By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
March 4, 2008
Upcoming PPV: WrestleMania (fourth-to-last episode before PPV)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the twenty-sixth 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 vs. ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero (2 weeks)

Lena Yada played the impartial interviewer this week when she spoke to C.M. Punk backstage. Punk talked about how Chavo is more of a coward than he is a warrior. He continued by saying, "It takes Vickie Guerrero and it takes Edge for you to become champion, something that I hold dear, something that I earned." Punk confidently stated that he is a champion and that he would earn the title yet again this week.

The main event soon commenced, and Punk went head-to-head with Chavo Guerrero in an official ECW Championship Match. The match was pretty exciting with numerous near falls, but Chavo managed to obtain the victory after an unfortunate fall for Punk on the ropes and Chavo's Frog Splash. So Chavo managed to maintain the title.

Well, this seems to be Punk's life story. He is on fire most of the time, but he falters somewhere during his big title matches. It's the same wrestling narrative that occurred while John Morrison was ECW Champion. Punk would continually earn title matches by winning Number One Contender status only to lose when the title was on the line; the process would then repeat itself a few times. WWE should allow someone (perhaps even Punk) to address this point. As for the finish, it was nice to see a clean pinfall regardless of the winner. Chavo may not have had any clout if he lost to Punk, so this may have been the best decision. Plus, this paves the way for the next pay-per-view.

The likely continuation here is for Punk and Chavo to carry this to WrestleMania with Punk earning contention yet again for the title. Since their history is now pretty extensive, the goal would be to hold a final battle at WWE's biggest PPV. Maybe the match could even be contested under Extreme Rules or some other type of stipulation. And as long as WWE plans on including the ECW Title at WrestleMania, Punk versus Chavo seems like the best possible path. So Chavo gets his victory this week, but Punk stands tall on the big stage.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7

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

STEVIE RICHARDS vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN (1 week)?

This week, Stevie Richards went one-on-one against Shelton Benjamin after weeks of squash matches for the ECW Original. The bout saw Benjamin catch Richards in his inverted bulldog finisher for the decisive victory. After the match, Benjamin grabbed a mic, briefly mentioned the Money in the Bank Match, and shouted his signature catchphrase before making his exit.

This isn't yet an established feud, but since both men have received relatively impressive pushes as of late on ECW, perhaps that's where they are headed. Plus, the ending makes sense for a continuation. If Richards was able to pull off the win this week, the options going forward would be much more limited, and Shelton Benjamin would take a hit heading into WrestleMania.

This was a logical pairing on many levels. It's still very early, so let's see how this one plays out from a storyline perspective. The likely scenario is to have this be a feud based solely on what happens in the ring, but it would be foolish to not forge a stronger angle on Stevie and his heroic triumph after years of neck problems. And if it continues from here, maybe Shelton's shot at Money in the Bank should come into play at some point.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5

Previous Feuds
Stevie Richards: n/a
Shelton Benjamin: Kane

CHUCK PALUMBO vs. KANE (1 week)

Kane entered the ring to face a jobber this week, but Chuck Palumbo made a curious appearance on the show. He rode his motorcycle around the ring, perhaps in some kind of attempt to distract Kane. If those were his intentions, his plan failed; Kane easily won his match. Joey Styles closed the segment by saying that Palumbo's distraction may have actually helped to motivate The Big Red Machine.

This looks to be the beginning of a decent mid-card feud. It's unfortunate that Kane is never really given a storyline to correspond to his opponents. His past feuds have often suffered for that very reason. Rivalries with Finlay, Big Daddy V, and most recently, Shelton Benjamin, have all lacked any type of meaningful setup or narrative backing. It's odd that they placed him in the lead role in one of their WWE Films productions, yet they seem reluctant to give him something beyond an almost in-ring-exclusive, forceful babyface act.

Hopefully, this pending feud with Chuck Palumbo will change the status quo. Palumbo's coming off what should be considered a heavy storyline with Jamie Noble and Michelle McCool, and he's recently become one of Smackdown's biggest heel characters. In fact, his stint with Noble and McCool has been successful in garnering nice heel heat that can propel him to an interesting rivalry with Kane so long as they don't revert back to the simplistic and dull heel vs. face formula. Ignoring Chuck's very recent past in this storyline would be a mistake. And Kane coming to avenge Noble and McCool would benefit both Palumbo and himself.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5

Previous Feuds
Chuck Palumbo: Chris Masters, Kenny Dykstra, Jamie Noble & Michelle McCool
Kane: Finlay, Big Daddy V, Shelton Benjamin

KELLY KELLY vs. LAYLA (6 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

In the back, Kelly listened as Kofi Kingston complimented on how she could easily be a Playboy covergirl; she was flattered. But things soon broke down when Layla showed up and talked about how she was asked to do Playboy, while Kelly was not. Kelly simply called her a liar, which prompted Layla to throw a hard slap at Kelly's face. A backstage brawl ensued, and Kofi had to break it up.

This is the direct result of having such a thin female roster on a show. It feels as if they try to restart this feud every month or so with some lame argument over jealousy; it's the same two people having a recurring, yet tiresome feud that generally revolves around nothing. WWE's intention was probably to stir some trouble between them using Playboy as a promotional tool. It was a way to mention Maria's cover, but it really only hurt the diva feud on ECW. Kelly and Layla need new opponents at this point unless WWE decides to write them a storyline with some substance.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 3.5 [down 1 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Kelly Kelly: Mike Knox, The Miz, Layla
Layla: Kelly Kelly
Lena: n/a

COLIN DELANEY & TOMMY DREAMER vs. JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ (6 weeks)

ECW featured a WWE Tag Team Title Match to kick off the show. Tommy Dreamer and Colin Delaney had a shot at the gold, but they would have to defeat the reigning champions, John Morrison and The Miz. The match ended when Colin surprised everyone by grabbing a chair and swinging for the fences. He floored both Miz and Morrison, sending them to ringside. However, the result was a disqualification, which allowed Morrison and Miz to retain their titles.

The look on Colin's face told the story here; he seemed unleashed. "Did Tommy Dreamer drag the extreme from deep inside Colin Delaney?" Styles inquired. That's a good continuation for Delaney's character. He's shifted from a vulnerable, defenseless amateur to an unpredictable, desperate (and still pretty vulnerable) figure after months of being tortured and abused. Plus, Tommy Dreamer is getting credit for this evolution, which is nice because Dreamer can now be established as the mentor and because the announcers are driving home the transformation.

This is one of ECW's best storylines, and it will be interesting to see if WWE decides to let Dreamer and Delaney carry the titles at some point. Miz and Morrison have held them for months without doing much of anything. On the other hand, Cole and Tazz have noted the potential feud between Miz & Morrison and Jesse & Festus in recent weeks, so perhaps that may play into everything too. In any event, the team of Dreamer and Delaney isn't done just yet. Next week, they get a rematch against the WWE Tag Team Champions in an Extreme Rules Match for the titles. That should be an interesting test for Mr. Delaney.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7.5 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Colin Delaney & Tommy Dreamer: n/a
John Morrison & The Miz: Jesse & Festus, Jimmy Wang Yang & Shannon Moore


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Shelton Benjamin vs. Stevie Richards


Thanks for reading, everyone. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, feel free to email me at newthtorch@hotmail.com. I greatly appreciate all the feedback that I receive, and I will respond to every email. 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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