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WWE: A Strong Response

542K views 2K replies 175 participants last post by  Nige™ 
#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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#551 ·
I been busying writing my own Rumble recently so haven't had time to review the shows Nige! But I'll leave some notes on SmackDown! at the weekend; looks pretty good. I looking forward to seeing a Royal Rumble Preview soon. When could we be expecting the show? :p ... SD Review this weekend mate(Y)
 
#552 ·
I looking forward to seeing a Royal Rumble Preview soon. When could we be expecting the show? :p ... SD Review this weekend mate(Y)
The preview is all formatted and ready to go. The actual PPV is written as far as commentary and all the non important bits. The matches are written on paper (except the Rumble) and the promos are in recap form at the moment. I guess it will take me about 2 weeks to write it mate
 
#553 ·
D-K-L's Smackdown review

A promo from HBK was a good way to open the show. It was good to see the crowd back behind him after being in Canada last week. What he had to say was good, I liked how you mixed humour with aggression when talking about Edge, as HBK would do. Edge was never going to come out after HBK called him out, so I was kinda expecting Batista to come out. Batista was his usual self, him reminding HBK that he's in the match at the RR is something that he would do. It's good to see them showing aggression towards each other as it's been all about their hatred towards Edge recently, we needed to see that these two have a problem with each other too. Liked HBK's line about Batista boring everyone Lol. Regal coming out was expected, I thought you might have ended it with a brawl to make bigger problems between these two though. Pick your poison is a good idea.

Nice little videos from Flair and Finlay. We normally get these types of videos heading into the Rumble IRL so this was a good idea. Both seemed in character and hyped themselves up for the Rumble. Finlay isn't going to win the Rumble, I wouldn't rule out the Nature Boy though.

Good match to kick off the action. I was hoping that the Pitbulls would win this one so i'm pleased that they did. The diving crossbody spot from Morrison was cool. I loved the Dead Level to finish it off, I like that move. Good to see the Pitbulls advance, the match next week should be good.

Good little segment with Edge/Regal/Shane. I liked what HBK's cousin had to say, that gave us a bit of an explanation as to why he hates his HBK so much. Regal adding teh stipulation at the end was good, I knew he'd do something to upset Edge after Edge was applauding him. Regal is staying right down the middle and I think that's cool.

The Pre-match promo with Dykstra and Chavo was good. The mic time that Kenny has been getting is really helping to develop his character. Dykstra was a good heel in trying to get out of the match, but we all knew that it wouldn't work. Good set up for the match next. I was interested to see if you were going to let Chavo go over Haas here, but i think you ended it teh right way. I can tell that you're a fan of Haas and this doesn't hurt him, and it helps with the Chavo/Dykstra feud. The brawl was great, really helps build their match.

Lol the "big W" line from the Miz had me laughing, that's something Miz would say. This segment was interesting, putting two heel teams together. I'm suprised that it didn't turn into a brawl really with the Pitbulls being the type of guys they are. Good way to hype the match next week.

I think you got the Pick your poison choices right. Batista would pick Ric Flair, although I wouldn't pick Flair to kick my rival's ass. HBK picking Umaga was good, as although he's a face it's something he'd do.

Good videos from Harris and Benjamin. Harris isn't going to win but I can see him doing well. I liked Benjamin making the point about him being held back. I had planned for Benjamin to win the Rumble in my old thread but I didn't get that far, it'd be cool to see it here but I really doubt it.

HBK picking up the win over his cousin was good, with Edge banned from ringside Shane was never going to win. Shane going for the Sweet Chin Music was cool. Man, HBK hit the SCM first time lol! Good win for HBK, with a typical HBK finish.

Great interview from Estrada, he's great on the mic. I like that you brought Estrada back a while ago becuase Umaga can go further with him by his side. Umaga won't win the Rumble but Estrada did a good job of hyping Umaga up. I don't know if i'd describe Umaga as looking relaxed though, he never seems relaxed to me.

Some more good videos from MVP and Matt Hardy here. You threw in both their catchphrases and that was a good way to end their videos. MVP winning the Rumble would be brilliant.

Edge vs. Ric Flair is a great match for only the fourth of the night. This match had a really exciting ending with Edge escaping the figure four and Flair kicking out of the Edgecution. Flair dodging the Spear was cool, I though Flair might have got a sneaky win there with the roll up. Nice ending. A clean ending too was good to read from Edge, this is a big win for Edge and really makes him look strong heading into the Rumble. Nice, short post-match promo too.

The battle royal was exciting, a good little preview for the royal rumble. I liked the eliminations, I liked MVP eliminating Harris with the Playa's boot the most. I liked the heel tactics from MVP, I thought that he was going to steal the win there. Nice ending with Taker just being that bit too strong. Taker looks strong heading into teh Rumble now. oooh, looks like Kane is returning at the Rumble then. Kane to eliminate Taker from the Rumble? That would be a good way to return. We've seen this feud quite a lot but I think you could make it good, plus it looks like Kane is returning with the mask so that'd freshen it up a bit. Heel Kane is great.

I'm not sure if this Edge interview was needed really after he spoke after his match, or the post match promo wasn't really needed. It was well written though and I like the aggression from Edge. Good interview.

Great main event. This was the right choice and it was the best Pick your poison match. Typical counter from Batsita to dodge the Samoan wrecking ball. I liked how you just said it straight, 'Umaga was looking to smash his ass into Batista', I think they prefer to say that he uses his hip Lol. Thought it was over after the spinebuster, good close pinfall. Man, spear from Edge! That was a shock, I didn't expect that after what Regal said earlier. Umaga finishing it off with the splash was teh right decision, it wasn't just Edge's work. I love Umaga getting the win in the main event, dirty win or not. Great ending with HBK getting involved, it really had to end with all three guys getting at each other, great way to end it two days from the Royal Rumble.

Overall Nige it was a great Smackdown yet again, really enjoyed it. Smackdown is becoming really strong and the main event picture is really helping with that. I'd give you something to work with but I didn't have any problems really, maybe the Edge post match promo wasn't needed with the interview as well, but that's about it really. You made up for the absence of MVP, Harris, Hardy and so on with the video promos. I'm looking forward to the Rumble. Good job mate. And BTW, there is no need to make fun of Terry, the poor guy slipped! So take that message down Lol.
 
#555 ·
Friday Night SmackDown! Review (WWE: A Strong Response)

S1 (Opening Segment, In the Ring, HBK + Batista + Regal) = Right off the bat, about them Pitbulls, cool, I hope you give them the push they deserve! Now, on to the show! The opening promo had that ''we-closing-in-on-a-big-PPV-match'' feel to it and everyone involved (espcially, in my opinion, Regal) came out looking quite good. Even Batista was portrayed tremendously way If I say so myself. Only thing that bugged me a bit, but, that might just be because this is the second only show I am reviewing from you, but, Shawn and cursing nowadays is kind of like strange to hear. I think you catch my drift on this one, but, apart from that, we had good glimpses of the Shawn of old ('96) and I would have preferred it stay that way the whole way thru then reading about a Rated R Jackass and some other deragatory comments along those lines. Still, awesome way to open up the SD! before the Rumble.

S2 (Promos, Flair + Finlay) = Both promos were quite good and I had great flashbacks of watching old Rumble tapes from the late 80's. That's the way wrestling promos should be done! (most of the time anyhow!)

S3 (MizMorrison v. KashGibson v. JeterSydal) = I don't know if I really dig Sydal tagging with Jeter (Jeter is a tremendous athlete, no doubt, but, it seems that everytime I turn my head, Sydal's tagging with someone instead of shining on his own). Still the ending to this match was quite good, there was so much talent involved in this match that I was a bit dissapointed that it remained such a WWE-style matchup instead of just breaking on all 4 cylinders. Still, more than happy to see Gibson & Kash haven't gotten over this week.

S4 (Backstage, Regal + Edge/Shane) = Awesome segment right there. Michael Shane's not the best talker, but he sounded and come off looking quite good right there. Plus, I just love that Michael Shane is in the WWE, it's been a freakin' damn long time coming in my mind. Can't wait to see the Next Showstopper take on HBK, sweeet!

S5 (In the ring, Doane + Chavito) = Apart from that stupid Dykstra name they've given him, goold ol' Ken Doane was exactly like he was when he was in OVW and tearing down the competition, so that's good. I don't know if he fits the bill for CW Champion with just how tall is he (probably more X-Division friendly) but I still dig Chaviot as a face and these two involved in a feud, that's cool. Haas v. Chavito should be a good match too.

S6 (Haas v. Chavito) = Good enough match for the purpose it served. The DQ finish with all of the people on the outside was a bit predictable, that, or Haas winning with interference. I don't know what to make of Haas & Masters teaming up, other than Haas gets back on the juice, he can easily have a chiselled body like Masters, so, I can see the team there. I would have probably banked on a 3 on 1 assault, but, since the Rumble's around the corner, it wouldn't have lead to anything really. So, I dig the lying, cheating, stealing Chavito smile at the end of the segment with his dirty deeds taken care of before his title match. Finaly the CW Title gets some damn recognition!

S7 (Backstage, MizMorrison + KashGibson) = Awesome way to build up that match next week. Both teams looked great in that segment and the match next week should be a tremendous one at that.

S8 (Backstage, Batista + HBK) = Woah, a triple threat of awesome matches set for the second hour of SmackDown!. Shane v. Michaels, Edge v. Flair & Batista v. Umaga! Woah!

S9 (Promos, Wildcat + Benjamin) = Great to see Chris Harris in this BTB, I'd figure he'd be heel, but I guess he fits the face type more. His promo was good, nothing to complain about there, same goes for Benjamin, good stuff, good, good stuff.

S1o (Shane v. Michaels) = A bit disappointed this one wasn't as see saw as I would have pictured it. Still, Shane got one big offensive maneuver and his inexperience cost him the match in the end. Although the Flying Forearm was a bit much for me to believe Shane would have stayed down so long when Michaels connected with the Top Rope Elbow Drop, this match was quite good for their first ever meeting and the ones that'll come in the future are bound to be even better than this one.

S11 (Interview, Matthews + EstradaUmaga) = I was looking for a frantic Samoan scream with Josh running away, but still, the interview was good and I like how you accentuated Estrada's tone of voice but didn't understand the way you wrote down the Un-Der-Ta-Ker... anyhow, good interview to set up what I believe will now be the Main Event?!

S12 (Promos, MVP + MHardy) = Not the best Rumble promos of the night, still, they did their job in hyping the Rumble match up.

S13 (Edge v. Flair) = I've seen better from these two, and, it was badly booked in my opinion. It should have gone before the Shane & Micheals because it didn't deliver in being better than Shane & Michaels, which it could have since Shane & Michaels wasn't the best you could find. The end was a bit messed up when Edge slipped out of the Scoop Slam, the blows to the back somewhat screwed up what could have been a better finish if Edge had just slipped out, hit the ropes and bang, caught Flair by surprise. The little blows slowed down the ending and brought the matchup down for me a bit. Still, the promo by Edge brought the segment back up quite a few notches as he garnered the kind of heat only Edge can garner.

S14 (Battle Royal) = Was what it was, a Battle Royal. I didn't understand the purpose of it though. But, if SmackDown! gets a Battle Royal before the Rumble, it means that someone from SmackDown! is going to win the Rumble. Why? Because if it's someone from RAW, I don't know if I really want to see 2 Battle Royals in the span of a month, a month and a half. Undertaker winning is cool, and, I guess Kane (w/ mask) is coming back to challenge Undertaker at Wrestlemania for their final encounter. Been done before, but, well, could still be entertaining.

S15 (Interview, Lena + Edge) = Pointless time wasted. Edge already has been in an angle with Regal, had a match, and he had some mic time after that match... Especially since this show is running well over the usual 12 segments. (Not to say it wasn't good or anything, but, it was indeed pointless, especially since Lena Yada was the interviewer, mmh)

S16 (Rumble Rundown) = Wasn't as good as the RAW Rumble Rundown from JR & King, still, Cole & Coach sounded like Cole & Coach and it worked for me.

S17 (Umaga v. Batista) = Good, good matchup between these two. It was probably also one of the best matches i've read from you and probably the match of the night. Everything flowed nicely, except for one tiny detail, when Batista moved out of the way of the Wrecking Ball, I felt as though too much time passed in between him getting up, Umaga walking out of the corner, and Batista hitting the Spinebuster. Still, awesome bout, Edge interfering and costing Batista the match, added to that a Samoan Splash, is a great way to go about things. Because it sells us on Edge being the odds on favorite, when really, the guy I think should walk out of the Rumble still Champ will be HBK.

OVERALL = Awesome way to hype up the Rumble with the little promos a la 80's style. The matches on tonight's show were also quite good, especially with the Pick your Poison deal. But this show lingered on a bit too much with Edge being over utilized. Still, Im really looking forward to not only the Rumble, but the next week's SmackDown! with some of the matches that are already in the making. KashGibson v. MizMorrison being one of them. One thing I'll say, and repeat is, I love the layout of your shows. Now, I hope that for the Rumble, matches will be in full. (MOTN = Main Event + P(romo)OTN = RegalEdgeShane) (p.s. around...around...around)

Realism = 8/10
Length = 7.5/10
Quality/Entertainment = 8/10
Spelling/Grammar = 8/10
Matches/Booking = 8/10

Overall = 79/100 (B)​
 
#556 ·
Lashley™'s SmackDown Review

Opening Promo: (Michaels and Batista Segment)Solid opening promo with Michaels definitely in character. Loved it when Batista came out he was in character too and this has definitely hyped up their match at the Royal Rumble.

Promo 2:
(Flair and Finlay Promos) Nice little promo's from Ric Flair and Finlay hyping up the Royal Rumble even farther. These things happen in real life if I'm correct.

Match 1: (Miz/Morrison + Kash/Gibson + Jeter/Sydal) The ending to this match was good. It had alot of talent in the match and this showed as it was an excellent read.

Promo 3: (Regal + Edge/Shane) Another great segment, love it that you have Shane in the WWE. It will be great to see him feud with Shawn Michaels sometime. If that's what your planning doing?

Promo 4:
(Dykstra And Chavo Segment) Nice little segment here, Dykstra seemed awesome on the microphone. I liked how Chavo refused the offer and said he isn't a coward, as Guerrero means warrior. Nice way to hype up the Rumble even further.

Match 2: (Hass vs. Chavo) Would of been boring if Hass has faced someone other than Chavo. The DQ finish was abit predictable since him and Dykstra has just mixed words.

Promo 5:
(Miz/Morrison + Kash/Gibson) Nice way to hype up their match next week. The match should be great.

Promo 6:
(Michaels And Batista Segment Backstage)Shawn Michaels seemed a little off keep apoligizing and everything. Two great matches made there however with Batista v Umaga and Flair v Edge!

Promo 7: (Harris Segment With Benjamin)Decent promo here, sadly I'm not familiar with Harris. But I've heard he has alot of potential.

Match 3:
(Michaels vs. Shane) Great match! Would of liked to have seen abit more like Batista or Edge or somebody coming down to the ring. Was always inevitable that Michaels would win if nobody came to attack him.

Promo 8:
(Umaga Interview) Decent promo/interview with 'mags. Will be good to see him take on Batista. Which I think will be the main event?

Promo 9:
(MVP + Hardy Promos) Decent promos, did their purpose of hyping up the Rumble.

Match 4:
(Edge vs. Ric Flair) Was a meh match, could of been better. Should of been before the Michaels and Shane match imo. Decent finish.

Match 5: (Battle Royal) Obvious that The Undertaker would win this. What was the purpose of the match? Was it another way to hype up the Royal Rumble? I think it was.

Promo 10: (Lena + Edge Interview)Was okay, nothing else to say.

Promo 11: (Rumble Rundown) Did its purpose, good job.

Main Event: (Batista vs. Umaga) Good match, Thank god you had someone like Edge interfere. After Edge and Michaels had won I knew Batista had to lose. Does this mean he will win at the Rumble? Well I doubt it to be honest.

Overall: As you will most likely have been told alot of times, you are an excellent booker. I really enjoyed reading this mate. You had alot of ways to promote the Rumble in your thread. That could be a good or a bad thing? Anyways, this show was definitely a 8.5
 
#557 ·
BREAKING NEWS

MORE PAY-PER-VIEWS RETURNING!​

WWE.com said:
The WWE can confirm that after a series of discussions, following an upturn in ratings and feedback received, that a number of pay-per-view events will be reintroduced for this coming year. The on screen product has certainly increased and in order for it to progress further, there will be an additional two brand exclusive events as well as a mixed brand event, which will be The Great American Bash in July. The Saturday Night’s Main Event scheduled for July has been replaced by The Great American Bash.

Here is the updated schedule for the remainder of the year:


Royal Rumble
January 27, 2008
Madison Square Garden ~ New York City, NY


Saturday Nights Main Event
February 9, 2008
The O2 Arena ~ London, ENGLAND
Live on NBC!


WrestleMania XXIV
March 30, 2008
Citrus Bowl ~ Orlando, FL


RAW PRESENTS
Backlash
April 13, 2008
Venue TBC


SMACKDOWN PRESENTS
Judgment Day
May 11, 2008
Venue TBC


King of the Ring
June 22, 2008
Staples Center ~ Los Angeles, CA


RAW AND SMACKDOWN PRESENT
The Great American Bash
July 12, 2008
Nassau Coliseum ~ Uniondale, NY


SummerSlam
August 17, 2008
The Skydome ~ Toronto, CANADA


RAW PRESENTS
Unforgiven
September 21, 2008
Venue TBC


SMACKDOWN PRESENTS
No Mercy
October 19, 2008
Venue TBC


Survivor Series
November 23, 2008
The Astradome ~ Houston, TX


Saturday Nights Main Event
December 20, 2008
Gund Arena ~ Cleveland, OH
Live on NBC!​
 
#558 · (Edited)
Seemsyou have also dropped a lot of PPV's which is good because some our not needed. Cyber Sunday for example and ONS. And their single branded as well! Great now the good undercards you have on both brands ... to my knowledge you weren't doing this before? :p Short Term Memory imo.

Now time for a small SD review ... my bad still writing Rumble man.

---------

JD SPURS SD Review

Nice opening with HBK getting back to basically getting cheap pops by saying Canada has nothing on USA. HBK was just recapping nice but still it was good. Batista coming down hype the match for RR … he did it pretty well getting some heat going against the fan favourite. Ooooo Pick Your Poison matches is a great idea; can’t really see them all ending well :p

WOOO, Flair for the Rumble!! Cool little side things here, guess we’ll see these all through the night. Pitbulls and Miz & Morrison will be a good match; this is what I’m talking about with the deep under card. You have a good tag division here on SD but the one on RAW is very weak. Maybe a draft would sort that out. Solid match to get us off, nice job Nige.

Edge was very in character here but still Shane vs. Michaels doesn’t sound as good as maybe it should. I don’t really know Shane but I can’t see him being anywhere near as good as Michaels. He sounds like a Cruiserweight to me . I’ll have to check it out on Wiki. (After reading Wiki) Oh yeah I remember him now, well from what I saw of him in TNA he is quite good actually, my bad. Still Michaels should get the win.

Kenny’s character is really good and developing in to a good heel. Wouldn’t surprise me if he drops the title in the next months and goes the US Title way. Chavo-Haas … hmmm okay match, won’t be anything special. Well it was a solid match and nice ending but maybe Chavo should have got the win for momentum but well he got the upper hand on the brawl. Good for the face to gain more momentum. Flair vs. Edge … quality. Miz & Morrison rule … I hope they win. Umaga vs. Dave … yay : | . I mean it’s not the greatest of match but still.

Yep Michaels disposes of Shane. Called it. AEE did well to hype Umaga again with The Undertaker thing. Takers gunna kick his arse in the Royal Rumble Match. Edge and Flair didn’t disappoint, both great wrestlers and this would be a great future feud if you were thinking about it. Should have been the main event imo. Battle Royal had to be Undertakers win, I can see were you might go with Taker. Is he going for the title after this. Would be a sharp move tbh. Kane’s gunna return Rumble match … *******(Y) .

Edge interfering was cool man and with Tista losing I can say he defiantly wont win on Sunday. Well overall a nice SmackDown with a lot of hype for RR. Well done man another great show. Looking forward to the Rumble.
 
#560 · (Edited)
FINAL CARD FOR THE ROYAL RUMBLE

WWE Championship
TLC Match
John Cena vs. Randy Orton (c)

World Heavyweight Championship
Batista vs. Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Edge

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Jeff Hardy (c) vs. CM Punk
-DQ or Double Countout

Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero vs. Kenny Dykstra (c)

The Royal Rumble Match
RAW
Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Kofi Kingston, Carlito, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Cody Rhodes, Mr. Kennedy, Elijah Burke, Triple H, Shane McMahon, JBL, Chris Jericho, Santino Marella & Ron Killings

SMACKDOWN
Paul Burchill, Harry Smith, Finlay, The Undertaker, Umaga, Matt Hardy, Ric Flair, Chris Harris, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Masters, Chavo Guerrero, Kenny Dykstra
 
#561 ·
WWE.com - Royal Rumble (Preview)

2008 WWE ROYAL RUMBLE
THE PREVIEW!

Sunday 27th January 2008
Madison Square Garden
New York City




THE ROAD TO WRESTLEMANIA STARTS HERE!





WWE Championship
TLC Match
John Cena
vs. “The Legend Killer” Randy Orton (c)


Randy Orton received the shock of his life a couple of weeks back when the incomparable John Cena made his unexpected return to Raw. The former WWE Champion is in the same position as one of Smackdown’s World Title contenders this weekend, Edge as a determined challenger who is chasing the title they were forced to forfeit last year. However in Cena’s case, he has the chance at the ultimate payback as he chases the very man who put him on the shelf for three months with a torn pectoral muscle. When Cena made the shocking early return just two weeks back, he laid out his plan of action, he is coming to get his title back and give Orton the fight of his life.

The Legend Killer quickly picked up on the fact that Cena is not 100% just yet, and took full advantage by announcing he will give Cena his title shot in a match that he himself has never competed in, while Cena has. . . a TLC Match. It appears that Orton is looking to put a serious hurting on Cena by using all the weapons available to him, but will that be enough to see off the challenge of one of the most dominant champions in recent history?

The duo have gone at each other for the last two weeks, fighting through the crowd on Cena’s return to the ring before Cena enjoyed one stroke of success this past Monday night. In what was a huge six man tag team match, Cena and Orton found themselves fighting on the outside yet again, and this time Cena was able to let out all of his frustration as he looked to put a serious dent in Orton’s chances to pick up one of the biggest victories of his career with an F U through the announce table. Has this put Cena in pole position, or will Orton strike back and show the dominance that he has held in place since putting Cena out of action last year in what will be one of the biggest title matches in the history of Raw?





World Heavyweight Championship
Batista
vs. “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels (c)
vs. “The Rated R Superstar” Edge


Much like the WWE Championship match, desire to regain championship gold plays a huge part in this triple threat match. Batista and Edge have both been forced to forfeit the World Heavyweight title in the last eighteen months, however, Batista has lost the title since after being defeated by the current holder, “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels. The Show Stopper took the gold back at Saturday Night’s Main Event to sign off 2007 with a controversial victory that saw “The Rated R Superstar” Edge inadvertently cost The Animal the match and the title. With Edge having serious issues with Michaels, down to being eliminated by HBK at the semi final stage of the number one contendership tournament, The Rated R Superstar’s revenge mission went badly wrong as he speared the wrong man at Saturday Night’s Main Event, gifting Michaels the right to be called the World Heavyweight Champion.

No one can doubt Edge’s ambition to regain his title he still thinks is his, and just over a week ago in his native Toronto, he had a one on one chance to do just that. He even pulled a huge surprise as he brought out Shawn Michaels’ cousin, Michael Shane down into his own corner in an attempt to throw Michaels off the game. Just when the match seemed to be swinging in the way of the champion, it was Shane who tried to turn that back around by attacking his own cousin. However, The Animal had something to say about that as he raced down to ringside in a bid help out his friend. After disposing of Shane, he turned his attention to Edge, causing the match to end in a disqualification in favour of the challenger. William Regal made a swift appearance and made it clear that he had enough of the situation with both men arguing over who is the number one contender, then made this huge triple threat match.

This Friday just gone saw the tension grow even more as Michaels made it clear to Batista that although he appreciated the help, he still lost the match, and that is something he wasn’t happy about, blaming The Animal. And it seemed that the two close friends were going to be ripped apart with the chance of victory firmly in sight for both of them until Regal made another huge announcement, stating that each of the three competitors would be picking each others poison that night. The defending champion this Sunday was up first, and Michaels’ opponent was none other than his cousin, Michael Shane, chosen by Edge. However, earlier in the evening, William Regal made it clear to both Edge and Shane that if either man interfered in each other’s matches, Edge would lose his title shot. With Edge banned from ringside, Michaels disposed of his cousin before telling Batista that his opponent would be Umaga, stating that it was nothing personal, just business. With Batista then naming Edge’s opponent as “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, the Rated R Superstar picked up a big victory going into this huge triple threat match. However, Batista fell short as Edge cost him his match, spearing The Animal to give Umaga the chance to take advantage and win the match. It looked like Edge was going to try and weaken The Animal some more until good old HBK stormed down to return the favour from the week before. With all three men staring each other down, which one will be one step closer to walking into Wrestlemania as the World Heavyweight Champion?





WWE Intercontinental Championship
Jeff Hardy (c)
vs. “The Straight Edge Superstar” CM Punk


In what could be the most personal of all the matches this weekend, we will see the Intercontinental Championship on the line when Jeff Hardy aims to well and truly put CM Punk in his place. For two months, The Straight Edge Superstar has done everything within his control to hurt Jeff both physically and mentally. However, it all started with one of the biggest shocks of 2007 at the Survivor Series after Jeff successfully defended his Intercontinental title in a traditional Survivor Series elimination match. With the superstar who took the winning fall winning the match and the title, Jeff wrapped up the match with Punk being the only other team mate left standing. But to everyone’s amazement, Punk re-entered the ring and stunned the world when he lifted Jeff onto his shoulders and sent him crashing with the GTS. No one in the arena could believe it as the superstar they all looked up to, looked down with nothing but contempt at the fallen champion and the man we all believed he had a mutual respect with.

In the weeks that followed, we found out that was far from the truth as Punk unleashed some of the most damaging comments ever spoken in the history of the WWE. The highly competitive challenger sunk to incredible depths, labelling Jeff of being nothing more than a cheap drug user. In scenes we have never seen before from Punk, week after week he managed to find a way to get one over on Jeff, and on the special 15th Anniversary edition of Raw, he attacked Jeff in the parking lot. It was a heinous act as Jeff left for a first night out with Sunny, only to be blindsided and attacked into the parking lot where Punk dropped Jeff onto a car bonnet, leaving Jeff to receive medical attention at a local hospital. With Jeff out of the way, a week later on the last Raw of 2007, Punk managed to lower himself even more as he verbally abused a child’s father for allowing him to support Jeff, again referring to Jeff’s apparent substance use. However, Punk got a shock as Sunny made a shock appearance and stood up for Jeff to the smug Straight Edge Superstar. It didn’t take long for Punk to direct his insults elsewhere and at Sunny, branding her a cheap whore.

We all wondered what response we would get from the Intercontinental Champion in the New Year, and it was no surprise when he went to go find Shane McMahon on his first night back. However, it didn’t go to plan as the returning Vince McMahon took Shane’s place and forced Jeff into defending his title at the Royal Rumble and also made him team up with his opponent this weekend to face Chris Jericho and Mr. Kennedy with the winners guaranteed a place in the Rumble match itself. As usual, Jeff got on with the hand dealt to him as he and Punk ended up prevailing against their argumentative opponents. However, Punk ensured he had the last word as he picked up the victory following a blind tag and a swanton bomb from The Rainbow Haired Warrior. When Jeff was going to go for the cover, Punk stole his place in the sun as he entered the ring and hit Jeff with the dreaded GTS and covered Jericho for the victory.

A week later, the duo found themselves in the ring again, however this time they were on opposite sides as Jeff teamed up with the returning Jeff Hardy to take on Punk and the WWE Champion, Randy Orton. As Cena and Orton were involved in their own business and fighting through the crowd, it left the fierce rivals to battle it out as Punk once again stole the march. Taking Jeff’s title belt in to the ring, he laid out the champion before swiftly finishing the match off with Jeff’s own finisher, the swanton bomb to add insult to injury. But by now, we knew that Punk was capable of more as he then stole the Intercontinental Championship and took it backstage with him. However, this past Monday, Jeff struck back and made a huge contribution to the outcome of this highly anticipated match. Being part of a six man tag team match, Punk and Jeff went at it again, and as Punk tried to high tail it with the gold, Jeff went after his own possession. Fighting on the stage, it was only going to end in tears, and this time it was Punk’s tears as he was sent flying off the stage by Jeff. By now though, we know to expect the unexpected from the daredevil, and he struck again in a response to all the abuse he’s taken from Punk by diving onto him from the stage with a swanton bomb, putting himself at risk. Both men were motionless as they were attended to by medics with Sunny watching on gob smacked. We just don’t know what condition they will be when they arrive at Madison Square Garden. Has Jeff done himself a disadvantage, or has he finally struck the killer blow?





Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero
vs. “The Future Hall of Famer” Kenny Dykstra (c)


It would be difficult for any match to rival the animosity between Jeff Hardy and CM Punk, but these two rivals certainly come close. Again, it all comes back to the Survivor Series where Kenny Dykstra picked up his first ever singles title, emerging as the sole survivor in the match to crown a brand new Cruiserweight Champion. Since that night, Dykstra’s head has grown as much as his voice has become the most heard sound on Smackdown. Revelling in his own Survivor Series success, he offered an open challenge for any cruiserweight to take him on just days later with a potential title shot at stake if they could beat him. Matt Sydal emerged, and after being the last man to have his shoulders pinned to the mat just five days earlier, he was again unable to beat Kenny as they fought to a double count out. Dykstra took great satisfaction in telling everyone as well as Sydal that the result didn’t qualify Sydal for a title match, but a week later, he made a mistake that could come back to haunt him.

Offering any cruiserweight the same deal he did Sydal the week before, Chavo Guerrero emerged and quickly stunned Dykstra as he put the arrogant young superstar in his place, offering some words of his own before accepting the challenge. In what was a very back and forth match up, Chavo took control and was denied victory by Kenny getting himself disqualified. And after continuing an attack after the match, Dykstra was then told by an angry William Regal that he would have no choice but to defend his title against Chavo again the week later with no disqualifications this time in order to prevent himself from saving his title the easy way. However, The Future Hall of Famer still found a way to save himself by taking advantage of the stipulation in place as he pounced on Chavo before he could even get through the ropes, smashing him repeatedly in the head with the title belt to get the victory. With Chavo suffering a concussion and getting a stay in hospital before Christmas, Kenny was sitting pretty.

However that all changed on the first show of the New Year as Chavo returned, attacking Kenny after the Cruiserweight Champion picked up a non title victory. It took a week for us to find out just how Kenny felt about it, and boy was he in for a surprise. After a heated exchange with Chavo letting the cocky loudmouth know exactly how he feels about him, William Regal let us all know that Dykstra would indeed be meeting Chavo one on one at the Royal Rumble with the Cruiserweight Championship on the line. Understandably angry, Dykstra went to see the General Manager the next week, only to find out he would be in action against Chavo for a spot in the Royal Rumble match later on in the night in a triple threat match with the loser not taking any part in the Rumble. It was Chavo that managed to come out victorious, gaining some serious momentum as he defeated Shannon Moore to qualify both him and Dykstra for the Rumble match. And Friday night just gone, the duo reached boiling point as Chavo took on Charlie Haas with Dykstra at ringside. When it seemed that Chavo had the match won as he went up top for the frog splash, the cowardly champion decided to strike, only for Chavo to beat him to it. As they brawled around the ring, security rushed down to separate the pair who then exchanged threats before being pulled well apart. This Sunday, all the talking will be done in the ring, but will we see Chavo shut Dykstra’s mouth by taking his title, or will The Future Hall of Famer live up to his own ego?





The Royal Rumble Match
CONFIRMED PARTICIPANTS
RAW
Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Kofi Kingston, Carlito, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Cody Rhodes, Mr. Kennedy, Elijah Burke, Triple H, Shane McMahon, JBL, Chris Jericho, Santino Marella & Ron Killings

SMACKDOWN
Paul Burchill, Harry Smith, Finlay, The Undertaker, Umaga, Matt Hardy, Ric Flair, Chris Harris, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Masters, Chavo Guerrero, Kenny Dykstra


The biggest match of the year is upon us with the shot of a lifetime waiting for the winner. 30 men will go at it with just one man being able to move on to the biggest spectacle of them all, the main event at Wrestlemania and a shot at either the WWE or World Heavyweight Championship. But with 30 men competing for just one spot, how can a winner be picked?

Looking at the Raw superstars, no one has nothing more to gain than “The Game” Triple H after he was screwed out of the WWE Championship at the last show of 2007 and the first of 2008 by The McMahon Men. At Saturday Night’s Main Event as The Game challenged Randy Orton for The Legend Killer’s title, Mr. McMahon reacted to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley’s set up of making out that Hornswoggle was the illegitimate child of the Chairman of the Board when he was not. After hospitalizing his father-in-law at the Survivor Series in their Streetfight, Vince wasn’t seen for nearly a month before he resurfaced with an apparent change of heart. Telling the world that he was okay with his daughter marrying Triple H, all seemed to be well in the McMahon-Helmsley family until the evil mastermind struck just moments before his son-in-law’s championship match. After being told by his daughter that she was pregnant, he offered to take care of his granddaughter Aurora Rose so that Stephanie could tell her husband, something that The Game was reluctant to allow. However, after permission was granted to let her grandfather look after her, Aurora Rose soon was nowhere to be seen. That was until Triple H was on the verge of becoming the new WWE Champion as Vince then walked down the aisle with Aurora in his arms, distracting his son-in-law and setting him straight on how he really felt about the set up and the relationship with Stephanie. With The Game livid, he turned round into an almighty clothesline from hell from JBL, but why?

We soon found out on the first Raw of 2008 that JBL was indeed the son of Mr. McMahon and that he too was appalled by the set up of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. However, there was slight concern for father and son as Shane McMahon refused to play ball and stuck firmly on the side of his sister and brother-in-law, giving Triple H the chance for a rematch at Randy Orton that night for the WWE Championship. Again The Game looked to be heading towards another title reign, however it was not to be as JBL again cost Triple H the championship, only for all hell to break loose. As JBL, his father and Orlando Jordan all put the foot in on The Game, Shane O Mac had had enough as he made his way down to ringside and grabbed a steel chair. Taking Jordan out of the picture while Triple H fought off JBL, Shane then turned round and was seemingly going to blast his dad with the chair until he stunned the wrestling world by taking his brother-in-law’s head off instead. Everyone was in total shock, with the exception of his father and new brother as they posed as the happy family at The Game’s expense.

Two weeks ago, the landscape changed as Stephanie cut short the joyous taunts of The McMahon Men as she informed them that as well as her 25% share in the company, she was given another quarter stake by her mother. With The McMahon Men in disbelief with the bombshell that they no longer had full control of Raw and that Stephanie had just entered her husband in the Royal Rumble, Vince reacted the only way he could by entering both his sons. He was in for another shock as Stephanie made a tag team main event with Triple H joining forces with a mystery partner to take on both JBL and Shane. With “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair later unveiled as the mystery partner, the champagne soon went flat for The Game as once again the numbers game got in the way with The McMahon Men leaving both Triple H and Ric Flair out cold after a vicious attack. This past week though was a different story as The Game finally got some kind of retribution as along with John Cena and Bobby Lashley, he picked up a victory, pinning Shane after a pedigree. With Vince reeling from the news that his wife Linda is coming to the Royal Rumble to tell him some news, he was even more angry to see Triple H pointing to the Wrestlemania sign hanging inside the arena to end the show. Will The Game be heading to Wrestlemania for the title shot he deserves? Are the seeds from Mr. McMahon’s grapefruits going to be enough to stop him and head there instead? And what news does Linda have in store for the Chairman of the Board? It promises to be one hell of a night for the McMahon-Helmsley family no matter what?

Over the course of the last month, we have seen The Samoan Bulldozer go from strength to strength as Umaga showed just how dominant he can be, standing toe to toe with The Undertaker. Having lost to the dead man at the back end of last year in the number one contendership tournament, it was clear that Umaga and his manager, Armando Alejandro Estrada had decided that The Undertaker was not going to get away with costing him a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. In what was the final match on Raw’s 15th Anniversary special with Shawn Michaels taking on The Undertaker for a shot at Batista’s World Title at Saturday Night’s Main Event, Umaga got himself involved and ended up costing the phenom a shot at the gold. We hadn’t heard from the dead man by the time Smackdown had come around, but The Samoan Savage heard something he didn’t want to from William Regal as the Smackdown GM announced that on the first show of 2008, we would see Umaga and The Undertaker go head to head in a Last Ride Match. It was difficult to anticipate how The Samoan Bulldozer would react, but we would soon find out as he attacked The Undertaker backstage before the match was scheduled to take place. After giving the dead man a taste of the wrecking ball against the tyres of the hearse, he was then taken for a ride in the hearse to a graveyard where he was left by Umaga and Estrada.

Now we had to wonder what response we would get from phenom, but again it was William Regal who was determined not to let Umaga run riot, making a First Blood Match between the duo for the week after. And what a match we got with both men beating the hell out of each other until both men were left bloodied. The only problem for The Undertaker was that after making Umaga bleed first, it was the referee who made the decisive call after being knocked out, he failed to see Umaga losing blood and declared him the winner. There was a fierce reaction from the dead man as he left Umaga lying in the middle of the ring following several vicious chair shots and a chokeslam. And last Friday night we saw The Undertaker take part in a Battle Royal where he ended up being victorious while Umaga picked up another controversial victory over Batista. As The Undertaker won the match, he was met with a surprise. Since the first show of 2008, we have seen several video’s seeming to indicate the return of “The Big Red Machine” Kane. Is this right? What impact will that have on the phenom going into the Royal Rumble, and can Umaga continue his streak and move on to a title shot at Wrestlemania?

In his advancing years, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair has made his intentions clear to head back to space mountain just one more time. Is it possible for the greatest of all time to reach the elusive 17th world title reign? Only time will tell on that one!

With Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, Chavo Guerrero and Kenny Dykstra already in action, will that help them and warm them up for the biggest match of the year and take them on their way to Wrestlemania and a shot at the big time?

Chris Jericho and Mr. Kennedy have been at each other’s throats since Y2J returned to the WWE last November. Kennedy hasn’t been able to get over the fact Jericho pulled out a win against him at Saturday Night’s Main Event, and after getting a second bite at the cherry to qualify for the Rumble match, will either of them be able to climb the mountain and get an all expenses paid trip to the main event of Wrestlemania 24?

Matt Hardy was able to pull out the biggest win of his career when he upset MVP at Saturday Night’s Main Event, escaping the Steel Cage Match as the new United States Champion. The Franchise Player has said frequently that he is more than happy to be moving on and believes the timing is perfect to move on to the next stage. Is he right? Can MVP win the Royal Rumble? Will Matt Hardy be able to pick up another huge victory this weekend?

With Chris Harris looking in great shape since his debut earlier this month, can he pull out a huge shock? Ron Killings is another new superstar to the company, can he do the unthinkable?

The fact is just one man can emerge victorious, make sure you tune in to find out who gets a no hassle pass to Wrestlemania 24!



FINAL CARD FOR THE ROYAL RUMBLE

WWE Championship
TLC Match
John Cena vs. Randy Orton (c)

World Heavyweight Championship
Batista vs. Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Edge

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Jeff Hardy (c) vs. CM Punk

Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero vs. Kenny Dykstra (c)

The Royal Rumble Match
RAW
Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Kofi Kingston, Carlito, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Cody Rhodes, Mr. Kennedy, Elijah Burke, Triple H, Shane McMahon, JBL, Chris Jericho, Santino Marella & Ron Killings

SMACKDOWN
Paul Burchill, Harry Smith, Finlay, The Undertaker, Umaga, Matt Hardy, Ric Flair, Chris Harris, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Masters, Chavo Guerrero, Kenny Dykstra


Predictions are welcome and appreciated!


 
#562 ·
Re: WWE.com - Royal Rumble (Preview)



FINAL CARD FOR THE ROYAL RUMBLE

WWE Championship
TLC Match
John Cena vs. Randy Orton (c)

World Heavyweight Championship
Batista vs. Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Edge

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Jeff Hardy (c) vs. CM Punk

Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero vs. Kenny Dykstra (c)

The Royal Rumble Match
RAW
Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Kofi Kingston, Carlito, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Cody Rhodes, Mr. Kennedy, Elijah Burke, Triple H, Shane McMahon, JBL, Chris Jericho, Santino Marella & Ron Killings

SMACKDOWN
Paul Burchill, Harry Smith, Finlay, The Undertaker, Umaga, Matt Hardy, Ric Flair, Chris Harris, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Masters, Chavo Guerrero, Kenny Dykstra

 
#564 ·
FINAL CARD FOR THE ROYAL RUMBLE

WWE Championship
TLC Match
John Cena vs. Randy Orton (c)

World Heavyweight Championship
Batista vs. Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Edge

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Jeff Hardy (c) vs. CM Punk

Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero vs. Kenny Dykstra (c)

The Royal Rumble Match
RAW
Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Kofi Kingston, Carlito, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Cody Rhodes, Mr. Kennedy, Elijah Burke, Triple H, Shane McMahon, JBL, Chris Jericho, Santino Marella & Ron Killings

SMACKDOWN
Paul Burchill, Harry Smith, Finlay, The Undertaker, Umaga, Matt Hardy, Ric Flair, Chris Harris, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Masters, Chavo Guerrero, Kenny Dykstra
 
#566 ·
FINAL CARD FOR THE ROYAL RUMBLE

WWE Championship
TLC Match

John Cena vs. Randy Orton (c)

Cena has only just returned to the company, so I can't see him winning the title straight away. Plus in Cena's first-ever TLC match, WWE kept pushing the fact that Edge had never lost one (not true, btw) and Cena had never competed in one. Yet Cena won. I see the same result for Orton.

World Heavyweight Championship
Batista vs. Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Edge

I choose Edge because I'd love to see him as World Heavyweight Champion again. He is Smackdown!'s top heel and I think you can book him as a better champion than HBK or Batista. Plus, I think it's better to have a heel champion heading into WrestleMania.

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Jeff Hardy (c) vs. CM Punk

Punk could do so much more as Intercontinental Champion than Jeff. You may have noticed by now, I have a tendency to prefer heel champions.:D Anyway, I think if you didn't make Punk the IC Champ, you'd be missing out on the climax of his heel turn, which may seem pointless if he doesn't wear gold soon.

Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero vs. Kenny Dykstra (c)

Kenny has been one of the best Cruiserweight Champions in a long time, and I don't see why that should change anytime soon. If there's anytime for him to lose the belt, it's WrestleMania.

The Royal Rumble Match
RAW
Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Kofi Kingston, Carlito, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Cody Rhodes, Mr. Kennedy, Elijah Burke, Triple H, Shane McMahon, JBL, Chris Jericho, Santino Marella & Ron Killings

SMACKDOWN
Paul Burchill, Harry Smith, Finlay, The Undertaker, Umaga, Matt Hardy, Ric Flair, Chris Harris, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Masters, Chavo Guerrero, Kenny Dykstra

The Triple H/McMahon storyline has undoubtedly been the biggest storyline in the WWE in this thread, so I think at least one man in that storyline should win the Rumble match. Triple H has already won it, and Shane isn't a full-time active wrestler. So, I think we could see Mr. McMahon intervene and help his new son JBL win the Rumble match, and head to WrestleMania with a shot at the WWE Title.
 
#573 ·
FINAL CARD FOR THE ROYAL RUMBLE

WWE Championship
TLC Match

John Cena vs. Randy Orton (c)

- This could be awesome, but i don't think there's a need for other gimmick matches in Royal Rumble, where the Rumble sells itself. But this is a genuine MOTYC
Winner: John Cena

World Heavyweight Championship
Batista vs. Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Edge

Michaels wins this one and sets up a feud with Taker in a swansong battle at Wrestlemania

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Jeff Hardy (c) vs. CM Punk

Hardy.. there's no need to take the belt from him


Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero vs. Kenny Dykstra (c)

Kenny retains


The Royal Rumble Match
RAW
Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Kofi Kingston, Carlito, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Cody Rhodes, Mr. Kennedy, Elijah Burke, Triple H, Shane McMahon, JBL, Chris Jericho, Santino Marella & Ron Killings

SMACKDOWN
Paul Burchill, Harry Smith, Finlay, The Undertaker, Umaga, Matt Hardy, Ric Flair, Chris Harris, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Masters, Chavo Guerrero, Kenny Dykstra



Undertaker wins and sets up a feud with his old foe HBK which culminates in a MOTY at Wrestlemania
 
#574 ·
FINAL CARD FOR THE ROYAL RUMBLE

Winners are in bold and ornage.

WWE Championship
TLC Match
John Cena vs. Randy Orton (c)

World Heavyweight Championship
Batista vs. Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Edge

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Jeff Hardy (c) vs. CM Punk


Cruiserweight Championship

Chavo Guerrero vs. Kenny Dykstra (c)

The Royal Rumble Match
RAW
Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Kofi Kingston, Carlito, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Cody Rhodes, Mr. Kennedy, Elijah Burke, Triple H, Shane McMahon, JBL, Chris Jericho, Santino Marella & Ron Killings

SMACKDOWN
Paul Burchill, Harry Smith, Finlay, The Undertaker, Umaga, Matt Hardy, Ric Flair, Chris Harris, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Masters, Chavo Guerrero, Kenny Dykstra​
 
#579 ·
Thanks for all the predictions and comments, it's great to see you adding comments and your opinons in the matches too, as it also gives me a little bit of feedback on what you want to see

An update for you on my progress is that everything is almost done, i've just got to finish off the end bit of the Rumble match with several eliminations, so it should be done by tomorrow night hopefully and posted on Monday/Tueday. If anyone else wants me to PM them when it is up and hasn't said so yet, please let me know

Cheers for the support,
Nige
 
#582 · (Edited)
WWE.com - HOMEPAGE (Royal Rumble Results)

Nige™ Presents. . .

THE 2008 WWE ROYAL RUMBLE

Sunday 27th January 2008
Madison Square Garden
New York City




***OPENING VIDEO***

CLIPS OF THE FOLLOWING PLAY TO THE VOICEOVER BELOW
• The history of the Royal Rumble match with all the previous endings being shown
• Location shots of Triple H, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, Ric Flair, JBL, Mr. Kennedy, MVP, Umaga & CM Punk in a deserted and dark warehouse all posing
• Jeff Hardy hitting a swanton bomb on CM Punk off the stage from Raw last Monday
• Kenny Dykstra and Chavo Guerrero being pulled away from each other by security from last Friday night
• Edge spearing Batista from Smackdown just gone and Shawn Michaels coming to the ring with the stare down that ended the show
• John Cena’s return and the announcement of their match being a TLC Match
• Cena FU’ing Randy Orton the announce table from last week’s Raw
• Shots of The Citrus Bowl with a Wrestlemania 24 sign


VOICEOVER
Tonight 30 superstars all share one dream. . .

The dream to follow in the footsteps of legends. . .

The dream of competing at the biggest stage of them all. . .

Triple H: Wrestlemania

The Undertaker: Wrestlemania

Chris Jericho: Wrestlemania

Ric Flair: Wrestlemania

JBL: Wrestlemania

Mr. Kennedy: Wrestlemania

MVP: Wrestlemania

CM Punk: Wrestlemania

But to get there, they have to. . .

Beat 29 other men. . .

Overcome all obstacles placed in front of them. . .

Forget about friendships. . .

Find the inner strength to do whatever it takes to become the last man standing. . .

All for one dream. . .

Triple H: Playing the game at the biggest stage. . .

The dream of competing at Wrestlemania. . .

Ric Flair: WOOOO!



***CUT TO THE ARENA***

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



"Stand Up For Rock 'N' Roll" plays by Airbourne


***CUT TO THE SMACKDOWN ANNOUNCE TABLE***


Michael Cole: Welcome everybody to the 2008 WWE Royal Rumble. . . Tonight we come to you live from the world’s most famous arena. . . Madison Square Garden in New York City. . . It really doesn’t get any bigger than this

The Coach: That’s right Michael, it certainly doesn’t. . . But tonight will be big for one man, the one man that walks down to that ring tonight and outlasts twenty nine others to get the prize of a lifetime. . . a guaranteed spot in the main event of Wrestlemania

Michael Cole: The Road to Wrestlemania does indeed start right here tonight folks, but it’s not all about the Royal Rumble match, as tonight you will see no fewer than four titles on the line including the World Heavyweight Championship when Shawn Michaels defends against both Batista and “The Rated R Superstar” Edge. . . But for now, lets hand you over to our colleagues from Raw, JR and The King



***CUT TO THE RAW ANNOUNCE TABLE***


JR: Thanks Michael. There is no underestimating just how big of an event this is tonight. But as Michael Cole just pointed out, it’s not all about the Royal Rumble match, as right here tonight, Randy Orton will be in for the fight of his life when he defends the WWE Championship in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match against John Cena. . .

“This Fire Burns” hits as a very focused CM Punk walks out to a ton of heat from the MSG crowd

JR: And we kick off tonight with this deeply disturbing individual CM Punk. . . For over two months, this man has sunk to depths I never even knew existed, making some incredibly disrespectful and personal comments about his opponent, Jeff Hardy

The King: JR, after what we witnessed last Monday night on Raw, it looks like CM Punk is in good enough shape to compete tonight

JR: If you missed it folks, here’s what happened Monday night



***VIDEO RECAP***
We see CM Punk high tailing it up the ramp after the six man tag match on Raw with Jeff Hardy’s Intercontinental Championship with Jeff then following behind him. It then shows the fight that saw Jeff toss Punk off the stage to a row of tables down below and then diving off the stage with a swanton bomb before getting medical attention with Sunny looking on worried with the title belt in her hands


***CUT BACK TO THE ARENA***

CM Punk looks angry as he stares down awaiting Jeff’s entrance

The King: I can’t believe he’s able to stand JR. . .

“Loaded” blasts out as a serious looking Jeff Hardy walks out into the arena alongside Sunny, setting his pyro off with Punk just glaring at him

JR: King, we’ve seen Jeff Hardy put his body on the line throughout his carer. However I believe that his match tonight with that man right there is the most personal of his career bar none. . . CM Punk has subjected Jeff to some of the most despicable actions I have ever seen during my time on Raw, and I just see Jeff not being able to control his own actions here tonight in Madison Square Garden

The King: Well it looks like Sunny is doing a good job of keeping him back for now


We see Sunny holding onto Jeff’s arm as he just looks ready to explode before walking up the steps and into the ring, then charges at Punk as Chad Patton calls for the bell to start the match



***OPENING MATCH***



WWE Intercontinental Championship
Jeff Hardy (c) w/Sunny vs. CM Punk


The action starts off quickly as both men charge at each other. Punk throws a right and then kicks Jeff in the mid section, grabs him by the arm and then whips him hard into the ropes. As Jeff comes back, The Rainbow Haired Warrior ducks underneath an outstretched arm of his challenger, stops himself and shifts behind Punk and sends him crashing down to the mat with a ONE ARM SLEEPER SLAM. . . . . The crowd and Sunny show their happiness at that one as both men make their way back up to their feet. Jeff is up first, looking in good shape and Punk tries to shake off the effects as Jeff then runs past him and into the corner, then jumps up to the top rope, then leaps right off, connecting with the WHISPER IN THE WIND. . . . . A big pop breaks out for that one as Jeff then shifts for position on the mat as he grabs Punk’s legs for a cover. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Punk got his shoulder up in time as Jeff pulls himself back to his knees with Punk then turning onto his chest and crawling towards the corner. Jeff makes his way back up to his feet slowly and takes a couple of steps back as Punk uses the ropes to himself back up to a vertical base in the corner. The moment he’s back up, Jeff runs at him and connects with a clothesline across the upper chest, sending Punk down to his ass, sitting up against the bottom corner pads. Jeff looks into the crowd for a quick second before grabbing the top rope and lifting himself up into the air before coming back down and driving his feet into the chest of Punk for the corner aided dropkick.


The impact forces Punk to slump down on to his side as Jeff now tries to follow up, grabbing Punk and dragging him away from the corner by his arm. Jeff then walks back over to the corner and climbs to the second rope. Getting a big pop from the crowd, he takes a couple of seconds before leaping off and going for a diving leg drop, but as he gets close to landing, Punk rolls to the side and away from Jeff, who lands on the canvas leg first. It takes both men a good ten seconds before they are able to stand back up, both look groggy as Jeff makes the first move, going for a stomp to the chest, but Punk is able to hold onto Jeff’s left boot, only for Jeff to jump up and swing for an ENZIGURI. . . . .


Punk though ducks his head and lets go of the left boot as Jeff drops to the mat. But Jeff isn’t staying down for long as he immediately picks himself back up, but into a hard kick to the chest from Punk, followed up with a martial arts kick to the side of Jeff’s head, knocking him down to the mat, towards the corner. Punk looks to get some momentum as he walks over to the corner, holds onto the top rope with Jeff laid out behind him before hitting a SPLIT LEG MOONSAULT. . . . . The nervousness of the crowd is obvious as Punk then looks to wrap it up right now, lifting Jeff’s legs up for a cover. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Punk stands back up straight away, not looking too surprised that Jeff got his shoulder up. The desire on Punk’s face is obvious as he walks towards the opposite corner, lying in wait for Jeff, who starts to squirm around on the mat. Punk then sees the opportunity as he charges across the mat and throws himself feet first at Jeff for the SHINING WIZARD. . . . . Jeff ducks underneath the boot, reaches forward and then leans forward, grabs Punk by the tights and rolls him back for a cover. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Punk powers out of that one, pushing Jeff off with his legs. Both men try to get on with it quickly as they rush back up to their feet, but as Jeff turns round to face Punk, he walks right into a big SUPER KICK. . . . . Punk seems to slump to the mat instead of dropping himself as he casually holds onto Jeff’s right leg as Chad Patton makes the count. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Punk sits back up in shock, staring at Patton as Sunny claps on the outside, looking very happy as Punk looks over disapprovingly. The Straight Edge Superstar makes his way back up, looking very intense as he urges Jeff back up. Jeff looks very groggy as he very slowly turns onto his knees, and as he tries to stand up, Punk walks over and doesn’t give him the chance to as he stomps Jeff in the gut, places Jeff’s head under his arm, hooks both the arms and then lifts him above his right shoulder before bringing him down painfully onto an outstretched knee for the DOUBLE UNDERHOOK BACK BREAKER. . . . . That one looked bad for Jeff, and with Punk already on his knees, he reaches forward and hooks both legs for another pin attempt. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Huge cheers come from the crowd, looking amazed that Jeff is still in this thing. Punk again looks shocked, and turns his head to Patton, then tells him to count quicker with the ref re-enforcing the fact it was a fair two count. Punk then gets on with business as he makes his way back up, and then walks over to the ropes. He climbs through them onto the apron and waits patiently as Jeff slowly but surely is able to pick himself back up. The moment Jeff is back on his feet and turns round, Punk springboards off the top rope, looking to hit the AIR PUNK. . . . . BUT NO! . . . . . Before Punk lands, Jeff stomps him in the gut, reaches forward and plants him out of nowhere with a SIT DOWN JAWBREAKER. . . . . The crowd are going wild as Jeff frantically turns Punk over onto his back and goes for the cover. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

3 – NO!



Jeff looks amazed, but is still groggy as he lets go of Punk’s leg and drops back onto his back, exhausted from the action. It only takes him a few seconds before he is able to make his way back up to his feet, with Punk only starting to come round. Jeff is still looking a little out of sorts as he sees Punk rolling over onto his knees and then makes his way over. He grabs Punk by the head and tries to help him up to his feet, but Punk pushes him away. Jeff then walks back as Punk stands back up and throws a loose right hand towards Jeff, who is able to duck it and then stomps him in the chest. He then reacts quickly as he grabs Punk’s head, pulls it under his arm and plants him with the TWIST OF FATE. . . . . The roof just came off MSG as Jeff now looks within touching distance, but he is unable to take full advantage straight away. With Sunny urging him on from the outside, after about five seconds, Jeff crawls across and places his arm across Punk’s chest with Patton counting the shoulders. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

THREE. . . . . NO!



The crowd are stunned, and so is Sunny who turns round to look at the crowd. Jeff sits back up and holds his head in his hands, he thought he had it won right there. He then snaps out of it, realising the time to finish it off is now as he quickly stands right back up and charges into the corner. And with Punk still on the mat, Jeff then climbs up to the top rope, but at the same time, Punk sits up. With Patton standing close by, Punk grabs him by the waist and pushes him into the ropes, causing Jeff to crash and burn as he falls from the top rope back down to the mat. Punk looks over and smirks at a clearly frustrated Sunny before picking himself right back up, where he then walks over to the ropes and again climbs through them to the apron. With Jeff pulling himself back up to a vertical base, Punk is already lying in wait, and this time doesn’t waste any time as he springboards off the top rope and takes Jeff down with the clothesline, connecting with the AIR PUNK. . . . . Boos ring out as Punk reaches over and hooks both legs with Patton counting. . . . .

1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Jeff gets his shoulder up, bringing a huge cheer from the sell out New York Crowd and an air punch from a delighted Sunny on the outside. Punk sits back up not looking too frustrated, but seems eager to get on with things as he stands back up and then drags Jeff up to his feet. He holds him by the arm and whips him into the corner. Punk takes a couple of seconds before he then charges and drives his knee right into the face of Jeff, and grabs him by the head. He holds onto the head as he then turns himself round and runs out of the corner with Jeff’s head under his arm and then drives him down to the mat with a bulldog. The impact itself turns Jeff over onto his back and Punk looks to capitalise as he again hooks both legs for a cover. . . . .

1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Punk looks slightly frustrated, but again gets on with business, as with his game face on, he stands back up and reaches down straight away to drag Jeff back up. Punk doesn’t waste a second as he immediately lifts Jeff onto his shoulders for the GO TO SLEEP. . . . . With the crowd booing Punk, Jeff turns them into cheers as he starts to wriggle on Punk’s shoulders. Punk tries to hold him up there, but Jeff is able to fight it and drives his elbow into the side of Punk’s head and is able to slip down the back of The Straight Edge Superstar. But as Jeff lands on the mat, back to back with Punk, he turns round into a stomp to the gut from Punk, who then grabs Jeff around the upper chest before planting him with the ROCK BOTTOM. . . . .


He holds on too as he locks in the ANACONDA VICE. . . . . The fans shout out in encouragement for Jeff with Sunny frantically slapping her hands against the apron. Punk really applies the pressure hard on Jeff who is trying so hard to fight it, holding his left arm up in front of him. Jeff tries to pull himself towards the ropes, but Punk holds on firmly as Jeff isn’t able to move that far. Jeff seems to tire as Punk takes the pressure down a little, but then we see one last push from Jeff as he gives it everything he has, dragging himself gradually against the mat.


Punk looks stunned and does everything he can to hold on, but Jeff uses every last ounce of energy he has left as he is able to move closer and closer to the ropes, and finally gets there as he reaches his left arm to grab the bottom rope. The crowd erupts with huge cheers as Punk looks mad as hell, keeping the hold locked in until the count of four from Patton, who forces Punk to break the hold. Punk stands back up and gets right in Patton’s face, yelling at him out of sheer frustration. With Jeff trying to sit up using the ropes, Punk turns his attention back to his opponent as he walks over to Jeff, grabs his legs and pulls him away from the ropes. Before Punk can do anything else, Jeff sits up and rolls Punk into an inside cradle. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Punk kicks out and both men are quickly back up on their feet and it’s Jeff who reacts first, pummelling Punk with hard right hands and forcing Punk onto his back foot. Jeff then steps forward, grabs Punk by the arm and whips him hard into the corner. He then charges in and hits him with a clothesline, then stands to the side as Punk staggers out of the corner. Jeff then follows behind him, grabs him around the neck and then drives him back, setting him up for a side russian leg sweep but instead rolls him into a double leg roll up, THE CAPACITOR CLUTCH. . . . . More cheers ring out from the crowd as Chad Patton races down to the mat to count the fall. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO. . . . . SO CLOSE!



Punk manages to get his shoulder up, and as Jeff lets the grip go, both men race back up to their feet with Punk turning round to face Jeff and receive a stomp to the gut. Jeff steps forward and grabs Punk’s head, then pulls it under his arm, setting him up for the TWIST OF FATE. . . . . The crowd cheer like crazy, but Punk escapes the hold quickly and slips behind Jeff. He grabs Jeff’s jeans and rolls him up, holding onto the top of the jeans with Patton unable to see as he counts Jeff’s shoulders. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Jeff gets the shoulder up, but just! Both men are back up quickly again, and Punk runs back into the ropes, but as he runs back, Jeff feeds his left leg into Punk before absolutely nailing him on the side of the head with a LEG FEED ENZIGURI. . . . . Punk falls flat down to the mat, hitting face first as Jeff scurries across the mat. He turns Punk over onto his back and hooks both legs with Patton hurrying down to make the count. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO. . . . . UNBELIEVABLE!



Jeff sits up in absolute shock as Sunny stares in utter disbelief that Punk kicked out of that one. Jeff looks into the crowd, still with a look of shock on his face. With Punk not showing any signs of coming round, Jeff hops up to his feet, rushes to the corner and then climbs up to the top rope. With the crowd cheering, he then leaps off the top for the SWANTON BOMB. . . . . But no, Punk gets the knees up. Jeff holds his chest as he lands and rolls over on the mat. Both men remain on the mat for just over ten seconds before they slowly drag themselves up, with Punk using the ropes the opposite side to Sunny to help himself up. Jeff walks over to him, but is caught short by a chop across the chest from Punk who then grabs Jeff’s arm and goes for an irish whip, but turns it into a hammerlock clothesline.


Punk reaches down straight away and drags Jeff back up onto his shoulders for the GO TO SLEEP. . . . . With Chad Patton right next to them, Jeff’s foot accidentally hits the referee on the side of the head, sending Patton down to the mat. Punk lets go of Jeff as he then sees Patton laid out. He looks pissed, and then the camera follows Sunny as she runs round on the outside to the timekeepers table, where she picks up the Intercontinental Championship belt. She sees Jeff getting to his knees and slides it in the ring, but it slides too far and goes past him. It lands just centre meters away from Punk’s feet, who looks down in shock to see the belt there. Punk then sees Jeff getting back up, so he bends down and picks the belt up, then lies and wait for Jeff to turn round.


But Sunny panics and slides into the ring, running towards Punk and past Jeff. She grabs the title belt off of Punk as Jeff gets back up behind her. She yells at Punk for a couple of seconds before he nods at her, as she then turns round and smashes Jeff in the face with the belt. The crowd crap all over that as Sunny tosses the belt towards the apron and then goes over to Chad Patton and shakes him to life. He comes round slowly and then crawls across the mat as Punk drops down with a wide grin on his face and covers Jeff. Patton crawls a little closer as Sunny climbs through the ropes to the apron, with Patton then slowly bringing his arm down for a cover. . . . .


1 . . . . . . . . . .

2 . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . 3.

. . . . DING DING DING!



WINNER: By pinfall, and new Intercontinental Champion, CM Punk


JR: I don’t believe it King. Why would Sunny screw Jeff Hardy out of the Intercontinental Championship? . . . I just don’t understand

The King: I don’t think anyone does right now JR, with the exception of CM Punk and Sunny, but I sure would love to find out



AFTERMATH:
“This Fire Burns” blasts out and Sunny walks up the steps and into the ring with a sly smile on her face as she then picks the belt back up as the new Intercontinental Champion rises to his feet. Sunny walks over to Punk and they make out for a few seconds before she then passes the belt to him. He lifts it up in the air with both arms, standing right next to Jeff’s body with Sunny clapping passionately. He walks over to the ropes and then lifts it aloft with one arm and taunts the crowd before walking over to the corner and climbing to the second rope to do the exact same thing, celebrating his victory. He then jumps down off the rope and walks back over to Sunny as they hug and then leave the ring by the ring steps as the crowd crap all over them both. As they walk back towards the aisle, Jeff starts to sit up and turns his head to see both Punk and Sunny as they turn round and laugh right back at him, leaving Jeff looking furious


***CUT BACKSTAGE***


Edge and Michael Shane are walking through the hallway to a lot of heat coming from inside the arena. They stop at a locker room door and then walk inside. The camera follows them in as we then see Randy Orton stand up from the bench he was sitting on, in his casual clothes, holding onto the WWE Championship

***HEAT***

Edge:
Randy, long time no see man. You ready for your match tonight?

Randy Orton: Edge, you know that I was born ready for a night like this. It’s the big match occasion that I revel in, the occasion that I have excelled at for the entirety of my reign as WWE Champion, and tonight it’s the biggest challenge I’ve had to date. . . It’s the challenge I’ve looked forward to since the very night I put John Cena on the shelf, and I am going to do what I said I always could. . . I’m going to beat John Cena

***HEAT with some cheers***

Edge:
Randy, we all know that you have what it takes to beat Cena tonight, we all know that. But you gotta be careful. I’ve been in the only TLC match John Cena has ever competed in, and you need to watch out Randy in case the same disaster happens again tonight. . . You gotta keep your eyes peeled at all times, because Cena cheated that night to take my title in my home town. It’s a night that will haunt me for the rest of my days, and I wanted to come here and make sure that the very same doesn’t happen to you tonight. . . You have my full support, and when it comes to Wrestlemania, it will be the way it should be, Rated RKO going in as the two defending World Champions

***HEAT***

Edge shakes hands with Orton and then looks back at Shane

Edge: Randy, let me introduce you to Michael Shane. He’s Shawn Michaels’ cousin

Michael Shane: Hey. . . I know we’ve not met before, but I just had to come by and say I thought it was great when you destroyed my cousin at the Survivor Series last year, as well as wish you luck for tonight against Cena

Randy Orton: Thanks guys. I appreciate you stopping by and giving me advice, but I’m more than ready to not just beat Cena tonight, but finish his career once and for all. . . No one, not even New York City wants John Cena to win the WWE Championship tonight, least all of me. I’ve got destiny on my side, and I am going to main event Wrestlemania against whoever wins the Royal Rumble tonight. It can be a Raw or Smackdown star, it doesn’t matter who wins because they don’t have a chance. . . This is the Orton era, and for John Cena tonight, he has the misfortune of finding out first hand why no one is capable of beating The Legend Killer

***HEAT***

Edge: You know I’m behind you tonight man. . . good luck

Randy Orton: Thanks

Edge and Shane then walk out of the room with the camera facing them. They stop once outside and the door has shut

Michael Shane: What was wrong with him?

Edge: Don’t worry about that, it’s just New York Mikey. It turns everyone crazy

***MAJOR HEAT***

Edge:
Anyway, look. I know Regal has banned you from ringside for my match tonight, but I promise you that I will make your idiot of a cousin pay for all he did to you. . . And just like Friday night, Batista is going to get speared too. Only this time it will be me who makes the cover and walks out with my World Heavyweight Championship back around my waist

Edge smiles as the camera zooms in on his grin with a ton of heat coming from the arena


***CUT ACROSS THE BACK***


Batista & “The Nature Boy” Flair are walking through the parking lot with their travel bags, getting a huge pop from inside the arena. As they get to the entrance to the building, Flair stops, causing Batista to halt to as The Nature Boy turns to him

Ric Flair:
Are you ready Dave? . . . This is the night. . . thee night when The Nature Boy wins the Royal Rumble for one last trip of a lifetime to Wrestlemania baby. . . WOOOOO

***BIG POP***

Ric Flair:
But you know what Dave, it gets better than that big man, because tonight is also the night when you, big Dave Batista get your hands back on the World Heavyweight title

***MIXED REACTION***

Ric Flair:
And you know the best thing about it Dave. . . the chances are it will be the two of us styling and profiling all the way into the main event of Wrestlemania. . . WOOOOOO

***BIG POP***

Batista:
Ric, it would the greatest honour of my career to face you on the biggest stage imaginable. But before I can even begin to think about that, I have to get a job done tonight. . . A job that involves me beating the crap out of Edge, and wiping that smug look off of Shawn Michaels’ face. . . Then and only then will I begin to think about Wrestlemania

Ric Flair: Dave, forget about all the hate. Go out there and kick ass tonight the way only The Animal can. You’re bigger than Edge and Michaels put together and you’re stronger than them both put together. . . You keep your head tonight big man and you’ll leave here the World Champion, and you’ll be leaving with the winner of the Royal Rumble, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair for the biggest party New York City has ever seen. . . WOOOOO

***BIG POP***

Flair and Batista have a little guy hug before Batista opens the door for Flair, then follows him inside



***CUT TO THE ARENA***


Michael Cole: How amazing would that be Coach? . . . Batista and The Nature Boy himself in the main event of Wrestlemania!

The Coach: It sure would Michael, but I think a lot of other guys in the back would have something to say about that. . .


“Chavo Ardiente” blasts its way out through the speakers of Madison Square Garden as Chavo Guerrero, looks pretty relaxed as he makes his way down to the ring, getting a good reaction from the New York faithful

Michael Cole: Maybe, just maybe Coach, Chavo Guerrero might be one of those superstars who has something to say about that. . . Not only will he be competing in the Royal Rumble match later on tonight, right now he has the chance to become the Cruiserweight Champion

The Coach: Michael, with all respect, I don’t think even Chavo believes he has a shot of winning the Royal Rumble. . . Hell, he doesn’t even stand a chance against Kenny Dykstra right here right now

Michael Cole: Oh I disagree Coach, Chavo has been on fire since he returned to Smackdown at the start of the year after suffering that horrific concussion at the hands of the Cruiserweight Champion over six weeks ago. And over the last couple of weeks Coach, you have to admit that even the usually confident Kenny Dykstra has looked rattled


“Superstar Fallin” hits as a serious looking Kenny Dykstra makes his way in to the arena getting a lot of heat

The Coach: Do you really think that man looks rattled Michael? . . . Take a look Michael, that is the definition of confidence. . . There’s not a chance in hell for Chavo tonight. . . Not in the Royal Rumble and not in this match

Michael Cole: Coach, I have to admit. . . Well I can hardly deny the unbelievable talent that Kenny Dykstra possesses. . . I just have a feeling that Dykstra’s ego might just have given Chavo that extra incentive having been pushed too far by the current Cruiserweight Champion



***MATCH #2***



Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero vs. Kenny Dykstra (c)


Chavo makes his way over to Kenny and throws a right hand at him, then follows up with a series of European uppercuts. He grabs Kenny by the arm and goes for an irish whips, but it’s reversed by Dykstra as Chavo comes back off the ropes, he turns himself round and drives his elbow into the face of Kenny. With the champion knocked off balance, Chavo then jumps into the air and takes Kenny down with a SPINNING HEAD TAKEDOWN. . . . .


The crowd cheer straight away as Chavo remains on fire. Kenny isn’t on the mat for long as he makes his way back up to his feet. Chavo though is already ready and waiting as he pounces on Dykstra, shimmies into position and plants him with an OVERHEAD GUT WRENCH BACK BREAKER. . . . . Again the crowd cheer him, and this time Chavo looks to go for a cover as he turns over on the mat, crawls over and hooks Dykstra’s leg as Charles Robinson makes the count. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Chavo doesn’t look too disappointed as he looks to get on with things. Getting back up, he reaches down and pulls Dykstra up to his feet, then shifts behind him as he grabs the cocky champion around the waist. He clubs him across the back twice and then tosses him back for a GERMAN SUPLEX. . . . . As Kenny hits the mat, Chavo keeps hold of the grip as he picks himself back up, along with Dykstra before planting him with another german. Again he keeps hold of the champion as he picks himself back up and tosses him overhead for the third time. With the crowd really getting behind him, Chavo looks towards the corner and then makes his way over.


As Guerrero climbs to the top rope, Dykstra starts to stir on the mat. Seeing this, Chavo leaps off straight away, but sees Kenny stand up and instead rolls through, past Dykstra. Chavo races back up to his feet and turns round into a stomp to the gut from Kenny, who then smashes Chavo with a right hand to the face. For the first time in the match, Dykstra looks to take serious momentum as he grabs hold of Chavo’s arm and whips him into the ropes. As Chavo comes back though, he ducks underneath the outstretched arm and runs through, but then runs back at Dykstra.


Both men collide though and they fall to the mat with a double clothesline. The crowd chant Chavo’s name as both men eventually make their way back up to a vertical base. It’s Kenny who is up first, and as Chavo walks towards him, Kenny strikes straight away with a stomp to the gut, and then pulls Chavo into place for a belly to back suplex. As he lifts Chavo in the air, he stops and then plants him with a DELAYED ELEVATED NECKBREAKER. . . . . The impact looked hard for Chavo, but Dykstra is all serious as he tries to wrap the match up as he hooks both legs with Robinson counting. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Chavo gets the shoulder up, much to Dykstra’s frustration. He sits up in total amazement and stares over at Robinson, signalling it should have been a three count as Chavo lifts his head up for a second. Dykstra continues to protest with the ref, but gives it up as he sees Chavo sitting up. After standing back up to his feet, Kenny reaches down and drags Chavo right back up too. He goes for a right hand, but it’s blocked by Chavo, who then whips Dykstra into the ropes, and as Kenny comes back, Chavo tosses him overhead with a back body drop. Kenny looks a little sore, but is back up quickly as he walks over to Chavo and into two hard right hands.


Chavo follows it up with a stomp to the gut and then pulls Dykstra’s head under his arm. He then lifts him up into the air for a suplex and falls back to the mat. But instead of letting go, Chavo keeps hold of Dykstra’s tights and twists his hips to a huge pop from the crowd. Once back on his feet, the challenger then sends Dykstra back down to the mat for a second suplex before a second twist of the hips and then completing the third suplex for the THREE AMIGO’S. . . . . The crowd go nuts for Chavo, but they quickly quieten down as they watch on with Chavo turning over on the mat and going for a cover. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



A lot of heat meets Dykstra as he gets his shoulder up to stop the count. Chavo doesn’t look surprised and quickly gets on with things as he picks himself back up, reaches down to pull Dykstra up too, and then whips him into the corner. Chavo takes a couple of seconds before charging in and splashing Kenny. As the champion then staggers out of the corner, Chavo turns round and runs into the ropes, runs back and hits Kenny with a back elbow smash, knocking him right back down to the mat.


Chavo then steps away from the corner and urges Kenny to get back up to his feet, which he does, but slowly. As Kenny is just able to stand up, Chavo walks straight back in and kicks him in the gut before grabbing Dykstra’s head and placing it under his arm. He then runs into the corner and up the ropes before planting him with a TORNADO DDT. . . . . The crowd are on their feet, they think this one is over. Chavo scurries back over to Kenny and hooks the closest leg as Robinson counts the fall. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Dykstra gets his foot on the rope. Chavo thinks he has it as Robinson stops the count. He then turns round and sees Dykstra’s foot on the rope, then shakes his head in frustration for a split second before pulling him away from the ropes and going for another cover. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Dykstra kicks out this time to leave Chavo frustrated yet again. Chavo holds his head in his hands, clearly frustrated. When he removes his hands, he sees Kenny starting to come round, but Guerrero takes his time as he picks himself back up. He waits coolly for Dykstra as he slowly gets back up to his knees, looking very dazed. Chavo then walks over to him, but Kenny pushes him away.


Chavo then walks back, but Kenny stands up fully and stomps Chavo in the stomach and takes Chavo down with a WHIPLASH. . . . . Kenny looks down at Chavo with a real focused expression as he then walks over to the corner, and looks disapprovingly into the crowd before he climbs to the top rope. Dykstra stares down at Chavo for a second before leaping off and connecting with a DIVING ELBOW DROP. . . . . Kenny’s face still remains serious as he turns over and goes for a cover. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Shoulder up from Chavo, getting a pop from the crowd. Dykstra sits up looking frustrated yet again as he glares over at Charles Robinson, who just signals it was a two count. Dykstra then responds as Chavo starts to move by standing back up and stalking his challenger. With the crowd trying to warn Chavo, it looks like it’s too late as he turns round. Kenny grabs him by the head and sets him up for the ROLLING CUTTER. . . . . Just when it looks like Kenny is going to follow it through, Chavo is able to react and pushes Kenny away and into the ropes. As Kenny comes back, Chavo kicks him in the gut, grabs him by the head and pulls it under his arm before planting him with the BRAIN BUSTER. . . . .


A huge pop meets that one as Chavo then gets back up to his feet and walks over to the corner. He climbs to the top rope and points to the sky, drawing an even bigger pop from the fans before he then leaps off for the FROG SPLASH. . . . . Chavo’s coming down on Kenny, but no! Dykstra rolls to the side and Chavo connects with the mat, chest first. The sighs of disappointment can be heard throughout Madison Square Garden as both men remain almost motionless on the mat. It takes both men a good twenty seconds before they are able to get back up, and Chavo strikes first as he kicks Kenny in the gut. But the champion is able to hold onto the boot, before then letting go and spinning Chavo round 360 into an inside cradle. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Chavo pushes his weight up to escape that one at two. Instantly, both men race back up to their feet and as Kenny throws a right hand, Chavo ducks it and again reacts so quickly as he grabs Dykstra and tosses him back, holding on for a cover with a NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Dykstra is just able to get his shoulder up as Chavo looks a little downbeat. He takes a few seconds before he picks himself back, and as Dykstra stands back up, Chavo then runs to the side and into the ropes, but as he comes back, Kenny jumps into the air and connects with a perfectly executed dropkick. Chavo just dropped flat to the mat from that one. It takes Kenny a couple of seconds before he is able to get back up, and when he does, he walks into the corner and climbs to the top rope again.


With Chavo barely showing signs of movement, Kenny then leaps off and looks to hit the GUILLOTINE LEG DROP. . . . . As he comes towards landing, it’s Chavo this time who is able to dodge the bullet at the last second, rolling to the side. The crowd show Chavo support, chanting his name and clapping as both men slowly start to come round with Chavo crawling towards the corner. He uses the ropes to help himself up and then turns to see Kenny just starting to get back to a vertical base.


Chavo decides to climb the ropes, but as he gets to the top, Dykstra looks up at the right time and runs into the ropes, causing Chavo to crash right back down to the mat. Dykstra doesn’t look to waste a second as he walks over to Chavo and drags him back up to his feet, slips behind him, grabs him around the waist and then tosses him back, holding on with a BRIDGING BACK SUPLEX. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Kenny flips out as he sits up and then gets to his feet to yell at Robinson, who tells him it was a clear two count. Chavo starts to come round and slowly makes his way back up to his feet in front of Dykstra who sees him over the referee’s shoulder. As Chavo walks towards Dykstra, Kenny grabs Robinson, who has his back to Chavo by the shoulders and pushes him to the side. And with Robinson not able to see behind him, Dykstra takes a wild swing of the boot and kicks Chavo in the groin.


Chavo looks like he’s about to drop to his knees until Dykstra strikes quickly, pulling Chavo upright by the head and then planting him with the ROLLING CUTTER. . . . . Dykstra grins sadistically as Robinson looks on a little confused. Kenny decides to go to the corner and climbs up to the top rope, still smiling as he then leaps off the top and connects with the GUILLOTINE LEG DROP. . . . . He’s still smiling as he lands on the mat and hooks Chavo’s leg for the cover


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

3 . . . . IT’S ALL OVER!



WINNER: By pinfall, and still Cruiserweight Champion, Kenny Dykstra


The Coach: I hate to say I told you so Michael, but. . .

Michael Cole: . . . Alright, alright. Kenny won here tonight, but you have to admit it was in somewhat controversial fashion Coach

The Coach: Come on Michael, get off your high horse. Just admit that the better man won, and that he is leaving here tonight with the Cruiserweight Championship and maybe even a possible main event spot at Wrestlemania

Michael Cole: Well we’ll have to wait and see Coach, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up if I were you



AFTERMATH: “Superstar Fallin” plays again as Dykstra rolls to the outside and raises his arms in the air with sheer relief. Charles Robinson follows him shortly after and raises his arm, passing him the championship belt too. Dykstra grabs the belt and lifts it up in the air as he stands in the aisle facing the ring as Chavo starts to sit up in the ring. Dykstra then backs up the aisle with a wide smile on his face as Chavo turns his head and looks towards him disappointedly


***CUT BACKSTAGE***


Josh Matthews is standing by

Josh Matthews:
Please welcome my guest at this time. . . he is the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. . . “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels

Shawn walks into the shot with his ring gear on and the world title over his shoulder to a huge ovation from the crowd in the arena

Josh Matthews:
Shawn, in just a matter of moments you will be defending your World Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat match against Batista and Edge. . . Your thoughts

Shawn Michaels: Josh, I’m not gonna stand here and lie in front of the world like I could. . . I could stand here quite easily and tell the entire world that I’m walking in tonight as the World Champion, and that I’m walking out with the gold too. . . But Josh, it’s not as straight forward as that. . . I know I’ve got a fight on my hands tonight. I know that Edge is gonna try and pull out every last trick in the book. I know Batista is bigger and stronger than I am. . . But you know one thing Josh?

Josh Matthews: What’s that?

Shawn Michaels: I might be up against an animal and one of the dirtiest players in the game, but I can look up to the lord right now and truthfully say that I have the biggest heart. . . I’ve battled back from a career ending injury to get my hands on the richest prize in the industry that says I am the best. And I’m sure as hell not going to give it up without a fight

***POP***

Josh Matthews:
Shawn, what are your thoughts on William Regal banning your cousin Michael Shane from ringside tonight?

Shawn Michaels: Josh, that can only be a good thing for sure, but I’ve got enough to worry about tonight with my beloved cousin trying to screw me out of my title again. . . And you know Josh, not even Batista can screw things up for me tonight like he did a couple of weeks ago. . . But big man, I know you have your doubts about me, but you need to know I do respect you. . . However Dave, tonight is just like Saturday Night’s Main Event. . . it’s all business, and you’ve gotta know, the show stopper is coming to tear the house down. . .

Shawn’s eyes wander as the camera zooms out to reveal Josh’s shock too with John Cena standing in front of them

***MIXED REACTION***

John Cena:
Shawn, you’re not the only one who’s gonna be storming out there and tearing the house down tonight. . . What you’re gonna see right here tonight is John Cena putting on the kind of performance only I can and blow the roof off of this joint. . . the most famous arena on the face of this planet, Madison Square Garden

***POP***

John Cena:
Shawn, I know you’ve got your hands full with Batista and Edge tonight, but everyone here in N Y C believes in H B K, cos along with John Cena, we will be walking all the way to Wrestlemania. You with the world title and me with the WWE title

***POP***

John Cena:
Tonight the show stopper, the main event, the icon wins his match, and Randy Orton, The Legend Killer gets what’s coming to him. . . the ass kicking of a lifetime

***POP with some boos***

John Cena:
I’ve waited long enough to get my hands on him, but when I’m through climbing that ladder, I’ll be walking out of The Big Apple, the new WWE Champion

***POP with boos again***

Cena has a real serious look on his face as he and Shawn look at each other before the shot fades out


***CUT ACROSS THE BACK***



William Regal is standing in his office along with Michelle McCool and Maria as they stand by the all important tumbler of balls, when Mr. Kennedy walks in

***HEAT***

Mr. Kennedy:
Willy, Willy, Willy. . . did I ever say how much of a shame it was to see you leave Raw all that time ago?

Kennedy laughs a little, looking so arrogant

William Regal: Yes, well Kennedy, I must say it is such a pleasure to work without ignorant people such as yourself. . . So if you don’t mind moving on with the formalities, we are rather busy tonight

Mr. Kennedy: It will be my pleasure Willy

Kennedy walks over to the tumbler as Maria and McCool spin it round and then stop for Kennedy to pick his number out

Mr. Kennedy: This better be the one ladies

Kennedy opens it up and smiles widely

Mr. Kennedy: Pack your bags people for what will be the biggest Wrestlemania of all time, because the man who will main event is standing right in front of your very eyes. . . the one, the only, MISTERRRR. KENNEDYY. . .

***HEAT***

With the camera zoomed in on Kennedy with his eyes shut, he opens them and looks shocked. The camera zooms out and we see Chris Jericho right in front of him

***BIG POP***

Chris Jericho:
Are you done screaming down my ear motor mouth? Because a former Wrestlemania main event and undisputed champion wants to pick out his key to the stage that I belong, and certainly where an ass clown like you, the last victim of the sexy beast doesn’t

***POP***

Mr. Kennedy:
What the hell makes you think you’re goin to Wrestlemania? . . . You’ve had your time, and just like your pathetic old manly hair extensions, it’s gone too. It’s my time to step up to the big time, you’ve got no hope Jericho. . . no hope

Chris Jericho: Huh. . . Maybe you wanna ask the thousands of Jericholic’s out there if they agree with ya

***POP***

Chris Jericho:
They’ve seen Y2J in big matches before. They’ve seen me with gold and main event Wrestlemania. . . What’ve they seen you do Kennedy Kennedy? . . . Take some snow, urinate on it and super glue it to your head

***POP***

Kennedy doesn’t seem to mind and grins

Mr. Kennedy: You know Chris, I’m glad you’re so confident, but I’ve got a little newsflash for ya. . . Main eventing Wrestlemania once and losing means squat. . . Tonight marks the start of greatness for one superstar in this arena tonight. . . but it’s not you. . . it’s me. . . Remember that when your land on your ass outside the ring, and the name of who put you there. . . MISTERRRR. KENNEDYYY. . . KENNEDYY!

***HEAT***

Kennedy looks right into Jericho’s eyes with both men looking as intense as hell. Kennedy then shrugs past Jericho after a couple of seconds. Jericho grins and then goes to collect his number, opens it up and smiles

Chris Jericho: Ladies, it looks like Wrestlemania’s gonna have a new name. . . Wrestlemania IS JERICHOOOOO!

Jericho then leaves the room to a big pop


***VIDEO PROMO***
Clips of the following play with the PPV theme playing

• Shawn Michaels hitting Edge with the super kick on the last Smackdown before Saturday Night’s Main Event
• Edge at Saturday Night’s Main Event backstage, telling Josh Matthews he is going to make Michaels pay for Friday night
• Highlights of the World Championship match from Saturday Night’s Main Event with Batista defending against Shawn Michaels, ending with Edge accidentally taking Batista down with a spear instead of Michaels, giving Michaels the win
• Batista on Smackdown after Saturday Night’s Main Event and demanding his rematch, but not getting an answer from William Regal
• Shawn Michaels’ Victory Celebration with Edge spearing him after coming through the crowd
• Edge getting himself disqualified the week later in a tag team match against Batista and Michaels, then spearing Batista and looking down at Michaels on the outside
• Edge and Michaels arguing in Canada, leading to Regal announcing they would meet for the World Championship that night
• The ending of that match with Batista coming to Michaels’ rescue, taking out Michael Shane and Edge, leading to a DQ and then Regal coming out and making the triple threat match for the Rumble
• From Smackdown Friday night, Michaels telling Batista he doesn’t need his help and then Regal coming out at the right time, then announcing that all three men will be competing in Pick Your Poison matches that night
• Michaels beating Shane, then telling Batista he will face Umaga and insisting it’s not personal, just business
• Edge beating Ric Flair and then spearing Batista out of nowhere during The Animal’s match with Umaga, costing him the win
• Michaels racing down to the ring and scaring off Edge, leading to all three men staring at each other at the end of the show


***CUT TO THE ARENA***


“Metalingus” blasts out as a very intense looking Edge walks down to the ring getting a ton of heat from the sell out MSG crowd

The Coach: Here he comes Michael, the next World Heavyweight Champion. . . mark my words

Michael Cole: Well if you say so Coach. . . I have to admit I don’t often stick up for Edge, but in recent weeks, he has looked at the top of his game since returning from the torn pectoral muscle injury he suffered last year, which cost him to forfeit the very title he challenges for once again here tonight

The Coach: Michael, you’re exactly right. He and John Cena both suffered the same injury, and they both had to forfeit their respective titles. . . Do you not find it a bit too much of a co-incidence that they both get a return match on the same night? . . . In my opinion Michael, we’re looking at the first of two new World Champions right here tonight


“I Walk Alone” tests the strength of the speakers as a focused looking Batista makes his way to the ring as he gets a mainly positive response from the fans, with a small number of boos being heard

Michael Cole: Well just hold back a second Coach, because The Animal is coming to play tonight too. . . It’s barely a month ago since he lost the World Championship at Saturday Night’s Main Event. . . And who was that down to Coach? . . . Edge

The Coach: You don’t need to put words in my mouth Michael, I do remember what happened. The simple fact is that ever since, Edge has owned Batista and Shawn Michaels

Michael Cole: It’s a different ball game tonight however Coach, because Batista has something that neither Edge or the World Champion has, and that’s pure strength. . . That is what I think separates Batista from them both tonight, and why I see him leaving MSG tonight as the new World Heavyweight Champion. . .


“Sexy Boy” hits as Shawn Michaels and his game face walk slowly down to the ring to a huge ovation

Michael Cole: . . . But here comes The Heartbreak Kid

The Coach: Michael, how do you think Shawn Michaels is going to feel tonight after he loses the World title? . . . I mean he’s only been the champion for a month, it’s bound to have some kind of impact on him

Michael Cole: Coach, you really are an idiot some times. . . Yes, Shawn has his back against the wall tonight, but if anyone can overcome the odds it’s “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels. . . Out of all three superstars, Shawn has the big match experience and the all important know how to get the job done. But I can’t deny it’s going to be a tough task here tonight against two tough challengers like Edge and Batista



***MATCH #3***



World Heavyweight Championship
Batista vs. Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Edge


Edge and Batista stare right at each other with The Animal then charging right at Edge, but The Rated R Superstar ducks his head and holds the bottom rope down as Batista goes over the top to the outside. Edge then turns round and sees Michaels right in his face as they exchange right hands. Michaels looks to be getting on top, connecting with three in a row, but Edge reacts with a hard stomp to the chest.


He then slips behind Michaels, clubs him across the back before grabbing him around the neck and hitting him with a side russian leg sweep. Edge thinks about going for a cover but sees Batista slide back in the ring, under the bottom rope. As both men stand up, Batista charges at Edge, but the Canadian Hero is able to duck underneath Batista’s arm. He pulls Batista’s head under his arm and brings him down to the mat with a REVERSE DDT. . . . . Spotting the opportunity, Edge reaches further across to hooks Batista’s legs for a cover. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Batista gets his shoulder up, but Edge doesn’t seem fazed as he picks himself straight back up, this time turning his attention to Michaels. He walks over to HBK, who is already on his knees until Edge drags him right back up, grabs his arm and whips him into the ropes. As Michaels comes back off the ropes, Edge lifts his boot up and drives it right into the face of the World Champion. Edge drops down to the mat again, hooking Michaels’ leg as Micky Henson counts the pin attempt. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Edge again doesn’t look to waste a single second as he hops up to his feet straight away and then drags Michaels up too, then throws a right hand at him. Michaels though is able to block it and then hits Edge with a hard backhand chop to the chest, and then follows up with another, and then another, sending Edge back against the ropes. HBK then takes a step back before stepping forward again to clothesline Edge over the top to the outside. Edge doesn’t land too hard on the floor below, and it only takes him a few seconds before he picks himself back up. Michaels though is more than ready as he holds onto the top rope and then leaps over the top to the outside, hitting Edge with a SLING SHOT CROSS BODY. . . . .


The crowd cheer that spot as both men hit the deck, but with Michaels landing on top of Edge. As he picks himself back up after a couple of seconds, he sees Batista on the inside getting back up too. The show stopper then slides back inside and makes his way over to The Animal. Batista strikes first, hitting HBK with a right hand, but Michaels fights back with a couple of rights of his own before hitting him with a couple of hard jabs to the jaw. With Batista slightly knocked off balanced, HBK looks to take the advantage, grabbing him by the arm and whipping him into the ropes. The Animal though is too strong and reverses it, but as Michaels comes back off the ropes, he dives at his challenger with a cross body and holds on for a cover attempt. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Batista powers out, pushing Michaels off, but Michaels doesn’t land hard and is back up almost instantly. He charges over to the corner as Batista makes his way back up to his feet. HBK climbs up to the top rope with his back to the ring with Batista following in behind him as Michaels then comes off the top for an ASAI MOONSAULT. . . . . Batista though is able to catch Michaels on his shoulder. The worry can be seen on Michaels’ face as Batista turns round and runs out of the corner, planting Michaels with a hard RUNNING POWERSLAM. . . . . Michaels back hits the mat hard as Batista then reaches over to hook Michaels’ closest leg with Henson counting the fall. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



From the outside, Edge puts Michaels’ left foot on the bottom rope. Henson spots the boot after and stops the count, then tells Batista, who looks round and sees Edge climbing back on the apron. The Animal hops right up and before Edge can get through the ropes, Batista sends him back to the outside with a shoulder block to the chest. With Michaels starting to sit up as Batista turns back round, The Animal tries to pull him back up to his feet, but Michaels is playing possum as he sweeps The Animal’s legs. HBK then sets him up for the SHARPSHOOTER. . . . .


The crowd cheer like crazy as Michaels then turns Batista over onto his chest and locks in the deadly submission hold. The determination is clear to see Michaels as he pulls hard on Batista’s legs as The Animal tries to fight the hold, keeping his right arm up off the mat as Henson asks him if he wants to give up. Batista really starts to fight the hold as he tries to pull himself towards the ropes, but Michaels isn’t making it easy for him as he holds on tight. Slowly but surely though, Batista drags himself towards the ropes, but just as he is about to reach out and grab the bottom rope, Michaels is able to drag him back to the centre of the ring, to a huge pop.


Batista screams out and looks to be waning when we see Edge rush back into the ring, running over to Michaels and driving his knee into the side of HBK’s head, breaking up the hold. The crowd boo loudly as Edge grins sadistically and then stomps all over the back of HBK. He then pulls him back up to his feet, but knocks him straight back down with a hard right hand. Michaels though isn’t looking to take things easy as he picks himself back up slowly at the same time as Edge walks over to the corner and climbs to the top rope. As Michaels is able to stand back up, Edge leaps off the top rope and connects with a MISSILE DROPKICK. . . . . Edge turns round quickly on the mat and crawls over to Michaels’ body and hooks both legs for a cover. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Michaels gets his shoulder up, and for the first time, we see Edge looking a little frustrated as he then gets back up and urges Michaels to stand up too. It doesn’t take long as HBK rolls onto his side and up to his knees, but Edge shifts behind him just before Michaels gets up. And as Shawn is able to stand up fully, Edge grabs the back of his neck and pulls him down to the mat for the EDGE-O-MATIC. . . . . Holding on to Michaels’ legs for the cover, Henson drops down to the mat and counts the fall. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Batista dives across and breaks it up with an axe handle to the back of Edge. Both Batista and Edge take a couple of seconds as they work their way back up to their feet. It’s Batista who is up first and whips Edge into the ropes, and as he comes back off the ropes, Batista steps forward and plants Edge with a BACK BREAKER SLAM. . . . . Batista still looks a little sore as he turns over on the mat and grabs Edge’s leg, hooking it for a cover. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

NO!



Seeing Edge get his shoulder up, The Animal lets go of the leg, allowing Edge to roll off onto the apron and then the floor. Batista is slow getting up, but at the same time, Michaels starts to come round as he too makes his way back up. Batista is up first though and he walks over to the reigning champion to pull him up to a vertical base. He then takes a hold of Michaels’ arm and whips him into the corner. He takes a second before he then charges in at him, but HBK steps out and to the side at the last second as Batista hits the pads chest first. As The Animal then staggers out of the corner, Michaels walks up to him and chops him across the chest three times, leaving Batista a little off balance.


HBK then turns back into the ropes and runs off them, coming back and hitting a LOU THESZ PRESS. . . . . A big pop breaks out from the crowd as Michaels sits on top of Batista and pummels him with successive right hands to the skull. As Michaels stands back up, he goes back to The Animal’s legs and locks in the FIGURE FOUR LEG LOCK. . . . . The crowd go nuts again as Michaels looks to work on the tired and hurting Batista. The Animal does everything he can to fight it, sitting up initially and trying to break the hold with his strength, but Michaels has a great grip on the legs and isn’t letting go as he applies a ton of pressure which starts to show on The Animal.


The pain on the face of Batista is clear as he looks close to giving in, but he starts to fight it even more, and the determination on his face shows as he manages to drag himself back a little, using all his strength. Michaels looks concerned as Big Dave gets closer and closer to the ropes. Can he do it? The Animal is pulling himself and closer to the ropes, and he’s getting even closer now, and he reaches back to grab the bottom rope. Michaels looks devastated as Henson tells him to let the hold go with the crowd booing loudly. Edge starts to sit up on the outside as Batista pulls himself using the ropes with Michaels walking back over to him and going for an irish whip, but The Animal reverses it.


As Michaels then comes back off the ropes, Batista steps forward several paces and sends him down to the mat with a hard SPINNING SIDE SLAM. . . . . Edge slides back in the ring, not giving Batista a second as he stomps across his back a couple of times before pulling him up to his feet. He then tries to whip Batista towards the corner, but the big man uses the strength advantage again as it’s Edge who goes crashing into the turnbuckle pads. Batista takes a couple of seconds before he then runs in, but The Rated R Superstar lifts his boot up into The Animal’s face.


Edge steps to the side and then pushes Batista into the corner before then climbing to the second rope where he starts to hit him with right hand after right hand with the crowd counting out loud. As he gets to eight punches, Edge is stunned as Batista grabs him by the top of the legs and waist, then walks out of the corner with Edge above his head, and then sends him crashing down to the mat with a BATISTA BOMB. . . . . A mixed reaction comes from the MSG crowd as Batista drops to the mat in exhaustion, unable to take full advantage for a good five seconds before he then sits up and then shifts forward to cover him. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

3 – ALMOST. . . . SO CLOSE!



No one can believe it as Michaels this time breaks up the count at the last millisecond by diving across onto the back of Batista. All three men remain down for a while before Michaels emerges first as he crawls to the corner with both Edge and Batista both starting to come round, but it’s Batista who looks in better shape as he gets to his knees slowly. Michaels stands up in the corner and sees The Animal making his way up and starts to tune up the band, getting a big pop from the crowd who clap and stomp their feet in tandem.


As Batista stands up fully and turns round, Michaels moves out of the corner and lifts his right boot towards Batista for some SWEET CHIN MUSIC. . . . . But Batista ducks his head as Michaels then moves past him. As HBK turns back round, Batista whips Michaels into the ropes and then plants him as he comes back with a SPINEBUSTER. . . . . But with Batista almost upright about to cover Michaels, Edge appears from behind and rolls him, holding onto the tights, out of Micky Henson’s line of sight as he counts Batista’s shoulders. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

THREE – NO, KICK OUT!



Batista powers out, pushing Edge off with his legs. Both men try to get back up as quickly as possibly, and as Edge turns round and runs at Batista, he walks right into a SPINEBUSTER. . . . . The crowd again remain mixed in their response towards The Animal as he stands back up and stares down at Edge’s motionless body before walking over to the ropes and shaking them frantically, getting another mixed reception from the pro wrestling MSG crowd. After shaking the ropes, Batista calms down and turns round to walk back over to Edge.


As he stands by Edge’s head, we can see Michaels helping himself stand up in the corner with the aid of the ropes. Batista is unaware as he reaches down and places Edge’s head between his legs and then lifts him above his head for the BATISTA BOMB. . . . . Edge then starts to fight it with right hands as he remains on Batista’s shoulders, forcing The Animal to spin round to face Shawn Michaels, who steps out of the corner and hits Batista with a SUPER KICK. . . . . A huge pop breaks out as Batista falls to the mat, along with Edge who just lands on his knees as Michaels drops down to hook the leg for the cover. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

3 – NO!



Edge turns around and pulls Michaels off Batista to the corner by dragging him away by his feet at the very last split second, getting a huge amount of heat from the fans. Edge then backs up into the opposite corner as Michaels gets right back up with Edge then charging at him for the SPEAR. . . . . Whoa, Michaels leapfrogs Edge and The Rated R Superstar runs through into the corner, but he reaches out and grabs the top rope before hitting the pads. As he turns round and walks out of the corner, Michaels reacts by going for a SUPER KICK. . . . . But Edge ducks it, and as Michaels spins back round, Edge stomps him in the gut, pulls HBK’s head under his arm and plants him with the EDGECUTION. . . . . Edge frantically rushes to turn Michaels over and yells at Henson to count the fall. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

THREE – NO, KICK OUT!



Michaels is able to lift his shoulder up just at the right time, leaving Edge in absolute shock as he looks up at Henson, who signals the two count. With the crowd cheering, Edge’s face turns from shock to anger. As he makes his way back up to his feet, he sees Batista starting to sit up too, and then walks over to the corner, stalking The Animal and gesturing for him to get up. Edge looks like he’s ready to explode as Batista struggles to his feet and then turns round into an oncoming Edge, looking to hit the SPEAR. . . . . Batista dodges it though as he steps to the side and runs into the ropes with Edge stopping dead, but as he turns round, Batista comes back off the ropes and takes his apart with an almighty SPEAR. . . . . The crowd are again split in their reaction as Edge gets ripped in two. Batista immediately looks to finish the match off as he reaches across and hooks Edge’s leg with Henson counting the shoulders down. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

THREE – NO!



Edge just manages to lift his shoulder up at the very last, leaving Batista this time in shock. He pulls himself back up to his knees and then sees Michaels coming too. The Animal spots the opportunity as he stands up right away and walks over to the champion as he tries to pick himself up. Batista doesn’t help him as he shoves Michaels between his legs, setting him up for the BATISTA BOMB. . . . . Michaels is lucky as Batista takes a couple of seconds more than needed, and HBK takes advantage, using everything he has left to counter with a back body drop. A huge cheer breaks out as Michaels drops to his knees for a couple of seconds holding his back.


Batista turns onto his knee and up to his feet, forcing Michaels to act as he then stands up too, walks over to Batista and hits him with an inverted atomic drop. With Batista hobbling around, Michaels then turns back to run the ropes, comes back and hits Batista with a flying forearm to the face, knocking The Animal down. HBK then does his trademark flip up to his feet and walks over to the corner, then climbs to the top rope, leaping off straight away to a giant pop as he connects with the HEARTBREAK ELBOW DROP. . . . . The crowd are on their feet as Michaels turns over and hooks The Animal’s legs for a cover. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

THREE – NO, KICK OUT!



Unbelievable, another close call as Batista just gets his shoulder up before the hand come down for the third time. Michaels pulls himself back up to his knees and holds his head in his hands. As he starts to stand up, we see Edge by the ropes, using them to help himself up and he starts to target Michaels for the SPEAR. . . . . With Michaels getting up and Batista starting to sit up, Edge then charges at Michaels, but Michaels ducks it again as Edge runs through into the ropes, but holds onto them.


As he turns round, Michaels steps towards the ropes and takes Edge over the top with a SUPER KICK. . . . . Michaels looks down and grins, but now he has Batista stalking him for a SPEAR. . . . . As Michaels turns round, The Animal charges at him, but Michaels sees it coming and is able to take Batista down with some SWEET CHIN MUSIC. . . . . The crowd go nuts as Michaels drops to the mat and hooks both legs for the attempted victory as Henson counts. . . . .


1 . . . . .

2 . . . . .

3 – IT’S ALL OVER!



WINNER: By pinfall, and still World Heavyweight Champion, Shawn Michaels


Michael Cole: What an incredible match up Coach, you have to give it to all three men, but it’s The Heartbreak Kid who will walk out of Madison Square Garden tonight as still the World Heavyweight Champion

The Coach: But what an effort Michael from both Edge and Batista. . . They both came close on several occasions to winning the match and the title

Michael Cole: Well Coach, it’s just not meant to be, and tonight belongs to the show stopper himself, Shawn Michaels



AFTERMATH:
“Sexy Boy” blasts out to a huge pop from everyone inside the arena. Micky Henson walks over to the ropes and collects the World Heavyweight Championship, then walks back across the ring as Michaels pulls himself up to his knees. Henson then passes him the belt and then helps him up to his feet as HBK then lifts his arm in the air and then the championship. The crowd continue to cheer like crazy as Michaels then walks over to the corner and climbs to the second rope, lifting his title high up in the air. He walks over to the opposite corner and does the exact same as the crowd eat it up before he then drops down and slips under the bottom rope, then walks to the back, turning round one last time to pose with the belt with Edge coming round on the outside and not looking happy


***CUT BACKSTAGE***


JBL & Shane McMahon are in their office with their father Vince McMahon as he looks tense, walking back and forth across the room. With tons of boos coming from inside the arena, JBL & Shane are still in their suits when Vince suddenly stops and faces them both in the middle of the room

Vince McMahon:
How dare she do this to us on tonight of all nights? . . . She knows full well just how much tonight means for me to watch my sons, full of pride as you walk down to that ring and compete for a shot at the main event of Wrestlemania, knowing full well that. . .

JBL: . . . Dad, forget about Linda, it’s irrelevant. . . There is only one shred of concern for you tonight, and you know that when Shane and I enter your ring tonight, we will make you the proudest father in the world when you see your lifelong dream come true. . . one of your sons will be headlining the very spectacle that you created. . . Wrestlemania

***HEAT***

Vince McMahon:
John, I have all the confidence in the world in both you and Shane tonight. It’s just that Shane’s mother will do anything to stop that from happening. That’s why she’s kept me waiting all night with this news, whatever it is she has to tell me, and I’m not gonna stand for it

Shane McMahon: Come on dad, relax. There’s nothing she can do that will have any kind of say in the Royal Rumble match. . .

The camera zooms in on Shane as he puts his arm round his dad when the door opens behind them and Linda McMahon walks in behind them to a big pop, oblivious to all three of them

Shane McMahon:
. . . Just for one second dad, picture what she can possibly say that is going to ruin tonight for all of us. . . We’re gonna make sure Triple H doesn’t win the Royal Rumble, and then we’ll doing everything within our power to ensure that either John or I leaves Madison Square Garden tonight the number one contender for the WWE Championship. . . What can she possibly do to change that huh?

Linda coughs lightly to get their attention with all three men turning round and looking shocked

Shane McMahon: Mum, it’s great to see you

Linda McMahon: Shane, be quiet

Vince McMahon: Well it’s about time Linda. You’d think with all the money you’ve stole from me over the years, you’d have managed to buy yourself a watch

Linda McMahon: Well I’m sorry to keep you waiting Vince, but now I’m here, I’d like to wish your ever so wonderful boys here the best of luck tonight

Sensing the sarcasm, Vince looks pissed

Vince McMahon: Cut the crap Linda, we know you’re not here to wish luck on my boys, so just tell us whatever the hell it is you came here to say. . . Come on, what is it?

Linda McMahon: Well I’m glad you asked Vince. As much fun as it’s been watching you and the rest of your family use your power on Raw the last few weeks, I came to tell you that it’s all going to come to an end tomorrow night

***POP***

Vince McMahon:
What the hell are you talking about?

Linda McMahon: Well a few weeks ago, I thought that by giving Stephanie my share of the company, it would bring the power trip that you were on to an end. I wasn’t to know that it would make matters worse. And with that in mind, the board of director’s had no choice but to take action

Vince McMahon: What do you mean action?

Linda McMahon: Vince, I admitted I made a mistake by adding to this power struggle Raw finds itself in, so I went to the board of directors with a proposition

Vince, Shane & JBL look on in with serious interest

Linda McMahon: Things couldn’t keep on going the way have been Vince, and with both you, Shane and Stephanie using the authority that is entrusted in all of you to your own benefit, you are all in violation of the code of conduct for the position of head of authority. . . So, with the power that the board has, as of right now, all decision making on Raw has been taken away from every member of the McMahon family including myself

JBL: What in gods name are you talking about woman? You can’t do that, it’s his company dammit

Linda McMahon: Thank you for pointing that out John, but the board has the right to act when there is a blatant disregard of power, especially in this instance in that power is being used for your own advantage. That is why tomorrow night on Raw, there will be an independent head of authority taking over as the sole decision maker on Raw

***BIG POP***

Vince looks angry as hell

Vince McMahon: You bitch

Linda McMahon: Vince, you can call me all the names you wish Vince, it isn’t going to change anything. . . Your power trip is over, and there’s nothing you can do to change that

Linda smiles as she walks away to a big pop with Vince, Shane and JBL looking dumbstruck


***CUT ACROSS THE BACK***


CM Punk is in the office with Sunny after collecting his Royal Rumble number. Maria and Michelle McCool look at him with disgust

***LOTS OF HEAT***

CM Punk:
There’s no need to look at me like that ladies. You just have to accept that. . .

Punk senses someone behind him and turns round to see Triple H right there, which is met by a huge pop

***BIG POP***

Triple H:
You wanna carry on? It’s just I wouldn’t mind finding out what number I’ll get before I walk out there tonight and throw out twenty nine other guys asses including yours

***POP***

Punk just stares at The Game, who looks quite relaxed

Triple H: What, you gonna stand there goofy all night or you gonna step to the side with that tramp of yours?

Sunny: Who you calling a tramp? . . . Maybe you should look a little closer to home Hunter. I hear anyone of the guys in the locker room could be the father of Steph’s baby

***HEAT***

Hunter looks pissed and steps forward with Punk then stepping in front of Sunny

Triple H: You should be very careful what you let her say

CM Punk: Let her say Hunter. . . No. I don’t have to let her say anything. . . See, she’s her own person and doesn’t need someone to speak for her like the rest of the bimbo’s see you round here. . . Those two for example

Punk and Trips turn to look at an upset Maria & Michelle

CM Punk: I’m not gonna disrespect your wife Hunter, but you might just find out that the punishment you’re gonna face tonight for marrying the bosses daughter is that you won’t have the chance to go to Wrestlemania

***HEAT***

CM Punk:
And you know what that means Hunter? It leaves the door open to other guys that you’ve held back for the last couple of years, like me for the perfect example. . . You know it’s funny, cos there’s one night I’ll never be able to let the memory escape me of when The Ultimate Warrior walked into Wrestlemania as the Intercontinental Champion, just like I am now, and left with not just this title, but the WWE Championship too. A fate that is just dying to be repeated again this year, and seeing the belt fits, it looks like I’m gonna follow that example, leaving you and twenty eight others behind me

Punk smirks with Sunny smiling widely behind him

Sunny: You tell him baby

Triple H looks straight in Punk’s eyes

Triple H: You can talk about whichever memory you like. It doesn’t matter what happened once kid, what matters is the continuation of success. . . That happens to be something I know all too well, having main evented Wrestlemania more times than you could ever dream of. . . I’m an eleven time World Champion, and that happens to really mean something, unlike that title right there. . . Just because one person was able to step up and defy the odds, doesn’t mean any arrogant piece of crap can do the exact same thing. . . If you wanna see what it takes to win a Royal Rumble, maybe you should pay attention tonight, because I’ve won it before and trust me, I will do it again

***POP***

Triple H:
I’m gonna risk every single part of my body and soul to guarantee my place at my home, Wrestlemania and sit on my throne once again. And there’s no one, no straight edge punk, no McMahon, nobody on this planet who’s gonna change that, because tonight I will show everyone what it means to be The Game

***POP***

Triple H and Punk stare face to face as the camera fades out



***VIDEO PROMO***
Clips of the following play with the PPV theme playing

• Randy Orton attacking John Cena back in 2007, putting him on the shelf and then going on to become the WWE Champion at No Mercy
• Orton cutting his promo on Raw after No Mercy
• The Survivor Series Elimination Match with Randy Orton overcoming the odds and eliminating Chris Jericho, The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels to become the sole survivor
• Nearly two weeks ago on Raw with Orton calling himself the most dominant WWE Champion until John Cena made his shocking return and the highlights of the promo with Cena saying he’s coming back for revenge and Orton saying he will end Cena’s career and the announcement of the TLC Match
• Later that night in their tag team match with them fighting their way through the crowd
• Last week on Raw and the brawling between them ending in Cena sending Orton through the announce table with an F U and looking down at him at the end of the show


***CUT TO THE ARENA***


“Burn in my Light” hits as Randy Orton walks down the aisle looking very focused to a lot of heat. He turns his head as he walks, looking at the ladders and tables spaced out all around ringside

JR: Well here we go King, it’s finally time for what we’ve been waiting for. . . the WWE Championship on the line. And does this man right here have too much of a mountain to climb tonight?

The King: You wanna ask Randy Orton that question JR?

JR: I’d rather not King. I just can’t help but feel that despite the run that Randy Orton has been on, he’s pushed his luck a little too far. . . He escaped with the WWE title thanks to The McMahon’s when he met Triple H at the end of last year and the start of this one. . . And tonight, he has to go one on one with John Cena in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match

The King: JR, stop to remember what John Cena has done over the last few months. . . That’s right. . . nothing, and that’s all down to The Legend Killer. . . And if Randy Orton has his way tonight, he will put Cena right back where he was a few weeks ago. . . on the shelf

JR: Easier said than done Ki. . .


“My Time is Now” blasts out as John Cena makes his way into a very hot arena, getting a very typical mixed reaction. As he walks down the extra short MSG aisle, he doesn’t take his eyes off of Orton for a second

JR: . . . And here he comes King. . . He might not be everyone’s favourite superstar, but he sure as hell is one of the biggest stars in the history of the Raw, and tonight he has the chance to take back the title that was taken away from him last year by Randy Orton. . . Remember folks, John Cena didn’t lose the title to Randy Orton. . . Randy Orton attacked John Cena and forced him onto the sidelines for three months, giving Cena no option but to relinquish the WWE Championship by forfeit

The King: Can’t you see JR? That’s why Randy Orton is the favourite tonight. . . Just imagine the suffering he could put Cena through. . . Cena himself has admitted that he’s not a hundred percent. And with all these weapons lying around ringside, ask yourself JR, who does that favour?

JR: Oh, Randy Orton, no doubt. But when it comes to fighting like your life is dependant on it, there is no one who will give any more than John Cena. . . We’ve seen over the course of nearly three years just how much fight there is in John Cena, and you can guarantee he will not give up until he has absolutely nothing left inside of him

The King: You’re right JR, Cena certainly has more guts than brains, I just don’t know if that’s going to be enough for him tonight

JR: Well we’re about to find out!



***MATCH #4***



WWE Championship
TLC Match
John Cena vs. Randy Orton (c)


Cena and Orton walk towards each other in the centre of the ring and talk smack at each other for a good ten seconds before Orton turns his head round for a split second before going for a sucker punch. Cena sees it coming though and blocks it, then follows up with a right hand of his own, and another, putting Orton on the back foot. Cena then whips him into the ropes, and as Orton comes back, Cena takes him down with a hip toss. Orton is right back up though with Cena going straight after him. Cena grabs The Legend Killer by the arm and whips him into the corner, then runs in at him, but Orton drives his elbow into the side of Cena’s head, knocking a dazed Cena out of the corner.


Orton then runs the ropes in front of Cena, but as he comes back, he runs into Cena and a falling clothesline. The crowd are split right down the line between Cena and Orton, with a lot of boos meeting that one. Cena shrugs it off as normal as he picks himself back up, and then drags Orton up before whipping the WWE Champion into the ropes. As Orton comes off them, Cena tosses him overhead with a back body drop. It doesn’t take very long before Orton gets right back up, but Cena is ready and waiting for him as he runs the ropes behind Orton.


He runs back and plants the champion with a ONE ARM BULLDOG. . . . . Orton looks to have hit his head hard there and stays down, giving Cena the perfect opportunity as he then slides under the bottom rope to the arena floor where he picks up a ladder, then slides it into the ring. The crowd cheer that move as the ladder comes in to play. But they quickly turn to boos as Cena slides back inside the ring, picks the ladder up, then sets it up in place underneath the coveted prize, and then starts to climb up the ladder as Orton gets to his knees, right next to the ladder. . . . .


UP 1 RUNG. . . . .

UP 2 RUNGS. . . . .



Orton rushes up to his feet and immediately reaches up to grab Cena’s boot, pulling him down to the mat. Cena lands on his feet, but with his back to Orton, who capitalises by nailing him with a SIDE INVERTED BACK BREAKER. . . . . More boos than cheers meet that from Orton, who drops to his knees and grabs Cena’s head with his left hand before pummelling him with some vicious right hands to the skull. As he lets go and stands back up, he then stomps Cena for good measure before walking back towards the ladder, and round the other side, then starts to make his way up. . . . .


UP 1 RUNG. . . . .

UP 2 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 3 RUNGS. . . . .



Cena starts to sit up, something Orton is unaware of as he looks up and not down


UP 4 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 5 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 6 RUNGS. . . . .



Cena then sees Orton climbing the ladder and rushes to get back up to his feet. He walks to the base of the ladder and climbs up to meet Orton, who looks shocked and stops climbing. As Cena gets higher up the ladder, Orton throws a right hand at Cena below, but he doesn’t shake him as Cena carries on climbing. Cena gets to the same height as Orton and is able to block a right hand from The Legend Killer, then hits Orton with a couple of hard fists to the skull.


Orton looks a little dazed as Cena then reaches over the ladder and grabs Orton by the head, and then drags his head and neck halfway across the ladder. With Orton lying across the top of the ladder, Cena pulls Orton’s head under his arm and then sets him up for a suplex. The crowd cheer, and then are in shock as Cena lifts Orton up vertically in the air before falling backwards down to the mat with an almighty suplex from over halfway up the ladder. The impact forces Orton to roll off the apron as he then drops down to the arena floor.


Cena too landed hard on the mat and remains motionless on the mat with the crowd cheering. It takes a good twenty seconds before either man makes any serious movement, and it’s Cena who sits up in the ring. As Cena starts to stand up, Orton starts to come round on the outside, slowly making a move as he makes his way to his knees. He then looks into the ring and sees Cena walking towards the ladder, so ignores the pain and stands up as quickly as he can, spotting a ladder just to the side of him against the barricade. With Cena now climbing the ladder, Orton picks the table up and slides it in the ring as Cena makes his way up the ladder. . . . .


UP 1 RUNG. . . . .

UP 2 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 3 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 4 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 5 RUNGS. . . . .



Orton also sees a steel chair, picks that up and slides back in the ring with it behind Cena. Some of the fans try to warn Cena as Orton approaches behind him and then smashes the chair against the back of the unsuspecting challenger. Cena feels the effect, but remains on the ladder, but just doesn’t move as Orton smashes him again across the spine. Orton drops the chair straight away and drags a very sore Cena down from the ladder by his jeans, dragging him down to the mat. Orton then looks down at Cena for a couple of seconds before shifting his head to look up at his WWE Championship. He then takes the short step towards the ladder and starts to climb slowly up the ladder. . . . .


UP 1 RUNG. . . . .

UP 2 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 3 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 4 RUNGS. . . . .



Cena starts to sit up, sees the chair right next to him and grabs a hold of it as he then plays through the pain barrier. Getting back up to his feet, he shifts behind the ladder and smashes the chair against the back of Orton, getting another mixed reception. Orton feels the pain, but again, doesn’t fall from the ladder but stops moving as Cena then turns round at the base of the ladder and steps up a couple of rungs. He reaches up and grabs Orton around the top of the legs and waist. Orton loses his grip on the ladder as Cena then steps down off the ladder and POWERBOMBS ORTON DOWN TO THE MAT. . . . .


Cena too drops to his knees with the momentum, but Orton landed hard again. The crowd react again, with a lot more cheers that time, showing the appreciation for the action and effort they’re witnessing. Cena is still feeling the pain of the two chair shots and the suplex as he remains on the mat alongside a motionless WWE Champion. It takes Cena a good ten seconds before he rises again, slowly standing back up and walking back over to the ladder. Just as Cena is about to start climbing, Orton lifts his head up, coming back round after the powerbomb. . . . .


CENA UP 1 RUNG. . . . .

UP 2 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 3 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 4 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 5 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 6 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 7 RUNGS. . . . .



Orton is just able to stand back up as Cena gets close to the top and starts to reach up towards the belt, but as he just about gets his fingertips to touch the title, Orton, still looking in tremendous pain is at the base of the ladder and just about does enough to shake the ladder. He then shifts to the side and pushes it back, with Cena falling off and crashing down to the mat below. Orton too drops to the mat, still feeling the pain as the ladder bounces off the ropes and remains leaning against it with both men on the mat. They remain there for almost twenty seconds when Orton starts to stand up, and then sees Cena starting to come round.


He walks over to Cena, but pushes the ladder away from the ropes and down to the mat first before turning his attention back to his opponent. He leans down and pulls Cena back up to his feet, but as he goes for a right hand, Cena blocks it and instantly whips Orton into the ropes. And as Orton comes back off the ropes, Cena steps forward a couple of paces and hits him with a SPINNING POWERSLAM ONTO THE LADDER. . . . . A big pop breaks out from the crowd as Orton sells the spot by screaming and rolling around. Cena gets back up, still looking sore, but is distracted by the table that Orton slid in earlier on.


He walks over to the table and picks it up to a big pop with only a few cheers before walking into the corner furthest away from Orton and standing it up against the turnbuckle pads. He turns round and walks back over to Orton, who is clearly in pain. Cena obviously doesn’t mind as he bends down with a smile on his face to pick Orton back up to his feet, then lifts him onto his shoulder before sending him right back down to the mat with a SPINNING SIT DOWN SIDE SUPLEX. . . . . Orton sells the back even more as he lands and looks to be in agony with Cena just grinning, really looking like he is enjoying it. As Cena gets back up, Orton starts to move around and tries to stand up.


Cena looks on and allows his rival to slowly pick himself back up, and as Orton tries to steady himself, Cena runs the ropes behind him and takes him straight back down with the THROWBACK. . . . . Orton looks in real trouble as Cena starts to take control, pleasing half of the crowd and not so, the remaining half of MSG. Cena gets back up and goes to pull Orton back up straight away. He drags the champion back up to his knees, but Orton low blows him, getting a few cheers in the process. Both men stay down for a short period before slowly making their way back up to their feet. Orton steps forward and grabs Cena’s arm, then tries for an irish whip, but it’s reversed by Cena.


As Orton hits the ropes, he holds on to the top rope with Cena then running at him. Orton though lifts his boot up into the face of the challenger, knocking Cena back and off balance. Orton then senses the opportunity as he walks over to Cena, grabs his arm and whips him hard into the corner with the table, SENDING CENA THROUGH THE TABLE. . . . . Orton again drops to the mat, still feeling the strain of the match so far with the crowd still making a huge noise as Cena lies in a state amongst the broken table. Orton starts to sit up and looks on at Cena with a real satisfied look on his face as he witnesses the former champion slowly crawling away from the broken table in the corner.


Instead of standing up, Orton gets on his hands on knees as he watches Cena dragging himself closer towards him, but looking very groggy. Orton’s eyes turn to stone as he urges Cena towards him. He then sees Cena get to his knees and looking to stand up, but he still looks dazed as Orton seems to be stalking him, banging his hands against the mat. And as Cena is able to stand up, Orton leaps off the mat, looking to hit the RKO. . . . . But Cena pushes Orton into the ropes, and as he comes back, Cena lifts Orton onto his shoulders for the F U. . . . . The crowd boo, but Orton manages to slip down Cena’s back, and then plants him with the OVERDRIVE. . . . .


A decent pop meets that amongst a lot of boos from the Cena faithful of young children and eager teeny virgins. With both men on the mat, it takes Orton around five seconds before he starts to get back up. Slowly he makes his way back up to a vertical base with Cena not showing any signs of life. Orton though tries to wrap the match up as when he gets back up, he walks over to pick the ladder back up. With the ladder now in his hands, he walks back over to the middle of the ring and sets it up in position under the championship belt with Cena being shown to come round a little, lifting his head up off the mat. Orton decides to climb the ladder and take a chance. . . . .


UP 1 RUNG. . . . .

UP 2 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 3 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 4 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 5 RUNGS. . . . .



Cena manages to crawl towards the base of the ladder, distracting Orton who clearly panics and looks down at Cena for a couple of seconds before looking back towards the belt. Cena drags himself up the ladder and each rung, getting closer and closer to Orton who doesn’t know what to do. As Cena gets further up and closer to him, Orton goes for one last crack at the title as he looks to climb up another rung, but Cena grabs Orton’s left foot to stop him getting any closer to the title. Orton looks down pissed as Cena then lets go and climbs up to meet Orton, then hammers him with a succession of right hands. Orton looks stunned as Cena takes the momentum, not going down well with all the fans.


Orton though is able to block a right from Cena and then reaches across the ladder to shove Cena off and down to the mat. Cena though lands softly and is back up on his feet quickly as he then moves to the side of the ladder and pushes the ladder down. The ladder hits the ropes again as Orton falls from the ladder to the outside and the arena floor by the announce tables to a mixed reaction yet again from the torn crowd. As the ladder bounces against the ropes, Cena looks on at the ladder, but sees Orton on the outside, and his expression changes from being happy to really focused as he walks over to the ropes and slides under the bottom rope to the outside.


Cena stops and looks down at Orton with a real intense look on his face before he then turns round to face the Spanish announce table (No ECW in this thread, so there is one in case anyone wants to argue!) Carlos and Hugo the Fatty panic as Cena strips it, tosses one monitor down to the floor and then keeps hold of the other. He turns back round and sees Orton very slowly starting to make his way back up to his knees. Cena sizes him up with the monitor in hand, ready and waiting patiently as the fans voice their opinions. Cena is lying in wait for over ten seconds before Orton eventually is able to stand up straight, and as he turns round, Cena charges at him and SMASHES HIM IN THE SKULL WITH THE MONITOR. . . . .


Orton just drops to the floor once again as Cena smirks for a second before saying “That’s payback bitch” and dropping the monitor. He then crouches down next to Orton and we see that The Legend Killer is busted open pretty bad. His eyes are open, but he looks almost out of it as Cena then drags him back up, then drags him towards the stripped announce table, which he just pushes the lifeless looking Orton on to. Cena looks into the crowd before climbing onto the table and then drags Orton slowly up to his knees. He keeps him there for five seconds as he looks into crowd while Orton is seemingly motionless, but Cena gets a shock when Orton drives his lower arm into the groin.


Cena drops slowly down to the table too, clearly winded from the low blow by the desperate champion. It takes Orton around ten seconds before he is able to pick himself up, still slowly, followed by Cena. As Orton seems to get his concentration back, Cena is nearly back up too, and as Cena is almost standing upright, Orton strikes, DRIVING CENA THROUGH THE ANNOUNCE TABLE WITH A SPIKE DDT. . . . . The roof is rattling in Madison Square Garden as Cena and Orton fall through the announce table to the floor below. Carlos and Fatty look on in shock as both the champion and challenger lie still on the floor with the crowd going nuts.


Cena looks to be dead as Orton stretches his arm out after a while and starts to try and pull himself away from the wreckage. The Legend Killer continues to crawl along the floor, just lifting his head up as he reaches the apron. Still groggy, he drags himself up slowly by the apron and then under the bottom rope to climb back inside the ring. He takes a couple of seconds as he remains lying on the mat before picking himself up by the ropes. He sees the ladder right next to him and grabs hold of it. He then walks across the ring with the ladder in hand as he sets it back up under his championship belt. With the camera zooming in on him as he slowly makes his way up the ladder, Orton keeps his eyes on the prize, looking up at the gold. . . . .


UP 1 RUNG. . . . .

UP 2 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 3 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 4 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 5 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 6 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 7 RUNGS. . . . .



Out of nowhere, the camera zooms out and we hear the crowd booing as a very slow moving John Cena slips back in the ring. Orton has his hands on the belt, but he looks down and panics, seeing Cena stand up and then walk forward, and with one hard shove, pushes the ladder sideways. Orton falls back off the ladder, but this time lands on the right side of the ropes, and is able to hold onto them as he lands. He looks at Cena and smirks before then running at him, but Cena reacts quickly and counters into a drop toe hold and then the STFU. . . . . . The crowd boo like crazy with some cheers mixed in as Cena looks relentless, doing everything within his power to make Orton suffer, pulling back hard on the face of The Legend Killer.


The champion’s face says it all as the fear is there as he screams out in pain, trying desperately to drag himself towards the ropes to get any chance of countering the hold, knowing tapping out and grabbing the rope means nothing here. Cena locks it in tight and Orton just doesn’t have a chance of escaping unless he can muster up something incredible, and then we see him tap out, continuously smashing his right hand against the mat. Cena isn’t letting go though as he keeps the hold locked in for nearly ten seconds before finally showing some kind of mercy. Orton looks relieved of the pain, but his head drops to the mat as Cena stands back up to another intense mixed reception. He looks into the crowd, and while he does so, something catches his attention. He then walks over to the ropes and slips under the bottom rope to walk up to the barricade where he picks up another table.


The crowd cheer that one, knowing they’re going to see something special as Cena then turns back round and slides it back in the ring. Cena then slips back under the bottom rope too, and his first job is to move the table he’s just brought in. He drags it towards the corner of the ring before then walking back over to a lifeless Randy Orton as he then drags him towards the corner too. He then bends down and picks the table up, standing it up on all four legs just a couple of feet away from the corner, getting a pop from the crowd, with obviously some boos. He then turns his attention back to Orton as he drags him up to his feet and then lifts him onto his shoulders for the F U facing the table. Again the crowd go crazy, but Cena isn’t stopping there as he steps back and climbs up to the second rope with the crowd getting more intense.


With Cena pausing on the second rope, Orton seems to come to life as he reaches down and holds on to the top rope so that Cena can’t send him through the table. Cena frantically tries to hit the F U, but Orton holds on and then drives his elbow repeatedly into the side of Cena’s head. It’s enough to break loose as Orton climbs down off the ropes to the apron where he then steps onto the second rope and drives his forearm into the side of Cena’s head three times. With Cena looking dazed as he sits on the top rope, Orton climbs back through the ropes and then onto the second rope, grabs Cena by the head and then jumps off the ropes, HITTING THE RKO ON CENA THROUGH THE TABLE. . . . .


HOLY SHIT. . . . . Cena just got driven face first through the table. It’s met with a mixture of both cheers and boos from the New York faithful, and the sheer volume of the crowd seemingly brings the reaction needed from Orton as he helps himself up by the ropes. He looks down at Cena with a serious expression on his face as he then walks across the ring and stands the ladder back up before taking it back into the middle of the ring, setting it up perfectly. He then slowly starts what he hopes to be his final climb with the crowd making tons of noise. . . . .


UP 1 RUNG. . . . .

UP 2 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 3 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 4 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 5 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 6 RUNGS. . . . .

UP 7 RUNGS. . . . .



Orton reaches up and gets his hands on the gold. The camera switches and we see Cena crawling towards the base of the ladder, trying to stop Orton, but it looks too late as Orton keeps his hands on the gold and after a few seconds, he does it, he grabs the belt down and retains the WWE Championship.


WINNER: And still WWE Champion, Randy Orton


The King: What did I tell you JR? . . . He did it. . . Randy Orton just beat John Cena

JR: King, it’s not often you’ll hear me say this, but I have to give all the credit in the world to Randy Orton. He gave it his all tonight and was able to beat one of the toughest individuals you will ever come across in this business. . . There is no doubt that tonight belongs to “The Legend Killer” Randy Orton



AFTERMATH:
“Burn in my Light” hits as Randy Orton pulls the belt close to his chest and holds it tight, then just drops to the mat due to a lack of energy. EMT’s make their way out to the ring and check on both men. Orton slowly stands up and holds them away as he staggers to the ropes and poses with his title belt, getting a lot of heat, mixed in with some cheers as the EMT’s check on Cena. Orton then turns round and walks over to Cena who is very groggy, looks down and grins at him, lifting his title belt up right in front of him. Cena tries to stand up to get at him, but the EMT’s and Chioda hold him back as Orton smirks before slipping under the bottom rope to the outside. He turns back, still hobbling a little to sell his injuries before taunting Cena again by holding his title aloft with a huge grin on his face. Cena is still being held back, but looks pissed, but in no real state to go after Orton, who just smirks in the aisle


***CUT BACKSTAGE***


We see various superstars warming up in the back, including Umaga, Lashley, Rey Mysterio & Finlay


***CUT ACROSS THE BACK***


We see Matt Hardy in his locker room, getting a big pop from the arena as he is putting his elbow pads. We then hear the door open and slam shut as Matt turns his head with the camera zooming out to follow a smiling MVP walking towards Matt. MVP’s entrance turns the cheers to boos

MVP:
You know, it’s funny how it works round here ain’t it Matt?

Matt Hardy: Yeah, how so?

MVP: Just to think it was a month ago Matt. . . just a month since the biggest fluke Smackdown has ever seen, when you stole that United States Championship from me at Saturday Night’s Main Event. . . No one gave you a shot, and you can’t blame em can ya. . . I mean, you just gotta look at us both right now stood together to see who the real winner is. . . You might have the United States Championship Matt, but I’m the real winner Matt, not you

***HEAT***

MVP:
Tonight, MVP marks the start of what is gonna go down as the night that kick starts the legend that will be Montel Vontavious Porter. . . You might have that title of yours, but I’m goin one higher. I’m steppin up to the big leagues tonight when I win the Royal Rumble. There ain’t no more Matt Hardy and United States title for me, cos the only half man, half man amazing superstar is heading all the way to Wrestlemania with the golden ticket. . . The future I see in front of The Franchise Player doesn’t feature inferior superstars like you and your brother. . . it has Shawn Michaels, the World Heavyweight Championship and the main event of Wrestlemania

Matt Hardy: You know this golden ticket you’re talkin about could belong to anyone tonight man. But if you wanna trash this title just because I beat you, go ahead because this title is beyond no one. . . not even the half man, half trash talking spoilt bitch

***POP***

Matt Hardy:
That’s you by the way. But you know what, I wish you luck tonight and I hope you give it your best, and we’ll see where it gets ya

MVP gets a sly grin with Matt seemingly enjoying his comments

MVP: I never thought I’d see the day when Matt Hardy would actually look like he’s having fun. . . But you know Matt. . . the only one having fun when tonight is through, is gonna be the winner of the Royal Rumble. . . M. . . V. . . P

***HEAT***

MVP’s smile turns to a serious expression as he looks Matt in the eyes before turning round and walking out of the shot as Matt shakes his head in disbelief at the arrogance


***CUT TO THE ARENA***


***THE MAIN EVENT***



THE 2008 ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH



“Hell Will be Callin’ Your Name” blasts out as Lashley makes his way down to ringside, looking as determined as ever”

Entrant #1 – Bobby Lashley


With Lashley waiting in the ring, we await the second entrant. . . . .

“Virtual Voodoo” hits & Umaga makes his way down to the ring without Estrada, looking very intense

Entrant #2 – Umaga


Umaga climbs up the ring steps and onto the apron, then steps through the ropes with Lashley looking very focused on the job in hand. Both men remain in the corner until the bell rings when they both walk into the middle of the ring for a tense stare down. Umaga then hits Lashley with several backhand chops, but Lashley fights back with right hands, forcing Umaga back against the ropes. Lashley then grabs Umaga’s arm and whips him into the opposite ropes, and as Umaga comes back, Lashley runs out to meet him halfway and hits him with a hard clothesline. Umaga is knocked off balance and remains on his feet to Lashley’s surprise.


He tries again as he turns back to run the ropes again, comes back and hits Umaga with another clothesline, but again, The Samoan Bulldozer remains on his feet but unsteady. Lashley decides to try once more to try and get the big man of his feet, turning back and running into the ropes again, and as he charges back at Umaga, The Samoan Savage steps forward and knocks Lashley down with an uppercut thrust. He turns back into the ropes, comes back off and drops a leg across the shoulders of Lashley. As he stands back up, the ticker counts down and stops to look on who is next


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


Entrant #3 – Kofi Kingston


Kofi walks out looking a little nervous as he sees Umaga waiting in the middle of the ring. He then walks round to the steps, climbs up onto the apron and then through the ropes as Umaga just stands still, not moving a muscle. Kofi looks very intimidated for a couple of seconds before he then decides to go for it as he charges towards Umaga and slides between his legs, runs through into the ropes, comes back and dropkicks Umaga in the chest. It doesn’t have much of an impact on him at all, but Kofi races back up to his feet, charges back into the ropes, runs back and goes for a cross body.


But Umaga catches him, holds on and then plants him with a SWINGING SIDE SLAM. . . . . Kofi just crashed and burned as Lashley then pulls himself up behind Umaga, who turns round into a several hard right hands from Lashley, who tries for an irish whip, but it’s reversed by Umaga. As Lashley comes back off the ropes though, he knocks Umaga really off balance with a diving shoulder block. Lashley picks himself back up straight away and tries again as he runs back into the ropes, comes back and knocks him down with a second diving shoulder block as the ticker goes again


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


Entrant #4 – Chris Masters


The Masterpiece races down into the ring and slides in under the bottom rope, attacking Lashley from behind with some vicious shots to the back. He is able to knock Lashley down to his knees, and as he tries to stand back up, Masters runs forward into the ropes, runs back and takes him down with a falling clothesline. Masters stands back up looking very smug, unaware that Umaga is pulling himself back up behind him. Masters gestures to the crowd and mouths that he is gonna win the Rumble when Umaga stands right back up behind him. Masters then backs up and realises there is someone behind him.


He turns round and his jaw drops before Umaga hits him with an uppercut thrust, knocking him right down to the mat. Umaga reaches down and picks him back up, then whips him hard into the corner and charges in, splashing The Masterpiece. Masters just drops to the mat face first as Umaga turns round and sees both Lashley and Kofi getting up. He charges at Kofi and knocks him down with a hard clothesline, but as he turns back round to Lashley, he is shocked as Lashley stomps him in the gut. Lashley then hits him with a hard right hand and takes him down with a spinning neckbreaker as the ticker strikes again


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


Entrant #5 – Santino Marella


Santino stops as he walks out with his blue Italian Puma jacket and shades on. He points and looks towards Lashley, seeming that he doesn’t want to get involved. Lashley stares back at him and gestures at him to get in the ring, with Santino then walking closer towards the ring. As Lashley keeps his eyes on Santino, he is unaware of Masters just standing up and walking up behind him. Lashley is stood in the centre of the ring as Santino then taunts him, seeing Masters approaching and then trying to apply The Masterlock to Lashley. Santino laughs as he then removes his shades and jacket with Lashley trying hard to stop Masters get the hold locked in properly.


Santino then steps through the ropes, walks over and stomps at Lashley, but Lashley just kicks him away and escapes Masters’ grasp. Santino runs back at Lashley, but he steps to the side as Santino runs into Masters and just falls down to the mat. Lashley then runs at Masters and barges him down to the mat. He then pulls him back up, whips him into the corner and charges in at him, hitting him with a shoulder thrust to the mid section, and then a couple more. Santino is back on his feet as he then runs at Lashley from behind and jumps on his back, looking to lock in a sleeper hold.


Lashley turns round with Santino on his back and just throws him down to the mat, getting a good pop from the crowd. Umaga though is right back up and charges at Lashley, but Lashley lifts his boot into Umaga’s face, sending him back down to the mat, but for just a short period. Kofi too gets back up at the same time, and Umaga turns round to face Kofi, who hits him with the 540 kick, knocking him off balance as Lashley then runs into the ropes, comes back and takes Umaga down with a SPEAR. . . . . The crowd cheer as Kofi looks on and smiles as the ticker comes up again


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


Entrant #6 – Finlay


Finlay charges down to the ring as Lashley picks himself back up following the spear. Kofi runs into the corner and hits Masters with a spinning heel kick to the upper chest. Masters drops to the mat as Santino makes his way back up to his feet while Finlay runs at Lashley, driving his boot into his head before Lashley has a chance to stand up fully. Finlay drops to his knees and pummels Lashley with right hands as Santino sneaks up behind Kofi and kicks him in the lower back before lifting him onto his shoulder and then falling back down to the mat with a side suplex.


Umaga shows signs of life as he starts to sit up while Finlay drops down to the mat and wraps his legs around the neck of Lashley, trying to inflict a lot of pain as he pulls hard on the Lashley’s arm. With Santino smiling as he stands back up after the side suplex, he then help the first ever Jamaican WWE superstar back up to his feet, holding onto him by the tights and neck as he then walks over to the ropes and tries to toss him over the top to the outside. As Kofi’s legs go over the top, he manages to hold onto the top rope with his hands with Santino turning his back and raising his arms in the air. Kofi then pulls himself back in the ring, a la Shawn Michaels 1995.


He turns round while the crowd cheer, taking Santino by surprise, who then turns round and looks on in shock as he sees Kofi standing there. Kofi runs at him and hits him with a double leg drop to the chest, knocking him down. Santino tries to get up, but back peddles to the corner. Kofi runs in at him and jumps up to the second rope where he pummels Santino with right hands, getting a huge pop from the crowd. Just as Kofi jumps down and turns round, he sees Umaga on his feet and runs at him, but in to one hell of a SAMOAN DROP. . . . . With the ticket starting and seeing Umaga in control, Masters just sits back down in the corner


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


Entrant #7 – Cody Rhodes


Cody makes his way down to the ring quite quickly as he slides into the ring. He looks at Umaga for a second, but shows no fear as he then runs at him for a dropkick, barely fazing The Samoan Bulldozer. Cody then runs to the corner and climbs to the top rope as Umaga then follows in with Cody then jumping off for a MISSILE DROPKICK. . . . . Umaga just steps to the side as Cody crash lands on the mat, right by Finlay, who lets go of the submission hold on Lashley as he then stands up, walks to Cody and drags him up to his feet.


He chops him across the chest several times, forcing him back against the ropes. He whips him into the opposite ropes and walks into the centre of the ring as Cody comes back, but Cody ducks underneath a clothesline attempt and turns round quickly as Finlay then spins round into a hard right hand from Cody, who then takes him down with a BIONIC ELBOW. . . . . However, he turns round into Umaga, who grabs him around the chest and tosses him back with an OVERHEAD BELLY TO BELLY SUPLEX. . . . .


Masters spots a chance as he then steps out of the corner and walks up behind Umaga. He tries to stitch in The Masterlock but he can’t get close as Umaga just bumps him back down to the mat. Masters stands up quickly and runs back at him as Umaga then turns round and takes Masters down with a ROLLING WHEEL KICK. . . . . Santino gets to his knees and looks up at Umaga as he turns round, but Santino doesn’t want any of him as we see the ticker once more with Umaga looking unstoppable


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


“TIME TO PLAY THE GAME”

Entrant #8 – Triple H


“The Game” blasts out as Triple H steps out into the arena with a bottle of water in his hand as the crowd start going crazy. Umaga looks serious as hell as he watches on as The Game leans his head back and pours some the water over his head before blowing it away, dropping the water and then storms down to the ring to a huge pop. He slides right under the bottom rope and goes straight for Umaga, blocking a right hand and then hammers him with right hands of his own. He then grabs Umaga by the arm and whips him into the ropes, and as he comes back, he plants him with a DOUBLE A SPINEBUSTER. . . . . The crowd get even louder as he then spots Santino on his knees, begging Triple H not to hurt him.


The Game doesn’t take any prisoners as he walks over to him and drags him up to his feet and knocks him down with a right hand. Santino gets back up and spins round into another before getting up again, with Triple H this time chopping him back into the ropes and then whipping him into the opposite side. He then runs out to meet Santino as he comes back, knocking him down with a high knee strike. Santino stands back up but is well and truly weak on his feet as Triple H grabs him by the back of the neck and tights, walks over to the ropes and tosses him over the top to the outside for our first elimination.


ELIMINATION #1: Santino Marella by Triple H


The Game then sees Lashley getting up, walks over to him and knocks him down with a right hand, and then does the same to Finlay. Chris Masters is next up to his feet, and as he turns round, he sees The Game standing tall and tries to back up. Triple H steps forward quickly and hammers with a right hand to the forehead before grabbing Masters arm and trying for an irish whip, but it’s reversed by Masters. As Triple H comes back off the ropes, he ducks past Masters, spins him round, kicks him in the gut and plants him with a SPIKE DDT. . . . . Triple H is in total control as the ticker appears once more


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


Entrant #9 – Elijah Burke


Burke looks a little reluctant, as does Layla as they step into the arena. Layla looks worried as she kisses Burke on the cheek and wishes him look before he slowly walks down the aisle and she turns round to walk to the back. As Burke continues to walk down the aisle, Finlay gets back up behind Triple H, and clubs him across the back. He continues to hammer away at him, forcing him into the ropes as Finlay then grabs Triple H’s leg and tries to force him over the top to the outside. Burke spots the opportunity as he then rushes into the ring and tries to help Finlay push The Game over. But he’s not having it as he drives his elbow back into Finlay’s skull, sending him back across the ring, and then doing the same to Burke.


As he turns round, he runs out and clotheslines Burke down to the mat. He turns round though into a drop toe hold from Finlay though, who then looks to put a hurting on The Game as he applies a modified INDIAN DEATH LOCK. . . . . Lashley stands back up, as do Cody and Kofi who fall victim to a double clothesline from Lashley, who then pulls Cody up to his feet and scoop slams him hard, back down to the mat. Turning his attention to Kofi, he scoops him up onto his shoulder and walks into the corner, looking to go for a running powerslam. But as he runs out of the corner, Kofi slips down the back and dropkicks him in the lower back.


With Lashley on his knees, Kofi gets back up, runs forward into the ropes, runs back and hits a dropkick right into the face of the seated Lashley. Kofi stands back up with a smile on his face, and as he turns round, Masters stands back up and he looks right at Kofi with an intense stare. Kofi charges at him and goes for the 540 KICK. . . . . Masters ducks it with Kofi hitting the mat, but as he reaches down to pull Kofi up, Kofi kicks him off with a boot to the face, forcing Masters back. Kofi flips up, runs at him and hits him with a jumping reverse elbow smash. Kofi gets up and walks over to Finlay, stomping him in the head, forcing the grip on Triple H to be broken. With Kofi the only man standing, the ticker starts again


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


The lights go out for about five seconds when a series of pyro explodes, looking like red flames when some red spotlights come back on as “Burned” then starts to play. The fans are in shock as we see the return of the masked Kane emerge into the arena

Entrant #10 – Kane


Kane walks slowly down the aisle in the same attire he wore when he debuted in 1997. We see Kofi look on in absolute amazement and horror as Kane climbs onto the apron and over the top rope. He walks into the middle of the ring and raises his arms in the air before bringing them back down again, setting his pyro off to a deafening blast inside the arena and causing Kofi to duck. The lights come back on as the fans seem to mark out for the moment. Kane then walks over to a stunned Kofi and wraps his arm around his throat, lifts him up in the air and then walks over to the ropes. He then CHOKESLAMS KOFI OVER THE TOP ROPE TO THE OUTSIDE. . . . .


ELIMINATION #2: Kofi Kingston by Kane


HOLY SHIT. . . . . As Kane turns round he sees Cody getting up across the ring, so he walks across and grabs him around the throat before repeating what he did to Kofi, CHOKESLAMMING CODY OUT OF THE ROYAL RUMBLE. . . . . WHO THE HELL IS GOING TO STOP KANE?


ELIMINATION #3: Cody Rhodes by Kane


The camera shows Cody on the floor, motionless and then it switches to the same shot with Kofi not moving on the opposite side before going back to the footage in the ring as Kane stands tall. We then see Burke standing back up and looking on in terror as he sees Kane for the first time. He takes several steps back into the corner, but Triple H makes his way back up to his feet and although he looks surprised too, he walks up behind Kane and spins him round. There’s a big pop as he unloads on The Big Red Machine with right hands to the skull, but Kane fights back with uppercut thrusts.


He then grabs Triple H by the arm and whips him into the ropes, and as The Game comes back, Kane drives his huge boot down the throat of Triple H. We now see Finlay and Lashley getting back up, but Lashley has his back to Kane and turns his attention to Burke, slugging it out with him in the corner as Finlay runs right at Kane, but into a SIDEWALK SLAM. . . . . Masters then stands up by the ropes, using them to help him up as Kane then gets back up, runs at him and clotheslines him over the top to the outside as the clock appears


ELIMINATION #4: Chris Masters by Kane


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


Entrant #11 – Harry Smith


One half of the WWE Tag Team Champions makes his way down to the ring as Umaga picks himself back up, along with Triple H while Lashley and Burke have a good go at each other in the corner. Smith slides in the ring and goes for Umaga while Kane drags Triple H back up to his feet and scoops him up onto his shoulder. He walks over to the ropes with The Game on his shoulder and tries to drop him over the top rope.


Triple H holds onto the top rope for dear life, not wanting to be eliminated as Kane tries desperately to overpower him as the struggle continues. On the other side of the ring, Burke is also trying to eliminate Lashley as he tries to force him over the top rope, but Lashley holds on to the top with both arms too while being on the inside of the ring. Smith and Umaga battle it out too as Smith hits him with forearms to the face, but they don’t have too much effect. Umaga then grabs Smith by the head and headbutts him down to the mat.


He pulls him back up and chops him twice before whipping him into the ropes, and as Smith comes, Umaga shows his power as he lifts Smith up for a gorilla press and then drops him down onto his shoulder, then down to the mat for a WILD SAMOAN DROP. . . . . Smith just got ravaged as he hit the canvas real hard. Umaga stands back up as Triple H is able to slip down Kane’s back and to safety as the clock starts ticking again


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


Entrant #12 – Kenny Dykstra


The Cruiserweight Champion is next in line as he slowly walks down to the ring without his title belt. He casually walks up the ring steps, watching on as Triple H hammers Kane against the ropes with right hands and then tries to force him over the top, trying to push backwards with Kane hanging on quite comfortably. Dykstra enters the fray and walks over to help out Burke as he joins forces to try and force Lashley over the top. Lashley uses his strength to hold on as they try desperately to outmuscle one of the strongest men in the match.


Back in the middle of the ring, Umaga drags Smith by the arm to the corner, who just looks out of it completely. After sitting Smith against the corner pads. The Samoan Bulldozer backs up to the opposite corner before charging back across and smashing his ass right into the face of poor Harry. With both Umaga and Finlay standing back up at the same time, they bump into each other, back to back. Both men turn round and Finlay just kicks Umaga square in the groin, sending him down to the mat, clutching his groin with the clock starting all over again as Finlay walks over to Triple H and clubs him across the back, setting Kane free


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


Entrant #13 – Ron Killings


The Truth is the next superstar out, and for his first Royal Rumble as he charges down the aisle and slides into the ring. He runs over to Finlay and knocks him down with a leg lariat. Getting back up, he walks over towards Dykstra and Burke, then pulls Burke away before whipping him into the ropes and connecting with a dropkick. Lashley then uses his strength to push Dykstra off of him while Triple H and Kane go at it again.


The Big Red Machine reverses a whip to the corner, runs in at The Game, but Triple H lifts his elbow into Kane’s face and hammers away at him, but Kane just shoves Triple H down to the mat. He walks out as Killings then runs at him, but as Killings dives at him, Kane catches him and then tosses him back with a FALLAWAY SLAM. . . . . Kane sees Harry Smith squirming in the opposite corner and walks over to him, drags the lifeless body up and then tosses him over the top rope. That’s another gone, courtesy of the returning Big Red Machine


ELIMINATION #5: Harry Smith by Kane


Just as Lashley whips Dykstra into the ropes and tosses him over his head with a back body drop, Kane walks up behind him, turns him round, then grabs him by the throat and CHOKESLAMS HIM DOWN TO THE MAT. . . . . With Kane looking down at the carnage, the clock appears yet again


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


The lights go out once again and we hear the Gong, getting a huge pop. “Deadman’s Symphony” hits as white and purple spotlights shine down on the aisle and the ring as Kane tilts his lead in the middle of the ring

Entrant #14 – The Undertaker


The Undertaker walks slowly out in to the arena as the fans cheer like crazy. It takes a good minute before he gets to the ring and the lights come back on as he climbs the steps, staring at his brother standing tall in the middle of the ring with everyone else down. Taker steps through the ropes and walks slowly over to his brother as the crowd go absolutely crazy while the two brothers stare each other eye to eye and it looks like they’re about to go at it when Elijah Burke stands up behind The Undertaker and pushes him into Kane’s chest.


Kane just remains still while The Undertaker turns round and sends Burke back down to the mat with a right hand to the jaw. He turns back to face Kane, and it’s The Big Red Machine who throws the first blow. He goes for a second shot, but Taker blocks it and fires a couple of rights of his own. He then goes for an irish whip on Kane, but it’s reversed, and as Taker comes back off the ropes, he ducks underneath and runs through, and as he comes back, he connects with a JUMPING CLOTHESLINE. . . . . Kane hits the mat as the ticker gets the fans counting down


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


Entrant #15 – Rey Mysterio


Rey comes out to a big pop as he walks down the aisle while several superstars pick themselves back up in the ring. Umaga for one, and as Taker spots him, he eagerly makes his way over and drags Umaga up from his knees and takes a wild swing at him, but Umaga blocks it and chops away at Taker’s chest, pushing him back. He goes for an irish whip, and as Taker comes back off the ropes, Umaga knocks him down with a shoulder barge. He is about to pick him up when Mysterio springboards into the ring and dropkicks Umaga in the back, knocking him down to his knees and onto the second rope. That took everyone by surprise, especially Umaga as Rey then dials up. He runs at the topes, swings through and connects with the 619. . . . . .


Umaga falls back down to the mat, but stands up quickly as he walks away from the ropes and then turns round as Rey springboards again for the WEST COAST POP. . . . . Umaga catches Rey on his shoulders, and then drops him to the mat, back first with a POWERBOMB. . . . . Rey hits hard and Umaga just looks down in frustration at him as Lashley and Burke renew their battle, with Burke desperately trying to hang on. Kane has Triple H against the corner pads and has his boot resting under The Game’s chin, trying to choke him out. Lashley and Finlay, Killings and Dykstra are also battling with the Cruiserweight Champion trying to force Killings over the top rope as we see the clock again


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


Entrant #16 – Chavo Guerrero


Chavo is next out of the traps as he races down to the ringside. His music catches the attention of Dykstra, who lets go of Killings, who just drops down on the apron before rolling back under the bottom rope to the inside. Chavo slides into the ring and runs at Kenny, who is all ready and waiting as the two then go at it, slugging it out with right hands. It’s Chavo who gets on top as he hits three in succession, knocking Kenny on the back foot as he then pulls Kenny’s head under his arm and then lifts him vertically in the air before bringing him down to the mat with a suplex.


Chavo holds onto the tights and twists his hips as he gets back up for a second suplex, and then a third for the THREE AMIGO’S. . . . . The crowd cheer Chavo as he gets back up. He then see Lashley trying to force Finlay over the top and walks over to try and help Lashley as Taker rises again, going straight back for Umaga, pulling him away from going after Killings. Taker turns Umaga round, grabs him by the arm and whips him into the corner. He takes a second before he then runs in at him and nails him with a hard clothesline.


Umaga staggers out of the corner as Taker then turns back to run the ropes, runs back and takes Umaga down with a big boot right down the throat of The Samoan Savage. The crowd cheer that as Taker then turns round and runs at his brother, going for a clothesline, but Kane reaches his arm out and grabs Taker by the throat. Lots of gasps are heard from the crowd as Taker looks to be in danger, but he counters with a swift kick to the groin, sending Kane down to the mat as the ticker is displayed on the big screen


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


Entrant #17 – Jeff Hardy


The now former Intercontinental Champion walks out into the arena and then charges down to the ring, sliding into the ring just as Finlay pushes off both Lashley and Chavo to just about save himself. Jeff decides to make a play for Burke as he gets back up. He runs past Burke, into the corner and jumps up to the top rope and then hits him with the WHISPER IN THE WIND. . . . . The crowd cheer loudly for that one as Jeff then helps Dykstra up to his knees, then turns back into the ropes, runs back as Dykstra just about stands up and takes the Cruiserweight Champion with a spinning wheel kick.


As Umaga makes his way across to Jeff, it’s Hardy who surprises the monster with his aggression as he stomps Umaga in the gut and then kicks the ducked head, snapping Umaga’s head right back up. Jeff then takes him down with a LEG FEED ENZIGURI. . . . . Jeff looks on fire as he stands back up, but then sees Kane in the corner, battling with Triple H. He then walks over and clubs him across the back, forcing Kane to turn round as Triple H just slumps down to the mat. Kane walks menacingly out of the corner as Jeff back pedals.


As they get towards the centre, Kane swings at Jeff, but he ducks it and slips behind Kane, then dropkicks him in the knee, sending Kane down to his knees. Jeff then runs back into the ropes, comes back and dropkicks him in the back, sending Kane down face first. Jeff and Dykstra get back up at the same time, and as Jeff turns round, Dykstra rakes him in the eye and takes him down with a ROLLING CUTTER. . . . . The fans boo Kenny as he stands back up. He walks over to the ropes and taunts the crowd, saying he’s a star and will be going to Wrestlemania when we see the countdown again


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


Entrant #18 – Paul Burchill


As the second half of the WWE Tag Team Champions makes his way down to the ring, Kenny remains by the ropes, mouthing off at the fans when Chavo Guerrero walks up behind him. He gestures at the crowd to be quiet by putting his finger to his lip and then lifts Dykstra’s legs up and then lifts them over the top rope as Dykstra hits the floor, eliminated by his opponent earlier on, getting a big pop from MSG


ELIMINATION #6: Kenny Dykstra by Chavo Guerrero


Chavo looks down and smiles at Dykstra as his rival then looks up at him in disbelief. But as Chavo turns round, Dykstra stands up and grabs Chavo’s feet. Chavo looks round and kicks Dykstra away, but as he turns around again, Kane runs at him and clotheslines him over the top


ELIMINATION #7: Chavo Guerrero by Kane


The fans boo as Chavo hits the floor. Dykstra looks down and smirks with a real satisfied expression, but then stomps all over his fallen rival. The referee’s gather from around the ring and try to get him off of Chavo, which they do fairly quickly with Kenny just smiling as Chavo gets back up, looking very pissed as he glares right back. Back on the inside, Kane goes back to work on Triple H, trying to get him over the top, but The Game pushes him away straight away. He walks towards Kane and hits him with a couple of hard right hands to the skull, then whips him into the ropes.


As Kane comes back off the ropes, Trips hits him with a high knee striker, knocking him slightly off balance and then following up with a FALLING NECKBREAKER. . . . . The Game has taken the monster down, but as he gets back up, Umaga sends him right back down to earth with bang, nailing him with a SAVOTE KICK. . . . . Umaga turns to look into the crowd as he shouts in Samoan while banging his hands against his chest. But as he turns round, The Undertaker wraps his hand around the throat of The Samoan Bulldozer and CHOKESLAMS THE BIG MAN DOWN TO THE MAT. . . . . A big pop meets that one as the countdown starts once again


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


“WOO”

Entrant #19 – Ric Flair


The biggest pop of the night breaks out as “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair styles and profiles down to the ring with “Sprach Zarathustra” playing throughout the speakers. The crowd are on their feet as Flair gets closer to the ring while Kane sits up in front of The Undertaker. Taker allows him to get up, but is spun around by Finlay who throws several right hands at him. Taker then blocks a third and hammers at the Irishman with a couple of hard rights at him, knocking him back towards the ropes. He then grabs Finlay by the arm and whips him towards the ropes, but he doesn’t get that far as now stood up, Kane drives his boot into the face of Finlay, sending him back down to the mat.


Kane and Taker stare at each other from a distance for a couple of seconds before Flair walks up to Kane and chops him across the chest, not fazing the big man. Kane raises his hand towards Flair, but from behind, Triple H spins Kane round and hits him with a FACE BUSTER KNEE SMASH. . . . . And as Kane’s head snaps back up, Trips stomps him in the gut and sets him up for the PEDIGREE. . . . . The crowd go crazy, but Kane is able to back body drop The Game. Flair looks a little surprised and runs at Kane, but into a hard clothesline that knocks him down to the mat.


Lashley then seems to be stalking Kane for a SPEAR. . . . . And as Kane turns round to face him, Lashley charges out of the corner, but Kane sidesteps it as Lashley runs through and SPEARS THE ONCOMING UNDERTAKER RIGHT DOWN TO THE MAT. . . . . Lashley gets back up and looks down in sheer shock at what he’s just done. But he doesn’t have enough time to think about it as he turns round into The Big Red Machine who scoops him onto his shoulder and then lowers him down his chest before dropping to his knees, NAILING LASHLEY WITH THE TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER. . . . .


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


Entrant #20 – Chris Harris


Here comes Smackdown’s newest superstar for his first Royal Rumble. He isn’t looking to waste any time as he seems eager to get in, running down the aisle and sliding into the ring. He ducks under a right hand from Burke and knocks him down with a SUPER KICK. . . . . As Finlay stands up, Harris targets him as he stomps him in the gut and then pulls Finlay’s head under his arm before lifting him up vertically into the air and keeping him up there and then bringing him crashing back down with a DELAYED VERTICAL SUPLEX. . . . .


Triple H & Flair meanwhile make a double team attack on Kane as both men chop him across the chest, with Flair then running behind Kane into the ropes, comes back and chop blocks Kane, who drops to the mat. Triple H then steps back into the ropes and comes back, then hits him with a jumping knee drop, with Flair then repeating the attack. The Undertaker sits up and doesn’t look happy as he walks over to Jeff Hardy and Ron Killings are battling to eliminate each other. Taker pulls Hardy away from the ropes and knocks him down with an uppercut thrust, then does the same with Killings.


He then spins Harris around as he brawls in the corner with Burchill. The dead man whips Harris into the ropes, but Harris reverses it, and as Taker comes back, he takes Harris down with a big boot to the face. Burchill runs at Taker but into a hard right hand. Burchill gets up straight away as Taker then scoops him onto his shoulder, runs into the corner and drops him onto the top turnbuckle pad. Burchill comes back off the pads as he stands dazed by the ropes with The Undertaker then charging at him and clotheslining him over the top to the outside when the clock strikes again


ELIMINATION #8: Paul Burchill by The Undertaker


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0



“KENNEDY”

Entrant #21 – Mr. Kennedy


“Turn Up The Trouble” hits as Mr. Kennedy runs down and slides into the ring, immediately going for The Undertaker, striking him hard across the back. Taker turns round and exchanges right hands with Kennedy as they continue brawling while Umaga makes his way back up and walks over to Flair as he and Triple H are trying to force Kane over the top. Pulling Flair back, Umaga then grabs him around the chest and tosses him back with an OVERHEAD BELLY TO BELLY SUPLEX. . . . . He then spots Rey Mysterio and Burke brawling in the corner with Rey closest to him.


He pushes Rey right against Burke, then backs up into them both with them now squashed in the corner. The Samoan Bulldozer then walks to the opposite corner before charging back and SPLASHING BOTH REY AND BURKE IN THE CORNER. . . . . Umaga then walks out of the corner and runs at Jeff Hardy, taking him down with a vicious clothesline. Triple H is pushed off of Kane by The Big Red Machine’s hard chop to the chest. Kane takes some time to recover by the ropes as Killings then spots an opportunity as he turns round on the other side of the ring. He runs at Kane, but the monster sees him coming and tosses him over his head to the outside with a back body drop


ELIMINATION #9: Ron Killings by Kane


Kane walks out and drags a very groggy looking Lashley up to his feet after the tombstone earlier on and knocks him towards the ropes with some vicious shots, then tries to force him over the top, but Lashley holds on for dear life. Meanwhile, Kennedy does the same as The Undertaker tries to get him over the top rope when the countdown commences yet again


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


“This Fire Burns”

Entrant #22 – CM Punk


The new Intercontinental Champion walks out to the entrance along with Sunny, with Jeff sitting up in the ring, seeing both of them as they enter the arena. The contempt is clear in Jeff’s face as Punk then passes the belt to Sunny and then storms down to the ring, sliding inside as Jeff stands up. The pair of them go at it hell for leather, giving them their hardest shots possible, and it’s Jeff who gets on top, putting Punk on the back foot. Jeff then turns back into the ropes, comes back and takes Punk down with a flying forearm.


He drops to his knees to pummel Punk with right hands. He then backs off, allowing Punk to make his way back up, but as he does that, Jeff then runs past him into the corner, jumps up to the top and then comes off the top, hitting Punk with the WHISPER IN THE WIND. . . . . The crowd cheer like mad as Punk drops down against the mat. Jeff is then pounced on by Finlay, who clubs him across the back and knocks him against the ropes, with Finlay then trying to find a way to get him over the ropes.


Flair and Triple H continue to work as a team as they do everything they can to try and get Kane over the top rope, but it’s not working as Kane holds on. Lashley also continues to hold on as The Undertaker tries to get rid of the number one entry, and Burke & Rey remain on the mat following the splash from Umaga. The Samoan Bulldozer has his hands full with Harris as he holds him down to the mat and tries to choke the life out of him when the crowd start counting down with Kennedy making his way back up to his feet


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


“Break The Walls Down”

Entrant #23 – Chris Jericho


Y2J is the next man out as charges down the aisle and slides in the ring with Kennedy immediately going for him. He swings a right at Jericho, but Y2J blocks it and kicks Kennedy in the gut, and then hits him with the WALL BREAKER. . . . . Kennedy drops to the mat as Jericho then takes a wild swing at Umaga’s chest while the Samoan is knelt down on the mat choking Harris, then lets go after the blow winds him. Jericho then walks over to Punk and sends him straight back down with a dropkick against the ropes.


Finlay turns round and lets go of Jeff as he charges at Jericho, who sweeps Finlay’s legs and then drags him closer to the ropes and catapults Finlay over the ropes. Finlay though holds on as he lands on the apron, but Jericho gets back up and sees him. He then runs to the corner, jumps up to the top rope and knocks Finlay down as he stands up with a SPRINGBOARD DROPKICK. . . . . FINLAY IS ELIMINATED BY Y2J. . . . .


ELIMINATION #10: Finlay by Chris Jericho


The crowd pop for Jericho as he stands back up, but right into a hard martial arts kick to the face from Punk. As Punk turns round, he sees Jeff getting up by the ropes and runs at him. Jeff lifts his boot into Punk’s face and knocks Punk down. Jeff waits for Punk to get up, and then runs at him, but into a JUMPING ENZIGURI. . . . . Jeff is knocked right back down, and Punk talks smack at him as he yells right in his face. Burke and Rey stand back up in the corner, and Burke shoves Rey back. Rey then returns the favour, shoving Burke, but Burke retaliates with a slap.


Rey then goes mad as he swings at Burke, and goes for an irish whip, but it’s reversed by Burke. Rey though slides under the bottom rope and on to the apron, then stands up very quickly. Burke runs at him to try and knock him off, but Rey just sends him back pedalling with a forearm shot. As Burke turns round, Rey then springboards on to Burke’s shoulders, but with Rey hammering away a Burke, it sends Burke back towards the ropes. Rey then reaches down and holds onto the top rope as he twists round, and with a MODIFIED HURRICANRANA, ELIMINATES BURKE AS HE GOES FLYING OVER THE ROPES TO THE FLOOR BELOW. . . . .


ELIMINATION #11: Elijah Burke by Rey Mysterio


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0



Entrant #24 – Shelton Benjamin


The Gold Standard races down to ringside, slides under the bottom rope and charges straight at Rey as he gets up. Shelton unloads on Mysterio, then turns round into Harris as he gets up and kicks him hard in the chest. He even swings at Umaga, but Umaga grabs his boot, spins him round and knocks him down with an uppercut thrust. Umaga then hits a side kick on Harris’s chest, knocking him towards the ropes, holding his chest as Umaga then takes a step back and then a couple forward to clothesline Harris over the top to the outside


ELIMINATION #12: Chris Harris by Umaga


Umaga turns round and walks over to pull The Undertaker away from Lashley, whips him to the corner, but as he runs in, Taker steps out of the corner with Umaga running into the pads. As Umaga then tries to walk out, Taker steps in and punches back at Umaga, knocking him against the ropes with Taker then clotheslining UMAGA OVER THE TOP. . . . . Umaga manages to hold on to the top rope and lands on the apron. Taker turns back round having thinking he has eliminated him, but he turns back and sees Umaga standing back up.


He walks back and swings at Umaga, but Umaga ducks his head and drives a shoulder thrust at the dead man, knocking him back and allowing himself to climb back through the ropes while Kane fights back against Triple H and Flair, Jeff and Punk go at it in the corner, Lashley takes time to recover on the mat. Jericho also tries to push Kennedy over the top with Rey helping out, but Kennedy is holding on and looking safe when the count down starts


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


“Live for the Moment”

Entrant #25 – Matt Hardy


The United States Champion is next in line as he charges down the aisle and slides straight into the ring. He runs over and saves his brother straight away, pulling Punk away, spinning him round and throwing right hands at him, knocking Punk off balance as Matt then goes to hit a side effect. Punk escapes it by driving his elbow into the side of Matt’s head and pushes him down to his knees.


Matt is back up quickly and runs back at Punk, who sidesteps as Matt runs into Jeff and the two clash heads. Punk laughs as Matt drops to the canvas, but Jeff staggers towards Punk while holding his head. Punk then lifts Jeff onto his shoulders and plants him with the GTS. . . . . As Jeff’s face hits Punk’s knee, Punk grabs Jeff by the neck and jeans before Jeff can hit the mat, runs to the ropes and tosses Jeff over the top to the outside. . . . . JEFF HARDY IS ELIMINATED. . . . .


ELIMINATION #13: Jeff Hardy by CM Punk


A lot of boos meet that as Jeff hits the floor, while Punk smiles widely for several seconds, but is in for a shock as he turns round to face The Undertaker. Punk holds his hands up, but it doesn’t stop the dead man as he hammers away at Punk, knocking him down to the mat. Shelton then risks his life as he walks up behind the dead man and hits him across the back. Taker turns round as Shelton then swings at him again, Taker blocks it and shows his strength by lifting Shelton above his head with a GORILLA PRESS. . . . . The fear is obvious in Shelton’s face as Taker then walks over to the ropes and drops him down to the arena floor. . . . . SHELTON JOINS THE ELIMINATION PARTY


ELIMINATION #14: Shelton Benjamin by The Undertaker


With a lot of superstars trying to hold on for the lives, the count down starts again as we await number 26


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


Entrant #26 – Carlito


Out comes the cool one, looking very serious as he walks down the aisle slowly, then up the steps and through the ropes. He immediately walks up behind Jericho and Rey who are trying to get Kennedy over the top. He drags Rey back and plants him with a LIFTING REVERSE STO. . . . . He then stands back up and walks over to Jericho. Pulling Jericho back, Carlito then hits him with the BACK STABBER. . . . . Carlito gets up and turns round, runs into the ropes, SPRINGBOARDS AND HITS MATT HARDY WITH A BACK ELBOW SMASH. . . . .


Carlito stands back up and smiles, while The Undertaker is whipped into the ropes by Umaga and runs back into a SPINNING SIDE SLAM. . . . . Carlito turns round and grabs Umaga as he gets back up and tries to whip him into the ropes, but Umaga just doesn’t budge before pulling Carlito into him and taking him down with a vicious standing clothesline. Kane puts up a real fight against Triple H and Flair, pushing Flair back and then The Game, Kane runs out and away from the ropes, then knocks them both down with a double clothesline.


As Lashley stands back up in the corner, he charges at Kane, but The Big Red Machine stomps him hard in the gut, and then whips him hard into the corner pads, with Lashley just dropping to the mat. With Kennedy previously hanging on as Jericho tried to get him over the top, Kennedy stands back up on the mat and walks out as Jericho comes round after the Back Stabber, drags him up to his feet, and then plants him with THE MIC CHECK. . . . . As Kennedy stands back up, he turns round and sees Kane, with the duo then slugging it out as the clock appears on the big screen


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


Entrant #27 – William Regal


The Smackdown General Manager makes his way out, surprising the fans as he hadn’t announce his intention to compete in the match. He casually walks down to the ring to a good reception from the fans as he then steps through the ropes and locks eyes with Umaga. With there being a little tension between them recently on Smackdown, both men walk towards each other and start exchanging blows in the middle of the ring. Umaga quickly gets on top and shows his power as he chops Regal across the chest and then whips him hard into the corner.


He runs in and splashes the GM, who just slumps down the pads to a seated position. Umaga then backs up to the opposite side of the ring and then charges back and hits Regal with the SAMOAN WRECKING BALL. . . . . As Umaga then stands up, he sees Taker standing up and runs at him, but the dead man grabs him around the throat. The Undertaker looks to be going for the CHOKESLAM. . . . . Umaga fights it off with a kick to the mid section, forcing Taker to let the grip go, and Umaga strikes straight away.


He grabs Taker with his left arm and nailing him with THE DEADLY SAMOAN SPIKE. . . . . Taker drops to the mat as The Game stands back up alongside Carlito. Carlito swings at The Game, but Triple H blocks it and knocks him back with a couple of hard rights before whipping him into the ropes. As Carlito comes back, Triple H hits him with a FACE BUSTER KNEE SMASH. . . . . It knocks Carlito spinning round and against the ropes with Triple H then running at him and clotheslining him over the top as the clock appears again


ELIMINATION #15: Carlito by Triple H


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0



“Longhorn” hits

Entrant #28 – John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL)


Triple H turns round, hearing JBL’s music as he then watches on to see JBL walk out into the arena to a ton of heat. Mr. McMahon’s illegitimate son locks eyes on The Game straight away, and then runs down the aisle with a look of anger on his face. Sliding under the bottom rope, he and Triple H then go for each other straight away, pummelling each other with hard rights hands to the skull. Triple H quickly gets on top and then goes for an irish whip, but JBL reverses, and as Triple H comes back off the ropes, he jumps at JBL and takes him down with a LOU THESZ PRESS. . . . .


The Game continues to hammer away at JBL with some hard rights before standing back up and urging his bitter rival to stand back up. As JBL makes his way back up, Triple H backs up into the ropes, comes back as both men fall to the mat with a double clothesline. Meanwhile, Umaga continues his dominance as he pulls Kane back from Kennedy and head butts him down to the mat. He then sees Regal standing up in the corner and walks over. Regal stands up and barely walks out of the corner when Umaga lets fly with a SAVOTE KICK THAT SENDS REGAL BACK AND OVER THE TOP ROPE TO THE OUTSIDE. . . . .


ELIMINATION #16: William Regal by Umaga


The Smackdown GM is gone! As Kennedy picks himself up by the ropes after being manhandled by Kane, Jericho stands up after The Mic Check and spots Kennedy struggling. He charges at Kennedy, but Double K reacts by ducking down and holding the top rope as Jericho goes over the top. However, Jericho holds onto the top rope as he lands on the apron. As he turns back round though, Kennedy takes a couple of steps back before then moving forward again and KNOCKING JERICHO OFF THE APRON WITH A BIG BOOT. . . . .


ELIMINATION #17: Chris Jericho by Mr. Kennedy


There’s a huge smile on Kennedy’s face as he looks down and smiles at the fact that he has just eliminated his rival when the ticker strikes again


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


“One, two, you hear the clock ticking. . .”

Entrant #29 – Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP)


“I’m Comin” hits the speakers inside MSG as a very confident looking MVP walks out into the arena to a lot of heat. He takes his time as he walks down the aisle before climbing up the steps and then through the ropes. He makes a play for Rey Mysterio as the little man makes his way back up to his feet, walking up behind him and lifting him up onto his shoulder, then falls back, sending Rey crashing down to the mat with a side suplex.


With Matt Hardy standing up in the corner, MVP sees him as he gets up too and then runs into the corner and smashes Matt in the face with THE PLAYA’S BOOT. . . . . As Matt slumps down, MVP continues the assault while Triple H and JBL continue to brawl, as do Lashley and Kane, The Undertaker and Umaga. Kennedy then tries to take advantage of Flair as he gets back up to his feet following a stiff kick to the face from Punk. As Kennedy walks over and stomps all over Flair’s back, Punk pushes him to the side as he tries to drag Flair back up.


Kennedy then gets pissed as he shoves Punk back, causing them to start fighting each other. Kennedy puts Punk on the back foot and forces him against the ropes, with Punk then driving his knee into Kennedy’s chest. He then pulls Kennedy forward and tires to lift him over the top rope to the outside. Kennedy’s head and chest are dangling over the top rope as he tries to hold on with Punk desperately tries to force him over, until Flair stands back up and walks over to the ropes, then lifts Punk up by the feet, resulting in PUNK GOING OVER THE TOP ROPE, ALONG WITH KENNEDY. . . . .


ELIMINATION #18 & 19: CM Punk & Mr. Kennedy by Ric Flair


A huge pop breaks out for Flair as he then walks up behind JBL as he brawls with Triple H. Flair then chop blocks him in the back of the knee, and as JBL drops to the mat, Triple H nods at Flair, who then locks in the FIGURE FOUR LEG LOCK. . . . . JBL screams in pain as the crowd go crazy and then start to count down for the final entrant


9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . 0


“Here Comes the Money”

Entrant #30 – Shane McMahon


Shane O Mac is the last man to enter the 2008 Royal Rumble, and as he walks into the arena, he sees his half brother struggling in the figure four leg lock. He charges down into the ring, but as he tries to get to Flair, he is cut off by Triple H, who knocks Shane straight down with a right hand. To Shane’s credit he gets back up, but Triple H knocks him straight back down again. Again Shane gets back up quickly, with Triple H then whipping him into the ropes and then planting him with a DOUBLE A SPINEBUSTER. . . . . With Flair applying a lot of pressure, JBL starts tapping, but of course Flair keeps the hold locked it. Triple H though tells him to let go of the hold, which he does reluctantly.


The Game though has an ulterior motive as he reaches down and turns JBL onto his chest before locking in the CRIPPLER CROSS FACE. . . . . JBL looks in absolute agony as he again taps out while Triple H pulls hard and Flair walks over to Shane’s legs and applies THE FIGURE FOUR LEG LOCK. . . . . Shane screams out too as Flair and Triple H dominate The McMahon Boys. At the same time, Lashley and Kane are going hard at it, and as Lashley manages to push Kane away from the ropes, he then runs at him and takes him down with a hard clothesline. Kane gets back up straight away as Lashley then turns back to run into the ropes, comes back and takes Kane down with a DIVING SHOULDER TACKLE. . . . .


Kane again gets back up within seconds, with Lashley then setting him up and sending him down to the mat with a DOMINATOR. . . . . Lashley looks impressed with himself, but his face turns to stone when Kane sits right up, and then stands up. Lashley panics as he stalks him for a SPEAR. . . . . As Lashley charges at Kane, Kane lifts his boot up into Lashley’s face, leaving him groggy and dazed. Kane takes advantage straight away as he grabs Lashley by the trunks and the back of the head, walks across the mat and TOSSES THE NUMBER ONE ENTRY OUT OF THE ROYAL RUMBLE. . . . .


ELIMINATION #20: Bobby Lashley by Kane


Lashley put on an impressive performance, lasting from number one, while the number two entry, Umaga remains in the match too as he tries to outmuscle The Undertaker and eliminate him, but the dead men looks comfortable as he remains on the right side of the ropes. With MVP hammering away at Matt in the corner, Rey Mysterio picks himself back up following the side suplex from MVP before. He walks over and spins MVP round, stomps him in the gut and whips him into the ropes, and as he comes back, Rey drop toe holds him onto the bottom rope.


The crowd cheer like mad as Rey dials up and then runs into the ropes, swings through and connects with the 619. MVP falls back against the mat and rolls all the way across to the other side of the ring. As he uses the ropes to help him, Matt also stands back up in the corner and sees MVP struggling. As MVP stands back up fully against the ropes, Matt runs at him, but MVP lifts him over his shoulder. . . . . MATT LANDS ON THE APRON, BUT AS MVP TURNS ROUND, HE DUCKS A RIGHT FROM MATT AND KNOCKS HIM OFF THE APRON WITH A SPINNING CAPOEIRA KICK. . . . .


ELIMINATION #21: Matt Hardy by MVP


A lot of heat meets that elimination as MVP then turns round and looks down at Matt, laughing. Mysterio though walks up behind MVP, lifts his legs off the mat and tosses him over the top rope to the outside. . . . . MVP IS ELIMINATED!


ELIMINATION #22: Montel Vontavious Porter by Rey Mysterio


MVP sits back up on the outside and looks back in sheer frustration at Mysterio as he just turns round and getting on with business. MVP isn’t having any of it as he climbs back in the ring, spins Rey back round and nails him with THE PLAYMAKER. . . . . MVP gets a lot of heat as he just looks down in sheer fury at Rey before several referees order him out of the ring. MVP leaves with a real pissed off look on his face. Kane watches on and walks over to Rey. He then reaches down and drags him up to his feet, then scoops him onto his shoulder and walks over to the ropes, then JUST TOSSES MYSTERIO DOWN TO THE ARENA FLOOR. . . . .


ELIMINATION #23: Rey Mysterio by Kane


The fans are unhappy to see Rey eliminated as Kane turns back round and drags Triple H off of JBL. He hits him with a succession of uppercut thrusts, putting The Game on the back foot. He then grabs Triple H by the arm and whips him into the ropes, but as The Game runs back, Kane ducks his head, and Triple H takes full advantage as he kicks Kane square in the head, then pulls Kane’s head between his legs and plants him with the PEDIGREE. . . . . A huge cheer breaks out, but Kane sits back up, leaving triple H stunned.


He then kicks Kane in the gut and pulls him in position for one more, but Kane back body drops Triple H down to the mat. Meanwhile, Shane rakes Flair in the eyes, then starts jabbing away at him as we see the Shane Shuffle, knocking Flair down. Shane turns round and sees Kane, then pleads for mercy as Kane tilts his head to the side and stares at Shane. Just when it seems Kane is about to hit Shane, Triple H picks himself back up behind Kane and pushes him right into Shane, knocking Shane down.


Kane turns back round and into a SPIKE DDT. . . . . As Shane picks himself back up to his knees, Triple H moves right in front of him. Shane then feels out and realises The Game is right there. Shane’s face is a picture as he realises he is in trouble. Triple H just drags him up, stomps him in the gut and sets him up for a PEDIGREE. . . . . JBL though clubs him from behind and continues to stomp him across the back, and as Shane gets back up, together they put a beating on him and then try to push him over the top with Triple H clinging on until Flair comes to the rescue.


The Nature Boy approaches JBL from behind and low blows him and then pulls Shane off of The Game, with the foursome continuing to battle it out while The Undertaker mounts a fight back against Umaga on the other side of the ring. With Umaga being in from the beginning, his energy looks to be waning as The Undertaker is able to push him away, and then fights back with right hands, catching Umaga cold. He then goes for an irish whip, but it’s reversed by Umaga, and as Taker comes back, he stuns Umaga by planting him with a RUNNING DDT. . . .


A big pop rings out as Taker then stands back up with Umaga closely behind. Taker reaches out and grabs him by the throat and then plants him with a CHOKESLAM. . . . . Just when it seems Taker is on fire, his brother walks up to him and hits him with a right hand, but Taker is able to block it and fires back at Kane, then whips him into the corner. He runs in at him and hits him with a hard clothesline. Kane begins to stagger out of the corner, but Taker grabs him by the arm and then twists it before climbing up to the top rope.


He then walks across it and comes down, hitting Kane across the shoulder for a little OLD SCHOOL. . . . . He works on his brother while Umaga remains on the mat and the other four beat the hell out of each other. Shane goes back to work on The Game, but is caught short as Triple H shoves him down to the mat and then runs out at him as he stands him up, hitting him with a RUNNING NECKBREAKER. . . . .


The crowd cheer The Game as he does his signature taunt above Shane’s body and then drags him to his knees, but JBL shoves Flair down to his knees and runs in desperation at Triple H, who lets go of Shane and drop toe holds JBL down to the mat. He turns round and looks down at JBL by the ropes when Shane gets back up behind him, walks over and tries to lift him over the top. The Game just kicks him away towards the middle of the ring and then turns round as Shane runs back at him, but Triple H lifts him above his shoulder, HIGH INTO THE AIR AND OVER THE TOP ROPE TO THE OUTSIDE. . . . .


ELIMINATION #24: Shane McMahon by Triple H


A huge pop rings out as Shane lands on the arena floor. Trips looks down and smirks before turning his attention back to JBL, pulling him up to his feet and trying to force him over the top rope. But JBL pushes him off straight by driving his elbow back into the side of The Game’s head, knocking him off balance. JBL then turns round, runs the ropes to the side, comes back and TAKES TRIPLE H’S HEAD OFF WITH A CLOTHESLINE FROM HELL. . . . .


Once he stands back up, he sees Flair standing up and motioning for a fist fight, and then walks over as they slug it out. JBL takes control straight away with a weary Flair, putting him right off balance with a series of hard shots to the forehead. He has Flair teetering against the ropes when he then goes for one big swing, but Flair ducks and THE MOMENTUM TAKES JBL OVER THE TOP ROPE. . . . . BUT HE LANDS ON THE APRON. . . . . Flair is still tired and drops to the mat as JBL lies on the apron, but then starts to stand back up.


As Flair gets back up too, he turns round and sees JBL standing on the apron. He swings at him, but JBL blocks it and grabs Flair by the head and reaches over the top rope to pull Flair’s head under his arm. He then tries to lift Flair up for a SUPLEX TO THE OUTSIDE. . . . . Flair tries to counter it, blocking it with his foot, but JBL does the same and then catches Flair off guard as HE LIFTS FLAIR UP INTO THE AIR FOR A VERTICAL SUPLEX AND DROPS HIM DOWN TO THE FLOOR BELOW. . . . .


ELIMINATION #25: Ric Flair by JBL


The most heat of the night greets Flair’s elimination as he lands hard on the MSG floor. JBL takes a look back and turns to the crowd, taunting them when they start to cheer. The camera cuts to show Triple H back on his feet and staring right at JBL as he then runs up behind and knocks him off the apron with a knee lift to the back. . . . . JBL IS OUT!


ELIMINATION #26: John “Bradshaw” Layfield by Triple H


The boos turned to cheers and Triple H looks down with distain at JBL, who stares back as he sits up and turns round with a look of absolute anger on his face. Triple H holds onto the ropes and talks smack at JBL, who gives as good as he gets, pointing and shouting right back at The Game to get him more agitated. With Triple H arguing and distracted by JBL, he is totally obvious as Umaga stands back up and walks towards him.


JBL smiles right at The Game who just looks curious and then turns round into a SAVOTE KICK THAT TAKES HIM OVER THE TOP ROPE ONTO THE APRON. . . . . HE JUST HOLDS ON, BUT JBL GRABS HIS LEGS AND PULLS HIM DOWN TO THE FLOOR. . . . . Mike Chioda & Jim Korderas look at each other, not sure what to do, BUT CHIODA THEN GESTURES THAT TRIPLE H HAS BEEN ELIMINATED. . . . .


ELIMINATION #27: Triple H by John “Bradshaw” Layfield


The crowd don’t like it one bit as JBL laughs at The Game’s expense until Triple H stands back up and starts swinging at him. They brawl all the way round ringside until a group of referees run down from the back and try to separate them with the help of Flair too as he stands back up, but it all kicks off with both Triple H and JBL pushing the refs down to the floor and brawl all the way to the back along with Flair. Back on the inside Umaga turns round and runs at Kane and The Undertaker, taking them both down with a double clothesline.


The man who has been in from the very start, stands tall out of the last three. He pulls Kane back up to his feet, whips him into the ropes, and as Kane comes back, he ducks underneath, spins Umaga round and lifts him up with both hands around the shoulders, then drops him to the mat. He then walks over to the corner and climbs to the top rope, waiting as Umaga stands back up. As the monster gets back up and turns round, Kane comes off the top and hits a DIVING CLOTHESLINE. . . . .


Kane now looks in control, but his brother is getting right back up. Kane stands back up and walks over, but The Undertaker strikes first with a hard right, and then goes for another. Kane ducks underneath it though and as Taker spins round, Kane scoops him up onto his shoulder for the TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER. . . . . Taker looks in trouble, but he then manages to pull himself back and gets Kane in position for the same move and THEN DROPS TO HIS KNEES, PLANTING KANE WITH A TOMBSTONE. . . . .


A huge pop breaks out as Taker hits it, but Kane sits back up to everyone’s amazement, including The Undertaker. Both men make their way back up to their feet and are about to slug it out when Umaga grabs both men by the back of the necks and looks to bang their heads together. They both push him away, but as Umaga walks back, both Kane and The Undertaker grab him around the throat. UMAGA LOOKS IN TROUBLE AS THE BROTHERS OF DESTRUCTION CHOKESLAM HIM DOWN TO THE MAT. . . . .


A big pop breaks out straight away, but Kane immediately turns to his brother and tries to scoop him up for another tombstone. Taker slips down the back and pushes Kane into the ropes, and as Kane comes back, The Undertaker plants his brother with a SIDEWALK SLAM. . . . . Kane remains on the mat for several seconds while Umaga picks himself up by the ropes and The Undertaker gets back up to his feet. He sees Umaga standing up and runs at him, TAKING HIM OVER THE TOP ROPE, BUT THE MOMENTUM TAKES THE UNDERTAKER OVER TOO. . . . . UMAGA HITS THE FLOOR, BUT THE UNDERTAKER LAND ON THE APRON. . . . .


ELIMINATION #28: Umaga by The Undertaker



The Undertaker remains on the mat for several seconds, but as he starts to make his way back up, Kane is already back up and makes his way over to the apron. He then reaches out and grabs Taker by the throat. THE CROWD GASP IN HORROR AS KANE LIFTS HIS BROTHER INTO THE AIR AND CHOKESLAMS HIM OFF THE APRON AND DOWN TO THE ARENA FLOOR. . . . . THE UNDERTAKER IS ELIMINATED. . . . . KANE HAS WON THE ROYAL RUMBLE!


ELIMINATION #29: The Undertaker by Kane


WINNER: And heading to Wrestlemania 24, Kane


Michael Cole: I can’t believe what we just witnessed here tonight folks. . . “The Big Red Machine” Kane has returned, mask and all to win the 2008 Royal Rumble. . . I am in complete shock

The Coach: Michael, the whole world is in shock. . . I mean, who could have seen this coming? . . . We’ve not seen Kane for months, and he just tore up the Royal Rumble, superstar after superstar

The King: I’m just glad Kane’s not a Raw superstar JR

JR: You know I feel the same as you King. I don’t want that man anywhere near Raw, but it might just happen. . . The fact is King, he’s free to choose which title he wants to challenge for at Wrestlemania, whether it be the World Championship on Smackdown, or even Randy Orton’s WWE Championship on Raw

Michael Cole: Well I for one hope we find out sooner rather than later. But unfortunately we’ve run out of time tonight folks. . . Thanks for joining us here from Madison Square Garden everyone. . . Good night!



AFTERMATH: “Burned” blasts out as Kane tilts his head slightly and stares down at his brother on the outside before walking backwards to the middle of the ring. He then lifts his arms up in the air slowly and brings them down fiercely as his pyro goes off in all four corners of the ring as well as the stage. Kane remains in the middle of the ring as the majority of the lights go out, with some red spotlights shining down on him as the camera switches to a view of the Wrestlemania 24 sign hanging from the ceiling as the show comes to an end



***END OF SHOW***



 
#587 ·
^^^That's not a review JiGSaWrBg! Here Nige, I will give you a review for an awesome show. Hats off to you mate, this was extraordinary!

CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy
This was a great match man. I love CM Punk as a heel, and it’s a shame that WWE only had him as a heel for 2 weeks. I like how Hardy hit the Whisper in the Wind early on, nearly getting the win at the 30 second mark. You did the match greatly, making both men hitting all of their signature moves, and I like how you included the reactions from the crowd as you said you could feel the nervousness of the crowd. I thought Sunny would be a major part in this match, and she did, costing Jeff the match and siding with Punk, who eventually picked up the win thanks to her. I like Sunny as a heel also, as well as a heel CM Punk as the Intercontinental Champion. Hopefully this will boost Punk up the ranks and also get Hardy out of the mid card scene and up into the main event scene, where he belongs. Great match once again!

I like the Rated RKO reunion, and if I’m not mistaken, the two were backstage at your Survivor Series PPV as well, when Edge asked him for back up in his match with Batista. I loved the cheap shots from Edge towards New York also, getting him cheap heat. I liked the Evolution reunion in the parking lot also, with Flair saying he would win the Rumble and Batista the WHC. What a Wrestlemania main event that would be as Cole said!


Chavo Guerrero vs. Kenny Dykstra
This was another good match, but not as good as the previous match lol. I have always liked Chavo better as a face for some reason, IDK why. I like how Kenny has become a bit more ‘crazed’ and as Cruiserweight champ, and how the CW division has grown. Kenny was always going over to make him look more dominant, and love the Leg Drop as his finisher (one good thing WWE has done). Another good match and I think this is the end of their feud.

This was a good interview with HBK, and I like how you brought Cena into the mix. I also like how you said that Cena would be champ and HBK would be champ heading into Mania, although I think one of them will lose their match later tonight. Good to see that you have Cena getting mixed reactions. I am thinking there will be a Kennedy and Jericho rematch from SNME possibly at Mania, from this backstage promo.


HBK vs. Batista vs. Edge
I would have thought that Edge would have gone on the outside and let HBK and Batista fight it out, but at least you took one out of the equation in the early going. Once again, you had all three competitors hit their signature moves, and it is good that you had all three competitors have their fair share in the match. I love HBK on Smackdown and as the World Champion, and I like how he is still the World Champ. I am expecting him vs. Edge at Wrestlemania, as Edge didn’t get pinned.

Loved the tension between the McMahon’s. Does this mean that there will be a new General Manager on Raw or something along those lines? I have loved this storyline from the get go, it has been awesome!


TLC Match
John Cena vs. Randy Orton

This was another fantastic match, although I did think Cena would win this match for some reason, I am not sure why though. Tables, Ladders and Chairs matches are my favourite kind of match, and this one is no exception. I loved the layout of the match when they were climbing the ladder towards the belt, as it gave us a description of what was going on during this time. The spots in the match were absolutely insane but also awesome, and the closing moments of the match were truly incredible and extraordinary, with the sick RKO through the table. This match was definitely the second best match of the night, and it is good to see that there is at least one heel champion heading into Wrestlemania, although I do think the “Age of Orton” will end at the Grandest Stage of them All.

Royal Rumble Match
Now Nige, please bare with me, as this is the first Royal Rumble match that I have ever reviewed LMAO! In all honesty, this will probably go down as the best Match of the Month, because it was absolutely awesome! Two huge superstars starting off in Umaga and Bobby Lashley is great, with the two men having previous encounters which were good. I like how you are building Umaga up as a monster, dominating Lashley and Kingston in the early going. Masterpiece and Santino entering is great, and then the veteran Finlay comes in the ring, and business is about to pick up. Interesting with HHH entering the ring very early at number 8, but you displayed his dominance straight away by eliminating Santino. Elijah Burke enters and there aren’t any eliminations until KANE RETURNS WITH THE MASK! Absolutely awesome decision to have Kane return as the monster as he used to be, and you displayed him perfectly as a monster from the get go, choke slamming both Kofi and Cody Rhodes over the top rope in a matter of minutes, and then Chris Masters by a clothesline, ending his dream of main eventing Mania. There are 3 entrants and in this time no one has gone, until Harry Smith goes, yet again by the Big Red Machine, who is really looking like a machine! Awesome to have a BOD face off when everyone is down, and The Undertaker taking charge of his “brother” Kane. Another big name in Rey Mysterio comes in, and then the Kenny and Chavo continues on with Guerrero entering next and the battling it out. Jeff Hardy entering is great, and then Chavo eliminating Kenny only for Dykstra to retaliate and cause Chavo to be eliminated, yet again by Kane! It looks I was wrong, as it looks like the Kenny and Chavo feud will continue! Flair entering is also great, and the Brothers of Destruction fight it out still! Kane is going on a warpath, nailing Lashley with a Tombstone Piledriver, showing his monster side once more. The impressive Harris then makes his Rumble and PPV debut, as Undertaker makes his first elimination of the match. Kennedy entering the ring is great for the match, but the spotlight is on Kane as he gets his sixth elimination, this time to The Truth. The new IC Champ CM Punk then enters in the ring, with many big stars now in the ring, and it gets even bigger with Chris Jericho entering the ring and making an impact straight away by eliminating the Fighting Irish Man. I like how you are making people get eliminated with moves instead of the standard throwing over the top rope, as Rey eliminates the impressive Elijah Burke with a Hurricanrana. The Gold Standard enters the ring, and then the former TNAian Chris Harris is gone by Umaga, who has been looking good. I do not really like how you are making Punk continually getting the better of Hardy, as it makes him look weak, and Shelton soon joins the other 13 eliminated men, which was from the Undertaker, and the brothers of Destruction are ripping the shit in this match LMAO. I almost forgot about Carlito, as he has such a late number, as SD GM William Regal makes a shocking entry. Carlito is already eliminated by HHH, and this will be interesting, JBL in the ring at the same time as HHH. Umaga then eliminates his General Manager William Regal, and then Kennedy eliminates my personal favourite Chris Jericho with a big boot, which isn’t really common for him. MVP enters at Number 29. This may take MVP very far, as Flair eliminates the two heels in Punk and Mr Kennedy (Kennedy!)! Shane O Mac is entering at Number 30, and he will definitely his step brother JBL, who is being dominated by the former Evolution members. Kane then gets his SEVENTH elimination by eliminating the number 1 entrant in Bobby Lashley, and then MVP eliminating his fierce and long time rival Matt Hardy, which will probably make him number 1 contender for the US Title, until all of a sudden, Mysterio comes from behind Porter and eliminates him! A possible future feud between MVP and Mysterio as Porter hits Rey with the Playmaker, giving Kane his eighth elimination! It takes a fairly long time before anything else happens, and the thing that happened was the elimination of Shane McMahon by Triple H! JBL then gets revenge for his brother, eliminating HHH’s best friend Ric Flair, until JBL is quickly gone by HHH, but then Layfield enters the ring and eliminates HHH!! I sense a tag team match for Mania, with JBL and Shane O Mac facing off against Flair and Helmsley. This leaves three monsters in the match, them being Umaga, Undertaker and Kane. Umaga entered at number 2, but he is the second last eliminated as his foe Undertaker eliminates him, leaving the two brothers who had been battling throughout the whole match as the final two! OH MY GOD!! Kane is the winner of the 2008 Royal Rumble!! I would never have expected this with Kane entering at number 10 and getting nine eliminations!! This was an absolutely great match mate, congratulations.

Nige, in all honesty, this was the best Royal Rumble PPV I have ever read, and also the best non Wrestlemania event I have ever read. The Kane return was absolutely incredible once again, the TLC Match and the Triple Threat matches were sick, and the Intercontinental Title Match and the Cruiserweight Title Match were also awesome. Hats off to you Nige, this is the definite PPV of the month!! I would give the show 10 out of 10.
 
#590 ·
Haha - See you got some great comments for your loyal fans :p. Anyway mate looks to be a good show, suprised withthe whole Kane thing. Will give you a review soon after I have reviewed some others first, namely JayBeeLoser, WCW and DC, sorry :$. Don't fear it will do it.
 
#591 ·
D-K-L's Royal Rumble Review

Nice little video package to start the show, not too long which I like, but got the point across that there are 30 men, but only one dream will come true as usual.

CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy
Brilliant match to open the show. I was expecting the Cruiserweight title match to kick off the show tbh but this was a great choice, really got us pumped. This match was so interesting becuase of the way you have booked this rivalry, you've booked it so well and you made the IC Title feud one of the top feuds, which WWE hasn't done IRL for a long time. You did well starting the match off quickly as these guys really hate each other, so a slow, cautious start wouldn't have been right for these two. Man, the Whisper In the Wind already! That got the match off to a good start. Loving all the great moves they used in this, the D.U.Backbreaker is one of my favourites. Loved the counter to the Air Punk. Punk just hit the Rock Bottom!? Man, the Anaconda Vice! I think you needed a submission in here to make it realistic as these guys couldn't go at that pace all the way through. Hilarious Ref bump here Lol, only a WWE ref would get caught with a boot from a guy up the the GTS position, why didn't he just step backwards!? ... WHAT!? Sunny just hit Jeff with the belt!? Man I wasn't expecting that at all, don't tell me she's been with Punk all this time!? CM Punk makes the cover and he's the new champ, Yay! Awesome ending and leaves it open for a second match, wouldn't be suprised if you stretch this feud up to Mania, although Jeff will probably be in the MITB. Loved this match Nige and got me pumped for the rest of the show, this rivalry has just been great.

Nice little seg with Rated RKO. They were in character playing their typical heel roles. Loved the New York joke Lol, that's something Edge would say.
Nice little segment with Batista and Flair too, Flair is good at putting 'Tista over and he did that, saying that Batista is bigger and stronger than his opponents, but I still doubt he'll win.

Chavo vs. Dykstra
Nice little match here between two solid wrestlers. I like how you have built the Cruiserweight title back up, and you've done it by giving the title to Dykstra. He's had a good little title reign so far and it's done him a lot of good, so there is no way he's losing the belt tonight. This match was at a fast pace too with both guys getting some good offense in. I like the moves you were using in this like the Brainbuster and the Northern Lights, love those moves. The Three Amigo's were great too. Chavo rolling out the way of the leg drop and Kenny dodging the frogsplash made for an exciting ending. Nice little heel tactics from Dykstra to hit the low blow, and then the cutter. Damn! I said it would end a DQ win for Chavo, and it would've if the stupid Ref had seen it Lol! Nice ending with the Guillotine Leg Drop, top finisher and Dykstra's reign continues, but this leaves it open for a second match too.

Decent interview with HBK, I like what he had to say about him coming back from the career threatening injury. Here comes Cena, can't stand him tbh but he was in character and what he had to say was good.

Here is my pick for the Rumble! KKEENNNNEEDDDYYY! Great confrontation with Y2J and Kennedy. KK calling Regal 'Willy' was funny and something he would do. I'm suprised no one said 'that's a tough job, you should be proud of yourselves' to the tumblers Maria and McCool, WWE normally uses that line every year at the Rumble. It's obvious that we'll get the KK/Y2J rivalry again after tonight so that makes me think that KK isn't winning tonight. I think your next PPV is Mania or a SNME so we could get another match on Raw.

HBK vs. Edge vs. Batista
This match started out really exciting too, it was funny how Batista got dumped out of the ring straight away, not exactly what Flair had in mind when he told Batsita to kick some ass! Some near falls early on were cool. I loved Batista's counter from the Asai Moonsault into the running powerslam, that was awesome. All three guys had their signature moves in this match and you did a good job of eliminating a guy for certain stages, like you did with Batista the start. Lou Thesz press! I was wondering when HBK was going to hit that as he normally hits it early on, Figure Four! Batista was never going to tap from that but it was a good submission to throw in. The last few paragraphs were really exciting with the near falls. Man I thought it was over after the Batista Bomb. Nice close finishes with the Spear and Spinebuster too, and nice SCM to stop the Batista Bomb. Sweet Chin Music to Edge! That was great to eliminate him from the equation, and Sweet Chin to Batista! Yes! Great counter to stop the spear and I'm glad that HBK won. Great match.

So all power has been taken away from the McMahon's? That's interesting. Who is the guy who will take over then I wonder? I know you like your shocks so it could be anyone, but I look forward to finding out, the McMahon's certainly won't like it.
The HHH/CM Punk confrontation was interesting. I don't think it's going anywhere though but what Punk had to say was cool. HHH had some strong words too but I don't think he's winning.

John Cena vs. Randy Orton
This was a really great match Nige, really exciting. It's strange seeing Randy Orton and John Cena in a TLC match but you made it work. Once again the match got off to an exciting start, there are no slow starts in your matches and it's cool to read, especially for a TLC. There was good use of the ladder in this match and I liked how you described how many rungs they were up the ladder, that helps us imagine it in our heads better.There was a real good part of the match between all the ladder climbing, with Cena hitting the powerslam onto the ladder and Orton sending Cena through the table. That was great. The Spike DDT through the announce table was awesome, I really thought it was over there. I liked how Cena made the Superman recovery, Orton should have just hit the RKO through the table instead. Yes, RKO through the table! I'm glad you used that spot. Great ending to a really exciting match and I'm glad that the Orton era will continue.

Cool segment between Hardy and MVP, MVP's joke about Hardy having fun was funny. I really hope that MVP wins the Rumble but I really doubt it.

The Royal Rumble Match
I'm not going to go through and review each part Nige as it's hard to do that with the Rumble without telling the story all over again. The start of the Rumble was cool and I liked how you saved the first elimination for a bit. Marrella was eliminated first like he was IRL this year, poor Santino! Kane with the mask was a BIG shock, I knew that he was coming but I didn't think he was going to be an actual entrant in the Rumble, I thought he was going to interfere and eliminate Taker so it was a massive shock seeing him enter. Kane eliminated lots of guys and that helped him make a massive impact on his return, the way he was throwing guys out all over the place was similar to a few years back when he got rid of like 11 guys.I loved how you kept these feuds going to with Punk eliminating Hardy and Chavon eliminating Dykstra. I was real angry when Ric Flair got rid of Mr Kennedy, he was my pick to win, I don't know why I picked him though really. The battle with the McMahons and Triple H was cool and having JBL re enter and eliminate HHH was a great booking decision. Wow, Umaga made the last three, brilliant! Great choice for the last two, Kane and the Undertaker even though they didn't really fight each other at the end. Kane Chokeslamming Taker off of the apron was a great way to end it, and Kane winning was a big surpise! I knew you would shock us with the Rumble winner and you did. Is Kane going to feud with Taker or will he go for the title? And will Kane be going against HBK now at Mania? That would be really interesting. Great ending Nige, it was the best Rumble I've read on here for sure.

Overall it was a fantastic PPV Nige, really great. It will get the PPV of the month for sure IMO. All the matches were really exciting, you are a great match writer and you proved it here. I can't wait for Raw and SD now to see all the fallout. Great PPV Nige, good job mate!
 
#592 ·
Thanks for all the great feedback so far guys, i'm really glad that you have all enjoyed it and are mostly in shock that Kane came back and won the Rumble. Like Dan said, you have to expect the unexpected. I've got a few reviews to return already, but i'll get round to them tomorrow as i've just had a nightmare last ten minutes trying to find my proposal for my Final Major Project presentation, and it's gone

Anyways all the feedback will be returned in due course, JD & Dan are at the top of the list, then i'll get to the rest. Thanks again!
 
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