Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
The Spot Fest- ECW 9/23/08
by:
Michael C. Grimaldi
http://www.carltonprescott.com
(update from
the RAW "Spot Fest"- They haven't removed Austin's "Gimmie a hell yeah" from
the WWE Open, it's just so low you need to really listen to here it.)
Welcome to the second edition of "The Spot Fest." Today, we take on the ECW TV
show from September 23, 2008.
High Spots:
Opening Segment (Miz and John
Morrison/Teddy Long)-
The Miz has come along way and is carrying the bulk of the mic time for his team
now. The idea brought up over the past few weeks about internally the WWE
thinks Morrison is too "goofy" shows in that he is relegated to catch phrases in
this promo. They're attack of the "new superstar initiative" is really just a
new way of rehashing the "new breed" idea from 2 years ago, but this time the
heels are the incumbents. It was nice to see Teddy Long do something more than
just say "holla" while standing next to a pretty girl, and Long put over the new
talents well, even if most of them really haven't caught on.
Finlay vs. Bam Neely- Watching
Finlay these days reminds me of watching Mick Foley doing the Mr. Socko era
"Mankind." I have much respect for Finlay's ability to work a stiff style that
isn't seen a lot in the WWE, but the Hornswaggle thing just doesn't work for
me...then again, I'm almost 30. Plus, that happy Irish music is horrendous.
That said, this was a decent back and forth fight. Neely has the problem that
he is billed as Chavo's "heavy" but he really isn't that much bigger than a lot
of WWE guys. Thankfully, ECW has smaller guys who he will look big next to, but
if you put him next to HHH, he'll be the same size w/o the muscle. I've seen
enough of "Bam" (then Justin "The Ox" LaRoche) in OVW to not expect anything
great from him, but he held his own and showed more this week than he has on WWE
TV yet. I have no idea why it's okay for Finlay to use the shillelagh to win
matches...but oh well.
Jack Swagger- I have no idea if
he'll get over, but he seems to have good fundamentals (fundamentals are not
people Mr. Mcain...Soylent Green is) and some power behind them. Up until last
night, I don't think anyone was 100% sure to cheer or boo Swagger, so have him
take out the "face", no pun intended, of ECW, in Tommy Dreamer. If the guy
can't talk, don't just have him give the cookie cutter "I'm great, I know it,
so you should boo me" promo. The doctor bomb as a finish is better than the
"Red, White and Blue Thunder Bomb" since Cena has taken his own version of that
move and made it a transition spot.
Matt Striker and Jim Ross- Ross
gave more validity to Striker's "wrestling knowledge." Let's face it, Striker
can say that the "Ding Dongs" were one of the greatest teams of the early 90's,
and Todd Grisham would probably agree. I don't dislike Grisham so much as, it's
just nice to have wrestling people call wrestling matches. I don't think JR
every week on ECW would be good, because he would be forced to put over too many
young and unproven guys; but coming in as an "outsider" (aka a guy who is
normally in catering while ECW is being taped) he added a unique take on some of
the new names in ECW.
Botched Spots:
Ricky Ortiz and Tiffany-
What was that? Look, I'm not going to bs anyone, Atlas/Ricky/Ortiz/DaBone is
taking a spot that should be Colt Cabana's (Scotty Goldman). No one plays the
"goofy guy who just doesn't get it" better than him and WWE is missing the boat
here BIG TIME. And full disclosure, I consider Cabana to be a friend, so I am
biased. This little play between Ortiz and Tiffany wasn't intriguing or well
done.
Michelle McCool vs. Maryse-
They're hot, Sort of athletic and still devoid of any ring savvy at all.
Nothing was BAD in this match...but there comes a time when saying "nothing was
bad" in a match with someone who is supposed to be a "champion" doesn't cut it.
Striker and Ross can put over how greatly improved Michelle is, but the fact is
her "great" improvement has stalled for months now and I think what we see is
all we're going to get...which for Michelle is fine, but what we see just
looking at her is great. Maryse should be a valet for a male wrestler and
continue to train or work in mixed matches on house shows against better women.
Problem is, other than Mickie James, the better women wrestler's the WWE has are
all heels; that said, Maryse, if she wants to be a wrestler, should constantly
be working in the back with someone like Victoria, who skills as now a veteran
should be better utilized for these green "divas."
Rest Holds:
Mark Henry's Promo-
It was fine...solid and to the point. The ECW title match won't sell many PPVs,
but that doesn't mean it should be ignored. Henry is much better than anyone
ever thought he'd be; and he deserves credit for working as hard as he has to
get there. It lands on this list because it didn't do anything to grab notice;
but again, it served it purpose.
Mike Knox vs. Chase Stevens- Add
some furry boots and is Knox the next Bruiser Brody rip off? Ross put him over
big, and his no-named "roll of the dice" finisher always looks good; but I'm
just not buying gold in Knox yet (I think Striker made that pun, but said to
buy). Chase Stevens is a quality job guy, but is too generic looking even if he
did seem to have cut his hair slightly this week to look different (yet The
Naturals wouldn't cut their hair for their angle with Shane Douglas).
Miz vs. Morrison-
I wasn't sure what to make of this match early on, but the last few minutes were
good. It's clear neither of these guys is read for a major breakout in singles
on their own. Even by the commentators who basically described Morrison as
having the striking, quickness and athletic edge in the match and Miz has the
intensity and "win ugly" mentality. Morrison has everything going for him but
charisma, which he masks with the flashy look. Like I said, I enjoyed the last
3 minutes of this match, but if anything, what it did most was convince me this
is no where near the time to break these two up.
Ricky Ortiz's Run In- Well, at
least they don't have to pin Ortiz with the no finish to the previous match.
"The Big O" (better known to most as "Da Bone Yard Boogie"...wait, what? Most
don't know that was it's old name? Geez I watch too much bad wrestling) is a
terrible finisher. I have no idea if they are protecting Ortiz from being
exposed by having him compete so little, or if there is a real long term idea
behind this "unbeaten" streak where he really doesn't do much winning.
The Results:
Final Thoughts:
A very pedestrian episode of ECW. More good than bad...more "eh" than bad...but not a show that if you missed, you'll feel like you need to see. Hopefully I will be back Friday with an early full recap of WWE Smackdown...No promises, but I'll try. Until then, enjoy the rest of CarltonPrescott.com or check out our message board and help us build it up a bit! And thanks to all the sites using these reports, we appreciate it.
