What a splendid ECW! The roster, at this point, seems very suitable for a good wrestling-oriented show: Bourne's aerial moves really are the best in the WWE right now - always a delight to see a textbook moonsault. It's great that the management allows him to portray this character - I recall many being afraid that he would not be allowed to go "all out". It seems that his work rate has simply reassured the management of the fact that he does not botch. A rare specimen indeed and a delight to watch.

I also agree with Eck in that Ortiz is gaining steam - though I've also seen him get massive slack for his somewhat average wrestling abilities, he's not garbage by all means, and my assessment is that he is simply fresh. He faced a good worker in Spears and the match was fine in my books. In any case, Ortiz definitely has enough of oddball charisma to get over with the audience in a big way, and I should think it rare that someone as new as Ortiz should get the crowd behind him while in a submission move. I think that was very telling of an upward trajectory!

The Hardy chants before the main event really shook me up big time and only then did I realize how over Hardy is - possibly as over as he's ever been - and how the Henry feud will probably help him get even further over. Henry, Atlas and their devious smirks are getting solid, solid heat out of the crowd as well.

It's a great equation, one that I didn't see coming from the bend, and although I was (at first) worried Hardy might not have what it takes to get it going in ECW, they've now found the right ingredient for both the wrestlers' success in Henry being paired with Hardy.

Their match, then, was a pleasure to watch just like Kevin wrote, and the fact that the belt stays on Henry for now is also a positive in the babyface-monster heel scenario. I heard the WWE locker room was not too approving of Tony Atlas' role in the first place, but he seems fine in his managerial role and I very much appreciated the sleeveless shirt they kept saving for an important occasion :)

Hi Kevin,

Have you read Bret Hart's book yet?

I finished it last night. Overall the book is without a doubt the most in depth biography of a wrestler to date. It highlights the drug problems more than any other book and because it is independent it may be a more reliable source.

As a Canadian and a hitman fan back in the day, I've got to say a few things about it.

Bret seems to be ranting about how everyone did him wrong a lot of the time, probably most of the time. In a lot of cases, certainly in is WCW days, it is probably well justified.

His assessment of the Montreal Screwjob didn't change my mind to make me thing he was in the right. I still believe, although at the time, Shawn Micheals was surely a pain in the (butt) backstage, I believe Shawn did the right thing. Bret makes passing mention of dropping the belt to him or someone else on Raw the next night in the weeks before it, but conveinently forgets about it later on.
If he had offered to do that and stuck to it, I would believe he would have been in the right. While I don't believe he ever intended to show up on Nitro with the belt, I certainly side with Vince for not wanting to take that chance.

I felt sorry for him in his story in the months after the screwjob and also when reading about Owen, and all the other wrestlers who have died. He definetly went through hard times and it was a very moving account of it all.

The thing that I have to say bothered me the most about it was the last few paragraphs of the book. I thought it was going to be about how he moved on and was in a good place, but instead, the last thing he did was complain that it took 8 years to get inducted into the hall of fame (most people are much longer than that) tear into Shawn Micheals and Triple H. Whether his assessment of them back in the late 1990's is real, imagained or a combination of both, taking pot shots at people for stuff that happened more than a decade ago is a poor way to end your autobiography.

Being an avid cartoonist myself, I liked his account of drawing cartoons and giving them to other wrestlers (something I didn't know about him before) and I liked his cartoon on the inside of the cover, with pretty much every wrestler accounted for, with the notable excpetion being Shawn Micheals and HHH.

After a well written book and a must read for any wrestling fan, (whether you are a hitman fan or not) I thought it was a really sour ending. That said, Hitman was a great wrestler, His book is the most enjoyable wrestling biography to date and I hope he comes to a better place in his life soon.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I will probably end up reading it at some point. I have heard from other people that read the book that Hart comes off angry and bitter, and I just haven't felt like reading a book with that tone. It's like watching a sad movie -- you have to be in a certain mood for it.

I am actually really enjoying ECW right now, they've established a nice groove for themselves.

Having Striker and Grisham on the mic is also a huge improvement over Adamle not knowing anything and Tazz grunting the whole time.

Mike Knox reminds me of an old school heel from the NWA/AWA era, I wish he had a deeper voice though.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: Couldn't agree with you more on every point.

I like the young talent that is being developed on ECW and the way more established stars are being used to help get them over. Punk and Kingston were two of the first to start on ECW and move to bigger things from there. I see a refreshing pattern here for WWE that is not yet as apparent on the other programs where mostly the same talents that have been around for years get recycled over and over with very little new to offer. I guess I'm a minority but I find Evan Bourne and CM Punk matches a lot more interesting than Cena's and Batista's.

I do mis RVD and Sabu though. Any idea if either of these guys might re-surface soon?

Speaking of Matt Hardy, I just finished watching the bio on the Hardy Boyz today. Any one else seen it? I thought it did a fine job of going into some of the personal issues both of them have been through over the years (minus the fire, of course, as that was too recent). They openly talked about how they could see themselves facing eachother as the respective champions of the two top brands. But given Matt's show placement and elevating age and Jeff's issues that have kept him from a sustained push, I don't know if I see that happening. And if so, that's too bad for a couple of guys that have been around and so entertaining for so many years. There's not much debate as to their status among the top tag teams of all time but it seems their potential as singles performers may never be fully reached.

It took awhile, but like all the other posters, I find that ECW is clicking on all cylinders. It will never be Smackdown or Raw (that's a good thing), as it's an excellent showcase for young talent and it's different because it's not about the pyros or the backstage segments, it's about wrestling.

I enjoyed the Finlay and Knox confrontation and for the 1st time in a long time, I am excited to see Finaly in a feud with a tough guy, as the Rey angle was awful and the JBL angle was DOA. I like Knox and I think he a chance to be a big time heel in the WWE.

Matt Striker is amazing. This guys is the future (maybe the present) of color commentary in the WWE. His points are valid, he doesn't go over the top in his praise or criticism. I also think Grisham had the line of the week when Striker said "look at the guns on Atlas" and Todd said "constitution says everyone has the right to bare arms." Good stuff in the land of extreme.

When do you think matt hardy will get the ecw title?

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: It's hard to say. I think he should chase Henry for a while.

Do you think Tony Atlas has been interfering in Matt Hardy's matches because Hardy tapes his wrists?

You can't have an ECW champion who exposes the business.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: Now that's funny, although a large segment of readers probably won't get the reference.

I enjoyed this week's edition of ECW a lot more than Raw too. I think a huge part of that is due to the commentary team. Grisham has been doing well but Striker has been nothing short of outstanding.

Yes it was, and you didn't even need to grade on a curve to see it. ECW has been greatly improved over the last several weeks. Now if WWE actually decided to put some effort into it, it could be a really good show with the mix of talent currently on the roster. Obviously it would never be Smackdown or Raw (not sure it would want to be considering the state of Raw recently), but it could be way more than just an hour the company puts on every Tuesday.