The Great Xscape: Turning The (Round) Tables and Ripping Through The Asylum

ECW heads for the brink (Image Credit: TWD Media)

The land of Extreme is home to the lost and damned, the aspiring stars, the fading stars, and the new blood. Recently, ECW has been home to the nonsensical and delusional. General Manager Tiffany had previously stated that ECW had a huge impact at Bragging Rights.

Though that case could be argued, it was a far cry from what was expected and or desired. She’s also right; Morrison’s time in the asylum may have helped showed him the errors of his way while CM Punk learned that nice guys finish last.

She also stated that if anyone doesn’t want to be in ECW, they can leave. Sheamus did so, but her statement is not as simple as she makes it out to be; no one walks out the asylum. The Irish Curse got call from the RAW before he even had the opportunity to venture deep into the land of Extreme. The ever changing Tuesday night labyrinth could be in store for another shake up next week.

Fighting for survival to fight for survival.

Paul Burchill and Hurricane Helms were feuding for months ever since the Green Knight returned in August.

Burchill often loses his civilized side and ventures off the mad man known as “The Ripper”. Burchill hasn’t seen the light of day for a while being bottled up within the land of extreme boundaries for what seems like years. Tommy Dreamer is probably the only man who’s been there longer than Burchill currently.

Unlike others, Burchill’s heart was corrupted on arrival and instantly became darker. He and his sister Katie Lea Burchill were banished from RAW about two years ago after feuding with Mickie James and Kofi Kingston, the then Women’s and Intercontinental champions respectively. The Ripper is one of WWE’s Gotham city’s most dangerous villains, but he’s kept to himself for most of the time. He had adapted to the asylum and remained in the shadows where maybe he was planning his prison break.

Burchill had one of the worst win-loss records in ECW and the entire WWE during his tenure and snapped on Gregory Helms one hot summer day. Helms arrived on ECW via WWE’s supplemental draft this year. A mysterious green hero had been appearing at various place backstage helping people in danger around the same time that Burchill snapped.

During an interview, he accused Helms of being The Hurricane; he felt his intelligence was insulted and that Helms needed to put the nonsense to an end. The former Cruiserweight champion denied the accusations and the rest was history. He was brutally attacked by an angry Ripper, thus the return of the Hurricane to the squared circle to do battle with English headhunter.

Hurricane proved to be too much for Burchill defeating him in their first bout and have traded victories since then clashing on both ECW and WWE Superstars. The Ripper intended on exposing the Emerald Skywalker as a fraud, sending him and everyone else a message in not only two victories, but multiple beat downs including one that ended with a jackhammer suplex.

Helms also had his upper hands on Burchill pushing him to the brink each time he defeated him. Burchill’s obsession got the best of him so badly that he failed to capitalize on a Shelton Benjamin shoulder injury and defeat the Gold Standard after keeping him grounded for almost the entire match. Katie Lea got hurt in one of his loses to Hurricane after she was bumped off the apron by accident by her brother further pushing The Ripper to the point of no return. More attacks followed suit as the civil war continued to divide the land of extreme.

Didn't think Burchill could do a kick like that didn't you? (Image Credit: TWD Media)

Abraham Washington threw his two cents in also calling out Helms as The Hurricane adding feud to the fire. After clashing four times in the asylum the two remain in a stalemate at two wins apiece.

As heroic as Hurricane is, he’s proved that even the mightiest of heroes could easily be outsmarted. Helms’ mission to do away with all evil and wash away all that is unjust has just reached the climax as he Burchill approached the hero’s friend Gregory Helms two weeks ago on ECW.

Katie Lea scared off Rosa Mendes and Burchill told Helms that next week he’ll have a proposition for him. Out came Burchill and he called out the Hurricane only to have gotten an imposter. The Green Knight appeared with his green and black hurri-cane (kendo stick) whipping the Ripper into an unplanned retreat. The madman gave it another shot this week again, but this time the Hurricane came out and confronted him.

Sick of the endless feud, Burchill offered one final match between the two with stipulations. If Hurricane loses he must unmask himself; If Burchill loses he and his sister must leave ECW. With the brand heading for the brink of destruction once again, Burchill has created a win-win situation for himself.

“In the brightest of days, in the darkest of nights, Hurricane never backs down from a fight!”

The question is if whether or not Hurricane realizes that this is “the fight” not a fight, he’s looking into the eyes of a Ripper with nothing to lose and everything else to gain with a ticket out of the asylum and or finally unmasking his foe. To further stack the deck Burchill vs. Hurricane V will be on English soil as Captain Charisma’s ship is headed for Sheffield.

The Ripper has home field advantage just like his former partner and Ruthless Roundtable leader William Regal. Burchill followed in Regal’s footsteps getting a match under his terms with advantages to go with it. Hurricane and Christian feel an English reign or terror upon them and if the Captain just closes his eyes for even one second he better believe he’ll get a knee trembler off the deck which will lead to Regal and his mates steering the S.S. Extreme.

The Hurricane will have to swoop down from the crow’s nest and help the ECW champion fight off the British invasion that’s bound to ignite upon impact. Young Yoshi Tatsu isn’t enough to hold back the mad man and after months of tension the civil war turns spills onto the other side of the Atlantic Ocean for one or possibly two finales. With Survivor Series around the corner the Captain just might pull out another victory, but his days as champ could be winding down in the invisible hourglass.

“You are looking at the reason why ECW will never be the same again”

Regal made that statement the week after he brought the two titans–in the form of Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson–together to form trifecta of doom known to many as the Ruthless Roundtable. The land of Extreme always end up picking up the pieces one way or another after major events altered the landscape including stars from CM Punk, Big Show, Rob Van Dam, Bobby Lashely, Matt Hardy, the ECW Originals, and the New Breed.

For any chance of prosperity both Christian and the Hurricane will to be victorious. Hurricane without his mask will no doubt shatter the superhero’s self-esteem and ability as a hero, Burchill succeeding will equal one less hero in the crime infested land of extreme. Vanquishing The Ripper will be quite the feat for even the Emerald Skywalker, but the marksmen Vance Archer could easily replace Burchill’s spot on the asylum’s food chain and take aim aat the Green Knight.

An ending Christian has gotten too comfortable with (Image Credit: TWD Media)

Regal’s demented mind shows it he could very well cast a shadow over ECW never seen before surpassing the men who’ve tried before him. Captain Charisma has been dueling with the Roundtable since August managing to secure his the ECW title against the drooling Regal at both Summerslam and Breaking Point.

Since then he’s retained against the young bloods in Yoshi Tatsu and Zack Ryder, but Regal was made sure that he was not to be forgotten, especially with Kozlov and Jackson around. Regal and Burchill’s madness became obsessions and neither will not stop which equals excellent television next week.

ECW Career (For what it is worth) vs Mask match + Regal vs Christian for ECW Championship + England = WIN

Deep within the ship there is a gold waiting to be found and the clashes next week are sure to foreshadow glimpses of the future to some extent and it may not be much longer until the Grand Design is freed from his shackles. Out of everyone who’s wanted to leave the asylum they never once thought about putting their roster spot on the line. With Tiffany’s “No title shots for Regal” policy going up in smoke so easy something has to be up.

It’s not even Survivor Series, but residents of WWE’s Gotham city are already clawing for survival.

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