4/21 ECW TV reax

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (7.0): Best: Bourne vs. Burchill. Worst: Kozlov vs. UK jobber. Last chance to hype Backlash, and there was only one thing to move toward it. Getting there, WWE had Hornswoggle's last hurrah before going to Raw. Without Finlay, what will Hornswoggle be doing for Raw? Hornswoggle-Natalya, I think, was a first: a female heel vs. a male face. The match wasn't much, but it was a brief little bit of fun. I'm not sure, though, what this will mean for the Superstars match. Tiffany came across confident on the mic in her segments, but the delivery in the backstage segment still seems a little too cue-card rehearsed. Natalya and Kidd came across with a much more natural flow in their phrasing. The Bourne-Burchill match was good, with Burchill throwing some interesting suplexes that aren't seen very often. Striker shined it up nice with the bits and pieces of trivia on the opponents and the wrestler's perspective on the point-counterpoints of a match. Kozlov vs. jobber did what it's supposed to do, but unlike Smackdown, the ECW brand doesn't have the roster size for WWE to rebuild him. Speaking of that small roster, I would have rather have seen Dreamer in action instead of the Hunter-Orton video play. Hell, I'd rather see Mark Henry than that video since I know it will probably play one or two more times before Sunday. It is, after all, ECW last time I checked. The contract signing didn't bring much to the table, no pun or gutwrench powerbomb intended. Looks like Swagger's turn as champ is over, though I would like to be surprised by a swerve on Reverse Wrestling Psychology. It could be worth a nice little pre-summer title feud, so we'll see.

4/20 WWE Raw Reax

Till Tesche of Osnabrueck, Germany (7.0): Best match: Cena vs. Jericho. Worst match: Rey vs. Big Show. Two really good matches this week! I actually liked the Orton-Triple H match better than their WrestleMania one. I just don't get why they didn't give Orton a clean win without Legacy interfering. They could have done the storyline-related run-ins after the match. That would have re-established Orton as a threat to the title way more than this match did. Jericho-Cena was great too. I also liked this match better than the WM ones for both of them. I think it was the best match of the night, coming across better than Orton-Hunter because of the great crowd reactions. I suppose the "give away big matches" factor was okay for Cena and Jericho, as both of them will (hopefully!) be kept apart for the next year due to the brand split. I gave this show a 7.0 by taking into account the two good matches, the Jericho-Steamboat angle, and the solid Backlash hype. On the one hand, there was the absolutely forgettable rest of the show with the embarrassingly short Rey, Kane, and Chavo squashes... Why the hell do they kill Rey like that???

4/16 TNA Impact Reax prior to Lockdown PPV

Adam J. Grammas of Westchester, Ill. (7.5) Best: The return of the Fallen Angel. Worst: Cody Deaner. Bashir's "anti-xenophobe" group could be a major heel group after the MEM thing dies down, if TNA plays their cards right. I thought of them doing that before No Limit showed up. But my idea contained Dutt and Kong. But with Sonjay disappearing and Kong apparently turning face, I don't think they will be joining. I'm guessing Balls and Spike/Runt showing up was a one time deal to show how "extreme" BM (that abbreviation fits!) can be. (And what the hell took 3D so long to get down there?) But how do these guys and others like Buff, Lex, and Rick Steiner feel when they are only good enough for a one shot pop? Cody Deaner needs to go. Yes ODB, we ALL remember it was only supposed to be one night. ODB continues to be too much herself. I wonder if Angelina will get a title run as a reward for her performance as a heel the past year? I hope the other woman's match this Sunday goes a long way to push one (or more) of those women to the next level. Someone suggested an Abyss-Daffney-Stevie group, and I like that idea, but as heels. As faces, they'd be a comedy act (Oddities, anyone?). Stevie would be the abusive leader and Abyss could even be the reluctant heel, just trying to do Stevie's bidding for all the help he's given him. ... If TNA's intent all along was to bring back Fallen Angel in this manor, and not as a way to spike (not pun intended) the ratings against WWE's new show, then I'm okay with them keeping him off TV all this time. I like this look A LOT better than the full beard and eye makeup. Daniels looked solid throughout. Now they have to KEEP him looking like he belongs in there with the MEM. What I'm hoping comes out of this Sunday is definite lines drawn. Jarrett, heel or face? Foley, heel or face? Sting, loyal MEM member or full-faced, um, face?

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this week's ECW TV show for a "ECW TV 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 ECW, click here.

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