By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
May 20, 2008
Upcoming PPV: One Night Stand (second-to-last episode before PPV)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the thirty-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)


ECW Champion KANE & CM PUNK vs. WWE Tag Team Champions JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ (3 weeks)

The Miz kicked things off with a promo about how he wasn't feeling so great after being chokeslammed by Kane at Judgment Day two days prior. "Despite the concussion, the soreness of my back, the stiff neck, and the constant headaches, I still stand here one half the WWE Tag Team Champions," Miz stated. He predicted that he'd beat Kane just like John Morrison will do once he wins his number one contender's match at One Night Stand. Throughout the promo, Miz told the audience to quiet down because of his headache, and when Kane's pyro blasted, he winced.

The match between Miz and Kane ended when Kane hung Miz in the Tree of Woe before going to the outside and pulling on Miz's neck. The referee counted to five, and since Kane didn't break the hold, he was disqualified. After the match, The Big Red Machine grabbed a chair and placed it around the prone Miz's neck. Morrison came to the ring and saved his tag team partner from any further damage.

With Morrison and Punk involved now with a number one contender's match for the ECW Title at One Night Stand, this rivalry may be altered. Perhaps it is now a Kane-Miz feud for the next few weeks until a new number one contender is named. If that's the case, it's just a means to buy time. Nobody is going to consider Miz a serious threat to Kane, so the storyline will basically revolve around Kane's growth as ECW Champion.

Miz may have been right when he predicted that he'd win the match against Kane, but The Big Red Machine pulled an unusual card when he got himself purposely disqualified. Was there much reason for that? The novelty of a babyface purposely losing because he doesn't care by getting himself disqualified is overshadowed in this case by the fact that Kane would have had no trouble beating Miz anyway. In Kane's mind, why wouldn't he think to himself, "Well, let me beat the hell out of this kid, win the match via chokeslam, and then hang him up in the Tree of Woe..."? See, it doesn't make much sense. Perhaps if Kane's opponent was a more even match, it would have been both believable and justifiable. In this case, it was just odd.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
Kane: Finlay, Big Daddy V, Shelton Benjamin, Chuck Palumbo, Chavo Guerrero
CM Punk: Elijah Burke, John Morrison, Chavo Guerrero
John Morrison & The Miz: Jesse & Festus, Yang & Moore, Dreamer & Delaney

CM PUNK vs. WWE Tag Team Champion JOHN MORRISON vs. TOMMY DREAMER vs. CHAVO GUERRERO (1 week)

This week, ECW General Manager Armando Estrada introduced Punk, Morrison, Dreamer, and Chavo as participants in a match at One Night Stand that would name the next number one contender for Kane's ECW Championship. The winner of the PPV match would advance to the next PPV (Night of Champions) to face The Big Red Machine. However, since every match at One Night Stand will be contested under Extreme Rules, Estrada announced that this upcoming number one contender's match would be a Fatal Four-Way Singapore Cane Match. And this week, he booked Punk and Dreamer against Morrison and Chavo in a tag team contest.

The match ended when Chavo hit his frogsplash for the win over Dreamer. After the match, Big Show's music played, and he made his way to the ring. Show took out Chavo and Punk with chokeslams before tossing Morrison like a ragdoll across the ring. He grabbed a mic, explained that he'd also take part in the Singapore Cane Match, and said that he'd be ECW Champion once again. He then chokeslammed Dreamer to close the show.

This storyline makes a lot of sense, but it also feels heavily rushed with One Night Stand just around the corner. It starts with a booking decision to name a number one contender. Good. That's something we rarely see on ECW. The main event match featuring all the participants in the upcoming number one contender's match ends with Chavo winning. Good. Chavo is extremely unlikely to win the Fatal Four-Way Singapore Cane Match since WWE just wrapped up his feud with Kane, so giving him the win is fine. Then Big Show makes a surprise appearance to announce his participation at the next PPV. Very good. It's a logical step here for both Show and ECW.

Big Show has been stuck right now feuding with Mark Henry on Smackdown, which is really getting nobody anywhere. He also has a memorable history with the new ECW as champion for a while during the Heyman days. Plus, ECW has basically been stuck with a champion that no one is likely to beat anytime soon. WWE placed Kane as ECW Champion to give the brand a big name star at the top, but if you look at the rest of the roster, it doesn't seem like Kane has too much competition. Other heels on the brand like Chavo Guerrero and Elijah Burke haven't been built enough to credibly dethrone The Big Red Machine. The best thing about the situation is that whoever finally beats him will garner a ton of momentum. However, Big Show's return to ECW evens the odds. It might not be very "extreme," but it is preferable to seeing Chavo Guerrero squashed by Kane in a matter of seconds. The inevitable big man feud has some potential.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5

Previous Feuds
CM Punk: Elijah Burke, John Morrison, Chavo Guerrero
John Morrison & The Miz: Jesse & Festus, Yang & Moore, Dreamer & Delaney
Tommy Dreamer: John Morrison & The Miz, Mike Knox
Chavo Guerrero: Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, Kane

COLIN DELANEY vs. ECW General Manager ARMANDO ESTRADA (9 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

This week Colin teamed with Kelly Kelly to face Mike Knox and Layla. The match ended pretty quickly when Kelly hit her finisher for the win. After the match, Knox entered the ring, scared Kelly away, and delivered his corkscrew faceplant on Colin. As Kelly checked on Delaney, Armando Estrada's music hit, and he made his way to the ring. Estrada told Kelly to scram before giving Colin a lifting reverse DDT to punctuate the brutality. Kelly was very upset at the situation because of how the heels were taking advantage of the vulnerable Colin Delaney.

Using a popular diva like Kelly Kelly to help put Colin over is a great idea. Many fans already sympathize with Delaney, but having Kelly in his corner won't hurt. That relationship could be the next step in Colin's big adventure on ECW. It was probably meant to be a one-time tag team match to combine two feuds into one segment, but WWE should really consider the possibilities behind placing Colin with Kelly long-term. As for Colin-Estrada, it is just the beginning of a decent feud. Estrada will continue to beat Colin by just picking up the scraps after booking the kid in matches where he is destined to lose. Eventually, Colin will turn the tables on him. For now, Estrada has to appear like he's making Colin miserable, and it will take some time and repetition before fans get so fed up with the cheap method Estrada uses that Colin's eventual revenge will be all the more satisfying.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6.5 [same as last week]

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

KOFI KINGSTON vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN (5 weeks)

This week marked the third chance for Shelton Benjamin to finally get a win on his current rival, Kofi Kingston. Of course, Benjamin had been promising to end Kofi's undefeated streak for quite some time now. The match saw Kofi attempt his Trouble in Paradise Kick, but Benjamin ducked it before hitting his own finisher for the victory. Both men had a brief stare-down to close the segment.

Again, no one is going to deny the potential inherent in this rivalry. Most people probably enjoy seeing Kofi and Shelton square off each week. They have very unique wrestling styles that differentiate themselves from many other performers. It might be a good suggestion to add more storyline elements to this largely wrestling-based feud. WWE should give them more mic time either backstage in promos, interviews, or vignettes. And as for the booking, it was curious because they really killed any momentum Benjamin may have gained here (we know that on Smackdown Kofi pins Shelton after hitting his Trouble in Paradise Kick, making the score 3-1 Kofi only three days after Benjamin's big win).

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

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

KELLY KELLY vs. LAYLA (3 weeks)

As noted above, Kelly teamed with Colin in tag team action to face Layla and Mike Knox. Kelly won the match when she hit her relatively new finisher on Layla. After the match, she had to observe the beating Colin received from both Knox and Armando Estrada. After everything was said and done, Kelly checked on Colin to see if he was alright.

This is a very tired feud that has waged since Layla split from Kelly's dance team. With no other divas able to compete on the ECW brand, these two are almost required to continue an endless feud that no longer has substance or intrigue. When compared to the strong diva feuds on Raw and Smackdown, this one pales. As I mentioned before, until they bring in other divas to the brand, Kelly should be placed with Colin Delaney. They are both strong personalities with a lot of potential, and they can easily help one another further their characters. It just seems like the right move to make.

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

Previous Feuds
Kelly Kelly: Miz, Layla, Victoria
Layla: Kelly Kelly


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) CM Punk & Kane vs. John Morrison & The Miz?


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Kane vs. Miz
(2) Colin Delaney & Kelly Kelly vs. Armando Estada & Mike Knox & Layla


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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