The ECW video started things up followed by Joey Styles pumping up ECW in Madison Square Garden and you can tell he’s beside himself to be in the arena. Paul Heyman, flanked by the Basham Security Brothers, then made his way out to cut a promo that he’s probably waited years to cut. He hopped in the ring and talked about how he, the prodigal son, the messiah, and the savior of the wrestling industry (can’t argue with that one too much), has arrived in the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden. He then asked everyone out there if they realize they are part of history this evening as they have all come in the world’s most famous arena to witness the ECW flag flying hall in the Garden after all the sacrifice and hard work. To say Heyman is happy about being in the Garden is the understatement of the year. Heyman then put over Madison Square Garden saying how there was no bigger place to a kid growing up in New York and with all humility aside, he’d like to thank…himself for achieving this milestone. Of course, tons of jeers were then directed at Heyman and I have to admit, I thought he’d break character for a bit and thank the fans. Heyman then flipped out and went off on the fans saying it’s their fault ECW went out of business five years ago as he listened to them demand more Sabu, Rob Van Dam, Sandman, and Tommy Dreamer and it got them nowhere. I can actually sense some truth in the promo which is making it so much better. Heyman then said he listened to himself, because he knows better than they do, and he made compromises (another understatement) with Vince McMahon to take ECW to a global platform and they are now in the Garden. He then told everyone in the arena “you’re welcome” for his hard work and ingenuity. He said this was all his idea, his concept, and his ECW and tonight, it will grow even more when Big Show comes down the aisle.
Of course, mentioning Big Show’s name is going to bring out the guy who wants to kill him and thus, Sabu makes his grand entrance slamming down a chair to show he’s on for tonight. Heyman freaked out from here and was astounded that Sabu would interrupt him in the Garden and he laid down the law: if Sabu touches him, he’ll pin him in the middle of the ring like he did two weeks ago. Now, what kind of bad-ass babyface would let a line like that go? So Sabu charged at the Basham Security Brothers and took them out with a chair. He then hopped into the ring to take out Heyman with a weak spear before the Bashams caught up to him and took him down. Sabu got the upper hand though and nailed two big chair shots to each of them and then a top rope Arabian facebuster to one of them to stand tall in the ring. Sabu then stood on the chair staring down at Heyman victorious, but Heyman wasn’t done and informed him that he really “stepped in it” and he’s going to pay the price a giant way as it will be him and Big Show in an Extreme Rules Match for the ECW Title, which is the first time it’s ever been defended in the Garden. The crowd popped huge for that; they crowd cares more about ECW than they did RAW. I don’t really see the logic in that though as that’s exactly what Sabu wants, but they don’t give me much time to think as Sabu hit a triple jump splash to the Bashams and stood victorious. Pretty good opening segment and it actually got me amazingly pumped up for the rest of the show. After that, Styles, still beside himself, pumped up Rob Van Dam Vs. Hardcore Holly next and we went to a break.
Commercial break number one leaves me hoping Vince McMahon will one day learn to do a promo and a opening segment like Paul Heyman. I swear, it takes Vince fifteen minutes to do what Heyman can do in three.
Rob Van Dam Vs. Hardcore Holly
Hmm, not a bad match, but not that much else. RVD didn’t wait one second and went after Holly as soon as the former Tough Enough trainer rolled into the ring with kicks and rights. Holly fired back with two kicks and a big RVD chant breaks out. Seriously, I feel like people here paid to see ECW, not RAW. They could literally have cared less about RAW. RVD rolled off a back body drop and hit a standing head scissors followed by a nice side step kick for the advantage early on. He then charged at Holly, but the veteran back body dropped him over the top rope and then hit a pescado to RVD on the outside. RVD recovered and used the barricade to do a moonsault, but he overshot it and the two cracked skulls. What could have been a potential nightmare was actually kind of saved as Holly took control of the match like it was supposed to happen and followed it up very nicely. Holly’s not someone who would make a “Best Of…” list for anything in my opinion, but he was in rare form tonight while RVD just couldn’t seem to get anything going. Holly rolled RVD into the ring and hit two leg drops for a two count and then used the ropes to hang up RVD and take shots at RVD’s sternum, following up on what hit the outside floor hard. Holly then hung RVD up on the middle rope, but RVD made a comeback after a big chant broke out for him.
Holly then nailed a big dropkick and it’s been all Holly since the botch leading me to believe that RVD might have been knocked off his game with the botch. Holly got a two count and then hit a scoop slam allowing him to go up top for an elbow drop, but RVD got his foot up and hit Holly’s head. They botched this too as they mis-timed it and RVD’s leg looked like it hyper-extended. It was not RVD’s night tonight despite the fans being 100% behind him and more so than most on RAW. RVD then hit two weak clotheslines and then his step over windmill kick followed by Rolling Thunder to a big pop. RVD then finally started recovering from earlier as he hit a very nice & crisp monkey flip from the corner. From there, the two went back and forth and RVD went for the top rope side kick, but Holly hung him up to dry, crotch-first. Holly climbed up top and went for a superplex, but RVD punched his way out and set him up for the Frog Splash. Before he could nail it, Stevie Richards (did I miss something?) and Mike Knox ran out causing RVD to nail Stevie with a top rope kick and Knox with a windmill. Test then ran in, locked in the Full Nelson, and followed it up with the slam for good measure. This was all it took and the ref called for the bell giving RVD the victory via DQ. Not a bad match, but probably would have been better without RVD having an off night. It’s understandable though and with the time they had, they did a decent job.
Winner: Rob Van Dam
Star Wrestler: Hardcore Holly
RVD definitely had an off night here, but Holly was right there to pick him up and guide him through the match as he got his confidence and swing back. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Holly take control of a match so visibly before and show off his veteran skills so much. It impressed me very much, but I really doubt he’ll follow up on it. Holly’s the type of guy I feel could be a very good worker, but just doesn’t capitalize on his good performances like he should.
After the match, they did a four-on-one beat down with Richards & Knox holding RVD and Test & Holly trading blows. Sandman’s music then hit and Dreamer and the extreme Icon came out through the crowd to clean house with Sandman knocking everyone out with the cane. He then lined up Stevie for a big one and nailed him in the gut with Dreamer following it up with a DDT. To give the fans what they paid for and show he’s okay, RVD then got on top and hit a big, great frog splash which looked like it had a lot of impact as he popped off hard after landing.
Styles then pumped up the good start to their first ever show in the Garden. Tazz piped in and the two then pumped up the main event as the faces cracked open some beers in the ring with Sandman doing his normal stick. They showed a recap of the Sabu-Show rematch from three weeks ago with Sabu not caring if he got DQed, taking out Show with the chair first & then the ring bell, and ultimately putting him through the table. They were basically building it up how it could be Sabu’s night tonight as he’s got the rules on his side and has the champ’s number. I seriously doubt they’d do a title change tonight, but they are doing a good job of building it up.
Commercial break number two has RAW and SmackDown! wishing they could have people enjoying their shows as much as this.
Back from the break, the same Marine package from the night before aired which was basically just Robert Patrick and John Cena talking about the movie and putting each other over. Again, Robert Patrick definitely makes the movie sound more appealing, but I still don’t want to see it nor do I know anyone who does. Poor Styles then had to pump up the movie and he then thanked everyone for watching as CM Punk made his way out to a pretty sweet reaction and Punk was visibly happy as ever to be in front of this crowd. The Reject then made his way out and they showed the poser/slap segment that led to this match.
CM Punk Vs. Shannon Moore
Another good Punk squash here. Moore got into Punk’s face to start it off and then slapped him down and jumped on him with rights, elbows, and everything else. He then picked him up and went for a Tornado DDT, but CM threw him off and got Moore into the Anaconda Vise on the ropes. Punk then broke the hold and nailed his springboard clothesline followed by the scream of, “What’s my name?” When the ECW crowd catches onto that, the reaction is going to be amazing. Won’t happen for at least a few months though sadly. Punk then hit a back kick and then started laying into Moore’s gut with tons and tons of knees as a humongous CM Punk chant broke out. That should awaken those who said Punk would never get over with a big crowd. Punk then hit his knee strike in the corner followed by the bulldog, the chop/kick combo, the side-slam (it’s not a Ura-ange, damn it), and the Anaconda Vise for the win. Another good Punk squash here, in my opinion, as he looked a lot crisper and more focused since it was the Garden. However, Punk hasn’t got much more of these squashes left in him. You can only do the same sequence of matches so long before they lose their novelty nowadays (key word being nowadays). It shouldn’t be too hard for Punk to mix it up and find a new formula for a while before he starts having longer matches. It’s CM freakin’ Punk!
Winner: CM Punk
Star Wrestler: CM Punk
CM Punk is amazing. From IWA-MS to ROH to OVW to now, the guy is on fire and I don’t care if you say he’s overrated or whatever. The guy is amazing and I’ve seen him in amazing match after another. His feud with Brent Albright (Gunner Scott in WWE) is still my pick for feud of the year so far (though Albright’s WWE run didn’t do anything to back me up on his skill at all) and he’s lighting up everything on fire. I can only anticipate when he branches out and does longer & better matches in ECW.
To read the rest of the review, just click here.
You can leave me feedback on this review via e-mail at douglasnunnally@thewrestlingvoice.com, my MySpace at http://myspace.com/dougnunnally, AOL Instant Messenger at Douglas Nunnally, and/or MSN Instant Messenger at douglasnunnally@hotmail.com.
I welcome any and all feedback through any and all means so please do not be afraid to contact me.
