By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
June 17, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Night of Champions (second-to-last episode before PPV)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the fortieth 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 (7 weeks)

This week, CM Punk went one-on-one with John Morrison. The match ended when Morrison tried to sunset flip Punk from the ring apron, but Punk managed to catch him in position for his finisher. Without much hesitation, Punk hit the GTS for the clean victory. After the match, Punk celebrated, but he was soon interrupted by Miz, who stood on the stage with a microphone. Miz began, "And still one half the WWE Tag Team Champions: John Morrison." He then stated that they would be leaving Night of Champions with the gold still around their waists.

The ongoing problems between the WWE Tag Team Champions and both Kane and CM Punk are likely at an end. Kane is now deeply involved in his ECW Title Match with Big Show, and he may even have to deal with Mark Henry. Punk, on the other hand, seems to have his plate full with threatening Edge over on Smackdown, and Vickie is trying to keep The Straight Edge Superstar busy by throwing MVP his way. Plus, Morrison and Miz are now gearing up for their upcoming matchup again Finlay and Hornswoggle with the titles on the line at Night of Champions. All of these elements suggest that this filler feud slot will likely be empty come next week.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): n/a

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

ECW Champion KANE vs. THE BIG SHOW (4 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

In the final segment of the show, Kane met Big Show in a Night of Champions Confrontation. Theodore Long handled the introductions. Long told each man to take the time and say what they want. Show told Kane that he has something that he wants—the ECW Title. "You have no idea what I'm willing to do to keep my ECW Championship," Kane retorted. As the two giants had a stare-down, Mark Henry's music hit, and he made his way to the ring to announce that he's going to be gunning for whoever is the ECW Champion after Night of Champions. Show and Kane didn't like that, so they helped each other give Mark Henry a massive chokeslam to close the show.

WWE is finally gearing up a Kane-Show feud heading into the next PPV after a few weeks of waffling by having Show deal with Mark Henry despite the fact that he already won contention for the ECW Title. However, it does seem as if Mark Henry will indeed play some kind of role in this storyline as it progresses from here. WWE may decide that the best decision will be to allow Henry to interfere in the title match as to avoid having a clean loss by either Show or Kane. On the other hand, they could also keep Henry on the sidelines as an ominous specter over the ECW Title until one of the giants walks out of Night of Champions with the gold.

This storyline got a little confusing when Show appeared on Smackdown the week after One Night Stand to continue a feud with Henry instead of appearing on ECW to begin a direct feud with the man he will face for the title, so who knows where this is headed from here. The options, however, seem pretty open.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [up 1 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Kane: Finlay, Big Daddy V, Shelton Benjamin, Chuck Palumbo, Chavo Guerrero
Big Show: Floyd Mayweather, The Great Khali

COLIN DELANEY vs. ARMANDO ESTRADA (13 weeks w/ 4 weeks hiatus)

The opening contest of ECW featured Armando Estrada facing Hornswoggle. The match had all the elements that a normal Hornswoggle bout would include: water guns, marbles, etc. At one point, Estrada thought he was grabbing Hornswoggle from under the ring, but Finlay was pulled out instead. The match ended when Finlay threw Estrada into the ring, allowing Hornswoggle to hit his Tadpole Splash for the three count. After the match, Tazz interviewed Finlay, asking him what it was like under the ring. Apparently, it's magical.

This may have officially shifted the feud from Estrada-Colin to Estrada-Long because it's clear that Theodore Long is the one with whom Estrada has issues, and Colin wasn't even involved in any way this week with Estrada's attempt to find his way back to the ECW roster. As I mentioned last week, WWE needs to find a way to spice up this storyline because the plateau is beginning to lean downward. And if they have decided to take Colin out of the equation, it becomes even less interesting. Colin's character is still pretty unique if used correctly, but Estrada is a weak heel with no in-ring credibility (he's like Colin without the audience support). So if it's just going to be Long-Estrada, WWE needs to find a way to make it compelling TV beyond featuring Estrada losing matches to make Long look like he's still out for revenge.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6 [down 1 since last week]

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

KOFI KINGSTON & EVAN BOURNE vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN & MIKE KNOX (9 weeks)

In one segment of the show, Evan Bourne faced Matt Striker in singles competition. The match featured a rare showing of high spots by the ECW newcomer, and Bourne was able to win the match when he landed a shooting star press on Striker. After the match, Mike Knox kicked the consciousness out of Bourne before giving him a corkscrew faceplant. Adamle mentioned that Knox was in a matchup against Kofi after a commercial break.

In the next segment, Kofi Kingston went one-on-one with Mike Knox. They exchanged momentum throughout the match, but Shelton Benjamin's music suddenly hit. The Gold Standard traveled to the ring and felled Kofi with a double-leg takedown. He then hit a t-bone suplex on his rival. When he attempted his Dragon Whip kick, Kofi ducked, and Mike Knox took the brunt of the move. Kofi then headed up the ramp as Shelton glared at him from the ring.

This feud continues to entertain on ECW. If there's one segment to watch on the show, it's the storyline following Kofi Kingston and Shelton Benjamin. Granted, this week wasn’t as exciting as other weeks, but WWE is doing decent follow-ups from episode to episode. It's interesting how they structured this week's card with a showcase match for newcomer Evan Bourne and then a nice segue into the Kofi-Shelton rivalry using Mike Knox in the bumper. It's still uncertain whether Bourne will continue to be connected to this feud or whether things will develop separately for him. In any event, however, this storyline generally becomes the weekly highlight for the ECW brand.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7.5 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
Kofi Kinston: n/a
Evan Bourne: n/a
Shelton Benjamin: Kane, CM Punk, Money in the Bank
Mike Knox: Kelly Kelly, Tommy Dreamer

WWE Tag Team Champions JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ vs. FINLAY & HORNSWOGGLE (2 weeks)

In the back, Finlay and Hornswoggle met with ECW General Manager Teddy Long to discuss Night of Champions. Long gave them both a title match contract to sign, and they did so enthusiastically. The happiness wore off when Miz entered the scene to complain about Long's decision. He was frustrated that Finlay and Hornswoggle would get the opportunity to vie for the WWE Tag Team Titles because he thinks they don't deserve them—that they're a joke. Without warning, Finlay struck Miz in the face with his shillelagh, knocking the cocky champion to the couch. Finlay then got in Miz's face and dropped the contract on him before leaving.

This feud has just begun, and it will take some time to develop. Since WWE used more time to hype it on Smackdown, this ECW vignette was simply used to remind fans of the match and show Teddy Long making decisions as the General Manager of the Tuesday night show. Not too much to analyze here.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [same as on Smackdown]

Previous Feuds
John Morrison & The Miz: Jesse & Festus, Yang & Moore, Dreamer & Delaney
Finlay: Kane, Rey Mysterio, The Great Khali, Mr. McMahon, JBL
Hornswoggle: Mr. McMahon

MARK HENRY vs. BIG SHOW (7 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

As mentioned above, Mark Henry interrupted a Night of Champions Confrontation between Kane and Big Show this week, and as a result, he took a chokeslam from the giants.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [same as on Smackdown]

Previous Feuds
Mark Henry: Undertaker, Kane
Big Show: Floyd Mayweather, The Great Khali


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Kelly Kelly vs. Layla
(2) Colin Delaney vs. Armando Estrada?


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Hornswoggle vs. Armando Estrada
(2) Evan Bourne vs. Matt Striker


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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