Rey Mysterio lands on Chris Jericho and wins Intercontinental ECW title.

It was a case of a preparatory fight stealing the show from the main event. Rey Mysterio was lying on the canvas when he suddenly got up and flew out in between the ropes and kicked Chris Jericho on his chest with both feet. It was the signature move fans had been aching for called the “619.” Chris the champion caught the kick and counters with a vicious leg lock while sitting on both thighs. As Rey lay defenseless, Jericho went down the ring to pick up a steel chair. And before he could hit him with it, Rey climbed the ropes made a high leap and landed on Jericho. That’s all it took to immobilize him for the three counts. Mysterio earned the Intercontinental ECW with the victory.

The main event of the evening was the title bout between WWE superstars CM Punk and Jeff Hardy. Although the match was back and forth and hard fought, it lacked the spectacular moves of the previous fight. CM Punk dominated Hardy to retain his ECW World Heavyweight title. Thousands braved torrential rains to watch the WWE Smackdown ECW at the Araneta Coliseum last Friday night and they weren’t disappointed. A total of eight heart-pounding matches were fought that night.

Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat was able to talk about their hectic schedule at a presscon in Shangri-La Edsa. “We did 208 cities last year. Basically our routine is we check in our hotel, go to the gym and have a couple of hours of rest. Next we just go to the building for the match.” Ricky was a guest referee in the Mysterio vs Jericho under card. Winston Llamas of Wilbros entertainment said, “This is the first time that Smackdown and ECW will be combined in one show. They chose the Philippines to do it. That’s one of the reasons why it’s special.”

Mysterio’s appeal to Filipinos may also be attributed to his height. In a field where the average height is above 6 feet, he only stands 5’6.” He makes up for it with high flying moves and incredible agility. Rey was at the Pacquiao vs Morales III, accompanying fellow Mexican Erik from the dug out to the ring. Unfortunately, it was this time that the Pambansang Kamao destroyed Morales in the 3rd round. Half Filipino Dave Battista also recently played body guard to Pacquiao in the brief fight against Hatton.

Another scene-stealer was the Divas Tag Team championship between Michelle McCool/Alicia Fox and Melina/Gail Kim. Both McCool and Fox are nearly six feet tall, they were no match for the agility and skill of the Melina, Kim tandem. The win got them the Divas Tag Team belt. Just watching Melina Perez do her signature entrance is a show in itself. She holds on to the rope, jumps high then lands doing a split and ducks under to enter the ring. Gail Kim exhibited several quick escape moves when Fox was lunging at her. Although similar in height and build, Fox is a prettier version of tennis champ Serena Williams.

The wrestlers made a conscious effort to play to the Filipino crowd. Evan Bourne even wore a Pilipinas basketball jersey in his match against Mark Henry. Bourne lost to the Henry who was twice his size and handled him like a rag doll. Tommy Dreamer even asked a fan to come up the ring and raised his hand to proclaim him as a winner. Dreamer won in a triple threat match against, Christian and Jack Swaggert.

Towering at 7 feet and 420 pounds, the Punjabi Playboy easily defeated trash talker Dolph Ziggler. Punjabi Playboy is more popularly known as “The Great Khali,” he was Mr. India in 1995 and has won the Heavy Weight title. Playboy may have the most painful signature move consisting of a powerful chest slap from his massive hands.