James Caldwell, Torch Assistant Editor (5.5)

Dominick Mayer said it best in his ECW TV report that Jack Swagger simply looks the part of ECW champion. His cocky heel persona and that sharp suit fit him nicely. I could have done without the cowardly heel bit at the end of the pull-apart with Matt Hardy, as Swagger is too good to depend on tactics usually reserved for weak heels, but it set up the Hardy vs. Swagger ECW Title match at the Rumble quite well. ECW isn't the place to sell PPVs, but I believe that segment should have closed the show instead of the four-way deal.

The four-way was fine, but Miz and Morrison's teased dissension was something to be reserved for a show not leading to a major PPV. Again, it's ECW, so the show isn't being asked to sell the PPV like on Raw and Smackdown, but an extended Hardy vs. Swagger promo exchange to close the show instead of the four-way with TV storyline advancement would have been the way to go.

Boogey vs. Burchill was fine. Well, from what I saw since Boogey's ring entrance smoke covered the arena. As if they needed any more hindrances against their match that weren't already built-in to the match-up. Burchill would stand to benefit from losing a bit of muscle mass to be more agile and less stiff in the ring. It's all about how a wrestler carries himself, and he could still pull off the "menacing heel" with 15 less pounds on his frame.

I'm not even going to bother with Ricky O until they turn him heel.

Dominick Mayer, PWTorch.com Contributor (6.5)

Last week, I praised the show for finally starting to feel like it has real direction. That somewhat fell by the wayside this week. The Hardy-Swagger encounter at the beginning was good, but it should have been at the end to hard-sell the ECW main event for the Rumble. The actual main event was more of the same, though the first seeds for a Miz-Morrison split have been planted. I almost don't want to see it happen yet, just because Miz has improved so much, and were they to split up today, Miz would forever be a mid-carder and Morrison would fly to the top. I like that Boogeyman finally has some direction, but he needs a mouthpiece. The creepy angle has been tired for some time now. And as far as Ricky Ortiz, all I can say is that I found him promising when he first showed up, and now I don't even know why he's on the show.

Greg Parks, PWTorch.com Contributor (6.5)

Sometimes, less is more. This was a very simple episode of ECW, but it worked for me. The opening segment was fine in continuing the Swagger vs. Hardy feud, but I hoped Swagger would've gotten more mic time. Perhaps that'll come in future weeks.

It's good they got Ricky Ortiz back in the ring if WWE anticipates getting anything out of him. Squashing a jobber builds up some credibility, which I think he's a bit short on. Still, the match was nothing special and Ortiz's in-ring work still needs some tweaking. I don't know where WWE is going with the goofy babyface role they've got Ortiz in right now, but it's not working.

Burchill vs. Boogeyman was fine in the time it got, but I hope that's not a burgeoning feud. Put Paul back with DJ Gabriel. It's a good way to use Boogeyman though. Plus, it got Katie Lea involved too, and we could all use a little more Katie Lea in our wrestling programming. I was surprisingly entertained by the main event. I think it set up a few things to watch for in the Royal Rumble, and for what it's worth, I don't think this is the end of Miz & Morrison. At least, I hope it isn't.

Michael Simmons, PWTorch.com Contributor (6.5)

This is the first time in a while where I've looked forward to an ECW Championship match on pay-per-view. Matt Hardy and Jack Swagger had a really solid match on last week's show and I can't wait to see what they come up with this Sunday night. Tonight's pull-apart brawl was pretty good, and Swagger's line about Jeff not being the only Hardy to go down in flames was well done. For his first night with the title, Swagger did a solid job carrying his end of a main event caliber promo.

As hot as most ECW shows begin and end, the middle usually falls flat. There is only so much a fan is willing to get excited about when you show video package after video package. When you throw in a Ricky Ortiz squash match and anything The Boogeyman does, you have a good 30-40 minutes of pointless television. By the way, please turn Ricky Ortiz heel already. He's not clicking with the fans at all. I can assure you whatever cheers you heard for him tonight were piped in Goldberg-style. Turn him loose as a monster heel and see where he goes.

The Fatal Four-Way main event was passable action, and was a nice preview for this Sunday's Royal Rumble match. I'm still not a fan of Hornswoggle, however he consistently gets one of the loudest pops on the show and even though I still feel he's a detriment to Finlay's character, he'll continue to get used. Sadly. Finally, there have been subtle seeds of dissection between John Morrison and The Miz, and while I don't think they'll be splitting up any time soon, it's fun to watch these two go back and forth playing a game of one-upsmanship at the expense of each other for a shot at singles success.

Like always, tonight's ECW had a solid opening and closing, but with so much useless filler, the good simply does not outweigh the bad. Middle of the road show overall heading towards the Rumble.

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