By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

I caught up on ECW tonight after falling behind due to the birth of my son the night this episode aired two weeks ago. My reports on this week's and last week's episodes will be posted in a few minutes. Not a bad way to spend three hours at all. Three good shows, especially last week's. This is the way wrestling is best presented - an hour at a time, with usually two lengthy matches with good athleticism and a squash in the middle to promote the finishers of another wrestler, with some interviews thrown in.

KELLER'S ECW REPORT
APRIL 7, 2009
AIRED ON SCIFI

[Q1]

-After the ECW open, Josh Matthews debuted alongside Matt Striker. Striker actually introduced the show. He shook hands with Josh who said it's nice to join him this week, but who knows where they'll end up next week with the draft. No explanation for Todd Grisham's whereabouts, which was strange and inappropriate, although probably not up to Striker and Matthews.

-Teddy Long stood mid-ring and talked about the upcoming draft. He said Vickie Guerrero is no longer G.M. of Smackdown, referencing her taking over Raw the night before. He said that's why he has been appointed the new G.M. of Smackdown. The crowd sorta cheered. He then introduced his former assistant, Tiffany, as the "interim G.M. of ECW." She walked out and Striker called her "beautiful and capable." As she began to say what an honor it was to be G.M., Jack Swagger's music played and he walked out to address his new boss.

He wore a suit and yellow tie with the ECW belt over his shoulder. He congratulated Tiffany. He told her she needs to learn one thing very quickly, which is there is one set of rules when dealing with everyone else and another set of rules when dealing with him, her ECW Champion. She thanked him for his advice, but said her only rule is to give the WWE Universe what they want. She said she is very, very glad he stopped by. She said the WWE Draft is Monday, so by this time next week he won't be on ECW anymore. She said she is excited to announce that Mark Henry, Finlay, Tommy Dreamer, and Christian will be participating in an Elimination Chase to Backlash. She said the winner will face him for the title at Backlash. She said the chase begins in a Fatal Fourway tonight. Long said, "Snap!" Striker said there's a new beautiful bureaucrat in charge.

-A WrestleMania 25 highlight video aired.

[Commercial Break]

-A video package aired on John Cena's media blitz promoting "12 Rounds." Same video that aired on Raw.

[Q2]

1 -- EVAN BOURNE & PRIMO & CARLITO vs. JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ & TYSON KIDD (w/Natalya)

Matthews and Striker talked about the Colon Brothers uniting the WWE tag team championships two nights earlier at WrestleMania 25. Striker wondered what would happen to the tag team championships if the Colons were broken up in the draft. Matthews said, "Miz should change his Facebook status to Severely Beaten." Striker later said, "The WrestleMania battle royal was won by WWE's answer to Hilary Clinton, Santina Marella." Striker doesn't get that one can have a political point of view without being a dick to a woman who happens to be a Democrat with whom he disagrees. You can make fun of her laugh, her embellishments, her pants-suits, her husband's cheating, her ambitiousness at all costs, her make-up or hair, even her health care plan (as dated as that would sound), but comparing her to a cross-dressing man is just nasty. Morrison nailed Carlito with a running knee to the side of his head from a sitting position. Cool move. Carlito hot-tagged Bourne at 4:00. He hurancanra'd Morrison over the top rope to the floor, then ducked a double clothesline from the other two heels and ran back into the ring as they cut to a break.

[Commercial Break]

Morrison had Bourne in a headlock after the break. The showed during the break Morrison leg-sweeping a dropkick-throwing Bourne out of mid-air to take over. Kidd tagged in and nailed Bourne with a roundkick to the back as he sat. After a couple more kicks, Miz tagged in and grounded Bourne. Bourne hot-tagged Primo at 13:00 and he went to work on Kidd with a flurry of offense leading to a pin attempt broken up by Miz. Carlito ran in and threw Miz out of the ring. Morrison threw Carlito out of the ring. Primo catapulted Morrison over the top rope. Primo then gave Kidd the Back Stabber. Kidd was nice enough to shift himself into position for Bourne's Shooting Star Press (I wish wrestlers didn't do that and left it up to the opponent to drag them into proper position; it looks so bad when they do it themselves and it's way more obvious than apparently they realize). Bourne then hit the Shooting Star Press for the win.

WINNERS: Bourne & Carlito & Primo in 14:00.

STAR RATING: **3/4 -- Definitely an above-average six-man tag match with great athleticism and energy overall.

[Q3]

-A video package aired on Randy Orton on Raw the night before.

[Commercial Break]

-A WWE Fact touted WrestleMania being seen in 68 countries and 15 languages.

-Matthews and Striker threw to a Hall of Fame video package.

-A WrestleMania 25 highlight video aired.

[Commercial Break]

[Q4]

2 -- CHRISTIAN vs. MARK HENRY vs. FIT FINLAY vs. TOMMY DREAMER

Striker said that Christian, who had a bruised left eye, got stitches in his eye after his brutal WrestleMania ladder match. They showed a fan sign that said, "We are Japanese Peeps." Striker asked Matthews: "How do you say peeps in Japanese?" Matthews said it's the same. Henry beat up Finaly at the start. Dreamer, Christian, and Finlay tried to triple team Henry, but he fended all of them off in the opening minute. They cut to an early break.

[Commercial Break]

-A commercial aired hyping WWE Superstars on WGN America.

Back to the match, the three faces triple-teamed Henry to suplex him, then dropkicked him out of the ring. They threw Henry into the steps. Dreamer then went after Finlay. Four-way action ensued in the latter minutes of the match. Finlay was hung upside down by Dreamer. Striker talked about possums and bats hanging upside down by their tails, so Matthews said, "That's why they call you the extreme educator." Hornswoggle helped Finlay down. Henry picked up Dreamer for a powerslam, but Finlay KO'd Henry with a shillelagh and pinned him. That meant Henry was out of the Elimination Chase for a title shot at Backlash.

WINNER: Finlay (loser: Henry) in 13:00.

STAR RATING: ** -- Solid basic four-way TV match.

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