The 188th episode of ECW on Syfy came to you from the Resch Center in Green Bay, WI. The #1 Contender for the ECW Title at the Royal Rumble would be determined via the ECW Homecoming Finale, which was an 8-man Battle Royal featuring past and present ECW Superstars as CM Punk, Kane, Matt Hardy, Vance Archer, Evan Bourne, Shelton Benjamin, Yoshi Tatsu, & Ezekiel Jackson would all vie for the title opportunity.
Match Results
- Zack Ryder def. The Hurricane by pin following the Zack Attack.
- Trent Baretta (in his singles match debut) def. Goldust by pin following a jumping knee to the face.
- ECW Homecoming Finale Battle Royal: Ezekiel Jackson def. Evan Bourne, Vance Archer, Shelton Benjamin, Matt Hardy, CM Punk, Yoshi Tatsu, & Kane (in that order) to become the #1 Contender for the ECW Title.
Match Quality
- ECW Homecoming Finale Battle Royal
- Trent Baretta Vs. Goldust
- Zack Ryder Vs. The Hurricane
Detailed Results
The show kicks off with ECW’s resident Latina, Rosa Mendes, who introduces her boyfriend, Zack Ryder. Ryder comes out and states that it is a “big” night for them and claims that everyone is there to celebrate “the new heart and soul of ECW”, Zack Ryder. Ryder then states that he is the one man that is “bigger” than the ECW Title and that he “is ECW”! The Hurricane interrupts “The Long Island Loudmouth” and says he is out there to ask Ryder to “shut up”! Hurricane explains to Ryder that it takes more than one match to become “the heart and soul of ECW” before telling Ryder to shut his “Hurri-lips”, which results in a slap by Rosa Mendes! Hurricane responds by waylaying Ryder with a right hand and sending the confident Superstar packing!
Acting quickly, ECW General Manager Tiffany made an immediate one-on-one match between The Hurricane & Zack Ryder! In the end, Zack Ryder was able to hit The Hurricane with the Zack Attack and pick up the win! Is Ryder on his way to truly becoming “the new heart and soul of ECW”?
After seeing his protégé, Yoshi Tatsu, pick up the win over Caylen Croft on WWE Superstars this past Thursday, Goldust would face off with the revenge-seeking tag partner of Croft, Trent Barreta. With a vicious knee to the face, Barreta was able to pick up the win over the veteran Goldust in his singles match debut!
Then it was time for the main event as CM Punk, Kane, Matt Hardy, Vance Archer, Evan Bourne, Shelton Benjamin, Yoshi Tatsu, & Ezekiel Jackson would all battle in the ECW Homecoming Finale Battle Royal with the winner earning the right to challenge Christian for the ECW Championship at the Royal Rumble. With the ECW Champion himself, Christian, at ringside on commentary, the 8-Man Battle Royal took place to determine his next challenger. Before the match could even begin, the animosity between Shelton Benjamin & Vance Archer boiled over as the two ECW Superstars laid each other out! The match commenced and Evan Bourne was the first casualty as Kane easily tossed the high-flyer over the top rope into elimination. After his brawl with Vance Archer, Shelton Benjamin sacrificed his title opportunity to take Archer out of the match as Benjamin dove into Archer to eliminate himself and Archer! After Ezekiel Jackson eliminates two former ECW Champions in Matt Hardy & CM Punk and Kane eliminates Yoshi Tatsu, it came down to Kane & Ezekiel Jackson for a shot at the ECW Championship! The war between the behemoths came to an end with Ezekiel Jackson managing to eliminate Kane to earn the right to challenge Christian for the ECW Championship at the Royal Rumble! Can “Big Zeke” dethrone Christian to win the ECW Title or will Christian overcome the power and strength of Ezekiel Jackson, as well as the mentoring of William Regal, to retain the ECW Championship?