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By Chris Newth, PWTorch.com Specialist Contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
October 2, 2007
Upcoming PPV: No Mercy (last episode before PPV)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the seventh 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)

C.M. Punk [photo by Wade Keller (c) PWTorch]

ECW Champion C.M. PUNK vs. ELIJAH BURKE (4 weeks w/ 2 week hiatus)

What a surprise! And I mean that in the sincerest of ways. I really believed that Elijah Burke was going to be a shoe-in when it came to being named the Number One Contender for the ECW World Championship. Ultimately, he wasn't even runner-up.

It would have been nice to see The Silver-Tongued Pugilist spar with The Straightedge Superstar for the title at No Mercy, but I can also see how that matchup may have been a little too underwhelming for the PPV for multiple reasons: (1) we've seen C.M. Punk cleanly beat Elijah Burke numerous times on ECW television, (2) the concept of the Elimination Chase to No Mercy inherently separated Punk from whomever the challenger was going to be, (3) Elijah Burke, despite all of his impressive qualities, doesn't yet have the credibility needed to provide an actual high-stakes match at a PPV because he hasn't been pushed enough lately.

An Elijah Burke versus C.M. Punk match at No Mercy could truly be a great match, but it's also understandable for WWE to be wary of using him as a challenger at this point. They probably felt they needed to raise the risk to give greater weight to both Punk as well as the ECW Title. In any event, Burke was pulled from the line.

So, moving on…

Intrigue Level (out of 10): n/a

Previous Feuds
C.M. Punk: The New Breed, John Morrison
Elijah Burke: Tommy Dreamer

BIG DADDY V (w/ Matt Striker) vs. ECW Champion C.M. PUNK (2 weeks)

Last week, C.M. Punk ran into Big Daddy V and his articulate manager backstage. A match later that night saw the ECW Champion defeat Matt Striker followed by an attack by The Man Formerly Known as Viscera. It was as if WWE was trying to occupy their Tuesday show's champion by throwing him this challenge while he waited for the Elimination Chase to determine his No Mercy opponent.

This, however, wasn't the case. Big Daddy V ended up cheaply stealing the position of Number One Contender, and now The Straightedge Superstar must meet his greatest challenge to date when he goes one-on-one with V at the PPV.

I go into further detail about the Elimination Chase and its conclusion at the end of this article. For now, let me just wrap this up by noting that as viewers, we know that a Punk-V match isn't going to be as exciting to watch as a Punk-Burke match; however, at least we will have to question whether C.M. Punk's title reign is in jeopardy. If he was to face Elijah Burke, we basically know the outcome because we've seen it so many times before. So although Big Daddy V's role in the ECW Championship match might be a little frustrating, the curiosity factor here may make up for the lack of hype going into this PPV.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5

Previous Feuds
Big Daddy V: Boogeyman
C.M. Punk: The New Breed, John Morrison

THE MIZ (w/ Extreme Expose) vs. BALLS MAHONEY (10 weeks)

The events that took place this week on ECW with regard to the Mahoney-Miz feud finally led to something of substance. For weeks since the rivalry's initial inception over two months ago, the same basic formula was being utilized to establish this story.

Balls would get beaten by either The Miz or a surrogate like Elijah Burke. Wrought with sympathy, Kelly Kelly would tend to Mahoney. Weeks passed where nothing seemed to happen. Kelly acted the same way, and Balls slowly became interested at the prospect of a possible date with the Original Exhibitionist. Miz's reaction was quite delayed. At first, he didn't seem to care; it's not difficult to imagine that he wasn't worried about Kelly's intentions. However, when Balls popped the dating question, Miz suddenly took a vested interest.

Last week, it got a little too repetitive and started to devolve into retrogression or, at the least, stagnation. Luckily, WWE took the vital next step in this midcard rivalry: they showed Kelly Kelly making her decision. She accepted Balls's request for a date! The two smiling lovebirds shared a celebratory hug and everyone was happy. Suddenly, however, The Miz and his Extreme Expose posse crashed the party. They were disgusted with Kelly's decision.

And then it happened. The Miz finally divulged the information that WWE has withheld for months. Apparently, Miz owns the contracts of Extreme Expose, and he has the right to make decisions for them. What a great move. It makes logical sense as reason for why nothing has ever been mentioned about any relationships or dating going on between Miz and his managers. Plus, it flows well with his arrogant character. He's the self-proclaimed Chick Magnet, and although it's forced, he's surrounded by hot women.

So he demanded that Kelly leave with him or face a termination of the contract, which would not only release her from Extreme Expose, but ECW as well. Kelly, looking heartbroken, left The Neanderthal in the ring and reluctantly followed Miz out of the arena. It was a great way to finally reveal Kelly's actual feelings while still providing more than adequate obstacles for Kelly and Balls. The contract-owning dynamic is solid in this situation because it logically lays out the stakes. Can the possibility for love overcome such a dilemma?

By taking this rivalry to the next natural stage, WWE has opened a spate of strong potential paths. Whichever way the writers decide to go, there are a few underlying points that should be repeatedly reinforced. First of all, Balls or Kelly (or both of them) mustn't give up. If the audience doesn't sense an inner power and a will to get behind this feud, it will die before it gets anywhere. The idea that only one of them feels the need to do something about the situation—particularly if it's Kelly—might be a strong approach.

Also, more information has to be known about Brooke and Layla. Let them speak a little more and interact with Kelly and possibly Balls. Maybe they keep Mahoney away by telling him that Kelly doesn't want to even look at him anymore (without Kelly even knowing about the conversation). Remember, having Brooke and Layla help Miz to keep Kelly stuck in a position where she must do what Miz wants is one of the key differences between this story and the one between Robert Roode and Ms. Brooks on TNA. It's also going to be important to put the viewers in Kelly's shoes by exposing her pain and position. WWE should give the audience a glimpse into Kelly's world to form a connection. If we can get an inside look at how she's mistreated, we're much more likely to root for her and Balls when the conclusion to this feud gets underway.

How would I write this feud? Well, I'd play on the contract status more. Now that Miz has explained some things, it's time to exploit them. Show various vignettes depicting Miz with Extreme Expose in different areas—the parking garage, the interview area, Miz's locker room. Then have Miz blatantly treating Kelly disrespectfully. Show him being more fair and nice to Brooke and Layla at the same time to give a perspective on how he sees Kelly differently since she accepted a date from Balls.

In the meantime, have Mahoney disheartened after hearing that Kelly doesn't care about him anymore (which Brooke and Layla can handle). Kelly grudgingly does what the Miz says because he holds the contract over her head, but show that she's determined behind his back to figure out a plan. I would probably avoid the "Damsel in Distress" theme only because it’s a little clichéd. Have Kelly initiate the action (instead of Balls) after being frustrated by the abuse, then have Mahoney finish the plan by beating Miz in a match to free Kelly from her contract to Miz. Oh, and have that match be Kelly's contract versus Mahoney's, meaning that Balls agrees to either give Miz his contract as well or terminate his contract with ECW (neither of which happens, by the way, but it raises the stakes and ends the rivalry with a bang).

Notice the length of this feud. It's been active now for two and a half months. Even though Miz and Mahoney aren't the most interesting wrestlers, the story is beginning to become engaging. Consequently, the story is driving viewers to get into these characters, even if it's just a little bit of interest. This is a testament to what storylines can provide. They can improve characters, make good programs great, and even make lackluster angles slightly intriguing. WWE can't possibly write the highest-quality storylines for every feud they feature, but they can attach solid stories to the midcard to make it that much more enjoyable. Here's hoping they use this method with some of the midcard feuds on Raw and Smackdown, such as the one featuring Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly.

Overall, great advancement here. With Kelly's expression of interest in Balls, Miz's explanation of the situation, a new layer of storyline with the contract status, and increased stakes for the babyface to overcome, this feud clearly intensified. What a difference from last week. Hopefully it keeps rolling next week instead of falling into another cyclical loop.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6.5 [up 2 from last week]

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

ELIMINATION CHASE: STEVIE RICHARDS vs. KEVIN THORN vs. ELIJAH BURKE vs. TOMMY DREAMER (3 weeks)

As noted in previous articles, the Elimination Chase to No Mercy was a pleasantly surprising concept. It gave viewers a fresh, multi-person tournament but refrained from getting confusing like many of TNA's concept matches. Each week WWE allotted plenty of time for the matches, which narrowed down from a fatal four way match with one loser to a singles match with two losers.

In the end, Tommy Dreamer pulled out an upset against the talented, young Elijah Burke to ostensibly become C.M. Punk's opponent for the ECW Championship at No Mercy. That was until ECW General Manager Armando Estrada entered the picture and added a match to the Elimination Chase: Big Daddy V versus the already-exhausted Dreamer.

This is where things go downhill. It isn't so much that we don't want to see Big Daddy V at No Mercy against C.M. Punk (although I'm sure most people don't), but rather it's the way that the situation was handled. In the end, it feels like they deceived us. We were misled into buying into this series of matches. When Tommy Dreamer won, my eyebrows raised themselves in shock. It was legitimately surprising. However, WWE took all of two seconds to deflate that feeling.

Like I said, Big Daddy V certainly raises the stakes for C.M. Punk at the PPV. I'm interested to see if Punk can find a way to be victorious in that match, but this wasn't the way to do it. The Elimination Chase was very strong—and something I'd like to see applied on Raw or Smackdown in the future—but Big Daddy V's late insertion only undermined this otherwise entertaining concept.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6 [down 0.5 from last week]

Previous Feuds
Stevie Richards: Kevin Thorn
Kevin Thorn: Stevie Richards
Elijah Burke: Tommy Dreamer
Tommy Dreamer: Elijah Burke

FEUD CONCLUSIONS

(1) C.M. Punk vs. Elijah Burke
(2) The Elimination Chase to No Mercy

POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Mike Knox vs. ??
(2) Kelly Kelly vs. Miz & Extreme Expose?
(3) Some combination of the losers in the Elimination Chase (and that would be all four of the original participants)

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. Please insert a word in the subject line that deals with a wrestling topic or write something such as "WWE," "feud," or "Nunzio" so that I know it's not junk mail.

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