ECW on SyFy - January 19, 2010:
It's good to see this still going, as I quite liked the direction from the previous show. I think it's interesting to see you heading to a match between Christian and Matt Hardy, considering the crossroads both men felt like they were at during this period in time. I feel like there's got to be something more to the two of them going face versus face at Royal Rumble. That or it's exposition for Christian as the protagonist of this project with the ECW Championship. Classic tag team promo to kick off the show, pretty much interchangeable between brands as seen during the early 2010s. As paint by numbers as it was, it kept William Regal and his Ruthless Roundtable in the loop. While I dug Ezekiel Jackson at the time, I don't know if I could have seen him as a viable ECW Champion had the brand lived on past February.
Very glad to see the Dudebusters get something to sink their teeth into! I always was a big fan of Trent Baretta, and while Caylen Croft was also pretty good from memory, it's pretty clear Trent belongs more. I was surprised to see the Hurricane get the win, but it was moreso about the post-match angle. Yoshi Tatsu makes an oddly fitting partner for Hurricane, but I do think there is some interesting things you could do with him in this era.
I'm hopeful that Curt Hawkins will be introduced the right way with whatever this new gimmick might be. Hawkins was a fond favourite of mine during this period, but it was clear he was not really one for a major push. I would be interested to see how Hawkins gels with Zack Ryder in this stretch of their careers - but then again, I feel like that would be low hanging fruit.
Speaking of, I was stunned to see you waste a potential debut of a guy like Skip Sheffield on a Zack Ryder match. I feel like there was a chance to make a star in one night here, but then again Ryder is still new as a rising star. But knowing what we do about Sheffield and what he does later, I was surprised he lost out here. At least he got his gimmick nuances in. Interesting as to who this crazed fan is.
I suspect that we are not going to end the Hurricane and Yoshi Tatsu hijinks with the Dudebusters here. It provides a decent excuse to pull the Extreme Rules match card.
I don't remember much about Vance Archer and what he did in WWECW, outside of his goofy ass haircut and SmackDown vs RAW 2011. I'm surprised to see him go over Shelton Benjamin, but ECW needs young blood, and I feel like this was a way in establishing Vance as a future prospect perhaps poised for an ECW Championship opportunity.
Aww man, that's badass. I'm really happy to see Lance Cade get another chance to shine here, and I really hope that he stays well and doesn't suffer an untimely fate like he would in a few months' time. I don't see Zack Ryder getting that ECW Championship shot too soon, or at least, I don't believe he should.
The thing with Christian and Matt Hardy heading towards the Royal Rumble to compete for the ECW Championship is that their story has been predominantly told already. Two established veterans whose careers have been intertwined for the past decade, going head-to-head at the helm of a young blood-idealised brand. I'm very curious to see how this turns out, especially with the happy ending with the fan favorites getting the win over William Regal and Ezekiel Jackson. I can only suspect we can expect something more spicy about to happen in due course.
Overall, not a bad show. We still have one week until the Royal Rumble, so I'm very interested in how we kick things into the next gear.