Welcome to the one of the last ECW Recaps ever! We’re coming at you from Baton Rouge, La., this week, and we kick things off with Zack Ryder and Rosa Mendes snuggling and being cute backstage. Meanwhile, the rest of the ECW roster is sitting in a meeting room of sorts, waiting for Tiffany to address the situation of the roster.
For those of you not aware, ECW is going off the air in two weeks, and is being replaced by a new show called WWE NXT. Tiffany explains this isn’t a bad thing…it’s a good thing, because the entire roster becomes free agents and able to sign with whatever brand they choose. Plus, they’ll be a part of the next evolution of television. The roster has mixed reactions to this.
Tiffany says she hasn’t always seen eye to eye with everyone, but it’s been a privilege being their GM. She says everyone should use the opportunity to impress everyone in the WWE over the next two weeks. They should seize the day, and “have fun.”
What?
She then pulls out beads and some sort of fruity girly drink out from behind the podium, because she knows she’ll have fun. She starts to walk away, but Zack Ryder stops her.
Tiffany suggests he lighten up: it’s Mardi Gras, the Saints just won the Super Bowl, and there’s only two weeks of ECW left. He says they have a lot of questions about what’s going to happen, where they’re going, and she’s just going to party it up? Tiffany responds: “Woo woo woo, you know it.”
I’m sorry, but Tiffany was being totally inappropriate for a GM here. Zack Ryder was right.
Fireworks kick off and we’re introduced to our main event: Shelton Benjamin vs. Vance Archer.
The gorgeous Savannah announces our first match of the night: a tag match to determine the number one contender for the Unified Tag Belts. The winner gets that match next week.
I wonder which show Savannah will end up on?
Out come Yoshi Tatsu and Goldust. Their opponents: Trent Barreta and Caylen Croft. They’re sporting their new trunks that they’ve had for a few weeks now. Thank god they got some style.
Goldust & Yoshi Tatsu vs. Trent Barreta & Caylen Croft for the No. 1 Contendership for the Unified Tag Titles
Barreta and Goldust start off and Goldust is quick to get the advantage. He tags in the “Cardiac Kid” Tatsu, who gets a 2 count on Barreta. Some nice back and forth offense and they trade off a few roll-through pins before Tatsu locks in an arm bar.
Barreta gets Tatsu on the defense and is able to tag in Croft. Croft goes for a pair of unsuccessful pins and then tags Barreta back in. He hits a running elbow on Tatsu for a 1-count, then locks in a headlock.
Tatsu climbs to his feet with the aid of some fanfare. He reverses Barreta’s attack and launches him into the turnbuckle, and gets a hot tag to Goldust. Goldy’s taking names and kicking ass. Barreta bails out of the ring first chance he gets, runs back in and gets a blind tag. Goldust doesn’t see Croft come in and gets attacked from behind. We cut to break.
When we come back, Goldust is still struggling to get back in gear. Barreta tags Croft back in and he isolates Goldust in the corner. He whips him into the opposite corner and Goldust sells a leg injury. Croft and Barreta immediately go for the leg. They tag and double-team, and Barreta goes for a pin, but gets a 2-count.
Goldust is able to get to his feet but is grounded quickly. Croft is back in the ring after some gloating. Goldust fights his way up, but Croft corners him again and tags out. Barreta keeps Goldust in the corner and continues working on the leg.
Tag to Croft. Croft gets a 2-count. Tag out to Barreta. He leaps over the top rope teasing a high-risk move on Goldust’s leg, but instead pushes his head to the ground with his foot. Insulting!
Barreta cranks half of a Figure-Four, but Goldust is able to recover. Yoshi gets knocked to the outside in the midst and misses Goldust’s tag. Goldust fights off Barreta and hits a power slam, and crawls toward Tatsu for the hot tag.
Croft and Tatsu are legal and Tatsu is on fire. There’s a flurry of kicks, a running flying knee in the corner, and Yoshi’s roll-through-roundhouse-kick combo. Tatsu gets a 2-count and hits the top rope for a spinning wheel kick. Goldust knocks Barreta out of the ring before he can interfere too much, and Tatsu blocks a school-boy and hits his Roundhouse kick for the victory.
Winners: Yoshi Tatsu & Goldust to become No. 1 Contenders
Great match. Croft and Barreta have improved leaps and bounds. Yoshi and Goldust have worked great together for weeks, despite the odd pairing. Looks like Croft might’ve broken his nose in the end-game of the match, too…
We return from break, and Ezekiel Jackson comes out to the ring with William Regal. His opponent? A jobber named Perry Wallace.
Ezekiel Jackson vs. Perry Wallace
Jackson talks trash immediately and tells this poor kid he shouldn’t be in here. Jackson completely dominates him. It’s an impressive squash match, but this isn’t what Jackson needs anymore. I guess there’s no point in starting a feud though, since the show ends in two weeks.
Winner: Ezekiel Jackson
Regal takes the mic after the match. He says he hopes Tiffany is listening to what he says because it’s important: What happened during the match at the Royal Rumble was a travesty. Tiffany’s legacy sets women in the workplace back by 20 years, but Regal’s giving her another chance and begging Jackson get a rematch against Christian next week.
Jackson takes the mic: if Christian chooses to accept the challenge, his reign and ECW will come to an end. But, as the final ECW Champ, this will only be the beginning of Jackson’s dominance.
Decent segment. I’d rather see Christian and Regal fight, personally, since they’ve been the primary feud over the past few months. It only makes sense, that’s all I’m saying.
After break, Byron and Josh say Tiffany’s granted the match if Christian agrees. Kick it backstage: he does agree, but he wants to do it with Extreme Rules.
Back to the ring, Shelton Benjamin comes out to the ring. Before his opponent comes out to the ring, Shelton takes the mic. To no one’s surprise, when he came to ECW, he was not happy because he was the Gold Standard – too good, too talented.
In his first week on ECW, Yoshi Tatsu kicked him in the head and pinned him in “about 2 seconds.” That was his wakeup call and the young kids backstage impressed him. He’s made friends and done things he never thought he’d do. He said he’s going to miss each of the young Superstars, except for Vance Archer.
Tonight they have a no-disqualification match. Shelton can’t wait for his ECW moment: wiping that smile off of Vance Archer’s face and beating him like he’s never been beaten before.
Probably the best promo Benjamin’s ever cut. He spoke from the heart, played up the crowd with the “Who Dat” chants, and made his point clear that he’s been humbled but he’s still ready to do some humbling.
We return from break and Vance Archer hits the ring. This is gonna be a good match, folks.
Shelton Benjamin vs. Vance Archer in a No Disqualification/No Countout match.
The two lock up, but Shelton has the momentum and nails a shoulder block. He locks in a back lock and Archer tries to get free but Shelton swings it to a headlock. Again, Shelton hits a shoulder block and Archer ducks out of the ring to regain his composure.
He steps back in and they lock up again. Archer backs Benjamin into the corner and gets in some offense. He beats Benjamin down in the corner but this is no DQ, so it’s legal. Benjamin fights back and regains the advantage. He hits a nice school-boy for a 1-count, then rolls it into a single-leg Boston Crab.
Archer grabs the ropes but again, no DQ, so it does no good. Archer breaks out and climbs up to the top rope, but Shelton literally scales the turnbuckle and hits an enzuigiri, knocking Archer off the top and to the outside. We cut to break.
When we return, Archer is digging under the ring and he finds himself a kendo stick. Benjamin is outside the ring too. He grabs a chair and counters Archer’s attack, then guts him with the chair. He takes a swing for the head but misses and hits the steps instead, and Archer takes the opportunity to counter and launch Benjamin across the barrier.
He goes on the offense with some fierce kicks and punches. A “Let’s go Shelton” chant breaks out. Archer rolls him back into the ring and gets a 2-count.
Archer gives Shelton a stiff kick in the head and suddenly the ref is calling for a doctor to check Benjamin to make sure he’s okay. I guess he took a stiff hit to the skull, and they’re checking the cut. It doesn’t look serious, and the match continues. Immediately they attack each other.
Archer ends up sitting on the top rope and Shelton leaps up to superplex him, but Vance counters. Archer slams Benjamin down to the mat, gets a near fall, and immediately starts attacking the head. He pulls off the corner turnbuckle, and sets Benjamin up in to the corner. He gives his arm a sharp pull into the exposed steel, and immediately starts working over the arm and ribs.
Benjamin works up to his feet, but Archer quickly counters and whips him chest first into a normal turnbuckle, and gets a 2-count. Archer continues to wear him down. Shelton comes back and hits a springboard clothesline to get back on the offensive.
Shelton hits his patented catch/spin kick and gets a 2-count. Archer hits a leaping tackle of sorts, and goes for a suplex, but Shelton reverses it and hits a German suplex. Shelton runs to the corner but Archer dodges, and Shelton leaps to the top rope. He hits a top rope leaping neckbreaker, and then scores Paydirt. Shelton gets the 3-count and the win.
Winner: Shelton Benjamin
Great match, with some nice back and forth moments. While I was watching it, I couldn’t help but think about how far Vance Archer has come since he debuted months ago. He’ll make a fine upper mid-card heel on one of the main rosters pretty soon, and I can see him being a top-tier heel within two years.
Hopefully the things Shelton said before the match weren’t BS. Shelton has it in him to be a top player, but never seems to make the effort to make it happen. I hope that changes soon.
Overall, good show. Goldust and Yoshi have a title match next week, as does Christian and Ezekiel Jackson. Great focus on wrestling.
God damn I’m gonna miss this show.
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I hope they at least kick of the final episode with a bang.