WWE ECW Review - March 3, 2009

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kane def. The Boogeyman

This was a really random match on paper, especially considering Kane was a part of the Raw roster, but the only reason it happened was because See No Evil was set to premiere on Sci-Fi for the first time that night and of course Kane was the star of that film. This was an interesting clash of characters that was fine while it lasted and thankfully it was kept short and sweet. Interestingly enough, this would be Boogeyman's final WWE match as he was released from the company the following day.

Mark Henry def. Santino Marella in a Money in the Bank Qualifying Match

On the road to WrestleMania, Marella did everything he could to get on the 'Mania card, including attempting to qualify for the Money in the Bank Ladder match. In order to do so, he had to beat Henry, who ended up winning with ease. Technically, it was a heel vs. heel match, but Marella was already showing signs of turning babyface by this point, so it wasn't a major problem at all. This was exactly what it needed to be.

Natalya def. Alicia fox

Fox's partner, DJ Gabriel, and Natalya's partner, Tyson Kidd, were involved a rivalry at this time, hence the reason for this match. Fox didn't have too much in-ring experience, but I was pleasantly surprised how well she fared for herself here. It's almost amazing to think both of these women are still with WWE eight years later, at least in Fox's case. Natalya is still underutilized to this day, though.

ECW Champion Jack Swagger and World Tag Team Champions John Morrison & The Miz def. Christian, Finlay and Tommy Dreamer

Christian and Swagger were one week removed from their ECW Championship match, while the other four were just among the top talent on the brand. Oddly enough, Swagger wasn't even at WrestleMania 25 that year, and Miz and Morrison were bumped to the event's dark match. As for this contest, it was an enjoyable six-man tag team affair with a fun finishing sequence and a strange finish with Swagger pinning Christian clean. Christian had been back barely a month and he was already losing matches. I know he wound up winning the ECW Championship, but still.

Overall Show

There really wasn't anything of substance on this show, which was par for the course during WrestleMania season on ECW. The two matches were brief, the women's match exceeded expectations but isn't must-see by any means, and the main event was a treat but lacked meaning. Essentially, this was a decent albeit uneventful show. On the bright side, the hour didn't drag, so I didn't feel like I wasted my time watching it.