Professional Wrestling's ECW on SciFi featured an Extreme Battle Royal and Bobby Lashley vs. Randy Orton.
Randy Orton, Edge, Vince McMahon, Bobby Lashley
Toward the end of the March 12, 2007 edition of Monday Night Raw, Edge approached Mr. McMahon with hopes of gaining a few brownie points by offering Rated RKO’s assistance with taking care of Bobby Lashley. Delighted with Edge’s initiative in volunteering Randy Orton for a match with Bobby Lashley, he announced the main event for the March 13th edition of ECW on Sci-Fi as Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Randy Orton. Of course everyone knows that Edge and Orton have had problems as of late, but this seems to have put Orton over the “Edge.” ECW on Sci Fi did kick off with a match this week, but it was not the traditional wrestling match that could be expected on Tuesday nights. No, the opening segment this week actually consisted of a bit of a shouting match between the two members of Rated RKO. If the “You can trust me” stuff going on between Shawn Michaels and John Cena did not satisfy wrestling fan’s appetite for drama, then perhaps listening to Edge and Orton can fulfill that void.
The Extreme Battle Royal
The obvious highlight of the evening’s festivities had to be the Extreme Battle Royal between the ECW originals and the New Breed. The only question on the mind of most WWE Fans is “why was the match promoted as an “Extreme Battle Royal” when all battle royals have no rules?” In order for the match to truly be extreme, there should have been weapons. The match ended with a surprising comeback victory for the ECW Originals when Tommy Dreamer faced both Matt Striker and Elijah Burke as the final three men in the ring. Dreamer eliminated both men and the ECW Originals celebrated in the ring until Mick Foley came to the ring. With the ECW Originals ready to pounce, Mick Foley explained his actions at One Night Stand last summer when he stabbed Tommy in the back. Claiming that his true intentions were merely to put the spotlight on Tommy, Foley offered Tommy a copy of his new book that actually features additional explanations. Regardless of what superstar is writing a book and regardless of what superstar is appearing in Playboy magazine, it is nice to see the Innovator of Violence winning again.
Minor Segments Featuring Snitsky and CM Punk
Wrestling fans can finally feel at ease about the return of Gene Snitsky. Like every big man in wrestling, his first match consisted of him beating two no-name wrestlers to a pulp. Alas, wrestling fans must continue waiting for Snitsky to actually compete against some real competition. In another minor segment, Elijah Burke approaches fan favorite, CM Punk, with a second invitation to join the New Breed. Burke mentioned that CM could use the advantage in his Money in the Bank Ladder match. The only question now is “Will CM Punk give up fan support and his clean name to join forces with the new breed?”
Bobby Lashley vs. Randy Orton
So that only leaves the main event: Bobby Lashley vs. Randy Orton. The third generation superstar gave Bobby a run for his money, but in the end Bobby Lashley gave Randy the running powerslam that he calls “the dominator” to pick up a victory. This accomplishes two things. First, this match is a big loss for Randy Orton, who is heading into a “must-win” situation at WrestleMania. One can only imagine that if Orton does not win the Money in the Bank ladder match, then he must fall out of the World Title picture. Secondly, this gives Bobby Lashley a lot of momentum as he picks up a big victory on his way to Umaga at WrestleMania. Does Vince McMahon have another plan to secure an advantage at WrestleMania?
Previous: ECW Review March 6
Also See: Raw Review March 12, WrestleMania's Past
