By James Caldwell, Torch columnist

ECW TV Report
August 25 in Indianapolis, Ind.
Year 2, Week 16 (Week 68 overall) on Sci-Fi

They opened the show with Joey Styles and Tazz announcing tonight's line-up of Punk vs. Striker and Dreamer vs. Burke vs. Thorn in The Chase.

1 -- ELIJAH BURKE vs. KEVIN THORN vs. TOMMY DREAMER -- Loser is eliminated from The Chase

Thorn quickly cleared Dreamer from the ring and went to work on Burke, only to walk into a hip toss for a nearfall. Dreamer took his time re-entering the ring, so Thorn and Burke figured things out and went after him on the outside. The action returned inside the ring and Thorn dominated Dreamer with forearm blows. He then sent Dreamer shoulder-first into the ringpost and started working over the shoulder. Suddenly, there was a three-way exchange of random pin attempts. A bit slow with the pin attempts, but they got a pop from the crowd when Burke and Dreamer went for a dual backslide attempt on Thorn for a nearfall. And now it's time to catch their breath.

[Commercial Break]

They returned to the action with Dreamer nailing a running bulldog for a nearfall. He went for ten punches in the corner, but Thorn pulled the rug out from under him and Dreamer hit his head hard on the mat. Dreamer came back with a baseball slide drop kick sending Thorn into the guardrail, then Burke caught Dreamer on the apron and flipped him to the floor. Thorn had enough of Burke and threw him into the ring to land forearm blows. Tazz, not careful with his words, said that is one large vampire mounting you and pounding you. Thorn then hit a sit-down back breaker out of the dominator position and scored a nearfall. Dreamer re-entered the ring and hung Burke upside down in the corner before nailing a basement dropkick.

[Q2]

The match continued with Dreamer hanging Burke on the top turnbuckle and Thorn joining the corner spot, only to walk into a hanging neckbreaker. Dreamer then slapped on a Texas Coverleaf on Burke, but Thorn kicked him in the head to break up the pin. Thorn had enough of Dreamer and went for a Torture Rack on Burke, but Dreamer pulled Thorn away and hit a DDT. Burke then grabbed Dreamer and tossed him out of the ring before taking advantage of Dreamer's work to pin Thorn. And Thorn is eliminated. Next week, it's Dreamer vs. Burke to determine the #1 Contender.

WINNER: Burke via pinfall in 16:00; Dreamer advances; Thorn eliminated. Good TV action to fill a quarter of the show, but nothing too memorable here. Some spots worked later in the match, but there were some sloppy moments throughout. (*3/4)

Backstage, C.M. Punk walked around backstage shaking hands with everyone. He stopped at Matt Striker and Big Daddy V. Striker said Punk could better himself by going back to school with him as the teacher tonight. Punk said he actually liked school and even wound up teaching some of the teachers himself. Striker said that's quaint, but his star pupil will be in the classroom tonight. Punk smirked and had a brief glaredown with V, who grunted and made animal noises.

[Commercial Break]

They Raw Rebound focused on Hunter's sex jokes for Hornswoggle from a few weeks ago before showing Vince beating Hunter in the cage last night.

2 -- NUNZIO vs. MIKE KNOX

Tazz with the Mike Gundy reference, saying Knox is about as mad as an Oklahoma St. football coach. Knox is a man, dammit! He quickly went to work on Nunzio's back and applied a backbreaker across his knee. Nunzio refused to quit, then Knox knocked the saliva out of Nunzio's mouth with a hard right hand blow. Nunzio made a customary babyface comeback with kicks to the legs, but Knox came right back with a knee to the gut. He nailed a leaping kick to the side of the head for the win.

WINNER: Knox in 3:00. One of those mandatory heel squash matches to fill the quota for the week with Snitsky nowhere to be found on TV these days. Knox is like Thorn in that he looks like a heel, acts like a heel, and probably smells like a heel, but the audience isn't into the character. (1/2*)

[Q3]

They cut backstage where Extreme Expose was walking in designer outfits. Miz then met them and put his arm around Leyla and Brooke while Kelly Kelly looked sick to her stomach.

[Commercial Break]

A secret message aired after the commercial with the apparent Chris Jericho code.

3 -- THE MIZ (w/Exteme Expose) vs. SILAS YOUNG

Silas was announced as the hometown favorite from Indianapolis. He's actually from Green Bay. Miz worked on Silas while Tazz continued to ask the question of what the ladies see in the most annoying man on Tuesday nights, The Miz. Silas made a brief comeback, but Miz cut him off with a hard whip to the corner and charging clothesline. He then measured Silas for a knee lift into a neckbreaker for the win.

Afterward, Kelly went through the motions of celebrating with Leyla and Brooke, then Balls Mahoney's music hit. Kelly smiled, then Balls told Miz to get lost so he can talk one-on-one with Kelly. He reminded us of the question he asked last week if Kelly would go out with him. Balls handed the mic to Kelly, who surveyed the crowd before Miz ripped the mic away. He said Kelly would give him an answer. Miz then turned the mic and smashed Balls in the forehead. Kelly dropped to her knees and checked on Balls before Leyla and Brooke took her away. And the mic shot is the new chair shot to the head. Much safer, yet still effective if sold properly.

WINNER: Miz in 2:00. Match was nothing; post-match continues to advance the Kelly-Balls storyline another week. (1/2*)

[Commercial Break]

[Q4]

They aired a video package on The Condemned DVD signing in New York last week. Styles and Tazz then recapped Burke pinning Thorn in the opening match to eliminate Thorn. Dreamer vs. Burke in The Chase finale next week.

Backstage, Dreamer was cooling down with an ice pack on his shoulder. Burke then walked in and said Dreamer vs. Burke might have been epic 10 years ago when Dreamer could have hung with him. Burke said he is faster and stronger than Dreamer and predicted that Dreamer's chase will be over next week. He said he has something Burke doesn't have: heart. Dreamer said they would see if all that ability and strength amounts to anything next week without heart.

Matt Striker and Big Daddy V walked out for the main event.

[Commercial Break]

C.M. Punk walked out and stared down V before stepping into the ring to face Striker.

4 -- ECW champion C.M. PUNK vs. MATT STRIKER (w/Big Daddy V) -- non-title match

Striker regrouped after Punk quickly went to work with body kicks. Punk tried to flip Striker over the top rope to his feet on the apron, but Striker missed the apron and crashed butt-first across the apron. He tried to block out the pain before smashing Punk's hand across the ring steps. Back in the ring, Striker worked on Punk's left hand.

[Q5 -- over-run]

Striker landed a running knee to the hand to continue working over Punk's injured hand. Punk then made a comeback with one hand and two legs before hitting a running bulldog in center ring. He went to the corner and nailed a springboard clothesline before hoisting Striker up for the Go 2 Sleep. He covered Striker for the win. Anti-climatic finish with a quick transition to Punk winning the match.

Afterward, V hit the ring and clotheslined Punk. He then landed a Samoan Drop in center ring and stood over Punk's fallen body. Striker recovered to one knee and gasped for air while clutching at V's trunks.

WINNER: Punk in 7:00. Not much to the match. Just a way to get Punk in a TV main event. Not surprisingly, Punk takes a beating afterward. Only problem is that V continues to be pushed on TV without it meaning anything for PPVs. (*)

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