WWE 2008: Rewriting History

[seX-Power]

A bit of a back-story…

The WWE Draft was held on June 23rd on Raw, and saw a number of superstars move to new brands. Night of Champions followed this on June 29th, a night that saw Mark Henry capture the ECW Championship, Kofi Kingston capture the WWE Intercontinental Championship and Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase capture the World Tag Team Championships. The following night on Raw wasn’t anything special except for Mr. Money in the Bank CM Punk cashing in his briefcase against a visiting Edge and thereby becoming the next World Heavyweight Champion!

ECW passed on Tuesday and later that week on Friday it was time for Smackdown and it was a fairly standard show until the Chairman of the WWE Mr. McMahon walked out onto the stage at the end of the show and announced that ECW was closing. The world was shocked. He announced that there would be a total re-draft between the three brands with inter-branded matches determining who goes where. If a Raw superstar would win, then Raw would get a draft pick and it would also work this way with Smackdown. However, if an ECW Superstar were to win then they would be able to choose whether they go to Raw or Smackdown. Also, for each superstar that gets pinned in their match, someone from their brand will be fired. This draft would take place over Raw and Smackdown the next week, with anybody up for trading.

The 7th of July eventually came around and the WWE draft officially began. The first match took place with Smackdown’s Big Show squashing The Boogeyman from ECW. Smackdown gained Rey Mysterio as a pick, and from ECW, The Boogeyman himself was fired. Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder then defeated The Highlanders, leading to Lance Cade and Deuce going to Smackdown and two veterans in Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Hardcore Holly being given pink slips. We saw a backstage snippet of Lance Cade going to Trevor Murdoch and apologizing and asking for their team to be reformed, and Murdoch gleefully accepted.

The next match was a tri-branded triple threat where The Miz defeated Jamie Noble and Val Venis, giving himself the right to choose what brand to go to and he boldly chose Raw, the flagship show. Val was pinned and someone from Raw was fired, that person being Snitsky. In the next match WWE Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston defeated Smackdown’s Shelton Benjamin and it meant that Carlito was going to Raw and The Big Show was fired. The entire arena was shocked as Show came out protesting, before going on a rampage and having to be taken away by security.

The main event was next and it as a 5 on 5 on 5 match, which saw the Raw team of World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, Batista, William Regal, JBL and new superstar Carlito defeat teams from Smackdown (Rey Mysterio, MVP, Mr. Kennedy, Vladimir Kozlov and WWE Champion Triple H) and ECW (John Morrison, Tommy Dreamer, Stevie Richards, Matt Hardy and ECW Champion Mark Henry). Raw earned 5 draft picks, those being Super Crazy, Kenny Dykstra, Tommy Dreamer, Mr. Kennedy and Vladimir Kozlov. However, it also meant that 5 ECW stars would be released, and those were Nunzio, Colin Delaney, Stevie Richards, Hornswoggle and General Manager Theodore Long! The show concluded with Dreamer and Richards in a teary embrace and Dreamer dedicating his upcoming run on Raw to his great friend.

Smackdown came around with the WWE draft continuing and the ECW team of John Morrison and Chavo Guerrero defeating the Raw team of former ECW stars in Tommy Dreamer and Super Crazy after some dirty tactics from Morrison. Chavo and JoMo both chose to go to Smackdown, Chavo to get closer to his aunt Vickie and Morrison to get a fresh start. From Raw, Val Venis and Chuck Palumbo were sent packing. The next match was a tri-branded diva’s triple threat match, where WWE Women’s Champion Mickie James defeated Cherry and Kelly Kelly, with Raw gaining Finlay as a draft pick. Cherry was pinned and the person from Smackdown that was fired was The Great Khali!

The third match of the night was a confusing battle with superstars from different brands teaming together. The Smackdown/ECW team was the Hardy Boys, and they reunited to defeat the Raw/ECW team of Kenny Dykstra and Bam Neely and the Smackdown/Raw team of Santino Marella and Chavo Guerrero, who walked out on the match allowing Santino to be pinned. Matt Hardy’s victory allowed him to choose to go to Smackdown with his brother and because Jeff also won Smackdown gained another pick in the Big Red Machine Kane! The Raw superstar fired was Jillian Hall while from Smackdown, none other than the General Manager Vickie Guerrero was fired! She and her hubby Edge came out to protest but Mr. McMahon came out and said that although he wasn’t happy, she would have to leave the WWE. The crowd was ecstatic.

Only a handful of ECW superstars remained, including the trio of Elijah Burke, Mike Knox and ECW Champion Mark Henry. They went to Mr. McMahon demanding a match to gain their choice to moving brands and McMahon pitted them in the only other ECW Superstar he could think of that had not competed tonight, Matt Striker. Striker was squashed and dreaded the fact that he would probably be fired due to being pretty much the only ECW Superstar left. Burke, Knox and Henry all chose to go to Raw while the ECW Superstar that was fired was Bam Neely, leaving Matt Striker a very lucky man.

The main event saw WWE Champion Triple H and Rey Mysterio defeat World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and Shawn Michaels, after Chris Jericho came out and distracted HBK, allowing Mysterio to pick up the pin. As Jericho and Shawn brawled after the match, Smackdown’s draft picks came up. The first was Paul London and the second was none other than Chris Jericho! Shocked, he paused to look at the screen in disbelief before being knocked down with a Sweet Chin Music, effectively marking the last time the two rivals would be on the same brand. However, two Raw superstars still needed to be fired. The first turned out to be JBL and the self-made millionaire made his final entrance onto the Raw stage and he was shocked speechless. The second person fired was General Manager Mike Adamle, which left the crowd shocked and neither brand with a General Manager for the time being.

Mr. McMahon came out to clear any confusion. He said that he would act as interim General Manager for both shows until he decided on suitable replacements. He also announced that all the divas in the WWE would be moving to Raw, making the WWE Women’s Championship Raw exclusive. He also announced that all tag teams would be moving to Smackdown, making the World Tag Team Championships Smackdown exclusive. He also vacated the WWE Tag Team Championships due to Miz and Morrison being on separate brands. Finally, he canceled the nearing Great American Bash and announced Summerslam to be the next pay-per-view event. He then left the stage as the crowd wondered what could happen next on Raw and Smackdown with so many questions to still be answered in the weeks leading up to Summerslam.

List of Roster Changes:

Rey Mysterio to Smackdown
Deuce to Smackdown
Lance Cade to Smackdown
The Miz to Raw
Carlito to Raw
Super Crazy to Raw
Kenny Dykstra to Raw
Tommy Dreamer to Raw
Mr. Kennedy to Raw
Vladimir Kozlov to Raw
John Morrison to Smackdown
Chavo Guerrero to Smackdown
Finlay to Raw
Matt Hardy to Smackdown
Kane to Smackdown
Elijah Burke to Raw
Mike Knox to Raw
Mark Henry to Raw
Paul London to Smackdown
Chris Jericho to Smackdown

List of Fired Superstars: Nunzio, Colin Delaney, Val Venis, Bam Neely, Jim Duggan, Jillian Hall, Stevie Richards, Hardcore Holly, The Boogeyman, Snitsky, Chuck Palumbo, Hornswoggle, The Great Khali, The Big Show, JBL, Mike Adamle, Theodore Long, Vickie Guerrero



Expect a proper roster and PPV Schedule in the next post. Shows will be in a recapped form until I find the time and motivation to write anything longer.

 

[KID WITH NO PENIS]

I can feel a slight pulse returning around here, however faint.

I liked your little introduction, although 2008 seems so long ago in my memory I can't really remember what was going on or who was where.

Good luck~!

 

[seX-Power]

WWE Roster & Champions

WWE Raw

General Manager: Vacant
Announce Team: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler & Jonathan Coachman

World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk
ECW Championship: Mark Henry
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Kofi Kingston
WWE Women’s Championship: Mickie James

Batista
Carlito
Charlie Haas
CM Punk
D’Lo Brown
Elijah Burke
Finlay
John Cena
Kenny Dykstra
Kofi Kingston
Mark Henry
Mike Knox
The Miz
Mr. Kennedy
Paul Burchill
Randy Orton
Santino Marella
Shawn Michaels
Super Crazy
Tommy Dreamer
Vladimir Kozlov
William Regal

Ashley
Beth Phoenix
Katie Lea Burchill
Kelly Kelly
Layla
Maria
Maryse
Melina
Michelle McCool
Mickie James
Natalya Neidhart
Victoria

WWE Smackdown

General Manager: Vacant
Announce Team: Jim Ross, Tazz & Joey Styles

WWE Championship: Triple H
WWE United States Championship: Matt Hardy
World Tag Team Championship: Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes

Armando Estrada
Big Daddy V
Brian Kendrick
Chavo Guerrero
Chris Jericho
Edge
Funaki
Gregory Helms
Jamie Noble
Jeff Hardy
John Morrison
Kane
Matt Hardy
Montel Vontavious Porter
Paul London
Rey Mysterio
Shelton Benjamin
Triple H
Umaga

Cryme Tyme: JTG, Shad & Eve
Deuce ‘N’ Domino: Deuce, Domino & Cherry
The Highlanders: Robbie & Rory
Priceless: Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes
Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder
Jesse & Festus
Jimmy Wang Yang & Shannon Moore
Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch


PPV Schedule

Summerslam
- August 17, 2008
- The Conseco Fieldhouse - Indianapolis, Indiana

Unforgiven
- September 7, 2008
- The Quicken Loans Arena - Cleveland, Ohio

No Mercy
- October 5, 2008
- The Rose Garden - Portland, Oregon

Cyber Sunday
- October 26, 2008
- The US Airways Center - Phoenix, Arizona

Survivor Series
- November 23, 2008
- The TD Banknorth Garden - Boston, Massachusetts

Armageddon
- December 21, 2008
- The HSBC Arena - Buffalo, New York

Royal Rumble
- January 25, 2009
- The Joe Louis Arena - Detroit, Michigan

No Way Out
- February 15, 2009
- The KeyArena - Seattle, Washington

WrestleMania XXV
- April 5, 2009
- The Reliant Stadium - Houston, Texas

Backlash
- April 26, 2009
- The Dunkin' Donuts Center - Providence, Rhode Island

Judgment Day
- May 17, 2009
- The Allstate Arena - Chicago, Illinois

Extreme Rules
- June 7, 2009
- The New Orleans Arena - New Orleans, Louisiana

Night of Champions
- July 12, 2009
- The Wachovia Center - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Summerslam
- August 23, 2009
- The Staples Center - Los Angeles, California

 

[KID WITH NO PENIS]

I'm assuming that all PPV's are dual branded?

Both roster's seems to be evenly balanced, gives both shows plenty of star power but a solid mid-card.

The tag teams are going need some working over though, there's not many there with anything in the way of credibility or appeal.

 

[seX-Power]

Yeah, dual branded. And with the tag teams I've kinda fucked myself over by not having any really interesting ones, but some will probably be brought in or made from existing roster members.

 

[seX-Power]

WWE Raw
7th July 2008

The show begins with a recap of last week’s draft’s big moments, including Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio being moved to Smackdown, Mr. Kennedy and Vladimir Kozlov being moved to Raw, and the respective firings of The Great Khali, The Big Show, JBL and all three General Managers in Theodore Long, Vickie Guerrero and Mike Adamle.

We go to the ring with the World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, who receives a great ovation in what almost seems like his first appearance on Raw as champion. He says that he sees great things in the future for his reign and he plans on being champion for months and even years to come, but “The Animal” Batista almost immediately interrupts him. Batista makes it clear that he wants a title shot, feeling robbed after losing to Edge at Night of Champions. His reasoning is that he was the contender before so he is the logical choice for a title shot at Summerslam.

However, he is interrupted by Shawn Michaels and “The Heartbreak Kid” joins the other two men in the ring to a big pop. He says that he’s glad to be rid of Chris Jericho and adds that he still has one more title reign left in him. He challenges Punk but then The Miz comes out and says that as Raw’s best draft acquisition, he should be next in line for a title shot. The other three men just laugh him off but The Miz is adamant that he be given a chance. Before he can say anything more, however, Vladimir Kozlov walks down and joins the other four men. He doesn’t say anything, instead pointing at Punk’s title and then at himself, signifying that he also wants a title shot.

The five superstars argue before Interim General Manager Mr. McMahon comes down to the ring to resolve the dispute. He announces that Punk will defend his title at Summerslam against one of the four other men in the ring. He says that there will be a mini tournament, with the first match tonight. Shawn Michaels will take on the undefeated Vladimir Kozlov and “The Animal” will take on The Miz next week, with the winners facing off for a title shot in two weeks time. Vince adds that Punk can keep himself busy by facing Paul Burchill in tonight’s main event.

With the issue seemingly resolved and all five men content, McMahon begins to exit, but is interrupted by the injured Randy Orton. He says that one person has been forgotten in this argument, Orton himself. He says that he will be cleared to wrestle in three weeks time and will be fine for Summerslam, saying that he should be the one to face Punk on the night. Vince attends to his concerns by saying that Randy can take on the winner of the tournament after the final match to decide the true #1 Contender to Punk’s World Heavyweight Championship. Orton is pleased and Vince leaves as we cut to break.

When we return from break we go to our first match of the night and the first to enter is new Raw superstar Kenny Dykstra. Next out is Tommy Dreamer who enters to a great pop. He dedicates the match to Stevie Richards and to the memory of ECW. The match itself is a rather short affair, with the action going back and forth, but Dreamer eventually rallies up the crowd and gets on a roll that ends with him nailing Kenny with his signature DDT. The 3-count naturally follows and Dreamer’s run on Raw begins with a positive note.

We go backstage to where Shawn Michaels is with Todd Grisham for an interview. He elaborates on what he was saying in the opening promo of the show; that he is not washed up and that his career will boast many years and many titles to come. He says that beating Vladimir Kozlov tonight will be a difficult task and it may even be the toughest opponent he’s ever had to face in his WWE tenure, but he says that with the help of the WWE Universe, “The Showstopper” will prevail. He walks off and we hear clapping, before the camera pans out to show The Miz standing there smirking, obviously amused after having listened to Shawn’s little speech. We go to a break.

When we return we go straight to our second match of the night, a 6-man tag team match. First to enter is “The Bearded Behemoth” Mike Knox, sporting his intimidating new look, and Elijah Burke and ECW Champion Mark Henry follow to complete the trio of former ECW stars. On the opposing team first to enter is new Raw superstar Mr. Kennedy, who does his usual self-announced entrance to a big pop, and then another new draftee in Finlay and the Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston make their entrances.

The match itself is a standard tag team affair. The heels dominate most of the match thanks to the two giants in Knox and Henry with sporadic face comebacks. Kofi plays face in peril for a long time towards the latter half of the match before making the hot tag to Kennedy who clears house before falling to dirty tactics from Burke, who isn’t even the legal man. Mark Henry capitalizes by nailing “The Green Bay Loudmouth” with a World’s Strongest Slam for the win. We then see a vignette on the titantron that shows a small-framed wrestler doing a number of high-flying moves on others, before the package ends with him nailing a picture perfect Shooting Star Press. It shows the wrestler then winning the match while the words “Evan Bourne: Coming Soon to WWE Raw” flash on the screen.

After the break we go backstage with Todd Grisham and Mark Henry, where the ECW Champion, still panting after his earlier victory, says how the rest of the Raw roster should take note after today. He particularly singles out Kofi Kingston as being a weak champion and says that he wouldn’t mind being the first man to hold both the ECW and Intercontinental titles at the same time.

We then move back to the ring for our third match of the night, as the previously announced match of Vladimir Kozlov versus Shawn Michaels is about to take place. The undefeated Kozlov entersfirst to a lot of heat (with the gimmick of having no music or titantron continuing) before HBK makes his grand entrance to the pop of the night. The match is what you would expect with the heel in control the majority of the time and Shawn continually getting the crowd on his side and making comebacks, only to somehow be thwarted every single time by Kozlov. The finish comes when, after a comeback, Shawn rallies up the crowd for Sweet Chin Music but behind his back Kozlov gets up and HBK runs right into a headbutt, which Vladimir follows up on with the Iron Curtain and somewhat surprising three count. Kozlov celebrates after the match as we once again hear clapping and The Miz is shown on the entrance ramp smirking once again. The crowd boos and we go to commercial as Miz looks down at the incapacitated Shawn Michaels.

After a commercial we go back to the ring where Ashley has already made her entrance. Natalya Neidhart’s music then plays and the former Smackdown diva makes her way down to the ring. It’s pretty much a squash match to put Natalya over and introduce her to the new audience; the match ends with Ashley tapping out the Sharpshooter in less than 2 minutes. After the match she takes the microphone and challenges the current Women’s Champion Mickie James to a title match, since she can’t obtain the Diva’s title because there are no more divas on Smackdown. However, instead of Mickie she gets Michelle McCool, who says that the only fair thing to do would be to have a match next week. Instead of fighting for the Diva’s title, as they should have been, she proposes that they fight for contendership to the Women’s Championship. Natalya agrees to the conditions, remaining confident that she will be the victor.

We go backstage to where John Cena is talking to a random worker. He mentions how relieved he is that there is hardly any stress in his life at the moment. He attributes this to the firing of JBL last week on Smackdown as a product of the draft. The worker asks him what he has planned and Cena says that he isn’t sure. He says that he’s been so used to fighting JBL is the past few months that he almost doesn’t know what to do next. However, he says that he’ll still be around for the WWE Universe and assures them that he will be the World Heavyweight Champion once again in due time, before we go to a break.

We return and go to our final match of the night. First to enter is “The Ripper” Paul Burchill, accompanied by his sister Katie Lea. Next out is World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk who receives a great ovation as he makes his way to the ring for the main event. The match is an entertaining affair that sees both men dominant at various times. Punk comes close at a point late in the match where he hoists Paul up for the GTS but a distraction in the form of Katie ruins the moment. From this Burchill begins a long period of domination, wearing Punk down with submission moves. Eventually the champ makes the big comeback, however, and once again gets Burchill on his shoulders for the GTS. However, this time before he can nail his finisher someone slides into the ring. It’s Randy Orton and he drops Punk with the RKO! The bell rings as Orton smiles and looks down on his prey. We leave with the image of “The Viper” standing over “The Straight Edge Superstar” to close the show.

 

[KID WITH NO PENIS]

It feels odd reading a show like this, I'm not sure why. A bit more formatting would do you well, a whole page of red italics paragraphs is just painful to look at. A bit of bold, a bit more colour, you know the drill.

I like how you set up the title feud. Although it seems Orton is the front runner at the moment, the concept of a mini-tournament to decide the victor works well for giving whoever the contender becomes some momentum.

Apart from that, it seems to be the typical first show of a new BTB. Setting up the pecking order, giving everyone some airtime, establishing where people in terms of mid-card, main event, etc. . One thing I think that's a bit of overkill, is that it seems like there is a LOT of people receiving pushes though, Miz, Burchill and Koslov all looking like they're going to be moving up into the Main Event scene. Plus Cena, I don't know what you're going to do with him at this point.

Koslov's victory is interesting, he's my pick to win this whole thing and give Punk a nice rub by ending his undefeated streak.

Overall, there's not much for me to offer you in terms of constructive criticism. Apart from formatting, first shows are always a bit all over the place and I'm sure everything will clear up in the coming weeks.

 

[Hometown Kid]

.

A 2008 thread? Makes little sense for someone appearing to be uninspired. I don't understand this at all, especially since you're not a bad BTB'er at all. But i'll spread the love with a review for your first show back, since i'd love to see you stick with something, anything. <3

Ending one of the best feuds of the decade? I actually get this since I figure you'd feel too much pressure to outdo their actual feud. Can't say HBK in the title scene does for me, but I hate everyone else in the hunt besides Kozlov so bleh. Orton was a guilty pleasure of mine when he was cutting his injured tweener promos, so getting him back adds star power, but the potential for a good match goes down. Even though I don't like those involved, a good segment. And a mini-tournament is always a good thing. Good work in establishing your main event scene from the getgo.

Dreamer winning? Go figure. But good idea for a storyline dedicating his run to Stevie.

"WWE Universe" was said in '08?

Kennedy jobbing to Henry, you gotta be kidding me! D: I'm not going to knock it too bad, but Kofi or Finlay should have taken the fall, and Henry certainly shouldn't be higher on the pecking order than those two on his team. But anyway, the idea of those 3 having a group is certainly an intriguing idea. I wouldn't mind seeing Burke use the two big guys as backup, though Knox could be used as more than a bodyguard type.

Bourne debuting is a great thing. More suited to SD though?

Kozlov keeping the no entrance gimmick is good, since it sets him apart. Though I think his current music is cool. Awesome that Kozlov won. Wonder how far you take his push. HBK's the perfect man for Miz to feud with too. High marks at this point.

UGH, Ashley. D: Glad to see Natalya beat her down. Please get rid of McCool soon.

Odd segment with Cena. Like, that pretty much made zero sense. It's leading to something though. Knowing you, he'll probably turn heel in some big time storyline.

Burchill's a solid wrestler. Good to see him get somewhat protected here. Look forward to see what you do with him. Orton seems to be the favorite during this little tournament. I think he'll win and Punk will retain.

Overall: About as good as you can expect. You're just starting out so obviously you're not gonna blow your whole load and such. '08 was when WWE started to get on my nerves. So despite what I said earlier, i'm glad you're giving booking WWE possibly better a whirl. You've set up some things with a book by numbers formula. Not a bad little show you've got here. I sincerely hope you get this off the ground and get things rolling because your first show did a good job. I was disappointed you didn't give the IC Title some more love. Not much else to say other than hope you continue and your first Raw was a solid if unspectacular read.

 

[seX-Power]

WWE Smackdown
11th July 2008

The show begins with another recap of last week’s draft, but by now everyone already knows what went down there. The Smackdown video plays and afterwards we hear the familiar countdown start before “Y2J” appears on the stage to a great amount of heat. He makes his way to the ring and grabs a microphone, ready to talk. He first mentions that he and his rival Shawn Michaels are on different brands now, and although he would have liked to well and truly end “The Heart Break Kid’s” career, he is now able to do something even better. He makes his intentions clear on Smackdown; he says that he needed a fresh start and that he will be going straight for the WWE Championship.

Right on cue and half way through one of Jericho’s sentences, the music of the WWE Champion plays and Triple H walks down to the ring to a great pop. “The Game” joins Jericho in the ring and also takes a microphone. He says that he’s feeling conflicted emotions. On one hand he’s pissed off at what Jericho said about and did to his friend Shawn, and that nobody mistreats his best friend like that without any consequences. On the other hand though he is amused at the fact Jericho thinks he can walk right into a title shot and even more amused about the fact that he thinks he can beat HHH for the title. Jericho says that “HBK” deserved what was coming and to this Hunter says that Jericho deserved getting his teeth kicked down his throat last week on Raw. “Y2J” responds by saying that what happened in the past has happened, but the present is what matters and that he should be the one to challenge Triple H for the title.

HHH begins to say that surely there must be somebody else who wants a shot a the title and sure enough, before he finishes his sentence Edge’s music plays and “The Rated R Superstar” makes his way to the ring. Edge says that he deserves a title shot because he was cheated of his World Heavyweight Championship by Batista and CM Punk two weeks ago on Raw. He demands that the title shot go to him and he and Jericho begin to argue. An unfamiliar entrance theme plays and Matt Striker appears on the entrance ramp, telling the wrestlers to stop arguing. HHH tells him that Striker must have taken a wrong turn backstage to end up here and Matt replies by saying that it’s no way to talk to your new general manager!

The crowd and wrestlers are shocked as they soak up the moment and Striker smiles before confirming what he just said, saying he approached Mr. McMahon about the position and he was allowed to be put on a trial period as GM. The wrestlers in the ring are still speechless and Striker addresses the title situation saying that both Edge and Jericho will have matches tonight, and if they win then they will face HHH at Summerslam. However, whoever wins their match faster will be the one to fight for the WWE Championship. Triple H breaks the silence saying that he approves but Striker says that his little wisecrack earlier wasn’t forgotten and to ‘teach’ him a lesson, he puts him in a match with his former client, Big Daddy V! He tells HHH the match will be right now as we go to break.

When we return, Edge and Jericho are gone and Triple H is in the ring preparing for his match. Big Daddy V’s music plays and the crowd boo the 500+ pounder as he makes his slow way to the ring. The match itself is hardly an impressive bout, as “The Mastodon” is no Bryan Danielson in the ring, but he shows his brute strength by nailing “The Game” with bone crunching moves such as a choke bomb and spinning side slam for a near fall. However, in true HHH fashion he makes the comeback towards the end, dodging a big splash before nailing “The Most Dominant Force in the WWE” with a Pedigree for the 1, 2 and 3!

After another commercial we go backstage to where Paul London approaches Brian Kendrick and says how excited he is to partner up again tonight, and Kendrick apparently shares the same view. London then walks away, however, and Kendrick asks a hidden person whether they remember the plan. A male voice replies with a yes and Kendrick says that’s good because stage one is going to be executed tonight.

We go to the ring, where MVP makes his lavish entrance, complete with blow-up tunnel and pyrotechnics. He gets to the ring and takes a microphone, before waiting for the crowd to stop the booing so he can start. MVP calls himself a very high-profile person, reminding everyone that he is the highest paid athlete in the history of Friday Night Smackdown. He also says that he’s getting a little bored that there’s no competition on Smackdown anymore. He says that he is introducing a new competition called “Fight for the Money”, where if somebody can beat MVP in a singles match on Smackdown by pinfall or submission, they can ask for one financial favour and he will grant it with his great wealth.

MVP says that the competition is starting tonight, and invites the first challenger. Jamie Noble’s music plays and the cruiserweight makes his way to the ring for the first “Fight for the Money” challenge. The match however is pretty much a squash, as Noble does get some moves in but it isn’t enough to stop Montel, who showcases an array of new, aggressive offense capped off by a new finisher in the form of the Drive-by Kick, which is more than enough to put Noble down for the 3 count. After the match, MVP says that he’ll be here any week and that the challenge is open to anyone on the Smackdown roster. We go to a break.

When we return, Chris Jericho makes his entrance and “Y2J” waits indifferently in the ring for his opponent. Matt Striker appears on the stage before announcing Jericho’s opponent for tonight as… “The Big Red Monster,” Kane! There is a huge pop and then a pyrotechnical explosion as Kane makes his way to the ring, making Jericho look slightly more nervous than before. The match that follows is very much back and forth, with Kane using his strength advantage to dominate Jericho but Chris then using heelish tactics and speed to outsmart “The Big Red Machine.” The finish comes when Kane hoists Jericho up for a Chokeslam, but takes a thumb to the eye and then a Codebreaker. Jericho then follows up with a Lionsault just to be completely sure and it pays off, as he wins the match at the time of 12:38. Jericho celebrates after the match but doesn’t look too confident.

After a break, a video package is played for “The All-American American”, Jack Swagger. It shows him winning various trophies in the past, including but not limited to chess tournament victories, football titles and amateur wrestling championships. The package ends saying that Jack Swagger will be coming to Smackdown after Summerslam.

We then go to the ring where first to enter for this tag team match are Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch, recently reunited when Cade came back to Smackdown. Next to enter are the team of Paul London and Brian Kendrick, also reuniting, and they get a huge pop for their return. The match is back and forth, with Cade and Murdoch using their strength and Londrick using their speed to gain advantages in the match. London plays the face in peril for a while and prepares to make the hot tag to Kendrick, but is shocked when his partner jumps off the apron and down to the floor! London is left helpless in the ring as Cade and Murdoch nail him with the Hi-Lo for the three count, but the real shock is Kendrick, who is scurrying up the entrance ramp with an evil smirk on his face. The crowd boos him as he taunts London on the ramp and we go backstage.

We go to the back where John Morrison is with Lena Yada for an interview and he doesn’t look happy. Lena asks him why he looks so angry and JoMo says that tonight was supposed to be all about him, it was meant to be about the debut of “The Friday Night Delight.” Instead, he says, he didn’t even get booked in a match and has been completely neglected. He says that although “The Shaman of Sexy” was meant to have tonight be his big night, he will have to postpone it until next week. He says that next week on Smackdown, in one way or another, he will ‘steal the show’.

After the last batch of commercials for the night, we go to the ring for the main event. Edge makes his way to the ring first to await his opponent. Once again Matt Striker is out to announce who it is and he says that it is someone Edge knows very well. There is a pause before Jeff Hardy appears as the opponent that Edge has to beat in under 12:38 if he wants to take HHH on for the WWE title at Summerslam. Hardy makes his way to the ring for the main event and Edge looks rather confident for the match.

The match itself is a very entertaining affair, with the opening contest involving a number of counters and quick offense but Edge soon tires of it and breaks the chain with a kick to the gut out of nowhere. “The Ultimate Opportunist” begins to take control of the match but Hardy soon makes a comeback with a Whisper in the Wind. The rest of the match is very much back and forth with an array of near falls and around the 11-minute mark Edge begins to panic. His offense becomes more rash, aggressive and unpredictable. He goes crazy after almost winning with the Edge-O-Matic and starts punching the turnbuckles in frustration. He goes to Spear Jeff Hardy without thinking it through and Jeff easily dodges, before rolling Edge up for the shocking victory!

After the match Edge realises that Chris Jericho will be taking on HHH at Summerslam and he won’t and this enrages “The Rated R Superstar”. He begins to beat down Jeff with fists and kicks, before taking off one of the turnbuckle coverings. He plans to smash Hardy’s head into the exposed turnbuckle but then Matt Hardy enters the ring and floors Edge with the Twist of Fate! The crowd goes wild as Hardy picks up Edge and throws him into the corner, before kneeling in front of him. The recovering Jeff knows what to do as he runs and uses his brother as a platform to nail Poetry in Motion on Edge, knocking him back into the exposed turnbuckle before he flops to the ground! The crowd pops as The Hardy Boys then ascend different corners. Matt leaps and hits a guillotine leg drop while Jeff nails the Swanton Bomb as the crowd goes wild! The reunited Hardy Boys celebrate with each other over Edge to end the show.

 

[seX-Power]

WWE Raw Preview
14th July 2008

Since the second WWE draft, Raw hasn’t had a General Manager; last week the Chairman of the WWE Vince McMahon had to fill in and do the GM duties. However, the WWE Universe has been told that Mr. McMahon has made up his decision and will be revealing the new General Manager on Raw tonight! He promises that the fans will be very pleased with who he has chosen.

In tonight’s main event the tournament to decide the #1 Contender to the World Heavyweight Championship continues. “The Animal” Batista will take on “The Awesome One” with the winner going on to face Vladimir Kozlov next week. Definitely watching this match will be “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels, who has had a few verbal disagreements with The Miz recently.

Not to forget is Randy Orton, who nailed CM Punk with an RKO to end last week’s main event. Orton is still injured but in two weeks he will be healthy and because of this, he has been promised a match against the winner of the contendership tournament, whether it be Kozlov, Miz or Batista.

In another battle for contendership, Natalya Neidhart will take on Michelle McCool with the winner going on to face WWE Women’s Champion Mickie James at Summerslam. Natalya and Michelle were meant to face each other for the WWE Divas title but the belt was scrapped because of all the divas being drafted to Raw.

Make sure to tune in to all of this and more, with Tommy Dreamer, ECW Champion Mark Henry and none other than John Cena booked to appear!

 

[seX-Power]

WWE Raw
14th July 2008

The pyrotechnics go off and the Raw opening video plays, before we start the show with Vince McMahon’s music playing, and the chairman of the WWE makes his way to the ring, mic in hand.

Vince McMahon
As all of you know, the position of Raw General Manager has been vacant since the WWE draft where Mike Adamle was shockingly fired. Since then, I have searched for a replacement, with names ranging from Eric Bischoff…

Boos.

Vince McMahon
To Mick Foley…

Cheers.

Vince McMahon
To Ric Flair…

More cheers.

Vince McMahon
And to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin!

The arena goes wild for mention of “The Rattlesnake”.

Vince McMahon
The man I have chosen is not one of these individuals though. This man approached me very soon after the position became available and his ambition is what persuaded me to give him the position of General Manager on Raw. I think that you’ll all be very pleased with who I’ve chosen…

A cowbell begins sounding and the crowd begins to realise who it is. As JBL’s music plays and “The Wrestling God” makes his way to the ring there is arena full of hearty boos. John Bradshaw Layfield gets in the ring beside the Chairman of the WWE with a massive grin on his face.

JBL
When I was fired from the WWE two weeks ago, it hurt. It hurt a lot, knowing that John Cena would have gotten away without the beating I would have given him. It hurt the most seeing your smiling faces as I made what I thought would be my final exit from the company. I thought that I would have to hang up the boots, once and for all. But seconds later, I saw an opportunity. I remembered that I am a self-made millionaire; I remembered that I am a wrestling god!

The crowd boos as JBL soaks the whole experience in.

JBL
When Mike Adamle was fired, I knew what I had to do. The very next day I already emailed Mr. McMahon and told him that if he made me the General Manager of Raw, then I would take this show to great new heights it hasn’t seen before. And that is exactly what I plan to do. For my first official act as the General Manager of Raw… I am firing John Cena.

The crowd is either shocked speechless at this point or booing their lungs out as JBL simply smiles after delivering the great news in such an indifferent manner.

Vince McMahon
Now, John, don’t you think-

JBL
Vince, with all due respect, I know what I’m doing. You entrusted me with the WWE’s flagship show for a reason. I-

JBL is interrupted by the music of “The Viper” Randy Orton, who makes his way to the ring to a mixed reaction thanks to him interrupting the now despised JBL as well as some people expecting it to be Cena himself.

Randy Orton
JBL… I’d like to be the first to welcome you to Monday Night Raw. I for one think that it’s a privilege to have you as a General Manager and I fully support your decision to fire John Cena.

The crowd boos again at them being reminded of this.

JBL
Now, Randy, I already respect you as a superstar, you don’t have to start kissing my ass to ask for something. What exactly do you want?

Randy Orton
I don’t know if you saw Vladimir Kozlov’s victory last week John, but the guy is an absolute beast. When he wins this contendership tournament I am going to be the one to have to face him and I don’t think that’s fair. Nobody has beaten him so far in the WWE and that makes him an unfair opp-

Orton is interrupted by the music of CM Punk and the crowd goes wild as The World Heavyweight Champion makes his way down to the ring to join Vince, Orton and the new Raw GM in JBL.

CM Punk
Randy, it sounds to me like you’re not afraid of facing Kozlov, but at the possible prospect of facing me. That’s why you had to attack me from behind last week; you’re scared of facing me man to man.

The crowd cheers while Orton looks pissed.

Randy Orton
That’s a load of crap and you know it! You know, the new General Manager knows, the Chairman of the WWE knows and the entire WWE Universe knows that if we faced off then I would beat you!

The crowd disagrees and show it through more booing. Before Punk can reply, however, JBL chimes in.

JBL
Now, you guys better settle down now because you’re ruining my moment. Orton, what Mr. McMahon announced last week stands; you have to face the winner of the contendership tournament after the final takes place. And Punk, you will face Paul Burchill again… right now!

There is a pop for the match announcement.

JBL
Oh and Randy, if you happen to interfere like you did last week you can go the way of John Cena and no amount of ass-kissing will help you come back from there.

The crowd boos the GM as we fade away to a commercial break.

***Commercial Break***

We return, and Vince, JBL and Orton are all gone with Punk left in the ring, his music playing. Burchill then makes his entrance accompanied by his sister Katie Lea as he makes his way to the ring.

Match One: Non-title
Paul Burchill vs. CM Punk
The match is a very technical based affair, with both men using counters and submission holds in a match that would make smarks proud. The finish almost comes when Punk gets on a roll and pulls Burchill up for the GTS, but Katie Lea grabs his ankle from behind and diverts his attention. While the referee tends to Katie and threatens her with ejection, Burchill wriggles off Punk and nails him with a low blow. He goes to follow up with the Curb Stomp but Punk gets a hand on the rope to stop the move being executed. The finish comes out of nowhere in a period of “The Ripper” dominating, he stops focusing for a second and Punk out of nowhere grabs him and puts him in the Anaconda Vice, making him tap out after about 8 seconds.
Winner: CM Punk via Submission

Punk celebrates his victory after the match but what he doesn’t realise is that Randy Orton has snuck into the ring behind him. The World Heavyweight Champion turns around, right into an RKO! The crowd boos as Orton stands over Punk like last week as we go to break.

***Commercial Break***

When we return, we go backstage to where The Miz is with Josh Matthews. He is asked about his opponent tonight in Batista and “The Awesome One” replies by saying that Batista is big and stupid, and that lack of intelligence is what will allow The Miz to take advantage and win the match tonight and later go on to face CM Punk. He says that by doing this he will go what Shawn Michaels couldn’t. He reminds everybody of Shawn’s loss to Vladimir Kozlov last week and how people were already talking, minutes after the match, that Shawn should retire. Miz says that he was one of those people. He wants to show “HBK” how much better he is than him by beating Batista tonight, then beating Vladimir Kozlov, then beating Randy Orton, then beating CM Punk at Summerslam. Josh asks how he can be certain and he replies with his signature phrase of “…because I’m THE MIZ… and I’m AWESOME!!!!!”

We go to the ring, where Tommy Dreamer makes his entrance to a nice pop. He once again mentions how he is dedicating his time on Raw to the memory of ECW and specifically, his friend Stevie Richards who was fired in the draft. Santino Marella then enters as his opponent, not too confident about actually having to wrestle a match.

Match Two
Santino Marella vs. Tommy Dreamer
Give me an S! Give me a Q! Give me a U! Give me an A! Give me an S! Give me an H! What does it spell? SQUASH! Santino doesn’t particularly do anything in the match except cower and it allows Dreamer to hit him with a few signature moves before finishing him off with the Dreamer DDT.
Winner: Tommy Dreamer via Pinfall

Santino rolls out of the ring in pain as Dreamer celebrates with the crowd following his victory. He is heard shouting ‘this was for Stevie’, before he goes to exit via the ring ropes, only to be nailed from behind with a chair shot from Santino! The crowd boos as Dreamer falls out of the ring and down to the floor, but Marella follows him, relentless in his beating. He pummels Dreamer with the chair some more before throwing it on him and the taunting the crowd, receiving a lot of heat as we go to break.

***Commercial Break***

When we return, the ECW Champion Mark Henry makes his entrance to a fair amount of heat. “The World’s Strongest Man” poses with his title before waiting for his opponent. Ditching the gay leprechaun music and going back to his old theme is “The Fighting Irishman”, who approaches and enters the ring as Mark’s opponent.

Match Three: Non-title
Mark Henry vs. Finlay
The match isn’t as one sided as you would expect, as although Mark Henry has a distinct size advantage, “The Fighting Irishman” uses his brawling prowess to give himself a chance in the match. The ECW Champion shows off some unique offense such as a seated senton-like splash through the second rope with Finlay dangling on the ropes, a move which gets him a near fall. Finlay gets an opening after Henry misses a running splash but he isn’t able to lift “The World’s Strongest Man” for he Celtic Cross and Henry counters by nailing the very tired Finlay with the World’s Strongest Slam for the three count.
Winner: Mark Henry via Pinfall

After the match, “The Silverback” celebrates but JBL then walks out onto the stage to address his victory. He congratulates Mark on being the ECW Champion but reminds him of there being no more ECW, so the title really has no purpose. Henry asks what he’s getting at and JBL regrets to inform him that there is not going to be an ECW title anymore after Summerslam. Henry is outraged but JBL tells him to let him finish. JBL says that the ECW Championship will be unified with the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Summerslam, in a match pitting Mark Henry against Kofi Kingston. He says that the winner will be the new Intercontinental Champion and the loser will lose his title. Henry seems pleased about this announcement and warns Kofi to watch out, assuring the WWE Universe that he will be not only the final ECW Champion but after Summerslam, the next Intercontinental Champion as well.

***Commercial Break***

When we return we see a vignette on the titantron that shows a small-framed wrestler doing a number of high-flying moves on others, before the package ends with him nailing a picture perfect Shooting Star Press. It shows the wrestler then winning the match while the words “Evan Bourne: Coming Soon to WWE Raw” flash on the screen.

We go backstage to where “The Animal” Batista is with Josh Matthews for an interview. He is asked whether he is confident about his match with The Miz tonight and responds by laughing. He asks Josh if that was a joke because The Miz definitely is. He says that there is no doubt that he will walk away from tonight being one step closer to the World Heavyweight Championship. He is asked whether he fears the prospect of facing Vladimir Kozlov and Batista says that unlike Randy Orton, he isn’t a coward. He isn’t afraid of any challenge and will take down any opponent that stands before him. He says that even though Kozlov is undefeated, all streaks have to end. Finally, Batista is asked about CM Punk and he says that although they are friends, when it reaches the point where they go one on one in the ring, no mercy will be spared.

***Commercial Break***

When we return, Natalya Neidhart makes her entrance and the 2nd generation superstar makes her way to the ring to heat. Michelle McCool, who gets a solid pop for her efforts, follows her. Before the match starts though, the Women’s Champion Mickie James makes her entrance to a large pop, presumably to scout her possible opponents, and she takes a seat at the announce table to view the match.

Match Four: WWE Women’s Championship #1 Contendership
Natalya Neidhart vs. Michelle McCool
The match itself is an impressive one by women’s wrestling standards, especially for the WWE. The two divas go at it for over 6 minutes, with them trying to lock in their respective submissions in the MAD-T Heel Hook and the Sharpshooter. The finish comes when McCool goes for a big boot, but Natalya grabs her leg and twists her into the Sharpshooter, making her tap almost immediately.
Winner: Natalya Neidhart via Submission

The crowd boos as Natalya celebrates after match and stares down Mickie James, the WWE Women’s Champion and person she will face at Summerslam. Mickie stands up to acknowledge her future opponent and there is a tense stare-down as we go backstage where there is some sort of commotion.

We go to the back where John Cena is being held back by security in JBL’s office. The crows pops upon seeing him as he shouts at JBL, saying that what he has done by firing him is unfair and that he will be back. The Raw GM simply laughs off these claims, telling Cena not to bother going to Smackdown either because he has contacted Matt Striker and told him not to let Cena on the show. He tells the security to throw this ‘trespasser’ of the building and the crowd boos as Cena struggles, eventually overcome by the forces of at least 5 men and dragged out of the room as JBL simply smirks.

***Commercial Break***

When we return it is main event time, and first to make his way to the ring is “The Awesome One”, who receives a lot of heat after his previous comments regarding Shawn Michaels. Next out is “The Animal” Batista, intent on capturing the World Heavyweight Championship at Summerslam. The crowd goes crazy for him and the atmosphere remains high as the two wrestlers stare down before the match.

Main Event: World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contendership Tournament
The Miz vs. Batista
The match is what you would expect from these two competitors: Batista using his strength while Miz using heelish tactics and cunning to gain the advantage. What Miz said before about using ‘intelligence’ in his favour seems to be working in the match as he suckers Batista into doing such things as spearing the ring post and running into the barricade, both times caused by “The Awesome One” strategically moving at the last second. The finish comes when Miz goes for the Reality Check and nails the knee lift, but before he has a chance to hit the neckbreaker slam, “Sexy Boy” starts playing on the speakers and he looks towards the entrance ramp, distracted. Shawn Michaels walks out with a big smile on his face as The Miz glares at him, before being blindsided by Batista who plants him down with the Spinebuster. The usual thumbs down/Batista Bomb combo follows and leads to The Miz being down for the three as Shawn watches contently.
Winner: Batista via Pinfall

After the match Batista celebrates as Shawn looks at the fallen Miz, who is hardly moving but still able to scowl at “HBK”. Michaels replies by simply shrugging his shoulders as we end the show with the commentators reminding us that it will be Batista taking on Vladimir Kozlov in next week’s main event.

 

[Hometown Kid]

Meh, another review.

You have a nice little segment to start the show here, VKM's announcement was a little anticlimactic, and although i'm hardly the biggest fan of JBL, him as a heel GM has all the potential in the world, and him firing Cena is a hella gutsy move. Obv it won't be permanent, but that would still get a huge reaction, especially in that time frame. Orton was Orton and Punk was Punk, but following the mega announcement up with them just to basically be dickheads was odd. Firing Cena should be something talked about and should be the finale, not a transition. That's just what WWE would probably do though so meh. Still a great segment overall.

Burchill's a good wrestler, and it'll be interesting to see where his push goes, since he's looked pretty strong so far. Hopefully Katie gets a push too, 'cause she's freaking awesome. Right man won, even though I hate him. Good match.

Miz cuts a promo talking about how great he is. Kind of clever with listing off everyone he'll have to beat though.

Tommy starting a feud with Santino? LMAO. I know that this won't be a big deal on your show, but I hope you have something planned for these two, simply because it's one of the most random pairings I can imagine, and them just having matches couldn't be good.

Finlay's the man, Henry's a big oaf. Bleh. At least you didn't squash Finlay and stuff, he has some value as a mid-card gatekeeper of sorts, similar to what Goldust was in the end of ECW. BTW way to bury ECW even more with having it fuse with the IC Title. I would have rather you just done away with it than that. I just miss WWE's ECW pretty much. Kofi could get something out of Henry at SS.

Yay Evan!

"No mercy will be spared"? I'm not too big on grammar, as long as you can pretty much tell what you're going for and it's readable, plus Batista sucks anyway, so he'd probably say that. Bad promo overall, he didn't need that mic time, even though it hyped the ME.

McCool losing is always a good thing in my book. I'm not a big fan of Mickie, but another solid match for SS. I know you like the divas, so hopefully they get some more airtime for angles and such.

By actually having Cena actually getting thrown out, you've already booked his firing better than WWE recently did. I doubt you'll honor it for long, but still. Wonder where you're going with this, since it's such a move to begin with...color me impressed.

HBK and Miz is an interesting feud. They're one killer promo away from having something, and HBK is always a solid hand. This type of storyline has been done before, but i'm thinking you've got something planned for it soon. Meanwhile, Batista moves on, I predict he'll beat Kozlov next weak, only to lose to Orton.

Overall, similar to your last. It's hard to make these sorta threads work, but you're trying hard, and you're still in the building blocks phase. Your show was enjoyable to read and you progressed multiple things nicely, as well as the big Cena angle at the top of the show. I'd say an improvement from your Raw/SD shows from last week. Which i'd rate at about a 5/6 out of 10, this week would be about a 6/7, Keep on truckin' with this, and I might be going away for a bit, but when I get back, i'll try and review a SD next time if you're still going on with this. So, yeah, get to merging. >_>

 

[seX-Power]

WWE Smackdown
18th July 2008

The Smackdown video plays with a recap of last week’s events, mainly focusing on the situation surrounding the WWE title and the announcement of Chris Jericho being Triple H’s challenger. The pyrotechnics subside and the arena hears ‘you think you know me…’ before erupting into boos as “The Master Manipulator” makes his way to the ring, microphone in hand.

Edge
Last week… I was robbed!

The audience keeps booing at the top of their lungs.

Edge
Robbed! ROBBED! ROBBED, ROBBED, ROBBED!

The shouting infuriates the crowd even more as they scream and shout insults to match Edge in volume.

Edge
I should be the one facing Triple H for the WWE Championship. Not Chris Jericho, me! ME, ME, ME, ME, ME!

The crowd is set off once again.

Edge
I’ve spoken to Teddy Long and he’s told me that there’s nothing he can do… that’s typical. It’s typical of men like Teddy Long to screw over the people with natural talent like ME!

The crowd boos even harder at Edge’s (not-so) subtle racism.

Edge
But, I’m not going to stand here and mope and whine and cry and throw a big tantrum. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make things right. And that means that I’m going after… Jeff Hardy.

There is a colossal pop at the mention of “The Rainbow Haired Warrior.”

Edge
Jeff, you’re the reason I’m not fighting for the WWE title right now… and you’re gonna pay for it! You see, last week your win was a fluke and next time you’re not gonna be so luck-

Edge is interrupted by Hardy’s music and the crowd immediately goes crazy! Jeff Hardy appears on the ramp and then the pop grows louder but then reaches an absolute climax when Matt Hardy joins his brother at the top of the ramp! The Hardy Boys make their way to the ring, grabbing microphones along the way.

Jeff Hardy
YYYEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

The crowd pops despite Jeff not having said anything remotely relevant and the superstars have to wait a good while for them to settle down.

Jeff Hardy
Edge, I’m really glad that you lost to me last week. As soon as I won I knew you would come out tonight moping and whining and crying and throwing a tantrum…

The crowd pops!

Jeff Hardy
…And I knew you would call me out, and it looks like I’m right about both of those things. What you should have been expecting though after last week is for my brother to be here with me as well!

The crowd pops for Matt who does the V1 signal for his fans.

Matt Hardy
Edge, it’s as if you don’t look that happy to see me… you know… after all we’ve been through together. When you sneak attacked my brother last week I knew I had to be there to help him. And after I did… I felt something inside me that had been missing for too long. When Jeff and I spoke after the match we both agreed that this had to be done. So we officially announce the return of-

Jeff Hardy
THE HHHAAAAAARRRRRDDDDDYYYYYYYYY BBBOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYZZZZZ!!!!!!

The crowd goes absolutely wild as they now know that what is probably their favourite tag team of all time has just reunited!

Edge
Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the celebrating. I have an announcement of my own. Y’see, I did know that this was going to happen, I really did. And because of that I have arranged for a partner of my own. This is a man that has been with me since I was just a kid. We went to school together. We went to college together. We went to work together. We’ve been best friends since I can remember and it’s about time we were in the same ring again…

The crowd is cheering in anticipation; the possible return of Christian could be mere moments a-

Edge
UUUUUUUUUMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

The crowd is ultimately pissed at the tease of “Captain Charisma” returning going to nothing. Instead, we see “The Samoan Bulldozer” make his way to the ring to join Edge and face The Hardy Boys. Matt and Jeff look as shocked as the crowd.

Edge
What, were you expecting somebody else?

The crowd keeps booing as Matt Striker’s music plays and the Smackdown General Manager steps out onto the stage.

Matt Striker
Well that was definitely an intensely captivating scenario wasn’t it guys? I can’t help but feel that I’ve witnessed a part of history here tonight and I just don’t want the magic to end. That’s why I’m booking a match to take place right now! It will be “The Rated R Superstar” Edge, taking on “The Man Who Will Not Die” Matt Hardy!

The crowd pops for the announcement as the two teams in the ring stare each other down as we go to a break.

***Commercial Break***

When we return, Edge and Hardy are in the ring waiting for the bell to be called while Jeff and Umaga are both standing outside the ring.

Match One: Non-title
Edge vs. Matt Hardy
The opening stages of the match don’t involve much contact at all with Edge trying to grapple with Matt as little as possible. Eventually he retreats to the outside before using Umaga as a distraction to sneak attack Hardy and establish an advantage. A few minutes of Edge domination pass before Matt makes his face comeback, using Jeff to rally up the fans. Edge struggles to contain Hardy and yells the word ‘attack’ at Umaga, who walks over and nails Jeff right in the mouth with a super kick! The crowd boos as Matt breaks away to check on his brother, before turning around into a Spear! Instead of pinning his opponent however, Edge just says ‘come’ and Umaga slides into the ring prompting the referee to call the bell.
Winner: Matt Hardy via Disqualification

Umaga stands over Matt and Edge points at him; both men with sick smiles on their faces. “The Samoan Bulldozer” lifts up “The Man Who Will Not Die” before pausing and nailing him with The Samoan Spike to a huge amount of heat. Edge laughs before he points at a recovering Jeff Hardy on the outside. Umaga slides out of the ring and quickly nails “The Charismatic Enigma” with a Samoan Drop, effectively rendering him incapable of fighting back. He then rolls Hardy into the ring, before following him and then lifting him up while Edge does his taunting in the corner. The crowd boos a crescendo that reaches a climax as Edge runs and nails Hardy with a Spear! The crowd boos as Edge and Umaga stand over both of The Hardy Boys as we go to commercial.

***Commercial Break***

When we return a fairly unknown music plays before a man begins rapping along to the tune. He is shown to be in the audience and the commentary team introduces him as R-Truth, who raps his entrance theme called “What’s Up?” as he makes his way to the ring. The crowd seems to enjoy the show and when he gets in the ring and calls out “What’s Up” to the audience, they all mimic him with a loud reply. Truth says that he came to the WWE to turn his life around after a harsh upbringing and a life on the streets. He says that he plans to entertain the WWE Universe day after day and week after week. His short speech ends with him once again uttering his catchphrase but before the crowd can reply, he is interrupted by the music of Shelton Benjamin, before his opponent for tonight makes his way to the ring to moderate heat.

Match Two
Shelton Benjamin vs. R-Truth
The match is primarily to show off some of Truth’s offense, which includes a mixture of high flying and fast paced technical wrestling, with the incorporation of a lot of FLIPZ~! The finish comes when Shelton prepares to powerbomb Truth into the corner but the rapper manages to reverse the move into a hurricanrana. Shelton gets up doubled over before Truth runs off the ropes and goes for a corkscrew scissors kick, which the commentators call the Lie Detector, but Shelton dodges. “The Gold Standard” goes for the Paydirt but Truth manages to reverse the move into a roll up for the shock victory.
Winner: R-Truth via Pinfall

Truth can’t believe it after the bell rings and the crowd pops huge for the superstar on debut beating an established superstar like Shelton. He immediately ducks out of the ring and celebrates a he makes his way backstage. Benjamin on the other hand slaps the canvas in frustration and throws a mini tantrum in the ring as we go backstage.

We go back to the General Manager’s office and Matt Striker is on the phone.

“No, he hasn’t turned up.”

“Why, he wasn’t fired from Smackdown, why should I-”

“HOW much?”

“Alright then, if I see him around here security shall be on it before you can even say ‘twenty thousand’.”

“You too, John”

Matt hangs up the phone looking rather content as we cut to a break.

***Commercial Break***

We return and go backstage to where Lena Yada is with Rey Mysterio for an interview. Mysterio says that his match with Jericho tonight is very important because it could grant him a future title shot. He recalls that “Y2J” is the current #1 Contender to the WWE Championship and says that if he beats him, then he will be looked at as the more worthy contender to HHH’s title. He tells Yada that he is more motivated that ever to get to a second world title and that tonight Chris Jericho will fall victim to the 6…1…9.

We go to the ring where “2nd Sucks” by the band A Day To Remember begins to play. The music crescendos until the word “FIGHT” is shouted and the team of Jimmy Yang and Shannon Moore run out onto the stage. They are dressed and look more serious, with both of them ditching their silly gimmicks. They run down to the ring before pandering to the crowd and waiting for the music to stop. They take microphones and explain to the crowd that they were sick of being the jokes of the tag team division. They say that they are ready to show their true skills to the WWE Universe and dominate the tag team division. They tell the World Tag Team Champions Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes to watch their match tonight very closely. They pause and play to the crowd to get some more cheers as the team of Hawkins and Ryder make their way to the ring as their opposition.

Match Three
Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder vs. Jimmy Yang & Shannon Moore
The match is very close to a squash with Yang and Moore being the dominant team. They use their quick cruiserweight offense to remain dominant, nailing impressive combos such as a double missile dropkick and a Doomsday Device with a super hurricanrana replacing the clothesline. They finish off the match by having Yang nail Ryder with a spinning heel kick to the abdomen from the second rope that doubles him over, before Moore nails him with a springboard somersault neckbreaker, which is followed by the pin and win.
Winners: Jimmy Wang & Shannon Moore via Pinfall

Moore and Yang celebrate after the match and play to the crowd who give them a solid pop. The music of Priceless then plays and the World Tag Team Champions walk out onto the stage and the two teams have a staredown. While in the ring, the faces get attacked from behind by Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch. The crowd pours out boos as they beat down Yang and Moore, eventually nailing Jimmy with the Sweet & Sour. Cade and Murdoch pose to heat as Priceless look on indifferently and we go to a commercial.

***Commercial Break***

When we return, we go to the ring where the countdown begins and the crowd starts booing as Chris Jericho makes his entrance. “The Best In The World At What He Does” makes his way to the ring before grabbing a microphone and waiting for the crowd to quiet so he can address them. He first reminds the crowd that at Summerslam he will be taking on Triple H for the WWE Championship and the mention of “The Game” gets a big pop. Jericho says that Hunter’s era has ended and it is time for “Smackdown is Jericho”. He calls himself “The Face of Smackdown” and says that HHH would be blind not to realise this. He tells the WWE Universe that they should all look to him as a role model and goes on to explain how he is better than them all but the champ’s music interrupts him.

The arena explodes as Triple H makes his way to the ring to join Jericho. He laughs at the fact that Jericho considers himself a role model. He says that he would rather die than live in a world full of Chris Jericho’s. He says that he is going to win at Summerslam because he is fighting for his friend Shawn Michaels who Jericho repeatedly assaulted on Raw. Jericho smiles and says that he is fighting for “HBK” as well; he is going to go out remembering what he did to Shawn in preparation to do the exact same thing to Hunter. Jericho tells Triple H to think of what he did to Shawn on Raw when he is in the Walls of Jericho at Summerslam. He tells him to think of his WWE title slipping away as he taps out. Jericho says that Triple H is just like Shawn Michaels: old, worthless and ready to retire.

Triple H takes offense to this but Jericho replies by slapping him across the face. The crowd gives him great heat and “Y2J” looks more nervous in front of an irate “Game”. HHH lunges at him but Jericho is too quick as he manages to duck out of the ring and retreat up the ramp. The crowd boos as a frustrated HHH looks under the ring and grabs a sledgehammer, much to the delight of the crowd. He points it at Jericho and the crowd cheers as we fade away.

The same video package from last week is played for “The All-American American”, Jack Swagger. It shows him winning various trophies in the past, including but not limited to chess tournament victories, football titles and amateur wrestling championships. The package ends saying that Jack Swagger will be coming to Smackdown after Summerslam.

***Commercial Break***

We return as MVP makes his way to the ring with his lavish entrance. He announces that it’s time for “Fight for the Money”, reminding everybody that if anybody can beat MVP in a singles match he will grant them any financial favour. He invites a challenger and it is Paul London, who makes his way to the ring to a substantial pop. He is about to tell MVP what he would want if he wins but Montel tells him not to choose anything yet because he would be getting his hopes up for nothing. London tells him to start the match.

Match Four
MVP vs. Paul London
This is a fairly even match with MVP using his strength to try and establish dominance while London on the other hand uses his speed to make comebacks and try and pin “The Ballin’ Superstar”. The finish comes when MVP goes for the Drive-by Kick, only for London to dodge and nail Porter with a step up enzugiri. He then goes for a standing moonsault but before he executes the move, Brian Kendrick’s music plays and he walks out onto the stage. London stares him in the eye with a look of hatred on his face but MVP suddenly rolls him up, using the distraction to pick up the sneaky victory.
Winner: MVP by Pinfall

The crowd boos as Montel rolls out of the ring and makes his exit, as London struggles to his feet before walking up to the ropes and talking trash at Kendrick, who is half way down to the ring smiling and taking in the boos from the crowd. Out of nowhere a huge man knocks down London from behind. He is African American and well over 6 feet tall and the crowd boos as he begins to stomp on London. Kendrick slides into the ring and introduces his new friend as Ezekiel “Big Zeke” Jackson. “Big Zeke” continues to dominate London, before eventually finishing him off with an Ura-nage. The crowd boos as Kendrick and Ezekiel stand over London as the show fades to a break.

***Commercial Break***

We return from the break for the main event. First to enter is “The Master of the 619” Rey Mysterio and he looks confident as he makes his way to the ring. Next out is Chris Jericho who gets some unbelievable heat after slapping Triple H earlier tonight. He looks nervous, the sight of “The King of Kings” pointing a sledgehammer at him earlier still fresh in his mind. He slides into the ring and focuses on Mysterio as the two men prepare to go at it.

Main Event
Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio
The match is about as good as it gets for a TV match. The two superstars get almost 15 minutes to show all their skills. A number of near-falls are incorporated into the match, with Jericho kicking out of the West Coast Pop and Mysterio kicking out of the Lionsault as notable examples. The finish comes when Rey has Jericho on the ropes for his 3rd 619 attempt of the night. He runs off and lands the move- but Jericho catches his legs. He pulls Mysterio away from the ropes and contorts him into the Walls of Jericho! The crowd boos, the smarks cheer and Rey taps out after about 15 seconds in the submission hold.
Winner: Chris Jericho by Submission

After the match Jericho’s music plays and he celebrates but then suddenly rolls out of the ring. The crowd pops when they realise why as they see HHH slide into the ring, having ran through the arena to get to Jericho. Sledgehammer in hand, Hunter chases Jericho up the ramp as “Y2J” scurries to escape.

We cut back to Rey Mysterio in the ring as he slowly gets up and the crowd cheers for his resilience. Rey manages to get to his feet but out of nowhere his legs are kicked out from under him- by John Morrison! The crowd boos as Morrison has come out of nowhere to assault Mysterio. He stomps on his legs as Rey cries out in pain, having sustained lots of damage to the area from the Walls of Jericho. The crowd pours out heat as Morrison slides out of the ring before grabbing a steel chair from Justin Roberts.

He joins Mysterio once again, this time wedging his left leg into the chair and stomping on it some more. The crowd is shocked as Morrison lifts Mysterio up by his leg before slamming it back down onto the canvas as Rey cries out. Finally Morrison unhooks Rey’s leg from the chair before picking him up and putting him out of his misery with a devastating Moonlight Drive onto the chair. The crowd boos as Morrison slides out of the ring leaving Mysterio incapacitated in the ring. JoMo is gone within seconds, making his exit as quickly as he showed up.

The show isn’t over yet however, as we cut backstage to where Triple H is still chasing Jericho, who is throwing random objects at him to try and slow him down. Hunter is like a raging bull though and can’t be stopped. Eventually Jericho runs into a parking lot and runs into a waiting limo. The door slams shut and the car begins to speed away as Triple H reaches it. The crowd boos but Hunter manages to leave his mark by using the sledgehammer to leave a huge dent in the limo’s door. The show ends with the image of Hunter backstage, panting.