Punk vs. Dykstra: ECW got off to a good start with a good opening match. Kenny Dykstra showed why he should be treated as more than just a jobber on Smackdown. The match had good back and forth action. Kenny did a good job with his rest holds of actually making them look painful. Instead of simply using a chin lock that looks like the opponent is sitting comfortably on the mat, he drove his knee into CM Punk’s spine and wrenched his neck. It is a simple twist on a simple hold, that adds believability to a match. Both guys got to show off their great athleticism. The problem is that in a way, this match made Punk look bad. Dykstra has been squashed in 2 minutes by Chuck Palumbo multiple times, so why was it so hard for Punk to finish him off? With a better build, Kenny would have been a more believable threat to Punk.
Benjamin Joins ECW: Shelton Benjamin’s talents have been wasted on Raw lately, so a move to ECW could be just the thing to get his career going. Of course, there is no guarantee that those talents won’t be wasted on Tuesday nights as well, but there is hope. His team with Charlie Haas was going nowhere, so a push on ECW has at least a chance of going somewhere. Plus, ECW needs a bigger roster. They need a boost of talent, and Benjamin is a good step. A partnership with Elijah Burke is interesting, but they need to be singles wrestlers who watch each other’s backs, and not just a tag team going after Miz & John Morrison. A Benjamin vs. Punk feud could be a lot of fun.
Miz & Morrison: As opposed to last week, the new Tag Team Champions did a good job on guest commentary during Jesse & Festus vs. Deuce & Domino. The match itself was nothing to be excited about, but it was made entertaining by Miz & Morrison. They have a nice chemistry, and I look forward to seeing how the relationship develops over time. It was good that they were scouting possible opponents, and making comments about the match itself. They talked about the strengths and weaknesses of both teams. It was very funny at the end when they came up with a plan of brining a bell to the ring with them if they face Jesse & Festus.
ECW MISSES
Thorn’s New Look: I don’t have a big problem with giving Kevin Thorn a new look. But, just having him come out with the new look with no explanation is weak. It was good that the announcers mentioned it, as I would not have been surprised if they had just ignored it. But, why did he change his look? Also, he is fairly generic in the ring, but he had a look that set him apart. So, if you are going to change his look, why go to something so generic looking? He looked like he was auditioning to be Charlie Haas’ new partner on Raw with the singlet.
Main Event: I assume that the ratings for ECW steadily declined from the start of the show until the end. CM Punk is one of the few guys on the show to tune in for, and they got his match out of the way first. Then they kept hyping Kane vs. Big Daddy V & Matt Striker as the Main Event, and I can only guess that fans started turning off the show. This was what you’d expect it to be. It was slow and boring. Kane does his best to make his offense look interesting, but Daddy V brings nothing to the table, and they certainly don’t work well enough together to mask each other’s weaknesses. The feud doesn’t look to be close to being over, which is bad.
Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's Hitlist Specialist, providing his point of view in the Torch's hitlist format for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and TNA Impact each week. Email him at jmezz-torch@sbcglobal.net.
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