James Caldwell, Torch Assistant Editor (7.5)

The battle royal really dragged early on before the first commercial break. Who wants to watch Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson struggle to eliminate Paul Burchill or Tommy Dreamer with the "shove 'em over the top rope in an attempt that has failed the previous 1,048 times in a battle royal" for five minutes? Once the riff-raff was eliminated, it was obvious Goldust was the star of the match. Crowds are really into his character right now.

I was surprised at Zack Ryder winning because he hasn't been presented as a credible act on TV since that singles match loss to Christian a few months ago. Heck, he was booked to lose to Yoshi earlier in the show in the most clear example of Even Steven booking. Christian vs. Ryder should be a good match, though. Christian was needed on commentary during the battle royal to create some interest in the rough stretch at the beginning and give his thoughts on each of the potential challengers. Would have enhanced the match tremendously.

William Regal was great wrestling in his fine clothing. Hurricane sure looked like a chump, though, after he seemed to be receiving a nice push. He took a match against a man unfit to compete in his street clothes, then lost to him clean? Not admirable and not credible. Rough day at the TV tapings for the "Hardy inner circle" since Matt wasn't even used at the Smackdown taping.

Dominick Mayer, PWTorch.com Contributor (7.0)

So Zach Ryder is the #1 contender to the ECW Championship, huh? Don't get me wrong, the man has improved by leaps and bounds since he's really embraced this new character. What throws me for a complete and utter loop is that two years ago he was hired because of his striking resemblance to Edge, and now he's main-eventing. Ah, wrestling. Anyway, the main event battle royal that crowned Ryder was pretty good. It's remarkable to hear how over Goldust is, just because of a well-done midcard program with Sheamus. Time to play the broken record game: Take note, Monday night.

I was actually glad Yoshi Tatsu got the win over Ryder earlier in the night, because Ryder was about to be sped forward in terms of a push, so Tatsu needed the win more. Also, I like that the show has internal logic going for it, as Tiffany runs it like any other sport would, rather than whatever this Teddy Long Montreal Screwjob business is about to turn into over on Smackdown. Strong show all around, that created a lot of new possibilities.

Greg Parks, PWTorch.com Contributor (6.5)

William Regal was at his best in the first segment, conveying the emotions he was feeling without even needing to say anything. Regal over Helms made sense, as did the Burchill attack on Helms. I guess that feud still has some legs, and that's a good thing. Goldust and Yoshi Tatsu's backstage segment was a real basic way to get them over as faces and Ryder over as a heel. Tatsu upsetting Ryder was a surprise, but it made sense by the end of the show.

I'm a mark for battle royals, and I really liked the one they had here. Ryder winning, at this point, makes the most sense, and he should present a good challenge for Christian. Good to see the fans getting into Goldust....maybe WWE will devote a little more time to a character that has been all over the place in Dustin Rhodes' WWE tenure. The fact that he's in shape will go a long way in WWE and fans taking him seriously in the ring.

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