Over the Top Challenge: I would have liked to see this mini-Battle Royale go longer, but it was fun while it lasted. It gave a brief glimpse of what the Royal Rumble will be like. It helped to sell the idea that a tag team like Miz & Morrison will be at an advantage in being able to work together in the way they hit some double team moves on Kane. It had a very good ending when Shelton Benjamin hung on to the top rope as Kane eliminated Miz & Morrison, then used his great athleticism to eliminate Kane. I have to admit that 90% of this Hit is for that ending.
Royal Rumble Video: This was a great video on the history of the Rumble. As I have said before, videos like this are a great way for long time fans to take trips down memory lane. For newer fans it serves to catch them up on of the highlights from this event over the last 20 years. I loved the statistics. It is hard to talk about sports without talking statistics, and that helps give professional wrestling more of a sports feel. Records matter in sports. If you doubt that, just look at 2007 when major career and season records were broken in the NFL (Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Randy Moss) and MLB (Barry Bonds, Trevor Hoffman). A big deal was made about those achievements in the sports media. It is good to see WWE treating things like Steve Austin’s record 3 Rumble wins, or Kane’s record 11 eliminations in one Rumble as big deals. It was a great way to hype the fun of the match, and the importance of winning it.
Colin Delaney: This may have been a good time to give the guy a week off. I am worried about him becoming too cartoonish, and taking a week off after a month of beat downs would have leant some credibility to this storyline. But he is so damn funny, I have to give him a Hit. Tazz needs to be commended for his part in Delaney’s story. He has been very good in these interviews. His interaction with Delaney, turning him to face the screen, then back to the hard camera was hilarious. Delaney’s facial expressions are great. But, the monster beat downs have to stop. WWE isn’t stupid enough to put the Undertaker on ECW to beat up Delaney, so unless they start shipping monsters in from Raw (which they are unfortunately stupid enough to do), this might be the end of getting squashed by monsters. That would be good.
ECW MISSES
Main Event: This Miss is about context. Not all matches are meant to be equal, so can’t all be judged by the same criteria. I expect more from a title match than from a match with a debuting wrestler. Why was Chavo Guerrero vs. CM Punk for the ECW World Heavyweight Title given less time than their previous three matches? 6 minutes is not enough time for this match, which was disappointing. Punk and Guerrero were good in the match. The focus on Punk’s ribs was a good way to go in telling a story with the match, beyond the obvious story of the deck being stacked against Punk. But, as I said last week, when you put on the same match several weeks in a row, it is hard to top yourself. When given such a short amount of time, it is nearly impossible. Edge was good on guest commentary, and was hilarious in rejoining the announcers after spearing Punk as if nothing had happened. But, his interference was way too predictable. ECW practically told the audience ahead of time that Punk was going to lose. I was not happy with the ending. Yes, Guerrero had worked on Punk’s ribs, and Edge’s spear is a well established finisher. However, I would have liked to see Punk kick out, especially when it took a few moments for Guerrero to make the cover. Guerrero could have finished Punk off with a Frog Splash. That would have given him more credibility as the new Champion, and helped Punk save face. Ratings seemed to have gone down since Guerrero’s been given so much time on ECW the last month. It will be interesting to see where the ratings go now that he is the Champion. It will also be interesting to see where Punk goes from here. I joked after the show that he should enter the Royal Rumble, win, then jump to Smackdown to face Edge at WrestleMania. I doubt that will happen, but he should be in the Rumble now that he has a title to chase.
ECW Pride: Shouldn’t everyone on the ECW roster show more pride in their brand? With the ECW and Smackdown talent exchange, traditional heel and babyface roles should have been put aside in favor of brand loyalty. Joey Styles roots against Miz & Morrison, because they are heels, and cheers for Yang & Moore, because they are faces. Shouldn’t he be happy that a team from ECW has the WWE Tag Team Championship? Tazz welcomes Edge with open arms, because they are both heels. Shouldn’t he ostracize Edge for being an outsider on his show? Why is Armando Estrada helping to cost his man Punk his ECW World Heavyweight Title against a man from a different brand? This is a case where traditional roles in the announce team and for the general manager is hurting the quality of the product.
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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