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The Miz & John Morrison v. Colin Delaney & Tommy Dreamer

Dreamer launched Delaney from the top onto Miz for a one count; at this juncture, they should always build to what little offense Delaney does. It should never just occur like that. Miz worked over Colin for a minute or two, requiring Dreamer to save. Colin did manage to scurry for a hot tag. Tommy got a near fall off of a neckbreaker and worked a Texas cloverleaf on Morrison leading to a Miz save. As Dreamer was selling for the heels, Delaney suddenly attacked both of the champions with a steel chair. Morrison took a “protected” shot to the head while Miz took a shot to the upper back. That was certainly unexpected and Delaney conveyed that response after the match with a “What have I done?” face.

Miz & Morrison d. Delaney & Dreamer, DQ, 5:01, *¼.

Stevie Richards v. Shelton Benjamin

Stevie went for two early covers off two elementary moves to begin. Shelton took over and hit a one-arm DDT and began to work on the left arm of Richards. The crowd went silent as Shelton held a hammer lock too long. Finally, Stevie eluded a crossbody off the top to swing the advantage the other way. Richards hit a clothesline and a side suplex for a two count. A front kick and an enzuigiri earned another near fall. The match ended abruptly when Shelton won with his inverted bulldog. I suppose the Stevie push is over before it began which is moderately disappointing as I really liked his comeback interview. But it was never followed up on and Richards has years of being booked as a joke to overcome as well. C’est la vie. On another note, here’s an interesting factoid that speaks to one reason Shelton has been a perennial underachiever: he has used a rest hold in nine of his last ten singles matches. Given that all of these matches have been ten minutes or less, that’s inexcusable. To me, Benjamin has always been a grossly overrated talent and I have never understood the internet groundswell advocating a larger push for him. If you disagree, I particularly invite your comments at my e-mail below.

Benjamin d. Richards, Pin, 4:54, *¼.

They showed the Carlito-seagull confrontation commercial once more, at least they are not asking Carlito to try and run through a wall again.

Snoop Dogg is a guest at WrestleMania; bravo to WWE for finding one the few remaining ways wrestling can actually hurt its public image even more.

Kofi and Kelly were observing Maria’s Playboy cover. Kofi put over Maria and said Kelly has what it takes to someday be a Playboy covergirl. Kelly was charmed by this, though I suspect that line does not work as well in the real world. Layla walked in, both girls argued for a second and immediately went to a pull apart. This was a like a parody of the Linda Evans–Joan Collins brawls on Dynasty, right down to the blonde v. brunette dynamic.

Kane v. James Curtis

Before the match began, Chuck Palumbo rode his bike down and circled the ring. Kane won essentially immediately with a choke slam as Palumbo rode away. Styles explained that Kane and Palumbo are scheduled to wrestle on Smackdown Friday, so this mini-angle built up a match that the live crowd already saw.

Kane squash, 0:26.

The Raw Rebound focused on the very ineffective build to Show-Mayweather. Next week, there’s a rematch for the tag team championships under extreme rules, go figure. Backstage, CM Punk cut an obviously scripted promo on Chavo Guerrero actually referring to the late Eddie Guerrero (“the only Guerrero deserving of the title warrior”). He concluded by guaranteeing victory.

ECW Championship Match: Chavo Guerrero v. CM Punk VII

Yes, this is the seventh televised match this year between the two. After a slow first minute, took the first advantage in the match with a high round kick. He attempted a pair of early covers. Both men had some nice movement around an arm bar leading into a Punk tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Punk slammed Chavo on his arm (shades of the Anderson brothers, said Styles) and worked another arm bar. Chavo switched it around into a side headlock countered into a backbreaker by Punk. From the apron, Punk tried to springboard back in, but Chavo pushed him down to the floor. After that sick-looking bump, the bout went to commercial. The match returned with Chavo in full control in the center of the ring working a knee lock. Punk tried to come back with an ugly looking enzuigiri but Chavo leg swept him thereafter. Chavo resumed his attack on the legs by using the ring post and going to another rest hold. Punk did better with an enzuigiri this time and then hit a pescado onto Chavo on the floor. Punk overshot him a bit and that looked ugly as well. Back inside, Punk nearly won off a top rope crossbody and power slam. Another near fall resulted from Punk countering a Boston crab attempt into a rolling cradle. Punk hit his knee and bulldog combo for another near fall as the match has picked up markedly over the last two minutes. Chavo rolled through a Punk hip lock into a single-leg Boston crab; Punk reached the ropes. Chavo followed that with two amigos (to the most heat of the match), but the third was reversed into a small package for two. Chavo hit a tornado DDT (his finisher in WCW) for another near fall. Both men jockeyed for position up top and Chavo won the battle shoving Punk down. He connected with a frog splash for the surprising clean victory. The match totally split in two with the first half being very dull and the second half being very exciting despite a shaky moment or two.

Chavo d. Punk, Pin, 15:12, **¾.

Final Analysis: The first and last segments of the program were quite effective and fun (not a word used much in recapping this show). Genuine surprise turns in storylines and lengthy, good television matches are welcome sights for this show, that’s for sure. The other two segments were fairly neutral to me as they accomplished the humble goal of advancing the pushes of two midcarders. I still have qualms about rewarding the losers of a title match with another title match the following week and Chavo and Punk is long played out. Nonetheless, on the strength of the two segments taken in isolation, this week’s edition of ECW gets a mild pass from me.

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