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CALDWELL'S POLL ANALYSIS 5/7: MVP of ECW TV - Big Three represented well, hipster love for Zack Ryder May 7, 2009 - 4:03:05 PM
TORCH ECW TV POLL 5/5: Who was the MVP of the 5/5 ECW TV episode? After Tuesday night's episode of ECW TV delivered by WWE, we asked Torch readers to pick the MVP of the show. Not surprisingly, the Big Three of ECW champion Christian, #1 Contender Jack Swagger, and the high-flying Evan Bourne took the top three spots.
Evan Bourne won this week's vote, though, as he picked up 23 percent of the votes compared to Christian, who grabbed 19 percent. Right behind them was Jack Swagger and his 17 percent.
Last week, the voting went Christian, Tommy Dreamer, and Swagger 1-2-3. Dreamer slipped to fourth place with 11 percent of the vote while Christian and Swagger held their Big Three status for the second week in a row.
Evan Bourne was briefly featured on last week's show in a backstage interview, but Bourne is clearly one of the top stars on the brand. WWE has three major stars to build the brand around with Bourne, Christian, and Swagger. Tyson Kidd is also part of that mix as he continues to develop as a top-flight heel in the company.
I'm curious to see how storylines will play out over the next several months using the current talent roster on ECW. Bourne doesn't need to be in the ECW Title chase to be a star for the company. The Undertaker doesn't need to be in the World Title chase to be a top act on Smackdown, much the same way Bourne is a star for ECW on a smaller scale on the third-tier brand.
But, after the Swagger vs. Christian program runs its course, ECW can mix and match larger wrestlers who don't get as much love from Torch readers because they aren't exactly flashy or attract much attention. Mark Henry, Kozlov, and eventually Ezekiel Jackson will be able to mix in with the smaller wrestlers, such as Evan Bourne, to create fresh match-ups over time.
Bourne vs. Kozlov or Bourne vs. Zeke doesn't exactly sound like Bourne vs. Kidd - the ECW dream feud - but Bourne has proven that he can work a solid match with just about anyone on the ECW roster as his offensive arsenal continues to grow to include more power moves. He simply does not have bad matches.
Meanwhile, Jack Swagger continues to grow as a star. Christian is finding his niche on ECW - the babyface champion who takes a beating each Tuesday night - and WWE is developing stars underneath to eventually mix in with the Big Three + Dreamer.
Case in point: Zack Ryder, who will be featured on Superstars tonight and was given some love from Torch readers for his backstage debut on ECW TV with a new gimmick as a hipster with funny-looking glasses.
Ryder took 6 percent of the MVP votes for ECW TV, which was good for a Top Five finish. Now we'll see if he can wrestle as a new character with new mannerisms and show some actual personality that was non-existent on Smackdown.
Poll Results as of 2:45 a.m. CST on Thursday morning Top Five picks
(1) Evan Bourne ... 23 percent
(2) Christian ... 19 percent
(3) Jack Swagger ... 17 percent
(4) Tommy Dreamer ... 11 percent
(5) Zack Ryder ... 6 percent
-- Complete Poll Results.
Torch readers write back! How do you see the voting? Have additional thoughts on the poll results? Send in your feedback to pwtorch@gmail.com
Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.
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