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ECW on Sci-Fi TV Report
July 15, 2008 - Year 3, Week 6 (Week 110 overall)
Taped in Charlotte, N.C.
Report by James Caldwell, Torch columnist

The show started with a recap of last week when Tony Atlas randomly appeared, took a booking, and helped out Mark Henry against Tommy Dreamer.

Announcers: Mike Adamle unenthusiastically welcomed us to the show and plugged Hardys vs. Miz & Morrison tonight. ... In-ring: Tazz brought out Mark Henry for an interview. Henry came out with Tony Atlas, who was all-smiles walking with Henry to the ring. Tazz plugged Henry vs. Dreamer for the ECW Title at the Bash PPV, then asked them to explain what happened last week. Atlas said he's a legend and no slouch, but he would be honored to carry Henry's bag to earn a paycheck, just like Henry said last week.

Atlas then offered a demonstration. He pulled out a frying pan and showed that it's a legit pan. Atlas surveyed the crowd to see if anyone would be willing to bend the frying pan. Chad from Lexington, N.C. then hopped over the guardrail and entered the ring to try out the pan. Atlas told him to bend the pan, but Chad from Lexington couldn't bend it. Atlas sent him packing and Adamle gave him an E for Effort. Ugh. Henry then took the pan and bent the thing in half until it was rolled up like a tortilla.

Tommy Dreamer's music interrupted and Dreamer walked out to the ring to talk to Henry. Dreamer said he's not here to fight, just to try out the frying pan trick. You see, he's been in the gym working out for the ECW Title match on Sunday. Henry and Atlas laughed at Dreamer's suggestion, then Henry shoved the pan into his chest. Dreamer laughably tried to bend the pan while Henry talked trash. Dreamer then paused in defeat, but the crowd saw it coming with Dreamer smashing Henry in the face with the pan. Dreamer quickly took off from the ring and bailed, leaving Henry a bit woozy in the ring. Segment took forever, but they got across the point. Kind of. Dreamer vs. Henry won't add too many buys, but it gives ECW something tangible to work with.

[Commercial Break]

Backstage: Teddy Long sternly addressed Tommy Dreamer about creating civil unrest. He gave Dreamer the night off to prepare for the PPV match on Sunday. A stagehand then handed Dreamer a briefcase and he stormed out through a backstage door.

In-ring: Mike Knox came to the ring to face Shannon Moore, who was basically presented as the local jobber. Adamle didn't appear to have any idea who he is.

1 -- MIKE KNOX vs. SHANNON MOORE

Knox dominated early, but Shannon Moore had a nice nearfall with a top rope splash. Knox put an end to any potential upsets by nailing the Knox Out for the pin and the win. Yipee.

WINNER: Knox in 2:00. Basic squash. Same thing we've seen from Knox for months. (1/2*)

Raw Rebound focused on the crazy events that happened on Raw after Shane and Stephanie's message about working together. They showed an abbreviated version of JBL appearing to crash into Cena to close the show.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: Chavo Guerrero came to the ring with Bam to face Evan Bourne. They showed a promo from earlier in the day when Bourne said he gets his chance to prove he belongs with the likes of Chavo.

2 -- CHAVO GUERRERO (w/Bam Neeley) vs. EVAN BOURNE

Bourne started on the offensive with a shoulder twist on Chavo's left shoulder. Tazz plugged the Smackdown wedding with Chavo as best man. Bourne went high-risk, but Chavo knocked him hard to the floor. Bourne came back with an arm drag out of the corner before nailing the standing knee-tuck moonsault for a nearfall. Bourne followed with a smash to the gut in the corner, then he went up top and nailed the Shooting Star Press on Chavo for a clean pin and the win. Crowd was definitely hot for the finish.

WINNER: Bourne in 3:00. I'm surprised by the finish of Bourne winning clean, but WWE definitely appears to be strongly behind Bourne. It seems like a classic WWE test of a young talent to see how he/she responds to a little success and a strong push before committing to a long-term investment. Nice to see Bourne having a significant opportunity. (*)

Backstage: Colin Delaney was shown talking to a blonde female, possibly Teddy's assistant. Henry and Atlas then interrupted and told Colin he's all right in their book because he had nothing to do with Dreamer. Atlas coaxed him into letting down his guard, then Henry put him in a bear hug and smashed him into a traveling case nearby. The blonde woman then returned to Colin's aid as he coughed and choked. She ran off to find help. Well, presumably.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: John Morrison and The Miz came to the ring to face the Hardys. Jeff Hardy's music hit, then out came Jeff and Matt. So, to recap, Matt is the one on the ECW brand, yet he doesn't get to use his ring entrance music. The reunion is up next.

[Commercial Break]

3 -- WWE tag team champions JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ vs. JEFF HARDY & U.S. champion MATT HARDY -- non-title match

After a solid six minutes of action, the match broke down in typical Hardy showcase match fashion. They appeared to be going for a typical finish of the Hardys winning clean as Jeff set up the Swanton Bomb on Miz, but Morrison yanked Miz to the outside. They cut to a break. Nice change of pace from the predictable babyface victory formula to show the heels not being completely incompetent in the booking.

[Commercial Break]

After the break, the tag champs worked over Jeff in their corner. Jeff finally fought back and came off the top with a Whisper in the Wind on Miz. Matt started stomping his feet at 15:00 to encourage a hot tag, which occurred to pop the crowd. Hardy cleaned house until Morrison dropped him on the mat for a quick roll-up resulting in a two count. Matt then caught Morrison out of the corner with a sweet Razor's Edge into powerbomb for a nearfall. The action broke down and in the confusion, Jeff nailed Morrison with a Swanton Bomb to a huge reaction. Matt, the legal man, made the cover for the win.

WINNERS: Hardys in 17:00. Really nice, exciting tag match featuring two of WWE's top TV stars. It would still be nice to see Miz & Morrison pick up a win, even if that doesn't fit the feel-good-ending formula, but can't complain about a solid-to-good tag match. (**1/2)

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