The New Superstar Initiative was bearing some fruit for ECW with Evan Bourne taking the fans by storm and the young guns providing a refreshing mix to the usually sorry matches this brand displayed on a regular basis. It finally looked like ECW had found its new identity and would be able to justify its existence. But we went right back to the poor booking that plagued ECW since the rebirth of this legendary brand. This was well established tonight by the lame main event of John Morrison versus his partner the Miz. The winner would then get to take on the undefeated Ricky Ortiz right after the match.
This all started with both the Miz and Morrison criticizing the New Superstar Initiative and GM Teddy Long taking exception with this. Long would plan the match in order to humble the arrogance of these two but it failed to deliver. The action was good as to be expected from these two, but a double count out. Give me a break, there was no need for this other than they were running out of time. There was nothing to be gained or lost by having one of the Dirt Sheet hosts getting a win. Plus it would have given Oritz a good challenge in order to showcase his talents. So far Ortiz really hasn’t taken on anybody of significance to strut his stuff. This was nothing but a bunch of hype that led to nothing but an empty feeling for the viewers.
We also see Finlay continue to win only through the use of his shillelagh. He has been in this business to long to be degraded in this manner. I understand the need to use this on opponents that outmatch him due to size of unfair advantage, but needing this to beat Bam Neely is a joke. First I would liked to have seen more out of Neely. Much like Ortiz , Neely hasn’t done much to impress and a nice match against a solid veteran like Finlay would have helped his stock. But instead we get more silly antics involving Hornswoggle and a cheap win by Finlay.
Perhaps the best match of the night was the appearance of the Smack Down Divas Michelle McCool and Maryse. The two rematched in a non title bout from last week. Again they put on a great athletic display with Maryse gettign the win this time. This rivalry is really building some steam and should last for awhile. Both ladies have the looks and great moves in the ring to pull off some great matches. I was calling for McCool to rekindle her program with Natalia, but every time I see Maryse that thought fades quicker and quicker.
We had another terrible Mike Knox match has he made quick work of Chase Stevens. The match was unimpressive but the aftermath was even worse. After Knox got the win Jack Swagger entered the ring to use his finishing move on the unconscious Stevens. This would be followed by Tommy Dreamer coming to Stevens aid, but getting double teamed by Knox and Swagger. All I can say on this one is why? There seems to be no reason for any body getting involved other than to set up a lame match next week between all of these guys.
