ECW Extreme Extracts 07.28.09

Hi everyone, and welcome to ECW Extreme Extracts! Extreme Extracts is not a full on recap column of ECW. Instead I highlight some of the angles and storylines and even speculate from time to time where they might be heading. Don’t forget, in addition to the comment section below you can email me as well with any questions/comments and you’ll see your letter reprinted on the Earth Wide Intertubes.
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Let’s chat about tonight’s episode of ECW…

Show results:
• Match One: Tyler Reks def. Paul Burchill
• Match Two: Kozlov def. jobber
• Match Three: Sheamus def. Goldust
• Match Four: Christian def. Zach Ryder

The main theme of the show:

With the Silver and Black around his waist for the second time, Christian is once again unequivocally THE MAN on ECW. For those of you who were doubters and naysayers and of the opinion that Christian’s talents were being wasted on WWE’s “C-show” I hope you enjoy eating crow because this reign will showcase exactly why it is so valuable to have someone of his caliber as the anchor on ECW. Ever since Christian came back to WWE he has had solid match after solid match after solid match and tonight was no exception. For any of the young superstars on ECW that are looking to make a name for themselves a match with Captain Charisma will almost certainly help raise your profile. I mean I could go on and on about how Christian is super skilled, legitimate, etc but I don’t have to. The proof is in the pudding and with the ECW title belt on Christian the WWE has an opportunity to make multiple stars on ECW. It’s not just the young guys either, you put Christian in competitive matches with vets like Dreamer and Regal and it helps to raise their stock so that when a young guys beats one of them it will also mean something. With the way that ECW is booked and with a little help from the excellent commentary team of Josh Matthews and Matt Striker, Christian’s feuds can either be made personal or just about the title and be equally as effective. I have a feeling that next week’s Extreme Rules title rematch will go a long way in showing just how much the title means to Christian, a theme that he touched on during his pre-match promo tonight and, much like they did with Dreamer, creative can once again drive home the point that the title of ECW Champion is the most important motivating force for each and every superstar on ECW. With Dreamer that was an easy point to make as he was the “heart and soul” of ECW and the last remnant of the old ECW. But with Christian the creative team can expand on that theme by building on Christian’s excellence in the ring and on the mic. I feel that they started heading in that direction tonight when Christian basically said that his second time with the belt is better than the first because sometimes you don’t realize what you have until it is gone and that desire to regain what was once lost made his triumph that much sweeter. Everyone can relate to that and eventually when someone unseats a man in Christian who truly appreciates what he has, that person will be an instant and legitimate star, which is what ECW is all about.

The minor theme:

In tonight’s match with Christian, we all caught a glimpse of the superstar that Zach Ryder can eventually become. Ryder has really shown a lot of promise since coming to ECW and debuting his new look & persona but tonight was the night that people in the future can point to as the moment in which he began his ascendance. While matching Christian hold for hold in a hard fought match would have been enough, Ryder also had the benefit of Matthews and (especially) Striker singing his praises in a way that seemed very natural and organic, as if we were all seeing Zach again for the very first time. The length of the match let us see that Ryder has a very large and varied offensive repertoire and that he can transition seamlessly into multiple moves and holds. His style is very fluid and being in the ring with a talent like Christian made it easy for Ryder to show it off. And to put it quite simply, he made Christian have to work extremely hard to pick up the win. Early in the match Striker made the point that Christian and Ryder were very similar in terms of size, strength, and speed and that it was only Christian’s veteran savvy that separated the two. That point proved very salient as it was Christian’s experience that ultimately allowed him to prevail but still allowed Ryder to come out of this match looking like a million bucks. Ryder seems to be following in the footsteps of guys like Punk, MORRISON, and Swagger as young stars that proved themselves on ECW and were able to move on the Raw and Smackdown as viable and legitimate talents. Mark my words, Zach Ryder will be the next breakout star of this brand.

Other quick thoughts from the show:

* So, looks like Burchill is sporting a William Regal haircut. He also had a decent match with Tyler Reks. But since we got to see Paul, we also got to see Katie and you know what that means…

Oh doctor!

* Speaking of Reks, he very nearly botched his springboard finisher. He needs to tighten that up or find a new finisher. Otherwise he wrestled a solid, yet unspectacular match. I’m still on the fence with this guy.

* Speaking of finishers, how weird is it that Big Zeke and Sheamus have almost the exact same finisher? Plus Reks and Yoshi both have finishers where they springboard off the ropes (unless they have decided to make Yoshi’s finisher that kick after he botched his springboard attempt against Burchill a couple weeks back.) Let’s mix it up people!

*I’m glad they are touching on Helms’ dual identity every week but they need to go somewhere with it pretty quickly otherwise no one will care.

*So Shelton said he was going to show some Tiffany something entertaining. I hope for the best but I’m expecting the worst.

* Sheamus looked pretty decent tonight in his match with Goldust and I can tell that there is definitely something there but I’m not sure what it is exactly.

* Definitely an improvement this week over last week. This is the kind of ECW that I love to see.

Reader email:
No email this week but I’d be willing to bet that after tonight’s show I will get a gem or two from one of my loyal readers!

* That’s it for the Extract this week. Any comments can be made below. And if you have an opinion on the show that you’d like me to print in next week’s column, email me at andy(dot)critchell(at)gmail(dot)com. I’m also posting a blog here on 411 that you can check out here. Also, make sure to check me out on the UBS Evening Movie News Report over on the Movie Zone where I post the Interactive Babe Photo News Brief each and every week.

Have a great week!