ECW on Sci-Fi
Birmingham, Alabama
May 1, 2007
thanks to: wwe.com
Fighting for ECW's Heart and Soul
By Bryan Robinson
May 1, 2007
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – When Mr. McMahon won the ECW World Championship from Bobby
Lashley, the ECW Originals – the foundation upon which the promotion was built
– were outraged. They believed that the Chairman had trashed their legacy, and
perhaps no one was more vocal about this than former ECW World Champion Rob
Van Dam. After winning an Extreme Rules Four Way Match tonight against his
fellow Originals, RVD won the opportunity to face Mr. McMahon and salvage some
of their legacy and ECW's dignity.
RVD’s match with the Chairman next week will not be for the championship. It
will be a chance for one of ECW’s old guard to get their hands on the
Chairman-champion. The Originals, all former ECW World Champions, had vented
their rage at Mr. McMahon’s championship victory in interviews seen first on
WWE.com. The self-proclaimed “King of Extreme” thought that he was punishing
Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Sandman and Sabu by pitting them against each other in
an Extreme Rules Four Way Match for an opportunity to face him.
Though the Originals are friends and are united in their love of ECW, they
waged war against each other for the chance to battle Mr. McMahon. They were
not confined by rules and showed our fans in Birmingham, Ala., why ECW is
called Extreme Championship Wrestling. RVD won with a Five-Star Frog Splash on
Sandman. The Chairman looked nervous as RVD celebrated his victory. But as the
diabolical billionaire showed Bobby Lashley, RVD should beware – Mr. McMahon
always has something up his sleeve.
A wounded Lashley appeared on ECW on Sci Fi and showed the Chairman and
raucous Birmingham crowd that he is determined to regain the ECW World
Championship. Lashley conceded that he was still nursing his shoulder, which
he injured during his match against Mr. McMahon, Umaga and Shane McMahon at
Backlash. However, that didn’t stop him from demanding a rematch for the
championship tonight.
But that was not to be. Umaga’s handler, Armando Estrada – confined to a
wheelchair because of the ferocious beating Lashley gave him last week – came
out to ringside and told the former champion that, per Mr. McMahon’s order, he
would receive a rematch, but not that night. However, there was one
stipulation: if Lashley touched Umaga, Shane McMahon or the Chairman without
any physical provocation, he would lose the right to his rematch.
To Estrada’s painful dismay, Mr. McMahon made a tactical error – Estrada was
not included in that stipulation. Lashley put his hands on Estrada without
fear of losing his rematch and made him pay for being the Chairman’s
messenger. He got a small dose of revenge for the hell he has endured at the
hands of Mr. McMahon.
Elijah Burke and his New Breed were determined to get revenge on CM Punk after
the straightedge Superstar made them believe that he was a true member of
their group and cost them their match against the Originals last week. At
first it appeared Burke was going to extract revenge from Punk himself. But
instead, he volunteered fanged freak New Breeder Kevin Thorn to take on Punk.
Thorn wasn’t pleased to be fighting Punk. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t
able to channel his anger into a victory over the fan-favorite. When Thorn
asked Burke why he didn’t help him out during his match, the eloquent pugilist
berated him, and said no one should question his decisions as leader of the
New Breed. With that, Thorn declared that the New Breed “bites” and quit the
group.
The New Breed’s implosion continued unexpectedly later that night during a tag
team match involving Marcus Cor Von and Matt Striker. Cor Von and Striker were
expected to put the New Breed back in the win column with a decisive victory
against two unknowns, the Major Brothers. But out of nowhere, the Major
Brothers pulled off a major upset and defeated Cor Von and Striker. Shocked
and disgusted, Burke went on a verbal tirade against Striker. The Extreme
Educator took the tongue-lashing while Cor Von merely walked away. Is the New
Breed slowly falling apart?
Matches
CM Punk def. Kevin Thorn
The Major Bros. def. Marcus Cor Von & Matt Striker
Rob Van Dam def. Tommy Dreamer, Sandman and Sabu
(Extreme Rules Four Way Match)