Tuesday, January 16th, 2007
Alltel Arena
Little Rock, Arkansas
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Kelly Kelly is introduced and she says that Kelly will not be dancing alone starting next week. She gives a sneak peak, but is interrupted by Matt Striker. He makes a bunch of sexist comments and then calls out CM Punk and we have a match.
Matt Striker vs. CM Punk
It's been fun to watch CM Punk get over organically despite being on the afterthought brand. Striker is getting a little too much offense for my liking here. I mean, I know they are also trying to build him up, but he had no main event potential with this gimmick. He hits a running kick to the head in the corner, but the crowd is absolutely silent for this. I didn't type much, but Striker has been dominating for at least 5 minutes of this match. Kelly Kelly gets up on the apron and flashes Striker. Punk uses a backslide and picks up the victory. Who in the world thinks that Punk needed to win this match like that? This is just bad booking. Striker's offense was methodical and dull for most of the match.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Marcus Cor Von vs. Cassidy Riley
Tazz says that he's heard a lot about this guy and then says his name wrong. He's announced as being from the Animal Kingdom. I love that a guy like Rene Dupree got weeks of vignettes, but not a word was even mentioned about Cor Von. I'm not quite sure why Tazz thinks it is Van and not Von. Cor Von looks pretty sharp here and nails him with the Pounce. He puts on a Fujiwara Arm Bar for the submission victory. Pretty impressive debut despite no hype. After the match, he grabs a mic and says that he is here to destroy and dismantle anything that's put in his path. He's getting the "What?" treatment, which is annoying.
Match Rating: 1/2*
We go back to Bobby Lashley and he has no respect for Test, saying he has no business being in the match tonight. He says that he's walking in and walking out tonight as the ECW Champion.
We get a WrestleMania Recall with Roddy Piper and Morton Downey at WrestleMania V.
Elijah Burke talks about the Elijah Experience as Sandman heads to the ring.
Sandman vs. Elijah Burke
Sandman hits Sylvester Terkay before the bell rings and then Burke attacks Sandman. Sandman comes back with a bulldog but is still in pain. Burke tries to go up top, but gets crotched. Sandman goes for a back suplex, but Burke shoves him off. Burke goes down and pins him, but struggles to grab the jeans on the pin attempt. Either way, they count to 3 and that's all. That was an ugly finish. Why wouldn't you just have a cheap shot from Terkay be the finish here?
Match Rating: 1/4*
Kevin Thorn and Ariel pretend like they have a chance at winning the Royal Rumble.
Triple Threat Match For The ECW Championship
Rob Van Dam vs. Test vs. Bobby Lashley
Lashley goes right to Test and starts brawling while RVD is in the ring alone. Van Dam then drops Test on the barricade and hits the helicopter leg drop. This leaves Lashley and RVD to go at it for the third week in a row. After the commercial, Test is back in the ring and attacking both opponents. Test is able to throw RVD out of the ring and to the floor. He then throws Lashley into the ring post. RVD is back in and hits a couple of kicks. Lashley and Test battle up on the top rope and Test shoves Lashley to the mat. Test hits an elbow drop, but Lashley kicks out at 2. RVD then surprises Test with a single legged kick. RVD hits Rolling Thunder on both guys and then hits a 5 Star Frog Splash over Lashley and onto Test. Test rolls out of the ring and Lashley hits a Spear on RVD. Lashley hits a running powerslam on RVD and picks up the victory. What was Test doing while he pinned him? After the match, they show Test holding the ECW title, but bending over as if he was hurt. Lashley goes to get it, but he nails him in the face with it. We go off the air with him standing over Lashley. The match was decent, but nothing special.
Match Rating: **
This was a pretty dull episode despite them continuing to try to put over new talent. Cor Von looked really solid in his debut, but Punk was booked poorly and Burke had a sloppy and meaningless victory. The main event was good enough, but nothing you had to see.
Overall Rating: 45%
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