ECW Results 03-25-08: Biggest Tag Team Contest in History + A Free Special WM Preview Announcement
Submitted by MIK on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 6:15 PM EST





Hello Everyone! Welcome to the final report before WrestleMania 24! Tonight we have a special night in store for you all. Not only do we have a special WrestleMania preview, but perhaps the biggest tag team contest in wrestling history. Also, be sure to read my WrestleMania predictions at the end of the report!


Fayetteville, NC

After the ECW video package goes off, Joey Styles welcomes us to ECW and tells the audience that we are about to witness perhaps the biggest tag team match in history.

The ring is filled with 20 superstars as we await for the remainder 4 superstars to make their way down to the ring.

Hardcore Holly’s music hits and he and Cody Rhodes make their way down to the ring. They are followed by Kofi Kingston. Kingston is followed by the Big Red Machine – Kane!

The team is as follows:
-Team Face: Shannon Moore, Jimmy Wang Yang, Jim Duggan, Jesse, Festus, Tommy Dreamer, Val Venus, Jamie Noble, Kofi Kingston, Hardcore Holly, Cody Rhodes, and Kane.
-Team Heel: Chuck Palumbo, Snitsky, Lance Cade, Trevor Murdoch, Miz, Mark Henry, Elijah Burke, Great Khali, Matt Striker, Deuce, Domino, and Brian Kendrick.

Match 1: 12 on 12 Tag Team Contest
Brian Kendrick and Cody Rhodes appear to be starting for their respective teams. Bell rings and Festus goes ballistic on the apron. The early portion of the match sees some quick exchanges of near falls between the two young athletes. Cody gets the upperhand with a sidelock headscissors. After about a minute, the two superstars engage in what is a series of sunset flips. Cody goes and makes the tag to Noble. Noble comes in aggressively and back clubs Kendrick. He follows that by bodyslamming him as well. Noble tries to backdrop the other cruiserweight, but he falls back and rolls right into Palumbo. Palumbo is in and shoves Noble to the mat. Palumbo proceeds to strike Noble with a series of knee strikes to his abdomen. After a missing elbow drop attempt from Palumbo, Noble manages to tag in Jimmy Wang Yang. Yang quickly hits a spinning kick to the face of Palumbo and decides to go up top on the turnbuckle. From here, Yang hits an amazing hurricanrana which sends Palumbo to the outside. Yang the leaps over the ropes and connects with a flying crossbody. At this point, Brian Kendrick sees the opportunity and he too enters the ring and dives out of it taking down the two competitors that are outside of the ring. Shannon Moore decides it’s his turn and he follows up the series of aerial attacks with a rolling senton splash. With four men down, Trevor Murdoch climbs a turnbuckle and lands on all of the following men by pressing his weight against them. WOW! Before we go to our first break of the evening, Noble hits a senton splash from the apron and takes down Murdoch.

-Commercial-

Be sure to catch the 2008 Hall of Fame Ceremony this Saturday night at 11/10 CT.

Back, we see Tommy Dreamer and Snitsky fighting it out. Dreamer dropkicks the big guy and proceeds to spike him with a DDT, but Miz breaks the near fall. Val Venus enters the ring and he takes down the Miz with a few punches. Jim Duggan enters as well and soon enough, all hell breaks loose as 12 of the 24 combatants duke it out in and out of the ring. Seconds later, Deuce and Domino take down Dreamer with a double clothesline, but soon are taken out with a innovating body splash from Kofi Kingston off the top rope. As soon as Kingston turns around however, he is immediately knocked off his feet with a running STO from Elijah Burke. Hardcore Holly comes from behind and successfully hits the Alabama Slama. Holly then chops Miz a few times across the chest, but Palumbo kicks Holly and the two battle it out on the outside. Festus enters the ring and simply splashes on top of the fallen body of the Miz. As Festus turns around, he is brain chopped by the Punjabi Giant, Great Khali. Kane has seen enough and uppercuts Khali so hard that the giant falls down and out of the ring. Kane then grabs Matt Striker by the throat and delivers a thunderous chokeslam. Mark Henry tries to take down the monster from behind, but he is big booted. Snitsky sees an opportunistic position and successfully hits a big boot to Kane finally taking him down. Snitsky sees a hurt Tommy Dreamer in the corner struggling to make it to his feet. Joey Styles asks “who’s the legal man?” and Tazz replies by saying that at this point, its just a matter of who is in the ring. Snitsky charges at Dreamer, but Dreamer dodges him, but Dreamer is grabbed and slammed to a opposite turnbuckle by Henry. Snitsky capitalizes off the situation by connecting with a devastating big boot and this one is already over. (Rating: 4/5. A very entertaining match to open up one of the biggest ECW’s in the last year. Overall, a great way to give the 24 superstars for the battle royal a way to prepare for their big match.)

Post-Match: All 24 men get in the ring and stare one another down and hinting that there are no friends in the battle royal.

A Big Show/Floyd Mayweather Promo is shown interviewing the likes of Michael Buffer, Bert Sugar, Antonio Tarver, Evander Holyfield, and more.

-Commercial-

The worldwide extravaganza known as WrestleMania is only 5 days away!

Tommy Dreamer is in the back talking to Collin Delaney and holding his neck. Chavo Guerrero interrupts and bashes the rookie and Dreamer saying that Dreamer just couldn’t wait to lose. Dreamer tells Chavo to shut up and challenges the ‘Mexican Warrior’ to a match. Chavo says that if that were to happen, it would be a non-title match. He further adds that Dreamers offer is a pretty bold statement for someone who has made a career of losing. Chavo then mocks Delaney once more and Dreamer backs him up by saying that Delaney has more heart and courage in his finger that Chavo does in his entire body. Chavo laughs and accepts Dreamer’s challenge.

Back in the arena, we see a briefcase held above the ring as Tony Chimmel says our next match is a Money in the Bank Preview Match.

Match 2: Carlito v. Shelton Benjamin
As the bell rings, the two heels begin to exchange words. Carlito eventually hits Benjamin with a cheap shot, knocking the ‘gold standard’ off his feet. Carlito literally stumps a mudhole in Benjamin and punches Benjamin in the corner. Carlito then judo flips Benjamin, but Benjamin shows great athleticism by landing on his feet. Benjamin, with a determined look on his face, takes control of the match as he puts a beatdown on the Carribean superstar. Benjamin proceeds to send Carlito to the ropes in an attempt to connect with a hip toss, but Carlito counters and lands on his feet. He then kicks Benjamin and applies a headlock, but is quickly countered and taken down with a shoulder block. As Benjamin lifts Carlito up, Carlito makes a surprise dropkick that sends Benjamin over the top rope. However, Benjamin ‘skins the cat’, but is immediately back clubbed by Carlito. Benjamin kicks Carlito in the head and rolls back to the apron and tries to springboard attack Carlito, but is instead RKO’d on the ropes and falls to the plastic mat on the outside. Benjamin gets to the apron at an 8 count and Carlito charges at him, but is grabbed and brought on to the apron as well. The two fight and Carlito gets the upperhand by DDTing Benjamin. Carlito covers, but its just a 2 count. At this point, Carlito applies a reverse chin lock and the crowd gets anxious so they cheer “Shelton!” Benjamin struggles to get up and elbows Carlito in the gut, but Carlito connects with a beautiful springboard elbow shot. Carlito pins again and yet another 2 count. Carlito grabs Benjamin, but is miraculously reversed into an electric chair with Benjamin in favor. They take quite some time to get up and once they do, Carlito strikes with a powerful springboard dropkick! 2 Count and Carlito is frustrated. Crowd gets even louder for Benjamin and it just so happens that Benjamin strikes with a lethal roundhouse kick to the head of Carlito. Benjamin follows up with a backbreaker and eventually connects with a T-bone suplex. This time Benjamin covers for a 2 count. Benjamin lifts Carlito up, but Carlito kicks Benjamin and after a series of reversals between the two, Carlito hits a thunderous overdrive. Benjamin looks like he is totally knocked out. But NO! Benjamin manages to kick out at 2 and 7/8s. Carlito goes for the backstabber this time, but Benjamin counters it into a powerbomb straight on to the turnbuckle. Benjamin backs away and goes for the PayDirt (finishing move), but no..another counter as Benjamin is caught into a backbreaker. After another near pinfall, Carlito goes to the top rope, but characteristically Benjamin leaps on top of the rope as well and connects with a super PayDirt drilling Carlito face-first onto the mat. Benjamin slowly rolls over towards Carlito and finally picks up the victory. (Rating: 4/5. This match exceeded my expectations by a long shot. Excellent series of reversals that sets up a nice scenario for the MITB match at WrestleMania)

Post-Match: Benjamin is slow to get back to his feet, but gets well deserved applause from the audience. Once he is up, Benjamin looks up at the MITB briefcase that is suspended above the ring and signals that it is his.

WWE Championship Promo is shown highlighting the intense moments of the triple threat feud.

-Commercial-

Special WM Free Preview Announcement: The 24 battle royal match can be seen for free prior to WrestleMania going live at 6:30 ET and 3:30 PT on WWE.com. Check the website for the details.

Joey Styles & Taz introduce the next inductee to the 2008 Hall of Fame. It is none other than the great Gordon Solie.

Kelly is in the back looking at herself in the mirror. Stevie Richards approaches her as they are headed to the ring together.

-Commercial-

Be sure to purchase the all new Triple H: King of Kings DVD. Not to mention his new shirt!

Match 3: Mike Knox & Leyla v. Stevie Richards & Leyla
Bell rings and the divas start things off with a few shoves back and forth. Kelly gets the upper hand as she applies an armlock. Leyla battles back with an elbow strike to the face, but to no avail as Kelly takes her down with a clothesline. Mike Knox tries getting in, but Stevie Richards sends him back out. In the meantime, Kelly rebounds off the ropes, but is tripped by her ex-boyfriend. Leyla tortures Kelly by pulling her hair. Leyla proceeds to hit a snapmare and the crowd gets behind Kelly. Leyla misses a leg drop and Kelly gets up and enzigiri’s Leyla. The divas tag in their respective partners and Richard gets the better of Knox as he strikes with multiple kicks to the body of Knox. The divas get back into the action as they wrestle on the outside. In the ring, Richards tries to judo flip Knox, but it is countered into a corkscrew facebuster by Knox for the win. (Rating: 3/10. Solid action for the time it was given.)

Another Big Show/Mayweather promo is shown.

-Commercial-

As we return from our last break of the evening, we see the 23 men that will participate in the battle royal surrounding the ringside area. They are here to scout the ECW Champion – Chavo Guerrero.

Main Event: Tommy Dreamer v. Chavo Guerrero
Chavo gets the early advantage from the get-go until Dreamer retaliates with a few punches of his own. Dreamer sends Chavo over the top ropes, but hangs on. Dreamer delivers one more hard punch and Chavo falls on the outside. The 23 speculators around the ring gather around as a group of them act as lumberjacks and throws Chavo back into the ring. Dreamer goes for a quick rollup victory, but no avail. As Dreamer chases Chavo in the ring, Chavo brilliantly grabs and tosses Dreamer into the middle turnbuckle thus stopping the momentum of Dreamer. Chavo applies a reverse chin lock and a chorus of “Chavo Sucks!” chants can be heard. Moments later, Dreamer finds himself in good position as he bulldogs the champion. Dreamer puts Chavo in the Tree of Woe position and dropkicks Chavo right in the face. Dreamer attempts to spike Chavo, but it is countered and Chavo tries to hit the 3 amigos. On the third suplex, Dreamer counters it into a neckbreaker and he goes up top. Chavo trips Dreamer and proceeds to hit the Frog Splash for the victory. (Rating: 3.5/5. A pretty good main event that not only makes Chavo look strong for his title match this Sunday, but also gives Dreamer and the rest of the 23 competitors a ‘good look.)

Post-Match: All men get into the ring and just beat the heck out of each other as “ECW, ECW!, ECW!!” chants can be heard to close the show.


Quick Match Results:
-Team Heel def. Team Face in 24 Man Tag Team Contest
-Shelton Benjamin def. Carlito
-Mike Knox & Leyla def. Stevie Richards & Kelly
-Chavo Guerrero def. Tommy Dreamer

Highlight of the Night: Shelton Benjamin v. Carlito

Tonight was an excellent show heading into the Granddaddy of them All. Every match on the card was a 3+ match with 2 really good ones. Indeed a great show considering no CM Punk or John Morrison. Overall Rating: 7.5/10



Here are my WrestleMania 24 Predictions:

24-Man Battle Royal (WWE.COM)
I believe what we have seen over the past few weeks, the winner of this match will come down to Kane. He is the only person (aside from CM Punk) in WWE that appears on multiple brands and I believe that trend will continue. In addition, a Chavo/Kane rivalry won’t be too bad as they can carry their feud on both brands and make some good sense out of it (by using Edge, Taker, etc.). I strongly doubt a heel will win this matchup as a heel vs. Chavo just doesn’t add enough spice to the magnitude of a WrestleMania type match.

BunnyMania Lumberjack Match: Ashley Massaro & Maria vs. Beth Phoenix & Melina
First off, let me start off by saying that I would have rather preferred had this match been a Fatal 4 Way for the Women’s Championship as it adds that wrestling intensity to the quality of the match. No disrespect to any divas, but I think this match will simply be somewhat of a performance to arouse the audience. In any case however, I see Beth Pheonix & Melina walking out as the winners of the following contest.

Finlay vs. JBL (Belfast Brawl)
I have always admired Finlay since his early days in WCW and believe that he will put up a great show against JBL. Unfortunately, I would have liked to see JBL shake a little more of that ‘rust’ off before competing solo on the Granddaddy of them All. All in all, I see the finish coming with a Hornswoggle interference making JBL the loser of this contest in what will be somewhat of a lackluster match.

Kane vs. Chavo Guerrero (ECW Championship)
If my previous prediction is correct on Kane winning the battle royal match occurs, then I believe that Chavo will remain the ECW Champion by the end of the night. Kane once said, “It’s time for the younger guys to shine” and that he does not mind winning the major titles. This will make Chavo the winner and possibly be a turning point in his career in which he can strongly carry out the Guerrero name.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match:
This match might be perhaps the most difficult match on the card in predicting a decisive winner. If I were to choose however, my money is either on Kennedy or Shelton Benjamin. Reason I say Kennedy is because he really didn’t have an opportunity to work the ‘Mr. Money in the Bank’ Storyline to his advantage due to injury last year. Not only did it slow down his role, but put him down as the only man to have not won a title after winning this prestigious match. In addition, it would technically make him undefeated at 2-0 – Just thought I might throw that one out there. As for Benjamin, I believe this guy has tremendous potential. A run with the briefcase may not only give the boost in Benjamin’s career, but could possibly draw more viewers for ECW.

SmackDown vs. RAW: Batista vs. Umaga
Umaga is reportedly supposed to switch brands and be on SmackDown in the near future. If rumors are any indication, then I believe the winner of the following contest will be Batista. What I believe will happen is that Batista will win at ‘Mania and Umaga will be ‘furious’ and show up on SmackDown the following weeks and will torment the Animal which can set-up a summer-long clash between two of WWE’s top superstars.

Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels (Career Threatening Match)
Sorry all Ric Flair fans. But the time is now that Ric Flair will finally hang up his boots and call it quits. I expect this match to be a suspenseful 15 minute matchup in which HBK will emerge the victor in what will likely be a classic wrestling match. I can picture Flair making his exit on the Grandest Stage of them all in what will bring tremendous emotion to many fans. I strongly doubt a HBK heel turn. Definitely this match carries the possibility of “stealing the show.”

Floyd “Money” Mayweather vs. Big Show
I believe Mayweather is going to ‘shock’ the world and emerge the victor in the match. Celebrities are almost always giveaways in which they ultimately get the last laugh. Hence Donald Trump and Vince McMahon from last year. Nonetheless, I’m sure this match will draw many eyes. Hopefully, all the hype will be worth it as I feel this match could wind up an embarrassment.

World Heavyweight Champion Edge vs. Undertaker
There are many speculators saying that the Undertaker will emerge victorious and keep the legendary streak alive. I for believe that this will happen, BUT, Undertaker will NOT be walking out as Champion. Why is this? For some strange reason, I see Edge getting DQ’ed or counted out which will later result in the continuation of perhaps SmackDowns biggest storyline of the year.

WWE Championship
I strongly doubt Orton will retain. In addition, I believe Cena will not win the title as well due to him starring in yet another film. That leaves The Game Triple H to be the victor. I would actually like to see him as well have a run with the title since he hasn’t really had one since WrestleMania 21.

This is it! The Stage is Set. Please be sure to enjoy the event as it is afterall only once a year! Have Fun All!


Questions, Comments, Concerns? Contact me, MIK, at akbarsaadi@yahoo.com








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