NEW ORLEANS – Seeing extreme icon Tommy Dreamer drag a garbage can to ringside had to momentarily give ECW World Champion Johnny Nitro second thoughts accepting this Extreme Rules Match for ECW on Sci Fi.

But with no rules, no disqualifications, and no help from referees, the Hollywood, Calif., Superstar used the occasion to prove his extreme mettle to his critics that questioned his hardcore credentials.

After weathering an early storm of blows from a steel crutch from Dreamer, Nitro rebounded to deliver a corkscrew moonsault from the ringside barrier. Then, after Dreamer recovered and pelted the champion with trash can blows, Nitro was able to reverse Dreamer’s momentum and send him crashing into a steel chair.

The champion quickly rolled up the ECW Original and used some leverage from the bottom rope – perfectly legal in Extreme Rules Matches – to gain the pinfall.

Meanwhile, his ECW World Title opponent at The Great American Bash, CM Punk, had his hands full with Stevie Richards. Richards had the Straightedge Superstar on edge throughout their match up, making Punk escape from a dangerous leg lock that had him near submission.

But with Nitro watching from a locker room monitor, Punk rallied past Richards, scoring the pinfall with his patented GTS. With less than two weeks until The Great American Bash, the rivalry between the champion and Punk continues to get hotter.

The evening on Sci Fi started off in a fitting way for New Orleans, a city known for the macabre and occult. Your teacher, Matt Striker, invited out his strange rival, Boogeyman, for a lecture. Keeping his school desk between him and The Bottomless Pit dweller, Striker tried to reason with Boogeyman and educate him about the importance his favorite snack, worms, have on the ecosystem.

But after seeing his lessons falling on deaf ears and the macabre monster stalking him closer, Striker introduced his new pupil, the intimidating Big Daddy V. Striker struck Boogeyman in the back to get his attention, then Big Daddy V attacked the worm-eater. The monster slammed Boogeyman into the teacher’s desk and then threw him through a chalkboard to the floor. 

Also making his long-awaited ECW debut was The Miz, who defeated the Italian spitfire Nunzio. The former reality TV star, drafted to ECW weeks earlier, had Extreme Expose’s attention before the match, and got Nunzio’s attention early on in their contest. Miz caught the Full-Blooded Italian in his swinging neckbreaker, called the “Mizard of Oz,” to gain his first-ever ECW win.

Elijah Burke also snapped his recent slump, scoring a victory over Balls Mahoney. After trading blows early in the match with the Chair Swinging Freak, Burke was able to dodge Mahoney’s leg drop from the top rope, then deliver the Elijah Express to the stunned New Jersey native to score the pin.