Every ECW Ever - PPV Roundup #1 (Vengeance, Great American Bash, and SummerSlam 2006)

I  had mentioned in the the ECW 10 recap that I wanted to look at the PPV matches that involved ECW wrestlers, and so I went about looking up the PPVs that took place after the start of WWE's ECW, up to Episode 10, and I came up with these three:
- Vengeance
- Great American Bash
- SummerSlam
Now, I decided not to include ECW One Night Stand in here. Why? Well, this was before WWE's ECW actually took off. Rob Van Dam did win the WWE Title, but not the ECW Title. He was gifted that during the premiere by Paul Heyman. In all, I just didn't think they were essential. However, I definitely do recommend watching the PPV. It'a pretty outstanding. Without further a do, here are my thoughts on all the PPV matches involving ECW wrestlers from the PPVs listed above. I will NOT be counting the weapons in these towards the count as a whole, but instead separately counted for PPVs only. Let's get to it!

PPV Roundup #1 (June-August 2006)

Vengeance (6/25/2006)


Match #1: Randy Orton vs. Kurt Angle

I finally figured out why these two have been fighting so much on WWE programming. This match also happened on ECW One Night Stand (which was Orton's return following injury), in which Angle won. Then, on ECW 02, they had these two take part in that tag match with RVD and Edge as partners. It was before all of this where Kurt Angle broke Randy Orton's ankle, and this is a revenge feud for him. Regardless, I just tried to take in the match as it was, because obviously nothing resonated with me regarding the backstory of this match. I'm just here to root on my ECW bro Kurt.

Bad visual.
This match was pretty awesome, even though it was a relatively quick one. At one point, Angle did a german duplex onto the floor outside the ring, which looked BRUTAL. Props to Randy for taking that. These guys are not reluctant to go all out in a match, and as I mentioned in ECW 02, this is a period of time where Randy is nearing his prime, and Kurt is, arguably, just on the tail-end. He only has a few more weeks before he quits the WWE and goes to TNA, but in the ring, he is outstanding. Outside the ring, though, I can't say I'm a fan of the new Angle. Angle's best aspect of his character is his cheesy charm and cockiness. This new gimmick of his is that he is super aggressive, and that's fine, but having him grunt all the time instead of talk is a wasted opportunity.

Again, the match was pretty good, and pretty quick, so there's not much else to say. Randy wins and basically ends the feud. I'm pretty sure they're done after this match, with Kurt missing extended time on ECW television as well. Tough to say who "wins" this rivalry. Orton wins the battle here, but Angle did break his ankle and beat him twice, plus beating him on ECW 02's main event, so I'd say Angle won the war.

Winner: Randy Orton
Match Rating: Solid
Weapons Used: None

--

Match #2: Rob Van Dam vs. Edge (WWE Championship)

As I think I mentioned in one of my ECW recaps, I am a huge Edge guy. He is probably one of my favorite wrestlers in WWE history, though everyone plays second fiddle in my fanhood to The Rock. Regardless, it was nice to watch him go at it with Rob Van Dam with both being in their prime.

Watching RVD come out right now and it just shocks me that he actually was the WWE Champion. That is by no means a knock on his talent; from watching some of his matches on ECW I know the man can put on a show. It's just that he seems like an unconventional choice, a lottery ticket by Vince that could pay off if he can take off in popularity. Of course, Vince probably immediately regretted the decision once Van Dam got busted for drugs, but I respect his decision here, especially because of some of the great matches that were put together as a result, such as this one.

Some great wrestling went down in this match. Edge shows some surprising athleticism throughout, matching Rob Van Dam's natural athleticism and fluidity. He lands on his feet off a monkey flip, which shocked me in a good way. Both men were in sync with one another and they had no problem getting the crowd involved in the match. By the end of the match, the crowd is pretty damn loud and in support of Rob Van Dam. RVD goes high-risk a good bit in this match, and while we definitely take spots like that for granted these days (they do happen every match, after all), these were refreshing. Even with a lot of high-risk maneuvers taking place, there is still a fair share of technical and more "traditional" wrestling to keep everything fresh. Of course, the selling was fantastic throughout as well. At one point, Edge spikes RVD and RVD sells it like death, as usual. We also got some blood from Edge, which I always welcome. Blood can be good when you don't go all out like Jericho and Michaels did.

I was fine with the ending for a few reasons, but mostly because I already knew the ending. I remember watching live when Edge stole the title from RVD and John Cena on Monday Night RAW. It was a stunning and shocking moment of wrestling for me that I won't forget anytime soon. Thus, I knew RVD was gonna win, but the question was simple: how? Well, it kind of makes sense that Rob Van Dam wins using a chair to get Edge in position for the frog splash. He didn't even do it himself; it was Lita who set it up in the corner. Regardless, it's like weapons just work in RVD's favor mysteriously because is from ECW. Anyway, I didn't hate the ending, and it definitely did not take away from what was a pretty outstanding match.

Winner: Rob Van Dam
Match Rating: Fantastic
Weapons Used: WWE Title (1), Chair (1)

--

Match #3: John Cena vs. Sabu (Extreme Rules Lumberjack Match)

1/2 of the lumberjacks are the ECW Extremists. It is, for the most part, the Originals of the locker room. We get a Roadkill appearance, which makes me a little happy inside. No Danny Doring sighting, though, and if that doesn't disappoint you, what does? The RAW lumberjacks are, once again, jobbers and nobodies. There is a Viscera sighting though, which I love. The lumberjacks basically want to kill one another off the bat, so you know they are going to get into a little skirmish at some point.

Before this match even gets started, you have to know Cena is gonna win. However, my question is simple: how extreme will they go? In the vignettes, they show Cena getting put through the announcers' table by Sabu on RAW, and I would definitely like to see something crazy go down. It's just a question as to what Cena is comfortable doing.

The ECW lumberjacks get in the action first. The Sandman lays out Cena with a kendo stick which is a welcomed site. I need more kendo stick in my life. Jim Ross called this match, which is ANOTHER thing that I love, because anything Jim Ross calls is fine by me. Sabu loves to triple jump springboard. He does it like every other move and he just loves using the chair, not as a weapon in the traditional sense, but to jump off. Alrighty. '

All in all, the match was good, albeit a bit predictable given how Cena matches go down at this time. Sabu controlled most of the match, with Cena even being brutally hit in the skull with a chair. Sickening thuds off his skull. Then, the tides turn. Cena, using a kendo stick, fights off Sabu before putting him through a table (barely, Sabu misses a large portion of the table and Sabu goes straight to the floor) before putting him in the STFU. This match was a lot more "extreme" than I expected. Then again, I wasn't expecting much, but I didn't think Cena would take some of those chair shots. The ending was good now... at the time, I'm sure people hated Cena going over ANOTHER well-liked wrestler. Nice to see Cena "get extreme", as Jim Ross puts it.

Winner: John Cena
Match Rating: Surprising
Weapons Used: Kendo Stick (1), Chair (1), Table (1)

--

Great American Bash (7/23/2006)


Match #4: Undertaker vs. The Big Show (Punjabi Prison Match)

This match is supposed to be Great Khali vs. The Undertaker, but Teddy Long says nah, fuck it, Big Show is going to wrestle The Undertaker in the match instead. The story behind this is that Khali was not medically cleared to compete after some medical tests were done on his liver that caused some concern. Thus, Big Show, the ECW Champion, is thrusted into the match. What a fitting match to watch right now, especially since I watched the Punjabi Prison match that happened at Battleground on Sunday (which was pretty entertaining, in my opinion) and so the whole concept and purpose of the match are still fresh. I'm sure the fans realize that this match is DEFINITELY better than Great Khali vs. The Undertaker.

The match itself is alright... It reminded me a lot of the match from Battleground. The portion of the match that takes place in the ring is so unnecessary. You need to get through one of the four doors that are locked after one minute and not to be opened again. They go through this whole process, and Big Show "locks" Undertaker in there after the fourth and final door is closed and locked with Taker still inside. What does Undertaker do? He climbs out of the inner structure. Well alright then. Shit.

The action was what you'd expect from these two, and felt a lot like the match they had on ECW. The ending, though, was pretty solid. Undertaker jumped onto Big Show and went through the Punjabi Prison cell. Somehow, Undertaker is declared the winner even though Big Show 100% touched the outside floor first. I don't have much more to say about this one. Good, if not unspectacular. 

Winner: The Undertaker
Match Rating: Decent
Weapons Used: Leather Strap (1), Table (2)

--


Match #5: The Big Show vs. Sabu (ECW Title)

Taz says this is the first extreme rules match in SummerSlam history. I'd rather it be someone other than Big Show in this match, preferably Rob Van Dam. This match will hopefully open some eyes for the ECW brand. I know Sabu will go all out, and Big Show has shown his willingness to as well, so if anything, it should be violent.

A really good match here, aside from the few botches by Sabu that, unfortunately, you have to expect. The guy does a lot of high-risk moves, and as a result, botches will happen, and Sabu is actually pretty crisp most of the time. He loves to do the double and triple jump springboard moves and with how many he does, botches will happen. There was a lot of extreme spots going on, with three table spots, each one more brutal than the last. The Big Show's choke slam of Sabu through the table looked BRUTAL, and it was a great way to end the match. All in all, I think this is a great show to draw in ECW fans. Lots of carnage and chaos, and definitely a match that lived up to the extreme moniker.

I do wonder, though, why Big Show is busted open in literally every match he wrestles. The guy must not feel it at all and doesn't mind it, because he wears the crimson mask almost every single match I've seen him in. I'm not gonna complain; it's obviously enough that it doesn't hurt him none, and he apparently doesn't mind, but it's noticeable. Let the head take a few nights off, Show.

Winner: Big Show
Match Rating: Great
Weapons Used: Chair (2), Table (3)

--

Match #6: Ric Flair vs. Mick Foley

I wasn't sure if I was going to add this match, but since Mick Foley and Ric Flair showed up on ECW to promote the match, I figured, well, why not?

Both wrestlers are (obviously) at the tail ends of their careers at this point, and while they might not be able to have pure wrestling matches, they definitely can still excel in a more street-fight style, like this one. I also remembered from previous viewings that this match was BRUTAL,  and if any match could be considered a match worthy of the OLD ECW, it was this one.

Good lord!
Good lord, this match was violent, almost unnecessarily so. At one point, they zoom in Foley putting the barbwire into Flair's head, with blood gushing. It was shocking. Flair also gets smacked in the face and in the back by a wood sheet covered in barbwire. Foley destroys a mic over Flair's head. Flair goes through a bunch of tacks. Just unreal levels of violence and pain tolerance from these two guys, especially Flair, is something to admire from a fan's perspective. Why did Flair put himself through this? He takes some BRUTAL shots that are absolutely shocking to see. He doesn't need to put on a match like this, but he did, and he proved he could in an impressive fashion.

Winner: Ric Flair
Match Rating: Brutal
Weapons Used: Garbage Can (1), Barbwire Mr. Socko (1), Barbwire Wood Sheet (1), Microphone (1), Thumb Tacks (1), Barbwire Bat (1)

--

I shared my opinions on each match individually, but as a whole, I think these matches were a decent, if not unspectacular showcase of ECW's talent for the WWE audience. The people buying SummerSlam could probably have used a better match than The Big Show vs. Sabu, while it was pretty solid, to see what the show was all about. Regardless, just the fact they have ECW matches on the card mean something.

Best Match of the Batch: Rob Van Dam vs. Edge
Best Wrestler of the Bunch: Edge - A master class in the ring
Worst Wrestler of the Bunch: Great Khali - How do you not wrestle in your own match?
Weapon Count:
Table: 6
Chair: 4
Kendo Stick: 1
WWE Title: 1
Leather Strap: 1
Garbage Can: 1
Barbwire Mr. Socko: 1
Barbwire Wood Sheet: 1
Microphone: 1
Thumb Tacks: 1
Barbwire Bat: 1
Total (PPV Only): 19


Thanks for reading. I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I did watching. As I mentioned in the ECW 10 recap, I plan on taking a few days off from the ECW articles and writing about something else, so make sure to stay tuned for that. 

Comments

Post a Comment