WWE Released: Paul Burchill

The Ripper ripped out of his WWE contract

On November 17, 2009, Paul Burchill challenged and lost to The Hurricane in a Mask versus Career match. Who would have known that the stipulation would have contoured to real life? However, in this case, both men were released from their WWE contracts.

Paul Burchill, along with his on-screen sister, Katie-Lea, were drafted from RAW to ECW at the start of 2009. In what should have been a fresh start for the siblings turned into a string of loses ranging from their debut to Paul's release. But let us not forget his victory over Tommy Dreamer, because Burchill may have been a jobber, but he'd be damned if he lost to WWE's resident jobber, Tommy Dreamer.

During his earlier years in the WWE, Paul Burchill teamed with William Regal in an impressive onslaught on the tag team division, however, never winning the tag team titles. And for those that may not recall, Paul Burchill claimed that his family heritage traced back to the pirate Blackbeard; thus the birth of The Pirate, Paul Burchill. His final appearance as The Pirate resurfaced on SmackDown in July 2007, during Edge's World Championship Mardi Gras party, though he was not acknowledged.

I can't say that I didn't see this coming, but Paul Burchill was highly underrated and should have been placed on SmackDown after the demise of ECW. Honestly, if Paul was going head to head with The Hurricane, he should have resorted to his alter-ego, The Pirate, Paul Burchill

WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Superstar Paul Burchill as of today February 26, 2010. We wish Paul Burchill the best in all future endeavors.

Ohio Valley Wrestling Career Highlight: OVW Heavyweight Championship (4 times); OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Stu Sanders

ECW Results: 12/15/09

The show started off with ECW GM Tiffany congratulating Christian and Shelton Benjamin for putting on an amazing ladder match at TLC, and for making ECW proud. Shelton Benjamin took the opportunity to ask for a rematch for the ECW Title. Christian never got a chance to respond due to the interruption by The Ruthless Roundtable – mostly William Regal, upset of being overlooked for another title shot. And did anyone notice that Kane appeared at the opening of the program, “I’m baaaack…” Well, Tiffany explains why Kane is on ECW: Each week, for four weeks, she will be inviting a former ECW Champion to compete in an ECW Homecoming Tournament. On the fifth week, the winners of these qualifying matches will compete in an eight-man, over the top, showdown to determine Christian’s opponent at The Royal Rumble. The purpose of these matches is for former ECW superstars and current ECW superstars can clash.

ECW Contract Match: The Hurricane vs. The Ripper w/The Beautiful Nightmare. Two weeks ago on WWE Superstars, Paul Burchil, or The Ripper, interfered with Hurricane’s match against Zack Ryder. Tiffany issued this contract match to allow Burchill a shot at returning to ECW. The announcers stated that the Hurricane is the fearless protector of ECW, so naturally The Ripper is his arch nemesis. Yet, since returning, Hurricane has feuded with one guy –it’s annoying. For all that is good in this world, let him fight someone else, Batman has more than one foe. The last time Helms-Burchill fought was in a Mask vs. Career match, similar to Jericho-Mysterio’s Mask vs. Title match at The Bash. I mentioned last time that Hurricane resembled more like the villain than Burchill, and this match reinforces my allegations. Hurricane ripped Burchill’s mask off, and used the distraction to go for the pin. Not only was that a dastardly thing to do, but Chris Jericho used that same tactic against Mysterio to retain his title at Extreme Rules 2009. Paul Burchill not only lost the match, but he still remains without a contract. Afterwards, Gregory Helms tried to get a word in edge-wise on Burchill's reaction to losing to the Hurricane, in which he just screamed and walked away. And Helms walked away, the audience can see that he was still wearing the Hurricane costume underneath his sports coat.

ECW Homecoming Qualifying Match: Ezekiel Jackson vs. Vladimir Kozlov. Neither Kozlov nor Jackson are former ECW Champions, so why are they in a qualifying match? I don’t know why people were anticipating this match, because it was terrible. Thankfully, William Regal tripped Kozlov, allowing Jackson to execute the Ura-nage and advance to the finals the week before the Royal Rumble. Looks like Regal has abandoned Kozlov.

Abraham Washington Show: Guest, Maria. Here she comes again with legs that go on for miles, Maria is your Diva of the Year as voted by the fans. Maria is a bit more spunky and assertive, which is what she's been missing since starting in 2004. She cracked jokes at Abe's expense - as everyone does. Not much can be said about it, Maria didn't reveal any plans of becoming a better competitor or pursuit of the Women's Title.

Third Match: Trent Baretta and Caylen Croft vs. Julio Cruz and Jorge Arias. Trent and Caylen were playing the SmackDown vs. RAW 2010 video game, using the Create-a-Character to generate themselves into the video game to face off against DX. Trent and Caylen defeated the simulated DX and then fought Cruz and Arias in the ring. Baretta and Croft finished the match with an inverted atomic drop - looks like a stolen move from Team 3D. The two gamers announced that by next year they will receive a Slammy for Tag Team of the Year. Well, I beg to differ.

ECW Homecoming Qualifying Match: Zack Ryder w/Rosa Mendes vs. Kane. The Big Red Monster Kane knows what it is to be the ECW Champion; and his return to the Land of Extreme is shades of 2007 when ECW's ratings were borderline. Well guess what, the ratings are flat lining again, and here comes Kane to the rescue. It's amazing how on SmackDown, Kane is just another superstar, but on ECW... on ECW he's a real big deal. Zack Ryder had a title match a few months ago, but came up short; and he would like nothing more than to become the ECW Champion with Rosa Mendes by his side. Unfortunately, Ryder didn't win, but fell to Kane's chokeslam.

ECW Homecoming Qualified: Ezekiel Jackson and Kane.

Next Week's Guest of Honor: Jack Swagger to take on Yoshi Tatsu.

Other ECW News: Savannah is currently acting as in-ring announcer.

Christian Gets Punked; Is Hurricane the True Villain?

The camera zoomed out on the ECW logo to reveal CM Punk. "This is where it all started for me," this opening line should generate a mental montage of CM Punk's accomplishments in ECW; followed by his Intercontinental, and World Tag Team Title reigns over on RAW and SmackDown. In addition to winning Money in the Bank Two Years in a row, and becoming a former 3-time World Heavyweight Champion, Punk has conquered the WWE; and like Alexander, Punk has returned home to the Land of Extreme, but for one night only.

Promo: Ryder's Challenge. Zack Ryder came out with Rosa Mendes stating that he wants to continue having her at ring side, and to have a rematch with Shelton Benjamin. "The Gold Standard" had no idea why would Ryder want to humiliate herself again, and suggested that he remain at ringside while he and Rosa did a little wrestling of their own. Rosa Mendes may have a mouth that doesn't quit, but she is extremely attractive. But the rematch will air on WWE Superstars this Thursday.

First Match: The Hurricane vs. Paul Burchill w/Katie Lee Burchill (Mask vs. Career Match). After seeing these two compete time and time again, I'm sick and tired of it. Hurricane has faced one guy since returning to the WWE; while Burchill, on the other hand, has lost virtually every match in ECW. This feud had to end, and a Mask vs. Career is exactly what was needed. Last week on a WWE.com exclusive, Katie Lee had a Tarot Card reading to determine the fate of the match, but cards can't predict everything. The match saw the downfall of a family, as Paul cried out to his sister during the match "Help Me!" The Burchills are the storied-villains, but who looked more like the villian in that match, if not Hurricane? The Emerald Knight struck Burchill with the Eye of the Hurricane and a hellacious neck breaker from the top turnbuckle. These two fought with careless disregard for each other's saftey, only to prove a point: The Hurricane wants to continue helping the people, while Paul will not be at peace until their foe is unmasked. Burchill put everything on the line for this match, and in the end he lost. The Burchills embraced each other in the ring, swollowing sorrow and an undeniable end to their career in ECW. But all is not lost because Paul said that he and his sister would leave ECW, but never did he say that they would leave the WWE. Something to think about.

Second Match: Vance Archer vs. Johnny Andrews. Vance Archer pinned another jobber, moving on....

Third Match: CM Punk and William Regal vs. (C) Christian and R-Truth (Tag Team Match). Prior to the match, CM Punk found Christian and arrogantly listed his accomplishments, which include his title reigns and his Straight-Edge lifestyle. As it may all look good to anyone who cares to listen, Christian just called him a dork, and stated that whether he may be a former champion or not, the key word is 'former.' The reason for this inter-promotional match up is to showcase a preview of what's to come at The Survivor Series: Christian and R-Truth will be lead by Kofi Kingston, while CM Punk and William Regal will be commanded by "The Viper," Randy Orton. The match had a good build up between CM Punk and Christian, a chemistry I have not seen in a while between superstars; heck, look at the terrible build between DX and Cena. The team of Punk and Regal picked up the win after Regal struck Christian with the Knee Trembler followed by Punk's GTS. Punk returned to ECW for one night, and as he looked on to the fallen ECW Champion, he still remains the Alexander of the WWE.

European Peeps Will Christian to Victory; Hurricane-Burchill Match Postponed?

Abraham Washington Show: Yeah... let's start it off this way. Abraham Washington, no doubt, feeding off the comedic routine Christian has built with Yoshi Tatsu: "Thank You" - "Thank You" - "No, Thank You" - "Thank You" - "Didn't I say that already?" - Real great stuff the WWE writers got going there... When asked who would leave Sheffield the ECW Champion, Yoshi Tatsu expressed Christian's tenacity in the ring would play a major factor... Then Abraham Washington took it old school, 11 years, when he recited the ever famous line, "Don't nobody understand the words that are comin' out of your mouth." That's right, Abraham Washington and Yoshi Tatsu had a Rush Hour moment, the polite Asian and the loud mouth, funny black man. The segment didn't go anywhere, didn't reveal any new challenges for Tatsu... it was a bust.

First Match: Paul Burchill vs. Goldust. Last week it was scheduled that Burchill and Hurricane would have the Mask vs. Career match in Sheffield, England; so what happened? It's unclear what exactly did go down, but best guess is that WWE didn't want to complete shatter the English moral by having Burchill possibly leaving ECW. However, after comparing the crowd reactions between Burchill and Goldust, I would have to conclude that the English people could have cared less if Burchill's dreams were shattered, as they were by "The Bizarre One," Goldust. It was insatiable how much the crowd rallied behind the California, American native. Yet, Burchill seemed to have the brute advantage, until The Hurricane appeared in the arena. With Hurricane running around the ring, it didn't take long for Goldust to capitalize on the distraction with The Final Cut. Despite winning the match, all the attention was focused on Hurricane smiling over Burchill's loss.

WWE Superstars Match Revealed: Shelton Benjamin vs. Zack Ryder. Backstage, Ryder confesses to Rosa Mendes that he likes her and invites her to sit ring side during his matches. Then we see a segment of Ryder and Rosa holding hands and skipping... This is the second time that we, the viewers, see what's going on inside the head of Zack Ryder. It's off putting to say the least to have mental visuals of another person's thoughts. I understand that Ryder's persona is from the 80's, but damn it, this is pro-wrestling! not 16 candles.

Second Match: Vance Archer vs. Jason Blackwell. Once again, Archer proves dominate in his match. But is this really the way to show the WWE Universe of what he is capable of? I for one am annoyed at these lousy exhibition matches. It doesn't do anything for the superstar to showcase four moves and call it a night. Archer tossed Blackwell around with a few slam variations and ended it with his finisher The Bull's Eye.

Main Event: (C) Christian vs. William Regal (ECW Title Match). It was a match that took up the better part of an hour, possibly the most intensified rivalry to go down in recent ECW history. The challenger, William Regal, has struck gold before in England; yet would the Blackpool native have the hometown advantage in Sheffield, and capture the long awaited ECW Title? Regal's fellow Englishmen and Christian's peeps escalated to a split decision in the crowds, chanting for both superstars. It was a grueling match and well worth watching, but the ending was literally unbelievable. Regal missed the knee trembler and locked in the Regal Stretch, how was Christian able to break free? The Regal Stretch forces your opponent to the ground, pinching the arms together making it damn near impossible to move, let alone have the arm strength to punch the attacker. I thought the third time would be the charm, but Regal failed once again in his quest for World Championship Gold. Or has he? Prior to the match, ECW GM Tiffany wished Regal luck and proposed, win or lose, that they should start a clean slate. Is Tiffany turning to the dark side, or is she seriously trying to make everyone to get along?

Side Note: Tiffany's New Entrance Theme: "Insatiable" by Jim Johnston

WWE Superstars Results: Swaggin' Streak; Finlay Fails to Crack the Code

RAW Match: Santino Marella vs. Chavo Guerrero. The battle of the jobbers, to see who is the biggest jobber! Santino has become a real crowd favorite; before he was a bonafide heel, but with the RAW celebrity guest hosts, he has warmed up to the WWE Universe. King made a great point, Chavo is a great wrestler but his feud with Hornswoggle has ruined him. But what I've heard, Chavo is content with his position in the WWE, seeing as he is on RAW, being used every week, and gets to interact with all the guest hosts... Plus, Chavo is not in any high risk matches, so the Mexican Warrior has it made in the WWE. Santino Marella picked up with win with a small package roll up.

RAW Match 2: Jack Swagger vs. Primo Colon. This is a rematch from last week's WWE Superstars, pitting Swagger against Primo yet again. And it ended the same way, Primo attempts a Hurricanrana, which gets countered into the Gut-Wrench Powerbomb. Swagger is going 4-0 and living up to his promise to remain undefeated in singles competition. The first two were on RAW against Evan Bourne and MVP, and the last two against Primo on WWE Superstars. Maybe a WWE Title match in his future?

ECW Match: Paul Burchill vs. Tyler Reks. The match was boring as sin; honestly, why is ECW presenting this to the WWE Universe? I don't think that it's sending a positive message to the WGN America audience that ECW is the show to watch. Despite being a part of the June 30th ECW Superstar Initiative, Tyler Reks has scarcely been seen on ECW and there is a reason, he's boring. Reks hails from Laguna Beach, California with generic Surfer music and his wrestling style is plain. Burchill, on the other hand, is stuck in a feud with The Hurricane, which will come to an end this Tuesday on ECW, and has a really bad finisher: The Dangerous Buster, which is a mere Vertical Suplex pin combo. Burchill wins with said-so finisher.

SmackDown Match: Chris Jericho vs. Finlay. From Bragging Rights to Bragging Brawl, these two put up a decent main event match. What I appreciated from the match, was Striker and Grisham's recognition of Finlay's other accomplishments outside the WWE. And why? First off, because Finlay only has a meager U.S. Title run back in 2006; and, since his other title reigns were in England, this sets up for where RAW, ECW, and SmackDown will take place this upcoming week. Chris Jericho, of course, is the complete package, multi-time World Champion, first Undisputed World Champion, only 9-time Intercontinental Champion, and currently one-half of the Unified Tag Team Champions. He is literally one of the best, which is why I feel, if Edge doesn't come through for WrestleMania, Jericho should go at it for Taker's Streak. Chris Jericho won the match with the Codebreaker.

ECW Blames Tiffany; Hurricane Accepts Burchill's Offer

After last week's assault, Christian has had it with William Regal and wanted him in the ring, one-on-one. But instead of Regal, Christian was greeted by the presence of ECW GM, Tiffany, who holds herself responsible because she has refused Regal's requests for an ECW title shot. And despite her pleas not to give in, Christian was ready to give Regal exactly what he wanted in order to get him into the ring. William Regal accepted the title match, but under his terms that the match takes place next week when ECW is in England. Then Tiffany made it official under the condition that Kozlov and Jackson be banned from ring side.

Next week in England, Christian defends the ECW Title against William Regal.

Tiffany has stopped being the adorable GM and has become really incompetent. If she knew how to run her roster then maybe she wouldn't be disrespected every week by the Ruthless Round Table. It’s her fault Regal keeps attacking Christian and everyone else in the title hunt.

First Match: William Regal vs. Goldust. This match is considered a break for Goldust from having his taint handed to him by Kozlov and Jackson every week. Regal won with the Knee Trembler.

Second Match: Shelton Benjamin vs. Zack Ryder. Backstage, as he was gelling his hair, Ryder met ECW's newest Diva, Rosa Mendes. She started going off on how much she loves being on ECW, while Ryder became smitten with the Spanish Import. And, as luck would have it, she was the special ring announcer for his match against The Gold Standard. Except that it was more like bad luck as the distraction from Rosa applying lip gloss cost Ryder the match. Shelton connected with Pay Dirt and is set back on course to a brighter future in ECW.

Promo: The Hurricane listens to Paul Burchill's proposal. The Emerald Skywalker, penned by Josh Matthews, entered the ring with his Hurri-Cane, incase this was a setup. Paul proposed one final match to end the feud once and for all: If Paul wins, Hurricane must unmask; but, if Hurricane wins, both Paul and Katie Lee must leave ECW. Is it really a punishment? It’s pretty much a win-win scenario for the Burchills, either they unmask their foe, or they move up to either SmackDown or RAW. It was idiotic for Hurricane to accept, but that's what heroes do, accept all challenges.

Third Match: Vance Archer vs. Logan Jones. ECW’s newest acquisition is a former TNA star, and a 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion. Lance Hoyt signed a deal with WWE in April of this year; training in FCW, he made his ECW debut last night against a local jobber. Mainly an exhibition match, Archer finishes with a Snap Reverse DDT.

Main Event: Christian and Yoshi Tatsu vs. Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov. The match played more like a handicap match, as Yoshi fought with both members of the opposing side. Christian tagged in to handle Kozlov and Tatsu took out Jackson on the outside. Christian won the match with the Killswitch and then Regal arrived to take out Christian. The Ruthless Round Table destroyed the ECW Champion, is this a sign for things to come?

Chris Jericho Visits ECW; Yoshi Tatsu Declared #1 Contender

Last Night's ECW became, for one night only, the best in the world at what it does with the arrival of Chris Jericho. His mission, to strengthen his SmackDown team with the best that ECW had to offer.

However, his meeting with GM Tiffany did not go as planned, as she refused to lend her roster over to the aid of SmackDown. If Tiffany did her homework, she would know that if it were not for the help of SmackDown - ECW would not be on the air right now. In 2007 we had what was known as the SmackDown-ECW Talent Exchange, where members of each roster would appear on the other show to boost ratings. And now Tiffany denies the captain of SmackDown, when RAW never bothered to help in the past, from handpicking the best in the land of Extreme?

The first match was a #1 contender's match for the ECW Championship: Zack Ryder vs. Yoshi Tatsu. In recent weeks, Tatsu has been proving himself in the Land of Extreme, and Christian feels that no one is more deserving than Yoshi Tatsu. Ryder has also proven to take Christian to the extreme limits of their abilities - but once you have a shot, it is time to move on. Yoshi Tatsu became the #1 Contender by a combination of an enziguri and a elbow drop-spring board. Aside from Evan Bourne in 2008, Yoshi Tatsu is possibly the youngest, most undeserving superstar to get an ECW Title shot. Veterans who have been in the business for years and will possibly never get a real World Title, deserve a shot at the ECW title. Even Zack Ryder first appeared on ECW as part of the tag team, The Major Brothers. Ryder has become a WWE Tag Team Champion last year and has now undergone a complete gimmick change and honed his wrestling skills. William Regal or Ryder should be contending for the title; but I guess its not enough for ECW.

Next match: Sheamus vs. a local jobber. Sheamus attacked ruthlessly with all the intend on destroying his opponent. Several times during the match, Sheamus pulled away from the cover in order to inflict more damage. It wasn't until Shelton Benjamin made his was to the ring did the real fight begin. These two have a lot of heat towards one another, and a definitive match between these two would prove to be a classic.

The following: Paul Burchill w/ Katie Lee calling out to unmask The Hurricane. It was pretty obvious that Hurricane would send out a double to mess with the Burchills. Paul's promo is really bad; and its not because he's British, cause William Regal cuts great promos. For being the first British OVW Champion, I'd expected better. When Hurricane came out from behind, he started wielding his Hurri-Cane - yes, a metal cane. As the entrance theme states: Watch Out, Cause There's a Hurricane Coming Through.

And the Main Event: ECW Champiom, Christian vs. One-Half of the Unified Tag Team Champions, Chris Jericho. Because of Jericho's continued defiance of the ECW GM, he was placed in this match against the best that ECW had to offer. During his pursuit of making the elite SmackDown team, he looked to William Regal's Ruthless Round table. An interesting exchange of pleasantry's between Regal and Jericho - complimenting one another's suits. This moment was inspired by Barney Stintson, what up! Ergo, Jericho left empty handed. The match between Christian and Jericho was instantly classic, as these two former tag team partners, who have not met inside the squared circle in over 6 years, broke out in a Canadian Brawl. And something that has always bothered me is that both superstars utilize the same lower rope choking maneuver. You know that move, when the opponent falls neck first into the bottom rope and the attacker jumps on the back and uses the top rope as leverage. Well, both superstars used it on the other in this match. They seriously need to come up with a name for that move, because it's too much to have to explain this every time. Christian even broke out of the Walls of Jericho and avoided 2 Lionsaults. It was a quick Killswitch that was engaged for the win. In reality, Jericho had to lose, because what would that say for ECW if the champion can't even defend the pride of the brand?

Final Assessment: RAW couldn't deliver on a Michaels-Jericho match, so they assume that a Christian-Jericho would suffice? Well it didn't, but it was a nice treat.

Next week, Christian defends the title against Yoshi Tatsu.

Zack Ryder Rebukes Regal; The Hurricane Fades; Sheamus Reveals All

Last night's ECW further proved that ECW will not be a part of yet another pay-per-view. WWE' Bragging Rights is to promote the SmackDown vs RAW 2010, where the best of SmackDown and RAW collide in an epic tag team match by night's end, but ECW is still featured in the game. However, its not reassuring that the developers did not add Zack Ryder to the game. It also proves that ECW is not of the same caliber as either RAW or SmackDown.

The night started off with Ezekiel Jackson, accompanied by Vladimir Kozlov, against "The Bazaar One" Goldust. Jackson is impressive by size alone, not by skill. The "Juggernaut of Destruction," as Josh Matthews has named him, only has so many moves that he keeps repeated. And if you've noticed, both Kozlov and Jackson had to be weakened so as the other members of ECW to have a fighting chance. Goldust at times seemed like he could pull it off, but in the end he fell to the Ura-nage followed by and Iron Curtain for added punishment. When will these two improve their ring work? As a tag team they are not impressive in the least.

Following match: The Hurricane vs Paul Burchill. Now, The Hurricane has been absent from ECW for several weeks, and one would assume that he came back to win another match... But Burchill took down The Green Wonder with a vertical suplex... Call it a facebuster if you want, but it was a vertical suplex. What ever happened to his other move? He had a crazy finisher where he would elevate the person's face over the matt, and then force it down with the bottom of his boot. However something like that takes to much time to set up. But a vertical suplex? Really???

Sheamus came out to make an announcement and explaining what he hopes to get out of this feud. Shelton Benjamin is no doubt a pure athlete, a future champion, but he's been in the WWE for how long and he hasn't done much except win minor titles. So if a guy like Shelton can be seen as great without accomplishing much, then by the end of it all, Shelton will prove to be a stepping stone for his future. The Age of the Celtic Warrior will soon be among us.

Final match: ECW Champion, Christian and Yoshi Tatsu vs. William Regal and Zack Ryder. Prior to the match, Ryder confronted Regal for attacking him last week, and looked to set him straight since his buddies weren't around. But Kozlov and Jackson were there, granting Ryder's complete cooperation. Christian sees Yoshi as a future challenger to his title, and a viable asset to ECW. Tatsu once again proved that he has what it takes to be in the WWE, but it was the assist from Ryder that allowed Christian to lock in the Killswitch for the win. Ryder getting back at Regal for not only having Kozlov beat him up, but for intimidating him before the match. Ryder answers to no one, and no one should know that fact more than William Regal.

Ring Announcer Lauren Mayhew is doing better, but she's still not there yet.

Rosa Mendes is officially a member of the ECW roster.

GM Tiffany Injured; ECW TItle Not Defended at Hell in the Cell?

ECW opened with William Regal addressing the audience that the ECW GM Tiffany was involved in a car accident, and the doctors do say that she will make a full recovery, she is at home nursing her injuries. And because of Regal's past experience as RAW's GM, the WWE Board of Directors has made him the interim GM of ECW.

But just to assure everyone, Tiffany did NOT get into a car accident. According to her twitter account, Tiffany appeared in FCW's live TV Taping the thursday before ECW - You just might catch me in action ;)

Well, indeed she did get some wrestling action as she injured herself in the match. She fractured her humerus bone. WWE Creative team will work in the fracture as a result of the "car accident."

Now that we have that out of the way, let's take a look at William Regal's awesome GM skills: Changing the main event match between Ryder and Christian to a 4-on-1 Handicap Match including The Ruthless Roundtable. That would have been a match that I would like to have seen... however, the Board of Directors were not pleased and instead changed the main event match once again to include Yoshi Tatsu, Goldust, and Tommy Dreamer.

Never did the Board of Directors once interfered when Vickie Guerrero did any of her crazy calls: Banning the Undertaker from the WWE, Granting her then-husband Edge unlimited opportunities to the World Title, and unbelievable immunity from contesting on regular tv. But no, let's stop Regal from beating the pulp out of Christian.

ECW consisted of two matches and a segment of the Abraham Washington Show.

Now, The Abraham Washington Show featured a new guest, John Morrison? What is Morrison doing back on ECW? Anyway, he was sporting his new t-shirt available on WWEShop.com and was actually pleased with the Abraham Washington Show - which is a first, because no one ever likes to be on it or hear Abe's jokes. Then the weakest surprise guest was Dolph Ziggler. He sat down on the couch and starred at Morrison but could not get a word in edge-wise. The segment thus ended with Ziggler left alone. - No respect for "Perfection."

The first match was "The Gold Standard" Shelton Benjamin who took on Paul Burchill. Prior to the match, as Shelton walked down the ramp, he was attacked by Sheamus. He badly banged up Shelton's arm and it didn't seem possible for Benjamin to agree to face Burchill. Now, Burchill has been on a losing streak as of late, losing to the likes of The Hurricane and Tatsu, you would finally think that he could beat a wounded man, right? Shelton proved his tenacity in the ring, willing himself to victory. Shelton is the best pure athlete in the the Land of Extreme and his face change is inevitable.

The final match was an 8 man tag team match: ECW Champion Christian, Tommy Dreamer, Goldust, and Yoshi Tatsu vs. Zack Ryder and The Ruthless Roundtable. Before the match, Christian had a pep talk with his team, but most importantly it's what he said to Yoshi Tatsu, "you represent the new blood here on ECW, we're all excited about your future but we need you to step it up tonight." Not only did Tatsu step it up, he won his team the match by pinning William Regal with a Roundhouse Kick.

So far, out of the four new superstars that Tiffany signed over to ECW: Yoshi Tatsu and Sheamus have bright futures in the WWE.

The Board of Directors restricted Regal from creating any matches that would effect the ECW Championship, including #1 Contender matches. As of right now, there is no ECW Title match set for this Sunday's Hell in a Cell ppv. This would mark the first WWE ppv not featuring an ECW match since WWE decided to make their ppvs tri-branded.

In all honesty, there is no point in having one ECW match at the ppv, what's the point of dragging Matt Striker and Josh Matthews to commentate on one single match, especially if that match turns out to be 8 seconds like SummerSlam?

Plus, Zack Ryder became the #1 Contender and then had one of the best ECW title matches the following week. From not winning the title, it now leaves Christian without an opponent. And GM Tiffany did ban Regal from having another ECW Title shot, so who's next?

If ECW really wanted a match for the Hell in a Cell ppv, they should have Shelton Benjamin finally face off against Sheamus. But that's just me.

Matt Striker's Downward Commentary; Angela Fong on ECW; Shelton's New Feud

A Hurricane came through Rockford, and no... not a natural one - but a supernatural by the name of The Hurricane!

The Hurricane's feud with Paul Burchill continues - but what stood out was Matt Striker's commentary.

A former ECW superstar, Matt Striker took over as Color Commentator sometime during early 2008. His commentating with Todd Grisham (now on Smackdown) garnered him the Best Announce Team 2008 Slammy Award. Yet, ever since teaming with Josh Matthews, his commentating seems less than desirable.

At the start of the match, Striker suggested a possible twin scenario. Seeing as RAW has the Bella Twins, it wouldn't be so far fetched for Gregory Helms to have a twin in The Hurricane.

Sure, I'll bite, seeing as Striker is trying to protect his identity, but what happened next.... ugh!

If Striker is going to make comic book references, then at least make them closer to the superhero that The Hurricane emulates - the Green Lantern, not Superman. Striker called Hurricane, the Son of Jor-El.

Striker also goes on to say: Meanwhile, Back in the Hall of Justice. - What is Striker spewing out? We get it, he likes comic books - But don't lose sight of the match!

Hurricane almost gets the victory with a Hurricane-Rana, but Burchill trying to use his sister Katie-Lee as a distraction proved to be his downfall and went straight into The Eye of the Hurricane!

This week's ECW marks the newest addition to the Extreme Brand - Savannah. Her real name is Angela Fong and she is currently wrestling in WWE's developmental territory in FCW.

Her first job as backstage interviewer was to interview Tommy Dreamer and Christian on their tag team match later on in the program. - But what about Courtney Taylor? Why are there TWO Back Stage Interviewers on ECW?

Ever since returning to ECW, Shelton Benjamin has shocked people by who he faces. At first it was against Yoshi Tatsu - no big deal since Shelton's a heel. But then he entered a feud with Zack Ryder.

Was Shelton turning face? Shelton did defeat Ryder twice in their encounters - but this week he teamed up with The Celtic Warrior Sheamus against Goldust and Yoshi Tatsu.

I'd figured as much that the feud between Ryder and Benjamin was a simple clash of egos.

Shelton goes for a blind tag and steels a victory by pinning Sheamus' enemy, The Weird One Goldust.

You would think that Sheamus would be happy with the win? Well... he wasn't.

He lands a punch against the side of Benjamin's face and a fight breaks out.

Leaving us to understand that Shelton Benjamin will start feuding with Sheamus and that it's quite possible that Benjamin is indeed turning heel.

The Rise of The Hurricane and The Distinguished Gentleman

For weeks on ECW, mysterious accidents have occurred backstage. But a force quick and powerful as a hurricane has always saved the day.

The Hurricane, the green and black clad superhero, has reemerged – this time in the Land of Extreme!

Some are zeroing down on the identity – but no one more than “The Ripper” Paul Burchill.

Gregory Helms, since drafted to ECW, has acted as an interviewer to the superstars – however, Burchill suspects that Helms and Hurricane are one in the same.

Prior to his match with Yoshi Tatsu, Burchill clocked Helms right in the face in the middle of the interview segment.

Burchill may have dominated the interview and his match, but it was the Hurricane who made his emphatic statement through a top turnbuckle cross body and his heroic stance that strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies.

Hurricane stands as a beacon of hope; he is the symbol that ECW needed.

But what people love more than to watch their hero succeed, is to watch their hero fall, fail, die trying.

Now that Hurricane is fighting in the ring – what will happen the next time when another backstage incident occurs? And how quick will the people turn on the green vigilante?

One week from defending the ECW Championship in an extreme rules match, Christian learns of his next opponent - William Regal.

William Regal is not one to take lightly, since he does hold a considerable amount of titles. Regal is a 4-time World Tag Team Champion, 5-time Hardcore Champion, 4-time European Champion, 2-time Intercontinental Champion, and the 2008 King of the Ring winner.

However, Regal's most notable accomplishment was as the General Manager of RAW. Regal said on ECW that the English are known to be barbaric - well... Regal's reign of terror on Monday Nights was barbaric.

He went on this crusade of getting the RAW audience to respect him - but of course all you would here was boos. He would even ask to have the arena lights shut off for short periods of time to demand respect. But tactics like that did not work for the RAW audience. It was actually during a WWE Championship match on RAW where Regal turned off the lights for a brief moment - thus ending the match prematurely - but not without a hellacious RKO on the Champion, Triple H. Then the time when Orton invoked his rematch clause against Triple H on RAW - William Regal, still trying to get respect from the fans, felt that the WWE Universe did not deserve to see a Championship Match and had the bout taken off the air.

William Regal is barbaric and - if he is willing to force the WWE Video Room to pull RAW off the air prematurely, especially during a WWE Championship Match - should be feared.

Yet, Regal promised to show Christian why he is so barbaric by destroying Tommy Dreamer in the main event on ECW. What he showed Christian is his sloppiness in the ring. Regal appears to be out of practice - especially since his last title reign was lost in a lame trilogy feud with CM Punk.

If Regal intends on capturing the ECW Championship, he's going to have to do better than that. Possibly improve on the Regal Stretch - a submission move that resembles the STF - but the opponents arm is placed behind his back.

Whatever the case may be - Christian finally has a new opponent and would be great if the feud lasts longer than one title match. Stay tuned on ECW, as things in the Land of Extreme heats up between the ECW Champion and The Distinguished Gentleman.

Tyler Reks in-ring debut; Paul Burchill Jobs; Zack Ryder Untouched

This week on ECW, the WWE Universe witnessed the in-ring debut of Tyler Reks.

Reigning from Laguna Beach, California, Tyler Reks’ surfing background should keep him balanced in the ring; thus, giving him the upper hand against his opponents.

On the night Tiffany reinstated the Superstar Initiative, Reks and Zack Ryder butted heads prior to their match on WWE Superstars. The dispute was a silly one – to figure out who was the real surfer dude – Ryder living in Long Island NY makes this a war between the west and the east coasts. However, after two matches against the WOO WOO WOO guy – Tyler has come up short.

This week Tyler found himself facing “The Ripper” Paul Burchill. Knowing a thing or two about the open seas, former pirate Paul Burchill overpowered the Sol Cal Dude in constricting chinlocks.

Tyler, motivated by the live energy of the crowd, collected enough strength to break out of the hold, lifting The Ripper to new heights in a Back Body Drop. The momentum shifting to Tyler – he took to the air with a top rope missal drop kick.
It is safe to say that Reks picked up the win in his first in-brand match since joining the roster.

Yet, this is Burchill’s second straight loss against the new members of ECW – Are they just too skilled, or has he been demoted to jobbing?

Whatever the case, maybe a match up against Abraham Washington will boost moral – But a match against Sheamus is more likely to occur.

Yet, it looks like we may have to wait for the European encounter, since Burchill’s post match interview reveals that his next match will be against Goldust.

The Ripper vs. the Freak! Next week on ECW!

It is a surprise that Tyler can pick up a win against Burchill but not against Ryder. Is Ryder just too much Dude for Reks to handle?

Its not like Ryder has had an impressive career – This is his third gimmick since coming to the WWE.
1. One of the Major Brothers
2. Member of Edge’s Familia (Edge Look-a-like/Lackey)
3. The WOO WOO WOO Guy

Also as THAT guy, Ryder cannot seem to decide whether to wear pants or trunks, so he wears half and half.

And the only title Ryder ever won was the WWE Tag Team Belts with Curt Hawkins, winning them in a Fatal Fourway at the Great American Bash 2008, but lost them in their first title defense against the Colons.

WWE is just desperately trying to save their investment, even though they gave up on Hawkins.

Whatever the spell that Ryder has over Reks, one thing is certain – If Reks doesn’t pick up more wins, we may be saying goodbye to the Surfer Dude, You Know It!!!

Yoshi Tatsu Screws Up; Sheamus Dominates ECW

It’s been two weeks since ECW GM Tiffany reinstated the superstar initiative, and since then, the Land of Extreme has witnessed some fresh talent.

Despite losing his rematch to Shelton Benjamin, Yoshi Tatsu has quickly become a fan favorite.

This week, Yoshi went one-on-one with “The Ripper” Paul Burchill with his seductive sister “The Scarlet Witch” Katie Lee Burchill at ringside.

As the match picked up Tatsu failed an attempted high aerial assault by slipping off the top rope.

Burchill was quick to go for the cover – luckily Tatsu was close to the ropes or else Tatsu would have suffered his second loss.

Tatsu may have the skill set to go far in ECW, but his fast paced ring work can lead to more loses than victories.

In other ECW news, Tyler Rex will make his first appearance on ECW next week – on the same night that we will be forced to listen to Abraham Washington, yet again. Washington is supposedly a pro-wrestler having jobbed for FCW, but was repackaged as a talk show personality.

I would have more respect for Washington if he actually wrestled; however, having him wrestle would be like Former ECW GM Armando Estrada’s wrestling career – short lived!

Taking over Finlay’s place as ECW’s resident Irishman, Sheamus is on a conquest to claim ECW as his own.

He’s made two appearances in the past three weeks – winning both against local jobbers with a formidable side slam backbreaker.

Known as the Celtic Warrior – I foresee Sheamus O’Shaunessy going far in ECW.