HeadLocker — Jay Shannon
The ECW (4/14) Extreme Examination
Our resident philosopher, Jay Shannon, takes a look at the post-Draft edition of ECW. A new face arrived on the scene and another person was elimination from the Chase.

John Morrison came out for his Slow-Mo Intro. The “Bromance” between Miz and Morrison is over as Miz was Drafted to Raw..Morrison’s interference during Miz’s match against Kofi Kingston caused a DQ win for Kofi. Miz attacked his former partner, after the match. Evan Bourne made his arrival to the ring as Striker made fun of Josh Matthews’ nosebleed from Monday night.

John Morrison d Evan Bourne

The Finish

Morrison took advantage of the majority of the bout. Morrison uncorked more moves that I’ve ever seen him use before. Evan finally got to his feet and ran Morrison into the corner. Evan hit a Lariat that would make Stan Hansen flinch. Evan caught Morrison with a Hurancanrana, a Dropkick and a Jumping Back Kick. Evan ran Morrison tot he corner and hit a Palm Strike to stun Morrison. Evan sat Morrison on the top rope and hit a Hurancanrana off the ropes. Morison hit the Hot Shot on Evan and a Jackknife cover. Evan hit the OMG moment of the night when he followed Morrison to the ropes and Crossbody’d both of them over the ropes and to the arena floor. Both men were serious laid out. Evan rolled Morrison back into the ring and then nailed the Evan Sent to slam Morrison to the canvas. Morrison managed to kick out at two. Evan hit several hard kicks. Morrison tried for the Moonlight Drive but Evan broke free and hit the Jumping Knee Strike. Evan went up for the Shooting Star Press. Morrison hit a Jumping Enziguri. Morrison then hit a Moonlight Drive off the ropes!

Grade: A+ (Best ECW match in a long time)
Jay’s Thoughts: I just had a Ron Simmons flashback moment….Damn! That match was absolutely perfect. Both men used new and inventive moves. They employed perfect counters. I couldn’t have asked for a better match. Ok, I would have rather seen Evan win, but Morrison needed to set himself as a serious contender to the ECW title. He most certainly did that in this wrestling clinic. Evan’s performance was even above his regular fantastic outings. My highest admiration and kudos go out to perhaps the two best men in the company.

The Moscow Mauler, Vladimir Kozlov, made his debut in the Land of Extreme. I see him as the Nikita Koloff of the new generation. His victim was David Barrea.

Vladimir Kozlov d David Barrea

Kozlov hit a Big Boot and then started dissecting David in the corner with fists and kicks. David got one little bit of offense in and flew off the ropes, into the Cranial Collision. Kozlov launched David with the Fallaway Slam and hit the Al Snow Headbutt and a variation of the Chokeslam to Squash the poor kid.

Grade: B-
Jay’s Thoughts: Usually, I just write about the finish of the match. No need in this case. This bad boy was finished before it ever got started. Kozlov needed a boost to his sagging career. Maybe ECW will help with that. The ECW strap really need to switch to a face for Kozlov to have a shot. Kozlov, like Nikita Koloff, has all the skills to get the job done but just hasn’t made the kind of impact that he should have made. Koloff was in the same boat, 20 years ago. I’m hoping Kozlov doesn’t just fade away like so many before him.

Kozlov talked in a mix of Russian and English. He said he had dominated everywhere he had been and things in ECW would be no different.

Hornswoggle and Finlay warmed up backstage.

Striker and Matthews talked about the Supplemental Draft. More changes are on the way.

Paul and Katie Lea Burchill were concerned about their family being broken up. They talked with Tiffany about it. Tiffany said that they would have to wait until Wednesday to find out. Jack Swagger walked in and wanted to have a Q&A segment with him. On this week’s edition of Superstars (over on WGN), the finals of the Elimination Chase would happen. A lot of people, including my good friend, Joe, are not happy that the new show is on WGN. Some people don’t get the channel. It was a really bad move, in my opinion.

Christian arrived for the Triple Threat Match. His peeps were out in full force. Is it just me, or does Christian look like Bob, the trainer from The Biggest Loser? ECW went to break.

The Hardcore Legend, Tommy Dreamer, made his way out for the Main Event. The crowd popped huge for the Heart and Soul of ECW. Finally, Finlay and Hornswoggle made their arrival at ringside.

Finlay d Tommy Dreamer & Christian
Triple Threat Elimination Chase Match

The Finish:

Finlay tossed Dreamer out of the ring. Christian almost got the win with the Small Package. Finlay revved up the Rolling Hills Senton on Christian, who hit the floor. Tommy hit a DDT on Finlay but only got a two. Christian went for the Killswitch but Tommy blocked it and ended up getting Christian tied up in the ropes. Tommy then dropped Finlay onto the ropes where Christian was tied up. Tommy went for the School Boy but only got a two. Tommy went for the Death Valley Driver but Finlay reversed it into the Emerald Fusion/Celtic Cross to eliminate Tommy from the Elimination Chase.

Grade: A
Jay’s Thoughts: I really hate to see Tommy get eliminated. I was expecting Finlay to lose and then end up shifted in the Supplemental Draft. I can’t see them moving Tommy off ECW, especially with his storyline of pending retirement. All 3 men really looked strong in this match. I really wish the WWE would help Christian develop a new finisher. A new name doesn’t de-lame the Unprettier.

Final Grade: A
Final Thoughts: ECW continues to run hot and cold. Happily, this was a hot week. Even the Kozlov squash was enjoyable. The Morrison/Bourne battle was one of the best that ECW had put on in revamped history. The Supplemental Draft should really help ECW. At least, I think it will. I’m hoping that ECW gets some decent talent. They need it.
Peace
— Jay Shannon
TheHeadLocker@SBCGlobal.net
(4/15/2009)