By Wade Keller, Torch editor

KELLER'S ECW ON SCI-FI REPORT
OCTOBER 21, 2008
LAREDO, TEX.

[Q1]

-Todd Grisham and Matt Striker introduced the show. Grisham hyped that the were just five days away from "the most interactive pay-per-view of all time, Cyber Sunday."

-The ring announcer introduced Matt Hardy. He walked out with the ECW Title belt, smiling at the fans on his way to the ring. He carried himself like a star, more than he has in the past. Striker plugged the text voting for Evan Bourne, Finlay, or Mark Henry to be Hardy's Cyber Sunday opponent.

Hardy talked in center-ring about the fan voting. When he got to Henry, he said the WWE universe hates his guts and probably won't vote him in, but Henry "has my vote, because I want another shot at you." He was about to text a vote for Henry when Finlay walked out with Hornswoggle. Hardy said, "Nice to see you, Finlay." Finlay said smugly, "I'm sure it is."

Finlay said they got drafted to ECW around June and they've been opponents and partners, but they haven't gone one-on-one for his title. Finlay said if he gets voted in, he'll be the new owner of that belt. Bourne's music then played and he walked to the ring. Striker threw several superlatives his way.

Bourne said if Finlay is campaigning, he wants to join the party. He said he doesn't want to be overlooked. Finlay said, "WWE has some rules, and you need to be a certain height to get on this ride." He called him "Borneswaggle." Bourne said Finlay can have his jokes, but he'd rather have the votes. Henry and Tony Atlas walked out onto the stage.

Henry said from the stage that everyone from the stage has felt his wrath before and they will continue to do so. The fans annoyed him with "What?" interruptions between every sentence. Henry acted perturbed. He told all potential challengers that if they win the vote, it's all they'll win. The fans chanted "Hardy, Hardy."

There was nothing overly special about Hardy's performance there, but it was in some ways his best mic work ever. He seemed sure of himself, confident, and self-assured in a believable way as the centerpiece of that segment holding the belt over his shoulder. He seemed like a grown up, not overaged teenager obsessed with MySpace and texting his fans and throwing out hand symbols, which is really beneath his stature at this point. He seems to realize that, or at least it came across as such here.

[Commercial Break]

1 - JACK SWAGGER vs. BRETT BADERY

Swagger moved in and legwhipped Badery in the opening seconds. Grisham wondered why Swagger as targeted Tommy Dreamer since arriving in ECW. Swagger finished him quickly with a gut-wrench powerbomb for the win.

WINNER: Swagger in 1:00.

-Grisham interviewed Swagger in the ring afterward. He asked him about targeting Dreamer with his comments. Swagger said, "Tommy Who?" Then he walked out of the ring. He seemed very pleased with himself as he walked out of the ring smiling broadly.

[Q2]

-Lena interviewed Miz & Morrison backstage. Miz said she should be texting her vote for them to compete against Cryme Tyme at Cyber Sunday. Morrison said his abs alone are worthy of a vote. He accused Lena of staring at his abs. Miz said John McCain should have picked him as his V.P. candidate since he appeals to women more than she does. That's probably statistically true if recent polls are any indication. He told Lena, "Be jealous!" to conclude the interview.

[Commercial Break]

-ECW Fact: More viewers watched ECW last Thursday night than any other show on ESPN, BET, Bravo, FX, History Channel, VH1, or Spike TV.

2 -- THE MIZ (w/John Morrison) vs. SHAD (w/J.T.G.)

More text voting plugs by Grisham. Shad dominated early until Miz side-stepped a charge and then slidekicked him into the security wall at ringside. Striker noted that Shad went to four high schools, "and I don't want to speculate why." Miz threw him into the ring for a two count. He threw a running clothesline in the corner. Striker wondered if Miz & Morrison had career suicide in mind when they took digs at Shawn Michaels and Triple H. Shad came back with a flying elbow. Morrison distracted Shad. JTG then tripped Miz coming off the ropes seconds later. Shad scored a two count after a spinebuster. Morrison kicked Shad from the ring apron. The ref saw it and DQ'd miz. JTG then knocked Miz to ringside as Morrison argued with the ref.

WINNER: Shad via DQ in 4:00.

STAR RATING: *1/4 -- Good basic stuff for a short TV match. Miz is annoying in the way a heel act should be annoying.

-Another text voting plug.

[Q3]

[Commercial Break]

-Striker and Grisham were shown on camera. The threw to a video on John Cena that also aired on Raw. Grisham said with everything going on with WWE, what everyone seems to be talking about is John Cena.

-Striker and Grisham plugged text voting for Cyber Sunday's non-ECW matches including online voting for Undertaker vs. Big Show stips.

-Backstage Hornswoggle and Finlay interrupted a chat between Ricky Ortiz and Tiffany. Out walked Teddy Long from his office. He was dressed up as "Shaft." They played the theme song. Long gave Hornswoggle candy because he's not just a little person, he's also eternally nine years old and unable to speak words.

[Commercial Break]

[Q4]

2 -- FINLAY vs. MARK HENRY vs. EVAN BOURNE

Grisham gave this match a sense of meaning with the old standby term: momentum. He said the winner, if selected on Sunday, will have all the confidence in the world. Good pace in the opening minutes. After Henry and Finlay butted heads, Bourne tries to take control. Henry caught him and threw him onto Finlay. They cut to a break at 5:00.

[Commercial Break]

They showed that during the break Henry threw Finlay shoulder-first into the ringpost. He continued to beat on Finlay with Bourne out of the picture at the moment. Finlay clipped Henry's legs. Finlay and Bourne knocked Henry out of the ring. Finlay went after Bourne, giving him a backbreacker center-ring at 10:00 leading to a two count. The crowd got anxious as Henry made his way back into the ring. He broke up Finlay's next pin attempt with a stomp to the back. Finlay climbed onto Henry for a crucifix attempt. Bourne leaped onto Henry and tried to take both down. Henry dropped down with a poweslam on Bourne with Finlay still on his back. The ref wouldn't count because Bourne's shoulder was up. Kinda strange call. Cool spot, though. Henry missed a shoulder charge and hit the ringpost. Finlay gave Henry a DDT, but it didn't connect fully. Finlay sold a muscle injury in his left shoulder. Henry kicked out of Finlay's weakened pin attempt. When Hornswoggle came out from under the ring and yanked on Henry's leg, Atlas grabbed him and threw him into the ring. Finlay tripped Henry and then hit him with his shillelagh as the ref tended to Hornswoggle. Bourne then re-entered the picture with a double flying knee to knock Finlay down. Then he hit his Air Bourne shooting star press on Henry for the pin.

WINNER: Bourne in 14:00.

STAR RATING: ** -- Solid match with a nice finishing sequence and good boost for Bourne. Any kind of pin on Henry gives the impression for Bourne that he's being pushed and positioned a serious contender. Good to see. He's added a spark to ECW.

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