On May 18, Ariel was released by WWE. The following week, Thorn appeared by himself, with the commentators claiming that Thorn was "flying solo". After leaving Ariel, Thorn was pushed, defeating superstars such as Tommy Dreamer and Stevie Richards. His winning streak came to an end on July 3, however, when he lost to CM Punk on "ECW". Thorn then began a feud with Stevie Richards, after Richards defeated Thorn in an upset on two consecutive occasions. Following this, Thorn attacked Richards backstage. He later pinned Richards in a match, but the referee reversed the decision, and awarded the match to Richards, when Thorn attacked Richards after the match. Despite this, Thorn defeated Richards the following week, and then teamed up with Elijah Burke to defeat Richards and Tommy Dreamer in a tag team match. On the September 18 episode of "ECW", Thorn along with Burke, Dreamer, and Richards involved themselves in an Elimination Chase to No Mercy to face Punk. In their first match, a fatal four-way, Thorn was victorious, eliminating Richards, but was eliminated himself the following week, due to being pinned in a triple threat match.