Match Of The Week: 08.12.06.

August 15th, 2006.
ECW on Sci-Fi
Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu
#1 Contender's Ladder Match

Not only was this match a ladder match- which meant great news for these two- but it was also for a shot at the ECW Title at Summerslam. Originally it was to be a triple threat with Kurt Angle involved, but Angle pulled his groin at a house show and had to sit on the sidelines.

Sure, this match had some terrible spots in it, blown and missed opportunities if you will, but I'm willing to overlook that for two reasons. First off, because there aren't very many other matches that come close to being match of the week this week. And second because this is what ECW needs to be doing. Forget about Big Show defending his title against guys we've seen him fight in WWE countless times. Big Show vs. Ric Flair was all right, but against Kane, Undertaker, Batista... Yeah, that was just not where the ECW main event needed to be. Now, on the other hand we have two ECW alumni fighting it out in a ladder match. This is exactly what the ECW main event needs to be like. It needs to either be like last week's show or this week's show, but nothing in between. Having someone like The Sandman fight C.M. Punk or Tommy Dreamer vs. Mike Knox would be good for a main event. Having something we could just as easily see on RAW or Smack Down! as a main event is just bad.

Hopefully things improve for the WWECW, as I can see a lot of potential in it. With matches like this flowing properly, it could become the best WWE produced wrestling show out there. And, honestly, after they got pulled over and arrested for possession of marijuana, did anyone really expect RVD and Sabu to be main eventing when RVD came back from his suspension? I didn't.

(Photo courtesy of WWE.com)

Match Of The Week: 08.05.06.

August 8th, 2006.
ECW On Sci-Fi
Kurt Angle vs. Sabu

This was the first ever meeting between two of the greatest wrestlers alive. It was a dream match to many (myself included) and it delivered in every aspect except for possibly the ending. There was everything in this match that you'd expect from a high-flying daredevil like Sabu and a mat technician like Kurt Angle.

The only possible blemish to this match was the ending. Rob Van Dam made his comeback after his suspension for getting busted by the cops. He missed a Van Daminator on Kurt Angle big time, but the commentators still sold it like a million bucks. RVD did eventually turn on Sabu, though, which could prove to be interesting.

This also set the stage for next week's main event: Kurt Angle vs. Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam # 1 Contender's Ladder Match, which looks to be an early candidate for Match Of The Week here.

I'd like to also give honorable mentions this week to two different Smack Down! matches. Both Paul London & Brian Kendrick vs. KC James & Aaron "Idol" Stevens and Ken Kennedy vs. Rey Mysterio were close to being Match Of The Week.

(Photo courtesy of WWE.com)

Match Of The Week: 07.29.06.

August 1st, 2006.
WWECW On Sci-Fi
C.M. Punk vs. Justin Credible



This match marked the WWECW debut of C.M. Punk. After much time spent in OVW and out of the indy circuit, C.M. Punk finally scored some television time in front of a television audience. With the weeks leading up to this, vignettes were shown of C.M. Punk and his attitude towards wrestling.

It didn't matter who was going to face C.M. Punk going into this match. You just knew that Punk had to win his debut. But to see Justin Credible put on the show that he did against Punk was just remarkable. You couldn't have asked for a better debut match. Granted, it was in the middle of an hour long show so they only had a certain amount of television time... But C.M. Punk won over fans tonight on the start of what will hopefully become a long legacy of gold in both WWECW and eventually WWE.

The Hammerstein Ballroom gave C.M. Punk a warm entrance into the WWE world and let's hope some of the nay-sayers changed their minds about Punk as well. C.M. Punk truly is the future of professional wrestling and this match went out of its way to prove that to everyone who saw it.

(Photo courtesy of wwe.com)

Match Of The Week: 07.22.06.

July 27th, 2006.
TNA Impact!
Samoa Joe vs. Rhino

This is the match, in my mind, that has begun this whole journey known as My Match Of The Week Blog.

Samoa Joe and Rhino entertained fans with what could have been a pay-per-view level match, though it was given away on free television.

This match was teased the week before and I must admit that for the first time in quite a long time, I was excited to be watching Impact! next week. Two of the biggest, toughest man squaring off in a match we have never seen as wrestling fans before. Rhino, with his size and unrelenting power against Samoa Joe, a man of great size as well but he can move like a cruiserweight.

This match delivered all that it had promised... Except for a clean ending. Both men fought outside of the ring and up the entrance ramp. Monty Brown appeared and the match ended in a no contest.

Normally, I'd be bothered by those type of endings because of the level of the match, but honestly, I didn't mind it this time. If it was a pay-per-view match I think I'd be more upset. Plus, this whole show ended with Samoa Joe and Monty Brown in front of a table and then Rhino gored them both through the entrance tunnel!

Simply amazing... The type of main event Impact! should have every week.

(Photo courtesy of tnawrestling.com)