstage scenes or argue with Miz and Morrison face-to-face.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6

Previous Feuds
John Morrison & The Miz: Yang & Moore, Dreamer & Delaney, CM Punk, Finlay & Hornswoggle
Evan Bourne: Chavo Guerrero & Bam Neely

FINLAY & HORNSWOGGLE vs. MIKE KNOX (7 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

Summary Quick Shot:

-As mentioned above, Finlay and Matt Hardy won their match against Mark Henry and Mike Knox when Hardy hit the Twist of Fate on Knox for the win.

-ECW also recapped the Finlay-Knox feud earlier in the show with clips from the past few weeks.

Analysis:

This one confuses me. I had been pretty optimistic about this rivalry once Mike Knox gave a legitimate reason for attacking Finlay and Hornswoggle. The story was sound, and Knox seemed to be benefitting from it. Then WWE temporarily pulled the plug on the feud after about 5 or 6 weeks so that Finlay could focus on the ECW Scramble Match.

Now that Unforgiven has passed, this feud has ostensibly been restarted. One hint for that is how they booked a match with Finlay and Knox, but the finish only involved Hardy and Knox. The problem WWE now faces is that they need to do something else, something more, to put fire behind the rivalry. If a storyline is temporarily discontinued, there needs to be something new or relevant about it for fans to start caring again.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [down 1.5 since two weeks ago]

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) Matt Hardy vs. The Miz vs. Finlay vs. Mark Henry vs. Chavo Guerrero
(2) Chavo Guerrero (w/ Bam Neely) vs. Evan Bourne


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Super Crazy vs. ?
(2) Gavin Spears vs. ?
(3) Ricky Ortiz vs. ?
(4) Ryan Braddock vs. ?
(5) Jack Swagger vs. ?


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 "Boogeyman" so that I know it's not junk mail.

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