By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
October 7, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Cyber Sunday (third-to-last episode before PPV)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the fifty-sixth 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) (12 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Jamie Noble met with a costumed Tiffany and Teddy Long to trick-or-treat for candy in celebration of Sci Fi's 31 Days of Halloween.

-Mark Henry crashed the party to demand another match with Matt Hardy. Noble, unhappy with Henry's rudeness, got himself booked in a match against the World's Strongest Man.

-Mark Henry easily beat Jamie Noble after hitting the World's Strongest Slam for the 1-2-3.

-After the matchup, Henry continued the assault on a defenseless Noble by delivering more slams. Matt Hardy tried to make the save, but his efforts were quickly stopped by the peeved Henry.

Analysis:

This feud continues to sink. Matt Hardy makes a strong ECW Champion, but he's not getting much help from Mark Henry at this point. This rivalry feels old and stale right now. It began to feel that way about a week or two after Hardy exited the Unforgiven Scramble Match with the ECW Title around his waist. He is in desperate need of a new opponent and a new storyline. The only reason I can see for WWE's continued use of this drawn-out feud is that they plan to have another match between Henry and Hardy, but this time on television. Hardy can get the full popularity and credibility bump if he defeats Henry cleanly on TV, perhaps for the ECW Championship.

The only other possibility is that WWE doesn't feel that they have enough time to change things radically at the top of ECW's roster with only three weeks (only two after this week) before their next PPV, Cyber Sunday. Because it's approaching so quickly, they could want to just stretch this thing three more weeks and culminate it with some kind of stipulation to make things bearable. There just seems to be a lack in substance here and a tired feel. Jericho and Michaels might be able to carry out a year-long rivalry, but Henry and Hardy are going to have a much harder time doing anything like that. Their three-month feud is long enough; it's time to move on or change something dramatically.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 3.5 [down 1.5 since last week]

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

JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ vs. EVAN BOURNE & RICKY ORTIZ (5 weeks)

Summary Quick Shot:

-In ECW's big main event tag match, John Morrison, The Miz, Ted DiBiase, and Cody Rhodes defeated CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, and Ricky Ortiz when Morrison hit his Moonlight Drive on Punk for the victory.

Analysis:

Interestingly, this new Punk-DiBiase feud began last week on Smackdown; it continued Monday night on Raw; and it's now stretched into ECW territory. That's an example of WWE really pushing this thing. It means that in the last three WWE shows on television, Punk and DiBiase were somehow involved in a rivalry that's quickly gaining some traction. Despite Punk being pinned by John Morrison, it's important to remember that DiBiase was involved with the finish: He is the one who hung Punk over the top rope, allowing Morrison to hit his finisher and pick up the win. It's actually good that a third party got the win in this instance because it leaves more intrigue for an eventual in-ring meeting between Punk and DiBiase one-on-one.

This week's tag match also raises the question of how many other non-Raw appearances Punk and DiBiase will be making in the coming weeks. It's an intriguing feud that has just gotten started, and WWE won't let us forget about it. As for Morrison/Miz-Bourne/Ortiz, nothing new was introduced this week regarding their issues, but their feud is still fresh and exciting as well.

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

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

TOMMY DREAMER & FINLAY vs. JACK SWAGGER & MIKE KNOX (3 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-In ECW's opening matchup, Tommy Dreamer teamed with Finlay to face the heel duo of Mike Knox and Jack Swagger. The match ended when Finlay struck Knox in the head with his signature shillelagh for the victory.

Analysis:

This was an interesting match simply because of the history here. Both Tommy Dreamer and Finlay have had pretty extensive feuds with Mike Knox in the past six months. Jack Swagger, although new to the scene, is doing a fine job establishing himself as a smarmy heel character on ECW. The big thing missing from this feud is a solid story to go along with it. Tommy Dreamer began his rivalry with Swagger when he decided to help a guy who was being targeted by Swagger's bullying. But there really isn't much else to it. I realize I say this all the time, but some promo time would be nice; some backstage scenes involving these guys would be even better.

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

Previous Feuds
Tommy Dreamer: Elijah Burke, John Morrison & The Miz, Mike Knox, Mark Henry, Colin Delaney
Jack Swagger: n/a


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Super Crazy vs. ?
(2) Gavin Spears vs. ?
(3) Ryan Braddock 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.

We suggest these recent related articles...

10/5 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Natalya vs. Paige, Owens vs. Cara, Stephanie McMahon, Sasha Banks, Xavier Woods

COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: The History of Foam Hands in Pro Wrestling

9/28 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Kane's Split Personality, Divas Revolution, Heyman & Big Show, Reigns vs. Wyatt