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ECW TV Reax #1: "There wasn't much WWE could have done to make this episode any better other than..." Oct 21, 2009 - 9:30:44 AM
Justin James of Columbia, S.C., IT professional/author (9.0): Best Match: Christian-Jericho. Worst Match: None. The only disappointment in this episode of ECW was that I had a prior commitment which prevented me from being able to be there in person. I liked the opening, with the interplay between Jericho and Abraham Washington, and the tease of ECW talent on Team Smackdown. The interaction with Tiffany was well done as well (although I found myself saying "Yeah, right" when Rosa Mendes was talking about how she could contribute). I really like the Tiffany character, she’s smart and tough, and an anti-stereotype. The Tatsu-Ryder match was excellent, and the "swerve" was that the Ruthless Roundtable did not interfere. I thought it was great that there was a #1 contender match that made sense, and that the people involved both earned it in terms of their recent records (as opposed to, say, The Undertaker getting a title shot after five months on the sidelines). Tatsu pulled a number of moves that I haven’t seen, and I loved his kick from the outside and the over-the-rope jump directly into the cover for the win. Burchill’s promo on Hurricane was effective, but it did stick out that Hurricane happened to have a convenient standby on hand. The Quinn-Sheamus match did a great job at cementing Sheamus's character. I am thankful that the feud with Benjamin is still heating up, as I was afraid that it was over after Sheamus's "stepping stone" speech. I can't wait to see them in the ring for a two-segment match. And the final match? Pure gold. Both Christian and Jericho looked great in the ring, and the match benefited the smart fan in me not being able to figure out who was going to get the win. I really was holding my breath throughout much of the match. Again, I was surprised that the Ruthless Roundtable didn't interfere to impress Jericho. There really was not much that they could have done to make this episode any better other than advance the Ryder-Regal angle a touch more.
Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (8.0): Best: Christian vs. Jericho. Worst: ECW title match skunked from PPV. Just when I thought it was safe to watch ECW again, here's Abraham Washington. Thankfully, it was short-lived, but still he's our trick for the rest of the show being a relative treat. Jericho coming to recruit from ECW for his Smackdown team seemed odd considering his team was already set as seen on Raw. Assuming that Jericho is overhauling his team, who would get replaced by Jackson and Kozlov? The two new guys, McIntyre and Escobar, I presume? Really dumb move if that were the case. There's only Katie Lea to wrestle, so what can Rosa Mendez contribute on ECW? When was the last time a jobber won by DQ? But that did what it needed to do to move Shelton-Sheamus along. But why didn't Sheamus use this M.O. of pulling up on his own pins before? The Hurricane-Burchill got a nice pick up after being on a bit of a hiatus. With a kendo stick being introduced, could a weapons blow-off be on the horizon? The Ryder-Yoshi match suffered a bit from sloppiness, but suffered more from the small roster. Had Ryder been on Raw or Smackdown and took a loss this clean from an up-and-comer, the thought would be that he was being punished. With the roster being so small, this sudden decline is more to make room for Yoshi's turn at a title match. I'm not happy that Yoshi's chance doesn't come with a PPV payoff, though. I'm still seeing a three-or-four-way for the ECW title coming; it's just been pushed back.
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