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It's been a month-long hiatus, but it's time once again, to put ECW Under the Microscope. Rather than bore you with the numerous excuses and twists and turns in my life that left me without cable or internet access over the past month, I'll just sum it up by saying the process of moving leaves a person more drained than watching a laborious Braden Walker match. Oh, cut me some slack. It's been a month since I've ragged on the guy.

Just in case you're tuning in for the first time, this is how things work. We take each episode of ECW and look at some of the things you might have let slip through the cracks. This is a close, in-depth look at some of the little things usually gone unnoticed of WWE TV every week. For a recap, check out fellow PWTorch correspondent Greg Parks' ECW on Sci-Fi live recap located on the main page listing.

After a not-so well deserved month-long vacation, join me as I take yet another journey through the Land of Extreme and place ECW on Sci-Fi Under the Microscope.

In Monday Night Raw's edition of Under the Microscope, Lee Stevens brought to our attention the fact that Mick Foley is still in the WWE signature package before the traditional TV show intro every week. However, if you look closely at the package, Ric Flair, Chyna, Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock, and Bret Hart also appear, who have had similar disagreements and ugly departures from WWE in the past.

The reason these wrestlers remain in the package is due to the impact (no pun intended) they've had on WWE and wrestling in general over the years (yes, even Chyna). Therefore, I don't think Foley will be edited out of that package any time soon.

Speaking of opening packages, have you ever noticed that out of all three brands, ECW is the only show where there is a shot of a brand's champion with the top title in its weekly opening? Ever since the first episode, the very last frame is dedicated to the ECW Champion holding up what color commentator Matt Striker referred to last night as "17 pounds of pure platinum."

After the fireworks went off on the stage, a graphic popped up on the upper-right hand side of the screen which stated the show was taped in "Nashville." The graphic didn't specify which state, just the city. I'm sure the people in Nashville, North Carolina didn't get their hopes up.

Matt Striker and Todd Grisham amused dozens of fans everywhere with their back and forth analysis of the lyrics to Hardy's theme song, debating whether the familiar lyric is "I can slap a tornado" like Striker believes or "I can slam a tornado," which Grisham thinks. I, for one, could not care less.

For those who are wondering, the correct lyrics, according to STLyrics.com, Metrolyrics.com, Lyricsmode.com and just about e very other lyrics site out there, and Striker's hunch was right.

Matt Striker proclaims himself a wrestling nerd, and his knowledge of the business is staggering. You can definitely tell he is a lifelong fan, with his numerous references to former stars and historic moments over the years. During Jack Swagger's match later that night, he mentioned legendary wrestlers also named Jack, including former AWA Tag Team Champion Jack Lanza and two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and Tag Team Champion Jack Briscoe.

Striker's knowledge could also lend to some awkward moments as well, as displayed last night. During the opening contest between Mike Knox and Matt Hardy, Knox countered the Twist of Fate, which Hardy countered into a DDT. Right after Hardy nailed the move, Striker said the DDT was made famous by Jake "the Snake" Roberts. Any other week would have been an appropriate time to namedrop Roberts, however in light of his recent actions at a local independent show, I couldn't help but feel saddened by20his troubles and feel Striker should have held off on the reference.

The announcers made mention of a recent episode of the Dirt Sheet which John Morrison and the Miz spoke about the failure of the ECW Talent Initiative, calling the talent "boring and not fun to watch." With the exceptions of Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger, it's hard to argue against their point.

Speaking of Jack Swagger, here is a little background on him. He made his debut in ECW last week, however he's spent some time in other organizations as well, including a stint in his career where he went 62-0. He is also the current FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion.

His opponent, Chase Stevens, has also paid his dues in the wrestling industry as well. Along with his partner Andy Douglas, Stevens was a three time TNA World Tag Team Champion as part of the tag team The Naturals in 2004 and 2005. We've seen him wrestle alongside Douglas in a match against the Big Show this past March. It's good to see him again on television, even if he is treated like a jobber. He has a lot of talent.

Matt Striker provided another example of his overt wrestling knowledge, namedropping Vader, saying Mark Henry has "Vader-like strength." For those young ones out there, Vader was a versatile big man known for his stints in WCW and WWE throughout the 1990s. He's held several titles around the world and is known as being a straight-up bully in the ring. Forget what Matt Striker thinks, Vader is the real O.G. of Extreme.

During the prolonged beat down of Finlay by Henry in the main event, Hornswoggle looked on from ringside as Striker delivered the line of the night: "Horny can't believe it, and he's from another planet!" I didn't know Ireland was another planet.

I wonder if it's anywhere near Planet Stasiak.

That's going to do it for our weekly look at ECW "Under the Microscope." If you have any suggestions, complaints, praise, or anything to get off your chest, please feel free to drop me a line at Sironsim@aol.com. All feedback is appreciated. Thank you for reading, and join me next week!

Michael Simmons has been a wrestling fan for 17 years. He likes to think he has a pretty inquisitive mind. Quite often, he goes into deep thought about some of wrestling's greatest mysteries. You know, thought provoking questions like, "Did anyone actually smell what the Rock was cooking?" If you know th e answer, please e-mail him at Sironsim@aol.com.



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