Aaron Wood will be by with coverage of ECW tomorrow, but given the theme of tonight's show, I wanted to jump in and update a bit for those of you who aren't home to see it live…or don't have cable…or don't have a T.V. Then again, if you have a computer, you should have a T.V., right? What type of weird Amish rules do you follow?

Tonight's show began with a very well put together speech by Vince McMahon about last night's Raw. In light of the new details, WWE is choosing to "let the healing begin" and no mention will be made of Chris Benoit on the show. He says that the WWE superstars will do what they do best tonight. "Entertain you."

"Last night on Monday Night Raw, the WWE presented a special tribute show, recognizing the career of Chris Benoit. However, now some 26 hours later, the facts of this horrific tragedy are now apparent. Therefore, other than my comments, there will be no mention of Mr. Benoit tonight. On the contrary, tonight's show will be dedicated to everyone who has been affected by this terrible incident. This evening marks the first step of the healing process. Tonight, the WWE performers will do what they do better than anyone else in the world - entertain you."
- Vince McMahon

JG Note: Just as last night's Raw was the best move for WWE to do at the time, this is the best thing for them to do at this time. Tonight's speech was well timed and although some may find it too early, others won't. In light of everything that's come out, there's really no other recourse for the company to take. 

The first match featured John Cena vs. Johnny Nitro. It was billed as champion vs. champion. Cena was victorious. Right off the bat, things seemed to start off with a bang. The WWE Champion ran out like a house of fire and started the show off on a big note. It didn't give you time to think and by the time you did, the match was mostly over. It was a smart way to start the show.

The second segment featured Roddy Piper. At first I thought it was Rip Torn…seriously. He did some stand up from '85 and seemed to get over like a lead balloon. The gist was that he is in ECW - the home of Hardcore. It was pretty weird because he's like seven years too late. This isn't ECW Arena. This is San Antonio. The people in the crowd were like, "Yeah. We're hard doors…or whatever the hell you're saying." Anyway, Matt Striker eventually came out to confront him. Matt, along with his stagehand friend Nicholas, presents a birthday cake. Know why? 

It's Matt Striker's birthday!  Yay!

With that, Striker mocks the Hot Rod and embarrasses him into singing a birthday tune. After calling him "a Mark," Piper does just that, but then chooses to slam the cake into the former teacher's face. Strike stands there with the cake dripping from his face for Jerry Lewis-slapstick effect. But as the segment ends, it only gets worse for the king of the buzz cut with a flip front.  Boogz is in da house!

Boogeyman arrives. He confronts Matt and…you guessed it. He pukes worms into his mouth. Happy birthday. Enjoy the tapeworm.

JG Note: I actually liked the segment. The reason? Matt Striker. Weird. Piper really seemed out of place here and referencing "Shweaty Betty" or "Lovely Lucy" in 2007 is like using the term, "What in tarnation?!" 

Johnny Nitro is the new ECW Champion. Styles and Tazz interview him and he can't stop coughing. Seems that John is a bit sick at the moment. I can understand why. He has to listen to his own promos. Paging Melina.  Paging Melina.  Please talk for this guy.

Main event is Elijah Burke vs. CM Punk. Two out of three falls. Winner is #1 contender to the guy who lost to Cena.

Fall #1: Punk
Fall #2: Burke

Come on...ain't it usually like that?  Fall #3, baby.  That's the fall that matters.

This was a great choice to main event this show.  Maybe they had it planned before all this.  Maybe they didn't.  Either way, Punk and Burke both represent what this brand should be.  This business is about the future.  These two, for ECW, are the future.  While neither Elijah or C.M. or the biggest or the loudest, they're some of the most athletic.  Let 'em be the future of ECW.  We can argue all day about why Vince brought ECDub back and whether he should have, but at the end of the day, if the brand is about athletes like these - I'm for it.  I don't think anyone will be complaining about the Extreme Brand...as long as it isn't lame.  (JG Note: That's an important add-on.)

This one finished up with C.M. Punk hitting the G.T.S. (Go Tickle Santa) After the bell, Johnny Nitro came out and held up his title while Punk looked at him from the ring.  Considering that Mr. N lost earlier in the night, he shouldn't be so eager to stand tall with that belt.  He should be hiding.

It was a normal ECW Show with a few unexpected moments, but other than that - business as usual.  As weird as it seems, it felt like the right thing.

There was nothing more to say.  There was nothing more to do.  As I said last night in the ClubWWI audio with Matt and ZAH, the details would come out today.  That was today.  Last night was the one night that we could all grieve and mourn before the debate begins.  We did that.  I'm glad we had that chance.

You may have felt tonight's show was too soon.  You might have felt it wasn't soon enough.  Either way, this is where we are and - like Punk and Burke with ECW - it's all about the future. 

That's that.  Personally, I don't blame WWE for this.  Then again, I don't blame them for a lot of things they come under fire for.  I wish Triple H's promos weren't 90 minutes long.  I wish they would stop scripting juvenile storylines.  But when it comes to a tragedy like this, I don't blame Vince McMahon.  To blame him for all this is just wrong. 

You can't blame drugs either.  To blame drugs or steroids for all this is to trivialize it.  This was a tragedy.  Sometimes tragedies happen because people are less stable than anyone believed.  We want it to be one tangible evil thing to blame - like drugs.  It could be something we could avoid.  It's something we could write-off.  That would make it less scary.  Because then it couldn't be that horrible, horrible things just happen sometimes.  Which they do.  And when they do, we're almost never mentally prepared for it.

That's just me, guys.  Thanks for indulging my sarcasm tonight.  It felt good to get somewhat back to normal.  Don't forget, though.  Aaron Wood will be by tomorrow with his extended report on the show. 

Be Well!  Thanks for sharing our insanity.