June 25th, 2006 | Charlotte Bobcats Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina
Some of you may be looking at the title of this confused. The reason I say partial review is because I will only be covering the portions of the show that have to do with ECW, since that is the weekly show I've been reviewing. Maybe at a later time I will be doing a full review of the show.
I did like the opening video package for the pay-per-view, it really made it feel like this show is WWE vs. ECW. Not to mention the great commentating by Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross putting more emphasis on how if WWE doesn't win the title back, they will be in great jeopardy.
Randy Orton vs. Kurt Angle
From bell to bell this match was fantastic. It starts off with the mat wrestling by Kurt Angle and some cowardliness from Randy Orton. After a nice German suplex from Angle, things start to shift into Orton's favor. Orton gains control and begins working on the head of Angle. Orton goes to the top rope for what I can assume is a splash or knee drop of sorts, Angle pops up and does his classic belly-to-belly suplex off the top rope. This shifts the momentum into Angle's favor, as he follows up with 8 German suplexes in a row. This cannot keep Orton down so Angle decides to go for an Ankle Lock which he gets locked in. After some squirming Orton rolls through and sends Angle flying into the exposes turnbuckle that he took off earlier in the match. Angle turns around dazed into an RKO for the win.
Winner: Randy Orton in 12:45
I thought this match was absolutely great. The story was good, the action was well paced, and the crowd was really into it. A terrific choice for an opener this show. ****
WWE Championship Match: Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Edge
This was an interesting match. A great beginning turned into a slow paced semi-spotfest for little to no reason, The finish became a bit more exciting with an ECW-like twist. The ref got knocked down thanks to RVD's "educated feet". Edge saw the opportunity and got the championship belt, but RVD was able to take him down with a roundhouse kick. Lita almost cost Van Dam the win, but thanks to a mistake on her part Edge went head first into a steel chair which was followed by a Five Star Frog Splash which would give RVD the win.
Winner: Rob Van Dam in 17:55
It was a solid match, I just question why the WWE Championship match was put in the middle part of the card. This also didn't feel much like a championship match either to be honest. Not sure why, maybe it all goes back to placement on the card. I do applaud these two for putting on a solid match however. ***¼
Extreme Lumberjack Match: Sabu vs. John Cena
The match starts off with Sabu ambushing Cena as he finishes his entrance, which is followed by constant tossing of each other through the ropes to be picked apart by the lumberjacks. Sabu did some nice triple jump shenanigans, but other than this there wasn't much to like about this match. After a while the lumberjacks started brawling, and a lot were taken out. There was an FU by Cena through the table that was set up outside of the ring, but he dropped Sabu wrong so he only hit the corner of the table. This was followed by the "You Fucked Up" chants by the maybe 20 ECW fans in the crowd. The finish came right after than when Sabu tapped out to the STFU.
Winner: John Cena in 6:46
Why was this match after the RVD vs. Edge match? It wasn't anything special at all, in fact kind of disappointing with the buildup it had. The match seemed to be more focused on the biased lumberjacks than anything else. The story that could possibly be built off this match and Sabu's impressive couple spots are what save this match from being completely pitiful. **
Overall: 7/10. This was a strong showing from the ECW side of the show. The only bad part about it was the Cena vs. Sabu match, and I feel that if they had a bit more time this match could've been better. Definitely looking forward to how the next episode of ECW follows this up.
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