-- 9/1 ECW TV Reax

Justin James of Columbia, S.C. (8.0): Best: Goldust-Sheamus. Worst: Abraham Washington Show. This show could have been a full 9.0 or even a 9.5 show, but the Abraham Washington Show really brought it down. Despite the problems with Abraham Washington, I thought that it did a good job at building the Helms/Hurricane-Burchill situation. Tony Atlas was so random with the laughing, it was embarrassing. Tony Atlas deserves better than this. I thought that Benjamin-Ryder was very well done, and I hope to see this series continue. WWE, next time, cut Abraham Washington in half, and give those extra minutes to Benjamin-Ryder! The Kozlov/Jackson tag team squash was well done. While we did not need to see those two in another squash to establish them as competitors, the match served to show that they can work together as a team. As a result, I am looking forwards to next week's match at a booking level, despite knowing that at an actual performance level it probably won't be the best. The verbal exchange with Regal did a nice job at building more tension for the upcoming match, and Regal's treatment of the jobber emphasized the nature of the Breaking Point PPV well. When I saw the ads for an "encore presentation" of the Michaels-Undertaker WM25 match, I was wondering if it would be the full match or just excerpts. Despite really wanting to see the whole match, I wanted to see ECW even more, and I was glad that they had it in the format that they did. It was really well done, and made me want to borrow a copy of the WM25 DVD. The final match was top rate. Like last week, I really thought that the match had gone legit in a few places. Multiple spots where I cringed in empathy. Both Goldust and Sheamus did an amazing job at selling me on their intensity and energy in the match. In many spots, I could not believe that Goldust is as old as he is. I was glad to see this be given main event status as well. I would love to see Sheamus move on to another foe, though, with a different style. Shelton Benjamin, Yoshi Tatsu, or Zach Ryder come to mind as good match-ups for him.

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev.: Best: Michaels-Taker segments; Sheamus vs. Goldust. Worst: the show that shall not be named. Normally I'd put my score above, but this episode gets two sets of
marks: one with, and one without, Abraham Washington. Taking Washington out of the equation, I'd score it a 9.0. Shelton vs. Zack was a "solid but too-short" match. There's a bad habit of that happening on all the brands (though Smackdown is the lesser offender). Kozlov and Jackson get a squash to show their dominance. But there is still that subtle hint of favoring Kozlov over Jackson with Kozlov getting the actual pin. Sheamus and Goldust really didn't test the No DQ rules, but turned in another good match. I'm still not completely sold on Sheamus, but there's a bit of growth showing on my foot if you get my meaning. Getting there there was a replay of the match leading to the "main event," but it was nothing in comparison to the build to the Michaels-Taker replay. When was the last time this kind of build was done toward a match? There is the requisite telling of the feud story, but usually nothing toward putting over combatants. Characterizations like these would go a long way to giving personality to those wrestlers still needing some. With Washington added in, the score takes a nose dive from a 9.0 to a 5.0. WWE apparently isn't listening to the catcalls and go-home noise of the crowds at EVERY stop. The Michaels-Taker "encore presentation" became nothing more than an extended-play video as
a result. I'm sure I'm not the only one who expected a full replay. I would have excused it if Benajmin-Ryder got more time that this pathetic excuse for a talk show parody. Paul Burchill made the most of his time in the segment as Helms and Katie Lea become furniture to Washington. And whoever it was that thought adding Tony Atlas and his horrible fake laugh was a good idea should be treated as Ol' Yeller. Actually, it's more than about time The Abraham Washington Show was canceled.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this 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.

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