By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
March 25, 2008
Upcoming PPV: WrestleMania (last episode before PPV)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the twenty-ninth 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)

ECW kicked off with the 24-Man Tag Team Match featuring everyone vying for a chance to go one-on-one with Chavo Guerrero for the ECW Championship at WrestleMania. The end of the match saw the usual series of high-energy signature moves from many of the participants. The heel team managed to win when Mark Henry tossed Tommy Dreamer into Snitsky's big boot. Snitsky covered for his team's win.

Interestingly, WWE opted not to feature the Punk-Benjamin feud this week on ECW TV. Perhaps they plan on some type of continuation on Smackdown with some other Money in the Bank challengers (I don't read the spoilers, so Punk and Benjamin's absence logically places them on Smackdown for the last hype to WrestleMania). Also interesting is how WWE is treating this WrestleMania Battle Royal. With Chavo dealing with Dreamer and Delaney issues, it almost feels as though the Battle Royal will result in a random win for someone that has nothing to do with Chavo Guerrero. Then again, Dreamer is one of the participants in that match, so maybe that's not the case. Speaking of which, let's start the feuds with…

ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero vs. COLIN DELANEY & TOMMY DREAMER (2 weeks)

Backstage, Chavo Guerrero talked to Tommy Dreamer as Colin stood in the background. Dreamer told Chavo that his chances of winning the 24-Man WrestleMania Battle Royal are slim, but he wanted a match against Guerrero on ECW. Chavo wasn't interested. As they argued, Colin comically (and probably unintentionally) kept peering into the camera. And when Colin tried to step in and defend his friend, Chavo told him to shut up. That prompted Dreamer to become more serious.

Dreamer shot back saying, "You have no problem bullying someone who's only been in the wrestling business for a few months, but you won't step in the ring with me? Colin's never even won a match, but he has more heart, more guts, and more passion in his little finger than you have in your entire body, champ." With that verbal attack, Chavo caved, granting Dreamer a non-title match.

The main event eventually turned into a Lumberjack Match since all 24 of the prospective contenders for the ECW Title at WrestleMania lined the ring as Chavo went one-on-one with Tommy Dreamer. The match ended when Dreamer ascended the ropes only to be knocked off balance by Chavo. The ECW Champion then landed his frog splash for the win.

This storyline is rolling along as a decent program for Chavo, Dreamer, and Colin. All of these clean wins greatly help to establish Chavo as a legitimate champion, even when they're against people like Dreamer. And despite all of the losses that Dreamer has suffered over the years and the reputation he has built as a WWE jobber, crowds still cheer for him during his matches, which may be reason enough to nickname him Teflon Tommy.

The main problem here is that people can't really see Tommy Dreamer (or Colin Delaney) making any real progress against a guy like Chavo Guerrero, a man who cleanly beat CM Punk on multiple occasions. Viewers cheer Dreamer for trying, but they largely buy into the idea that he loses a lot. Sure, a win for Dreamer in the 24-Man WrestleMania Battle Royal is a long shot, but the bigger issue is that fans probably would rather see someone more capable of beating Chavo win that match. So, even if fan-favorite Tommy Dreamer wins, the downside is that people might anticipate him losing the ECW Title match later in the night. And if WWE felt the desire to restructure his character, they'd need months to properly repair that negative impression.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Chavo Guerrero: C.M. Punk
Colin Delaney: John Morrison & The Miz

STEVIE RICHARDS vs. MIKE KNOX (5 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

After falling from any kind of prominent push on ECW and after not showing up at all last week, one could easily assume that the Richards-Knox feud was over. This week, however, marked (at least) the temporary revival of Richards versus Knox as they competed against one another in tag team action. Their partners? Well, the lovely divas of ECW (and the only ones, actually): Kelly Kelly and Layla. It's interesting that WWE chose the week before WrestleMania to include a match featuring these particular superstars instead of more Smackdown and Raw tie-ins to hype the huge PPV in five days from this show's airing.

The weakness of this feud lies in two areas: inconsistency and disinterest. First, it feels very on-and-off; a week goes by with no sign of either wrestler, then they inexplicably appear to continue their rivalry as if they've been fighting each other for months. If WWE insists on pushing these two, have them appear each week with a clear, strong storyline backing. Secondly, Stevie Richards was building some steam as a character who overcame medical problems, but things have changed. While he was on a roll for some time racking up some nice victories and reestablishing his finishing maneuver, this latest tiff with ECW Un-Original Mike Knox has brought everything to a screeching halt.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 4 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
Stevie Richards: Kevin Thorn
Mike Knox: n/a

CHUCK PALUMBO vs. KANE (4 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

Kane beat Elijah Burke with a chokeslam this week, but there wasn't any sign of Chuck Palumbo. It still isn't clear whether WWE intends to continue this feud. In any event, this week didn't help the possible rivalry.

This week was simply more push for the wrestler who loves to appear on both ECW and Smackdown. Kane's still on ECW's intro video despite technically being on the Smackdown roster, by the way. As for his feud with Chuck Palumbo, it has recently failed since WWE didn't put enough weight behind Palumbo. In fact, Palumbo finds himself in a situation quite similar to the one mentioned above for Stevie Richards.

He got a decent push during his feud with Jamie Noble on Smackdown, leaving that situation with some nice heat. But then he was lobbed into this weak angle with Kane, a program that had no storyline basis, no explanation, no continuing character development, and no sign of meaning. As a result, Palumbo has fallen pretty far off viewers' radar; and Kane simply is not benefiting as a babyface when pitted against him. This feud has likely evaporated, but it wouldn't be unexpected to see them fighting again while WWE harnesses all their monster wrestlers for the promotion of the 24-Man WrestleMania Battle Royal.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 4 [down 0.5 since last week]

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


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) CM Punk vs. Shelton Benjamin?


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Kofi Kingston vs. ?
(2) Colin Delaney vs. Chavo Guerrero
(3) Tommy Dreamer vs. Chavo Guerrero
(4) Shelton Benjamin vs. Carlito


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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