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[Thanks to Dan Short for this recap of ECW. We are still looking for permanent ECW recappers, so please email typesthetalk@gmail.com].

After the intro video plays, we come to you from the Land of Extreme in Milwaukee. Josh Matthews and Matt Striker do a quick plug of the secret pay-per-view “The Bash” taking place in five days, where the ECW Championship will be defended in a Championship Scramble. Four of the five competitors in that match will be compete in a main event tag team match tonight as ECW Champion Tommy Dreamer and Christian take on Jack Swagger and Mark Henry.

Evan Bourne vs. Tyson Kidd w/ David Hart Smith and Natalya

They show a quick recap of Bourne’s match with Mark Henry from last week to highlight his coming to the ring this week with his ribs taped up. Second week in a row The Hart Dynasty open ECW after doing four straight weeks in hte main event. Creative’s priorities need to be fixed. Evan and Tyson do a quick series before David and Natalya stand on opposite aprons with plans to distract the referee and interfere. This ends up backfiring and the refree sends both to the back. Evan quick launches with some offense, including a crossbody from the top to the floor, before Tyson gets the opening to work over the injured ribs. And Evan sells it like he’s getting shot every time his ribs connect. Evan eventually makes a comeback, and it leads to a fun series that ends with Evan hitting the Shooting Star Press for the win. A lot shorter than it should have been, but still a really good match. Boy, The Hart Dynasty has been rolling with good match after good match since three-on-two handicap match. And this was the rebound Evan needed after his series with Mark Henry.

Matthews notes that Evan took no shortcuts to winning, which is supposedly a segue to a recap of Finlay’s actions last week against Christian and Tommy Dreamer. Finlay is seen making his way to the ring before the break.

We return with Finlay hitting the ring and taking the microphone. He explains that after he suffered his eye injury, Christian and Dreamer sent text messages to him simply saying “Sorry” as opposed to apologizing in person. Finlay states “Eye for an eye” and is about to say something about “The Bash” when the music of Zack Ryder sounds. Zack has a mic of his own and states that Finlay should be concentrating on the present instead of the future because in the present he has a match against him. “Woo woo woo!” Ryder hops over the ropes before we go to commercial.

Finlay vs. Zack Ryder

We return in the middle of the match. The two go back and forth for a moment until they bump faces, with Finlay’s previously injured eye taking a brunt of the hit. Ryder takes full advantage, constantly attacking the eye area with well-placed knee shots and headlocks that allows him openings for crossfaces to the eye. Finlay eventually attempts a comeback. Ryder trips him face first into the ropes and tries to untie one of the turnbuckles. The referee catches him and then tries to fix it. Ryder goes over, only to be pulled down by Finlay and is pinned with the tights pulled. Finlay is still selling the eye, and there may actually be some minor swelling forming. That doesn’t look good. Okay match for what it was given what happened. It didn’t help that the fans didn’t know if they should be cheering Finlay or not.

Josh and Matt once again plug the main event before we go to commercial.

The Did You Know this week notes that last night’s Raw was the most viewed episode in seven years. I can imagine. They do the Raw Rebound of the Last Man Standing match, their killing of the Donald Trump angle, Vince announcing Orton against Triple H in Three Stages of Hell, and finally Triple H almost kissing Orton following slamming the trunk door on the latter’s back.

Josh and Matt rundown the card for “The Bash” with the Three Stages of Hell, John Cena vs. Miz, Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio in Intercontinental title against Rey’s mask, and then CM Punk defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Jeff Hardy. We shoot to the ring where Striker conducts a lecture on how the Championship Scramble for the ECW title works.

He then sends it TO THE BACK for Gregory Helms to interview Mark Henry with Tony Atlas. But before Henry can get a few words out, a crash is heard and the camera pans to see a stagehand pinned down by a crate. Numerous men try to help before the camera pans back over to Henry. Henry doesn’t want to help and turns back to speak with Helms. But Helms is not there! A “Whoosh!” sounds and the camera pans back to see THE HURRICANE lift the crate. Hurricane disappears after saving the stagehand and the camera pans back over. Where Henry and Atlas suddenly see Helms standing before them, trying to continue the interview. Henry is looking back and forth between Helms and the spot Hurricane was at before fading to commercial. Atlas’ face is AWESOME!

Main Event
Jack Swagger and Mark Henry w/ Tony Atlas vs. Tommy Dreamer and Christian

Jack and Christian start things off with a little quick series before Christian tags out to Dreamer. Swagger manages to subdue Dreamer and then tag out to Henry. “Here come the pain!” Atlas shouts. Henry attempts a running splash in the corner, but Dreamer trips him with the drop toe hold into the middle turnbuckle, causing Henry to roll outside. After backdroping Swagger out of the ring, Dreamer heads over to the apron and hits the running cannonball roll on Henry. A second later, Christian hits Swagger with a top rope crossbody on the floor before we cut to commercial.

We return with Christian hitting Swagger with a flying European uppercut before tagging out to Dreamer. Dreamer is a house of fire briefly before getting knocked down by Henry from behind. Henry and Swagger take turns working over Dreamer until Dreamer starts making his comeback on Swagger. Hot tags to Christian and Henry, leading into the final series, which ended up becoming very confusing even to the wrestlers. The end result is that Henry slams Christian’s back on the post and throws him in. He wants to tag in, but Swagger instead gets the victory after hitting the falling gutwrench powerbomb. Post-match, Henry hits Dreamer with the World’s Strongest Slam. Then hits another one on Swagger to prove a point. Was a good match to begin with, but then ended with confusion.

Overview: We need to get The Hart Dynasty back to main event the show. It was so much fun building up to their greatness being showcased. Tyson’s match with Evan Bourne is proof enough of that. The whole segment involving The Hurricane was so great in a cheesy way that I loved every second of it. Greatness. Everything else on the show just did not work quite as well do to confusing endings. In other words, just watch the Evan Bourne vs. Tyson Kidd match and then skip on over to The Hurricane segment and you’ll be good.