Tonight on ECW on Sci-Fi: Ric Flair makes a rare appearance in the Land
of Extreme. What for, you ask? Stay tuned to find out. Should be a good
one!
And we are LIVE! from San Diego, Calif., Joey Styles and Tazz are our
hosts and this show is presented in WWEHD (TV-14DLSV).
They waste no time in getting the man advertised for the show out, as Ric
Flair is in the ring with Tazz.
Tazz congratulates Flair on being named to the Hall of Fame and hands the
mic over to the Nature Boy.
Flair says it's an honor to be inducted and even more of an honor to be
the first active wrestler to be inducted. He says he's honored to be here
tonight and honored to be apart of ECW.
He chats about San Diego before he is interrupted by the oft-forgotten
Elijah Burke.
Burke expresses his fandom for Flair and welcomes him to his house,
ECW.
Shortly after, Burke himself is interrupted by ECW's Gold Standard,
Shelton Benjamin.
Shelton says he wants to be the second person to come out and congratulate
Flair. He says that, for as long as he can remember, Flair has been the Gold
Standard in professional wrestling. He then introduces himself as the new
Gold Standard of professional wrestling to a chorus of boos. He tells Flair
that his time is over.
Flair says he is really struggling with his level of sincerity. He says
all the gold those two will even win will never compare to his 16 World
Heavyweight Championships, WOOOOOO!
They don't like this and commence a beatdown on Flair, but he is saved by
ECW's golden boy CM Punk.
(Ads)
Backstage, General Manager Armando Estrada announces our shocking main
event: Shelton Benjamin & Elijah Burke vs. CM Punk & Ric Flair.
Match #1 - Kofi Kingston (Jamaica) vs. Jason Riggs (Parts
Unknown)
The Kofi Kingston Jobber Tour 2008 lands in San Diego with Mr. Riggs
tonight. Can we find the man a real opponent?
Tazz speculates that Kofi's vertical leap is slightly larger than
his.
More of the same, as Kofi finishes it with the Jamaican Buzzsaw in about
90 seconds.
Winner via pinfall: Kofi Kingston
Joey Styles has found his way to the ring to interview Kingston. He says
ECW is paradise and if there is trouble in paradise, he'll take care of
it.
(Ads)
Match #2 - The Miz (Cleveland, Ohio) w/ John Morrison vs. Colin
Delaney (Rochester, NY) w/ Tommy Dreamer
Much of Colin's upper body is bandaged up and Miz (HOO-RAH!) commences to
whip Delaney from pillar to post.
Delaney catches a break and socks Miz with two punches but is tripped by
Morrison, who is then ejected from the ringside area.
While arguing, Miz almost gets rolled up but gets out at two. Then right
away, Miz hits the Reality Check for the win.
Winner via pinfall: The Miz
Post-match, Dreamer comes in to check on Delaney, but Morrison comes
back, hits the corkscrew neckbreaker on Dreamer and then the champs faceplant Delaney.
(Ads)
Match #3 - Stevie Richards (Philadelphia, Pa.) vs. James Curtis
(Minneapolis, Minn.?; Rockford, Ill.?, Parts Unknown?)
Mr. Curtis is taking his traveling job show on the road this time, as he
doesn't even get a hometown this time around.
Curtis gets an early advantage and starts to work on the throat and neck
area. But it does not last long as Richards hits the running splash and the
Stevie-T for the quick pinfall.
Winner via pinfall: Stevie Richards
Flair and Punk 'WOOOO' their way down the hall as they head to the ring
for their match, which is next.
(Ads)
Match #4 - Ric Flair (Charlotte, NC) & CM Punk (Chicago, Ill.) vs.
Elijah Burke (Jacksonville, Fla.) & Shelton Benjamin (Orangeburg,
SC)
Since this is a tag team match, Flair's career is not on the line. In a hilarious twist, Burke pokes Flair in the eyes and goes to the top rope only to be thrown off. HA!
Flair then tries to test fate by going to the top where he is met by
Benjamin. He pokes Benjamin in the eyes and hits a flying fist on Burke and
Benjamin as they roll out of the ring to regroup.
(Ads)
Of course, when we come back Flair is getting a beatdown and Tazz tells
us that Burke and Benjamin have been working over Flair's left knee during
the break.
Flair then Flair Flops into the hot tag and Punk is the proverbial house
o' fire before being thrown forward by Benjamin during a bulldog
attempt.
Burke gets the tag and hits the Outer Limits elbow and works a chin lock
briefly before tagging in Benjamin.
Benjamin attempts to hit the turnbuckle powerbomb but it is reversed.
Punk tags in Flair who styles and profiles all over his opponents. Flair
goes to suplex Flair but Benjamin kicks Flair's knee out. Burke goes for a
pin and gets two.
Burke sets up Flair for the Elijah Express but Flair gets out of the way.
Flair then locks in the Figure Four and Burke has no choice but to tap.
Winners via submission: Ric Flair & CM Punk
Flair and Punk share what looks to be some legit heartfelt words and a
hug in the center of the ring as we fade to black.
Well, that was a strong show. Obviously, the involvement of Flair lends a
ton of credibility to it but it was strong overall. The only thing: Where
the heck was the ECW Champion tonight? Hopefully we get some movement toward
ECW's WrestleMania involvement next week.
Send Matt e-mail about ECW/wrestling/MMA/hockey at bishop20@msu.edu. Please include your
name and hometown. And if you're interested in mixed martial arts, check out
Matt's weekly podcast -- Lights Out Radio. Should
be a good one!.
