By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
November 25, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Armageddon (third-to-last episode before PPV)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the sixty-second 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)


FINLAY (w/ Hornswoggle) vs. MARK HENRY (w/ Tony Atlas) (1 week)

Summary Quick Shots:

-As Hornswoggle reached strenuously for a bowl of candy, Mark Henry took a handful. The World's Strongest Man warned Hornswoggle that he would beat Finlay later in the show. Then he callously tossed the candy on the floor while Hornswoggle looked sad.

-Finlay fought Mark Henry in ECW's main event. During the match, Tony Atlas grabbed Hornswoggle at ringside, so Finlay had to leave the ring to save his son. Mark Henry soon found his way into the mix, but Finlay was able to get the upper-hand with the help of his trusty equalizer: the shillelagh.

Analysis:

This feud feels like a spinoff from both the Mark Henry-Matt Hardy rivalry and the short Hardy-Finlay battle a few weeks ago. Both Finlay and Mark Henry are top ECW stars, and they could carry out a nice rivalry if given the chance. This particular start wasn't strong, though. There wasn't even a small reason why these guys are fighting to begin with. The only background we got was the interaction between Henry and Hornswoggle backstage, and that was in the context of a future Henry-Finlay main event. In other words, Finlay wasn't fighting Mark Henry because he picked on Hornswoggle; that match had already been set.

Hornswoggle, by the way, has become a little green silent movie actor. His character doesn't talk; he only grunts and whines. Overall, this feud will require a much better continuation next week in order to function properly if WWE continues it over the next few weeks. And the biggest question of all coming out of this week: What does this leave for reigning ECW Champion Matt Hardy?

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 4.5

Previous Feuds
Finlay: Kane, Rey Mysterio, The Great Khali, Mr. McMahon, JBL, Miz & Morrison, Mike Knox
Mark Henry: Undertaker, Kane, Tommy Dreamer, Matt Hardy

TOMMY DREAMER vs. JACK SWAGGER (10 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-In ECW's opening contest, Tommy Dreamer went one-on-one with Jack Swagger in an Extreme Rules Match. The bout saw Swagger defeat the ECW Original after sending him crashing through a table.

Analysis:

That's the match this feud needed for some time. Matt Striker may have been correct when he said that Swagger has now officially "arrived" on ECW. No one came out stronger this week in terms of character development than Swagger, and it all happened in the ring. It will be interesting to see how Tommy Dreamer rebounds from his latest loss. Teflon Tommy has been an appropriate nickname for him simply because fans always reach out to accept him after whatever loss he may suffer. But where does that leave this feud?

It appeared like WWE was going to end this rivalry on a high note by moving Swagger on to bigger and better things—namely with Matt Hardy. But there may still be some juice in this one, so it's up in the air. By next week we should know. Just watch what Dreamer does: If he's in any way involved in Swagger's segments, we'll know that this feud is not over. I wonder how he'll react the next time he's on TV after having lost in a match that was promoted as his established specialty. Might this be the beginning of a new version of Tommy Dreamer?

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 8 [up 1 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Tommy Dreamer: Elijah Burke, John Morrison & The Miz, Mike Knox, Mark Henry, Colin Delaney
Jack Swagger: n/a


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Matt Hardy vs. Finlay


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Matt Hardy vs. Jack Swagger
(2) DJ Gabriel vs. ?


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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