By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
January 6, 2009
Upcoming PPV: Royal Rumble (third-to-last episode before PPV)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the sixty-fifth 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 MATT HARDY vs. JACK SWAGGER (2 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Jack Swagger defeated Finlay to open ECW this week. Swagger delivered his gutwrench powerbomb for the decisive three count.

-Later, Swagger met with ECW General Manager Theodore Long to inquire about his pending ECW Title match with Matt Hardy. Long booked that match for next week.

-In ECW's main event, Matt Hardy once again beat Mark Henry one-on-one. The match ended when Hardy hit the Twist of Fate to pick up the win.

Analysis:

Everything that happened this week, with the possible exception of the Hardy-Henry matchup, was done for good reason. The opening matchup helped solidify the notion that Jack Swagger does indeed deserve an ECW Title shot. His winning the number one contender's match was strong enough, but when he beats legitimate and credible stars like Finlay, it only further bolsters his own rapidly growing reputation on ECW. The meeting between Swagger and Teddy Long showed Swagger as a brash and cocky guy who's all too ready to interrupt the man in charge of the show.

As for the main event, I just don't get it. Matt Hardy has proven on multiple occasions that he can cleanly defeat Mark Henry, so why does WWE continue to bury Henry in that fashion? The win doesn't really do much for Hardy because of how many previous victories he has over his longtime rival, but it does continue to drag Henry's credibility down with each passing loss. Plus, their feud has run its course and has gotten stale long ago. The only reason for the match this week was to give Swagger one more chance to get a nice win over someone else before facing Hardy for the ECW Championship next week. Overall, it was a good show that could have done without the main event.

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

Previous Feuds
Matt Hardy: Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch, MVP, Chavo Guerrero, Mark Henry
Jack Swagger: Tommy Dreamer

DJ GABRIEL & ALICIA FOX vs. PAUL BURCHILL & KATIE LEA BURCHILL (2 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-In a rare divas match on ECW, Katie Lea picked up an equally rare victory after yanking Alicia right over her knee. The backbreaker allowed Katie to earn a win for the Burchill siblings.

Analysis:

This remains a nice choice for WWE as ECW's ongoing midcard rivalry. DJ Gabriel and Alicia Fox are the newcomers with the peppy personalities, while the Burchill siblings never had the chance to get off the ground. The combination is almost perfect since the two teams are diametrically opposed. Paul Burchill usually carries a wry scowl on his face, which makes him the perfect opponent for the all-too-cheery Gabriel. The finish of the Alicia-Katie matchup came out of nowhere with the backbreaker getting a lukewarm response by Grisham and Striker. Expect a mixed tag team match next week on ECW. It's the logical next step for the feud.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5

Previous Feuds
DJ Gabriel: n/a
Alicia Fox: n/a
Paul Burchill: Mr. Kennedy, Kofi Kingston
Katie Lea Burchill: Mickie James


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Matt Hardy vs. Vladimir Kozlov
(2) Finlay (w/ Hornswoggle) vs. Mark Henry


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) The Boogeyman vs. ?
(2) Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry


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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