ECW 11/21
ECW on Tuesday night was back at it live with four matches, three of which were to highlight the stars and the main event became another solid match between Hardcore Holly and RVD. The stip was if RVD lost he would lose his place in the title 6-man at the PPV to Holly, so you knew that RVD would win, but it wasn't easy. It's amazing that in two matches between Holly and RVD on ECW TV they may be the best two televised matches that the brand has had since coming back. Hopefully the powers that be will see the chemistry that these two have, and continue to have them go at it.
The Hardy's first tag match together in four years was the other highlight of the show, and while it seemed a little forced, the two together can still make things happen. I personally still think that the push that Jeff Hardy has gotten and that he has taken advantage of it has been one of the most positive things on WWE TV in 2006. At first it looked totally wasted, but the matches with him and Nitro have been outstanding, and the match with him and Carlito at Taboo Tuesday was also a very good match. Needless to say, Matt and Jeff easily beat the FBI.
Bobby Lashley beat Matt Striker in the opener, which was nothing more than another match to highlight Lashley's power and get him over going into the PPV main event in a few weeks. I still have my long term doubts about Lashley in ECW, but for now I think that he is going to be successful in the short term. Down the road, I think he could get stuck being just another huge guy that with little mic skills gets pushed aside.
C.M. Punk also got a squash win over Kevin Thorn, the third squash of the night. The ongoing storyline with Punk and Mike Knox will continue, as Knox was watching from the entrance area. I don't know why this will continue, as Punk has beaten Knox at every turn.
A promo with Big Show about the elimination chamber main event was really the only other thing on the show, and in the end of it Lashley came out and hit Show with the belt, possibly setting up a program between the two once we get past the PPV.
That was about it for the one hour show. As stated here before, the PPV is really going to make it or break it for this company, and poor numbers may just signal the end of this brand as a whole. That is why they are trying to pull out all the stops with the elimination chamber, and you can bet that there will be some other SmackDown or RAW guys involved in this PPV before its all said and done. They need to push the last two TV's to make this PPV one that people really want to see, like the last two One Night Stand's.
