ECW Extreme Extracts 08.18.09

Posted by Andy Critchell on 08.19.2009

It's the go home show for ECW before Summerslam so you know there will be action and hijinks galore. Check it out!!

Hi everyone, and welcome to ECW Extreme Extracts! Extreme Extracts is not a full on recap column of ECW. Instead I highlight some of the angles and storylines and even speculate from time to time where they might be heading. Don't forget, in addition to the comment section below you can email me as well with any questions/comments and you'll see your letter reprinted on the Earth Wide Intertubes.
TWITTER

http://www.twitter.com/411mania
http://www.twitter.com/411wrestling
http://www.twitter.com/411moviestv
http://www.twitter.com/411music
http://www.twitter.com/411games
http://www.twitter.com/411mma


Do any of you Twitter? If you do, let me know and I'll post your link for you.
Let's chat about tonight's episode of ECW…


Show results:

• Match One: Hurricane def Paul Burchill
• Match Two: Zach Ryder def Yoshi Tatsu
• Match Three: William Regal and Vladimir Kozlov def Christian and Ezekiel Jackson


The main theme of the show:

Tonight, we were all witness to something that is so simple in idea yet seemingly almost impossible in execution and that was having matches where everyone ends up looking good when they are over. After every match tonight I came away with a better impression of all the participants than I did when the match started. In my mind the clear in ring star of the night was Paul Burchill, he got to show more of his talent in one match with Hurricane tonight than he has pretty much his entire tenure on ECW and that was in a loss. Burchill showed fantastic agility for a guy his size, his double leg Pele kick was sick as hell, and he showed everyone that he has a bright future ahead of him. And what can you say about Hurricane? He looked great; his moves were crisp, clean, and effective. Simply superb booking all the way around. Ryder and Yoshi had a nice little match was well with Yoshi getting a lot of his flashy offense in before an arm injury ultimately cost him the match. Yoshi's selling of his arm was really terrific as well, it is clear that he was very well trained in Japan. Last, but certainly not least, William Regal was at his absolute best tonight, from his beatdown of Dreamer backstage to his orchestration of Christian's destruction at the end the English Gentleman established himself as every bit the threat to the ECW Title that he is supposed to be. This was the go home show for Summerslam and Regal delivered in spades. By the way the show ended tonight it appears that Regal has a new stable with Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov and with those two by his side he is all but unbeatable. Seriously, if the thought of Regal leading a stable of two titanic and unstoppable monsters doesn't get you excited you should check your pulse because you might be dead. Christian did his part though and seemed to be on his way to victory before he was double crossed by Jackson, leading to Regal's pinfall victory. Christian's title reign looks to be in serious jeopardy and I am very eager to see if he is able to keep his belt on Sunday. In fact, I am so eager to see it I have already ordered the show. That's what it's all about kids, getting people to buy the pay-per-view and I'd be willing to bet that through the excellent booking and maniacal performance of William Regal more than a few people decided to purchase the show.


The minor theme:

While the angle involving the ECW Championship was the focus of the show (and rightfully so,) the newer stars of ECW were still allowed to grow and develop. I touched on Burchill and Yoshi before but Zach Ryder, Hurricane, Sheamus, Big Zeke, Kozlov, and even Abraham Washington were also able to showcase their talents in a positive way tonight. Jackson and Kozlov's potential involvement with Regal can only improve their reputations in the eyes of the fans and give their ability to dominate some much needed direction. Ryder and Yoshi is a potential feud that is sure to excite anyone who likes to see new and innovative moves in the ring plus it gives Ryder an opportunity to enhance his character as he would be doing almost all of the mic work. Hurricane has shown that the new direction of his character is more serious than it was the first time around and by people taking him more seriously; they will take his opponents more seriously. I'm hoping that his feud with Burchill will continue because I truly do believe that Hurricane has the ability to raise the stature of Burchill and help create a new star. And I would be remiss if I did not mention just how much I enjoyed the Abraham Washington Show tonight. I find it very fulfilling to see him get better each and every week and tonight was his best effort to date. His jokes were funny, his character was off the wall, and his booming laugh at his own jokes delights me to no end. Washington has clearly hit his stride with this talk show gimmick and I see no reason why it could not become a staple of ECW's telecasts as a way to start or further develop feuds.


Other quick thoughts from the show:

* I have to admit, I totally did not see the Jackson double cross coming. I figured he would get the hot tag and the crowd would go wild, in the process creating a new babyface star. What we got might be better in the long run though. In any event, I love to be surprised like that.

* I was pleased when Dreamer said in his interview that his feud with Christian was all about being ECW Champion and nothing else. I love how much emphasis they put on the title on this show because it only makes the title that much more desirable.

* That new interview chick is quite the saucy little dish...

*For a few frightening seconds I thought Goldust was going to kiss Sheamus when they were face to face. Thank goodness for WWE's decision to be PG!

* We got to see Katie Lea tonight and tonight I have a NEW Katie Lea graphic for you all to enjoy:

Isn't that nice??

* We also got to see Yoshi tonight and that means another new graphic:

No sir, I bow to you!

* Thanks to 411mania Forum legend middlehead for the sweet pictures!

*Another GREAT episode of ECW tonight, a great way to build excitement for the PPV match!

*Summerslam prediction: Regal wins via chicanery and Christian will once again have to climb the mountain to regain the ECW Championship.


ECW Alumni Spotlight :

In an effort to show how important ECW is to developing new talents every week I am going to highlight anything significant involving a WWE Superstar that either got their start on ECW or made their biggest impact on ECW before moving to Raw or Smackdown. This week's focus is former ECW Champion, two time World Heavyweight Champion, and current number one contender, CM Punk!

We all know how many accolades Punk has accumulated since his time in ECW; two times Money in the Bank winner, Slammy award winner, and two times World Heavyweight Champion. In short, this guy has made a name for himself. I must admit, I was not a Punk fan when he was on ECW and I thought his first World Heavyweight Title reign on Raw was pretty lackluster, mostly due to his milquetoast character. After he dropped the belt he floundered in the midcard and it seemed like his career had stalled. I wrote him off but his fans crowed about his work in ROH and that a heel turn would make all the difference. I had seen his ROH work and wasn't really impressed so I didn't really see a bright future for Punk. But then he moved to Smackdown, won Money in the Bank Again, became World Heavyweight Champion again, and had one of the best executed heel turns in recent memory. Obviously the fact that he was the foil for HUGE fan favorite Jeff Hardy helped quite a bit but it is clear that Punk stepped up his game and is now considered one of the new "Smackdown Six" (along with another former ECW talent, MORRISON.) Punk is now seen as one of the guys who can have a great match with just about anyone. His recent work has really opened my eyes as to the type of performer Punk is and can be in the future and while he is not one of my favorites, I still respect the hell out of the guy and know that he has the goods. Here is one of his best recent contests*:



*to all my international readers, I use Hulu.com because they are an official site for WWE video content and thus it's where I can get the highest quality WWE videos. Plus they won't get taken down like Youtube videos tend to be.

Reader email:

I should have posted this email last week but it got trapped in my spam folder. Luckily I found it and can post it now. Loyal reader Raymond writes:
Hey, man, read your last post and just wanted to ask a few questions...

Don't you find it odd that Rey Mysterio hasn't ever appeared on the new ECW?

Would you agree with me that The Big Show has had the best reign as ECW Champion?

Do you know where I can find a video where Mick Foley appeared on ECW to call out Ric Flair before their SS 06 match? I can't find it!

Lastly, do you think The Miz will go back to ECW?

Great questions Ray! I'll address them in order:
1. I had no idea that this was the case but I looked it up and it turns out that Rey had not appeared on ECW on SyFy! Kind of weird when you consider that pretty much every other major star has been on the show. Now for years Rey was "exclusive" to Smackdown and was almost never on Raw until he was drafted to that brand a couple of years ago. Maybe now that he is back on Smackdown he is "exclusive" to that brand once again. Of course, I could easily see him appearing on ECW on SyFy given his roots in the original ECW so maybe that is in the future.

2. Actually, no, I wouldn't. But I think you're close. For my money, the best ECW Champ (SyFy era of course) was Mark Henry. Mark's long and dominant reign as champ brought a real legitimacy to the belt and made it plausible that people would be willing to do whatever it took to get it. Plus it rejuvenated Mark's career and he is now one of the most dependable and serviceable big men in WWE.

3. I sure don't. Perhaps one of the readers can help! If anyone knows where to find the video Raymond is talking about, leave it in the comments section or shoot me an email!

4. I assume that you were asking this because of Miz being "fired" two weeks ago. We all know that he is back on Raw now but even when his future was unknown I didn't think he would come back to ECW, although that would have been cool to see. I actually thought he would go to Smackdown instead as it seems there are more opportunities for young talent on that show than on Raw. Still, I'm glad he's back on Raw and I think we will see a lot of good things come his way. In fact, he had a real nifty match with fellow ECW alum Evan Bourne on Raw last night, so look out!

I'd love to hear from more of my readers like Raymond, so send those questions and comments my way!


* That's it for the Extracts this week. Any comments can be made below. And if you have an opinion on the show that you'd like me to print in next week's column, email me at andy(dot)critchell(at)gmail(dot)com. I'm also posting a blog here on 411 that you can check out here. Also, make sure to check me out on the UBS Evening Movie News Report over on the Movie Zone where I post the Interactive Babe Photo News Brief each and every week.

Have a great week!