By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
August 26, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Unforgiven (second-to-last episode before PPV)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the fiftieth 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)

Just a quick note: There will be no Raw Storylines and Feuds article this week because I forgot to set my DVR to record Raw on Sci Fi.


ECW Champion MARK HENRY (w/ Tony Atlas) vs. MATT HARDY vs. THE MIZ vs. CHAVO GUERRERO vs. FINLAY (6 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-After being introduced by Tiffany, Theodore Long announced that ECW was also holding its own Championship Scramble Match at Unforgiven and that qualifying matches would be featured throughout the show.

-Matt Hardy defeated John Morrison after countering Morrison's Moonlight Drive finisher into a Twist of Fate for the 1-2-3.

-Mark Henry met with Teddy Long to complain about the Scramble Match, but Long didn't budge on the idea; it was just a way to explain more about the concept.

-The Miz successfully advanced to the Scramble after hitting a neckbreaker on Evan Bourne for the victory in their qualifying match.

-In another Scramble qualifying matchup, Chavo Guerrero picked up a win against Tommy Dreamer after landing his Frog Splash for the win.

Analysis:

This week's ECW format makes feud-building nearly impossible because WWE needs their superstars to be completely focused on the goal of reaching the Scramble at Unforgiven rather than on furthering particular narrative storylines with their rivals. It's probably expected that the man with the best chance to take the ECW gold come Unforgiven if Henry isn't to retain would be Matt Hardy—a conclusion which would also lead to an extension to their feud. The other participants seem like the best contenders that the brand has to offer (except for Miz, who somehow made it over his more athletically-skilled tag team partner). Also, next week is the last chance WWE has to promote this particular Scramble Match, so you can probably expect a show that features all of these participants interacting somehow (perhaps tag team or handicap tag team competition). Overall, this is a nice way to fill a show, but it doesn't leave much to analyze.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [down 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Mark Henry: Undertaker, Kane, Tommy Dreamer
Matt Hardy: Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch, MVP, Chavo Guerrero
The Miz: Jesse & Festus, Yang & Moore, Dreamer & Delaney, CM Punk, Finlay & Hornswoggle
Chavo Guerrero: Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, Kane, Matt Hardy
Finlay: Kane, Rey Mysterio, The Great Khali, Mr. McMahon, JBL, Miz & Morrison

CHAVO GUERRERO & BAM NEELY vs. EVAN BOURNE (7 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

Summary Quick Shot:

-Evan Bourne faced The Miz, while Chavo Guerrero faced Tommy Dreamer in separate qualifying matches for the ECW Championship Scramble at Unforgiven. (There wasn't a sense that a Bourne-Guerrero feud would continue, especially considering how Chavo made it to the Scramble, while Evan didn't.)

Analysis:

Unless this whittles down to a Bourne-Neely spin-off feud, it looks like this one's over. I think Evan Bourne got what he needed out of it, and WWE used Chavo's recent impressive history as the former ECW and U.S. Champion to put Bourne over. After seven weeks, it's probably time for Evan to move on to some new heel opponent anyway. As for Chavo, he'll likely have to wait until WWE wants to push him again.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): n/a

Previous Feuds
Chavo Guerrero: Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, Kane
Bam Neely: n/a
Evan Bourne: n/a

FINLAY & HORNSWOGGLE vs. MIKE KNOX (5 weeks)

Summary Quick Shot:

-In ECW's main event, Finlay fought his current rival, Mike Knox, in an ECW Championship Scramble qualifying matchup. Finlay took home the victory and advanced to Unforgiven after felling Knox with a shillelagh shot for the pinfall.

Analysis:

This storyline's continuation from here—namely, after Unforgiven—is a toss-up. On the one hand, one could make the argument that Finlay's win ends it. After all, over the last month, Finlay and Hornswoggle have dealt with this threat, and now that they've defeated it, there is no need to continue. On the other hand, Mike Knox can make an argument that Finlay won only because he cheated by using his signature shillelagh. That argument could work, but it undermines Knox's defining belief that Finlay needs to toughen up. There would be some faulty logic if Knox criticized Finlay for using a shillelagh since that use of a weapon flies in the face of rules—and, subsequently, of "softness."

Then again, Knox is a heel, so complaining over something like that could happen; it's just not the best strategy because the reason Knox has been an effective character lately is because he finally has a stance that he and others can believe in. Complaining about Finlay's use of a weapon to continue the feud undercuts the very belief that makes his character work. It's not worth it. WWE should either end it here or have Knox continue, perhaps by attacking Hornswoggle, without making excuses about his loss.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [same since last week]

Previous Feuds
Finlay: Kane, Rey Mysterio, The Great Khali, Mr. McMahon, JBL, Miz & Morrison
Hornswoggle: Mr. McMahon, Miz & Morrison
Mike Knox: Kelly Kelly, Tommy Dreamer, Evan Bourne


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Tommy Dreamer vs. Colin Delaney
(2) Chavo Guerrero & Bam Neely vs. Evan Bourne?


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Matt Hardy vs. John Morrison
(2) The Miz vs. Evan Bourne
(3) John Morrison vs. Evan Bourne
(4) Chavo Guerrero vs. Tommy Dreamer


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 "Boogeyman" so that I know it's not junk mail.

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