By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
April 29, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Judgment Day (third-to-last episode before PPV)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the thirty-third 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 Champion KANE vs. CHAVO GUERRERO (5 weeks)

The advertised main event of ECW was a Handicap Match pitting both Chavo Guerrero and his bodyguard, Bam Neely, against ECW Champion Kane. After Chavo and Bam's entrance, Mike Adamle took off from the announce table for some reason. Tazz, after Kane's entrance and a plug for Judgment Day, followed after him, leaving no one at the announce table for the main event match. The contest ended when Bam knocked Kane to the mat before Chavo hit a frog splash for the victory.

It's odd that WWE is continuing this rivalry after two decisive ECW Title victories for The Big Red Machine over Chavo Guerrero. There clearly isn't any real threat from Guerrero without Bam Neely's help, so the feud lulls most of the time. It's difficult to garner excitement about a prospective Kane-Chavo rematch. The best bet at this point would be to include Bam Neely in some type of title match: Perhaps Neely can serve as special guest referee or even be included in the match itself during a Triple Threat or Handicap ECW Championship bout. The likely reasoning for the continuation of this feud probably lies in the announcer issues from which ECW is currently suffering. Maybe WWE felt that it was not in its best interest to set a new main event feud in place while major changes are occurring in the commentary booth.

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

Previous Feuds
Kane: Finlay, Big Daddy V, Shelton Benjamin, Chuck Palumbo
Chavo Guerrero: Rey Mysterio, CM Punk

THE MIKE ADAMLE & TAZZ STORYLINE (3 weeks)

So, here's a quick synopsis on how things have escalated for ECW's newest announce team: First, Joey Styles is abruptly replaced as ECW's longtime play-by-play commentator by Mike Adamle three weeks ago. Adamle, who probably would admit himself to being unprepared and unfamiliar with the WWE product, took over and stirred a lot of conversation by his less-than-stellar debut. After three full shows, Adamle simply left the announcers' table before the ECW main event this week. Curiously, Tazz inexplicably followed. Nobody commentated during the Handicap Match where Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely beat Kane.

Well, some people believed that they were purposely going to keep Mike Adamle on commentary simply because he wasn't good, but I don't think relying on the novelty of horrible commentary was a viable long-term strategy by WWE; so something had to give. However, using their problem as a narrative stepping stone leading up to a new play-by-play guy is a good idea. It's pretty damned intriguing. Commentators are extremely important because they are the people who are "with" the audience throughout the entire show. In many ways, they speak up for the audience as well as explain and clarify things. People should care that Adamle may be up for replacement, and they should also care about who steps in to fill that vacancy.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7.5

Previous Feuds
Mike Adamle: n/a
Tazz: n/a

COLIN DELANEY vs. ECW General Manager ARMANDO ESTRADA (6 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

Colin Delaney accompanied Tommy Dreamer for moral support during Dreamer's match against Mike Knox, but nothing forwarded the story about Colin trying to earn a WWE contract. Also, Armando Estrada did not appear on the show. However, it was announced that next week on the 100th edition of ECW, Colin would be in a match against Armando Estrada with a wrestling contract on the line.

There isn't too much to say about this. Let's see how WWE handles next week's episode. I'm not sure how much longer they can go without Colin finally receiving this contract.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5 [down 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Colin Delaney: John Morrison & The Miz
Armando Estrada: n/a

WWE Tag Team Champions JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ vs. JIMMY WANG YANG & SHANNON MOORE (2 weeks)

There existed no tag team or singles matchups between any of these four superstars this week; in fact, no one in the feud was present on ECW. However, WWE heavily hyped a big Smackdown on Friday night featuring three championship matches, one of which is the WWE Tag Team Championships. Shannon Moore and Jimmy Wang Yang were indeed their opponents for that match.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
John Morrison & The Miz: Jesse & Festus, Yang & Moore, Dreamer & Delaney
Jimmy Wang Yang & Shannon Moore: Morrison & Miz

KOFI KINGSTON vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN (2 weeks)

This week's ECW kicked off with Shelton Benjamin and Kofi Kingston sparring again in a rematch from last week. Before the match began, Benjamin grabbed a mic and told Kofi that his victory last week was a fluke and that he would end Kofi's undefeated streak this time. The match ended when Kofi once again caught Shelton Benjamin off-guard with his Trouble in Paradise kick for the decisive three count. After the match, Adamle noted that Kofi doesn't know when he will spring the kick on his opponents, but when he does, it's effective.

This feud has some potential from an in-ring standpoint, but the fact that Shelton Benjamin is playing a heel that can't get the job done isn't helping the rivalry. Kofi is slowly growing into his role, and Shelton is as good as he's always been. But this thing can only go so far when there is no threat from the heel. For now, this one continuing on this tired track is going nowhere.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
Kofi Kinston: n/a
Shelton Benjamin: Kane, CM Punk, Money in the Bank

TOMMY DREAMER vs. MIKE KNOX (3 weeks)

Tommy Dreamer, accompanied by Colin Delaney, went head-to-head with Mike Knox this week on ECW. As Knox made his entrance, Adamle said, "Well we know that Mike Knox is a true powerhouse; what we don't know is what makes the man tick. I've been told by a variety of people: don't get near him. He's antisocial, doesn't like to talk much; not exactly the great orator." During the match, Colin seemed to be taking a moment to talk to Dreamer, but Knox smacked him in the head. He then threw Delaney into the steel stairs. The match ended when Mike Knox hit his corkscrew faceplant finisher on Dreamer for the 1-2-3.

This is one of those feuds that's really just meant to push a newer talent; in this case, that would be Mike Knox. Tommy Dreamer could be useful in this regard as a popular babyface who is currently low on the card. The problem thus far has been that WWE hasn't really given the audience much to work with in terms of describing Mike Knox to people. This week, they have to be given credit for attempting to disseminate some information about Mike Knox. Although not much, it is nice to know that the guy is extremely antisocial. Adamle actually had a good line when he noted that no one knows what makes Knox "tick." That's a good start. It at least raises the idea that people are looking for personality traits.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Tommy Dreamer: John Morrison & The Miz
Mike Knox: n/a


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) CM Punk vs. Chuck Palumbo
(2) Matt Striker vs. Mick Foley


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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