CONTACTABOUTFACEBOOKTWITTERPODCAST IPHONE APPANDROID APPAMAZON APPRSS
Pro Wrestling Torch
Pro Wrestling Torch Reaches The Most Wrestling Fans Every Week: #1 in iTunes • #1 on iPhone and iPad • #1 on Android • #1 on Kindle
GOT THE PWTORCH APP YET?
iPhone & iPad
Android
Amazon Kindle
Windows Phone
PWTorch Phone App
THE SPECIALISTS
9/1 WWE ECW Hits & Misses: Abraham Washington Show, Benjamin vs. Ryder, Goldust vs. Shaemus

Sep 2, 2009 - 1:59:25 PM
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO BOOKMARK US & VISIT US DAILY


By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

ECW HITS

The Abraham Washington Show: I can't believe I'm giving this a Hit. WWE has tweaked the show from week to week with additions like the APPLAUSE or LAUGH signs on the big screen. They are clever, but the segment still sucks. This week's addition was Tony Atlas playing Ed McMahon as the new announcer. I have to admit to laughing each time Atlas laughed (or cackled) at one of Washington's jokes, or at everything that happened. It got more ridiculous as the interview turned serious with the appearance of Paul Burchill to get in Gregory Helms' face that Atlas would continue to laugh, but it kept making me laugh. I was also glad to see someone not named Christian or Tommy Dreamer as the guest. I'm still not a fan in general, but this week kept me entertained and set up another Burchill vs. Hurricane match for next week.

Michaels vs. Undertaker Replay: I did not watch the WrestleMania 25 replay last Saturday, so I had not seen this presentation before. When WWE announced on Raw that the match would be replayed, I had forgotten about the NBC special, so I wrongly assumed it would be a regular replay of the match. That didn't make much sense to me. As the show progressed, I was thinking about how they were going to have to cut out a lot of the match considering there was still the ECW main event to go. This presentation made more sense. It was fun to relive the great match. I have not gone back and re-watched it since I watched it live. I had forgotten about Undertaker's incredible facial reaction after Shawn Michaels kicked out of the Tombstone. That was an entire story told in one shot. My only complaint is that this seems more appropriate for Superstars than ECW. However, I guess I would rather have this than a Raw Rebound.

Goldust vs. Shaemus: This was a great way to culminate a mid-card feud; elevate the feud to main event status, and deliver a very good match. I have enjoyed this feud. Goldust seems reborn. Shaemus has shown his potential as a future star. This is a feud that has elevated both wrestlers. Each can now move on to something else meaningful considering Shaemus won, but Goldust is getting good reactions from the crowds. As for the match itself, they performed well. I couldn't believe Goldust threw a dropkick. I don't recall seeing Black Reign ever throwing a dropkick. The wrestlers were intense throughout. The match went back and forth and built well to the finishing sequence. The crowd bought into it. Plus, the right man won in the end.

ECW MISSES

Benjamin vs. Ryder: This feud has not been good. It started with Shelton Benjamin's face "turn" on the Abraham Washington Show when they had their singing contest which was horrible. Then they had a match the next week that Benjamin easily won in 3 minutes. They dropped the feud for a week and then picked it up again last week when Tiffany forced them to team together for absolutely no reason. Zack Ryder might be a firmly established heel, but WWE has done nothing to firmly establish Benjamin as a face. Their tension and confrontation during and after their tag match last week didn't help. This match was good while it lasted, but at 4 minutes was not much of an improvement over their previous short match. Also, Benjamin hit a few incredible looking moves that failed to get a rise out of the crowd. That should be a lesson to WWE that the fans want to get behind better defined babyfaces and not just pop for cool moves.

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's WWE Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and Superstars 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.


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
prowrestling.net
CLICK HERE FOR EVEN MORE PW.NET HEADLINES


CLICK TO EMAIL THIS ARTICLE
CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO MAIN LISTING

NEW! SIGN UP FOR FREE PWTORCH BREAKING NEWS EMAIL ALERTS
BECOME A PWTORCH VIP MEMBER
-FORMER MEMBERS LOGIN HERE TO RENEW
-NEW MEMBERS CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
SELECT BY ARTICLES CATEGORY
SEARCH PWTORCH.COM



CLICK HERE FOR LIST OF UPCOMING PRO WRESTLING EVENTS
MORE HEADLINES AT AFFILIATE SITES
MMATorch
LATEST HEADLINES - CLICK TO READ CLICK HERE FOR MORE MMATORCH HEADLINES


PWTORCH POLL - VOTE NOW!
RAW POLL 10/12: Vote on Monday's show
 
pollcode.com free polls


RAW POLL 10/12: What was the Best Match on Raw?
 
pollcode.com free polls
MCNEILL LIVECAST POLL: TNA will have a 32-person tournament to determine a new Hvt. champion - your thoughts?
 
pollcode.com free polls
CENA POLL: If John Cena takes a year-end break, who should win the U.S. Title from Cena?
 
pollcode.com free polls
VOTE IN OR SEE RESULTS OF PREVIOUS POLLS



LATEST HEADLINES - CLICK TO READ CLICK HERE FOR EVEN MORE INC HEADLINES

_
LATEST FREE AUDIO SHOWS - CLICK TO LISTEN VIEW MORE PWTORCH LIVECAST EPISODES
DOWNLOAD PWTORCH LIVECAST APP
SUBSCRIBE TO PWTORCH LIVECAST IN ITUNES


ABOUT US

THE TORCH REACHES MORE COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT FANS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE

PWTorch editor Wade Keller has covered pro wrestling full time since 1987 starting with the Pro Wrestling Torch print newsletter. PWTorch.com launched in 1999 and the PWTorch Apps launched in 2008.

He has conducted "Torch Talk" insider interviews with Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Eric Bischoff, Jesse Ventura, Lou Thesz, Jerry Lawler, Mick Foley, Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Bruno Sammartino, Goldberg, more.

He has interviewed big-name players in person incluiding Vince McMahon (at WWE Headquarters), Dana White (in Las Vegas), Eric Bischoff (at the first Nitro at Mall of America), Brock Lesnar (after his first UFC win).

He hosted the weekly Pro Wrestling Focus radio show on KFAN in the early 1990s and hosted the Ultimate Insiders DVD series distributed in retail stories internationally in the mid-2000s including interviews filmed in Los Angeles with Vince Russo & Ed Ferrara and Matt & Jeff Hardy. He currently hosts the most listened to pro wrestling audio show in the world, (the PWTorch Livecast, top ranked in iTunes)


REACHING 1 MILLION+ UNIQUE USERS PER MONTH
500 MILLION CLICKS & LISTENS PER YEAR
MILLIONS OF PWTORCH NEWSLETTERS SOLD
PWTORCH STAFF

EDITORS:
Wade Keller, editor
(kellerwade@gmail.com)

James Caldwell, assistant editor
(pwtorch@gmail.com)

STAFF COLUMNISTS:
Bruce Mitchell (since 1990)
Pat McNeill (since 2001)
Greg Parks (since 2007)
Sean Radican (since 2003)

We also have a great team of
TV Reporters
and Specialists and Artists.

PWTORCH VIP MEMBERSHIP

PWTorch offers a VIP membership for $10 a month (or less with an annual sub). It includes nearly 25 years worth of archives from our coverage of pro wrestling dating back to PWTorch Newsletters from the late-'80s filled with insider secrets from every era that are available to VIPers in digital PDF format and Keller's radio show from the early 1990s.

Also, new exclusive top-shelf content every day including a new VIP-exclusive weekly 16 page digital magazine-style (PC and iPad compatible) PDF newsletter packed with exclusive articles and news.

The following features come with a VIP membership which tens of thousands of fans worldwide have enjoyed for many years...

-New Digital PWTorch Newsletter every week
-3 New Digital PDF Back Issues from 5, 10, 20 years ago
-Over 60 new VIP Audio Shows each week
-Ad-free access to all PWTorch.com free articles
-VIP Forum access with daily interaction with PWTorch staff and well-informed fellow wrestling fans
-Tons of archived audio and text articles
-Decades of Torch Talk insider interviews in transcript and audio formats with big name stars.


**SIGN UP FOR VIP ACCESS HERE**

CONTACTABOUTFACEBOOKTWITTERPODCASTIPHONE APPANDROID APPAMAZON APPRSS
VIP SIGN-UP
VIP LOGIN
THE TORCH: #1 IN COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT COVERAGE | © 1999-2013 TDH Communications Inc. • All rights reserved -- PRIVACY POLICY