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5/19 ECW TV Reax

Patrick Michael of Rochester, N.Y. (6.0): Best: Finlay vs. D.H. Smith. Worst: Ryder vs. Adam Greene. I know many are hating on this show, but I really enjoyed most of the action, even the squash with Zach Ryder as they are really building up his Genner rip off character. Now, just some mic time would help to get the character over more. My only complaint with the show was the angle with Christian and Swagger. I think they could have gotten more heat with a stare down than with the injury angle. Unless it was going to play into the match with Burchill why run the angle? They could have given Burchill the win to build up some credibility for him but here is another guy that can't even win a match against an injured man. It would not have taken away any heat from Christian to lose the match and could have been played up next week. The main event is getting panned for the rest spots, but I felt that it played into the size advantage that Smith has over Finlay. The spots I felt were planned out well and did not take away the heat. Finlay bumped his ass off and both guys had their working shoes on.

Terrie Neilson, Las Vegas, NV (7.5) Best: Tiffany-Swagger opening exchange; Christian vs. Burchill. Worst: Kozlov promo; Finlay vs. D.H. Smith. ECW is nothing if not consistent. The booking was fairly simple and straightforward without a lot of overdone drama. The matches were fairly decent or better. Tiffany was less wooden than usual in delivery and came across as much more business-like compared to the more emotional Vickie Guerrero. I liked how she addressed Swagger's sit-in as "taking the show hostage." Swagger doing a sit-in to protest his
plight was fine, though his "He cheated!" comes across a little grating to the ears. There was a slight downgrade in the follow-up where Tiffany didn't confront Swagger for roughing up Christian on his way to the ring for his match with Burchill. (This could have further teased Tiffany exerting authority to keep Swagger out of the title picture.) Kozlov's promo didn't do much and it's looking like he's getting Haas heat for it. I would have rather seen an Evan Bourne match instead, but maybe there is something to Striker's commentary in Evan's last appearance that he was dealing with an injury different than the ankle one he came back from. (Bourne has apparently joined Shawn Michaels and Undertaker on the "MIA Without TV Explanation" list.) Ryder vs. jobber didn't do a whole lot, though it did give fans a glimpse of a pretty impressive 1-2 finisher. The Fameasser part looks pretty good, and the neckbreaker over the knee looked pretty sweet. He's got a line that fits his character ("woo woo woo"), so once he figures out some other signature moves, Zack may have a shot. The Dreamer interview was positioned in a perfect setting and time, Tiffany's office as she just made the Christian-Dreamer ECW title match official. It allowed Dreamer to put over Christian as a good guy as well as make his vow that he would win the title. But I smell a Swaggin' rat come Thursday (I don't read spoilers, so I don't want to know if it's true) and a three-way for Extreme Rules. Smith-Finlay did what it was meant to do: put over D.H. Smith, but it went too long and the crowd was getting noticeably restless. Nice use of history by Striker to give some sort of explanation for why Smith would go after Finlay; it left enough room for the curious to go look and seek the truth and learn more about the past incarnation of the Hart Foundation. While the show faltered at the end, it was a good show overall.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "ECW TV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on ECW, click here.

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