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Arcademan:
WWE Superstars Results: 5-7-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Keller's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1 -- SANTINA & KELLY KELLY vs. BETH PHOENIX & ROSA MENDEZ

Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler took over commentary. Cole: "Beth said dating Santino was like dating a child, and I'm sure, King, you can see what Beth Phoenix is talking about." Lawler said, "Just because my wife had a marriage license before they had a driver's license, what are you talking about?" After getting kicked in the butt, Santina walked it off and got some laughs. A few minutes of decent action and more comedy spots ended with Kelly pinning Mendez.

WINNERS: Phoenix & Mendez in 4:00

2 -- ZACH RYDER vs. FINLAY

Josh Matthews and Matt Striker called this. Ryder debuted his new look here, which is going to make D.J. Gabriel upset. He acted like Brian Christopher of Too Cool fame with his body language and mannerisms. His gimmick is that he's worried about his spiked jelled hair being messed up. Finlay messed it up to make him angry. Then he slapped him after he mouthed off at him. Finlay caught Ryder in the ring apron when Ryder flipped over the top rope onto him. Striker said Ryder has gotten very cocky ever since his early success in WWE. He said his own face is his screen saver.

Ryder got control at 3:00 after some ringside action, but Finlay avoided a charge in the corner and then gave him a Celtic Cross.

WINNER: Finlay in 3:00.

STAR RATING: 1/2* -- Not a lot to it. Why give Ryder a make-over and new gimmick only to job him to a 50 year old mid-carder in his relaunch?

3 -- CHRIS JERICHO vs. JOHN MORRISON

This is an interesting match on a number of levels. Can Morrison look like a potential main event singles wrestler against one of the shortest WWE PPV headliners in Jericho? He looked smaller than Jericho all around, slightly shorter and definitely thinner than the thickish Jericho, but just big enough to look like he's in the same weight division. Morrison clotheslined Jericho over the top rope to the floor early. Back in the ring Jericho took over at 2:00. He slapped Morrison a couple times, so Morrison fired back with a barrage of punches. Jericho knocked Morrison to the floor as they cut to a break at 4:00.

Morrison made a comeback at 7:00, hitting a clothesline and a flying leg clothesline, then a running knee to the face for a two count. Ross touted how this match is a testament to how well Smackdown did in the draft. At 8:00 Jericho applied a Walls of Jericho, but Jericho quickly grabbed the bottom rope to force a break. He then tossed Jericho crotch-first into the corner and hit a split-legged corkscrew springboard moonsault. Spectacular. Near fall followed. Jericho came back briefly, but Morrison scored another near fall with a bodyblock. Jericho fired back with an enzuigiri for a two count of his own at 10:00. Morrison hit a springboard roundkick to Jericho's face. Shelton Benjamin's music interrupted. He appeared on the big screen and he said: "Remember me? Now that I have your attention, gotcha!" Jericho surprised the distracted Morrison with a Code Breaker for the win.

WINNER: Jericho in 11:00.

STAR RATING: **1/4 -- Okay match. It seemed a bit meandering early in that there was no sense of urgency in the early minutes, but it picked up into a solid match in the final minutes. It'd be nice to know if we're supposed to cheer for Morrison or not. Is Shelton heelish for distracting him? Or are fans supposed be glad Morrison was distracted into a loss? Casting heros and villains goes a long way.

Arcademan:
TNA Impact! Results: 5-7-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Keller's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1 -- CONSEQUENCES CREED (w/Black Machismo) vs. SUICIDE -- Non-Title Match

Don West made his case why he believed Suicide was Daniels. Tenay was less skeptical and accused West of buying into anything Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley say. Nice action in the early few minutes, which also counted as the "last few minutes." Suicide won with a double knee jaw jammer off the middle rope.

WINNER: Suicide in 3:00.

STAR RATING: 3/4* -- A nice three minute start to a full-fledged match.

2 -- MATT MORGAN vs. SAL E. BOY & BIG ROCCO

Morgan wiggled his pecs like it was 1989. He tossed the rotund Rocco across the ring and then chokeslammed him. West touted his raw power and said the Mafia might see this and want to utilize Morgan to watch their backs. Rocco jumped Morgan from behind. Morgan slammed Rocco off the top rope, then finished Sal with the Carbon Footprint in 2:00.

WINNER: Morgan in 2:00.

STAR RATING: 1/4*

3 -- BEER MONEY INC. (James Storm & Robert Roode) vs. JETHRO HOLIDAY & ERIC YOUNG

As the match began, Tenay said: "Recently well-known commentator Jim Ross that within the wrestling business today he does not see red-hot tag team wrestling returning anytime soon." Ray said, "If tag team wrestling is not a priority in the company that Jim Ross works for, then shame on them. Tag team wrestling is definitely a priority in TNA." It's good to see TNA accentuating a difference between them and WWE like this, and the mention of Ross directly certainly perked up some ears. Ray touted Rob Terry as a monster newcomer as part of the new British Invasion tag team. West said he backs Team 3D in this tag tournament concept. At 3:00 Beer Money double-teamed Holiday for a near fall. Ray said TNA is the one place in wrestling where tag team competition thrives. Young climbed to the top rope and hit a legdrop on Storm. Roode broke up the pin. Beer Money finished Young with their DWI (Driving While Investing) finisher. Ray and Devon stood up and applauded them for their win. Ray said they took the next step and they're proud of them. Beer Money looked at them skeptically. Not sure what's up with Team 3D being so supportive, in a borderline patronizing way, of Beer Money.

WINNER: Beer Money Inc. in 4:00.

STAR RATING: *

3 -- VELVET SKY (w/Angelina Love) vs. AWESOME KONG (w/Ryesha Saeed)

Tenay talked about Kong talking on Impact for the first time ever. The ref sent the seconds to the back. Kong gave Sky an Implant Buster. "Beautiful implants, by the way," West said. Kong gave her a second Implant Buster. West gave Kong a hard time for doing it two more times. She put Sky on a stretcher, but before the ref count count to ten, Kong gave her another Implant Buster, and another. She dragged her onto the stretcher and the ref quickly counted toward ten. At seven, Kongs tepped him and gave her an Awesome Bomb. Some fans chanted, "One more time!" The ref counted to ten.

WINNER: Kong in 3:00.

STAR RATING: 1/4* -- I know they want to build Kong up as a killer dominant force, but there's nobody else in the division being treated as being even in her league.

4 -- SAMOA JOE & JEFF JARRETT & A.J. STYLES & CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & MICK FOLEY vs. KEVIN NASH & BOOKER T & KURT ANGLE & STING & SCOTT STEINER

West said this is the first time ever all five Mafia members have teamed together. Daniels opened against Steiner. Angle tagged in against Daniels at 1:00. Styles then relieved Daniels and took early control on Angle. Angle raked Styles's eyes to stop him, then tagged in Booker. West touted the trust the Mafia have in each other, unlike their opponents. He said people pay to see the Mafia, not anyone else. They cut to a break as Booker went for a pin on Styles.

Nash beat on Styles after the break. Sting tagged in seconds later. West touted the rapid tag strategy of the MEM. Steiner and Booker took turns, too. Joe broke up a pin on Styles, showing a sign of loyalty toward Styles. Angle held Styles center-ring and went for an Angle Slam. Styles ducked and hit the Pele Kick. Styles tagged in Foley, who gave Sting a neckbreaker. Angle surprised Foley from behind with a back suplex. Jarett jumped in and gave Angle a quick Pedigree. Nash went for a Jackknife on Jarrett. Joe broke it up with a running boot, knocking Nash to the floor. Joe dove through the ropes onto Nash. Styles and Daniels dove onto Steiner and Booker. Angle brought the barbed wire baseball bat into the ring. Jarrett low-blowed Angle. Foley then yanked the bat away from Jarrett. Jarrett shoved Foley and kicked him in the crotch, then gave him a Stroke on the barbed wire. Sting then covered Foley for the win, getting himself entered in the Sacrifice main event.

WINNER: MEM in 10:00.

STAR RATING: *1/2 -- Okay for what it was. It wasn't much of a ten-man tag when Styles was in 90 percent for one team and the MEM members were in for only a few seconds at at time. It served it's purpose, but they could have given it more time so it felt less like an angle disguised as a main event match. They heated up the Jarrett-Foley rivalry while giving the first hint that Joe might be a loyal teammate after all.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Okay edition of Impact. More good than bad, but nothing great or terrible (although Morgan vs. the security guys came close). It advanced some storylines effectively with a big announcement at the end, although I doubt many are going to buy that this will be Sting's final match.

Arcademan:
WWE Smackdown Results: 5-8-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Park's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1- R-TRUTH vs. MIKE KNOX

Ross said Truth enters the arena like Grisham enters catering- charismatically. I for one would like to see that. Grisham talked about when he broadcasted for ECW and how Knox, who was on the brand at one time, blew through the competition there. Did Grish even announce ECW while Knox was there?

Truth got the advantage for the first 45 seconds or so, then made the mistake of playing to the fans. Truth’s offense looked pretty good. Truth made a comeback, and he took Knox off his feet with a dropkick to the knee followed by a scissors kick. That got a two-count. The ref backed Truth out of the corner and Knox used the opportunity to hit a bicycle kick on Truth. Knox Out finished it.

WINNER: Knox, at 2:44. I thought this would pretty much be a squash, but Truth got a lot of offense in. Match was nice and crisp.

2- MICHELLE MCCOOL vs. GAIL KIM

I’m still not sure what the relationship between Fox and McCool is. McCool showed off for the fans after taking Kim down. Kim got the advantage and whipped McCool into the ropes, but Michelle slid out of the ring. Fox got knocked to the floor by Kim while she went after McCool. Michelle regained control inside the ring. Head-scissors applied by McCool. Kim built some offensive momentum and flung herself right into Michelle’s mid-section in the corner. Blockbuster (and call such by JR) by Kim off the top for two. Kim went for a hurricanrana, but Michelle hold on and hit the Faith Breaker (Styles Clash) for the win.

WINNER: McCool, at 3:14. One of the better women’s matches as of late. Still hate the name of her finisher though.

3- JOHN MORRISON vs. CHARLIE HAAS

Haas had the old WGTT theme and was accompanied to the ring by Shelton Benjamin. Shelton took a seat at the announce desk, but didn’t join the commentators. Haas hit some hard right hands as Shelton cheered him on. JR and Grisham talked about Haas’ previous gimmick of pretending to be other people. Springboard dropkick off the top by Morrison for two. Hard whip into the turnbuckle by Haas. Haas looks like he found a mean streak. Butterfly suplex by Haas for two. Textbook tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Haas for another two-count. Morrison came back with kicks and punches. Knee to the face by Morrison, followed by a split-legged corkscrew moonsault for the win.

WINNER: Morrison, at 4:35. Fun little match. I’ve always been a Haas fan, but he hasn’t improved the main knock on him, which is his inability to get the crowd into his matches.

4- CM PUNK vs. EDGE

Punk worked over the arm of Edge and ended up dumping the champ to ringside. Punk hit a suicide dive onto Edge. Punk missed a move off the top but landed on his feet, only to get booted down by Edge. Full-Nelson applied by Edge. Punk got Edge on his shoulders for the GTS, but Edge rolled back and had both of Punk’s arms hooked. The two men both went for a cross-body and they collided in mid-air. Running knee-lift by Punk, then a heel kick. Springboard clothesline got the MITB holder a two-count. Punk missed a running knee though and Edge seemed to be looking for an electric chair. Punk rolled up Edge for two. Knee in the corner by Punk and he got Edge on his shoulders again for the GTS, but Edge held the rope. Edge missed a spear and went flying out of the ring. Edge opted not to return to the match.

WINNER: Punk, via count-out, at 6:23. Smart decision there by Edge- nothing for him to gain in this match and everything to lose.

After the match, Umaga came out of the crowd and gave Punk a superkick, then a spinning side slam. Samoan Spike put Punk out.

5- DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. THE GREAT KHALI

Ziggler tried to talk Khali out of the match. Ziggler tried a shoulder-block to no avail. He ran the ropes again and was met with a clothesline. Hard chop in the corner by Khali. Khali missed a kick and was hung up on the top rope. Ziggler kicked at Khali’s legs, but Khali shoved him off. Ziggler grabbed a steel chair from ringside and nailed Khali in the leg with the chair, drawing a DQ. He hit him a couple more times in the leg and back.

WINNER: Khali, by DQ, at 1:15.

-Edge came out to do guest commentary for the main event.

6- JEFF HARDY vs. CHRIS JERICHO

Jericho got the advantage to start, but Hardy speared him and pounded away. They continued the back-and-forth action. Hardy looked to put Jericho away early, but Jericho left the ring to take a breather. Rey Mysterio then came out and stayed at ringside to support Hardy. Jeff went after Jericho outside the ring and brought him back in. Jericho missed a dive in the corner and fell out of the ring. Hardy whipped him into the barricade, then propelled himself off the stairs. Unfortunately, Jericho moved and Hardy took a nasty-looking bump into the barricade. The ref started counting Jeff out and he got up to nine, but Hardy made it back in. Jericho immediately went for a cover but only got two, taking the show into the last commercial break.

Jericho was still on offense out of break. Edge seemed perturbed by Rey’s presence at ringside, even though both he and Edge were cheering for Hardy in this match. Short clothesline by Hardy as both men were down. Hardy went for Whisper in the Wind but slipped on the top rope. Jericho looked like he was going to trip Hardy up anyway on it, but Jeff slipped before he could get there. Then again, he did hit it after fighting off Jericho on the top rope, so who knows. Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho. Jeff reached the ropes, much to the relief of Edge on commentary. Face-first suplex by Jeff after he made it back to his feet. Hardy to the top, but he missed the Swanton. Lionsault by Jericho found the mark for two. Y2J missed an enziguiri, but Jeff missed a Twist of Fate and Jericho tried to lock in the Walls again. Inside cradle by Jeff, countered by Jericho and both got near-falls off of it. Jericho clotheslined Hardy over the top rope and both men went to the outside. Jericho threw Hardy over the announce table and into Edge. Jericho tossed Hardy back in to the ring, garnering a two-count. Edge got on the apron and had a few words for Jericho. Roll-up by Hardy for two. I thought it was over there. Hardy walked into a boot in the corner- Jericho rolled up Hardy and put his feet on the ropes. The ref didn’t see it, but Rey did, and he got the ref’s attention. Jericho yelled at Rey then was met with a Twist of Fate. Swanton finished Jericho off.

WINNER: Hardy, at 15:20. Good match and I liked the dynamic of Rey and Edge on the outside too. It actually added to the match rather than detracted from it.

After the match, Edge backed up the ramp as Hardy came toward him. Edge went to the back and Jeff stuck around to soak in the fans’ applause. Back in the ring, Jericho turned around and right into a Seated Senton by Rey. Rey celebrated to end the show.

Arcademan:
WWE RAW Results: 5-11-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1 -- BATISTA vs. TED DIBIASE, JR. & CODY RHODES

Match was joined in progress with Batista working over DiBiase. Cody then tagged in and took control momentarily while Lawler filled us in that Shane McMahon is still at a medical facility with a crushed leg. Batista fired up a comeback with a clothesline on Cody before giving him a high back body drop. Batista booted DiBiase off the apron, then he booted Cody to the floor. Cody and DiBiase then ran interference and Cody slid a chair into the ring. Batista picked it up and swung wildly, but Cody moved. Ref saw Batista with chair in hand and called for a DQ. Batista was furious while Cody and Ted celebrated their victory by out-smarting Batista.

WINNERS: Cody & Ted via DQ at 4:05 of TV time. Predicable finish to set up Batista in a three-on-one handicap match later in the show. You can probably count on one hand the number of times Ted or Cody have won matches clean in WWE, but WWE has invested considerable TV time in the duo and given them "center of attention" status with Randy Orton, so their time will come down the line when WWE presents them as credible acts who are capable of actually winning matches. (*)

2 -- Divas champion MARYSE & JILLIAN HALL vs. MICKIE JAMES & KELLY KELLY

Match built to Mickie taking the hot tag to clean house on Jillian and Maryse, who she's gunning for the title. Jillian tried to sneak-attack Mickie, but Kelly knocked her to the floor and nailed a splash. Back in the ring, Mickie grappled Maryse and nailed her trademark DDT for the pin and the win.

WINNERS: Mickie & Kelly at 3:45. Good to see them given a decent amount of time tonight. Good program build for Mickie finally getting her Divas title shot against Maryse after two straight pins over the champ. (*)

3 -- Unified tag champion CARLITO vs. THE BRIAN KENDRICK

Carlito nailed a quick dropkick right off the bat. Cole filled in the blanks that TBK requested the re-match after his loss last week. Cole and Lawler said the tag champs have a "special clause" to be able to defend the tag titles on any of the three brands. If they lose, their services are returned to the Raw brand. Kendrick scouted a springboard smash and ran up behind Carlito to shove him into the ropes. Kendrick then blocked the backcracker and shoved Carlito hard into the ringpost. Kendrick suddenly rolled up Carlito from behind for a quick pin for the win.

WINNER: The Brian Kendrick at 1:44. Kendrick gets a win. Good to see that. Hopefully WWE has a decent partner in mind for Kendrick so investing TV time in this program doesn't become a total waste. Of course, WWE has invested a total of five minutes in this mini-feud over the course of two weeks. (n/a)

4 -- JOHN CENA vs. THE MIZ -- Special Exhibition Match

No referee for this one, so we start the clock with the official square-off between Cena and Miz. Cena took Miz down then shot Show a look. Miz made Cena pay for not keeping his eye on the ball, as he went right to the injured ribs. Miz screamed at Cena to look at him, then he pounded on him some more with kicks to the gut. Miz nailed a running clothesline in the corner, but he missed with a second clothesline. Cena made his traditional comeback with the clotheslines, sit-out slam, and Five Knuckle Shuffle. He then called for the end while staring down Show, but Vickie Guerrero came on screen and said she's putting an end to this exhibition. Vickie declared that it's obvious Cena has no chance against Big Show.

Post-match: Miz grappled Cena from behind and gave him a DDT in center ring. Miz declared himself the victor with a record of 3-0. Miz then ducked out of the ring and applauded himself for his efforts. Big Show then approached the ring, smiled, and walked away without doing anything.

WINNER: No Decision at 2:47. Just a segment to set up Cena vs. Show at Judgment Day. Good use of Miz, even if he wasn't in a position of control before Vickie ended things, but he was positioned well after the heelish sneak attack on Cena. I like Miz's first three weeks on the Raw brand. (n/a)

5 -- SANTINA MARELLA vs. BETH PHOENIX (w/Rosa Mendes)

Crowd chanted for "Santina" after the opening bell. Beth landed an abrupt elbow smash after a little posing from Santina. Beth then clotheslined Santina over the top rope to the floor. She followed with a press slam through the ropes back into the ring. Beth then slapped on an abdominal stretch before putting him/her in the Masterlock. Cole rhetorically asked how long this feud has been going on for, and he suggested two months. More like two years. Beth had enough and blasted Santina with elbow strikes, but Santina rolled her up for a surprise pin and the win.

WINNER: Santina at 2:40. Just an attempt at comedy to fill a slot on the show. So many other wrestlers who could be receiving TV time after the Draft and WWE continues to focus on this well-played-out storyline. (n/a)

6 -- U.S. champion MVP & KOFI KINGSTON vs. WILLIAM REGAL & MATT HARDY

Match was joined in progress with Regal working over Kofi. Meanwhile, Matt used the loaded cast from the ring apron to cut off Kofi's comeback attempt. Matt then tagged in and worked with jeans and white sneakers on before tagging out to Regal.

Kofi countered a Regal mat attack with a head scissors and made the hot tag to MVP, who unloaded on Regal with forearm smashes. MVP landed a big right hand before dropping him across his knee and firing up the crowd. MVP wanted the Big Ballin' elbow drop and he connected. Matt broke up a pin attempt, then Kofi kicked Matt in the cast. Kofi measured Matt for a splash, but Regal chucked Kofi over the top rope to the floor. MVP then tackled Regal in the ring. Meanwhile, Matt took off up the ramp and clear out of sight. Matt then delivered the Chono Boot and Playmaker on Regal for the pin and the win. Lawler played down the babyface victory, saying it was two men beating on one.

WINNERS: MVP & Kofi at 6:26. Babyfaces really didn't benefit since, as Lawler pointed out, they won with an unfair advantage. Overall, just a match to officially start the in-ring portion of the MVP vs. Regal feud, promote Hardy's whiny heel character, and allow Kofi to fly around the ring to show off athleticism. A bit sloppy at times trying to mix all of those elements together. (*1/4)

7 -- WWE champion RANDY ORTON & CODY RHODES & TED DIBIASE, JR. vs. BATISTA -- officially a handicap match

Bell sounded to start with a one-on-one match with DiBiase and Rhodes nowhere to be found. Batista clotheslined Orton to the floor, then Orton tried to "slither" away from the ringside area, but Batista pulled him back to the floor and tossed him into the ring for a spinebuster. Batista then went to the floor and grabbed a steel chair. Batista then smashed Orton with the chair to earn another DQ tonight.

Post-match: Batista went to work on Orton by smashing his ankle just like Orton did to Shane McMahon last week. Batista landed chair shots to the back some more, then he went to the floor and grabbed the ring steps. Well, they were stuck, so he violently kicked them to force separation. Batista landed another chair shot on Orton's ankle, stared down the ref, then chucked the chair out of the ring. Batista then lifted up the steel steps, but Cody Rhodes stormed the ring. Batista easily gave him the Batista bomb, though. Ted DiBiase then snuck into the ring from behind and attacked Batista. Orton tried to sneak back in with an RKO, but Batista flung him away. Batista speared DiBiase out of his boots, then Batista picked up the ring steps and chucked them at Orton, who dodged the steps on the floor while selling an ankle injury. "Batista has snapped!" Cole declared.

WINNER: Orton via DQ at 0:58. Conclusion of a wild storyline to set up Batista being in control leading to the PPV with Orton in jeopardy of losing the title. It means a very strong probablity Orton is retaining on Sunday, but a good way to plant seeds of the heel champion being in jeopardy to encourage WWE fans to potentially become PPV buyers to see Orton get his full comeuppance for his dastardly deeds the past few weeks. (n/a)

Arcademan:
ECW on SciFi Results: 5-12-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1 -- TOMMY DREAMER vs. MARK HENRY (w/Tony Atlas)

Henry went right for the back to begin his attack. He squeezed the life out of Dreamer before putting a boot on his throat to squeeze the air out of his lungs. Announcers were snoozing on the job as Henry continued his methodical attack. Dreamer blocked a corner splash with a boot, then went to the second rope, but Henry caught him in mid-air for a bear hug that he turned into a brick wall splash. Henry measured Dreamer for an elbow, but Dreamer moved and dropkicked Henry in the knees to take him off his feet for the first time. Dreamer then landed a running dropkick in the corner and nailed a DDT. He made the cover, but Henry put his big ol' foot on the bottom rope to block a three count. Dreamer tried to follow with a small package, but Henry blocked by sitting down on Dreamer's forearm. He followed with the World's Strongest Slam for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Henry in 5:00. Dreamer had his standard "moment of brilliance" to look half-way credible against Henry, but we knew how this was going down with Henry taking the victory and Dreamer's quest to the ECW Title continuing to be derailed. Announcers took a nap on this one. (*)

2 -- TYSON KIDD vs. FINLAY

Finlay started on the offensive, then Kidd applied an ankle hold. Finlay suddenly came back with a crazy-looking double ankle lock hold where he snapped Kidd's back off the ground across his knee. I don't know what that was, but it was awesome. Kidd tried to recover on the outside, then Finlay gave chase and Kidd smashed him into the apron. Finlay then pulled the trick by catching Kidd inside the ring apron. He took too long rolling Kidd back into the ring, so Kidd dropkicked him through the ropes. Nice back-and-forth action with them going to break with Kidd in control.

Back from break, Kidd was still on control with a mat hold looking for a submission. "Ask him, ref, ask him!" Put it on a t-shirt already. Kidd worked the left shoulder. "Ask him. Ask him, ref. I'll break his arm!" So great watching and listening to Kidd work a mat hold. Kidd then took his shoulder hold into a twisting drop across his knee. Nice. Finlay was apparently fired up from being one-upped in the innovative hold department, so he fired off a round of clotheslines. He hit the Rolling Hills drop, but Kidd kicked out. Finlay then wanted the Celtic Cross, but D.H. Smith jumped into the ring and smashed Finlay for a DQ.

Post-match: Here we go. They're calling him David Hart Smith, by the way. Smith looking huge. Not in a steroid-huge looking way, though. A more "physically-imposing heel" kind of a way. He beat up on Finlay and beat him up some more before Finlay tried to make a comeback. Kidd then snuck in behind with the shillelagh and smashed Finlay in the knees. Smith then chucked Finlay to the floor and sent him head-first into the announce table. Back in the ring, Smith and Kidd set up the Hart Attack old school combo from Bret and Neidhart. Natalya then showed up and raised the arms of Kidd and Hart to officially announce the new Hart Foundation. Crowd booed them heavily. Good to see them generating heat for this. Hart Foundation v.2 then walked out of the ring in celebration.

WINNER: Finlay via DQ in 10:00. Solid TV match leading to the excellent post-match angle to give ECW a new stable and a new program they can really work with to create compelling TV. Smith looked very good, but we'll see how he looks in the ring in future weeks. (**)

3 -- KOZLOV vs. CHAD COLLYER

Plenty of "Cold War" references to Kozlov from Striker to bring us back to 1982. Striker said Russian PM Vladimir Putin is a huge Kozlov fan. He then threw in a line about U.S. president Obama, calling him "the Communist in the White House." He followed by muttering something under his breath about having to say it. Kozlov easily finished off the punching bag with the Iron Curtain slam for the win.

Post-match: Mathews entered the ring to interview Kozlov. What sets you apart from the other WWE stars? Kozlov said he's trained by Russian Sambo fighters, which makes him superior with great comb-in-a-tion skills and disc-i-pline. He said Russians always dominate inter-nat-ional comp-e-tion. He will eliminate everyone in E-C-double-u. And that darn punching bag better not show up next week.

WINNER: Kozlov in 1:00. Just a squash to establish Kozlov as a threat to the American way of life and all that patriotic business from 1982. Holding pattern for Kozlov before he's pushed into the ECW Title picture. (n/a)

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