By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

Extreme Championship Wrestling
January 20, 2009
Upcoming PPV: Royal Rumble (last episode before PPV)

ECW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the sixty-seventh 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)


Yes, I'm going out of order on this, the last week of Storylines and Feuds. Be sure to check out the final Raw and Smackdown articles, which will be appearing on pwtorch.com before the Royal Rumble on Sunday night. And thanks for reading!


ECW Champion JACK SWAGGER vs. MATT HARDY (4 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Todd Grisham introduced Matt Hardy from center ring. Hardy updated us on his brother's condition, saying that Jeff was in shock and that he has third degree burns. When Grisham turned the conversation to the ECW Title, Jack Swagger appropriately swaggered to the ring with the ECW Title proudly displayed over his shoulder.

-Swagger told Matt Hardy that he would go "down in flames," just like Jeff did. That prompted Matt to fell Jack with a hard punch to the face. Matt then jumped out of the ring and launched himself at Swagger again. Officials tried to intervene, but the attack continued. Eventually, Swagger walked to the back as referees restrained Hardy at ringside.

Analysis:

As Matt Hardy alluded to in his conversation with Todd Grisham, it feels like Matt initially miscalculated Jack Swagger last week. So not only was Hardy personally distracted by the tumultuous ride his brother has been on lately, but he also underestimated Jack Swagger's in-ring ability during their ECW Title match last Tuesday night. Now, however, it seems like Matt has found new focus, and it's been directly placed on Swagger's forehead. The storyline is as straightforward as it needs to be, and it garnered strength this week by becoming personal. Although Matt Hardy clearly cared about being ECW Champion, the punch was only thrown after Swagger took an uncouth swipe at his brother's current situation. You could feel the palpable difference between last week's surprising contest—with little emotional investment save for the transfer of power after the title switched hands—and this week's contentious confrontation that went from uncomfortable to physical in less than a second.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 8.5 [up 1 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 (4 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Paul Burchill barged into the General Manager's office to demand a rematch against DJ Gabriel. Long indignantly refused to cave to Burchill's demand, instead booking him in a match against someone Long would personally choose.

-Paul Burchill awaited Long's choice, which turned out to be The Boogeyman. The match ended with a win for Boogeyman when Katie Lea interfered and caused a blatant disqualification.

-After the match, Boogeyman stalked Katie, but Paul pulled her to the safety of ringside.

Analysis:

This week may have marked a turning point, if not a complete deterioration, in the storyline between Paul Burchill and DJ Gabriel. It was interesting to see Burchill get some kind of speaking role this week backstage with Teddy Long. I almost forgot he was British. That scene also suggested a potential Burchill-Dreamer rivalry down the line in Dreamer's quest to fulfill his ambitious goal of becoming ECW Champion by June 6, 2009. The Boogeyman appearance was pretty predictable when you consider that he's been the guy WWE has been pushing quite fervently over the past few weeks. But the post-match events between Boogeyman and Katie Lea are indicative of a probable continuation next week simply because Boogey did not get the chance to drool worms into her mouth. So WWE essentially left their options open. They could take Burchill three different routes from here: 1) a more vigorous feud with DJ Gabriel, 2) a more bizarre feud with the eccentric Boogeyman, or 3) a more emotional feud with Tommy Dreamer.

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

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

TOMMY DREAMER'S AMBITIOUS GOAL (2 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Dreamer and Theodore Long chatted about Dreamer's current predicament. Long said that if he had known about this, he would have helped Dreamer get in line for an ECW Title shot. Dreamer, though, told him that this wasn't necessarily about the title; it was about him proving something to himself.

Analysis:

Nothing too noteworthy happened this week in the Dreamer storyline. It felt more like WWE's chance to remind fans of what Dreamer is planning and to explain the situation to people who may have missed it last week. You can probably expect this one to pick up dramatically after the Royal Rumble passes on Sunday. However, Long's admission that he would have helped Dreamer get in line for an ECW Title shot was intriguing. He's so much harsher on heels. It didn't sound like he would simply give Dreamer a title shot, but it was curious to hear him so openly admit to wanting to help Dreamer. That makes me think that it might almost be an interesting idea to have an ultra-babyface GM who's willing to go out of his/her way—to a ridiculous degree—in order to assist babyfaces on the show.

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

Previous Feuds
Tommy Dreamer: Elijah Burke, John Morrison & The Miz, Mike Knox, Mark Henry, Colin Delaney


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) DJ Gabriel & Alicia Fox vs. Paul Burchill & Katie Lea Burchill?


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) The Boogeyman vs. Paul Burchill
(2) Tommy Dreamer vs. Paul Burchill
(3) Mark Henry vs. ?
(4) Ricky Ortiz vs. ?
(5) John Morrison & The Miz vs. Finlay & Hornswoggle
(6) John Morrison vs. The Miz


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 try to respond to most emails. Please insert a word in the subject line that deals with a wrestling topic or write something such as "WWE" or "feud" so that I know it's not junk mail.

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