By Wade Keller, Torch editor

ECW TV REPORT
JUNE 20, 2006
ALBANY, N.Y.
AIRED ON SCI-FI NETWORK

-This should be interesting. It has been acknowledged in WWE that last week's show was a disaster - even during the show itself. Changes are in store for the show this week, supposedly, with Paul Heyman getting more of his way. When the ratings drop, though, Heyman's plan can be blamed even though ratings have more to do with the previous week's show and hype headed into it than the actual content (as evident with last week's show's rating).

-The show opened with a female tarot card reader introducing various clips from ECW run-ins on Raw. Then she announced the scheduled main event. Corny and too slowly paced. A ratings killer in and of itself right off the bat. Why did she have to talk like she was half asleep? Creepy turned into boring.

-The ECW opening aired, then Joey Styles and Tazz introduced the show.

1 -- SABU vs. TONY MAMALUKE (w/Trinity)

Styles thanked ECW fans for making ECW on Sci-Fi the highest rated show on all of cable last week. For some reason, Tazz then added the Raw was the highest rated show on all of cable all week. That sounded more like a line Jerry Lawler would use to undercut ECW. The announcers were positioned in front of the hard camera this week, not off to the side. The crowd was also darkened more, so the show did feel different than last week and thus more different from Raw and Smackdown - which is good. Sabu launched off a chair and then the top rope and onto Mamaluke at ringside, prompting a chant of "Sabu, Sabu." Styles said you won't see that type of action on Raw or Smackdown. That sounds too much like what Michael Cole and Tazz said about the cruiserweight division last year - which means WWE viewers might hear it as ultimately irrelevant. Sabu legdropped Mamaluke through a table at ringside at 4:00 and then hit a slingshot somersault legdrop onto his back in the ring, followed by a Camel Clutch for the win.

WINNER: Sabu in 4:00.

STAR RATING: * -- A good showcase for Sabu headed into one of the bigger matches of his career on Sunday.

-Kelly the Exhibitionist said last week she was so excited, she couldn't get her bra off, but this week she's going to show everything. Nothing like a promise you can't keep on basic cable to win over fans.

[Commercial Break]

-A backstage pretaped promo aired with Rob Van Dam wearing the spinning WWE Title belt. He said viewers get to see him wrestle tonight, teamed with Kurt Angle. He said Angle makes pretzels out of his sparring partners, so he's a good partner to have against Edge & Randy Orton. He told Edge he won't have to wait until Sunday to find out what he's in store for on Sunday. He said he's due for an extreme ass kicking. He said, "I have to get rolling, if you know what I mean."

-Styles announced that ECW would be at the Wachovia Center on July 4 for a live Sci-Fi cablecast.

-Big Show came out next. I'm told, despite his actions on the ECW PPV, he's not supposed to be based on the mid-90s 911 character in the original ECW. Styles said Big Show is someone you can only see on ECW. Tommy Dreamer then came out to his music and confronted Big Show. He said if he wants to make a name for himself in ECW, he has to go through him. He slapped Show. Show took Dreamer down and kicked him out of the ring. Styles asked if Dreamer was out of his mind. Tazz said this was not a scheduled match. Styles said he had heard of a confrontation earlier today between them. Show threw Dreamer into the ringside barrier and the ringside steps. Then he rammed Dreamer back-first into the ringpost. Tazz said: "This is graphic. This is not for everyone. This is how ECW rolls." ("Not for Everyone" is a catch-phrase ECW founder Tod Gordon came up with way back; I was on the phone with him as he proposed it to me and said others in the company were against it.) Show then tossed Dreamer around the ring like a ragdoll, then walked to the back. Dreamer struggled to get to his feet and then cracked a smile, which Styles noted. Dreamer, it seems, is trying to get the extreme side of Big Show to surface.

-A clip aired of Kurt Angle making Randy Orton tap out at the ECW PPV. Then he plugged the TV main event.

[Commercial Break]

-They showed the vampire outside again as they panned to the marquee of Pepsi Center.

2 -- MACHO LIBRE vs. SANDMAN

In a take-off of Nacho Libre, Macho Libre came out, a chubby guy in a mask. "This guy's got a worse body than Jack Black," said Tazz. Styles referred to last week's zombie and said, "Now this?" Macho did a "Macho Man" Randy Savage spoof, including saying everything twice. "So this is ECW? Well, Macho Libre is looking for a fight, yeah! Yeah, looking for a fight! Oh yeah! Snap into it!" That was pretty funny. Sandman came out through the crowd, as an inset promo appeared on the screen as he talked about his personality - drinking beer, chasing women, and caning the hell out of you if you get in his way. Another touch that differentiates ECW from WWE in terms of the production look of the show. Macho said, "Let me tell you something! Oh yeah!" Sandman caned him, broke open a Bud, banged it against his forehead, and then sprayed a mouthful toward the front row. Sandman then scored the quick three count. "A white Russian leg sweep to this big steaming pile of sports entertainment and it's over." Tazz said he loved it and said Macho Libre would fit in perfectly on Raw next Monday with all of the sports entertainment acts.

-Paul Heyman was lecturing the ref on how to be an ECW ref. He said his job is to count to three or call the tap out and that's it. Another ref walked up to Heyman and told him John Cena had just arrived. Heyman smiled and said, "This guy has some set of balls on him." He told them to get everyone together.

[Commercial Break]

-Heyman rallied the ECW troops just as Cena walked into the backstage area. He walked right up to Heyman and Sabu. Heyman held Sabu back. Cena called Heyman a scumbag. Cena said he was there because he had an offer to make. "ECW on a whole doesn't seem to like me or the way I do business, but I don't have a problem with that," he said. He said he admires ECW's approach other than men hiding under rings in helmets or attacking him from behind. He said if anyone wants in, just show up. He told Heyman to bring everybody he's got if he chooses because his offer for him is Cena vs. Sabu in an Extreme Lumberjack Match. He concluded, "You see, Paul, I'm man enough to stare a good ass-kicking in the face. All I'm asking for is a chance on Sunday to go down swinging, if you don't mind. How does that sound?" Sabu shouted, "Deal!" Sabu doesn't talk, so that was a pretty big deal. Cena turned around and walked away. That was designed to put over Cena as being a tough guy, rather than anything having to do with ECW. It also set the stage for the Vengeance PPV match with an added dimension.

-"Kelly's Expose" was next. She was dressed in knee-high boots and thong-like short. She did a stripper dance. She unclasped her bra from the front this time, then covered up with her hands. A wrestler walked up to her and wrapped a towel around her. The crowd booed, of course, as he escorted her to the back. That segment has as much to do with wrestling as a cool car chase, other than it was an opportunity to establish a new wrestler as a prude or a jealous boyfriend or something along those lines.

-Another plug for the main event - next.

[Commercial Break]

-A music vignette aired for Test, stating "Test is Coming." That's good to know, I suppose, but maybe too much information.

3 -- EDGE (w/Lita) & RANDY ORTON vs. RVD & KURT ANGLE

Edge got to the ring first and said he wanted to set the record straight that he thinks ECW sucks. He told all of the fans in the crowd who love ECW suck, too. That was in part an attempt to be sure fans who came to see Smackdown didn't cheer him, although if you weren't an ECW fan, he didn't exactly insult you. Tazz complimented Orton vs. Angle at the ECW PPV as they plugged their rematch at Vengeance. Styles noted it was the first time Edge and Orton have ever teamed. Despite Heyman telling the ref earlier his job was to count pins and call tapouts, he oversaw a legal tag from Angle to RVD, scolded wrestlers for throwing punches, warned Edge for an eye poke, and began counting as RVD and Orton fought on the top rope. RVD dropkicked Orton to the floor as he straddled the top rope, then moonsault pressed him from the ring apron to the floor. Orton tagged in Edge at 3:00, but RVD soon took control against him. As RVD bounced into the ropes, Lita yanked the top rope down. RVD took a nasty tumble to the floor, which set up the commercial break.

[Commercial Break]

A clip aired of Lita choking RVD during the break. Styles and Tazz reviewed the happenings during the rest of the show. The heels dominated offense after the break, including Edge tossing RVD through the ropes and onto the floor and then ringside steps. Styles said Edge was softening RVD for Sunday's title match. Orton tagged in, hit a sweet standing dropkick, and scored a two count. Tazz said he'd love to see Orton in ECW, but then said he probably wouldn't fit in. RVD crawled over and hot-tagged Angle, who gave Orton a series of german suplexes at 10:00. He followed with an ankle lock, but Orton crawled over to the ropes. Edge yanked Orton to safety, sending Angle throat-first into the middle rope. Edge leaped off the top rope, but right into Angle's arms for a big suplex. Angle went for an Angle Slam, but Orton chopped his knee from behind and then jammed Angle's knee into the mat. Orton worked over Angle's leg with a series of cool twists and torques. A "Let's Go Angle" chant broke out. Edge tagged in. Angle applied his rear naked choke. Lita interfered. The crowd chanted, "She's a crack whore" at Lita. Orton tagged in and stomped away at Angle at 13:00. Angle went for an ankle lock on Orton, but Orton tagged in Edge. Angle caught a charging Edge with a boot, then hit a released german suplex. Angle rolled over to hot-tag RVD at 14:00. RVD took Edge down with two clotheslines, a sidekick, and a windmill kick (drop wheel kick). He then dove onto Orton on the floor. RVD chased Lita away and grabbed a chair. Orton snuck up behind RVD. RVD hit Orton with a chairshot, knocking Orton out. Edge, though, blindsided RVD, knocking him into the announcers' table. Angle surprised Edge with an ankle lock. When Lita ran in, Angle gave her an Angle Slam. Orton surprised Angle with an RKO. RVD surprised a celebrating Orton with a flying sidekick off the top rope. When RVD went for the Rolling Thunder, Edge cut him off with a dropkick to the gut. When Edge charged RVD for a spear, RVD sidestepped him and hit him in the face with an elbow. RVD then hit a Five-Star Frogsplash for the three count. As RVD and Angle celebrated, Styles said there are three reasons Vengeance will be great on Sunday. "Those are three letters - E-C-W!"

WINNER: RVD in 15:00.

STAR RATING: *** -- Good non-stop, intense action. Good showcase for RVD. In the end, a WWE main eventer put over an ECW main eventer, which is what the ECW brand needed. There's still something that doesn't ring genuine about an ECW TV with Joey Styles as host pitching a WWE-branded PPV at the end of the show, but I also accept that such plugs are a necessary part of ECW at this stage and hardly a primary reason for ECW fans to be turned off to the product if it otherwise feels genuine and different from Smackdown and Raw.

We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this show for a "ECW Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. To contribute your thoughts on ECW, click here.

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