ECW Results: 12/29/09 - Tommy Dreamer Leaves ECW

The Final Original Leaves ECW

The final ECW of 2009 turned out to be Tommy Dreamer's last. Tommy Dreamer has truly been the heart and soul of ECW, from the very first feud in the original ECW, to the final repackaged ECW of 2009. When Tommy Dreamer won the ECW title from Tazz, he said that it was the happiest moment in his life, and that even though he may never headline a WrestleMania, or want to be at Starrcade, at least a guy like him made it in ECW. Amazingly enough, Tommy Dreamer did indeed wrestle at WrestleMania, as part of the ECW Originals (Tommy Dreamer, Sabu, Sandman, and Rob Van Dam) to defeat The New Breed (Elijah Burke, Marcus Cor Von, Matt Striker, and Kevin Thorn). At the IZOD Center, where Dreamer had his final match, he remebers attending his second WWE show with his best friend and his father, and he got to see Rowdy Roddy Piper do a live Piper's Pit, and called a woman from the audience who happened to be from Yonkers, his hometown. It has been his dream since he was nine years old to become a wrestler, and if you have enough passion then you can make it anywhere. After losing his final match to Zack Ryder, Tommy Dreamer greeted his wife Trisha Hayes - for those who don't remember, her ring name was Beulah McGillicutty in the original ECW as Dreamer's valet. She was accompanied by their twin daughters Kimberly and Briana. When asked at school "what does your father do for a living?" Kimberly answered, "My daddy falls down a lot," while Briana added, "But my daddy always gets up." That has been the wrestling career of Tommy Dreamer, he loses a lot of matches, but he manages to always get himself back up. He says it's the fans that give him his strength, and that we are his family. Tommy Dreamer has been at the bottom of the WWE for several years after the Alliance movement of WCW/ECW, jobbing to superstars. But despite all that, he has worn the Hardcore Title 14-times and recently became the ECW Champion at Extreme Rules. With his departure, we can't help but pound our fist over our hearts and shout E! C! W! Tommy Dreamer not only made it in ECW but he also made it in the WWE, and that's a rare gift. Thank you, Tommy Dreamer for all you have done.

Hardy Returns to Extreme Roots

The opening match was the ECW Homecoming Qualifying Match featuring SmackDown superstars Matt Hardy and Finlay. During their time in ECW, Matt Hardy became the ECW Champion after defeating Mark Henry in an ECW Championship Scramble Match at Unforgiven 2008... eventually losing the title to Jack Swagger and departing from ECW; Finlay lost the Fatal Fourway Contenders Match for the strap, which saw Matt Hardy as the winner... eventually had a title match against Matt Hardy and lost... and after Matt Hardy left for RAW, Finlay had a fighting chance to become the top face of the brand but was traded to SmackDown as part of Donald Trump's fifteen-superstar trade. Finlay has never held a world title while in the WWE, and this qualifying match was possibly his final shot at the ECW Title. Finlay focused on twerking the knee of Matt Hardy, and managed to roll out of the Moonsault; but never count out the "Never Say Die" attitude of Matt Hardy, who managed to get in a Twist of Fate to score the pinfall.

Air-Bourne Soars High

The following match was also an ECW Homecoming Qualifying Match featuring RAW's Evan Bourne against SmackDown's Mike Knox. Mike Knox, currently in a one-sided feud with Kane, started out as one of the original members of the newly envisioned ECW revival. He was not well known, except during his feud with CM Punk because his then-girlfriend Kelly Kelly was enamored with "The Straight Edge" superstar. Evan Bourne was part of Teddy Long's ECW Superstar initiative, along with Kofi Kingston - both, now, fan favorites over on RAW - his closest shot at the ECW Title was during Cyber Sunday 2008, when the WWE Universe voted for him to take on ECW Champion Matt Hardy. This particular match up is interesting, not because Mike Knox is 6'6, 298lbs, while Bourne is a mere 5'9, 183lbs, but because these two are jobbers in their current brands; yet, these two were never at the top of their game as they were, here, on ECW. Evan Bourne had to rely on his quickness and agility, and most of the time that works against super heavyweights, but Mike Knox is adept to matching speed with the smallest of opponents. Mike Knox managed to connect with a flying crossbody, one of his deadliest maneuvers, but Bourne managed to kick out. To Bourne, it's not size that brought him to the game, it's heart and his will to become a champion. Bourne evaded a spear takedown and used the opportunity to strike with the Shooting Star Press for the win. Evan Bourne will have another shot at the ECW Title in two weeks, as all the winners of these matches go on to an ECW Homecoming Showdown to determine the #1 Contender for Christian's ECW Title at the Royal Rumble.