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WWE: A Strong Response

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#1 · (Edited)
WWE: A STRONG RESPONSE
The Backstory​

Following No Mercy last night and after a difficult year with ratings and pay-per-view buys taking a downward turn, the steroids and Chris Benoit scandal, the WWE have been forced to take the company in a different direction, starting immediately.

Stephanie McMahon has been joined by Shane McMahon and Nigel Smith to head up the creative team that will see Smith take charge of writing both Raw and Smackdown. Vince McMahon has decided that wrestling and competition must become the main focus of the shows ahead of over the top storylines that have left viewers frustrated and fed up with WWE programming. It must be noted that the McMahon’s may still make appearances on television as Vince in particular sees himself as a top ratings puller.

If things couldn’t have been going much worse for the company, their top star John Cena was injured last week and will be out injured for around 7 to 12 months. With Cena pulling in a lot of ratings and being by far the top seller in regards to merchandise, it is expected that he may have some kind of role in the television shows, but that is only being discussed at the moment.

With regards to the low PPV buys, the WWE have decided that only five pay-per-views will remain in place for the next calendar year at bigger arena’s with the Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, King of the Ring making its return, Summerslam and Survivor Series being the five to add importance to the shows that were lacking in meaning and were rushed like the shows that have been in place this year. With this in mind, Saturday Nights Main Event will return in March and August, but we will also see the show at the end of December too, which will start at the end of this year. By doing this, the WWE are trying to make the TV shows seem more important and to add some more credibility to them and the company in the process.

Another one of several major decisions has seen ECW scrapped immediately due to its poor ratings and feedback from agents. This was seen to be coming for a long time and with its small roster, they have been split between both Raw and Smackdown rosters, which have also seen some changes between them, but none of any major note this far.

However, several workers have been removed from the rosters on WWE.com with Ric Flair and King Booker along with his wife Queen Sharmell apparently leaving the company after lots of speculation around their current situations. This is not seen as a big surprise as Flair and Booker had made themselves very unpopular with management in the build up to their disappearance from television tapings. It must be noted that it has NOT been confirmed by either parties that they have indeed left the company. The other main departure sees Vickie Guerrero leave her role as General Manager of Smackdown, but this is due mainly to family reasons with Vickie missing her children and vice versa. No replacement has been announced yet but Teddy Long will not be making a return to television in the near future. The Major Brothers have been removed from the roster but remain in Ohio Valley Wrestling since their disastrous debut on Smackdown after leaving ECW. Mike Knox has also been released from his WWE contract while ECW General Manager Armando Alejandro Estrada’s profile is no longer on the WWE website, but he has not been released, this is the same situation that Tazz, Joey Styles, Kelly Kelly, Layla and Brooke find themselves in since ECW’s demise.

On the injury front, John Cena as we know is out for the considerable future, Edge is recovering well and is set to return in the next 4 to 6 weeks. Bobby Lashley is pushing for a return at the end of the year and Gregory Helms is the only other long term absentee with a severe neck injury that will see him out until around June next year. Shawn Michaels remains on the sidelines at home following knee surgery several months ago, but there is no word on whether he is ready to return just yet.

On the TNA front, Bound For Glory takes place in six days time boosted by the news that they have signed former WWE superstars Rob Conway and Rob Van Dam. Any WWE return for Van Dam has officially gone out of the window now. However, the Chris Jericho debate continues to go on with neither Jericho or the WWE confirming that he has indeed signed a contract following the cryptic messages that have been displayed on Raw over the last few weeks.





Head of Authority: Eric Bischoff
Announce Team: Jim Ross & Jerry 'The King' Lawler
Ring Announcer: Lilian Garcia
Backstage Interviewers: Todd Grisham & Leticia Cline

~The Hall of Champions~


***Defeated Edge to win the vacant title at Backlash (27/4/09)***
PREVIOUS CHAMPION: Shawn Michaels (4)


***Won a fatal four-way on Raw (22/9/08)***
PREVIOUS CHAMPION: Ted DiBiase (1)


***Defeated Rey Mysterio & Mystico (1) on Raw (19/1/09)***


***Defeated Beth Phoenix (4) & O.D.B. at Extreme Rules (26/4/09)***


Carlito
Cesaro
Chris Jericho
Christopher Daniels
Cody Rhodes
Eddie Colon
Edge
Eugene
Ezekiel Jackson
Finlay
Goldust
Gregory Helms
Hardcore Holly
Jack Swagger
Joe Hennig
John Cena
John Morrison
JTG
Justin Gabriel
Kaval
Kofi Kingston
Matt Hardy
Mystico
Orlando Jordan
Rey Mysterio
Rob Van Dam
Shad Gaspard
Shannon Moore
Sheamus
The Miz
Zack Ryder

Divas
Angel Love
Brie Bella
Gail Kim
Kelly Kelly
Melina
Mia Rain
Nikki Bella
Queen Kong
Talia Sky

Tag Teams/Stables
Cryme Time
Eugene & Goldust
J'n'J (John Morrison & Justin Gabriel)
Picture Perfect (Angel Love & Talia Sky)
Rey Mysterio & Mystico
Team Omega (Matt Hardy, Gregory Helms & Shannon Moore)
The Bella Twins (Brie & Nikki)
The Colon Brothers
The Epitome of Excellence (Christopher Daniels & Kaval)
The King's Men (Cody Rhodes & Joe Hennig)




General Manager(s): Mr. McMahon & Stephanie McMahon
Announce Team: Michael Cole & Matt Striker
Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts
Backstage Interviewers: Josh Matthews & Maria

~The Hall of Champions~


***Defeated CM Punk (1) at Wrestlemania (29/3/09)***


***Defeated Matt Sydal (1) at the Royal Rumble (18/1/09)***


***Defeated The Empire (Wade Barrett & Drew McIntyre) (1) on Smackdown (9/1/09)***


***Defeated Johnny Jeter (1) on Smackdown 14/11/08)***


***Defeated Beth Phoenix (4) & O.D.B. at Extreme Rules (26/4/09)***






Alberto Del Rio
Bobby Lashley
Brian Kendrick
Bryan Danielson
Charlie Haas
Chavo Guerrero
Chris Masters
Christian
CM Punk
Dolph Ziggler
Drew McIntyre
Elijah Burke
Harry Smith
Homicide
J-Red
Jamie Noble
Jay Lethal
Jimmy Yang
Johnny Devine
Johnny Jeter
Kid Kash
Matt Sydal
Michael Shane
Montel Vontavious Porter
Paul Burchill
Paul London
Petey Williams
Randy Orton
Ron Killings
Santino Marella
Shelton Benjamin
Sonjay Dutt
Super Crazy
Ted DiBiase
TJ Wilson
Wade Barrett
William Regal
Yoshi Tatsu

Divas
Beth Phoenix
Jillian Hall
Katie Lee – Valet & Member of The Empire
Layla
Maria – Also a Backstage Interviewer
'The Million Dollar Woman' Maryse – Valet & Girlfriend of Ted DiBiase
Michelle McCool
Mickie James
Natalya Neidhart – Valet & Girlfriend of TJ Wilson
O.D.B.
Stepahnie McMahon – Executive Vice-President

Tag Teams/Stables
CM Punk & Homicide
Jimmy Yang & Sonjay Dutt
M.V.P. & Ron Killings
Paul London & Brian Kendrick
Power & Perfection (Bobby Lashley & Charlie Haas)
The Empire (Drew McIntyre, Wade Barrett, William Regal & Katie Lee)
The Pitbulls (Jamie Noble & Kid Kash)
The UK Pack (Paul Burchill & Harry Smith)




FCW Heavyweight Champion
Ryback

FCW Tag Team Champions
The Rotundas

FCW Women's Champion
Nikki Roxx

FCW Television Champion
Damien Sandow


Alex Riley (Kevin Kiley)
'The Intellectual Saviour' Damien Sandow (Aaron Haddad)
Darren Young (Frederick Rosser)
'The Valedictorian' David Otunga
'The Maniacal Genius' Dean Ambrose (Jonathan Good)
Fandango (Jonathan Curtis)
'The Beast' G-Rilla (George Murdoch)
'The One Man Band' Heath Slater (Heath Miller)
The Mexican Assassin' Hunico (Jorge Arias)
Jay Uso (Joshua Fatu)
Jimmy Uso (Jonathan Fatu)
'The Human Wrecking Ball' Ryback (Ryan Reeves)
Taylor Rotunda
Tito Colon (Orlando Colon)
'The Ultimate Daredevil' Tyler Black (Colby Lopez)
Windham Rotunda
'The King of Charisma' Xavier Woods (Austin Watson)

Tag Teams/Stables
Alex Riley & Darren Young
Samoan Fury (Jimmy & Jay Uso)
The Harvard Alumni (David Otunga, Damien Sandow, Dean Ambrose & Alicia Fox)
The Rotundas (Taylor & Windham)

Female Performers
'The New Jersey Princess' AJ Lee (April Jeanette)
'The Complete Woman' Alicia Fox (Victoria Crawford)
'The Fearless Angel' Nikki Roxx (Nicole Raczynski)
'Queen Bitch' Rosa Mendes (Milena Roucka)
Serena Deeb
'The Girl Nextdoor' Shantelle Taylor (Shantelle Malawski)
Tamina Snuka (Sarona Reiher)

________


If anyone didn’t catch the No Mercy results from last night, here they are:

Triple H defeated Randy Orton to win the WWE Championship (11:15)

Mr. Kennedy and Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch defeated Jeff Hardy, Paul London and Brian Kendrick (8:06)

CM Punk defeated Big Daddy V (w/Matt Striker) by disqualification to retain the ECW Championship (1:37)

Triple H defeated Umaga to retain the WWE Championship (6:33)

Finlay fought Rey Mysterio to a no-contest (9:08)

Beth Phoenix defeated Candice Michelle to win the WWE Women's Championship (4:32)

Batista defeated The Great Khali (w/Ranjin Singh) in a Punjabi Prison match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship (14:47)

Randy Orton defeated Triple H in a Last Man Standing match to win the WWE Championship (20:25)


PAY-PER-VIEW SCHEDULE 2009

RAW & SMACKDOWN PRESENT:
King of the Ring (4 Hours)
Sunday 31st May
From The Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia

RAW PRESENTS:
Vengeance (3 Hours)
Sunday 14th June
From The Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

SMACKDOWN PRESENTS:
The Great American Bash (3 Hours)
Sunday 5th July
From The Scottrade Arena in St. Louis, Missouri

RAW & SMACKDOWN PRESENT:
SummerSlam (4 Hours)
Sunday 23rd August
From The Rogers Center in Toronto, Ontario (Canada)


OVERSEAS TELEVISION SCHEDULE 2009
(To be recorded due to time difference)

APRIL
Friday 3rd – Smackdown
(To be recorded on Tuesday 31st March)
The Sheffield Arena
Sheffield, England

Monday 6th – Raw
Adriatic Arena
Pesaro, Italy

Friday 10th – Smackdown
(To be recorded on Tuesday 7th April)
Olympiahalle
Munich, Germany


*Pay-Per-View History & Links*

Cyber Sunday 2007
2007 Survivor Series
2007 Year Ending Saturday Night's Main Event
2008 Royal Rumble
Pre-Wrestlemania Saturday Night's Main Event
Wrestlemania 24
Backlash 2008
Judgment Day 2008
2008 King of the Ring
Vengeance 2008
The Great American Bash 2008
Summerslam 2008
Unforgiven 2008
No Mercy 2008
2008 Survivor Series
Night of Champions 2008
2009 Royal Rumble (20th Annual)
No Way Out 2009
Wrestlemania 25 Pre-Show
Wrestlemania 25
Backlash 2009
Extreme Rules 2009


 
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14
#878 ·
KOM WrestleMania Review:

First man sorry bout giving such a late review. Read the show, but never got the time to review. Won't comment on the dark match, but it's good to see that you're using FCW in your thread.

United States Championship:

Good match to start the show off with. Though Hardy retained the title, and even as a Matt Hardy fan, Shelton made this match! Shelton was definately the star of this match, and I'm hoping that this feud continues. With that said, great story told in the ring. ***.5

Good promo with the Hardy brothers. While it would be a good moment with both the Hardys leaving Mania as champion, I don't see it happening, especially with how the Punk/Jeff feud has gone so far in this thread.

Women's Championship:

With the stipulation added for this match, it was kind of obvious that a title change will be taking place. While the match started off a bit slow, it indeed did pick up towards the finish. Great finish. ***

Money in the Bank Match:

Not surprised to see this match early in the card, as it's usually the first or second match on the show. With that said, good match. I must say that it didn't feel like a 15 minute match. However I will admit that the flow of the match was well done, as there weren't any dull moments in the match. It seems like MVP has been the person to win Money in the Bank in some threads in BTB. Looking forward to see how he is built in this thread over the next year, thread time. Hopefully he stays on Smackdown. ***.5

The promos were well done, as all of them further the show and the storylines in this thread.

Cruiserweight Championship:

With these four wrestlers in this match, this should be a great match, and it was! Great way of balancing out the action between the four superstars. At first it looked like Sydal was going to be leaving as the new champ, but that didn't happened. Shocked to see Michael Shane win the title, as I thought that he probably wouldn't be given the title until sometime down the road in this thread. ***.5

Great highlight/recap video of the Hall of Fame. Great class inducted as well. Orton seems ready for his match later on, though I have a feeling that Kane will be leaving the new WWE Champion.

Intercontinental Championship:

After reading this match, this feud has to continue. Punk was spot on as a heel in this match and thread, and having him retain the title was a good booking move. With how the match ended, I'm sure that Jeff will probably be out of action for a while in this thread, to sell the storyline. I expect this feud will probably finish up around June. ****

The McMahons/Bischoff promo was well booked and it's good to see that Bischoff didn't buy into the mind games from the McMahons. Though I have a feeling that there might be a swerve in their match.

WWE/World Tag Team Championships Match:

Good to see that this match got a good amount of time, however I thought this was Miz/Morrison's match to win. However with that said it seems like the UK Pack will be champs for quite some time, regardless if they stay on Smackdown or are drafted over to Raw. Good match. *** 3/4

Nice Hall of Fame class once again man.

Last Man Standing Match:

The story in this match was told perfectly. I thought the IC title match was good, but this match was great! Umaga really proved that he could be a big time wrestler in this thread. The stipulation made the match even better as well. Thought that you would become the second booker to have Taker actually lose at Mania, like I had him lose at my Mania 22 last year (thread time), but even though he lost, Umaga still was booked strong in this match. I expect this feud to continue. ****

Six Man Tag Match:

While this match was good, the ending of the match led me to believe that this feud is far from over. I say that because it was Flair, not Triple H, who won the match for his team. While Bischoff didn't make the swerve, I'm almost sure that he will turn on Hunter before this feud comes to an end. With all of that said, good match. ***.5

Should be interesting with Mania 25 coming to the UK for the first time.

WWE Championship Match:

First off great video package, and the commentary has been excellent thus far. Kane as the NEW WWE Champion was expected, as you have mentioned before that your a big time Kane fan. However the match was well booked, with Orton being booked really strong, especially since he wasn't involved in the finish of the match. Looking forward to what I have a feeling will be a long reign for Kane on Raw as WWE Champion! ****

Backlash looks like it is going to be Kane/Orton for the title.

Main Event-World Heavyweight Championship:

Without a doubt this is the Match of the Night! This match had everything. Great wrestling, excellent spots, false finishes, and an excellent finish. Throughout the match it looked like either man could've won the match. Michaels retaining the title was a good choice, as the show ends with a good note. Great match! ****.5. Good highlight video to end the show.

Overall Comments: Nige, I read the show a couple of weeks ago, but didn't get a chance to review the show. However the show was a great read. While there was a bit too many gimmick matches, it went well with the show. Looking forward to Raw and the WWE Draft.
 
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#881 ·
Hey Nige preview looks good i am very interested to see what happens next in the thread. You finally made it to Mania and posted a great event and now you have the draft another exciting event. A lot is riding on this show as it just about decides where you go with the BTB from here so i am quite excited to read. Best of luck bro.
 
#882 ·
Great preview Nige. This show should be huge, the fallout from Mania is always good and the draft should lead to some very interesting storylines, I'm looking forward to seeing who goes where. Can't wait for the show mate.
 
#883 · (Edited)
WWE.com - HOMEPAGE (Raw Results - 31st March 2008)

I was going to hold off until the end of the week, but i thought i might as well post it now.


RAW Results31st March 2008
Orlando Arena
Orlando, Florida




***IT’S DRAFT NIGHT BOYS AND GIRLS!***
A 3 HOUR SPECIAL!


***VIDEO RECAP***​
From Wrestlemania 24

***THE CLOSING VIDEO***
“Thanks for the Memories” by Fall Out Boy

  • The opening pyro display
  • Matt Hardy & Shelton Benjamin making their way to the ring
  • Matt dodging The Pay Dirt and hitting the Twist of Fate
  • Matt celebrating his victory with the United States title raised high in the air
  • Beth Phoenix & Victoria walking down to the ring
  • Victoria escaping Beth’s chicken wing lift for The Widow’s Peak
  • Victoria holding her newly won Womens Championship
  • MVP knocking Kennedy & then Jericho off the ladder with the smaller one
  • MVP climbing up the ladder and claiming the briefcase
  • Matt Sydal hitting the Shooting Star Press on Dykstra
  • Chavo going for the Frog Splash with Kenny getting his knees up and Shane connecting with the super kick
  • Shane lifting his new title in to the air
  • Jeff Hardy & CM Punk walking down to the ring
  • Punk’s suicide dive in to the steel chair shot
  • Punk stopping Jeff’s head on to the steel chair
  • Punk hitting the GTS and the ref calling for the bell
  • Punk grinning on the ramp
  • John Morrison nailing Brian Kendrick with a step up enziguri
  • Kendrick hitting the Sliced Bread #2 on Jamie Noble
  • The double suicide dive from London & Kendrick
  • Noble turning round in to the C4
  • The Undertaker & Umaga making their way to the ring
  • The leg drop through the announce table by the dead man
  • Taker choking Umaga with the rope
  • Taker’s signature pose at the end of the match
  • Evolution & The McMahon’s walking down to the ring
  • Shane McMahon leaping for the Coast to Coast, but getting speared by Batista
  • JBL’s Clothesline from Wall Street on Batista, turning round in to a double A spinebuster from Triple H
  • Vince tapping out to the figure four
  • Evolution posing in the ring with Eric Bischoff looking on
  • John Cena, Kane & Randy Orton walking to the ring
  • Kane chokeslamming Cena and then hitting the Tombstone Piledriver
  • Orton sliding in too late to see Bearer putting the title on Kane
  • Shawn Michaels & Edge making their way to the ring
  • Michaels’ elbow drop through the announce table
  • Edge trying to hit Michaels with the chair but hitting the ropes with the chair rebounding in to his face and turning in to a super kick
  • Edge spearing Michaels again but seeing the foot on the rope
  • Edge kicking Michaels away from the ropes but running in to the super kick
  • Michaels posing with the title as the fireworks go off

***OPENING VIDEO***

“Wanna Be Loved”


***PYRO***
***PYRO***
***PYRO***


JR & The King are at ringside. They say that Wrestlemania was incredible last night, crowning a new WWE Champion in the shape of The Big Red Machine, Kane, but that tonight is also going to be an amazing night as every single member of Raw & Smackdown are eligible to be drafted right here tonight. He then says that they have the pleasure of being joined by Smackdown’s Michael Cole & The Coach. Cole says that Wrestlemania was unbelievable but there’s no time to dwell on it as the show must go on right now, starting with the Money in the Bank winner, MVP.

“I’m Comin” hits & MVP walks down to the ring with a big smile on his face, holding on to his newest possession, the Money in the Bank contract. The fans boo him as he gets in the ring and takes the microphone from Lilian. Even before he speaks, a barrage of heat is fired at him from the crowd, angering Mr. Money in the Bank. He yells at them to show him the respect that he deserves, but that just gets the fans on his back even more. He then says that the contract he’s got in his hands demands respect after what he went through last night, and that some time in the next twelve months whenever he feels the time is right and cashes in, they will have no choice but to accept him as a world champion. He smiles as he tosses the microphone back at Lilian, but it falls to the floor, so she has to bend down and pick it up as “Turn Up The Treble” plays with a very focused Mr. Kennedy walking down the ramp to a mixed reception with Lilian announcing him instead.


***THE OPENING MATCH***

Winner Gets 1 Draft for His Brand

Mr. Kennedy vs
“Mr. Money in the Bank” Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP)

ENDING: MVP pulls Kennedy up from his feet, and seeing him look a little groggy still, he throws a right at him, but it’s blocked. Kennedy then fires with a right of his own, and the shocked MVP only can only look on as Kennedy then nails him with another couple of hard shots, putting Mr. Money in the Bank on the back foot. The Green Bay native then grabs MVP by the wrist and tries for an irish whip, only for MVP to reverse it, whipping Kennedy hard in to the corner. With Kennedy’s back crashing in to the pads, he remains there as MVP then charges in at him, looking for THE PLAYA’S BOOT. . . . . Kennedy steps out of the corner as MVP then runs right in to it with his boot raised. Kennedy uses the extra seconds to recover before MVP then staggers out of the corner, and Kennedy pulls him right in to place for THE MIC CHECK. . . . . MVP fights it with elbows to the head, and he’s able to escape it as he pushes Kennedy back in to the ropes. But as Kennedy races back, he runs at MVP for a clothesline.

The Franchise Player ducks it and Kennedy ends up knocking the referee down instead. He looks pissed as he drops to his knees and tells the ref to get up, pulling his shirt, but as he stands up and turns round, MVP kicks him in the gut and plants him with THE PLAYMAKER. . . . . Mr. Money in the Bank then hooks Kennedy’s leg, but there’s no one to count the fall, angering MVP. He stands back up and walks over to the referee who starts to come round as he lies across the mat with his head facing the fans. MVP sees his movement and turns back round to walk in to his corner, where he picks up the briefcase he won last night at Wrestlemania. Kennedy makes his way back up slowly, and as he turns round, MVP charges at him with the briefcase and smashes him in the head with it. The crowd boo loudly as MVP slides the briefcase back in to the corner, walks over to the referee and drags him across to the mat as he drops do to his knees and goes for the cover with the ref counting slowly 1 . . . . . 2 . . . . . 3.


WINNER: Montel Vontavious Porter by pinfall @ 7.12

AFTERMATH: “I’m Comin” hits as MVP stands back up, gets his arm raised and walks back over to the corner to pick up his briefcase. He lifts it up by the ropes to the annoyance of the crowd as the tron gets ready to show us the first draft.




SMACKDOWN DRAFT PICK: Chris Jericho


AFTERMATH (ctd): MVP leaves the ring and walks up the ramp, but as he gets to the top, Randy Orton walks out and shrugs right past him. MVP turns round with a look of anger on his face, but Orton just carries on walking down the ramp with a face like thunder. As he climbs up the steps, Kennedy starts to come round. Orton climbs the through ropes and stares at Kennedy for a second, seeing him trying to sit up, getting distracted by him. Orton then races across the ring and punts Kennedy in the head, sending him back down to the mat and looking to be completely out of it. Orton just stares down at him as medics rush down to check on Kennedy, then calls for a stretcher with Orton not taking his eyes off of him as we go for a break.


**COMMERCIAL BREAK**


We come back and we see Mr. Kennedy being taken away on a stretcher as Orton watches on, looking so intense. As Kennedy is taken through the curtain at the side of the stage, Orton turns to the ropes and is given a microphone. He apologises for the interruption with absolutely no regret whatsoever, and then demands that Eric Bischoff come out to the ring right now. After a couple of seconds of silence, Orton starts getting hot and says that unless Bischoff gets his ass down to the ring right away, he’ll walk back there and do what he just did to Kennedy to everyone who gets in his way, and almost instantly, “I’m Back” blasts out with Bischoff walking down to the ring, not looking too happy. He collects a microphone as Orton says it’s about time, but Bischoff cuts him off and tells him to shut up and listen to him. He says that he won’t have his superstars attacked in cold blood like Mr. Kennedy just did, but Orton cuts him off. He says that what just happened was irrelevant, just like everything else with the exception of one huge miscarriage of justice, and that is the fact that he lost the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania.

The crowd cheer, but he corrects himself straight away to say that he didn’t lose the match, Cena did, and that the biggest scandal ever to happen on America soil needs to be resolved right now. Bischoff shakes his head and asks Orton just what he has in mind, and The Legend Killer says that he’s going to use his rematch clause by taking on Kane right here tonight, getting the fans going as they cheer like crazy. Bischoff rubs his chin and smiles for a few seconds before saying that as much as he likes the sound of it, he can’t allow it to happen. Orton yells at him, asking why not, saying Bischoff can’t do a damn thing about it because it’s in his contract, but Bischoff says that he might have that clause, but he can’t just exercise it any time he likes. He carries on to say that it’s too big of a match with the WWE Championship on the line to give away on television, and tells Orton that deep down he knows that, calling him sensible enough to understand it.

Orton stares back at him, seeing that Bischoff is right, as the Head of Authority then announces that Orton can have his rematch in just under four weeks at Backlash, getting a big pop from the crowd. Orton seems to accept the decision, cooling down as Bischoff then says that he does need a big match for tonight with draft implications, and say he thinks he has just that with Orton looking confused. Bischoff then says that Orton looks like he wants to compete tonight, he will do just that in a inter-promotional tag team match. Eric then says that tonight will see Smackdown’s World Heavyweight Champion, Shawn Michaels join forces with The Undertaker to take on the team of the former WWE Champion, Randy Orton, and the new WWE Champion, Kane. A massive pop rings out as Orton stands still and does everything he can to remain calm when “I’m Back” plays again with Bischoff leaving the ring looking very satisfied, leaving Orton there to ponder his thoughts about teaming up with the man who took away his title less than 24 hours ago.


**COMMERCIAL BREAK**


***MATCH #2***

NON TITLE MATCH
CHAMPIONS vs CHAMPIONS

Winner Gets 2 Drafts for Their Brand
Paul London & Brian Kendrick
vs The UK Pack (Paul Burchill & Harry Smith)

ENDING: Smith & London crawl across the mat and make the tag to their partners. Kendrick & Burchill race through the ropes and run right at each other with Kendrick ducking under Burchill’s outstretched arm. As Burchill turns back round, Kendrick leaps up and nails him with a dropsault. The crowd like that, and they get even louder as Burchill gets back up with Kendrick pouncing by grabbing him by the head and running in to the corner for THE SLICED BREAD #2. . . . . As Kendrick runs up the ropes and turns round, Burchill throws him down to the mat. London panics and races in to the ring and runs at Burchill as he pulls Kendrick up, but as London lifts his foot up towards Burchill’s face, the Brit ducks his head with London nailing Kendrick instead with a SUPER KICK. . . . . London looks down in shock as Kendrick just falls to the mat. Burchill then grabs him by the trunks and neck to toss him through the ropes. He turns his attention back to Kendrick, pulls him up to his feet and connects with the highly impressive C4. . . . . He follows up by going for the cover 1 . . . . . 2 . . . . . 3.


WINNERS: The UK Pack by pinfall @ 6.02

AFTERMATH: “Britannia” hits as Smith & Burchill congratulate each other in the ring as the tron prepares the tow draft selections for Smackdown.






SMACKDOWN DRAFT PICKS: Ron Killings & Mickie James


AFTERMATH (ctd): Smith & Burchill leave the ring smiling as Kendrick gets back up in the ring with London getting back in at the same time. Kendrick stands up and looks frustrated with London, but London apologises and then walks over to collect their belts. He walks back over to Kendrick and holds out his belt, with Kendrick staring at him for a couple of seconds before grabbing it with some tension clearly between them.


**CUT BACKSTAGE**


Eric Bischoff is walking through back, and as he turns a corner, he is greeted by the sight of CM Punk, Colt Cabana & Sunny leaning up against opposite walls. The fans boo from inside the arena as a smug Punk smiles at Bischoff and asks him if he liked what he did to Jeff Hardy last night. Bischoff shakes his head in disgust at Punk’s disregard, then says that nothing surprises him anymore with him. He then says that thanks to his actions last night, and after what just happened to Kennedy on top of a few other problems, he’s left with quite a big injury list. He then says that Jeff will be out longer than anyone else, saying he received a serious of very hard blows to the head, but says that Punk is already aware of that. Punk & Co smile, but Bischoff then says that he might not be smiling for much longer because he’s made a very special match tonight for Punk’s Intercontinental Championship.

The fans can be heard cheering, but Punk doesn’t look happy and tells Bischoff he can’t compete after what he went through last night. Bischoff angrily says that Jeff can’t compete tonight, and since Punk is still standing, there’s no reason why he can’t. He tells the irate champion that there will be seven challengers, because it is going to be a four team elimination match, and when it comes down to the last two teams, the man who gets the winning pinfall or submission will leave here tonight as the Intercontinental Champion. Punk tells Bischoff he isn’t going to get away with it, and Cabana joins in, telling him that he’s making a big mistake, but Bischoff has great pleasure in telling Cabana that he shouldn’t be too upset as he will have a chance to become the champion himself. Cabana & Punk look confused as Bischoff then tells them that they will be partners tonight, and then turns round smiling before turning back and wishing them luck. Punk throws his coffee in to the wall as he, Cabana & Sunny stand there looking stunned.

The camera follows Bischoff as he walks up the hall and in to his office where JBL & Vince McMahon are waiting for him. They both stand up from a leather sofa, looking very serious indeed as Bischoff looks a little surprised to see them. He asks them what they want, and Vince doesn’t hold back as he says Eric knows all too well, blaming him for losing to Evolution last night and falling right in to Triple H’s plan like he intended. He tells him that Triple H knew what he was doing in calling it an accident on the night of their big match, and the fact that Bischoff fell for every last word backfired on him and his sons not only losing, but in Shane needing medical attention.

Bischoff looks at them and shakes his head in disbelief, then says that they really are deluded if they think they can manipulate him, and then says that it’s not his fault that Shane got injured last night, saying you take risks at your own cost. JBL then steps in and calls Bischoff weak for not dealing with Triple H like he should and how any other man in his position would. Bischoff smirks and says that he is going to deal with the situation, he is going to shut JBL up tonight, but not personally of course. JBL & Vince look on as Bischoff says that tonight in the main event, it will be JBL going one on one with Smackdown’s Batista. JBL’s mouth is wide open in absolute shock as Bischoff tells them that if that is all, they can leave. JBL tells Bischoff he’s not heard the last of this and walks out of the room with Vince looking disgusted, but Bischoff stares right back, not letting them faze him.


**COMMERCIAL BREAK**


A shocked Mickie James is stood in the divas locker room with Victoria, Michelle McCool, Maria & Candice Michelle. Victoria tells Mickie she can’t believe she (Mickie) got drafted. The rest look stunned too with Mickie not knowing what to say. Candice then asks what this means and what she’s going to do on Smackdown, but Mickie just says she doesn’t have a clue. The door opens and we see Beth Phoenix & Natalya walk in. They look quite calm as they walk up to them, then Beth says to Victoria that now she’s lost one more person to look out for her, she is in even more danger now of losing the Womens Championship quicker then she won it. Natalya grins as she stands alongside Beth with Victoria staring right back at them, but McCool stands forward and says that as long as no one else gets drafted, they’re not going to let her and Natalya throw their weight around like they think they can. The Glamazon says they’ll soon see about that before saying to Mickie it’s sad she’s leaving, smiling though before turning back round and walking out with Natalya with Candice saying to Victoria that she can count on them to make sure Beth doesn’t get the title back. Victoria thanks them but says that she’s not intimidated in the least and that no one is taking her belt off her.


**CUT TO THE ARENA**


***MATCH #3***

NON TITLE MATCH
Winner Gets 1 Draft for His Brand

Matt Hardy
vs Santino Marella w/Melina

ENDING: Santino is pulled up by Matt, and the US Champ then when whips him in to the corner. He then runs in at Marella and nails him with a clothesline, but holds on to his head as he turns himself round to run out of the corner and take him down with a bulldog. A worried Melina watches on from the outside as Matt hooks the leg for a cover 1 . . . . . 2 . . . . . Santino gets his shoulder up, but Matt isn’t done as he stands up, walks in to the corner and climbs to the second rope. He lifts his hands in to the air, posing for the fans before jumping off for a DIVING LEG DROP. . . . . As Matt comes out of the sky, Santino rolls to the side with Matt’s legs crashing in to the mat. Both men take a while before they are able to get themselves back on their feet, but as they do, Santino reacts first by pulling Matt’s head in to his body. Matt escapes by pushing Santino back in to the ropes and catches him as he runs back with a SIDE EFFECT. . . . . The crowd cheer, and Matt stands back up instantly, urging Santino up. The crowd all stand up in anticipation as Santino gets back up and turns round in to a kick to the gut from Matt, who follows up with THE TWIST OF FATE. . . . . A huge pop breaks out as Matt turns himself over and makes the cover 1 . . . . . 2 . . . . . 3.


WINNER: Matt Hardy by pinfall @ 5.28

AFTERMATH: “Live for the Moment” blasts out as Matt Hardy stands back up and gets his arm raised by the referee as well as getting his United States Championship passed to him. After posing with the title, the tron comes back on for the next draft.




SMACKDOWN DRAFT PICK: Elijah Burke


**CUT BACKSTAGE**


Shawn Michaels is in his locker room, just taking his jacket off with loud cheers heard coming from the arena. As he turns round and puts it on the bench, we hear the door open and close, causing Michaels to turn round. The camera zooms out to show Evolution walking in and towards Michaels with all four men smiling. Triple H says to Shawn that he heard a rumour that he was here, then they have a little guy hug with Hunter congratulating on winning last night. Shawn repays the compliment as they let each other go. Batista & Flair do the same with HBK, and Flair asks HBK how he’s doing. Shawn says he’s good and real happy to still be World Champion after last night, but it was almost as sweet to see his boys take care of Vince and his boys. HHH grins and says that it was a great night, but then says that it’s going to be a tough night for Shawn tonight though. HBK agrees, but says that he’s still got the Wrestlemania buzz and that he’d a fight a lion if he had to. Batista says to Shawn that what he’s facing tonight is worse than a lion, it’s a big, ugly, red monster called Kane. HBK smirks and says he’s ready for whatever gets thrown at him, then he seems to get distracted. He asks them if they know he’s brought the old ball and chain with him. They shake their heads and Shawn tells them his boy’s here too, then tells all three that they’re got to come so see them and say “hey”. They say that’d be great and they all go to leave the room with Hunter asking Shawn if Rebecca’s had her implants done yet, and Shawn says that he thought she could borrow Steph’s for a test run since Hunter won’t be using them for a while. They all laugh as they walk through the door.


**COMMERCIAL BREAK**


"It's All About the Money" plays as “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase walks down the ramp to a huge pop from the Orlando crowd. The Hall of Famer gets in the ring to collect a microphone and has the Million Dollar Championship belt in his hand. He thanks the fans for the greatest honour of his career by voting for him to be inducted in to the Hall of Fame this past weekend, saying he’s truly grateful. He then says that it’s been an emotional weekend, but that it’s not over just yet. He says that for those who watched the Hall of Fame ceremony, they would have seen his son, Ted DiBiase Jr officially induct him, and that that itself was a great feeling. He then says that he has the pleasure tonight of exceeding that feeling right now, as he would like to introduce to us, being accompanied by the very beautiful Maryse, his son, Ted DiBiase Jr. "It's All About the Money" plays again as DiBiase Jr, wearing a big smile walks down to the ring in his ring gear with Maryse on his arm. His father claps in the ring, and as his son gets in to the ring, he hugs him and then kisses Maryse on the cheek. Ted Sr says to his son that he’s so proud to see him follow in his footsteps and that he hopes to induct him in to the Hall of Fame one day.

Ted Jr smiles as his dad continues, saying that it’s such a great moment for him, he would like to honour the moment by presenting him with the Million Dollar Championship. He holds it out in his hands with Ted Jr looking stunned for a couple of seconds before reaching out and collecting it, then holds it up to have a look at it. He then asks for the microphone, and his dad gives it to him. He says that he is so grateful to his dad for helping him fulfill his dream to try and follow in Hall of Fame footsteps. He then says that he wants to make his father even prouder tonight by not just competing for the first time in a WWE ring, but by defending the Million Dollar Championship. Ted Sr looks impressed as his son says that he is inviting any Smackdown superstar to come on down and face him for the chance to become his first victim. He turns to his dad, Maryse and then back to the crowd before saying that everybody has a price for The Million Dollar, but he and “The Million Dollar Woman” are simply priceless. Maryse & Ted Sr clap as the young man hands his title and microphone over to the referee. We then see Funaki making his way down to the ring to a pop from the crowd as his music plays. Ted Sr & Maryse leave the ring to watch the debut of Ted DiBiase Jr.


***MATCH #4***

MILLION DOLLAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Winner Gets 1 Draft for His Brand

Funaki vs
Ted DiBiase Jr (c) w/“The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase & “The Million Dollar Woman” Maryse

ENDING: DiBiase smirks as he reaches down and pulls the lifeless body Funaki back up, then clubs him across the back with a couple of heavy shots. He then shifts behind him and plants him with a BACK SUPLEX. . . . . Funaki just lies motionless on the mat as DiBiase Sr, and the extremely glamorous Maryse applaud on the outside. Ted Jr smiles back at them from the inside and then retreats to the corner as Funaki, slowly but surely makes his way back up to his feet. And as he turns round to face his opponent, still looking groggy, Ted Jr races out of the corner and nails him with a VICIOUS FALLING CLOTHESLINE. . . . . Funaki rolls around in agony for several seconds before slowly picks himself back up with DiBiase Jr standing behind him, stalking his prey. And as Funaki gets right back up, Ted Jr locks him in THE MILLION DOLLAR DREAM. . . . . Funaki looks in agony as the younger Ted DiBiase makes life hell for him, and it doesn’t take long for him to send Funaki to sleep, causing the ref to call for the bell.


WINNER: Ted DiBiase Jr by submission @ 2.11

AFTERMATH: "It's All About the Money" hits as DiBiase Jr stands up in the ring, getting his arm raised and the Million Dollar title passed to him with Maryse & his father joining him in the ring, both hugging him as the tron comes to life for the next draft.




RAW DRAFT PICK: William Regal


AFTERMATH (ctd): The camera cuts to the back and we see Regal spit out a cup of tea as he watches it sat down in his makeshift office. The camera cuts back to the ring to show The DiBiase’s & Maryse all smiles.


**CUT BACKSTAGE**


Maria is standing by and introduces her guest, the United States Champion, Matt Hardy. With the fan’s cheers being heard from the arena, Maria says it’s great to have Matt on Raw and asks him how he’s feeling after Wrestlemania last night and winning again earlier on. He says that Wrestlemania was great, getting to open the show was one of the best feelings of his life and that being back on Raw tonight is great too. Maria then asks him how his brother Jeff is after he was stretchered out of Wrestlemania last night after the I Quit match with CM Punk. Matt says he was worried for a while, but that he’s being looked after by the right people right now and he’ll be back better than ever. Just as Maria is about to ask another question, she stops and looks past Matt, who turns round to see CM Punk, Colt Cabana & Sunny standing there. They walk up to Matt & Maria, then Punk says that Jeff will be grateful for some time off so he can feed his habit a little more while he remembers exactly what he (Punk) did to him last night. Matt drops his belt and goes right for Punk, but Cabana jumps in front of Punk who steps back. He tells Matt to be careful or he might just end up like his brother and laughs. Matt is breathing heavy as Cabana & Sunny laugh too and walk away with Matt staring right at them.


**COMMERCIAL BREAK**


***VIDEO PROMO***

Shots of Kane in a deserted warehouse are shown with a worried looking Randy Orton lurking in the corners. A trail of fire then ignites around the now empty warehouse with glass shattering.

VOICEOVER: There comes a time when consequences will be felt. . . They come when you least expect them. . . They come when you don’t want them, but you have no option but to deal with them. . . You have to deal with the Backlash.




**CUT TO THE ARENA**


***MATCH #5***

INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
TAG TEAM ELIMINATION MATCH
Winner Gets 2 Drafts for Their Brand

Kofi Kingston & Cody Rhodes w/Kelly Kelly
vs CM Punk (c) & Colt Cabana w/Sunny
vs Chavo Guerrero & Matt Sydal
vs Kid Kash & Shannon Moore

ELIMINATION #1: Cody & Cabana stand back up, and Cody tries for an irish whip, but Cabana reverses it. As Cody then comes back off the ropes, both men knock each other down with a clothesline. Both men squirm around, but Cody is closer to a corner and reaches up to make the tag to Shannon Moore. He races in and pulls Cabana back up to his feet, then runs back in to the ropes and hits a DIVING CROSS BODY. . . . . 1 . . . . . 2 . . . . . Cabana kicks out comfortably as both men make their way back up. Moore is up first as he runs in to the corner and climbs to the top rope, but Cabana is right there too, tossing him back down to he mat. He then runs at Kash and knocks him down off the apron with a right hand. He turns his attention back to Moore as he walks over, pulls him up to his feet and PLANTS HIM WITH A DOUBLE UNDERHOOK BACK BREAK DROP. . . . . There’s no sign of life from Moore as Cabana goes for the cover 1 . . . . . 2 . . . . . 3.


ELIMINATION #2: Sydal sidesteps a stiff kick from Punk, grabs his arm and whips him in to the ropes, catching Punk with a dropkick as comes back. The crowd cheer as Sydal then stands up and walks in to his corner, making the tag to Chavo. The Mexican races through the ropes and runs at Punk, who stands up only to get knocked down again with a clothesline. Punk rushes back to his feet again as Chavo follows up with another clothesline. The IC Champ stands back up again and runs at Chavo this time, with Guerrero taking him down with TILT A WHIRL HEAD SCISSORS. . . . . The fans love it, and as Punk struggles to his feet, Chavo kicks him in the gut and sets him up for A BRAINBUSTER. . . . . A pop breaks out from the crowd, but as Chavo lifts him in to the air, Punk is able to wriggle free. He spins Chavo round, kicks him in the gut and lifts him on to his shoulder for the GTS. . . . . Cabana enters the ring and runs at Sydal, knocking him down to the apron with a knee smash to the chest as Punk brings Chavo’s head down on to his knee, then follows up for the cover 1 . . . . . 2 . . . . . 3.


ENDING: Kofi is whipped hard in to the corner by Punk. The Straight Edge Superstar runs in at him, going for a HIGH KNEE LIFT. . . . . But as Punk gets to the corner, Kofi steps out to the side at the last second. Kofi drops to his knees, still feeling the strain of the match as Punk hits the deck, holding his knee. The crowd try and get behind Kofi as he makes his way back up to his feet, runs back in to the ropes and comes back to hit Punk with a DOUBLE LEG DROP TO THE CHEST. . . . . The fans are loving this, but Sunny isn’t as she panics and stands up on the apron, catching the attention of Kofi and the referee. Kofi stands up and is furious, but it allows Cabana to run round the outside and pull Cody down off the apron, hitting his head on the apron. He then enters the ring behind Kofi and kicks him hard in the groin. Kofi just drops to his knees, but we see Matt Hardy jumping the barricade on the outside and then slide in to the ring. He spins Cabana round and takes him down with THE SIDE EFFECT. . . . . The crowd go nuts as Matt then pulls Punk up form his knees and plants him with THE TWIST OF FATE. . . . . Sunny flips on the apron, but Kelly rushes round to pull her down to the floor as Matt leaves the ring and watches on from the bottom of the ramp. The referee turns round as Kofi crawls across the mat and stretches his arm out on Punk’s chest as the ref makes the count 1 . . . . . 2 . . . . . 3.


WINNERS: By pinfall, Cody Rhodes, and the new WWE Intercontinental Champion, Kofi Kingston @ 10.47

AFTERMATH: “SOS” hits to a big pop as a stunned Kofi Kingston, and the even more so Cody Rhodes stand up slowly in the ring with the referee passing the title to Kofi. The new champion clutches the belt against his chest, then runs in to the corner and climbs to the top rope, lifting the belt in to the air with the crowd going nuts. Cody doesn’t know what to make of it as Kelly gets in the ring with Sunny checking on Cabana on the outside with a look of contempt on her face as Matt Hardy makes his way back up the ramp with a massive grin on his face. The tron switches to the next draft picks.






RAW DRAFT PICKS: Kenny Dykstra & Ric Flair


AFTERMATH (ctd): The fans cheer Flair’s switch to Raw while Kofi continues the celebration by hugging Kofi with an awkward Cody standing by. Punk sits up looking confused, and then angry.


**CUT BACKSTAGE**


William Regal is on his cell phone in his office, demanding to know where he stands now that he has been drafted Raw, asking to know what it means for his role as General Manager of Smackdown. After listening to the response, he flips and says that it’s an absolute disgrace to treat him in this way and that they will be hearing from his solicitor, then says that in this country, that means attorney. He then says that they’ve not heard the last of this and wraps up the call. He sits down at his desk and hangs his head when we hear a knock at the door with Eric Bischoff walking in. Regal lifts his head up and tells Bischoff that he’s not in the mood for any smart comments right now, but Bischoff quickly dismisses that and says he’s not here to make any wise cracks about what happened. He says that he respects Regal as a GM and that he thinks it’s wrong for him to be brought to Raw, but says he has an idea to turn this round and make it work for Regal and for Raw.

Regal asks Bischoff what he’s getting at, and he says that he needs someone to help him with everything that happens on Raw, and thinks that Regal is just the man to help him run Raw and make it the most dominant brand in the history of sports entertainment. Regal says straight away with anger that he is not going to be Bischoff’s secretary, but Bischoff makes it clear that won’t be what he will be doing and says that he would be his Executive Assistant, helping him deal with the superstars, making matches, not making coffee. Regal says he would need assurances, a drawn up contract with his role clearly defined before he makes a decision. Bischoff understands and says he’ll get one drawn up and sent to him as soon as the show goes off the air. Regal then says that he will have a think about things and let him know what his decision is next week. Bischoff says that’s fine and hopes they can come to an agreement before leaving with Regal having a deep think as the camera fades out.


**COMMERCIAL BREAK**


CM Punk is shown pacing through the back and yelling out for Matt Hardy with Colt Cabana & Sunny trying to catch up with him. He then sees Matt walking out of a locker room and shouts his name. Matt turns and drops his travel bag as Punk runs right at him, leading to them throwing right hands at each other. Cabana & Sunny are too far back as Punk & Matt try to tear each other apart with Punk shouting at Matt. Several officials hear the commotion and race from around the corner, trying to pull them apart, and Cabana does the same, pulling Punk off of Matt. They stare intensely at each other as the officials tell Matt to pick up his bag and go, which he does as Punk pushes Cabana to the side and turns round, storming past Sunny in the process. Cabana & Sunny look worried as they watch Punk walk down the hall and kick the wall and production boxes.


**CUT TO THE ARENA**


***MATCH #6***

Winner Gets 2 Drafts for Their Brand

The Undertaker & Shawn Michaels
vs Kane & Randy Orton

ENDING: Taker hits his brother with a right hand, then grabs him by the arm and whips him in to the corner where Orton is standing. Orton slaps Kane on the shoulder as he hits the pad, catching the attention of the referee who then acknowledges the blind tag, but The Undertaker doesn’t have a clue. He then grabs Kane and whips him in to the opposite corner, with the new WWE Champion hitting the pads back first. Before Taker can follow in for another clothesline, Orton enters the ring and pulls Taker back, hitting him with a SIDE INVERTED BACK BREAKER. . . . . The Legend Killer then charges in to Taker’s corner and drives his foot in to Michaels’ gut, knocking him down off the apron as he just got back up. As Orton turns back round, Kane walks out of the corner, walking in to the middle of the ring for a face off with Orton. The former WWE Champion looks in to the new champs’ eyes intensely before swinging a wild right hand, but Kane grabs him around the throat straight away and sends him down to the mat with a CHOKESLAM. . . . . The fans seem to like that, but they might be cheering for The Undertaker as he stands back up behind them. He spins Kane round and plants his brother with a CHOKESLAM OF HIS OWN. . . . . Kane rolls across the apron and to the outside as Taker then pulls Orton back up to his feet, scoops him up and SENDS HIM CRASHING DOWN TO THE MAT WITH THE TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER. . . . . With Taker crossing and holding on to Orton’s hands, the referee makes the count 1 . . . . . 2 . . . . . 3.


WINNERS: The Undertaker & Shawn Michaels by pinfall @ 9.24

AFTERMATH: “Deadman’s Symphony” hits as the lights go out, leaving some purple spotlights to shine down on him as he bends down on one knee and poses for the crowd. Kane & Paul Bearer look on from the outside as Michaels comes back round with the tron then selecting the next draft.






SMACKDOWN DRAFT PICKS: Beth Phoenix & CM Punk


**CUT BACKSTAGE**


Todd Grisham is standing by and introduces us to his guest, John Cena. Grisham reluctantly says that he has to ask how he is feeling after losing out last night at Wrestlemania in the triple threat match for the WWE Championship. Cena takes it well and says that it simply wasn’t his night, but he will making sure that his night will come very soon, promising to start from the bottom up to get his hands back on the WWE Championship. We then hear someone laughing, and Kenny Dykstra walks in to the shot. He tells Grisham that he should be talking to someone who is actually worth talking to, and since he’s the biggest draft pick of all time, maybe the fans should be hearing from instead, not Cena. He says it’s funny because the last time he was on Raw with Cena, Cena was the top dog, and now he’s on the verge of falling under the limelight. He then tells Cena it’s best to step out of it himself because it’s Kenny Dykstra’s time to shine. Cena is on the verge of laughing as a cocky Dykstra turns round and walks out of the shot looking very pleased with himself. Cena turns back to Grisham with a straight face and asks if he’s supposed to know him. He laughs, then tells Todd he’ll see him around and walks off giggling.


**COMMERCIAL BREAK**


***VIDEO PROMO***

A helicopter is shown scouring the night sky. It then cuts to a birds eye view with a stadium below before cutting to a shot of Summerslam 1992 with a view from the top of the stadium as The British Bulldog celebrated his victory over Bret Hart. The shot then changes, shifting round the new Wembley Stadium.

VOICEOVER: What would life be without memories? . . . Some memories seem distant, some not so, but for those who are unable to recall this momentous occasion, they will get that chance. . . For the first time in its twenty five year history, Wrestlemania will leave America and Canada. . . For the first time ever, Wrestlemania will come to you live from the United Kingdom, where new memories will be shared.




**CUT TO THE ARENA**


***THE MAIN EVENT***

Winner Gets 1 Draft for His Brand

Batista w/Triple H & Ric Flair
vs John “Bradshaw” Layfield w/Vince McMahon

ENDING: JBL stands back up with Batista reacting straight away to whip him in to the ropes, but JBL grabs the top rope and holds on. The angry Batista then runs right at JBL, who lifts his boot up in to The Animal’s face, sending Big Dave staggering away from the ropes. As soon as he turns round, JBL runs right at him, but Batista sees him coming and plants him with a SWINGING SIDE SLAM. . . . . A massive pop breaks out as The Animal then turns himself round on the mat and goes for the cover 1 . . . . . 2 . . . . . JBL lifts his shoulder up, but Batista doesn’t relent as he stands back up, reaches down and pulls JBL back up too, whipping him in to the ropes and planting him with a SPINEBUSTER. . . . . The crowd erupts as Batista stands up and walks over to the ropes and shakes them in a frenzy, sending Vince in to a spin. The Chairman of the Board walks round to a grab chair on the outside and slides in to the ring, but The Animal turns round in time to see him as both run at each other with BATISTA SPEARING VINCE McMAHON. . . . . Another big cheer rings out as both Batista and JBL make their way back up to their feet, but Batista can’t resist picking the chair up too, turning round and NAILING IT RIGHT IN TO JBL’S SKULL. . . . . The referee has no choice but to call for the bell, disqualifying The Animal.


WINNER: John “Bradshaw” Layfield by DQ @ 8.28

AFTERMATH: Batista stares at the referee, and he isn’t happy. Batista snaps and lifts him up by the legs and plants him with a spinebuster. Triple H & Ric Flair get in the ring with Batista, looking down at the wreckage as the tron comes back to “Draft Life” and prepares itself for the final draft choice of the evening.




RAW DRAFT PICK: Batista


AFTERMATH (ctd): Huge cheers break out as Triple H & Ric Flair look up at the tron and smile while Batista remains distracted by the damage he’s caused. Triple H pats him on the shoulder, and The Animal turns round to see he is Raw’s latest recruit. Smiles begin to appear and grow on all three men’s faces, and they turn round and look down at Vince & JBL for a couple of seconds before looking back and smiling at each other as “Line in the Sand” blasts out to a huge pop. They realise that Evolution is now a permanent fixture and they raise each others hands in the air, posing for the crowd as the groggy pair of Vince & JBL come round and look up at the very happy trio as the show comes to a close.


**END OF SHOW**


THE DRAFT SUMMARY

TO RAW

William Regal
Kenny Dykstra
Ric Flair
Batista

TO SMACKDOWN
Chris Jericho
Ron Killings
Mickie James
Elijah Burke
Beth Phoenix
CM Punk


CONFIRMED FOR BACKLASH

Theme Song

“All Summer Long” by Kid Rock

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
Kane (c) vs Randy Orton




HOMEPAGE (Breaking News)

The WWE has tonight come to the release of Sunny from her contract. We wish her the best of luck in her future endeavours.

Following the draft on Raw tonight, more changes have been made to the rosters. Moving to Raw are Finlay, Jimmy Wang Yang & Leticia Cline. Smackdown has acquired the services of Maria, Michelle McCool, Jim Duggan, Orlando Jordan. Layla has followed Elijah Burke to the blue brand, taking advantage of the “Open House” rules.


To see the new rosters and new graphics, click here!


 
#884 ·
Yeah so I haven't commented here in a good while. :eek:. So just thought I drop ya' a review just because I have some spare time before I need to revise, yay.

Raw Feedback

I have to say I did skim you WrestleMania; it was a good show from what I read. Kane as champion is interesting to say the least but I know you have built him up to be it in the weeks leading up from when he won the Royale Rumble. Nice opening package and let’s get this bad boy going.

MVP as MITB = Awesome, and he will be a great champion when it comes. A feud with HBK would be great but he won’t cash it in for a good few months, I think. I expected him to beat KK; he has just come off the biggest win in his career. And woah! Jericho to SmackDown, that’s sure to make the place a lot more interesting, but if you have him feud with HBK I won’t be happy, been there done that, got the t-shirt.

Kennedy and Orton have beef? Fill me in on that. Guess it was just out of pure anger on his behalf. Bisch isn’t taking any shit from Orton. A nice main event announced, Taker-HBK feud coming up then? Orton versus Kane at Backlash was the obvious thing to do, nice segment there.

Nice tag team match, I’m quite a fan of Londrick, and it seems you might break them up, NOOOOOOO! :eek:. And this UK Pack was always a good team, powerful and skilled; I didn’t expect them to lose. Who will be the picks then? Ron ‘The Truth’ Killings and Mickie James. SmackDown was the weaker brand overall and these to can add to it, Mickie not on the brand that has the championship (N), shame really. But Killings will sure be a US title challenge, always been a fan of his. Was he any good on Raw?

Glad you have Colt in this BTB, love him. Punk, for some reason I feel him losing his title, just have this feeling you have bigger plans for him. A very strange match though, may get a little confusing like your tag team match at WrestleMania, haha. I get it so don’t you worry.

The McMahon lads don’t seem happy, I expect a ‘Backlash’ soon enough.

Matt Hardy with the easy victory, more of a squash than anything. Burke to SmackDown, I really like Burke, please use him, I think he would be good in a stable or something, is it me or are SmackDown getting the better side of this draft?

An okay segment with HBK, nothing important, hypes the main event tonight.

Haha, Million Dollar Man. Nice to have Ted DiBiase Jr as a singles competitor as well as having the lovely Marsye on his arm. Well he got the title straight away; don’t even have to read what happened in this one. Million Dollar Hold to choke out Funaki, good way to finish, let’s hope Ted goes onto do good things on Raw.

Yay, Regal for Main Event push please.

Hmmm, even more likely that Punk will lose tonight and maybe get drafted, I don’t know, that’s what I read into this segment. A Matt Hardy-Punk feud then?

Backlash is coming, Raw only. Good choice.

Sad to see my boy Moore out, he and Kid Kash are gone. Still feel that Punk will lose. With Punk and Colt looking so strong, still have confidence in them losing. I was right, nice way to end the match. Yeah Hardy-Punk feud is on its way; Kofi as champion is a good idea, he can carry the belt well. A nicely booked match in the end.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~! Nuff’ said.

Oh Regal was GM on SmackDown, didn’t know tha, so I take back my World Title push comment :p. I think Regal will end up being the GM in the long run; Bisch might get fired by McMahon after what happened at WM.

Undertaker seemed very strong in the match, which is only a good thing, more picks for Smackdown on the way. Punk and Beth, huh? Punk was obvious for me; he has done all he can on Raw, and just lost his title. Beth and Mickie now might try and get the Divas Title on Smackdown, cause they are the two best Divas on the whole roster imo.

Kenny is gonna get his ass kicked, I was just thinking we haven’t seen Cena all night. I expect a small feud in the future to which propels him back to the title picture. Wembley FTW.

THE ANIMAL ON MONDAY NIGHTS! Great match even for a recap, full of run-ins and then a DQ. Batista-JBL feud then for Backlash? I was waiting for a match where the loser gets drafted to the brand he just lost to, and here it was. Still I would have liked the tag team match before to be the main event; it did have your two world champions in it.

Overall a great fallout show Nige, it had it all, new champions, new fueds and a load of new people coming to FNS and MNR. Keep it up bud. 9/10
 
#885 ·
D-K-L's Raw Review

Now its great seeing the new Mr. Money in the Bank kicking off the show. Nice little pre match promo from him, just what you would expect from him. This was a good match to open the show with two talented youngsters, and the right man won. MVP using the briefcase is cool as all the MITB holders use it to their advantage and it means Kennedy doesn't lose too much credibility, and I'm sure MVP will be winning many matches clean in the coming weeks. Good match and MVP gets a big win, now who's going to SD?!

Wow Chris Jericho is going to Smackdown then, thats a pretty good move. He should be involved in some interesting feuds on SD, I wonder if you have a Jericho/HBK angle planned in the future?

Didn't expect Orton to come down, I wonder if that punt will lead to anything. I like this intense, twisted Orton. It was a good little promo to show Orton's frustration and thats one hell of a match announcement, that should be awesome.

Now its clear that you are a big fan of the UK pack as they've had one hell of a push recently, so its no surprise that it continued here. Now I don't like Londrick losing to them really as they have come off rather weak recently. I do like the UK Pack but I like Londrick just as much, but I guess one of the teams has to win. Actually, just read the aftermatch, looks like you are splitting them up so I get why they lost again now.

The Truth and Mickie to Smackdown then! Killings hasn't done that much on Raw really but you've broken the Killing/Cryme Time thing up. Mickie moving is interesting, I don't know what you have in mind there, one brands worth of divas matches is enough for me. I guess more divas will be going to SD then.

This was a good little seg with Punk and Bischoff setting up a very interesting match, I get the feeling he might be losing which I wouldn't like.

Another good segment here to allow Bischoff to make another huge match, should be good and i'm sure the McMahon's will be out for revenge.

Yeah it looks like you will be moving more divas to Smackdown and creating a new title as you did say that Mickie has nothing to do. This was another decent segment showing the heat between these divas.

A good win for Hardy here and it looked fairly easy. The right man won again as Hardy is the US Champ and Marrella isn't a great wrestler with this gimmick, Raw really needs a win though.

Burke to Smackdown! I like this a lot as it suggests you have plans for Burke which is awesome. I hope his recent release has made you want to do even more with him as he is very talented and one of my favourites, i'm just resisting the temptation to bring him in before BFG LOL.

Nice promo with HBK and Evolution, just the type of segment you would expect with these guys. I liked how it was quite serious at the start but you added a little humour at the end.

This was a very good way to introduce Ted DiBiase Jr, by giving him that title it gives him immediate credibility. I liked what he had to say at the start, he seemed to drift from heel to face though but he's a heel which is good. Easy win for him which puts him over, and Maryse is a good manager for him.

Regal to Raw!? How is this going to work? I loved it though with him spitting his tea out LOL. This should be very interesting and its good having a big draft change like this.

Looks like a Punk/Hardy feud is in the works, should be awesome. One of them may be drafted then. Good little interview.

Well if Punk was going to drop the belt to anyone in this match Kofi was the right guy, I look forward to his title reign. Hardy costing Punk is great and we have that feud for sure now, I can see Punk going to SD now. I remember you teasing a Kofi/Cody feud over Kelly before Mania and I think we will get it now, should be great as the jelusly angle normally works well.

Now I see why Kenny dropped the CW title! I can see you have big plans for him and I think he will do well on Raw. Ric Flair to Raw is interesting as well, its a good move to allow the McMahon/Evolution feud to continue.

Regal as executive assistant? Don't know what to make of that, could lead to some interesting storylines, I could also see him returning to wrestling though and rejecting it. I wonder who will replace him on SD as GM then? THE COACH!!!

I love how this feud is so intense after only one night. This should be even better than Punk/Jeff tbh.

I was thinking this match would be the main event but I guess not. The match was good and filled with top stars and I was actually quite surprised that The Undertaker won. I would've thought he'd be the last person to get the win tbh as the others needed wins more IMO, with Orton chasing the title and the others being champs. But I guess it gives Orton another reason to be pissed, and HBK and Taker is one hell of team. It makes sense actually as Orton and Kane are not supposed to be a good team with their rivalry going on.

Two huge drafts here with Phoenix going to Smackdown, I'm quite happy actually as the Victoria/Beth thing wouldn't be able to go much further. Punk to SD is great now so we'll get Hardy/Punk. What I see now is Punk costing Hardy the US title to return the favour, hopefully when Hardy is defending against Burke or even Benjamin.

Now this potential feud interests me, Cena would be the perfect guy to put over Dykstra. You would expect Cena to come out on top, but I know you see Dykstra's potential and I don't think you have much planned for Cena, so I see a few sneaky wins for Dykstra if this does turn into a feud.

Now I see why this is the main event, you wanted the Batista draft to end the show. Good match by the looks of it and a DQ is probably right, but man I can imagine that spear nearly killing Vince. I thought for a minute there Triple H was going to be drafted to Smackdown with everyone blaming Batista for causing it, but yeah putting Evoltion together is a good move to allow this feud to continue. Great end to the show.

I like the minor changes you've made as well, happy that Layla has followed Burke and Raw has got some good talent with Finlay and Wang Yang. Sunny released I kinda like as I don't like her really and Punk doesn't need her. I wonder where this leaves Colt. LOL Leticia wasn't on Smackdown long was she? And some divas to SD makes it seem like you are building a diva division there too, not too sure what to make of it really as one is enough for me, but at least Phoenix and Mickie are talented and McCool to a certain extent.

Overall Nige it was a top show, very entertaining as usual and there was only a few things I didn't like. Promos were quality again and the matches were pretty good too, you've made some good changes and you've set up some interesting feuds. I look forward to Smackdown now which should be great.
 
#886 ·
RAW REVIEW
By SC2004.


>>> The opening video package is a nice touch. The same one you used at the end of WM if I’m correct. I guess a 3 hour show affords you the luxury of airing such a lengthy opening video.

>>> The commentary teams both did a great job of emphasizing how good WrestleMania was last night and the effect it’s likely to have on the future of both brands. Opening with MVP, Mr money in the bank was smart and it immediately sets him up as the future center piece for either brand.

>>> The cheap finish plays up MVP’S heel persona, although given his victory last night I would of had him win this clean. Grated Kennedy is a future star also, but a loss here wouldn’t of hurt him.

>>> Jericho to SmackDown, I like it. Hopefully HBK will stay on SD and we get a Y2J, HBK program. Orton attacking Kennedy, well okay. I liked how you did this just before the commercial. They call that “hot minutes” meaning that you given the audience something exciting before you go to commercial hoping that they’ll stay tuned to see what happens next.

>>> The WWE like to have people stretcher off after an Orton kick to the head. I personally think it’s a little OTT. Nice to see Bischoff standing up to Orton here. The line “attacked in cold blood” wasn’t the best choice of wording IMO. LOL. “the biggest scandal ever to happen on American soil” are you suggesting Blackburn loosing over the weekend was a bigger scandal? HA. I joke. You logically kept the Kane, Orton match for Backlash. The Inter-promotional tag match looks good and it allows Bischoff to get one over on Orton by throwing him into a match he clearly doesn’t want anything to do with.

>>> Jesus Christ RAW is getting plundered tonight!!! Mickie James moving to SD is a big shocker. The tag match was very short considering how much riding on it!

>>> The stipulation in the 8 man tag team match tonight isn’t fair on Punk, but I get that was Bischoff’s intention. I don’t know if I like the stipulation, though it’s a hell of a lot better than the one TNA announced Thursday night! At least the champion (Punk) has to be pinned in the match to loose the title, yet the person pinning him may not end up the champion. Man Bischoff is pissing off a lot of people tonight, Orton, Punk and now JBL and Vince.

>>> Nice backstage segment with the divas. The Natalya, Beth duo here come off like the Victoria, Natalya dup we have on SD every week. This segment effetely played up the magnitude of Mickie’s drafting to SD and how it makes Victoria a more vulnerable champion.

>>> Jesus, is anybody going to RAW??? HA. Nice short match here again, I’m very happy and glad to see Matt Hardy pickup the win.

>>> Nice buddy, buddy backstage segment with Evolution and HBK. Hunter put over Kane as a monster that should be feared. The implants joke was very tongue in cheek and I don’t know if I like it, but it didn’t bother me.

>>> I really like the idea of having Cody carry the million dollar championship. It’s never going to be seen as a major championship, but it helps Ted appear to be a bigger star than he actually is. The Funaki match was a squash and rightfully so. This was all about the promo and it worked very well. Regal to Raw, I would of expected a bigger name here, but I’m okay with it.

>>> Great job garnering even more heat for Punk. However given the vents which transpired earlier, Punk shouldn’t of been so at ease and calm. He’s meant to be angry and fired up and quite honestly he should be off preparing for his match and not taking jabs at Matt.

>>> I’m on shock, I totally expected Punk to win, but hey I’m happy with Kofi as IC champion. Great night for the rookies so far. Dykstra and Flair to RAW. I’m happy enough with that but I still think RAW is getting a “raw deal” here tonight. (PUN INTENDED) HA.

>>> I was wondering how you’d address Regal’s draft. I personally would of gone in a different direction, having Regal plot and plan to overthrow Bischoff and take Raw for himself. This works well, though I’m not a fan of two authority figures on one brand and you also have Vince floating around the place.

>>> Nothing wrong with the Punk, Matt Hardy brawl backstage. Punk really seems to have lost it here and It’s nice to see him so angry and fired up.

>>> An okay tag match that featured 4 big stars. Beth and Punk to SmackDown. Well I guess with Mickie on SD you need Beth over there. Also this effectively ends the Beth, Victoria angle and allows somebody else to step up, probably Natalya.

>>> A Dykstra, Cena program. That’s original. I’ve never been high up on Dykstra and I hate Cena, so you have your work cut out trying to sell me this one.

>>> The matches have been very short tonight by your standards. I’m not complaining, far from it, I like it. Just wondering what made you shorten your matches?

>>> WM XV in London, a boy can dream……….

>>> The DQ finish is fine by me. Nice to see Evolution becoming a permanent fixture on Raw again. Vince and JBL are in a world of trouble!

OVERALL: Very entertaining show with an awful lot of stuff going down. I think Smackdown benefited most from the draft, although Batista to RAW was a big draft at the end of the show. Going forward you’ve set up a lot of potential new feuds and story lines. Looking forward to seeing how tonight’s events will impact Smackdown, should be very interesting!
 
#887 ·
Mr Money in the Bank is MVP? Hell to the yeah. MVP is fucking awesome. Great to see you starting off the show with MVP and Kennedy, which is a feud that would be very good both in a BTB (hint hint) and IRL. MVP using the cheap heel tactics and using the broefcase to make sure he has it won is good. Always good to make the heels seem very heelish.

Chris Jericho headed to SmackDown! seems like a big move. Nice to see that you aren't just shuffling around young guys and midcarders.

So, is Orton trying to come off as just a complete dick of a heel here, or does he have something against Kennedy? He could just be pissed off for his loss last night. I'm not sure, but a feud should definitely come of it, which would be major kickass.

Orton promo seemed pretty good. I love the sadistic son of a bitch. My favourite in the WWE today. Bisch was pretty good, as he kinda played to Orton in that heelish suckup way, while also delaying the match. Nice promo, and I guess the match at Backlash should be good (though I'm not a Kane fan).

Tag Champs vs Tag Champs eh? Nice. Although I'm a Kendrick mark, I don't mind seeing Smith/Burchill go over, as I am quite the fan of both. Poor Kendrick, getting superkicked by the inferior London :p.

Wow, Mickie to SmackDown! is interesting. I don't give a fugg about Ronny Killings. I can't stand the guy, he's just annoying. Moving on ...

Tension~! Kendrick should pwn his ass.

Heel Punk is a wonderful sight to behold. Wow, he's even so sick that Bisch can't stand him. I guess Bisch does want a healthy roster though. Big match, with Russo booking written all over it. :p

Hm, Vince seems to have a lack of power here. Was he stripped of it by Linda? Otherwise, surely he could have and would have done something. JBL vs Batista has never interested me. The Bisch does though.

The diva locker room seems to be all against Beth, and I like it. The us vs them feel is rather ftw, and with Beth having the other beast like thing (Natalya) on her side, it makes for interesting viewing (or reading >_>).

Matt had to pick up an easy win here, I mean, the marella character is a joke. Good to see him pwn.

Elijah to SmackDown! now? Elijah is awesome, so hopefully this means a push. :D Starting to wonder if RAW is going to have a roster after tonight, lol.

Cool to see some interraction between Shawn and Triple H, along with Naitch and Batista. Kane getting put over in the promo is cool. I never like jokes between Shawn and Tripper, especially kayfabe breaking ones, like revealing how he is actually married into the McMahon family.

Really nice promo here. I'm actually interessted to see if you're going to make DiBiase heel from here, because things came off kinda face like with the crowd here. Ah, poor Funaki. I guess there has to be a fall guy, lol.

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG ... RAW GOT A DRAFT PICK~! Regal, eh? He's not too bad, quite good in the ring. Won't make any difference to RAW though from the look of things.

This is a generic Matt promo to begin with, then becomes a generic Matt PPV promo with him talking about jeff being injured or something. >_> Nice interraction between Matt and Punk. Maybe a feud down the line? Someone would have to jump shows though.

Wow, the TNA booking leads to a change here. Kofi is IC Champ? I don't mind Kofi, so that's alright. With Punk dropping his belt, IO'm certain Punk is off to feud with Matt on SmackDown! We just need him to get drafted. I'm loving this, and hopefully Punk vs Matt comes about.

Kenny is awesome. Push plz. Fliar going to RAW seems big too, no doubt you'll build it up to be something special.

So Regal was SD GM? pwnt2regal. I guess Regal is going to agree, then turn on Bisch evetually. I really like Regal as GM, so I hope it happens.

Punk is an angry, angry man. And rightfully so, because it brings me a good feud to read about. :D Good to see this really featuring heavily tonight.

Kane and Orton breaking down as a team was always going to happen. Kane's a heel? I guess from the way you described it, but Rand also seems like a heel. Backlash has heel vs heel to the best of what I can understand, and that should be interesting I guess.

Phoenix moving is a shock. I thought for sure she'd bully around the RAW divas. This leaves Natalya out in the cold. Punk moving wasn't a shock at this stage.

Cena wasn't the hero last night, lol. From the sounds of this promo, Kenny is going to get buried on RAW. :( I certainly hope that isn't the case.

Screw England, WM should be in Australia.>_>

Batista vs JB in the main event over the tag seemed a bit odd originally, but now it all makes sense. EVOLUTION~! Decent match, nice to see Vince get pwnt, lol. This war seems to be just beginning.

Pretty damn good show, the promos were great, and I loved the use of Matt and Punk throughout. I like the attention you pay to your midcard just based off tonight's shows. Interested to see where you go to from here.
 
#888 ·
Hey, i've picked up a few little things from the reviews to comment on.

Newcomers might not be aware of the whole McMahon situation, so the deal is as The McMahon's (Vince & Shane) abused their power, it was taken away from them by Linda & the Board of Directors due to their abuse of power in benefit of their own interests. The comments about Stephanie & Triple H being married BK is because they are in this thread.

Kane/Orton is heel vs heel/tweener for Backlash. Most people will see Kane as a tweener since he's feuding with Orton, but it will become clear after their feud. Orton was just pissed when he attacked Kennedy, there was no heat between them.

Kenny getting buried? Not by me, i love my mid card talent.

The Russo booking is something i can understand for the IC title match, but i wasn't going to have Punk lose it one on one. I wanted to make it more of a surprise and to give the Cody/Kofi storyline chance to progress, as well as getting the other mid card guys some TV time.

Thanks for the reviews guys. I love you all.
 
#889 ·



FORMER STARS RETURNING TO THE WWE?

Over the past week, we have learnt that Christian Cage’s TNA contract is due to expire, and that he is yet to sign an extension. The major development is that there have been discussions about his situation within his former employer, the WWE in regard to giving him the chance to make a return to the company.

A source within the WWE said that if Christian decides to turn down the extension from TNA, there will definitely be an offer made for him to rejoin the WWE very soon. Christian is keeping his cards close to his chest as to whether he will be staying in TNA, but the lure of the money could outweigh his previous concerns regarding the travel issues in the WWE’s schedule.

However, we can confirm that Gail Kim has signed a deal with the WWE following her decision to not to prolong her stay in TNA after her contract expired last week. It is not known just yet whether she will be part of the Raw or Smackdown brand.

There are also rumours circulating backstage that Tomko & Goldust are also in talks about making a return to the WWE as well. Nothing has been confirmed, but we will update you as soon as we have any more information.

 
#890 ·
Im only new enough so its very hard to go through a whole thread this big but ive decided to start from after wrestlemania because thats like a milestone.The matches choices in the raw show were very interesting and the draft picks were good and realistic(your graphic work is unreal)
 
#893 · (Edited)
^^^I know, i try to look at it as if i was booking it in real life with the same talent pool to pick from. It'd be too easy just to bring anyone in, and stops it from being a challenge.^^^ Anyways.
We had the chance to speak the head of the WWE creative team, Nigel Smith just moments after Raw and 24 hours after Wrestlemania XXIV. To most who watched the show, it was one of the best Wrestlemania’s in recent years, but what did Smith think?

“I was very happy with it. There were some very good matches across the card, from top to bottom. The hardest part for me was choosing which match would be the main event. Either of the world title matches or the six man tag team match could quite easily have ended the show, but I thought that with Shawn Michaels retaining the World Championship in what I thought would be an incredible match as well would be the fairytale end to Wrestlemania. That’s the way it came across too, and I think Shawn as well as Edge stole the show with a great match.

“The triple threat for the WWE Championship was very good too, and I don’t think many expected the title change to be quite honest. Although the fans won’t like to admit it, there is a lot of support for Randy Orton, and no one likes him more than me, but I felt the decision was right based on Kane’s build up from winning the Royal Rumble. I pretty much felt that all the momentum he had from there would have been killed had he not walked out as the WWE Champion. We’ll also get to see another side to Orton now that he’s lost the title, as you saw on Raw earlier tonight. It will bring out the really maniacal side of his character.”

Going to speak to him, we were curious to find out whether if there were different plans at some stage for the biggest PPV in the calendar, and we weren’t disappointed to hear Smith say this, “Plans changed all the time, as did the eventual winners. The six man tag team match was always going to take place, but the rest of the upper card and main event matches changed quite frequently. The original plans would have seen John Cena take on MVP, Shawn Michaels defend the World Championship against Kane, and Randy Orton defeat The Undertaker, retaining the WWE Championship and ending the winning streak. I looked at guys who were missing out, such as Edge and Umaga, and I had to look at what would be great from a viewing and booking standpoint. I don’t think Shawn would have had such a great match with Kane like he did with Edge for a start. MVP has benefitted more by winning the Money in the Bank, but I have to say that I really would have liked to have seen what would have happened if Randy had beaten The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. There were a lot of positive and negative arguments for that outcome, but I was more than prepared to run with it.”

We also asked him whether Batista & Ric Flair joining Raw in the draft would mean a full time return for Evolution. He said, “I think that goes without saying. There’s so much left in this, and you’ve just got to look at who’s involved here. We’re talking about some of the biggest names in the history of this business, and there’s just so much left in terms of where I want to take this. You’ll see some rapid developments in the next month in terms of The McMahon’s trying to get their revenge for the defeat at Wrestlemania, but it’s all up in the air if they get it or not. You can safely say that The McMahon’s will do anything to get what they want.”

On Raw we saw Ted DiBiase Jr make his debut, along with Maryse after being introduced by his father, Ted Sr. It what was a surprise to see the youngster given the Million Dollar Championship by his dad, but why was that? Smith said, “I could have just brought him up and said he was the son of The Million Dollar Man, but this kid deserves a lot more than that. He has incredible talent and could go a long way, so I decided that to put some serious attention on him from the very moment he stepped out from behind the curtain. He’s just one of many young talents that will get a chance to shine.”

Smith is very high on pushing young talent, not just DiBiase Jr, “When you look at the roster, you see names like Matt Hardy, CM Punk, Kenny Dykstra, Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, Paul London, Brian Kendrick, Elijah Burke, Jeff Hardy, Gregory Helms, Matt Sydal. I’ve probably left some out, but my main priority is to help elevate these guys up the card. There’s a lot huh?! These are the stars of the future as far as I’m concerned, and they should be booked like them.”

Rumours had started to do the rounds regarding several former stars making a return to the company, and we took this chance to ask Nigel if there was any truth to them, “You’re always going to get rumours flying about. I think everyone knows the deal with Christian and Gail’s contracts now. Yes, Gail has signed a contract with us now that her TNA deal is up, and as far as I am aware, Christian’s isn’t far away either. I do have some say in bringing in talent now, and if a guy like Christian is available, you’d be mad not to take him. I was a big fan of his during his run in the company up until the point he left in 2005. He has everything you could want to be a top star, and if he does return, I’d love to make that happen.”

With Tomko also available having left TNA recently, we had to ask if that would add to Christian’s chances of coming back. Smith said, “With the history between the two, it isn’t hard to put two and two together and come up with six. I’m not going to lie and say I don’t watch TNA because I do, not regularly, but I do. Tomko had something going there that he didn’t when he was here, and I think as well as TNA built him up, they dropped the ball even quicker. I’ve not seen a great deal of his in ring work, but he would be someone I would certainly like to have a chance to talk with.”

There’s also a rumour going round about Goldust coming back, but is that true? Smith had this to say, “I’m aware his contract ended with TNA where he did some good work I believe as Black Reign. I always enjoyed his character when he was a serious challenger for the early part in his WWE career. His returns saw him come back as a comedy character and not much else. You have to ask yourself whether he can go beyond that if he is to come back for another run”

The subject of a Rob Van Dam return also came up, but Smith said that he would love to bring him back, but at the moment he knows and respects that RVD’s main priority is his wife’s battle with cancer. Like everyone else in the business, he hopes she can pull through.

That’s all for now folks!

 
#894 · (Edited)
WWE.com - Television - Smackdown - Preview (4th April 2008)

Smackdown Preview
4th April 2008

Lawlor Events Center
Reno, Nevada





***WRESTLEMANIA & DRAFT FALL OUT***


THE SHOW STOPPER STEALS THE SHOW!

We were all wondering if “The Rated R Superstar” Edge would come good on his promise and upstage Mr. Wrestlemania himself this past Sunday to become the World Champion yet again, however it was not to be. The Heartbreak Kid put on the performance of his life to hold on to the title he won thanks to Edge back at Saturday Nights Main Event in December of last year. It really was an emotional end to what was an incredible Wrestlemania, but what obstacles will Michaels come up against now that Edge has been put to bed?

WHO’S THE GENERAL MANAGER?
One of the major talking points of the draft this past Monday has to be that of Smackdown’s General Manager, William Regal being drafted to Raw. Everyone connected with Smackdown has been asking the question of what happens to his position? Will we need to appoint a new General Manager? You’ll have to tune in to find out this Friday night!

THE STREAK LIVES ON
The Undertaker met arguably his toughest challenger yet to extend his Wrestlemania winning streak this past weekend, but the dead man pulled out a Shawn Michaels like performance to see off Umaga and emerge as the last man standing. With the news that Umaga was injured in the match and will be on the shelf for a couple of months, what does the future hold for Mr. 16 and 0?

MONEY IN THE BANK FOR MVP
With the odds stacked against the only Smackdown star in the Money in the Bank Ladder match at Wrestlemania, “The Franchise Player” Montel Vontavious Porter climbed his way to a guaranteed a title shot for any time of his own choosing in the next 12 months. The match could have gone any of six ways, but it was MVP who has the contract everyone would love to have themselves. The highest paid star in Smackdown history carried his win through in to Raw Monday night by defeating Raw’s Mr. Kennedy, earning Smackdown their first draft of the night. What is next for the man with his future in his own hands?

SMACKDOWN DOES WELL IN THE DRAFT
MVP’s win brought Chris Jericho, the first of several high profile drafts to Smackdown. We also saw Ron Killings, Mickie James, Elijah Burke, Beth Phoenix, CM Punk, Maria, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, Orlando Jordan & Michelle McCool have their Friday nights turned upside down by their additions to the blue brand. Layla has also made her way across by deciding to follow her boyfriend, Elijah Burke to Friday nights, taking advantage of the Open House rules. What can we expect from our newcomers?

BUSY TWO DAYS FOR THE US CHAMPION
Matt Hardy took one hell of a beating from an incredibly determined Shelton Benjamin in their highly contested United States Championship match at The Citrus Bowl, but Matt’s determination got him through. Shelton put on a wrestling master class, but it wasn’t enough to beat the United States Champion who went on to have an eventful night just 24 hours later on Raw. He won a draft pick for Smackdown by defeating Santino Marella, but no one could anticipate what would happen next. He ran in to CM Punk, the Intercontinental Champion at the time, who decided to make fun of Matt’s brother Jeff, having putting him on the injured lost the night before. The argument got very personal, and it was to Punk’s cost as Matt got one back for him and Jeff, storming the ring and costing Punk the Intercontinental Championship. With Punk now drafted to Smackdown, it could be another eventful night for these two in Reno.

THE BRITS COME OUT ON TOP OF THE CHASING PACK
With the possibility that one team could have left Wrestlemania with both sets of tag team titles, it certainly spurred on Smackdown’s champions, Paul Burchill & Harry Smith, The UK Pack. The British duo have taken their game up another notch as of late, and it certainly showed this past weekend as they won the four team match. However, they weren’t able to defeat Raw’s World Tag Team Champions of Paul London & Brian Kendrick to claim both titles. With the determined duo at the top of the game, will anyone be able to stop them marching on?

SHANE SHOCKS US ALL
Going in to the fatal fourway match for Kenny Dykstra’s Cruiserweight Championship, no one really gave Michael Shane a chance of being the one to walk out of Wrestlemania with the gold in his possession. That’s the way it went however as Shawn Michaels’ cousin picked up his biggest win to date, taking the title away from Dykstra, one of Raw’s newest acquisitions. Now Shane has the title firmly in his position, can we expect a different kind of champion to the previous loud mouth occupant?

PLUS
The Masters of the Mat were suspended by William Regal a couple of weeks back, but the dangerous duo of Chris Masters & Charlie Haas will make their return to Smackdown this Friday night without the possibility of not having to deal with Regal. Is there going to be trouble in store once these two walk through the door?

Don’t miss the first Smackdown since Wrestlemania and the draft show as a true new era starts here!



In addition, it has now been confirmed that at Backlash, “The Big Red Machine” Kane will defend his newly won WWE Championship against the former champion, “The Legend Killer” Randy Orton.




 
#895 ·
WWE.com Homepage - Smackdown Results (4th April 2008)

Smackdown Results
4th April 2008

Lawlor Events Center
Reno, Nevada





***THE CLOSING VIDEO***
“Thanks for the Memories” by Fall Out Boy


  • The opening pyro display
  • Matt Hardy & Shelton Benjamin making their way to the ring
  • Matt dodging The Pay Dirt and hitting the Twist of Fate
  • Matt celebrating his victory with the United States title raised high in the air
  • Beth Phoenix & Victoria walking down to the ring
  • Victoria escaping Beth’s chicken wing lift for The Widow’s Peak
  • Victoria holding her newly won Womens Championship
  • MVP knocking Kennedy & then Jericho off the ladder with the smaller one
  • MVP climbing up the ladder and claiming the briefcase
  • Matt Sydal hitting the Shooting Star Press on Dykstra
  • Chavo going for the Frog Splash with Kenny getting his knees up and Shane connecting with the super kick
  • Shane lifting his new title in to the air
  • Jeff Hardy & CM Punk walking down to the ring
  • Punk’s suicide dive in to the steel chair shot
  • Punk stopping Jeff’s head on to the steel chair
  • Punk hitting the GTS and the ref calling for the bell
  • Punk grinning on the ramp
  • John Morrison nailing Brian Kendrick with a step up enziguri
  • Kendrick hitting the Sliced Bread #2 on Jamie Noble
  • The double suicide dive from London & Kendrick
  • Noble turning round in to the C4
  • The Undertaker & Umaga making their way to the ring
  • The leg drop through the announce table by the dead man
  • Taker choking Umaga with the rope
  • Taker’s signature pose at the end of the match
  • Evolution & The McMahon’s walking down to the ring
  • Shane McMahon leaping for the Coast to Coast, but getting speared by Batista
  • JBL’s Clothesline from Wall Street on Batista, turning round in to a double A spinebuster from Triple H
  • Vince tapping out to the figure four
  • Evolution posing in the ring with Eric Bischoff looking on
  • John Cena, Kane & Randy Orton walking to the ring
  • Kane chokeslamming Cena and then hitting the Tombstone Piledriver
  • Orton sliding in too late to see Bearer putting the title on Kane
  • Shawn Michaels & Edge making their way to the ring
  • Michaels’ elbow drop through the announce table
  • Edge trying to hit Michaels with the chair but hitting the ropes with the chair rebounding in to his face and turning in to a super kick
  • Edge spearing Michaels again but seeing the foot on the rope
  • Edge kicking Michaels away from the ropes but running in to the super kick
  • Michaels posing with the title as the fireworks go off

***OPENING VIDEO***
“Rise Up”


***PYRO***
***PYRO***
***PYRO***



Michael Cole & The Coach welcome us to the first episode Smackdown off the back off what was an incredible Wrestlemania this past weekend in Orlando. They talk about Shawn Michaels defeating Edge in the main event to retain his World Heavyweight Championship, The Undertaker extending his Wrestlemania winning streak to 16 and 0. Cole adds that during that match, Umaga suffered an injury to his shoulder that will see him on the shelf for around two months. He then says that later on tonight, we are going to see a Wrestlemania repeat tonight when Matt Hardy defends his United States Championship against Shelton Benjamin in what was one of the matches of the night. Coach then brings up the fact no one knows what’s going on with the General Manager’s position on Smackdown since William Regal got drafted to Raw Monday night. Cole says that he hopes there is going to be some clarification on that tonight when. . . . .



“Sexy Boy” blasts out to a huge pop as Shawn Michaels walks down to the ring with the entire crowd standing up to applaud the World Heavyweight Champion. Michaels smiles as he steps through the ropes, dressed in jeans, a white shirt and sandy jacket with the World Championship resting on his shoulder. He walks over to collect the microphone with the crowd not showing any sign of toning it down, leaving Michaels very emotional in the middle of the ring as he stops even attempting to speak, lowering the microphone away from his mouth on a couple of occasions. He then holds his hand up in the air, asking for silence, and he gets it. He says that first off, he wants to thank all his fans around the world for supporting him throughout the years, giving him the desire and passion to walk out on the grandest stage and put on the performance of his life like he did at Wrestlemania five nights ago. Big cheers ring out again, but Michaels carries on and says that over the years, he’s had to dig deep at Wrestlemania on a number of occasions, but none more so than Sunday night.

He says that he thought he had the match won several times, but Edge kept coming back at him. He then says that he persevered through it, kept fighting for every one of his fans just to stand here tonight as the World Heavyweight Champion. He says that he was tested to the limit and that there were moments, only small ones be it that he thought he was going to lose out, but luckily he found the spirit to keep on going and earn the right to remain at the top of the Smackdown tree. Cheers break out again, but it’s short lived as “Metalingus” blasts its way through the speakers with Edge walking down to the ring, looking very serious indeed. He gets in the ring with the fans booing him like crazy as he goes to collect a microphone. He walks back over to Michaels and says that he has something that he has to say right now that he never thought he would. He stops and looks Shawn in the eye, then says that at Wrestlemania, the better man won. Michaels looks surprised, but Edge carries on, saying he doubted Michaels’ desire, his hunger, saying he thought Michaels didn’t want it as much as he did, but he admits he was wrong.

The fans cheer Edge, but he then says that might have been the case last Sunday, but all it proves is that Michaels can pull it out of the bag at Wrestlemania, but on any other night, they both know that it would be a different story. Edge says that brings him on to tonight and asks Michaels to prove he’s wrong. Michaels turns to look in to the crowd for a couple of seconds before looking back and says if Edge wants another shot tonight, he’s got it. The fans cheer, but we then see Linda McMahon walking out to the stage with her music playing. As soon as her music stops, she says that after the General Manager of Smackdown was traded to Raw on Monday night, along with the Board of Director’s, she thought it was best that she filled in until a suitable replacement is found, as well as ensuring that no one runs riot here tonight with no one to keep them in check. She then turns her attention to Edge and says that it is not up to him or even Shawn Michaels to book a championship match, and therefore, there will not be a rematch tonight.

Edge looks angry and says straight away that he deserves it, Michaels had it all in his favour at Wrestlemania, but Linda cuts him off quickly, saying that there was no unfair advantage in either man’s favour and that she doesn’t believe Edge is deserving of a rematch based on the fact he was unsuccessful again at Wrestlemania. Edge looks furious, but can only watch on as Linda says that as much as she thinks Edge has had his chance, she is willing to give him one more, and that chance will come tonight. A pop breaks out as both Edge and Michaels look on with interest as Linda then says that Edge won’t be facing Shawn tonight, but he will get that opportunity if he can beat a man she feels is deserving of a championship opportunity having seen him extend his Wrestlemania winning streak to 16 and 0 last Sunday night. A huge pop roars across the arena as Edge looks on in frustration as Linda announces that tonight in a number one contendership match, it will be Edge going one on one with The Undertaker. Michaels has a reserved grin on his face as Linda’s music hits to a pop from the crowd, leaving Edge staring blankly in to space as we go to our first commercial break.


[Commercial Break]


Josh Matthews is standing by with the new Cruiserweight Champion, Michael Shane at the interview set, and just as he says that Sunday night at Wrestlemania, Shane won the fatal fourway to become the new champion, Shawn Michaels walks up to them after walking back from the ring. The crowd cheer Michaels’ entrance as Shane stares at him and asks him what it is he wants, and Michaels says that despite everything that’s happened with them the last couple of months, he’s proud of him for winning his first title in the WWE. Shane calms down and listens as his cousin tells him that he didn’t bring him to the WWE himself as it would be taking the easy route, but now he says that all the hard work has paid off. He says he didn’t want to just give it to him on a plate like he could have, and this way, no one can say he hasn’t earned it. There’s a nervous silence for a couple of seconds before Michaels holds his hand out and says he’s proud of him. Shane doesn’t look too happy about it, but says since he’s in such a good mood he’ll say thanks and shakes Shawn’s hand. HBK walks off and Shane turns round, watching him walk up the hall. Josh then asks him how it felt to walk out of Wrestlemania as the new Cruiserweight Champion. A low key Shane then says that it felt great, but he’s not sure what to say right now as all he ever wanted in his career was support from his cousin, and he’s real happy that Shawn just told him he’s proud of him. Shane looks away from the camera and smiles, then walks out of the shot after thanking Josh, who looks a little confused what got in to Shane.


***CUT BACKSTAGE***


A confused looking Mickie James is stood talking to Linda McMahon in her office. She asks Linda what’s the deal now that some divas have been drafted over from Raw to Smackdown. Linda says that she’s been caught a little off guard by this as she’s been so busy dealing with a lot of things after Wrestlemania. Mickie then asks her just what she and the rest of the divas are supposed to do. Linda says that she’s going to arrange a meeting to discuss exactly what to do, but for now, she’s going to allow Mickie to compete tonight against one more of the diva draftees. Mickie seems pretty content with that, smiles, says okay and thanks Linda as she leaves. Just as Linda turns round, the door opens again with Armando Alejandro Estrada walking in. He doesn’t look very happy and asks Linda how The Undertaker is rewarded with a chance to fight for the World Championship after he injured Umaga at Wrestlemania, calling it scandalous. Linda stands up to him and says what The Undertaker did was nothing short of impressive, winning the last man standing match five nights ago. She points out that he hasn’t been given a title shot, but says that she believes that The Undertaker well and truly deserves the opportunity she’s given him tonight in fighting for the right to challenge Shawn Michaels. She then tells Estrada that since Umaga won’t be around for a good while, there’s no need for him to be here either, and tells him to take some vacation. Estrada looks pissed but knows he can’t argue as he storms out of the room with Linda showing signs of a small grin.


***CUT TO RINGSIDE***


***THE OPENING MATCH***

Ron Killings vs Orlando Jordan

ENDING:
Jordan reaches down and pulls Killings back up to his feet. He nails the groggy star with a hard right hand, then turns back to run the ropes, but as he comes back, Killings kicks him in the gut. He then turns back to run the ropes, runs back at Jordan and takes him down with a JUMPING CORKSCREW FLYING FOREARM SMASH. . . . . The crowd sure enjoyed that, and as both men get back up, Killings tries to take control by throwing a right at his opponent, but Jordan ducks it and spins Killings back round. Killings reacts quickly though by grabbing Jordan’s foot as he tries to kick him. He spins Jordan round as he lets go of his foot and stomps him in the gut, runs back in to the ropes, comes back and nails him with a SCISSOR KICK. . . . . The fans cheer as Killings crawls across and covers OJ with the referee making the count . . . . . 1 . . . . . 2 . . . . . 3.


WINNER: Ron Killings by pinfall @ 5.15.


[Commercial Break]


***MATCH #2***

Mickie James vs Beth Phoenix

ENDING:
The Glamazon drags Mickie back up to her feet and takes her time, looking very confident before going for a right hand, but Mickie blocks it. She then kicks Beth in the gut, knocking Beth back a couple of paces, and as The Glamazon walks back towards her, Mickie goes to take her head off with a MICK KICK. . . . . Beth ducks her head and grabs Mickie by the arms and lifts her up in the air for a CHICKEN WING LIFT. . . . . Mickie surprises Beth yet again as she rolls forward and holds on to Beth’s leg, rolling her in to a pinning position. . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . 2 . . . . . Beth just kicks out. Both divas rush back up to their feet, but it’s Beth who reacts first as she stomps Mickie in the gut and pulls her in to position for THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX. . . . . Just as Beth lifts Mickie off the ground and up to her shoulder for the cradle suplex, Mickie counters and plants The Glamazon with THE MICKIEDT. . . . . Mickie scurries across to make the cover . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . 2 . . . . . 3.


WINNER: Mickie James by pinfall @ 6.38.

AFTERMATH: “Obsession” blasts out as Mickie stands back up to get her arm raised. She looks a little surprised for a second before walking in to the corner and posing for her fans. She then goes and does the same in the opposite corner before sliding under the bottom rope and walking up the ramp as The Glamazon sits up and looks up in total shock seeing Mickie celebrating.


***CUT BACKSTAGE***


Matt Sydal is sitting down on a bench in the locker room, looking down at the floor when Johnny Jeter walks in. Sydal looks up, but doesn’t acknowledge Jeter, who sarcastically asks Sydal if he remembers him, the guy he came to Smackdown with, old JJ. Sydal just looks at him, looking very glum as Jeter then sits alongside him and says that he’s got them a tag match tonight. Sydal doesn’t look bothered as Jeter says if they win tonight, they might have a shot at going for the tag team titles, then asks Sydal how great that’d be. Sydal murmurs the words “Yeah, great”, causing Jeter to get a little angry, asking Sydal just what the hell’s wrong with him. Sydal remains silent and just looks back at the floor as Jeter then realises and asks him if this is about him not winning the Cruiserweight Championship at Wrestlemania Sunday night. Sydal looks up at him, and seems to open up, telling Jeter that he came so close to winning the title, but Jeter tells him to get over it and get ready because they could have a shot at becoming the tag champs if they win tonight. Sydal stands up after hesitating, but he doesn’t look as if he cares that much while Jeter stares at him, looking concerned as he stands back up.


[Commercial Break]


Maria is standing by and introduces us to her guest at this time, the WWE United States Champion, Matt Hardy. Matt walks in to the shot with a big smile on his face to a big pop from inside the arena. Maria asks Matt how he feels about defending his title in a Wrestlemania rematch tonight against Shelton Benjamin. Matt says that it’s not going to be like Wrestlemania, saying it was a great honour to open the show, and even better to walk out with the title still in his hands. He then says that as great as Sunday was, Shelton made him fight for his title all the way. He says that Shelton pushed him every step of the way and that it took everything he had to beat him, just like he knows it is going to tonight, but then says that he’s going to do everything it takes to make sure he leaves here tonight like he did Wrestlemania, as still the United States Champion. Maria thanks Matt and wishes him luck as he walks out of the shot to a pop from the fans in the arena.


***VIDEO PROMO***
“Break The Walls Down”




***CUT TO RINGSIDE***



Before the two teams make their way down to the ring, “Britannia” hits to a pop as The UK Pack, Paul Burchill & Harry Smith walk down to the announce table. Wearing casual clothes, they join Michael Cole & The Coach, with Cole congratulating them on a tremendous outing Sunday night at Wrestlemania to retain their titles that they rest on the top of the table. Both men thank him, but Coach asks them just what they’re doing out here. Burchill says that they’re just out to take a look at some contenders with Cole saying it makes sense, especially since Jamie Noble was injured Sunday night. He even hints that the C4 from Burchill could have done the damage, and Burchill & Smith say it might well be the case with smiles on their faces. Coach tries to get a dig in by asking them where the Raw tag titles are. Smith has none of it and says they won the match, winning the World Tag titles would have been nice but it the important thing is they still have their own titles.

“Masterpiece” hits as Chris Masters & Charlie Haas, The Masters of the Mat walk out on to the stage to heat from the crowd. They can’t stop grinning smugly as they make their way in to the ring with Masters asking for a microphone.

Masters says that it’s great to be back, and it’s even better with the news that William Regal is no longer the General Manager of Smackdown. He says that Regal singled them out for no reason, and that suspending them was an absolute joke. He then says that what they did to Tazz and his ECW rejects was necessary as no one wants those three guys on a wrestling show, taking the spotlight away from two real athletes who are a perfect example for any aspiring young team. He then says that now they’re back, they’re going to show everyone just how much they mean business, and that no one, and he means no one, is getting in their way of stopping them becoming the most dominant tag team ever to step foot in this ring.

Johnny Jeter & Matt Sydal then make their way out to the arena with Jeter looking pumped, slapping hands with the fans, but Sydal looks reserved as he walks down the ramp.


***MATCH #3***

Matt Sydal & Johnny Jeter vs The Masters of the Mat

ENDING:
Sydal & Masters crawl across the mat and both make the tag to their partners. Charlie Haas & Johnny Jeter race through the ropes and charge at each other, but Jeter slides through Haas’s legs and takes him down with a dropkick after standing back up. Both men race back up to their feet, but it’s Jeter up first as he runs back in to the ropes and takes Haas back down with a BACK ELBOW SMASH. . . . . As both men hit the mat, the referee checks on Haas, and just as Jeter stands back up, Masters does the same behind him and clubs him across the back, sending him to his knees. Masters then climbs back on to the apron as Sydal remains on his knees on his corner while Haas stands up and walks up behind Jeter as he gets up. Haas then explodes by grabbing him by the arm and foot, lifting him up in to the air and planting him with THE OLYMPIC SLAM. . . . . Haas stands back up and pulls his straps down looking very intense as he turns Jeter on to his back and locks in THE HAAS OF PAIN. . . . . Sydal slowly stands back up on the apron, but it’s too late as the relentless Haas forces Jeter to tap out, causing the ref to call for the bell.


WINNERS: The Masters of the Mat by submission @ 7.21.

AFTERMATH: “Masterpiece” hits as Masters joins Haas in the ring, getting their arms raised as The UK Pack watch on from the announce table. Sydal looks disappointed for a second on the apron, but shrugs it off as he stands and watches Masters & Haas pose for the crowd, only for Stevie Richards & Tommy Dreamer to jump the barricade behind them. They slide into the ring, and Dreamer armed with his trusty Singapore cane, swings it at Masters as he turns round, knocking him down to the mat with a shot to the head. Haas looks stunned as he turns round, only for Stevie to take him down with a Stevie Kick. The fans cheer as they stand above the Masters of the Mat with Burchill & Smith looking impressed.


***CUT BACKSTAGE***


We see a very focused looking Edge getting ready in his locker room, lacing up his boots as Michael Shane walks in with the Cruiserweight Championship placed on his shoulder. Edge asks him just what the hell he’s doing there, and Shane says he’s come to support him for his match later on against The Undertaker. Edge asks him if he means just like Sunday when he was nowhere to be found and celebrating winning a worthless little piece of trash title when he should have been at his side to help him beat Shawn like he brought him here to do in the first place. Shane says that he came here to make a name for himself, not just to help Edge win the title before saying that at least Shawn acknowledged his win at Wrestlemania. Edge sn-iggers and asks Shane if he expects him to congratulate him after he turned his back on him after he brought him in to the WWE, reminding him that he did and not Shawn. Shane shakes his head and smirks, then calls Edge a selfish son of a bitch and that he hopes Taker kicks his ass tonight. Edge looks on in shock as Shane turns round and storms out of the room. Edge shakes his head and smirks too, not seeming to care as he continues lacing up his boots.


[Commercial Break]


***VIDEO PROMO***

We see an unknown superstar working out in a gym and a wrestling ring, cutting to a still image at the end.

VOICEOVER: There are those who are born to dream, and there are those who are born to compete. . . This one man’s dream is to compete, and very soon this will become reality when he comes to Friday Night Smackdown.




***CUT TO RINGSIDE***


The Coach
is stood in the middle of the ring. He says that he is honoured at this time to introduce us to the winner of the Money in the Bank Ladder match just five days ago at Wrestlemania, Montel Vontavious Porter, MVP. “I’m Comin” hits as a very happy Mr. Money in the Bank, MVP walks down to the ring, dressed smartly in a suit with the briefcase in his hand. Boos ring out as he steps through the ropes and walks in to the middle of the ring to shake hands with The Coach. He walks to the ropes and lifts the shiny briefcase in to the air, and then turns back to the middle of the ring. The Coach waits for the crowd to die down, but MVP’s smile doesn’t. He says that it was a very competitive and dangerous match Sunday night, but when it was all said and done, it was MVP that claimed the contract that guarantees him a shot at any title of his choosing during any time in the next 12 months. He then asks MVP if it’s sunk in yet that he could well be a world champion in less than a year’s time. MVP smirks and says that if isn’t the word, it’s when. He says that everyone who has won Money in the Bank and cashed it in has gone on to become a world champion, then says that all those men put together don’t come close to him on any level whatsoever.

He says that he has every tool in his locker to be the stand out star of the century, let alone world champion. The Coach says he can’t argue with that and asks MVP if he’s decided when he’s planning on cashing the contract in and taking his shot at the title of his choosing. MVP grins and says that he doesn’t have a clue, but it doesn’t matter as when the time is right, he will know, and that’s when he will strike like the opportunist that he is. He says that he picked his spot to climb the ladder of success at Wrestlemania, and it will be exactly the same when he decides to cash in. He stops for a second, then carries on to say that when he does, he’s going to make it count, it will be the defining moment of his career, but most importantly in the history of sports entertainment. He says that there has never been or never will be anyone after him who can represent like he can, he is the one man everyone wants to be, the one man who holds the key, and the one man who will rise to the very top and reach levels that no one else could ever dream of. He takes a short breather, then turns to Coach to say that he has always been a star, but when he becomes a world champion, he will be thee mega star.

Just as finishes that sentence, “Don’t Waste My Time” plays as Elijah Burke & Layla make their way down to the ring in their casual clothes. MVP & Coach look surprised to see them at first, but MVP smiles as Burke enters the ring. He offers Burke his hand, but Burke just stares at him before grabbing Coach’s microphone. He tells Coach to get back behind the desk where he belongs. As both men and Layla watch Coach walk on back to the announce table, MVP speaks first and says that he knows things got a little heated last week going in to Wrestlemania, but he totally forgives Burke for yelling at him and says he’s glad that Burke has come out here to congratulate him on his victory. The fans boo, but Burke says that there must be another Elijah Burke because he’s not out here to congratulate anyone. MVP looks stunned, and the crowd cheers as Burke follows on by saying that it’s his first night on Smackdown, and asks what happens? He says he was just trying to get used to the new surroundings, but he hears MVP as always running his mouth. More cheers ring out as Burke says that just like the Smackdown fans, he’s sick and tired of hearing MVP talk crap week after week after week.

MVP gets a little angry as Burke then says that he’s been right by MVP’s side for nearly two months, and he says he feels stupid for not realising sooner that there’s only one person MVP cares about, and that’s himself. MVP cuts in and says that this is more than business, it’s his life, and like everyone else, he’s out for number one and no else, and if Burke doesn’t like that, then that’s tough shit. Burke gets right in MVP’s face and says he realised the same thing, and that’s why he’s out here right now to tell MVP that from now on, he’s only thinking of number one, and that’s Elijah Burke, and that’s why he has to do this. MVP looks confused as Burke turns to the crowd for a split second before turning back and nailing MVP with a hard right hand. Mr. Money in the Bank just got dropped by his former ally, and Burke stands above MVP as Mr. Money in the Bank remains on the deck. Burke looks in to the cheering crowd as his music hits again before looking back down disapprovingly at MVP. He then turns round and leaves the ring with Layla as MVP sits up and stares angrily at Burke, who turns round as he walks up the ramp. Both men stare menacingly at each other as we head to our next commercial break.


[Commercial Break]


***MATCH #4***

WWE United States Championship
Matt Hardy (c) vs Shelton Benjamin w/Shannon Moore

ENDING:
A desperate Shelton stands in the corner, urging the grounded Matt to stand back up. The groggy champion slowly makes his way back up and gives Shelton what he wanted as he runs right at him, but Matt sees him coming and reacts quickly to nail him with THE SIDE EFFECT. . . . . A big pop breaks out in the crowd as Matt readjusts his position on the canvas and makes the cover . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . 2 . . . . . Shelton gets his shoulder up, leaving Matt to carry on fighting. He stands back up and walks in to the corner, climbs up to the second rope and jumps off for a DIVING LEG DROP. . . . . Shelton rolls to the side and dodges it as Matt crashes in to the canvas. Shelton slowly makes his way back up, then reaches down and pulls Matt up from his knees, whips him in to the corner and runs in, connecting with A STINGER SPLASH. . . . . Shelton backs out of the corner as Matt staggers out in to Shelton’s grip for A T-BONE SUPLEX. . . . . Matt fights it with elbows and is able to escape Shelton’s clutches.

He then grabs Shelton by the arm and whips him back, but he runs right in to the referee, knocking him down. Shelton stops and looks down for a couple of seconds as the ref hits the deck, but Matt spins him round and plants him with THE TWIST OF FATE. . . . . A big cheer breaks out, but Matt then realises there’s no one to make the count. Matt then tries to shake the referee to life, and we start to see the ref showing some response, but we also see CM Punk charging down the aisle. Matt doesn’t see him, and as he stands up, Punk spins him round and lifts him on to his shoulders and plants him with THE GTS. . . . . Boos ring out from the pissed off crowd as Punk stares down intensely at Matt before walking back over to the ropes and climbing down to the floor below as Shelton crawls across the canvas and reaches his arm out across Matt’s chest with Shannon Moore encouraging him from the outside. Slowly the referee crawls across too and makes the count . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . 3.


WINNER: By pinfall, and new WWE United States Champion, Shelton Benjamin @ 9.40.

AFTERMATH: “Ain’t No Stoppin Me” blasts itself out through the speakers as Shannon Moore walks round and collects the United States title belt and then pulls Shelton out of the ring, then passes him the belt. The dazed new champion lifts the belt up in to the air as Punk slides back in the ring and kneels down in front of Matt’s face, then grabs him by the head and talks smack to the out cold and now former United States Champion. Punk gets booed heavily from the crowd, but he eventually lets go of Matt’s head and leaves the ring to a ton of heat.


[Commercial Break]


CM Punk is walking through the back towards the parking lot as we then see Josh Matthews trying to catch up with him with his microphone in hand. Josh then shouts Punk’s name as he then stops by the door to the exit. He then asks Punk why he just cost Matt Hardy the United States Championship. Punk shakes his head in disbelief and asks Josh if he has a short term memory problem, because if he had done his research properly, he would know that Matt did the exact same thing to him Monday night on Raw when he cost him the Intercontinental Championship. He then says that it’s a very simple theory, saying what goes around comes around. Punk then tells Josh to get out of his face and turns round with a sick smirk on his face as he walks out of the building. A couple of seconds later, Matt Hardy comes charging down the hallway and asks Josh if that was Punk he was just talking to. Josh says it was as Matt Hardy then storms his way through the door, only to see Punk already in his car and reversed before accelerating away as Matt runs after him but gives up. A pissed off Matt shouts out “damn it”, standing there in the parking lot as the camera fades out.


***CUT TO RINGSIDE***


***THE MAIN EVENT***

Number One Contendership Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
The Undertaker vs Edge

ENDING:
Taker bends down and pulls Edge up to his knees, but The Rated R Superstar throws a right at the dead man’s chest, knocking him back. Edge stands up and runs back in to the ropes, but as he runs at Taker, the dead man drives his huge boot down Edge’s face. Edge looks totally motionless for several seconds as the phenom lifts his right hand in to the air, signalling for a chokeslam. Very slowly, Edge makes his way back up to a vertical base as Taker lies in wait. The crowd cheer the dead man on, and as Edge stands up, The Undertaker grabs him around the throat and lifts him in to the air to a pop from the crowd. Just as Edge is lifted off his feet, he manages to wriggle free and drop back down to his feet where he kicks The Undertaker in the chest and shocks everyone by hitting THE EDGECUTION. . . . . He rushes to turn Taker over and hook the leg as the ref makes the count . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . 2 . . . . . The phenom lifts his shoulder up off the mat, leaving Edge frustrated. He stands back up and retreats to the corner, stalking his prey for A SPEAR. . . . . Taker slowly makes his way back up to his feet with Edge looking ready to explode, and as he stands up, Edge charges at him, but Taker sidesteps it.

Edge runs through in to the pads, and Taker turns to walk up to him as Edge staggers out of the corner. Again The Undertaker grabs Edge around the throat, but Edge dodges it again as he kicks him in the stomach to escape the grip. Edge holds on to the top rope to recover, but Taker shocks him by taking him over the top rope with a clothesline. A pop meets that, and Taker opts to join his opponent on the outside as he climbs over the top rope and steps down to the floor below, only for Edge to get to his knees and push Taker back first in to the apron. Edge then stands up and rolls back inside to break the count, then out again and grabs Taker by the arm, trying to whip him in to the announce table, but the dead man reverses it with Edge’s back crashing in to the table and falling on the floor. Taker walks over and seems distracted as he then strips the announce table and pulls Edge up to his feet, then CHOKESLAMS HIM THROUGH THE TABLE. . . . . A massive pop rings out across the arena as Taker sees the count getting to eight and walks back to the apron and climbs back in to the ring as the count gets to ten. The referee calls for the bell and counts Edge out.


WINNER: The Undertaker by count out @ 10.54.

AFTERMATH: “Deadman’s Symphony” hits to a massive pop from the crowd with the referee raising Taker’s arm. The ref then leaves the ring as the lights go out and spotlights shine down on Taker as he bends down on one knee, doing his signature taunt. We then see a shot of Shawn Michaels watching it in the back on a monitor, looking very serious before it cuts back to Taker posing in the ring to end the show.


[END OF SHOW]


QUICK RESULTS

Ron Killings df. Orlando Jordan
Mickie James df. Beth Phoenix
The Masters of the Mat df. Matt Sydal & Johnny Jeter
Shelton Benjamin df. Matt Hardy NEW UNITED STATES CHAMPION
The Undertaker df. Edge

DARK MATCH
CJ Red df. Matt Striker


 
#896 ·
THE CRUNK IN YO SYSTEM REVIEW:

~ Before I even get started on Smackdown, let me say that I skimmed Wrestlemania and what I read of it was amazing. Raw was also good witht he draft and the aftermath.

~ Good opening segment here. I like Shawn Michaels as champion. He's such a good worker, he never disappoints in big match situations, and he can tell a story in the ring like nobody else, so I'm looking forward to his reign being a great one. Michaels thanking the fans is awesome, very face. And here comes Edge! C'mon rematch clause! Edge says the better man won? Wow. Good stuff here as Edge shows him moment of respect for Michaels, but slips right back into heel mode to demand his rematch. I knew since he asked for a rematch on the show it wouldn't happen on the show lol. Pretty good swerve though with Linda coming out as the GM replacement to put Edge in a #1 Contender's match with The Undertaker. Now the main event is set and Michaels' title defense will own no matter who wins.

~ I don't really know what's been going on with Michael Shane and Shawn Michaels in your BTB, but I like that they are interacting. It's also nice to see that Shawn keeps Shane at a distance when it comes to the special perks that coudl come with being related to a superstar, but still congratulates him on his Cruiserweight title win. I'm curious to see where this goes as (what I'm assuming is) a heel Shane leaves the interview smiling because Shawn acknowledges his good work.

~ The Mickie James interaction with Linda seemed kinda like filler, but I guess it served its purpose by setting up for a later match. AAE is always good. His bit seemed kinda like filler as well though as all it really did was set up for his leave.

~ Killings defeating Jordan was ok. Nothing really exciting there, but it was a good way to establish Killings on Smackdown. I don't know where exactly your going with that match as there was no talk from the commentators or any sort of action from the wrestlers before or after the match, but if the purpose was just to introduce Killings to the blue brand, then it did its job.

~ Good win for Mickie here, looks like she doesn't have to worry much about those new divas. I see this feud continuing simply because both women looked surprised by Mickie's victory. No complaints from me here, but then again I've never had a complaint when talking about Mickie James or Beth Pheonix ;).

~ I'm not sure what to make of the Sydal/Jeter interaction. I like that they're being used and moving forward in a storyline, I'll just wait until I see the match to comment.

~ No complaints about the Matt Hardy promo.

~ A lot happened in the tag match. Burchill and Smith coming down for commentary was good, and the Masters of the Mat (which is a great team IMO) returning was good. I didn't feel like there was enough emphasis on Sydal and him really nto caring about the match. I know you pointed out that he was reserved on the way to the ring, and shrugged off the loss after the match, but during the match we got no indication that he was not fully into it. Plus the ECW attack at the end on Haas and Masters was good as it reopens their feud, and pointing out that The UK Pack looked impressed kinda adds them to the equation.

~ My thoughts about a change of heart in Michael Shane are furthered by his interaction with Edge. This could open up a program between those two or, at the very least, make the Cruiserweight champion Shane look important for mingling with top talent like Michaels and Edge.

~ The Burke turn was great. I love MVP as Mr. MITB. I love him coming out and being the arrogant prick that he is. I love Elijah Burke turning on him. I love the idea of a feud between these two. Very very good segment, no complaints whatsoever.

~ NEW CHAMPION! Shleton as the US Champion is good. Perfect way to blow off Shleton/Hardy and begin Hardy/Punk. I'm loving heel Punk, especially heel Punk feuding with Matt Hardy. I know he had a match with Jeff at your Wrestlemania, and when I get time I may go back and read what led up to it, but Punk feuding with Matt has epic written all over it. Oh, and Shannon Moore as Shelton's urm..."Shellion" was good too :)

~ I liked the main event, but I didn't really dig the finish. There's no DQ for a chokeslam though a table? And a count out victory doesn't exactly establish the Deadman as a worthy contender for the title. But with that out of the way, UNDERTAKER V. MICHAELS!!!!! I see this being a long term feud as it's WAYYYY to epic for just Backlash.

OVERALL: Aside from a few minor gripes, this was a good all around show. I love this fed. Your storylines are progressing well. Your matches were great. Some of your backstage stuff seemed like filler, but every show can't be perfect, so that is expected sometimes. 8/10
 
#897 · (Edited)

HOMEPAGE

NUMBER ONE CONTENDER PUTS EDGE ON THE SHELF, AND WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPION!
Last night on Smackdown we crowned a new number one contender to Shawn Michaels’ World Heavyweight Championship. The show stopper quickly learnt that his Mr. Wrestlemania performance is firmly in the history books now as The Undertaker & Edge met in the main event, resulting in Edge suffering an injury to a muscle in his back that may keep him put for up 6-8 weeks. He suffered the injury as the dead man chokeslammed him through the announce table, setting up a count out victory for the new number one contender, giving The Heartbreak Kid a very sleepless night with the phenom coming after his title.

We also saw Shelton Benjamin defeat Matt Hardy in a Wrestlemania rematch, becoming the new United States Champion after CM Punk appeared out of nowhere to cost Hardy the gold. Punk was drafted to Smackdown on Monday night, not long after an altercation with the now former United States Champion, which in turn led to Matt costing Punk the Intercontinental Championship on Raw. Matt was livid moments later, just like Punk on Monday evening. It promises to be one hell of an interesting show next Friday night.

 
#898 ·
D-K-L's Smackdown Review

This was a good promo to kick off the show. It was only right that we got to hear from HBK after his big win at Mania, and he was right in character thanking the fans and everything. I was waiting for someone to interupt and I'm glad it was Edge. Surprised he admitted HBK was the better man but i'm glad he went back to his usual self, and playing on the whole Mr. Wrestlemania thing gives him an excuse for losing. The rematch was never going to happen tonight and Linda made a great main event, i'm torn on who I want to win that tbh, as Taker-HBK would be epic but I like Edge. I'm guessing there will actually be a new GM though rather than Linda ending up staying full time right? Linda would do a decent job but there are better options. The Coach!!! Just kidding LOL. Good promo to kick off the show and a nice set up for the main event.

This was an interesting interview and I don't know what you have planned, but it seems like a face turn for Shane. As you know I wasn't too keen on him winning the CW title but already you have me interested in what he's going to do. That was a good little segment.

Three segments before the opening match seems a bit unusual for you but it works fine. I am wondering what you have planned for the divas too so this made sense, I guess she'll be facing Beth Phoenix tonight. Linda ordering Estrada to go on holiday would be quite funny to see, although I don't really get the real point to the Estrada part, I guess you wanted to show Linda's authority or just remind everyone that Umaga is injured.

Good win for Killings on his debut, not so great for OJ though on his. Its clear that Killings is the one you like though and this was a good little debut win for him, not sure if this will lead to anything though or if he'll move on.

I'm quite surprised you gave this match away so soon after they only just came to SD, as I assume the main feud in the divas division on SD will be between these two. But it was a good win for Mickie James and it certianly seems like she is the top diva now over here. I expect a rematch though and you'll probably introduce a belt in the coming weeks.

Another interesting segment with JJ/Sydal, and its good seeing Jeter back. I'm not sure which way this will go.

So Maria is interviewing now? Why did you move Leticia to Raw I wonder? The interview was very good, just what you would expect from Hardy and I am looking forward to the rematch. I wonder if my prediction will be right.

I liked the little bit before the match, nice hearing from the UK Pack after their two big wins. LOL at Coach though trying to get a dig in. Its good to see Haas and Masters back too, I liked what you had going with them. It was a good win for Haas and Masters, I was thinking J+S might get the win after the earlier segment but I guess you're going the other way by having Sydal looking a bit off. The Extremists get some more revenge too which is cool, and this division is looking interesting.

This was a very good segment with Shane seemingly splitting away from Edge. Should be good and I can just imagine Edge's face when Shane stood up to him. Shane should get a lot more mic time now he's got the belt and split from Edge which will develop his character further.

I look forward to seeing Hager on Smackdown, you develop these young talents very well so I'm sure he'll be great. I'm getting confused now though as I now know him as three different names. Oh well.

Now this was a really good segment and you made it work with two slightly similar arrogant characters. What MVP had to say was great and once again its great him being the Mr. MITB. Burke interupting was slighlty unexpected but I liked it, and I like how you made MVP think he was out to congratulate him. What Burke had to say was good and he made a big statement by dropping MVP to the floor. Now it seems he's going face now as the crowd were cheering, I really like the heel Burke but a badass face Burke would work I guess. This feud should be great with two of my faves, and they should have some good matches, possibly for the briefcase as well. We could have a repeat of MVP getting knocked out in a boxing match too lol.

Punk costing Hardy the belt was expected after what happened on Raw but it was a perfect way of developing the feud. I'm glad Shelton has the US gold too as i'm a fan of his, and the Punk-Hardy feud doesn't need the belt. Punk has made a big impact on his SD! debut too, and this feud is so intense already. This should be awesome.

Typical parking lot escape segment here with Punk getting away and Hardy showing his anger. It was good to get a few words from Punk too. I wonder what will happen next week.

The main event seemed like a very good match, and Taker picking up the win is great as HBK vs. Taker is a dream match of mine. It deserves a Mania-type build tbh. It wasn't the best way for Taker to win to make a huge impact as he didn't actually pin Edge and he could've got DQ'd for what he did, but we all know what a threat the Deadman is and it means Edge doesn't look too weak. I wouldn't rule out you still adding Edge to this though for a triple threat, but HBK vs. Taker should be great and I look forward to this feud.

Overall Nige it was another very entertaining show, good job man and I look forward to Raw.
 
#899 ·
SMACKDOWN REVIEW
BY SC2004


>>> Great way to start the show off, hyping the rematch between Hardy and Benjamin. I also liked the GM mention as it instantly got my attention and made me want to read on!

>>> I personally am not a fan of Shawn’s whole puppy dog eyes, I’m about to cry routine that he so loved to so these days, but you described it perfectly, it was very well done. Edge coming out and interrupting was predictable, but I do it a lot, so I’m not knocking you for it. I liked how Edge praised Michaels and then knocked him seconds later, that was great. Edge asking for a rematch it’s a big surprise. Linda McMahon has less charisma and personality than a plank of wood and I’m not happy about her being used on TV. It should never happen IMO, but I guess without a GM, your hands were tied. Taker, Edge number 1 contendership match is a stroke of booing genius and a huge TV main event.

>>> The Michael Shane segment with HBK and Mathews was different and it came off very real. It liked it a lot. However mate, I’m going to have to knock your for using Linda again. She is a terrible actress and can’t show personality. She should of left the damn building after the opening promo. Good use of Mickie here and it’s smart for you to book her in a match and leave her opponent a mystery. Estrada still being around with Umaga gone is odd, I’m interested to see how you use him!

>>> Well, well, well. I’ll be damned, two matches back to back and both of them are super short!!! I guess you are changing things up! Not happy about Beth loosing in under 4 minutes, even if it is to Mickie James.

>>> The Sydal, Jeter segment much like the HBK, Michael Shane segment earlier marks a big change in direction for you and how you write IMO. These segment may seem insignificant, but they’re both so real, well written and focused. The emotional level is great, understated, yet powerful. Just great writing.

>>> Great tag team match. Your ability to use mid-card, underrated talent in such an effective way never fails to amaze me and the fact you have a credible tag team division with entertaining feuds is a credit to your booking ability.

>>> The MVP in your BTB is a striking contrast to the MVP on our screens every week. This in ring interview is a throwback to the old days. I remember when Vince used to interview superstars on Raw each week in the 90’s. The segment was flat until Burke came out. Great interaction between him and MVP. You described it beautifully and it’ nice to see you followed through with this angle from last week. Just great booking.

>>> Great match up with Benjamin and hardy. Punk interfering works on so many levels and I look forward to a Matt hardy, MVP programme. Benjamin and Moore as a duo doesn’t work for me, so I hope you split them up ASAP.

>>> Great follow up with Punk. His explanation was logical. The interaction with him and Hardy here was fun and furthered the angle. I’m happy to see you didn’t write a big brawl segment as it would have been a mistake.

>>> You surprised me here, I fully expected Edge to go over. In saying that, I’m betting on a 3 way match up for the title. Can’t see you giving away Taker, Michaels anytime soon. Not until SS anyway, it just wouldn’t make sense not to have that match on a big PPV event.

OVERALL: Great show. What struck me most was how much you’ve shortened your matches, I think it’s great. I’ve said it a million times, but in my opinion TV shows aren’t about the wrestling they’re about the promo’s and storyline development. Apart from your use of Linda McMahon, this show was flawless. Great work man.
 
#900 · (Edited)
“FCW” TV Results
(Saturday 5th April)


The show started with TJ Wilson & Teddy Hart entering the building. Lena Yada quickly pounced and asked them how they were feeling about their tag team championship match with The Empire tonight. They were looking very serious, and TJ said that the chance to become the first ever FCW Tag Team Champions is a huge honour and something they want to make happen, and that they know they can make happen. He then said that chances like these are the very reason he and Teddy got in to this business, and they’re going to go out there and do everything to make sure that they fulfil their dream tonight. Teddy then said that they weren’t only going to beat The Empire tonight, but they’re going to shut them up and their big mouths once and for all.


The DiBiase Brothers, Mike & Brett made their way to the ring, and said that Dusty Rhodes was a disgrace to fire their brother; Ted Jr. Mike went on to say that he has moved on to bigger and better things, and that very soon, they are going to do the same whether it means pissing Dusty off or not, they will not be shown the disrespect as DiBiase’s, they demand it. That didn’t go down too well with the fans, but there was a shock in store as two guys in street clothes by the names of JJ Matthews & Cameron York walked down to the ring. JJ took the lead and said that they might be familiar to some people, but this is their first time in an FCW ring. He then said that they were just back talking to Dusty about coming in to FCW when they heard two whiny idiots demanding respect, but he told them that on the street, respect is earned, telling them you have to work and fight for respect like he and Cameron have all their lives. He then said that they’re more than happy tonight to beat some respect in to them, and that soon they’ll forget about their brother, and the only name they remember will be that of The Badstreet Boys. Mike accepted the challenge and said that they have no problem in sending two punks back to the street, because once they’re done with them, it will be their first and only ever match in FCW. JJ smirked and threw the microphone down before motioning for them to bring it on.



The Opening Match
The Badstreet Boys (JJ Matthews & Cameron York) vs The DiBiase Brothers (Mike & Brett)

Matthews & York were very over with the crowd and they looked great in this match. The DiBiase’s used some cheap tactics, but Matthews made a hot tag to York which changed the match. He took down Brett, the legal man with a whip and a backbreaker. Mike stormed the ring and ran at York, who ducked underneath and planted him with a reverse tornado DDT. Mike rolled out of the ring as Matthews got back in, and along with York, nailed Brett as he got up with a double enziguri. Matthews left the ring as York picked up the win.

Winners: The Badstreet Boys by pinfall.


**Commercial Break**


Shawn Spears & Mike Kruel were in the locker room, along with Roucka with Spears explaining that it was a mistake last week that cost them the match. Kruel said that he knew that was the case and that he shouldn’t worry about it. Roucka wasn’t happy with Kruel at all, and told him to stop letting Spears ruin things for him, saying it’s one thing after another. Kruel shook his head and told Roucka that it was an accident and to calm down. She didn’t take it well, telling Kruel to grow a pair and that she had her own match to worry about before storming out of the room. Spears apologised, but Kruel said there was no need and told him he’d be in his corner for his match tonight no matter what Roucka thinks.


Match 2
Brie Bella vs Roucka

Both divas looked good in this one, but a fierce looking Roucka was able to reverse a whip in to the corner and followed it up with a stinger splash. As Brie Bella staggered out, Roucka nailed her with The Roucka Bottom, an inverted suplex slam to seal the victory.

Winner: Roucka by pinfall.


**Commercial Break**


Match 3
Television Championship Qualifying Match

CJ Red vs Shawn Spears w/Mike Kruel

Spears looked to have this wrapped up, but just as the referee was checking on Red as he sat up, Mike Kruel slid in the ring. He walked up behind Spears, spun him round and took him down to the mat with an inverted facelock neckbreaker slam. He quickly left the ring and smirked on the outside as CJ made his way back up, saw Kruel on the mat and was confused. He then walked in to the corner, climbed up to the top and leaped off, hitting a Corkscrew Neckbreaker for the win.

Winner: CJ Red by pinfall.


The Empire were getting ready in their locker room with Katie Lea telling them to leave nothing to chance tonight and to be nothing short of ruthless. Just then, Lena Yada walked in and asked if there was any chance of a few words. Katie didn’t look happy to see her and was very abrupt with her, telling Lena that it was a disgrace that she was taken out of the title picture last week, but that nothing is getting in the way of The Empire picking up gold tonight. She stopped and stared at Lena, who then asked if that was it. Katie told her she was clever and then told her to go, which she did, leaving a smug smile on Katie’s face with Sanders & McIntyre grinning with two British flags in the background.


**Commercial Break**


Dusty came down to the ring and said that Television Championship Qualifying matches will continue next week, and he has agreed with the powers that be that the final will be held live on Monday Night Raw when the time comes. A pop met that announcement, and he said that he wanted to thank Linda McMahon and the rest of the board of directors for supporting him and FCW, but then, James Reiher, the new FCW World Heavyweight Champion walked down to the ring, along with Afa Jr. The champ was dressed smartly, with Afa in jeans and a T shirt. Dusty seemed surprise to see them, but Reiher wasn’t happy. He said that after he won the title at Wrestlemania, this night should all be about me, but it came as no surprise that Dusty tried to push him under the carpet. He then said that if anyone should be getting praised or being put on Raw, it should be him since he’s the first FCW Champion. Dusty told him that he got the chance to wrestle on the Wrestlemania pre show last weekend when he won the championship, then reminded him that FCW is about more than just James Reiher. The champ stared back angrily and told Dusty that he should remember who truly has the stroke around here, and that set Dusty off. He got right in Reiher’s face and told him that he did, The American Dream might be older, but tells Reiher not to push him because he would have no problem showing him who really is boss. After a short pause, Dusty then said that he’s going to show him just who has the stroke around here because next week, Reiher will be making his defence of the FCW Championship, against Afa. Reiher looked stunned, but not as much as Afa with Dusty dropping the microphone and leaving the ring to a pop with Reiher and his hired help staring uneasily at each other.


**Commercial Break**


The Main Event
For the Vacant FCW Tag Team Championship

TJ Wilson & Teddy Hart vs The Empire (Stu Sanders & Drew McIntyre) w/Katie Lea

A really great match with Teddy and the contrast in styles. It was TJ & Teddy who looked to be in control until Katie Lea distracted the referee, allowing McIntyre to enter the ring and drill TJ with a big boot. That gave both men a chance to make a tag as they crawled to their corners, but after a succession of Teddy assaults fell by the wayside as McIntyre dropped to his knees and low blowed him while Sanders ran across the apron and sent TJ flying off the apron. With the referee trying to get Sanders out of the way, McIntyre picked himself back up and finished Teddy off with a swinging side slam in to a sit down face buster. The new champs celebrated with Katie Lea as the show came to an end, getting a lot of heat from the crowd before placing one of the British flags they carried down to the ring, over Teddy as Katie waved the other in front of McIntyre & Sanders.

Winners: By pinfall, and new FCW Tag Team Champions, The Empire.


**End of Show**


CONFIRMED FOR NEXT WEEK

FCW World Heavyweight Championship
James Reiher (c) vs Afa Jr

PLUS

Television Championship qualifying matches continue.


 
#901 ·
I've only really started to take notice of the FCW shows you produce, but I just want to give my opinion on them.

I think they're a great tool, for building people up before shipping them to RAW or Smackdown. It really gives a description of each wrestler and their character.

I don't know an awful lot of the stars in FCW though, but it's enjoyable reading a show with fresh, new characters.

I just want to say keep up the good work Nige.
 
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