By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

ECW HITS

Burchill - Hurricane: This is a minor Hit as it wasn't anything special or great, but I liked that WWE continued to build towards next week's match between Paul Burchill and the Hurricane. I thought it was supposed to be this week, so I don't know if I got that wrong last week or if WWE changed their minds. Either way, it was good for them to talk up the match and for Hurricane to distract Burchill, costing him his match against Goldust to add fuel to the fire.

Christian vs. Regal: I want to get a negative out of the way before moving on to the positive review for this ECW Title match. It was too long in this context. It went around 24 minutes. They should have added some time to something else on the show and dropped this match down to more like 19 minutes. Then they could have had the first commercial come right after the formal ring intros, but before the match started. Having two commercials in a match can be very distracting and that was the case here, especially since they seemed so close together. However, that being said I liked this match especially after the second commercial when we got a very long stretch of uninterrupted wrestling action. WWE has done a good job of building up Christian and William Regal as legit Champion and challenger and they delivered well here in a physical match. Regal lost in the end, but he came close and even kicked out of the Killswitch. The final few minutes of the match were great as the action picked up and they were able to out counter each other multiple times. Christian was outstanding in teasing a tap out from the Regal Stretch. The only problem was that the crowd was split, making the nearfalls not as dramatic as the crowd was not cheering that loud for either guy to kick out.

ECW MISSES

The Abraham Washington Show: I know that Abraham Washington's jokes are supposed to be lame, but they are still annoying and not in a good way. Recycling material from "Rush Hour" is stupid, and acknowledging and admitting to doing so doesn't make it better. I like getting Yoshi Tatsu some mic time, as this was the most we've heard him speak English. I just wish they could find a better way to do it. Also, this didn't really get Tatsu over as he was playing a caricature while talking about Christian vs. Regal, not himself. And, hearing his brief comments on the main event really didn't add much to the anticipation for that ECW Title match. So, I'm not sure what this accomplished.

Ryder's Fantasy: Last week it was a Miss for Zack Ryder's POV shot. This week it is a Miss for Ryder's fantasy. I hate it when we "see" what is going on inside a wrestler's mind. It breaks the fourth wall in a horrible way. Also, is it supposed to be funny? Is it supposed to make us relate to Ryder somehow? He is a heel, so should he be booed for having a crush on Rosa Mendes? I don't understand the point or where they are going. I have enjoyed Ryder's work after my initial skepticism about his character. He has been entertaining and has had some good matches. However, I'm not digging where they are going with him right now. Plus the fantasy sequence was pure crap.

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