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By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
January 29, 2008
Upcoming PPV: No Way Out (third-to-last episode before PPV)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the twenty-first 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)

Before beginning this week's article, I'd just like to point out something that I noticed in the ECW intro video. Interestingly, Kane appeared a few times along with all of the other ECW wrestlers. Now, it's understandable that the talent exchange between ECW and Smackdown is in full swing, but does that warrant the inclusion of The Big Red Machine in the ECW intro? Or did Kane officially switch brands without anyone publicizing it (not that it matters too much because of said talent exchange)?

Starting things out with the non-feuds, Kofi Kingston had another squash match. He used the short bout to give the audience a preview of his move set, which consists of a high dropkick, a double legdrop, and a spinning front kick. He certainly has the energy and look to be successful, but how is he on the mic?

They also showed footage of the World Heavyweight Title Match at the Royal Rumble where Rey Mysterio hit the 619 on Vickie. Tazz questioned why Rey didn't stop, and Joey tried to answer with some kind of excuse about how Mysterio had a lot of steam behind him. But Styles soon realized the absurdity in that argument and just said, "I didn't even think of that." It's good to throw those arguments out there. Perhaps Mysterio did it on purpose, or maybe he didn't see Vickie from that vantage point. In any event, good for Tazz for pointing it out.

Now to the feuds!

ECW Champion C.M. PUNK vs. CHAVO GUERRERO (7 weeks)

C.M. Punk fought Elijah Burke one-on-one. The match was pretty short and ended when Burke attempted to leap over Punk. In an exciting, surprising moment, Punk caught Elijah in mid-air and immediately delivered his Go 2 Sleep finisher for the three count. After the match, Tazz mentioned that true champions are measured by how they bounce back after setbacks, and Punk is off to a nice start on that front.

The show concluded with Chavo Guerrero's ECW Championship Fiesta. The event served to congratulate Chavo for winning the ECW Title last week. Edge and Vickie couldn't be there live after Rey Mysterio's 619 at the Rumble, but Edge did prepare a video package highlighting Chavo's accomplishments in WWE. Also, the celebration came complete with Spanish music and Armando Estrada. Chavo started ranting about how C.M. Punk was not the future of ECW. Then the celebration commenced with music and balloons, but Punk made a surprise appearance dressed as one of the mariachi members and used a guitar to strike Chavo in the head. After felling Chavo, C.M. Punk held the ECW Championship as the show closed.

It was pretty clever to have C.M. Punk in a match against Elijah Burke in the middle of the show to almost distract the audience from his later appearance. In fact, after seeing that match I had assumed that Punk's win against Burke was simply the start of his slow rise back to the top. The storyline now between Chavo and Punk is essentially the same, except now the roles are reversed. Punk is the shrewd challenger who wants his title back; Chavo is the weaker champion who is protected by friends in power.

Luckily, the entertainment potential with this Chavo Guerrero feud has not yet been exhausted by WWE since they can incorporate the strong angle on Smackdown with Edge, Vickie, and the Edge Heads. Criticism surrounding Chavo usually involves the idea that he's solid in the ring, but that he seldom shows enough charisma to garner any heat. And it may not all be charisma; there seems to be some unidentifiable element out there that interferes with the audience's ability to connect to a particular wrestler. Some people just have a tough time clicking with fans. Chavo unfortunately must overcome that. Perhaps this battle with fan favorite C.M. Punk will help propel his character to new heights.

Also worthy of note is that Chavo has never been quite this high on the wrestling totem pole. No matter how you see the current ECW Title, it's still a prestigious championship with a lot of history, and it's often mentioned by name as one of WWE's three world titles. When considering this new push for Chavo, one must keep in mind that his newly acquired status atop ECW's roster may provide some inner inspiration to spark Chavo's charisma and confidence. Personally, I think Chavo Guerrero could make a successful, unconventional, and unique heel character if given the proper opportunity.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
C.M. Punk: Elijah Burke, John Morrison
Chavo Guerrero: Rey Mysterio

SHELTON BENJAMIN vs. KANE (2 weeks)

In a bout that would kick off the ECW broadcast, Kane faced Shelton Benjamin in a singles match. In the end, Kane got the best of Shelton Benjamin when he landed a big boot to the skull. The self-proclaimed Golden Standard of WWE beat a hasty retreat, which resulted in a count out victory for Kane.

This feud has just begun, but it did manage to get off to a solid start. Shelton Benjamin surprisingly caught Kane by the legs, hurling him out of a Battle Royal Match two weeks ago to earn a victory (and ostensibly establish a new feud). This week they gave us a nice preview of what may be to come. Particularly intriguing about this rivalry is that their styles are so different. If the overall goal here is to put Benjamin over by the end of this, Kane is the perfect choice for an opponent. The Big Red Machine has a strong crowd following, and he's a good worker; ergo, a win for Shelton over Kane will unequivocally provide The Gold Standard with definitive momentum as he works his way up the proverbial ladder.

The weakest element here is clearly going to be the mic work. Both Kane and Shelton have exhibited strong self-promo segments in the past, but expecting a compelling back-and-forth interaction on the mic would be unrealistic at the moment. However, many would probably argue that live mic work between these two shouldn't even be a concern. Generally speaking, mid-card acts don't receive a lot of speaking time, so this won't pose a problem. The reason it's even mentioned here is because WWE has been allowing Shelton Benjamin airtime to practice his speaking skills as of late, and it would be beneficial for that to continue throughout his rivalry with Kane.

Overall, people should probably look forward to this feud on ECW. The start was strong enough for a mid-card ECW act. The size and ability differences will provide engaging matchups. And both of these guys have good characters and interesting personalities.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6

Previous Feuds
Shelton Benjamin: n/a
Kane: Finlay, Big Daddy V

KELLY KELLY vs. LAYLA vs. LENA YADA (4 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

Kelly Kelly made her entrance as Tazz pointed out that he never sees her in a bad mood; that's one of her defining character traits. Unfortunately for the former exhibitionist, Victoria was announced as her opponent for the night. As the match began, Lena Yada and Layla came from the back to get a better look at the action from ringside. Interestingly, Styles and Tazz touted Victoria's credentials and even concluded that Victoria was perhaps the only diva in WWE who could match the power of reigning Women's Champion, Beth Phoenix.

The wrestling contest promptly ended after Victoria nailed her Widow's Peak finisher on Kelly. After the match, Layla and Lena entered the ring to celebrate. Layla picked up Kelly before tossing her back to the mat. All three women held their arms up victoriously. Perhaps we have a new heel stable.

It was clear that bringing in a diva from Smackdown was the best option here. Kelly Kelly is the only true babyface diva on ECW, and her possible opponents don't exactly provide the best in-ring competition for her. One can probably assume that Lena isn't quite ready to compete, and Layla has been attacking Kelly for months.

The storyline here—if there is one at the moment—is a generic women's feud. Two pretentious divas deplore the good-hearted Kelly. Now a powerhouse veteran (and former Women's Champion) enters the picture, and all three conceited women work cohesively together in order to bully a vulnerable, lovable fan favorite. The problem is that nobody really knows why there's a problem to begin with.

People have the tendency to accept the idea that because they're women, they just have unidentified problems with one another, which is a ridiculous assumption. Don't get me wrong, many feuds suffer from poor foundations that may be largely unexplained (such as JBL-Jericho on Raw), but this is a notorious blunder in the booking of female rivalries. People can see Layla gazing at Kelly with abhorrence in her eyes and just assume that she's probably jealous of Kelly. Most of the time, that is the fallback assumption, and it's ludicrous because all of the WWE divas are beautiful and relatively successful. It's time for the writers to put an end to inexplicably underdeveloped diva storylines and give them something solid with which to work.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 3.5 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Kelly Kelly: n/a
Layla: n/a

THE RISE OF COLIN DELANEY (6 weeks)

Colin Delaney was perched on a trunk backstage as he awaited another beating. At this point, you can see more tape on the poor kid than skin. Styles prefaced the segment by noting that "Delaney arguably has absorbed more punishment than a crash test dummy." The montage of all the massive bumps he's taken in the last month or so is pretty impressive to see; the kid's fallen at the hands of five bigger guys who mostly resort to heavy power moves. Tazz then told Colin that he doesn't have to face a single man tonight (at which point I honestly thought that Beth Phoenix was going to march to the ring and destroy Mr. Delaney). Instead, however, Colin had to face the WWE Tag Team Champions in a Handicap Match.

The match was kept short, with Miz and Morrison getting in their signature moves. After Morrison hit his corkscrew neckbreaker, both men pinned Colin disrespectfully: Miz with his foot, Morrison with a single finger. The sound of the bell did not mark the end of the fight for the WWE Tag Team Champions; both men continued to punch a lifeless Colin. Suddenly, Tommy Dreamer made a rare ECW television appearance to protect what may become his future protégé.

"How much more can this young man endure?" inquired Styles. That's going to be the most important question. Will the crowds get behind an inveterate loser? Perhaps the only way to achieve that is to point out that he's a determined, persistent, and dedicated kid who's willing to endure all this brutality in order to live his dream. Judging by the reaction of this week's live audience, it looks like WWE hasn't quite achieved that yet; however, he received a much greater response than the generic jobber would get, which is a positive sign.

The fact that Miz and Morrison took the match as seriously as they did—as if they were truly proud of themselves for beating a guy who has a total of zero wins on his record to date—is both hilarious and telling of their characters. They fed off of Colin's vulnerability like it was sustenance for their overly inflated egos. And as they relished prolonging the pain and embarrassment, Tommy Dreamer found a moment to jump in as the hero. Everything about this segment really strengthened the characters involved. By the end, Colin looked more vulnerable, Miz and Morrison more sleazy, and Tommy Dreamer more heroic.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6.5 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Colin Delaney: n/a


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Kofi Kingston vs. ?


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 "Stevie Richards" so that I know it's not junk mail.

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