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By Chris Newth, PWTorch.com Specialist Contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
August 28, 2007
Upcoming PPV: Unforgiven (3 weeks away as of airdate)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the second edition of ECW Storylines and Feuds.

For those wondering about the Intrigue Level system that I employ, you can refer to the numbers as follows:

10 (excellent), 9 (great), 8-6 (very good, good, pretty good), 5 (decent; has its good and bad qualities), 4-3 (needs work, poor), 2 (bad), 1 (terrible)

ECW Champion JOHN MORRISON vs. C.M. PUNK (10 weeks)

There has been criticism regarding the length of the Punk-Morrison feud, namely Punk's position as Number One Contender. They've been dishing it out for ten weeks now, so some criticism is to be expected. However, this feud is worth continuing for many reasons.

For one thing, it has been entertaining. Both C.M. Punk and John Morrison are fun to watch in the ring. They each possess very distinct, individual styles that differentiate them from other wrestlers.

Additionally, I'd be remiss to overlook their abilities outside the ring. Their vignette in Armando Estrada's office this week was well-executed. Estrada has recently been named General Manager of ECW, and he understandably wants to keep good relations with top talent, especially the man that's carrying the brand at the moment—the ECW Champion. Speaking of the Guru of Greatness, Morrison played his part well too, maintaining his arrogant persona. And C.M. Punk introduced a subtle element to the feud: his desire to get under the champion's skin. He appears without invitation in Estrada's office and helps himself to Morrison's food. The fact that he understands Morrison's tactics—and instead of getting angry about it, decides to use a more skillful approach to combat his rival—is intriguing. ECW, and WWE as a whole, needs to incorporate more skits like this one.

Another reason for this feud's almost mandatory continuation is the level of the characters. C.M. Punk and John Morrison unequivocally have the strongest character development in all of ECW. No other superstar comes close to either of them, with the possible exception of Elijah Burke who, given a little more promo time, could become a believable contender.

And finally, C.M. Punk is most deserving. The depth of the ECW roster is abysmal at the moment. Take a look at it. A straight year of C.M. Punk in the main event might be preferable over a month's worth of Miz or Boogeyman. Giving someone else a title shot in order to vary the current trend would be fine as long as they lose to Morrison and can get back to the C.M. Punk story. But, this is the way WWE has chosen to go, and it's not bad.

The story of Punk in this feud has been effective. For months, Styles and Tazz have been hammering it in. At the end of ECW this week, Tazz pointed out that "…Punk will not go away. He keeps coming back. And Punk, give the man his credit, he's earning every opportunity." This is a valuable angle. Punk continues to challenge Morrison, keeps losing because of cheap tactics, and earns the right to challenge again. This particular match marks the second time Punk has won a Number One Contender's match in addition to overcoming Morrison's 15 Minutes of Fame contention challenge. He's playing the good sport that refuses to be discouraged and bitter, and with every win, he's garnering more and more support from the audience, and consequently, more and more credibility to his image.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 8 [up 1 from last week]

Previous Feuds
John Morrison: n/a
C.M. Punk: The New Breed

TOMMY DREAMER vs. BIG DADDY V (3 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

Where's Tommy? There was no sign of Dreamer this week on ECW, while Big Daddy V vied for number one contention for the ECW Title in the main event. This has been a weak feud from the start, and it desperately needs more fuel if WWE plans to keep it running.

It very well may have ended without anyone realizing. If either Dreamer or Big Daddy V face anyone but each other next Tuesday, it will be safe to assume that WWE Creative sloughed off this feeble program.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 2 [down 1 from last week]

Previous Feuds
Tommy Dreamer: Elijah Burke
Big Daddy V: Boogeyman

TOMMY DREAMER vs. ARMANDO ESTRADA (3 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

Again, the absence of Tommy Dreamer equates to an absence in the feud itself. With insufficient information, there's nothing to say here.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 3 [down 1 from last week]

ELIJAH BURKE vs. BALLS MAHONEY (2 weeks)

Last week's unexpected Mahoney push was imperative for his character's longevity. I'd say that it rejuvenated him, but that would imply that he used to have credibility. Although an extra week or two of continued pushing would have been useful, the initiative in developing his character for one week was surprising enough to overlook that. His loss against Elijah Burke wasn't necessarily bad for him. Contrarily, the match's result may have proven beneficial for a myriad of reasons.

First, it gave Burke a timely win. He desperately needed it because he's a major player for ECW. He can cut a solid promo; he has a palpable distinction in terms of his character's personality and charisma; and his in-ring abilities are consistently strong.

Secondly, it gave The Miz an opportunity to watch an important Balls match without directly being involved. Even though Miz has beaten Mahoney several times in the past, a newer—and more reasonable—idea on the part of the audience that Balls has improved and has a chance against The Miz is now being formulated.

And thirdly, it allowed the storyline with Kelly Kelly to progress.

With Mahoney and Burke each holding a respective win against the other, it will be interesting to see how things unfold. What role, if any, will The Silver-Tongued Pugilist play in the Balls saga next week?

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [up 0.5 from last week]

Previous Feuds
Elijah Burke: Tommy Dreamer
Balls Mahoney: no notable feuds in recent memory

THE MIZ (w/ Extreme Expose) vs. BALLS MAHONEY (5 weeks)

The entanglement of storylines that pervaded last Tuesday's ECW continued their crossover ways this week. The Miz carefully scouted, and criticized, the Mahoney-Burke match. Later, the Former Reality Star participated in the Number One Contender Fatal 4 Way match. Keep in mind, Miz's involvement in the main event has nothing to do with his encounters with Balls Mahoney, but it does help to elevate his status on the card. His rivalry with Balls gives him that much more air time, while also indirectly raising Balls Mahoney's status as well.

Thus far, WWE has done a respectable job juggling storylines on ECW. It provides a more unique presentation when things don't have to fit into small segments one at a time. Lumping multiple angles together and allowing wrestlers fighting in different rivalries to interact with one another adds some realism to the product. Things in life aren't neatly separated and organized. Plus, it's not like the audience can't figure everything out. This isn't rocket science; it's Miz participating in Balls's segment and then in the main event.

As alluded to earlier, this storyline is progressing nicely. This week, Kelly Kelly blatantly sided with Balls, cheering him on during his match against Elijah Burke as well as checking up on him after the match concluded. While her sympathetic actions toward Mahoney had been subtle for many weeks—often occurring after Miz, Brooke, and Layla had left the room—a more substantial stance has been assumed by the Former Exhibitionist.

Kelly's actions pave the way for a multitude of potential scenarios within the next few weeks. The angle has reached a point where the audience has been given sufficiently fresh information, yet it is still left open in terms of its future advancement. Will Kelly continue to openly sympathize with Mahoney? How does Miz feel about her recent actions? Where does Kelly fit into Extreme Expose? How do her actions affect the pretentious duo of Brooke and Layla? Advancement of story that provokes questions like these as well as our interest in answering them is indicative of good storytelling.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6 [up 2 from last week]

Previous Feuds
Miz: no notable feuds since coming from Smackdown
Balls Mahoney: no notable feuds in recent memory

STEVIE RICHARDS vs. KEVIN THORN (6 weeks)

This has been a quaint and moderately entertaining feud in ECW for the past month and a half. Particularly interesting was the unexpected win and subsequent push for Stevie Richards. Although their series of matches had been booked successfully, there was still insufficient narrative foundation.

To this day, we know nothing about Richards beyond his ECW Original status. Kevin Thorn's character is equally underdeveloped. He's a man who practices vampirism and frequents bite clubs. Oh, and he walks around angry most of the time. WWE has yet to give us answers to questions that matter, however. Why is Kevin Thorn angry? What traits should we, the audience, recognize as praiseworthy in Stevie Richards? Beyond their appearances and facial expressions, what actions, feelings, or personality qualities can we be privy to? (hint: apparently nothing)

This isn't to say that there is no hope for this feud. If they provide us a promo, vignette, or video package on these characters, we're bound to care more than we do now. The problem is most likely that we've reached the end of this rivalry. "And tonight Kevin Thorn may have gotten the Stevie Richards monkey off his back," Joey Styles proclaimed after the match concluded.

So, if the feud has ended, WWE may have missed out on a worthwhile opportunity. The background is there; the matches are there. All that is needed is a little more humanizing for these two (or dehumanizing in Thorn's case).

Overall, assuming this is the end of the rivalry, Kevin Thorn leaves at approximately the same position he was in prior to his squabble with Richards. Stevie is elevated to the slightest degree, but nothing too impressive has been achieved.

The bottom line is that WWE tends to correctly put good emphasis on their big angles, but wrongly assumes that cheaply glossing over the lesser storylines is required because of that. Throw these small programs a bone by giving up some kind of information on these characters so that the stories, despite their size, will better resonate with the audience.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 4 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
Stevie Richards: n/a
Kevin Thorn: no notable feuds in recent memory

FEUD CONCLUSIONS

(1) Tommy Dreamer vs. Big Daddy V?
(2) Tommy Dreamer vs. Armando Estrada?
(3) Stevie Richards vs. Kevin Thorn?

Thanks for reading, everyone. If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to email me at newthtorch@hotmail.com. I appreciate all of the feedback.

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