– According to PWInsider, the RVD suspension posted on ECW.com, as expected, is indeed a result of the Sunday drug-related arrest. Punishment for Sabu should be forthcoming.
– PWInsider is also reporting that Tazz and Michael Cole – who used to be great friends – are no longer due to something personal that happened that was not WWE-related. Tazz threw a comment or two about Cole into commentary last week on ECW’s TV show.
– Jesse Ringel and WrestlingObserver.com reported the following dark match results from last night’s ECW TV taping in Philadelphia. These matches took place before the televised part of the show began, and there were approximately 2500 fans in attendance, all kept to the lower tier to keep an “intimate” setting:
The show opened with Tony Mamaluke against Roadkill. Chants of “Where’s My Pizza?” and “Sheep”. Crowd was into the match and chanted “ECW” when Mamaluke hit a suicide through the ropes. Roadkill got the win after a splash off the top.
Next up was CM Punk vs CW Anderson. Punk got a very good response from the crowd. Anderson did not get the same ovation he did when he was at the ECW Arena. Lot of stalling holds just like Punk’s match at the Arena. Punk made Anderson tap with the Anaconda Vice.
Sabu against Stevie Richards was up next. Sabu was way over, probably more than anyone other than RVD. There were chants of “BWO” for Stevie, but crowd was solidly behind Sabu. Stevie flipped off the crowd. Sabu a triple jump plancha to the outside and a triple jump moonsault in the ring. The crowd chanted “We Want Tables” and Sabu abliged by bringing in a table and hitting the Atomic Arabian Facebuster for the win. Sabu posed after the match.
Last match before the TV taping started was Tommy Dreamer against Justin Credible. Credible got a little offense in, but it was mostly Dreamer. Dreamer won with the DDT. After the match, Dreamer got on the mic and thanked the fans. He said to show Vince what ECW fans were really about. It sounded like Dreamer was almost in tears.
– After Big Show and Paul E left the ring at the end of the TV show, RVD stayed in the ring and posed for the fans; you can see footage of this here. There are photos on ECW.com of Big Show and Heyman celebrating backstage.
– Other ECW Notes: The New York Post ran a short story today on RVD and Sabu’s arrests … The reason that RVD and Sabu were driving in the opposite direction of Philadelphia, according to PWInsider, was they were going to the Colombus, OH, airport to fly to Philadelphia … RVD was not cited with a DUI … All ECW matches are being run under the assumption they are under WWE rules unless otherwise noted, which is why we’ve seen some “Extreme Rules” and others not … Atlas Security was not used at the ECW live events over the weekend, with the company and WWE having a dispute over duties, including getting in the way of camera shots … ECW refs were used last night, but will likely not be used again until they come to the northeast … Crowbar was backstage at last night’s ECW taping … Tommy Dreamer has a new column on ECW.com talking about his emotional return to ECW Arena … Doug Basham, Derick Neikirk and Ryan O’Reilly will debut for ECW in Wisconsin this weekend.
