The ECW Digest - 8th December 2009
08/12/2009
Hello and welcome the all new ECW Digest.
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On with the show!
Quick Links
Opening Segment: Kozlov isn’t Happy
Match 1: Vance Archer Vs. Tommy Dreamer
Match 2: Croft & Barretta Vs. Franks & Vaughn
Main Event: Christian, Benjamin & Tatsu Vs. The Ruthless Roundtable
The ECW Digest
Opening Segment
Kozlov isn’t Happy
As ECW kicked off tonight Byron Sachs made what could be an innocent slip of the tongue, but could actually give us an insight into the way the ECW ladder match is going to go, I’ll let you decide.
His exact words were:
“Less than one week away from the most revolutionary Pay Per View in WWE history, and less than one week away from a ladder match that will determine a new ECW Champion”
I guess if Shelton takes the gold on Sunday and Byron isn’t on ECW next week, we know he’s shot himself in the foot.
Anyway, this first segment was set to be Josh Mathews babbling on about the Ladder match with Christian and Shelton, but fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) Vladimir Kozlov interrupted him and called out Jackson, who walked out on him during last week’s main event.
Jackson answers the challenge and the two of them begin to brawl until Regal hits the ring and calms them down.
Shelton Benjamin is next to appear from the back. He tells Regal to let them fight and gets the crowd firmly behind the idea.
Regal tells Benjamin it has nothing to do with him, and he should choose his words very carefully because there is three of them and…
You guessed it, Christian appears with Yoshi Tatsu in tow to even the odds.
Christian says he could just let Shelton walk to the ring and get a beating, but he wants them both to be fit and healthy when they steal the show at TLC.
Shelton issues a 3 on 3 challenge which Regal initially declines, until Tiffany appears and offers the Round-table a choice.
Either they take the 3 on 3, or Kozlov and Jackson go 1 on 1.
Regal talks to his co-horts and accepts the 6 man tag match, but Jackson decides he wants to take on Kozlov instead, giving the Moscow Mauler the deciding vote.
Despite being the person to instigate the whole affair in the first place, Kozlov takes his orders from Regal and decides on the 6 man tag.
Match 1
Singles Match
Vance Archer
Vs.
Tommy Dreamer
Hey, Dreamer’s back! … and it looks like he’s on jobbing duty.
This was the first time we’ve got to see Archer wrestling properly, although this wasn’t a million miles away from the squash jobs we’ve seen him fight in so far.
Archer dominated Dreamer for 90% of the match and despite one of The Hardcore Icon’s spirited comebacks, picked up the win with his distinctly average finisher.
Vance Archer wins by Pinfall.
Segment 2
Who is The Ripper?
In a clip filmed earlier in the night GM Tiffany speaks to ‘The Ripper’ and ‘The Beautiful Nightmare’.
She calls Burchill’s bluff and tells him that he isn’t allowed on ECW, but he explains that The Ripper has never lost to The Hurricane.
She says that neither of them are under contract, but ‘The Ripper’ will have the chance to earn one next week when he goes 1 on 1 with The Hurricane.
Segment 3
Ryder & Dreamer
Backstage Ryder and Rosa are all loved up when Tommy Dreamer interrupts.
Ryder introduces Rosa to ‘the dinosaur of ECW’, then tells Dreamer he wants to be the one to end him, before walking away.
Match 2
Tag Team Match
Caylen Croft & Trent Barretta
Vs.
Mark Franks & Danny Vaughn
Bad news guys, I couldn’t find anything on this weeks local talent, so this one is going to be kind of short.
It seems they are pushing Croft and Barretta as a pair of hardcore gamers, using ‘Guitar Hero’ and ‘Mario Kart’ to warm up for matches. I’m surprised they haven’t used them to plug Smackdown Vs. Raw 2010 yet.
Croft and Barretta picked up the win with their double team finisher to go 2-0 on ECW.
Croft & Berretta win by Pinfall.
Main Event Match
Tag Team Match
Christian, Shelton Benjamin & Yoshi Tatsu
Vs.
The Ruthless Roundtable
For some reason completely unbeknown to me the ECW Championship is suspended above the ring tonight.
I assume it’s to create suspense for the title match at TLC, but to be honest it just looks a little stupid hanging up there without a purpose.
This match was about as dull as it sounds, and if it hadn’t been for the high flying antics of Benjamin and Tatsu I think I’d have just skipped right to the end.
Kozlov and Jackson worked fairly well together for the majority of the match, but as you’d expect, things imploded towards the end of the bout.
After taking a flurry of kicks from Tatsu, then almost removing his head with a clothesline, Jackson went to tag in Kozlov, who instead jumped from the apron and began to leave ringside.
Rather than focusing on the match Jackson made a bee-line for Kozlov, beating him down but getting counted out in the process, despite Regal’s best attempts to get him back into the ring.
After the bell Shelton risked it all by hitting a suicide dive over the top rope which took out Regal and Jackson, while Christian grabbed a ladder from under the ring and began climbing to retrieve his ECW championship.
So that’s why it’s up there!
Benjamin did his spiderman thing over the ropes and onto the ladder (which very nearly buckled), and the two ended up arguing at the top, both with a hand on the belt.
Christian, Shelton Benjamin & Yoshi Tatsu win by Count Out.
