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Tommy Dreamer v. Paul Burchill
Dreamer tried a quick rollup and went to work with a hip lock as the crowd chanted for him. Burchill shoved Dreamer away after he went for a bulldog. Burchill hit a body slam and went to a chin lock. Cool sign in the crowd: “Matt Striker > Your Favorite Announcer.” As evidence of that claim, Striker referenced Wrestling at the Chase (arena in St. Louis) and mentioned Harley Race was in attendance. Dreamer came back with a spinebuster. He put Burchill in the tree of woe and hit a baseball slide. Dreamer fanned when going for the DDT and Burchill rolled him up for two. Burchill then connected with a hanging neckbreaker and covered for the win,
What the heck was that point of that Tommy Dreamer promo from a couple of weeks ago where he stated a goal winning the ECW championship by June 7? In a company with few strong babyface promos, Dreamer’s interview was effective in generating immediate interest in that storyline. So, they have him lose clean in consecutive weeks thus making clear that he has no business near the championship. Even if the goal is to push Dreamer harder as the deadline approaches, what purpose does burying him serve now? I
Burchill d. Dreamer, Pin, 3:40, **.
Teddy Long ran into Jamie Noble backstage. Noble is here to save the show and take Matt Hardy’s place; Jamie Noble equals ratings, you see. Back at ringside, the Miz and John Morrison came out while Dreamer was still in the ring. Morrison pointed out that Dreamer was so slow that he couldn’t even get out of the ring. Morrison made weight jokes while Miz made fun of him for crying on TV. Miz called Dreamer that anti-Ric Flair in that fans want to see him retire. Dreamer attacked but the champions soon got the advantage. Miz hit the reality check as the champions posed over Dreamer. This is one the less obvious, yet very damaging things that the Shane-Legacy segment from last week did. In the near term, you cannot get heat with a two on one beatdown because if the out-of-shape owner can beat up three guys, what decent babyface can’t beat up two?
Boogey Man v. Jamie Noble
Boogey no sold some punches and then Boogey went to a hip toss. Noble was fired out to the floor. Boogey chased him out and hit a gorilla press slam into the ring. Noble got the drop of Boogey sliding back into the ring and hit an elbow from the top rope onto a standing Boogey Man. He covered for two and then went to a chin lock. Matt Striker compared Boogey Man to Stan Musial, Lou Brock and Ozzie Smith. Boogey Man came back with a pair of short clotheslines and a clothesline in the corner. Boogey Man finished with the pump handle slam.
After the match, Noble rolled out of the ring, avoiding the worms. So much for Noble’s lot in life improving after moving to ECW.
Boogey Man d. Noble, Pin, 3:52, ½*.
The WrestleMania flashback focused on WrestleMania 2, falsely claiming it sold out all three locations where it was held. Actually, the Chicago event didn’t even fill half of the building that night. It did a good job overall of promoting the history and significance of the event though. That’s important since the WrestleMania name has become a bigger ticket and pay-per-view seller than any matches at this point.
After a commercial break, the Raw Rebound focused on the Shane McMahon-Randy Orton feud. I have no clue what WWE has to gain by giving a potential fresh pay-per-view main event like Randy Orton-Undertaker away on television. It makes fans like me who order hardly any PPVs happy though. I get to see all the matches I want and never have to pay for them.
Backstage, Jack Swagger cut a mediocre promo on Finlay and the main event.
Finlay v. Jack Swagger
This match is non-title. Swagger hit a slam off of a waist lock to begin. Finlay countered out of another waist lock into a rollup. Striker made a big deal of the fact that Finlay blocked Swagger’s takedown attempt. Finlay moved from submission to submission on the ground before both men collided in the corner. Finlay got a one count off a backslide as the match went to break. Coming back, Finlay hit a clothesline and went to a chin lock. Swagger reversed an Irish whip and Finlay really sold hitting the buckle. Swagger continued with a back suplex and went to a body scissors. Swagger put his head down on an Irish whip. Finlay came back with headbutts and a small package before catching an elbow and a forearm from Swagger. Hornswoggle emerged to provide a distraction and Finlay clotheslined Swagger out to the floor. On the outside, Swagger rammed Finlay into the ring and then the post. Swagger fired the shillelagh up the ramp, but with the delay Finlay retook the advantage briefly. Trying for a suplex on the apron, Finlay received a jawbreaker over the top rope. Hornswoggle then snuck in with a second shillelagh and whacked Swagger with it over the leg. Finlay followed with a clothesline and the Celtic cross for the win.
This was a solid, old-school type match with an emphasis on mat wrestling. They didn’t do a whole lot of high impact moves, but they did a good job of selling the moves that they did do. Hopefully, this feud stretches out to WrestleMania as these two have had two fun matches together so far. And after Finlay, there really is no one else on ECW for Swagger to feud with right now.
Finlay d. Swagger, Pin, 12:53, ***.
