This was a very bland episode of ECW. Little even stood out as being good enough to get a Hit or bad enough to get a Miss. I considered giving a Hit to Miz & Morrison vs. Jesse & Festus, as it had some good action and Jesse showed me more in the match than I’ve seen from him in the past. But, it got very boring in the middle. The prolonged two on one beat down of Jesse by the Tag Team Champions went on too long. It wasn’t a bad match by any means. It just wasn’t good either. Shelton Benjamin vs. Shannon Moore was the same. It was a basic short match, bordering on being a squash. Both guys worked hard, and it served a purpose of getting Benjamin over. But, it was just too short and too one sided to get a Hit from me. Same goes for Kane vs. Big Daddy V. This is a match that exceeded my expectations. The Extreme Rules stipulation helped here. This was better than the regular matches that these two have had. I was entertained enough to leave it out of the Miss column, which is where I expected it to land. But, it was not a good enough Main Event to land itself in the Hit column. As you can see only two things really stood out as being Hit or Miss worthy. The fact that there was nothing else to really like could be seen by a pessimist as being a Miss in and of itself. But, an optimist might say that the fact that there was nothing else to hate could be a Hit in and of itself. I will let you decide.
ECW HITS
Benjamin’s Promo: I was thrilled with the fact that WWE actually gave Benjamin some mic time after his ECW debut last week. Benjamin has unfortunately given WWE plenty of reason to be hesitant to hand him a mic, as he has seldom delivered in the past. However, he has been better in his more recent mic work on Raw, although those opportunities have been few and far between. This promo was solid. He got over his confidence and the fact that he wants to become the ECW World Heavyweight Champion. It is a minor point, but putting over a brand’s main title (in this case, its only title) is important for a new wrestler. It was not a great promo. I see improvement, but also room for more improvement. It gets a Hit, partly just for the fact that it happened, and because Benjamin came through. Now, some interaction between him and Elijah Burke needs to happen. We need to see more of this supposed friendship, and better understand why Burke brought Benjamin to ECW last week.
ECW MISSES
Kelly vs. Layla: If a prosecutor ever brings a law suit against WWE for using untrained performers in matches, this match should be exhibit A. Kelly Kelly does not belong anywhere near a ring, probably ever. Layla has shown a little more than Kelly, but not much. She has the attitude and if given the proper time to train and actually develop her skills away from a national audience, she has the potential to become a wrestler. At this point, neither should be wrestling. That match was terrible and scary to watch. Any enjoyment that might be present in watching these two fight is destroyed by the fear that they are going to seriously hurt themselves. WWE should be ashamed of putting on matches like this.
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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