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MILES AHEAD OF RAW - SECOND BATCH OF READER FEEDBACK TO ECW

All I got to say is I have a new found respect for Hardcore Holly. After suffering the worst cut I think I have ever seen in pro wrestling, he continued for another 10 + minutes taking numerous stiff bumps in one of the best matched in recent memory. Big ups to you Double H, that was awesome. The rest of the show was forgettable.

James 
Duluth Ga.

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Once again, while not a perfect show and still full of a lot of "creative" clichés (evil general manager, security force, etc.), this was the best WWE program of the week (and I say that because I don't even need to see the Friday junk). My main comment on tonight's show: Hardcore Holly is a BAD ASS. To finish the match full-throttle as he did despite that injury the likes of what I can't even imagine how it felt showed what we already should have known about him, and that's that he is a legitimate tough SOB. I don't think the doctor and trainer rushing in there immediately after the match ended was done to "dramatize" anything, he needed medical attention immediately. I've never seen such a sick gash and I'm amazed it wasn't bleeding heavier. Hopefully he's OK.

Beyond that: I like Striker in ECW and I liked the use of him tonight in both the beginning and the end of the show. Mike Knox still sucks. Kelly Kelly also still sucks. Ariel is smoking. Pretty good main event. RVD-Holly (even without the gash) was frigging great. And I have a feeling sitting on my washing machine during the spin cycle will be more extreme than this strip poker in 2 weeks will be.

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Chris Glavin of Ambler, PA (8.0): *Best Match:* Holly vs. RVD. *Worst Match:* Extreme Cat Fight. Overall, a very well booked show. What a way to kick off the show. The brutality of the Holly/RVD match is what sold the bout. Holly is truly a tough, tough individual as that gash looked VERY deep. Hardcore Holly MADE himself tonight in ECW in more ways than he ever has in his entire career with WWE. This can be made into a true money feud now. The C.M. Punk altercation was good and further solidifies Punk in my eyes as being the future card carrier for the promotion. The catfight was horrible. The Sandman match was ok. Overall with the backstage promos to the fighting in the ring a well booked show and helped further all story lines, without having to talk for 15 minutes. Why can't all of WWE be booked this way?

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Hey yo...

This weeks show gets a 6 out of 10...Due to the first match, Cm Punk's promo and the hot ladies on my TV !!

With Bischoff and JR's pointless appearance it got me wondering...Which "WWE personality" (not jobbers) have NOT been in ECW this year? Someone answer me that please ! At least with Bischoff appearing it could lead to something, and the book sounds like it's a "must have", but when it's written and published while he was in WWE - he can't tell the whole story..

RVD vs. Holly was one of the best ECW matches so far..Almost a PPV quality match...Some good brawling and bumps and the gash on Holly's back looked nasty..They seem to have good chemistry in the ring..

Cm Punk's promo was another strong promo from him, I think he'll have good matches with Knox...I also wonder if he'll reveal his girlfriend someday, and who it'll be....In real life it's Maria from Raw, but I doubt it'll be her...

Ariel vs. Francine could have been better...I'd expected a tag team match, but maybe we'll get that next week...Both ladies are hot as hell....

Main Event of Big Show vs. Sandman was a short match...Sandman looked good and Show is holding up...Can't see anyone taking the belt of him anytime

For future shows and PPV's I'd book this;

Survivor Series; RVD/Sandman/Dreamer/Sabu/Cm Punk vs. Holly/Show/Test/Knox/Thorne in an elimination match....Last man standing wins for his team

- Glenn, Norway -

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Overall, I liked ECW tonight. Definitely a step up from last week. More good than bad, and the Extreme Rules match was strong, to quite strong.

The opening segment didn't really do much for me. JR caning Striker was cool though.

RVD v. Hardcore Holly started a little slow and they didn't seem to have their timing down, but it sure picked up quite a bit. The turning point of the match was the suplex thru the table right at the commercial break. From that moment on, the intensity was fantastic. Styles and Tazz put over Holly huge. And to be honest, it worked for me. Partly because I could see the huge gash and partly because of the announce team's reaction, I cringed every time Holly landed on his back. And was that really Hardcore Holly getting some love from the fans after the match? I think this match could put Holly on the map in ECW, and it's all because of an accident. I'm surprised he only needed 24 stitches.

Yeah, I pretty much pop whenever CM Punk is on screen, and his delivery was great tonight. Knox seemed to be searching for his lines.

I wouldn't have seen the Marine before the promo overkill and I won't now.

Part of the beauty of catfights in the original ECW was that they took place spontaneously and added to the story of another match. When Styles yelled "Catfight!" last night, it seemed so forced. Francine and Ariel was just a backdrop to further the Balls/Thorn angle. The whole thing was lame. Francine looks better than ever, though.

Dupree looks at his penis. Ugh.

The Main Event was about what I expected. I'm glad they made the cane legal, since both men aren't exactly ring generals, so it gave them a prop to play with. Not a great match. Sandman could have come out looking stronger than he did. Big Show should never do that fake maniacal laugh again.

I've always liked Taz and RVD, but you know who was my favorite wrestler in the original ECW? Justin Credible. I can't imagine that he couldn't at least contribute anymore.

Where was Tommy?

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Well, at the end of my RAW thoughts I hoped ECW would be better than RAW… .and it was. In fact, it was probably one of the best TV wrestling shows of the year from any company or brand in my opinion.

It was nice that Jim Ross was finally shown some respect in his hometown rather than be humiliated as is the norm. And it was good to see Striker get his ass caned!

RVD vs. Hardcore Holly. What can I say? Awesome, PPV quality match. Both guys busted more than their asses here, especially Holly with that sick gash in his back. Yee-ouch! The crowd was hot for it too which was great and the show of respect that Holly got afterwards was well deserved. I’ve not liked the guy since the Cappotelli incident on Tough Enough but I will doff my cap to him for his performance here.

I was concerned that CM Punk’s promos were getting stale but when Kelly and Mike Knox showed up, he showed a real charisma that many people are lacking (including Knox) which made for an entertaining segment.

Damn - Francine is starting to look fine again and Ariel is a different kind of hottie. It was obvious this wasn’t going to a real match but was still better than the usual RAW/SD Diva catfights. I liked the legend on Balls Mahoney’ s chair: “Insert Head Here!” Hehe.

I am wondering if Big Show’s constant refusal to heed Paul Heyman’s warnings is leading to a face turn by Show?

I could have done without Rene Dupree coming out of the shower. In fact, I could have done without Rene Dupree period. His promos are going nowhere with the same old line each week.

Big Show vs. Sandman was a fun brawl that made Sandman look legit contender for the first time in the new ECW and made up for Big Show’s burial at the hands of the McEgos at Unforgiven, allowing Show to be dominant again.

Over all this was the most enjoyable 42 minutes of wrestling TV I have seen for a long time. It owned RAW big time and judging by the hot crowd, Smackdown can’t have been that good if they were still so rabid for ECW. If only all WWE shows were as well booked and as well executed as this one….

My Score: 8/10

Cheers LEE RELPH, UK

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Hi, here's some feedback to the Sept, 26th ECW on Sci-Fi.

When the show opened with J.R. being announced, I instantly thought that this would lead to some pointless and boring segment. Instead the confrontation between J.R./Sandman (what a bizarre combination) and Matt Striker had the crowd get into it big time which is always a good thing. Usually I don't like when announcers are a part of a storyline but I somehow just liked seeing Striker get caned by J.R. and so did the crowd. That tells me Striker is doing a good job as a heel. Not the best segment to start a show, but it was pretty effective in getting some good crowd reactions.

I thought Hardcore Holly's promo was really good because it was short and delivered a clear message: Less talking, more action.

Then we had the highlight of the show in RVD vs. Hardcore Holly. A really entertaining match that saw some sick spots and a really nasty cut on Hardcore Holly's back. The crowd was completely into this match and even gave it a pretty loud ECW chant (which is a rarity on the ECW on Sci-Fi shows). It was very cool that it went on so long (almost 20 minutes) and I think there wasn't even a commercial break during this match. I just loved the fact that some portions of the crowd gave Holly a standing ovation when he left the ring. It almost felt like an original ECW audience applauding a wrestler because of his hard work. Great stuff and easily the best segment of the show.

Punk's promo was good but I like him even better when he's more aggressive (like in the Punk vs. Brent Albright feud in OVW) so I'm really looking forward to his first real feud in ECW. Kelly Kelly doesn't do anything at all for me. She's just there. She somewhat reminds me of Paris Hilton in that she also seems to be an reincarnation of a ringtone. At least the whole Mike Knox / C.M. Punk confrontation seems to pick up some pace now. I'm looking forward to their feud.

The extreme cat fight was ok, but I found it somewhat lame to have a scheduled extreme cat fight. I think cat fights only really work when they are done as an impromptu thing. Ariel's promo was pretty good and she - and especially Francine - looked great so I will certainly not complain about this segment. I'm also looking forward to the next chapters of the Ballz vs. Thorne feud because their characters are just something different.

The Paul Heyman / Big Show promo was good. I like how Big Show seems to be very confident (which he should be!). Another promo that was good because it didn't drag on forever (as opposed to the stuff we got to watch on RAW).

The Big Show vs. Sandman match was ok but they were not able to stay on the same level as the RVD vs. Holly match, so the crowd wasn't really into this match. But it was ok, looked somewhat brutal, furthered the storylines and made Big Show come out even stronger. But at the same time it gave the Sandman some credibility since he showed he could hang with the big guys as Big Show also looked beat up afterwards.

All in all it was a good show and it wouldn't surprise me if it turns out to be the best wrestling TV show this week. It was also pretty obvious to me that ECW on Sci-Fi doesn't deserve the title "Tuesday Night Raw" anymore. This weeks show was miles ahead of RAW.

Martin