ECW on SyFy 15th September 2009 No opening video package. No opening commentary. An arena waits in silence as the tension builds. Then, TIME TO PLAY THE GAME Despite not being an ECW Superstar, the arrival of Triple H, The King of Kings, heralds a humongous reaction from the crowd. Without Shawn Michaels, the member of D-Generation X walks onto the stage, receiving another round of cheers, and he does his usual pose on the top of the ramp before heading down to the ring. The commentary team make note that Shawn Michaels is in the back, where Charlie Haas is expected to stay, and Matt Striker is the one to notice that Triple H has used his own entrance music, rather than his tag teams, echoing the fact that this match is purely about Triple H and Shelton Benjamin. Once Triple H wraps up his entrance with the iconic spraying of the water, he turns to the stage, waiting for his opponent – game face on tonight. Then, the arrival of one half of the WWE Unified Tag Team Champions occurs, bringing out The Gold Standard, Shelton Benjamin to a very loud pop. As with Triple H electing to use his singles theme, Benjamin has done the same as the sound of Ain’t No Stoppin’ Me Now flows throughout the arena. Benjamin locks eyes with Triple H from the top of the ramp, and he walks down the ramp. The commentary team does their job in hyping up this match, stating this isn’t about the WWE Tag Team Championships, but it’s about Benjamin proving he STILL has Triple H’s number, and The Game proving he can beat The Gold Standard – perhaps the most technically gifted athlete in all of WWE. Match One: Singles Contest Shelton Benjamin vs. Triple H I had written out a long descriptive match for this, but due to laptop issues and my back up not correctly working I lost most of this show, meaning this match and the rest will likely be heavily recapped. The main elements to take from this match are this: Triple H struggles in the early going, with Benjamin getting under The Game’s skin and effortlessly toying with him to the delight of the ECW commentary team who big up the fact Shelton has always had Triple H’s number. However, the ruthless attitude of the D-Generation X member brings him back into the match, playing the role of the bag guy and keeping Benjamin down on the mat, grounding one half of the tag team champions. A couple of false comebacks later, Benjamin finally makes some head way into the contest before things evolve into a back and forth contest until both men knock each other out by running head first into each other. And then, from the crowd comes RAW’s Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase who both have had issues with D-Generation X in recent weeks and they slide into the ring and attack both men – resulting in a Cross Rhodes to The Gold Standard, leaving Triple H on his own against the two Legacy members. Result: No Contest @ 8.48 The crowd react as you’d expect, with lot’s of boos, all of them directed at Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase with the commentary team lambasting them for potentially robbing us of a potential classic. Rhodes and DiBiase don’t care though, because they take their anger out on Triple H after losing to D-Generation X and John Cena, losing their chance at receiving a WWE Unified Tag Team Championship match. The two of them lay into Triple with stomps while Benjamin looks to have been knocked out after that Cross Rhodes. But, here comes Shawn Michaels … and Charlie Haas! The unlikely due of The Heartbreak Kid and The Fundamental slide into the ring and target both Rhodes and DiBiase. Haas pairing off with Rhodes, connecting with multiple punches and kicks while Shawn Michaels clotheslines Ted over the top rope. Michaels checks on his friend, Triple H, then turns to see what’s going on with Charlie and Cody who are now trading hands, eventually Rhodes getting the better of the exchange. Then, Rhodes turns, looking to see what is happening on the other side of the ring, and Shawn Michaels aims to connect with Sweet Chin Music! Cody dives out of the way! Super Kick! It lands – right in Charlie Haas’ mush! Haas tumbles to the ground, clearly knocked out, just as Benjamin appears to be coming around, and he just saw his friend by kicked in the face by Shawn Michaels. Cody grabs Ted on the outside and Legacy back away from the ring, leaving Benjamin to crawl over to Charlie and check on his tag team partner, keeping one eye on Shawn Michaels and now Triple H, who’s using the ropes to help himself up. And with the image of Benjamin staring at the two standing members of D-Generation X, the commentary team sends us to the first commercial break of the evening. COMMERCIAL BREAK Back from the commercial break, we get a glimpse into Evan Bourne’s locker room, where he is sitting on a wooden bench, staring into space, perhaps contemplating his tag team partner for the main event. Todd Grisham interrupts the former ECW Champion, walking into the room and shoving a microphone in his face, asking if he has an update on the health of Yoshi Tatsu and if he has found a tag team partner for tonight. Bourne stands up, and tells Grisham that, yes, Yoshi is here tonight, but he hasn’t been cleared to compete and Bourne wouldn’t ask Yoshi too considering the state he is in. Then, Bourne says Christian has lost the respect of the locker room, so he’s confident he’ll be able to find a tag team partner by the end of the show, and with that, we cut away. But not to the arena, because we’re still backstage, and we’re in the locker room of the ECW Champion, Christian! And behind him, the ever large presence of Ezekiel Jackson! Christian and ‘Zeke appear to be watching on from the television sets, behind them a set of silver lockers with a wooden bench in front of it, and either side of the lockers are two framed pictures. Christian shakes his head, and (almost to himself) says there is no way Bourne has found a tag partner for tonight – aside from Yoshi Tatsu, nobody on the roster likes him. He turns to Jackson, and says regardless of who he gets, we need to take both of them out tonight. Jackson looks at the ground, appearing to be thinking of something, which prompts Christian to ask what the problem is. The big man looks up and says he’s been wondering what the point of all this (motioning between himself and Christian). Christian pats Jackson on the back and smiles a shit-eating grin – reminding Jackson that once they take out Evan Bourne, then the ECW Champion will be giving ‘Zeke the next title shot, reminding The Personification of Domination that Christian is a man of his word. Jackson appears to be thinking it over, then nods and allows Christian to pat him on the back again. Christian leads Jackson out of the room, leaving us in an empty locker room, but the camera lingers on the shot for just a few seconds longer, and like last week, the eagled among the viewers may notice that in one of the picture frames, is a large church-like building, with a field of what appears to be white flowers growing in it. And with that, we cut away. CUT AWAY This time to the arena, where Mark Henry’s music plays, and The World’s Strongest Man heads out for his match tonight. The commentary team remind us that Henry is on a mission to get his hands on William Regal, and the first step in that is dealing with Regal’s lackey, Paul Burchill. They take the time to remind us of Vladimir Kozlov’s involvement – refusing William Regal’s offer of an alliance and assisting Henry in his fight against the two Brits. However, we get a video in video picture of Mark Henry and Vladimir Kozlov backstage, where The Worlds Strongest Man asks the Russian to stay in the back tonight, because he wants to make a statement, and that will be defeating Paul Burchill. As Mark Henry reaches the ring, we cut away to the second commercial of the evening, and after the break, we’ll join this match in action! Match Two: Singles Contest Mark Henry vs. Paul Burchill As you’d expect, Paul Burchill takes it slow, taking his time and dodging any attempted attack by The World’s Strongest Man. This would continue for the first couple of minutes, with Burchill getting in some decent quick-fire offense. However, Mark Henry would have enough of it, ultimately getting his hands on The Ripper with a quick Back Body Drop – sending us to the commercial break. On our return, we’re informed via video replay of underhanded tactics by William Regal, climbing onto the apron and poking The Worlds Strongest Man in the eye, allowing Burchill to gain control. However, with William Regal in his sights, Mark Henry would make a comeback to the delight of the crowd and put away the unofficial European Champion with the Worlds Strongest Slam for the three counts. Winner: Mark Henry @ 7.37 (including time taken during the commercial break) And with that, the bell rings, and Mark Henry has vanquished Paul Burchill, and now he has a clear run at William Regal. The World’s Strongest Man has his hand raised by the referee, and the commentary team confirm that next week, Mark Henry will face off against William Regal! On the ramp, Regal backs up, looking frustrated and distraught. No luck for Regal tonight, and he has next week to look forward too now. CUT AWAY Now, we get a video package, detailing the imminent arrival of Bryan Danielson! For weeks, Danielson has been shown in the crowd, awaiting the perfect time for his debut, and the video package – after showcasing some moments from Danielson’s independent career (most of the credit to Ring of Honor, detailed in a small logo at the bottom of the clips), a graphic comes up, stating his debut will be coming soon. Back in the arena, the commentary team hype up the arrival of Bryan Danielson, referring to him as The American Dragon and wondering which poor soul will be the first man to face off against the highly touted Superstar. GOMMERCIAL BREAK Back from commercial, the crowd rise to their feet as the ECW Champion, Christian walks onto the ramp, dressed to compete, with the silver ECW Title around his waist. Behind him, the brooding figure of Ezekiel Jackson. The duo walks down the ramp, Christian taking the time to tell some fans to shut the hell up while Jackson is all business, perhaps focused on taking out Evan Bourne and cementing his claim as the number one contender. And now, the arrival of the former ECW Champion, Evan Bourne brings a huge pop from the crowd. He walks onto the stage and takes a moment, looking down at Christian and Jackson, perhaps pondering his next move – and his appearance on his own means Christian has a huge smirk across his face. But then, we see in Bourne’s right hand, he has a microphone. Bourne brings the mic to his mouth and tells Christian that what he did to Yoshi Tatsu, Rhyno and Tommy Dreamer was terrible, and yes, while Evan Bourne doesn’t have many allies in the locker room – a lot more people hate Christian he thought. And not only that, but one man isn’t the biggest fan of The Personification of Domination. This remark brings Ezekiel to the forefront, the big man taking centre stage and approaching the ropes, shouting something to Bourne, but the camera goes back to Bourne, who says he’s found a tag team partner, and by God it’s a good one, and one Ezekiel Jackson knows quite well. Then … JA PRINJOS TEBE BOL' Ezekiel Jackson’s eyes widen, looking like they might pop out of his skull, while Christian stares, dumbfounded at the stage, where Vladimir Kozlov comes storming out to a decent reaction from the crowd. Immediately, the commentary team quickly recap the history between Vladimir and Ezekiel, harkening back to their Parking Lot Brawl and the countless altercations the two have had. Vladimir barely acknowledges Bourne, but the two of them walk down the ramp, the crowd cheering on them on. They both slide into the ring, and meet the two men head on! The foursome start to battle in the ring until Bourne ducks a right hand from the ECW Champion, and hits a drop kick, sending the Canadian out of the ring while Vladimir lands a knee in Jackson’s stomach, and literally throws Jackson over the top rope! The crowd are on their feet, but the referee starts to take control, getting everything set up for him to start the match. Main Event: Tag Team Contest Evan Bourne & Vladimir Kozlov vs. Christian & Ezekiel Jackson The beginning of the contest kicks off with the renewal of the rivalry between the two big men in this contest. Jackson and Kozlov go toe-to-toe for a few minutes, with each man trading the advantage. Eventually, though, with the help of a distraction on the apron, Jackson takes control over the Russian, preventing him from getting the tag to his partner. Until, a comeback from Kozlov allowed his team back into the match, fighting back against The Personification of Domination and battling away until a double clothesline got both men down. Then, the hot tag came, with Bourne coming in and meeting the ECW Champion in the centre of the ring. The two traded blows, much like Jackson and Kozlov did. The advantage swung from side to side until it looked like Bourne was going for the Shooting Star Press, but a push from Jackson meant the former ECW Champion crashed and burned. An extended period of rest here, with Christian keeping Bourne grounded, until the second hot tag of the match, when Bourne got the tag to Kozlov, and the Russian came in hot against Ezekiel Jackson. The end of the match would come here, as on the outside, Bourne would be thrown directly into the steel steps, allowing Christian and Jackson the time to double up on the Russian, ultimately connecting with the Killswitch, and then The Book of Ezekiel for the three count! Winners: Christian & Ezekiel Jackson One to one in the pinfall count between Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov, but it was the aftermath of the contest in which the real talking point came, when William Regal and Paul Burchill would hit the ring, looking to make a statement and attack the Russian. Meanwhile, Evan Bourne would slide back into the ring, attacking Christian, looking for revenge after being thrown into the steel steps. We get a quick picture shot of Bryan Danielson watching on from the crowd, shaking his head. It’s chaos in the ring, though. The Russian struggling against Regal and Burchill, and Bourne trying to fight off the ECW Champion and Ezekiel Jackson. But, then, ‘SOMEBODY GON’ GET THEIR ASS KICKED’ The four heels in the ring stop immediately as for the second time tonight, Mark Henry makes his way down the ramp, roaring at the people in the ring. Just the hulking figure of The World’s Strongest Man is enough to send the four heels running from the ring. Henry stands in the centre of the ring, looking at Regal who’s backing up the ramp while Christian and Ezekiel stand in the background, and the commentary remind us that next week Mark Henry will face off against William Regal. :: WWE Breaking Point :: 27th September 2009 – Detroit, Michigan WWE Unified Tag Team Championships The World’s Greatest Tag Team © vs. D-Generation X |