ECW Recap 02.09.10

ECW Recap from Baton Rouge, LA:

The superstars of ECW were assembled in a backstage meeting with ECW GM Tiffany at a podium. Tiffany reminded them that in 2 weeks time ECW will be going off the air. Tiffany said that means everyone will be free agents able to sign with whatever brand they want. Tiffany said they will all have the opportunity to be part of WWE NXT too. Abraham Washington blurted out "Yeah, I'm gettin' paid!" Tiffany said the next two weeks are an opportunity to make a name for themselves. She encouraged everyone to seize the moment and have fun. Tiffany then put on some Mardi Gras beads and picked up a drink saying she was going to celebrate. Zack Ryder and Rosa immediately got up to ask her if she was just going to part when ECW is leaving the air soon. Tiffany told him "Woo woo woo, you know it", leaving Ryder and Rosa looking mad.

Josh Matthews and Byron Saxton were on hand for commentary of the show, with tonight's main event Shelton Benjamin versus Vance Archer in a no countout, no DQ match.

Goldust & Yoshi Tatsu vs. Croft & Barreta
For Unified Tag title match

The winners of this match get a unified tag team title match on the final ECW next week, against The Miz and Big Show. They showed highlights of DX losing to Miz and Show on last night's Raw.

Late in the match, Goldust managed to make a hot tag to Yoshi. Yoshi came in to knock down Croft multiple times. He climbed to the corner for a high risk move to hit Croft with a near fall, but Barreta was in to break it up. Goldust rushed in to hit Barreta with a facebuster to the mat, then the two went to the outside. Meanwhile, Croft tried to shove Yoshi against the ropes to bring him back for a pin. Yoshi held onto the ropes and Croft fell backwards. As Croft got up, Yoshi turned and hit his roundhouse kick to knock Croft out for a pinfall. As the camera showed the pin cover, Croft was bloodied up in his mouth and nose area. Byron Saxton speculated that maybe Croft broke his nose.

Winners: Yoshi Tatsu and Goldust win via pinfall over Croft & Barreta to earn a Unified Tag team title match on next week's ECW.

Saxton and Matthews talked about how prestigious it would be if Yoshi and Goldust could win the tag titles next week. Matthews then introduced footage of the first WWE Hall of Fame inductee for 2010, the Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase. Dibiase will be inducted on March 27th in Phoenix, AZ, one night before Wrestlemania 26.

---

As ECW returned, Josh Matthews mentioned the Divas Valentine Day themed photo gallery on WWE.com now.

Perry Wallace vs. Ezekiel Jackson

Jackson got to take on a local Baton Rouge wrestler, Perry Wallace for tonight's contest, with William Regal at ringside. Matthews and Saxton noted that Jackson will be probably the hottest free agent after ECW ends. Right after the bell, Jackson shoved Wallace down. Wallace tried to battle back, but Jackson picked him up and brought him to the corner for a beating. From there, he tossed him halfway across the ring, then raised up his arm for a serious clothesline to level Wallace. Jackson finished him off with the one armed slam to win it, with Regal looking on approvingly. Jackson tossed Wallace out of the ring after the bell.

William Regal got in the ring with a mic. Regal announced that what happened in the ECW title match at Royal Rumble was a travesty. Regal said Tiffany has set back females as management 25 years by doing her bad job on ECW. Regal said she can redeem herself by granting Ezekiel a championship match on next week's show, since Jackson deserves to be champion. Jackson took the mic and addressed Christian saying if he chose to accept the challenge, that next week Christian's reign as champ will come to an end, with Jackson as the final champ. Jackson quoted the book of Ezekiel to close his comments.

Winner: Ezekiel Jackson wins via pinfall over Perry Wallace.

Still to come tonight, the main event featuring Shelton Benjamin and Vance Archer with No countouts and No DQ's.

---

Raw Rebound covered the events that went down between Batista and Cena 8 days ago when Raw went off the air. Cena got in the ring to close last night's episode of Raw 02.08.10, where he called out Vince McMahon. Vince came out with 10 security guards, then got in the ring with Cena. Cena told Vince he does this for the moment, while Vince does it for the money. Cena said Bret Hart told him he wants another moment, to wrestle Vince at Wrestlemania 26. Vince said yes at first, as Cena left to go backstage. Suddenly, Hitman emerged from the crowd to get in the ring and attack Vince. Vince was able to escape with the help of his security guards. Vince got on the mic angrily and told him there will be no Wrestlemania match, because Bret deserves to be screwed. Bret snapped after that and began destroying WWE electrical equipment near the ramp, and then the announcers table with TV's.

Matthews and Saxton discussed the upcoming 2010 Elimination Chamber PPV matches where Sheamus defends the WWE title against John Cena, HHH, Kofi Kingston, Ted Dibiase and Randy Orton. For Smackdown, the Undertaker defends his World title against Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio, R-Truth, John Morrison and CM Punk.

Josh Matthews and Saxton discussed how next week is the final ECW ever. They pondered if there will be an ECW Championship match next week, then cut backstage to Christian. Christian said he accepts Jackson's challenge but they need to do the final title match in a big way, as an Extreme Rules match.

Shelton Benjamin was introduced for the main event. He got on a mic and in the ring saying he's too good and too talented for ECW, but in his first week on the show Yoshi Tatsu kicked him in the head to pin him in about ten seconds. Shelton said every week after that the young superstars showed him what it takes to make it in this industry. The crowd kept chanting "Who Dat" at Shelton so he finally smirked and yelled out "Who Dat" in response. Shelton said he's going to miss everyone from the locker room except Vance Archer. Shelton finished by saying he can't wait to wipe that stupid smile off Archer's face and beat him like he's never beaten him before.

---

Shelton Benjamin vs. Vance Archer
No Countout, No DQ match

Shelton got the upperhand early as he knocked Archer to the outside. Archer was frustrated but came back in to gain control. He beat away on Shelton in the corner for a bit, before the Gold Standard made a strong attack. He punched away on Archer, then put him into a single leg Boston Crab. Vance Archer grabbed the bottom rope but the ref wouldn't break the hold because of the no DQ rules. Archer finally pulled himself out of the ring, then got back on the apron. He tried to climb the corner but Shelton was over to kick him off down to the floor. ECW took a commercial break.

When ECW returned, Vance Archer grabbed a Kendo Stick, but Shelton had a steel chair. Archer went at Benjamin, but hit the chair with the stick. Shelton tried to smash the chair on Archer but missed and hit the steps. Archer grabbed him and dropped him on top of the crowd barrier then hit a running kick to take control. Shelton had blood on his forehead as he got back in the ring. The ref took a time out, then called in a medical official to take a look at Shelton. During the commercial break, Shelton had been slammed head first onto the announcers table which bust him open.

Shelton got up and said to continue the match. Archer attacked him, but Shelton battle back. The two fought up on the corner, where Archer landed a huge slam move from a Bear Hug for a near fall. Archer took the corner turnbuckle off, then brought Shelton over to yank him against the exposed steel. Archer hit a knee drop and then punched away on Benjamin's hurt arm several times. Archer had several nearfalls, but when trying to grab Shelton by the leg he sustained a kick from him for a near fall.

In the closing moments, Shelton jumped up on the exposed turnbuckle area, then was able to jump off for a reverse neckbreaker on Archer. He followed that up with Paydirt to slam Archer face first to the mat for the pin.

Winner: Shelton Benjamin wins via pinfall over Vance Archer.

Next week will be the final episode of ECW ever, featuring two championship matches: Yoshi Tatsu & Goldust versus Miz and Big Show for the Unified Tag titles, and Ezekiel Jackson versus Christian for the ECW title!

---