Fatal 4 Way: This was a solid match to start off ECW. It was too short to amount to much, but it was fun while it lasted. I don’t really understand the point of having a match to win the right to fight the ECW Champion in a non-title match, but it at least was fun to watch. With four guys in the ring, the match should have gone longer. It had a very good ending sequence with the series of finishers, but that could have happened after more wrestling. There were some really nice spots in the match, like John Morrison’s spring board spinning kick. I would have built ECW around this match. I would have had it just been a grudge match for the four involved who lost at One Night Stand, then made the match the Main Event and given them twice as long to wrestle. That is quite a few complaints about a Hit, so we will call this a marginal Hit, as I did enjoy the five minutes of wrestling action. On the other hand, CM Punk vs. Kane was a solid Main Event, but it didn’t really accomplish anything.
Kingston - Benjamin: This was the highlight of the night. Kofi Kingston was decent on guest commentary during Shelton Benjamin vs. Matt Sydal, which was a fun short match. It was nice to see Sydal get in some offense and not be treated as a total jobber. I loved it when Benjamin threw Sydal over the announce table and onto Kingston. That was a really cool spot. Kingston showed more fire than he ever has before when he jumped Benjamin in the ring. It is good to see both wrestlers kept strong in this feud. Kingston looked very good for not backing down from Benjamin, but Benjamin was able to get the upper hand in the end. This has been a fun feud to watch, and I continue to look forward to seeing it develop.
ECW MISSES
New GM: I have mixed feelings about Teddy Long being the new ECW General Manager, but I am giving it a Miss for a few reasons. For one, while I am happy to see one show getting a babyface GM (I’m so sick of heel GMs), I’m not sure I would have put Long on ECW. We’ve seen him as a GM before, so I wouldn’t mind seeing him in a different role. After teasing that he might become the Raw GM, ECW seems like a major step down. Also, what is the best way to use Armando Estrada? A full time active wrestler is not the answer that I would give. Now maybe in time he will show that he has value there, but to me, right now his value is in talking. I would rather see him talk than wrestle. Perhaps he will prove me wrong. The idea behind Long making Estrada earn his roster spot the way Colin Delaney had to is good, but Delaney winning on a roll up to get his big revenge is pretty weak.
Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and TNA Impact each week. Email him at jmezz-torch@sbcglobal.net.
For another view from the original Hitlist author, compare Jason Powell's views to mine by visiting prowrestling.NET's "Hitlist" section here.
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