WWE's ECW on Sci-Fi 2/10 Reax

Alex Roberts in the U.K. (8.0): Best Match: Swagger vs. Christian. Worst Match: Tyson Kidd vs. jobber. This may not be a popular opinion but I’m glad to see Christian return on ECW where he is a perfect fit. Tuesday Nights are in desperate need of a credible babyface star and whether his fans are happy about it or not, ECW is easily Christian’s best chance for success in the WWE. He’s never going to be able to compete with the star power on Raw or Smackdown right out of the gate. It's also worth pointing out that a good angle and series of matches with Swagger will raise his stock within the company considerably. With that said I have mixed feelings about the way they handled his return both in timing and execution. Bringing him back the week before a PPV to feud with a champion who’s supposed to be defending his title on that show seems incredibly backward. Away from Christian, Tommy Dreamer's angle continues nicely and seemingly with a mini-feud against Miz & Morrison. I question the logic of having the tag champs feud with a single man but I suppose this could be the opening for the return of a fellow ECW original if WWE wants to go in that direction. The new additions to the ECW roster over the past two weeks are good. All in all, a good show that’s only real sticking point was that it largely forgot about No Way Out, although given that the focus switched to what I assume will be a WrestleMania feud (Swagger vs. Christian), I can live with that. And in contrast to Raw I’m adding a point to ECW this week because of Matt Striker’s work on commentary.

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (8.0): Best: Christian-Swagger promo; debuts and returns. Worst: Tommy Dreamer storyline in neutral. Raw had a lackluster show going into the PPV; ECW had a much better one. Jamie Noble gets a re-start, and against a newcomer that shows some potential. Much like Swagger, this Kidd kid lacks a little on the transition moves, but what look like his signature moves are nice. That standing back spin kick was pretty sweet. Mic-wise he's also promising. Jamie can have some fun for once. Natalya...nice to give the family rub, but with only Alicia Fox as an active competitor, I'm hoping this pairing is temporary and she heads back to Smckdown to really show her stuff. Speaking of Fox, where is Gabriel? For all the fuss about where Christian would end up, returning on ECW can be seen as a good thing. This lets the Hardys-Edge feud breathe for a while and tell a story for a bit before Christian shifts (if he's even going) to Smackdown. As for ECW, this was the shot in the arm that's been needed. The roster's stil too thin to roll on for long stretches, but Swagger got a really nice test in the ring and on the mic against Christian. While he seemed a little off and a tad intimidated in the ring, he rolled with the mic punches very well. I take the "What?"s here as a compliment to Swagger. They haven't been heard in a while, and the promo he gave with that word in the background he punctuated perfectly. Evan returning is always a good thing, and with these recent new additions, things are looking pretty sunny.

We suggest these recent related articles...

WWE PPV REAX #1: "I wanted the biggest event of the summer to end with an exclamation point; it ended with a semicolon and a question"

WWE PPV REAX #1: Battleground finish generates mixed reactions...

WWE PPV REAX #2: In-Person Battleground Report on overall show, reactions, more