WWE ECW 121

September 30, 2008 – Green Bay, Wisconsin

Tiffany and Teddy Long invite Matt Hardy and Mark Henry to the ring for a chat. Henry mentions a triple threat match with the other two brands’ champions that Hardy has to wrestle in coming up, and he knows Long wishes Henry was in that match so that Hardy wouldn’t embarrass ECW. Hardy disagrees. Triple H ended up pinning Hardy in that match, which also featured Chris Jericho. Other things are said and other people come out but that’s all you really need to know. It ends with Long setting up a six-man tag main event. 

Jack Swagger def. Lenny Lane
Just another squash. The commentators pretend to not know who Lane is. In Striker’s case, I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually didn’t know. Swagger won in 1:20 with the gutwrench powerbomb. Tommy Dreamer saves Lane from a post-match beating. N/A

Mike Knox def. Tommy Dreamer
Knox pinned Dreamer in 3:00 after “hitting” his stupid finisher. Dreamer’s head was a foot off the canvas in both angles that they showed of it. The match was actually fine for the time it was given. After the match, Swagger comes back out and powerbombs Dreamer. **

The Miz. John Morrison & Mark Henry def. Matt Hardy, Ricky Ortiz & Evan Bourne
Striker’s moronic comment of the night, “Heavy isn’t an adjective, it’s a description.” This guy was a teacher? He also goes off on a political rant again. I know Vince McMahon likes this Republican shit, but good lord it’s irritating, So much for “keep politics out of X” that the right seems to love. Whatever. The match was fine, but nothing wild happened despite the fact that there was plenty of talent in the ring and they got a ton of time out there. Henry pinned Bourne in 14:47 (shown) after hitting the World’s Strongest Slam. Henry saw thirty seconds of ring time the entire match. **¾ 

Let’s get this No Mercy match over with. 

October 5, 2008 – Portland, Oregon

Matt Hardy def. Mark Henry {ECW Championship Match}
Jerry Lawler is taking Striker’s place on commentary here, which is nice because it means less potential for a GOP rant (though not no potential, Lawler once got in trouble for campaigning for George Bush on commentary). There’s just as much potential for misogyny, but there aren’t any women associated with this feud so I’m probably safe. The match started out with good energy, as Henry had his working boots on and Hardy was game to bump around like crazy. The crowd was also really hot for Hardy, so this had a little extra juice. It even made Henry’s mid-match rest holds more interesting. They even snuck in a bit of leg work which later on paid off in Henry having a hard time covering after a splash. Hot damn, I liked this! Hardy won in 8:07 by attacking the leg to block the World’s Strongest Slam and hitting the Twist of Fate. ***¼