WWE ECW Review - July 22, 2008

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

ECW General Manager Teddy Long Presented Mark Henry with the New ECW Championship Title; Colin delaney Explained His Actions

In Philadelphia of all places, the birthplace of ECW, the old ECW title belt was done away with in favor of the new one. That silver ECW Championship actually looked pretty sweet in my opinion, but it was another nail in the coffin of the original ECW. I liked that Henry wanted nothing to do with Delaney (whose promo was rather basic) as soon as Tommy Dreamer came down to exact revenge from The Great American Bash and there wasn't an alliance between them seeing as how Henry already had Tony Atlas as part of his act.

Tommy Dreamer def. Colin Delaney

The story here was that Dreamer served as a mentor to Delaney throughout 2008, helping him score an ECW contract that May. Then, at Great American Bash, Delaney cost him his ECW title match against Henry. Delaney was the ultimate enhancement talent and looked the part to perfection, but he had nothing to offer beyond being an underdog. As a heel, he was worthless, so I was very glad Dreamer decisively defeated him here and the two didn't feud. Instead, Delaney was released from the company mere weeks later without making another on-air appearance.

Evan Bourne def. James Curtis

Boune was fresh off his debut in ECW and showed plenty of promise on the brand considering his exciting in-ring arsenal was so different from everyone else's on the roster. I was actually surprised this squash match for him lasted as long as it did, but I guess it gave Chavo Guerrero (who he was in a rivalry with at the time) more time to talk about Bourne. Chavo was a good first feud for him to allow Bourne to establish himself.

Matt Hardy def. Finlay, JOhn Morrison and The Miz in an ECW Championship No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Match

Fatal 4-Way matches are usually fun, but what made this extra entertaining was the dynamic between Miz and Morrison. They were tag team partners, of course, and although they initially vowed to work together, they eventually teased tension down the stretch. Hardy and Finlay also played their roles well and this benefited from being given a decent chunk of time. Hardy emerging victorious made the most sense given he was positioned as the top babyface on the brand.

Overall Show

This was a solid follow-up show to Great American Bash that wasted no time in setting the stage for SummerSlam for ECW. A new No. 1 contender to the ECW Championship was crowned, a new ECW title belt was unveiled, Delaney wrestled his last match, and Bourne was showcased, so it was a newsworthy night on the whole and the hour flew by. Of everything on this show, the main event is worth checking out.