From Tulsa, Oklahoma
Mark Henry opened the broadcast with an interview putting himself over and mentioning that he was the brand’s survivor (?) because Kane and Big Show wrestle elsewhere. How much would you care to wager that one or both of them are on ECW TV sometime within the next month? Tommy Dreamer and his sidekick Colin interrupted. Dreamer cut a familiar promo putting over the history of the ECW championship and those who held it. The issue with this was that he was referring to the original ECW which simply does not resonate with the great majority of current fans. Aside from the dropping of Tazz’s name, his promo got little reaction. Tommy wanted a title shot but Mark Henry, who I guess has GM authority, made a match between Colin and himself. If Delaney wins, Dreamer gets a title shot. So that’s the storyline for tonight.
The two top babyfaces on the brand were walking backstage for a tag match next. You would never see John Cena or Batista just thrown into a match with no build like that on Raw. Even though this is the minor league brand, you still have to make its top stars mean something. If you do not (and WWE does not), how is anyone supposed to get over?
Finlay, Matt Hardy & Hornswoggle v. Chavo Guerrero, The Miz & John Morrison
Hardy and Miz began and Hardy had the early edge. He worked an arm drag into an arm bar. Hardy followed with a clothesline in the corner and a bulldog for a two count. Morrison and Finlay went at it next with Finlay getting the better of the exchange. Chavo tagged in and the heels got the heat briefly on Finlay. Chavo fired him out but missed a baseball slide on the floor. It all broke loose in Tulsa with Hornswoggle hitting a crossbody off the apron as the match went to a commercial break. Guerrero had Hardy in a chin lock upon returning. Miz scored a near fall off of a snap suplex. The champs hit their patented double team move (Morrison leaping onto a prone opponent on Miz’ knees, it really needs a name). The heels stayed with the rest holds which is not good for a six-man match. Hardy hit a quick sunset flip to tease the hot tag but Miz regained control with a lariat. Hardy finally hit the side effect to lead to the hot tag. Adamle had another gem here as he claimed that move hurt Hardy as much as his opponent. Finlay hit the Celtic cross but Morrison saved. In the ensuing fracas, Hornswoggle hit the tadpole splash which coupled with another Celtic cross scored the win. The announcers made a point of Hornswoggle using the Guerreros’ patented hold. The match was a bit disappointing given the talent involved as the heat segment was quite the snoozer.
Faces d. Heels, Finlay pinned Chavo, 11:24, **¼.
They played a lengthy recap of CM Punk’s title win and first title defense last night. Backstage, Tommy tried to talk Colin out of the match but Colin would have none of it. You’ve seen a carbon copy of this scene in every generic, two star movie. Elsewhere, Teddy Long was speaking with Armando Estrada whose contractual status is “under review”. Long introduced Estrada to Atlas Ortiz and made a match between the two for after the break. Ortiz is Atlas DaBone, who received decent reviews down in developmental.
Atlas Ortiz v. Armando Estrada
Ortiz is billed from Paradise Valley, Arizona which is also the kayfabe home of Superstar Billy Graham. They started with chain wrestling on the mat. Ortiz hit a shoulder charge in the corner and then missed a second. Estrada got a near fall off a single arm DDT. He kept on the offense which was terrible idea as knows virtually no moves. After a whole lot of nothing, Ortiz made a comeback with a back drop and drop kick for a two count. Ortiz won his debut with a backslide; yes, a backslide. You could hear crickets for the duration of this match save for what once sounded like fifteen people saying “Let’s go Atlas.” In 22 years of watching wrestling, that is as bad of an in ring debut as I can recall: a bad performance against the wrong opponent with a terrible finish.
Ortiz d. Estrada, Pin, 6:06, -½*.
Mark Henry v. Colin Delaney
The match began at 11:01 eastern which was a bit of a spoiler. Henry no sold some strikes and pounded on Colin for a bit. He missed an elbow which led to Colin landing a dropkick. Henry reasserted himself with a lariat, head butt and an impressive gorilla press slam. He finished with the world’s strongest slam.
Henry d. Delaney, Pin, 2:36, squash.
Final Analysis: This week’s show was a fairly poor effort even by this show’s meager standards. The one match which one would figure would be fun came in as a bit of a disappointment. More concerning was the fact the brand’s best four wrestlers competed in a match which had no buildup earlier in the show nor any follow up later in the show. In order to best utilize the best talent, they have to be booked differently or better said, booked with more emphasis than the rest of the roster. For all of their difficulties in other areas, WWE does a great job of making every John Cena, Triple H, Undertaker, etc. appearance seem special. Obviously, they do not hold any of the top ECW guys in that esteem and nor should they but they should be booked analogously on their own little show. When they want to do with these guys what they did last night with CM Punk, that plan will have a much better chance at success. Atlas Ortiz’s debut was beyond terrible and he’s pretty much dead on arrival. On the plus, side the Figure 4 Weekly board now has material for weeks, provided Ortiz even lasts that long. Finally, the main angle involving Henry, Dreamer and Delaney is nothing going out of your way to see.
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