It was an interesting a makeover that the Abraham Washington Show got last night on ECW TV. Mr. Washington, whose dialect and diatribe I feel is getting better with every passing week, continues to tweak his "critically acclaimed" program. In addition to having the "applause sign" flash up on the big screen to get the desired reaction, another rabbit was pulled out of Abraham's hat last night. With no fanfare whatsoever (but there was a drum roll), Washington has now enlisted the services of a sidekick of his own, WWE Hall of Famer Tony Atlas. Well, if first impressions are "laughing" ones, Atlas is going to become a most unique part of the gab fest that is a part of the SyFy program.

As part of his opening monologue, Washington once again took a verbal jab at former talk show host Arsenio Hall, who had a most successful run with his own Emmy Award winning program a while back. It was all the more interesting because AW's show emanated last night in Hall's hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. I don't know about you, but I always thought that watching Arsenio Hall was the thing to do late nights when he was on the air. Lots of cool stuff went on through the years, and you never knew what was going to happen next. Fast forward to where we are now, and I think that Washington has really gotten comfortable in his position. Last night's interview that he conducted with Gregory Helms was somewhat confrontational, trying to parallel the fact that Helms and the Hurricane were one and the same. Add the element of bringing Hurricane's rival Paul Burchill out as an unannounced guest put more fuel on a fire that the brash Englishman intends to snuff out, basically accusing Helms of the double identity whammy, regardless of seeing a video of the Hurricane that appeared.  (On a side note, I am gaining more and more respect for Burchill as time goes on, from a standpoint of self-confidence and in-ring presence).

That being said, I now believe that the Abraham Washington show has nowhere to go but up. I was somewhat critical of it when it debuted on ECW-TV, but it has won me over with its entertainment value and Abraham's "call it like I see it" demeanor. And with the addition of Tony Atlas as his announcer/sidekick, the words "a laugh a minute" are going to be so true! Now if those that schedule Washington's guests could perhaps book......Arsenio Hall for a future show........Wow. Now that would be amazing to see!!

Kozlov and Jackson.....Ezekiel and Vladimir. No matter how you say it, the other words that come to mind are....scary...unstoppable...powerful. William Regal indeed has himself a duo who, as they are so impressive looking when flanked next to the former King of the Ring, also as time progresses are going to make an impact inside the squared circle. I felt beyond so bad last night for Mike Toler and Jim Parks, definitely not household names, but victims from the onslaught of Regal's duo. This triumvirate is formidable with a capital F. Looks like "Bill's" adversary Christian, along with Tommy Dreamer are going to have their work cut out for them. And I would suggest that Regal would like nothing more than to see his charges get Christian physically to the point to where the challenger to Christian's ECW Championship would have a walk on easy street when the two meet in the near future in that title encounter...

This and That: Did Josh Matthews actually call Zack Ryder "Strong Island's Own" last night??? He did indeed. Couldn't find the location on the map, but it might be near the Hamptons of LONG Island.........Speaking of which, Ryder's victorious opponent last night, Shelton Benjamin, should be petitioning ECW General Manager Tiffany for a match against the winner of the forthcoming Christian-William Regal title encounter. I think that the Gold Standard is more than ready for that chance....Sheamus and Goldust had a tough battle last night. Sheamus wanted to show that he was ready to get the victory over Goldust, and further establish himself within the ECW ranks; he did just that. And I also give a "standing O" to the bizarre one as well. The veteran has nothing to be disappointed about. A loss is a loss, but Goldust will bounce back quite nicely going forward.

That's it for now. Leave a comment if you'd like, and let us all know your thoughts on last night's ECW Telecast.

Thanks for reading.

On a somewhat pleasant summer Monday, last night I enjoyed Raw with an ice cold lemonade at my side. But after viewing what I did, I am firmly convinced that Cody Rhodes has been hydrating himself by drinking the Kool Aid that Randy Orton has been serving up to him for all these months. I mean, how can Cody Rhodes outright not want to take on his mentor in a WWE Championship match that was made by last night's guest host and Cody's father, the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes?? Because he is subservient to the leader of Legacy, the viper himself!

I have to hand it to the American Dream. He received the plaudits of the WWE Universe last night in Detroit Rock City. And when he made the Orton -vs- Cody match, it brought me back to when Ted Dibiase was guest host, and he made a match for his son against Orton. The Dream spiced it up though, naming John Cena as the special guest referee.  "The fix is in", as suggested by Orton, to which Dusty reaffirmed those exact words. And was it ever!

The fix turned out to be a nightmare for Cena, as before the Randy-Cody match started, Dusty climbed the ring steps and said he was sorry to Cena, which was the signal to allow Cody and Randy (along with Ted DiBiase) to drop their bombs on Cena. Enter Triple H and Shawn Michaels to save the day for Cena, but that was quickly thwarted, including a shot to The Game courtesy of the heel of the boot of the American Dream. Then showing his false (not true) colors after DX and Cena were beaten down, Orton proceeded to deliver an RKO on the American Dream for no apparent reason, a seonnd time that Dusty has felt the wrath of the Legend Killer. Cody really was torn at this point. There was his dad, lifeless on the mat, and there was his leader, with Cody being reduced by sight to nothing more than a disciple; he opted to acknowledge the latter. As Randy said, "nothing personal, this is business".

But in all honesty, I feel that Cody Rhodes last night squandered an opportunity of a lifetime, an opportunity that might not present itself again for a long time to come, that of attempting to win the WWE Championship. Seems to me that with his loyalty to Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes proved that water was thicker than blood, and that the water used for Orton's Kool Aid had no flavor at all.

A few side bars out of this: Dusty Rhodes as guest host had DX over a barrel as well, wanting to watch the Rise and Fall of WCW DVD with them, not even showing or tipping his hand on the events that were going to unfold later in the evening that eventually involved HBK and Triple H as well. And as far as John Cena was concerned, he is just one more week closer to facing off against Orton for the WWE Championship at the WWE Breaking Point pay per view, in an I Quit submission match that Cena has promised to win.

I am now going to voice my opinion on something that I have yet to mention through the weeks of blogging. After watching Hornswoggle and Chavo Guerrero last night in the bullrope match, I hope once and for all (and no offense to Chavo's outfit that he wore last night) that the cows have finally come home as it relates to this issue. I have to think that Honrswoggle and Chavo hold the record for being involved with each other continually on Raw; last night made it seven out of the last eight weeks. That record surely will not be broken, but it has become a broken record to me. I am most anxious to see Chavo now set his sights on Evan Bourne, and look forward to hopefully some competitive matches between these two going forward.

Well, Kofi Kingston's stock continues to point upward in my eyes, based on his Fatal Four Way match victory over Jack Swagger, Carlito, and The Miz. All worthy contenders, all doing their best to get the victory. But the enigmatic Jamaican continues to impress. I believe that despite this man's great successes in such a short period of time, the best is yet to come for him. Oh, by the way, I am also convinced that it should be back to the future for the Miz, as it relates to his ring attire. It clashes way too much with Chris Jericho's regalia, in my view. Back to the shorts there, my friend; you'll still be awesome....as you say you are!

Speaking of Mr. Jericho: Last night Jericho defeated MVP, in a very competitive bout. His Unified Tag Team Champion partner The Big Show was disqualified against Mark Henry. Now despite both matches being interesting, and in the case of Big Show and Mark Henry being most interesting with the big man theme in place, these matches did nothing to hurt the cause of the newest challengers to the Unified Tag Team Titles. It still boils down to MVP and Mark Henry working together as a unit on September 13 in Montreal at WWE Breaking Point. And quite frankly, I feel that MVP and the World's Strongest Man are going to pull it off and gain the UTTT after all is said and done. I hope that next week's guest host Bob Barker can "showcase" Montel and Mark in a tag team match against, let's say for instance Jack Swagger and Carlito for example. Would love to see them get a tune-up match under their belts to show their mettle and prove their worth going towards their championship date of September 13.

Odds and Ends: A nice win for Mickie James over Beth Phoenix last night. I thought that Beth did one move too many on the Diva's Champion, and that cost her the opportunity of winning the gold, after The Glamazon got her title opportunity by winning a battle Royal earlier in the evening. And a quote from Raw commentator Michael Cole: "Mickie and Beth have done battle a number of times over the years". Has it been that long, my friend? I thought that it was in the two year range.... Is it me, or do you think that Santino Marella has tried to rub up to the Guest Hosts with some sort of regularity? Suggestion: Why doesn't Santino lobby for a stint himself as guest host? I think that it would be highly entertaining, don't you?

As always, if you'd like, I welcome your comments on my comments, or comment on anything you'd like by leaving a comment below. Did I just comment on that? And remember, you can also follow me on Twitter at :www.twitter.com/howardfinkel

Thanks for reading, and enjoy your week, everyone!

Greetings!

I just finished watching the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania special on NBC. Here in the New York area, the special aired at 1:30 PM due to the local New York NBC affiliate scheduling the New York Jets -vs- New York Giants pre-season game tonight.

As I do this blog, I am still positively numb from viewing this special. My friends, this is must see TV!! Now of course many of you were there live in Houston or saw it on pay per view back on April 5. But what I think you are going to enjoy about this show is that for one hour you will be taken on an amazing ride, and see how WrestleMania 25 comes to life again.

Yes, it comes to life again, with a big part in my opinion being the music that has been integrated into the show, and the unbelievable job that our production staff did in putting it all together!

Like here in the New York area, there will be some pre-emptions here and there. Please check your local listings for the time that it airs in your market. And just on the back end of things for the New York area: if you get WNBC's NY Nonstop digital channel on you cable system, it will air again tonight at 9 PM, local time.

I am going to be keenly interested if any of you care to comment on the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania Special after you've seen it.

Thanks, and enjoy your weekend!!!

I've always thought that Christian has been a very skillful and savvy competitor, and throughout his career, either in tag team competition with Edge, or flying solo, the Toronto native has always persevered inside the squared circle. But on last Tuesday's ECW telecast, I for the life of me could not understand what he did during his match against William Regal.

Let's set the stage. Of course Christian won his ECW Championship match at Summer Slam in eight seconds over Regal. Then last Tuesday night, after Regal and Christian verbally jousted, ECW General Manager Tiffany (more on her later in this blog) made a Christian -vs- Regal non-title match, with the caveat being that if Regal won, another ECW Championship match would be in the offing for him. Now of course, Regal has now fortified his presence, with Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson by his side. I enjoyed the match, and it actually could have gone either way. But it got to the point to where Christian was outside the ring, and for absolutely no reason whatsoever, nailed Kozlov. Then as the referee was moving an in-ring Regal back, Kozlov, now provoked, head butted Christian as he tried to reenter the ring. This eventually led to Regal scoring the win, and another chance to gain the ECW Championship down the road. Both Kozlov and Jackson were at ringside watching the match, and to that point remained only interested parties to the activities going on in the ring.

In this case, I totally feel that Kozlov was totally right in what he did to Christian. I would love to know why the ECW Champion did what he did to the Moscow Mauler; perhaps a receipt to Kozlov from Summer Slam. But I would think that if you were in Kozlov's shoes, you would do the same thing. So in effect, it was Christian who was instrumental in causing his own downfall last Tuesday night. And with Regal now on his way to another match for the ECW gold, I truly believe that the wily Englishman (along with his two powerhouses) just might have Christian's number this time around.

Getting back to Tiffany, she must enjoy living on the edge, because technically speaking, she booked two matches on the fly for last Tuesday's show. I like the element of impact matchmaking for at least one contest (Christian -vs- Regal), but two (Yoshi Tatsu & Tyler Reks -vs- Shelton Benjamin & Zack Ryder) in one night? Perhaps that's one reason why ECW is to me must see TV every week. But looking between the lines, not having your television program totally set in stone for presentation is quite an interesting way to do business.

So let's see, the aforementioned Mr. Benjamin has imitated via song Darius Rucker from Hootie and the Blowfish, and last Tuesday serenaded the Bella Twins with his best Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong vocal impersonation. Is there a second career in the offing for the Gold Standard? Perhaps, but not until he and the "Woo Woo Woo Man" settle their differences.

This and That: I have talked about this before, but I am enjoying the rivalry between Goldust and Sheamus. It's the established ring veteran against the hungry and eager newcomer, and it definitely has my interest....... Looking forward to The Hurricane taking on Paul Burchill anew tonight on WWE Superstars on WGN America. Burchill continues to make a name for himself in ECW, something that the masked Hurricane will hope to thwart tonight...I had a chance to meet Abraham Washington for the first time last weekend in Los Angeles, and from a standpoint of conversation, he is very quick with his wit, definitely feels that The Abraham Washington Show will continue to be the place where things will be happening, and that the WWE Universe will keep taking notice. He's right on that, because whether our fan base is heaping praise or criticizing Washington, bottom line is they are talking about him, and that translates into interest!

As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read this blog, and feel free to leave a comment. And remember, you can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com./howardfinkel

Take care, everybody.

I have had mixed emotions since the guest host role has been incorporated into the Monday Night Raw telecast. Overall, it has been a new and fresh approach to give non-WWE celebrities the opportunity to get involved with our product, and also for them to trumpet and self-promote anything that might be coming up for themselves. But last night, although I did enjoy Floyd "Money" Mayweather as guest host once he got there, I feel that these hosts have to be there right out of the gate, especially if you are tasked with running the show.

Last week I blogged about when guest host Freddie Prinze, Jr. was taken to a local medical facility thanks to Randy Orton, and for a prolonged period of time there was no guest host in the arena. And with the guest hosts supposedly having total control of the show and its structure, you could say that the inmates were running the asylum, for the time that Prinze, Jr. was away. And this definitely held true to form last night. Not withstanding Mr. Mayweather's commitments on the outside of the WWE Universe, he arrived "fashionably late" nearly one hour into the telecast, which to me is not acceptable. What happens if something has to be addressed or changed on the fly? Case in point: Last night after yet another assault by Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, Triple H, apparently knowing that the guest host was not yet in the building, decided to play matchmaker and schedule DX and Mr. McMahon against Randy Orton, Rhodes, and DiBiase. Why? Because he could.  And it turned out to be a good decision, with The Game, Shawn Michaels, and the Chairman emerging victorious.

Bottom line: As I said last week, there has to be some sort of a contingency plan in effect if an individual joining Raw as its guest host in not physically on the premises for any prolonged period of time. Just my two cents' worth on that.

I also have to scratch my head a little bit at a situation that developed last night between the guest host, Unified Tag Team Champions The Big Show and Chris Jericho, and MVP. Granted MVP verbally broke up the war of words that was going on between Mayweather and the Unified Tag Champions, then from there MVP proceeded to ask the guest host that if he could find a partner and they could beat the champs, then would he be willing to give MVP and partner a title opportunity at the new Breaking Point Pay Per view on September 13? Of course Mayweather said yes, the match took place, MVP picked Mark Henry as a partner, and they did indeed emerge victorious. What I was wondering was why didn't MVP go right for the jugular, ask Mayweather for the title opportunity right then and there last night, and not have any kind of a "win and you're in" match, per se. I'm sure that with the frame of mind that Mayweather was in thanks to Jericho and Big Show, he would have acquiesced to that request immediately, and we might have had new Unified Tag Team Champions last night. But whatever the case, based on their victory, it will now be MVP and Mark Henry challenging for the Unified Tag Team Championship at WWE Breaking Point. And even though they got the win last night in their first outing as a unit, I want to see a little more of the MVP-Henry duo over the next two weeks, and how they mesh together.

Did you think like I did last night, wondering where John Cena was? Surely Cena and Raw go hand in glove with each other. Where was he? Honestly, it felt funny not to see him for the majority of the telecast. But I think we all understood what was going on with Cena as the show wound down last night, and he did appear: He has set his sights, and is zoned in on Randy Orton and the WWE Championship. He gets his chance at WWE Breaking Point, in an "I Quit Match". Plus, as the Chaiirman mentioned last night, if there is any outside interference on Orton's behalf, he will be stripped of the WWE Championship! Excellent stipulation added there, without a doubt. But if that happens, will Cena then be awarded the title? I hope that we get that clarificationover the next few weeks.

So The Miz has his sights set on Kofi Kingston and the United States Championship? Not a bad target to go after. I still believe that The Miz continues to see his star rise in WWE, to the point to where when he sets his sights on something, then sooner or later he will attain that "something", this case being the US Title. Breaking up the Miz / John Morrison duo has turned out to be a win-win situation for both concerned, and as long as the Miz gains more confidence with every passing week, if and when his course collides with Kofi Kingston, it might be "easier done than said" in garnering the US Championship.

Last night I thought that Alicia Fox indeed continued to establish herself in the Diva's division more than she had in the past. Bet your bottom dollar that by pinning Mickie James last night in the six Diva "Mayweather Meelee", Alicia will run, not walk to those in authority and be seeking a future Diva's Championship match with the aforementioned Ms. James.

Odds and Ends..... Jillian Monroe??? Marilyn Hall??? How sultry did she look last night in singing Happy Birthday to our beloved Chairman??? Speaking of Divas, I'd like to congratulate Lilian Garcia on being with WWE for ten years!! She accomplished that milestone at Summer Slam this past Sunday, and is the longest tenured Diva!!! ......Finally, I just want to take a moment to thank all of you who came to WWE Summer Slam Axxess this past weekend in Los Angeles!! I thoroughly enjoyed saying hello to many of you good folks, thought that the whole event had something for everyone, and hopefully proved again that WWE is as fan friendly as ever!!!  

That's it for now. Agree with me with my thoughts? Tend to disagree? Please leave a comment and let me know.!

Thanks for reading.