CHARLOTTE, N.C. As the cloud of mystery over Mr. McMahon's tragic presumed demise continued to hang over all of WWE and ECW,
the winds of change blew in the Land of the Extreme Tuesday night. The
first steps to crowning a new ECW World Champion were taken, as Chris Benoit and CM Punk won the opportunity to face each other for the vacant ECW World Title at Vengeance: Night of Champions.
Ironically, Benoit and Punk would not have gotten this title match
without Mr. McMahon. In his last official act, the Chairman stripped
Bobby Lashley of the ECW World Title after the proud former Army sergeant was drafted to Raw. Benoit and Punk did not get their title opportunity easily. New Breed leader Elijah Burke
and his enforcer, Marcus Cor Von would have loved to have brought the
ECW World Title to the New Breed. But Burke fell short to the Rabid
Wolverine, and the Straightedge Superstar somehow eked out a victory
over The Alpha Male.
The Rabid Wolverine is a former World Champion and perhaps a future
WWE Hall of Famer. CM Punk is an up-and-coming ECW Superstar and
perhaps a future World Champion. They represent the past, the present
and future of ECW and all of sports-entertainment and in many ways
are mirror images of each other.
When Benoit and Punk battle for the ECW World Title this Sunday at
Vengeance: Night of Champions, it will be a clash of both the past and
future of ECW. Their battle will be a war between titans who share both
the same passion for combat inside the squared circle and a mutual code
of honor.
Benoit and Punk were not the only Superstars to give our fans a
glimpse of the new landscape of ECW. Former Intercontinental and WWE
Tag Team Champion Johnny Nitro,
who was drafted to ECW this past Sunday during the WWE Supplemental
Draft, made his debut in the Land of the Extreme against tough ECW
Original Nunzio. The Full-Blooded Italian showed the A-lister what
extreme means in ECW. But in the end, Nitro showed our fans and the
rest of ECW that he is an A-lister who can kick some a**.
Meanwhile, recent draftee Boogeyman
continued to send nightmares throughout the ECW locker room by quickly
decimating and worming another hapless foe. Our fans cringed in horror
as the worms wiggled in Boogeymans mouth and he celebrated another
victory. It looks like he is looking to bring more victims down to The
Bottomless Pit in the weeks ahead.
Boogeymans entrance in ECW has caused sleepless nights, but it appears new draftee The Mizs
debut is highly anticipated, especially among the ladies of Extreme
Exposé. The trio was seen talking about the former reality TV star, and Brooke even seems to have a crush on The Miz. But it also appears that Kelly Kelly may
have already spent some time with Miz and Layla knows about it. Stay
tuned to ECW on Sci Fi in the coming weeks and see if this potential
saga develops.
Kevin Thorn
is not new to ECW, but he is one of its most promising young stars. He
has been on a brutal winning streak since leaving the New Breed and
focusing on leaving his own carnage in ECW. Tommy Dreamer, the heart and soul of ECW, tested the fanged freak, but Thorn pounded him into defeat.
Benoit, Punk, Burke, Cor Von, Nitro, Boogeyman and Thorn all gave
our fans a glimpse of ECWs future, and by all indications, it is
bright. One thing is for sure: Vengeance: Night of Champions will be
the beginning of a new era in the Land of Extreme. Dont miss history
in the making at Vengeance this Sunday at 8/7 CT, only on pay-per-view.
Cant get enough of ECW? Relive each match in its entirety on Hardcore Hangover at ECW.com.
