WWE ECW 10/30/2007

WWE ECW 10/30/2007

I really liked WWECW. The Wrestling Observer crew didn't like it much, much like NXT 2.0 today, but it has maintained its rep as being a fun little developmental type of show. I think NXT 2.0 will also be remembered quite fondly 15 years from now. You can definitely see how this show was kind of the beginning of WWE developmental shows on TV. 

The Monster Mash battle royale is tonight. We also have The Miz and John Morrison in a #1 Contenders Match.

Elijah Burke vs Jimmy Wang Yang

Burke was pushed as a "chosen one" type of guy and like a lot of those types, he was cut early. It was a baffling cut that still doesn't make much sense. Yang was a lowcard guy and his cowboy gimmick ended up being fondly remembered.

Burke tells Yang he hates working class people like him. Burke shoulders him over early then Yang back elbows him and standing moonsaults him. Yang gets rammed into the post outside and takes a hard bump down. Burke corner stomps him then slips off the bottom rope on a knee drop.

Burke then works Yang's arm and hits a big knee to the gut. Burke then shoulder breakers him for 2. Burke goes back to work on the shoulder then Jimmy hits a leg sweep and some clotheslines. Burke comes off the top but Yang catches him with a right on target spin kick for 2.

Yang accidentally goes headfirst in the buckle then is rammed into the post. Burke then hits the Elijah Express jumping double knee to the back in the corner and wins it.

This was a fun little match. Yang's spin kick off the Burke crossbody was a total bullseye and I liked Burke working the shoulder leading to the finish. Good stuff.

Kane does a promo for the Monster Mash battle royale. Kane says facing all the monsters tonight would be a nightmare for most people, but it will be a dream come true for him since he fights monsters and demons all the time.

 

 

Nunzio is dressed up like a vampire and with kids in costumes. He said lets try to go meet some superstars then Balls Mahoney does trick or treat with them. He gives them candy and says Happy Halloween. They meet CM Punk next. He isn't in costume and Nunzio asks why he isn't dressed up. Punk says he is dressed as the ECW Champion. They then go into a room with an empty staircase. The Boogeyman is inside and scares off Nunzio. Boogey spits a worm at the kids then gives the kids handfuls of worms while eating some. This was great.

Trick or Treat Match - Extreme Rules - Nunzio vs Tommy Dreamer

We have apples in bucket, whipped cream and pumpkin pies on the steps. Dreamer is dressed up as Paul Heyman while Nunzio is still dressed up as a vampire. We see a moving rat toy near the bell. Tommy is wearing stuffing here under his shirt. The announcers argue over which famous New Yorker he could be.

Nunzio kicks him in the gut but TD isn't affected. TD then lariats him. Nunzio is pulled down by his jacket then slammed down. TD takes a baseball slide into the commentary booth then Nunzio misses a plancha on him. TD then hits him with a pumpkin. TD puts whipped cream on a pumpkin pie and nails Nunzio with iut off the apron. TD goes into the post then Nunzio throws apples at him. Nunzio then sprays whipped cream in his eye and slips outside and falls.

Dreamer dunks him in the bobbing for apples bucket then pours it all over himself. Dreamer then hits Nunzio with Heyman's old giant cell phone. Nunzio gets put in tree of woe and is hit with the bucket. TD then dropkicks the bucket into his face. TD then DDT's him and wins it. Taz says , "That's a real kick to the can" after.

This was comedy but it was very entertaining and I had a good laugh watching this one.

We see clips from divas costume battle royale. Victoria dressed up like a sumo wrestler and someone wore football gear. Kelly Kelly won it and took a glam slam from Beth Pheonix after.

#1 Contenders Match - John Morrison vs The Miz

It's 2022 now and the Miz is somehow still employed and was just recently the subject of a vasectomy. No, really, it's true. Jomo gets his slow motion entrance. The IWC did not like Miz then and I think the criticisms are still valid. Someone in WWE did like him though and he definitely got some favors backstage that others didn't. Morrison was very successful as part of MNM and was a big favorite of mine. He took on his new character and while it was interesting, I thought he had more potential as Johnny Nitro. WWE never really got him and I don't know if Morrison ever really got himself.

Jomo takes him down and gets slapped for it. Miz then trips him and kicks him in the ribs. Jomo tries to pull Miz out but is pushed hard into the rails. Jomo then stunguns him on the rail. Miz does a 2nd rope kick then lariats him in the corner. Miz hits the skull crushing finale. He goes for a knee lift but is rolled up then hits a nice lariat. Jomo then comes with a corkscrew neckbreaker and wins it.

This was short and there wasn't anything wrong with this. I thought it was fine.

CM Punk vs James Curtis

John Morrison is at the commentary booth and says he doesn't get the whole pumpkin thing. They call Curtis "Johnny Curtis". Jomo asks who he is. Punk was a big indy star and we all wondered if WWE would figure it out with him, which they eventually did. I remember Curtis having longer blonde hair and thinking his ceiling would be lower card matches.

Punk shoulders him over then hits corner spears. Curtis misses a corner charge and takes Kawada kicks. Punk then does a step up knee in the corner and bulldogs him. Punk then does a springboard lariat as Jomo calls him "CM Chump". Punk then hits the go to sleep and wins it in a quick squash.

Not much to this here. Punk did look slightly awkward against Curtis though as Curtis was much taller.

Jomo forearms him in the neck after then hits his corkscrew neckbreaker.

Monster Mash Battle Royale - Big Daddy V vs Mark Henry vs Kane vs The Great Khali

People were excited for this when it happened at the time and it still is kind of remembered today. I'm excited to see it again. It was always kind of weird for me to see V change from Viscera and I don't know if he should have been shirtless, but it was quite a look even if it was grotesque.

Everyone gangs up on Kane to start then everyone goes at it. V and Mark shoulder battle and lariat each other down. Kane goes for the chokeslam on Khali but Khali big boots him. Mark tries to torture rack Khali but V stops it. V tries for some kind of swinging slam but drops him then they pair off and hit punches.

V splashes both Mark and Khali in the corner at the same time. V misses a splash on Kane and Kane throws him over the top to eliminate him, though V had to help himself out on it. Khali hits the Khali Vice on Mark then Kane and Mark lariat Khali over to eliminate him.

Khane hits a nice running clothesline in the corner and Mark blocks a slam. Kane hits a boot to the face then goes for a top rope clothesline. Mark catches him coming down and throws him over the top.

This was short, and while I think it could have been longer, it was maybe better kept that way. I think they could have done a little more here but Khali and V looked tired enough from what they did. It wasn't a disaster and we got a fun moment or two.

Overall thoughts: A very fun Halloween episode of WWECW. Everything was entertaining and this is the campy fun that makes wrestling great. Definitely worth a watch and it flew by at 41 minutes. It's interesting to see where some of these people ended up. Punk became a big star as expected. Kane is a mayor which no one expected. Poor Big Daddy V passed away. Morrison still hasn't really figured out who he is personality wise in 2022 and hasn't changed much. The Miz may have taken the big snip, but he got to marry Maryse, he got his own TV show and he's been living the good life.