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Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (7.0): I'm not giving a best or worst tonight, as it was just a solid show. Nothing that wil be remembered later, but good in the moment. But the crowd stuck out like a sore thumb for its crickets for nearly the entire hour. Everyone put out some semblance of effort, but the crowd sunk almost all of it. Under normal circumstances I'd big-time penalize the crowd, but if I remember correctly, it was a supershow on Sunday. The crowd may have simply been conserving energy for Smackdown. If I heard this right, the Superstar Initiative either got a new explanation, or a first one, that it's a tryout for a contract. Wish they said this from the beginning, but I can go with this as it makes being a part of ECW important. Now each match by the newbies may be taken into consideration toward a contract (good creative possibilities here). Striker's go at the math of the Scramble actually makes the 80 percent as explained by Raw calculable. Sixteen bumps by Henry's opponents versus four by him, assuming every last one of these were to happen, does make for the 80 percent disadvantage for the champion. Okay, the math geek in me had some fun with that one. The only replay was the Michaels-Jericho chapter from Monday. The injury wasn't shown, but acknowledgment was made (WWE had no choice because you couldn't miss the moment). There was also the first indication that, if there is a God out there, the match will not happen after all. There was no plug like there was on Raw, which took place before the oops occured. This is Shawn's second unnecessary yet preventable injury occuring this year (WrestleMania 24 being the other). This should be no sign that he should legit retire, but a lesson to WWE that it's getting careless both creatively (the Scrambles are sure to be overbooked disasters) and with its roster (injury curse returning).

Shane Bennett of Frankfort, Ky. (8.0): Best: Everything Worst: Nothing. Sorry for the delay, on to the reax! I usually run off at the mouth during these reactions, but this time, I am going to focus the majority of my time on one aspect of the ECW brand that puts them above any other show. To start with, though, a couple of quick thoughts on Tuesday night's broadcast: Chavo Guerrero is a glorified jobber. He is not great in the ring. Hardy is now terrible on the mic. His whole format is gay jokes, like he's Super Cena or something. The comment about Tony Atlas needing rest so that he can break up a lot of pin falls was good, but he needs that type of intensity with every comment. Teddy Long is the best GM in the WWE. Not a fan of the GM character, but his "no nonsense" attitude is fun. "Your show was ruined the minute you opened your mouth, play." Ha ha. Miz and Morrison should be the flagship of the whole show! Now on to why I constantly give ECW the high scores. Matt Striker and Todd Grisham have been praised for their work as of late. Most people agree that they do a good job and work well together. On Tuesday night, I really spent some time (and made notes) as to how good their commentary was and why it was so effective. For starters, the ECW duo put wrestlers over better than any promotion. They don't use sit-down interviews or cheesy stories, they use a straight-up, almost shoot-style production to toss out little bits of information. They make it feel effortless. They acknowledged that Braddock was a jobber on Smackdown to the Big Show. They mentioned that Todd tried to talk to him and was blown off, but he spoke to Matt and informed him that Braddock would do whatever it took to win his matches. What they did was hint at a characterization point (Braddock, is rude, arrogant, focused) and then fleshed it out with Striker's comments about doing whatever it took to win. They spoke about Super Crazy being an ECW original alongside other ECW generals (which to the new fans, makes him as good as Sabu, Sandman, Dreamer, etc) and also mentioned his help in bringing lucha libre to the WWE. This sets his ring work apart from other wrestlers. To admit that he helped foster in a style is putting a lot of emphasis on his match (which wasn't great) and helped add importance to Spears for being able to hang in there as long as he did. Striker and Grisham compared Ortiz to Zack De La Rocha and his winning streak to the 1972 Dolphins. Striker's "and vote Republican" was so awesome. Not because I am Republican, because I am certainly not, but because it felt unscripted, and authentic. That might be the best part of their broadcast is that the guys seem like they can make jokes and references but are not being fed lines. Because of that, the audience is given a great opportunity to get to know Striker and Grisham. It is very important that people know and like them because they tell the stories. That is Michael Cole's problem. He has never been allowed to flesh himself out. He has been a joke since his first days with the company and any time he references a movie or music, the lines all sound fed. He sounds like a robot that powers down after a show rather than living his life. Those few reasons are why I believe ECW to be the flagship of the WWE brands. These two guys fit better than any duo since old school King and J.R. ECW ECW ECW ECW ECW ECW ECW!!!

We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this show for a "ECW Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on Raw, click here.

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