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Perfect Poster presents: World Wrestling Entertainment 2007

3K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  Perfect Poster 
#1 ·

The date is June 26, 2007. The WWE, fresh off a subpar Night of Champions pay-per-view and honoring murderer Chris Benoit with a 3 hour RAW tribute, have fallen into PR hell. Sponsors have been pulling deals left and right, some wrestlers are disgusted with the tribute that was given and do not want to be associated with the company anymore, and the company is doing major damage control. Vince McMahon, the most powerful man in the pro wrestling industry, has been cut at the knees and needs to make some decisions fast. Unfortunately for him and the company, that means budget cuts are coming since there aren't as many sponsors to pay the bills.

Vince, being in the biggest PR trouble of his life since the Owen Hart saga, releases the following statement to WWE.com viewers on that morning.

Vince McMahon said:
Greetings, WWE fans all across the world:

With the events that have transpired over the past 72 hours, I regret to inform you all that some major structural changes will occur and will effect everyone from me to the janitors that set up the show for us. I want to let you all know that I did not wish for this to happen, but with the circumstances that have resulted, my hands are tied and I am left with no choice. All of these changes are effective immediately.

With that in mind, I regret to inform all of you that ECW on Sci-Fi will be coming off the air immediately. Sci-Fi management iterated to me that they wanted no more association with the WWE and therefore would not continue to air the product. While we are disappointed with this news, we at the WWE respect their decision and will oblige to their demands. Because of this news, ECW as a brand will cease to exist as well. The wrestlers associated with ECW will either be reassigned, sent back down to development, or outright released.

Additionally, the CW has ended their relationship with the WWE. Smackdown will no longer air on that network. While we appreciate the time we have spent with the CW and wish them well, we feel this was a mutually beneficial decision. Fortunately for us, the USA Network has agreed to become responsible for Smackdown!. What this means to you, the viewer, is that Smackdown will now be shown for one hour, from 9-10 PM, each Thursday on the USA Network. While I wish we could continue to air Smackdown! for two hours each week, we are grateful for the USA Network to accept responsibility and will continue to produce as good of a product as we can each and every week.

In addition to that news, the brand extension will be no more. This is partly due to ECW disbanding and Smackdown's airtime being reduced, but we also believe creatively that it has run it's course. What this means, of course, is that any wrestler on the active roster can appear on RAW or Smackdown! and that we hope to deliver as strong of a product as we can.

I realize that these changes that have been made in a short period are great, but we here at the WWE have to react and we feel that these are the most effective changes that we can make. Nothing creatively will change about this company. You'll still be able to see John Cena, Edge, Batista, and all the other superstars each week on WWE television. Starting July 2nd, we will be the same WWE as we were before. We know this is a bombshell of an announcement, but we at the WWE hope you all understand where we are coming from and will continue to watch WWE programming in your homes each and every week.

With kind regards,
Vincent K. McMahon
Owner, Chairman, and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment
OOC: Oh hai :eek:. I have no idea how long I'll be keeping this going, as I haven't had a full fledged BTB in quite some time. The reasons for cutting ECW and shortening Smackdown are ones that I have to do for time constraints. While the roster may seem a bit big at first, I'd rather have it too big than too small. I'll try a RAW in full (or semi-full) and see how it goes, but it will probably be a snails pace at this point. The usual stuff – roster, PPV schedule, champions, etc. – will be delivered in my next post here, but I'm literally starting from scratch. I took 2007 because it was the era I first started watching and I couldn't keep up with a current era one. I hope to be capable of getting through a PPV at least, but this is really just an outlet for me to write when I feel like it. With school starting in about a month, it will likely be a v e r y s l o w process, but with as dead as this section seems, I doubt people will notice. Well, that's enough rambling, time to get down to the nitty gritty.
 
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#4 ·
You have my attention with this. Interested to see what you do with what still feels like one of the worst years in WWE's history.

I know you said the ECW/Smackdown changes were done because of time constraints, but you've done a great job of adapting to those constraints in a way that really helps the story. Don't worry too much though, always better to go with quality over quantity, and really looking forward to seeing where you take this.
 
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#8 ·
I figured it’s only fair I hit you back with some feedback. Keep in mind I haven’t done this in awhile so uhh, hopefully I actually still know what I’m doing.

Considering all the issues with the WWE at the moment it makes perfect sense to kick off this “new era” with Vince McMahon himself. The beginning was fine with Vince reassuring the fans, although even before the Edge interruption, I felt like Vince glossed over all the issues too much. It probably wouldn’t have been the most entertaining promo to write but I felt like Vince needed to go into a little more detail here.

Edge’s interruption in itself was quite good though and everything he said was pretty spot on. Of course Edge wants to have all the glory, and I quite enjoyed the Super Bowl analogy and the cheap heat comment as well.

After Edge’s bit, John Cena needed to make an appearance so there was no surprise there. Typical generic Cena stuff here, nothing really wrong with that, suits the situation perfectly.

The brawling between Edge and Cena was nice although I would have liked to have seen a little more back and forth, and maybe even some mentioning of their epic rivalry that took up half of 2006. It would have really made things seem like more of a big deal, so hopefully that’s something you touch on throughout the next couple of weeks.

Obviously the brawl had to be broken up some way, but I just don’t buy Vince McMahon pulling Cena off of Edge and pushing him into the corner. I don’t buy it at all.

The rest of Vince’s lines were all pretty standard as well. Not only does KOTR (awesome move on bringing that PPV back) now have a big time main event, we have a good main event for tonight’s show even if we don’t know the other team. Edge/Cena working together is going to be interesting to read, and overall, a few real minor things I picked on but a solid start to the show.

Two solid mid carders to begin the KOTR first round matches. Nitro and Hardy put on a good TV match and Nitro looks terrific in getting the clean victory over the possibly still more established Hardy. No complaints at all, good stuff.

I actually always quite enjoyed the MVP character but especially around this time so I’m intrigued to see just what you do with him. Not being in the KOTR Tournament despite being the US Champion gives Porter some ammo to rant, and his running down of some of the other guys in the tournament is a typical, dickish move. He almost sounds like he’s going to do something big to get attention which excites me greatly. To be really picky here, the last line, ending the promo with “believe dat” just didn’t sound right. It seemed to much like Teddy Long, who at this point would still be fresh on everybody’s mind. Besides that, I enjoyed this though.

Standard AAE promo just hyping Umaga as expected. This was around the time in real life the WWE really ruined Umaga, so I’m pleased to see you getting him back on track by destroying Marella and recapturing the IC Title. The brutal Wrecking Ball aftermath just adds to Umaga’s vengeance, awesome. Probably my favourite bit of booking so far tonight because this REALLY NEEDED to happen.

Another solid first round KOTR match between two guys who can put on a solid match, Jeff Hardy and Carlito. I mark for ‘Lito and can’t stand Jeff so safe to say I hated the result. But ‘Lito was kind of on the slide here (do something with him please) and Jeff was over as hell, so as a booker you’ve made the right call.

One brand, one title, it makes perfect sense to have all these big names still squabbling over who will get into the KOTR Tournament. I’ll comment on the overall segment in saying that I thought it was quite entertaining, and the idea of all these big names in the tournament is kind of cool. The tease of the two guys who will potentially face Cena and Edge later was great as well. Things that irked me a little was King Booker talking with such a street accent, rather than trying to be refined, as well as Lashley being so calm around Vince since it wasn’t long ago that McMahon was making his life hell. Also the best thing about the KOTR is putting over a young/mid card talent so please don’t have one of these already over guys win it. Also not as big of a deal but no marks for not having The Coach have any cocky comments anywhere.

Regal wins by count out, Punk attacked. Awesome to add some intrigue and would have been a epic sight to see Punk in a pool of his own blood, but all clues point to MVP considering his interview a little earlier. I have some thoughts about the execution of all this but I’ll wait and see how it pans out in the coming weeks…

Edge/Cena making a truce segment really makes sense, everything was pretty much spot on here. Good stuff which adds hype to tonight’s main event because I have a feeling Edge may struggle to stick to it.

Poor Chris Masters, he never stood a chance. A solid win for Batista to advance in the KOTR Tournament. No further comments really, solid stuff.

I’m intrigued to see what you do with the original ECW guys as usually in BTB when they head to Raw or Smackdown they fall into obscurity. The crew playing cards was fine and Tazz wanting to be their manager is a pretty cool angle. I like it from a booking move and the segment was okay to. The only issue I had was Tazz using the term “mouthpiece”, it just doesn’t feel like a kayfabe thing to say. Besides that, the segment and potential for this is pretty good.

Big time main event as Orton and Booker are huge names themselves so putting them in with Edge and Cena makes this a real can’t miss situation. Edge/Cena getting along throughout the entire contest was a little bit of a shock, especially from Edge, but I enjoyed how you played up the fact that it wasn’t exactly all roses between Booker/Orton either. Strange Bedfellow matches can be exciting as hell, and the near falls done towards the end of the contest was good to. A nice win for Cena in the end…

But I want to talk about the aftermath. SADISTIC! CANNIVING! THE ULTIMATE OPPORTUNIST!

Awesome attack from Edge on Cena with his patented conchairto, the hype for the KOTR main event begins. A great finish to what has been a pretty solid show, keep it up.
 
#2 · (Edited)
WWE Roster:
Balls Mahoney
Batista
Bobby Lashley
Brian Kendrick
Carlito
Charlie Haas
Chavo Guerrero ~ Cruiserweight Champion
Chris Masters
Chuck Palumbo
CM Punk
Daivari
Dave Taylor
Deuce ~ 1/2 of the WWE Tag-Team Champion
Domino ~ 1/2 of the WWE Tag-Team Champion
Edge ~ World Heavyweight Champion
Elijah Burke
Eugene
Finlay
Funaki
Gregory Helms ~ Currently out with injury
Hardcore Holly
Jamie Noble
Jeff Hardy
Jim Duggan
Jimmy Wang Yang
John Cena ~ WWE Champion
Johnny Nitro
Jonathan Coachman
JTG
Kane
Kenny Dykstra
Kevin Thorn
King Booker
Lance Cade ~ 1/2 of the World Tag-Team Champion
Marcus Cor Von
Mark Henry
Matt Hardy
Matt Striker
Mike Knox
Montel Vontavious Porter ~ United States Champion
Mr. Kennedy ~ Currently taking time off
Nunzio
Paul London
Randy Orton
Rey Mysterio ~ Currently Out with an Injured Knee
Ric Flair
Rob Van Dam ~ Currently taking time off
Robbie McAllister
Rory McAllister
Sabu
Santino Marella
Scotty 2 Hotty
Shad
Shannon Moore
Shawn Michaels ~ Currently taking time off
Shelton Benjamin
Snitsky
Stevie Richards
Super Crazy
The Boogeyman
The Great Khali
The Miz
The Sandman
The Undertaker ~ Currently taking time off
Theodore Long
Tommy Dreamer
Trevor Murdoch ~ 1/2 of the World Tag-Team Champion
Triple H ~ Currently Out with a Torn Quadriceps
Umaga ~ Intercontinental Champion
Val Venis
Viscera
William Regal

Mangers/Handlers/On-Air Talent:
Armando Alejandro Estrada
Ariel
Candice Michelle
Cherry
Hornswoggle
Howard Finkel ~ Ring Announcer for Special Events
JBL ~ Color Commentator for RAW, Smackdown, and PPV's
Jerry Lawler ~ Color Commentator for RAW and PPV's
Jim Ross ~ Play by Play announcer for RAW and PPV's
Joey Styles
Jonathan Coachman
Justin Roberts ~ Ring Announcer
Kelly Kelly
Michael Cole ~ Play by Play announcer for Smackdown and online content
Maria
Melina
Paul Heyman
Queen Sharmell
Tazz
Theodore Long
Vickie Guerrero

Tag-Teams/Stables:
Cryme Tyme (JTG and Shad)
Deuce 'n Domino (Deuce, Domino, and Cherry)
ECW Originals (Balls Mahoney, Rob Van Dam, Sabu, The Sandman, Stevie Richards, and Tommy Dreamer)
Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff Hardy)
Highlanders (Robbie and Rory McAllister)
Londrick (Paul London and Brian Kendrick)
******* Wrecking Crew (Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch)
World's Greatest Tag-Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas)

Pay-per-view Schedule:
King of the Ring; July 22, 2007 HP Pavilion, San Jose, California
Summerslam; August 26, 2007 Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New, Jersey
Unforgiven; September 16, 2007 FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Cyber Sunday; October 21, 2007 Verizon Center, Washington D.C.
Survivor Series; November 18, 2007 American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Guilty As Charged; December 16, 2007 Save Mart Center, Fresno, California
New Year's Revolution; January 3, 2008 Wembley Stadium, London, England
Royal Rumble; January 27, 2008 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
No Way Out; February 17, 2008 Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Wrestlemania 24; March 30, 2008 Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida

TV Show Schedule:
RAW: July 2, 2007

Smackdown: July 5, 2007

Title History
WWE Champion: John Cena
Won September 17, 2006 against Edge

World Heavyweight Champion: Edge
Won May 11, 2007 against The Undertaker

Intercontinental Champion: Umaga
Won July 2, 2007 against Santino Marella

United States Champion: MVP
Won May 20, 2007 against Chris Benoit

Cruiserweight Champion: Chavo Guerrero
Won February 18, 2007 in a Cruiserweight Open

World Tag-Team Champions: ******* Wrecking Crew
Won June 4, 2007 against the Hardy Boyz

WWE Tag-Team Champions: Deuce 'n Domino
Won April 20, 2007 against Londrick
---
OOC: Next post here will probably be a small news and notes + possible preview, but that'll be a bit as I've just started the first RAW and trying to find the right format that has enough detail but isn't incredibly long for me to write. Not gonna set a date that I want to get it done either as then it could feel rushed, so this is all you can live with for now. :eek:
 
#3 ·
OOC: I have the show about 98% done. I have some formatting, proofreading, and tweaks I want to make, but the show should be up in the next 24-48 hours. For now, here's some notes and a RAW preview:

Wrestling News and Rumors said:
~The WWE has announced the return of the King of the Ring tournament for 2007. Unlike last years edition, there will be 16 competitors involved and all the matches up to the Semi-Finals will be competed on upcoming RAW and Smackdowns. The Semi-Finals and Finals will be done at the King of the Ring PPV, which is only a few short weeks away. Expect the full King of the Ring bracket to be released after tonight's RAW.

~Expect the WWE to cut a few titles out of the picture sooner rather than later. The ECW Heavyweight Championship has already been retired and will likely not be mentioned anymore on WWE television. The Tag-Titles will also likely be unified sometime in the near future as WWE Officials believe the division, even after the combination of all three rosters, doesn't have enough teams to make two titles competitive. The WWE wants to work on rebuilding their middling tag and midcard divisions, and may possibly do that by either creating more stables since they have so many excess wrestlers or by having some upper midcarders team up to give more credibility to the division. Whatever results, if there is still two tag-team champions past Summerslam we will be surprised.

~The Cruiserweight Title, according to sources, will NOT be retired. Instead, they hope to revamp the division and build it around Chavo Guerrero, Gregory Helms, and a soon to be returning Rey Mysterio. With only two hours to spend on RAW, expect the Cruiserweight division to be heavily featured on Smackdown where they can try to develop new and younger talent. They believe it can be an asset to the WWE, but the booking and usage of Cruiserweights as more than jobbers has to begin to give them credibility.

~There are a handful of wrestlers that are thought to be on the hot seat and could be released or demoted sometime soon. These wrestlers include the Highlanders, Val Venis, Shannon Moore, Eugene, Chuck Palumbo, and Funaki, among others. Some may be repackaged as a new gimmick (The Highlanders and Eugene seem prime to have this fate) but others will likely have to prove they can get over with the crowd or risk termination.

~Finally, Triple H and Rey Mysterio are both set to return from separate injuries in the near future. While at the moment we do not know what angles either one would begin with, expect them both to have some involvement in the card at Summerslam, if not King of the Ring. They are both respected veterans and are at the stage of their career where they can be useful assets to put over the next generation of WWE Superstars.

Monday Night RAW
July 2, 2007
American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

Monday Night RAW makes it's return to television this Monday Night and sparks the beginning of a “New Era” that WWE Owner Vince McMahon discussed exclusively on WWE.com just a few days ago. As always, we have a jam-packed show for all of you:

~Vince McMahon will address the WWE fans live to kick off the show. Will the CEO of the WWE have another bombshell to drop? Will anyone have some concerns to voice to the owner? Whenever Vince is present, you know something will happen; tune in to see what he has in store for everyone tonight!

~With the announcement that the brand split will be no more, what will happen to all of the WWE superstars? Will Edge continue to defend his World Heavyweight Championship? Will John Cena face some new challengers for his WWE Championship? And what about Batista, Randy Orton, King Booker, and all of the other WWE superstars have to say about the brand split dissolving? You'll have to tune in to find out!

~The “Samoan Bulldozer” Umaga left Santino Marella in a heap the last time these two met inside of the ring, yet Santino was able to hold onto the Intercontinental Championship by a disqualification victory. Will Umaga continue to blow his shot at the title and allow the “Milan Miracle” to continue to shock the world? Or will he finally be able to control himself long enough to defeat the champion by pinfall?

~Finally, one of the WWE's storied traditions kicks off in full swing tonight – the King of the Ring tournament! From Bret Hart to Steve Austin to Triple H, winning the King of the Ring tournament has been a springboard to future stardom. Who will separate themselves from some of the best the WWE has to offer and make a claim to the throne? Tonight we have four – yes, FOUR! – King of the Ring First Round matches, where four superstars will take one step closer to becoming King and earning a future world title shot of their choosing.

Tune in to watch all of this exciting action and more, on Monday Night RAW on the USA Network


Confirmed for the Show:

Vince McMahon will address the audience to kick off the show

Umaga is in action

Four King of the Ring First Round Matches
 
#7 · (Edited)

Monday Night RAW
July 2, 2007
American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

*Wanna Be Loved*
*PYRO*
*PYRO*
*PYRO*

***No Chance***


Right away, the “New Era” of the WWE kicks off with their esteemed Owner, CEO, and Chairman, Vince McMahon, strutting down the ring. Despite the big shakeups that have occurred over the past week, Vince is still walking with that patented swagger. Vince, all docked out in a nice suit, enters the ring with a microphone in hand, preparing to address the crowd.

Vince McMahon: Ladies and gentlemen of the great city of Dallas, Texas, welcome to Monday … NIGHT … RAW!!!

Cheap pops. Vince knows he's gotta get the crowd on his side a little after the news.

Vince McMahon: I know it's been a, well... It's been an eventful few days. I don't need to get into the details and waste your time, but, I thought I should address you great fans for sticking by us through these times. The WWE isn't going anywhere anytime soon, I can guarantee that!

Some positive pops yet again, though these are less of the cheap variety.

Vince McMahon: I know that there's been a lot of questions being asked about all sorts of topics, but let me just assure you that, with time, all will be answered.

Vince pauses, clears his throat, then continues on.

Vince McMahon: But you didn't all pay you money to see me, did ya?

Some more pops with this crowd ready to get the show on the road.

Vince McMahon: That's what I thought! So, let's get this sho–

***Metalingus***

Well of course we weren't going to get through Vince speaking without any interruptions. The music of “The Rated-R Superstar” and current World Heavyweight Champion Edge blares through the speakers, and the champ seems as squirrely as ever. In his street clothes, Edge swiftly makes his way down the entrance ramp and meets his boss inside of the ring. He's clearly got a few things to say.


Edge: Vince, you're damn right we have some questions for you! Where do I begin? Oh, I know, let's start with the fact that we have two world champions on the same show! Yeah, let's start with that.

Edge is on a roll, pacing back and forth as he talks to Vince, but Vince cuts him off before he can continue.

Vince McMahon: What seems to be the problem, Edge?

Edge's eyes bug out, as he's not sure if he heard the question right.

Edge: What's the problem? What's the problem? I'll tell you what the problem is, Vince: You can't have two world champions! They don't give out two Super Bowls a year, although this crowd probably forgot what a Super Bowl even was with how well the Cowboys have been recently.

Edge pauses for a quick second to take in the cheap heat on the Dallas crowd before continuing.

Edge: Vince, you're a smart guy. You and I both know that that.. that phony John Cena, he doesn't deserve to be called a “champion”. He's not a superstar like I am. He doesn't appeal to the masses like I do. He can sell all the merchandise he wants, but you and I both know that if you want a real World Champion to represent this company, you'll strip him of his championship immediately, raise my hand, and declare me the World Heavyweight Champion of this entire damn company!

Edge again pauses for some audible boos and a small “Cena” chant. He starts running his hands through his hair, waiting for a response from Vince. McMahon's mouth opens, but words don't come out at the start, which raises Edge's anxiety.

Edge: What are you waiting for? C'mon Vince, you know better than to think Cena's anything more than a chump. Let's make this quick and painless. Make it official, right now!

Edge pauses once more as Vince finally seems able to structure a sentence together.

Vince McMahon: Well, Edge, I ha–

***The Time Is Now***

You knew we weren't gonna get through this segment without current WWE Champion John Cena, right? Cena comes out to a slightly positive reaction, and looks a bit rejuvenated after a week off. Cena gives the crowd some high fives as he makes his way towards the ring, not ready to concede his title just yet.


Edge: What the hell do you want, Cena? This has nothing to do with you! Get out of here now!

Edge's nostrils are flaring as Cena let's out a chuckle. Edge doesn't seem to be in the joking matter, but Cena collects himself before beginning.

John Cena: Nah nah, I do think this deals with me just a little bit Edge. Y'see, while I don't like you, I'm not gonna be coming out here demanding you drop your title right now. You want to know why I'm not gonna be doing that?

Cena pauses to let Edge get his answer in.

Edge: Because you're trying to pander to these morons?

Some more heat for the World Heavyweight Champion before Cena continues.

John Cena: No, because unlike you, I'm not some coward that is trying to talk my way out of this situation.

Cena knows he struck a nerve with Edge, who clearly does not appreciate the coward remark.

Edge: WHAT did you just call me?

Edge's facial expression has turned dead eyed onto Cena. Even though he's a dirty wrestler, nobody likes to be called that.

John Cena: You heard me; you're a COWARD, Edge. While I'm out here taking on four other guys to defend my title, you just try to slip by by taking the easy way out.

Edge is really, pardon the pun, on edge right now. He cuts off Cena before he can continue.

Edge: You listen here, you jackass, I'm no coward!

Cena interjects, knowing exactly what he is doing.

John Cena: Oh really?

Edge is basically fuming at this point.

Edge: YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT CENA!

Edge is pacing back and forth across the ring, but Cena isn't done making his point.

John Cena: You know what a coward does, Edge? They try to win title matches by count out, skate by the rules just enough where they can hold onto these.

Cena motions to both his and Edge's title belts. Edge looks down at his World Heavyweight Championship belt as Cena goes on.

John Cena: A coward is someone that tries to back down from a challenge and tucks their tail between their legs when the going gets tough.

Cena takes a few steps closer to Edge to where they are only about an arms length away.

John Cena: A coward whines to the guy in charge to try to make everything right for him instead of taking what he thinks is his.

Cena takes another step forward, and him and Edge are now nearly butting heads.

John Cena: I know a coward when I see one, Edge, and you're the biggest damn coward in this entire company!

Cena stops as the two have their foreheads pushed together. Edge is taking big deep breaths when … EDGE PUNCHES CENA ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD!

Cena takes a step back, but then POUNCES ON EDGE, TAKING THEM BOTH TO THE GROUND! The two heavyweight champions are rolling around inside of the ring, with nobody really having the upper advantage. They don't go long before Vince breaks it up, though.


Vince McMahon: STAHP IT! BOTH OF YOU STAHP IT RIGHT NOW!

McMahon pulls Cena off of Edge and pushes him into the opposite corner. He stands between them before continuing.

Vince McMahon: DAMN IT YOU TWO! How do you think I look when my two World Champions are acting like wild animals on national television? GROW UP, the both of you!

Vince is clearly agitated now, as Cena and Edge look like two kids that are getting yelled at by the principal.

Vince McMahon: Now LISTEN: I knew this was gonna happen eventually. You both have too big of egos to try to coexist in peace. I knew this was gonna happen, but DAMN IT even I couldn't expect it in the first ten minutes of the show!

He pauses and takes a hard look at both of them, with neither one trying to make eye contact with their boss.

Vince McMahon: If you guys can't figure out your differences on your own, I'll figure them out for you!

Edge tries to interject, which probably isn't the right choice right now.

Edge: (Pointing at Cena) Well HE started it!

Vince turns a hard stare at Edge, about to burst out of his suit.

Vince McMahon: I DON'T CARE who started it you sonuvabitch!

Edge quiets down, Vince wipes off his suit, collects himself, and continues.

Vince McMahon: So, here's what were gonna do. Three weeks from now is the King of the Ring. And what better way to find out who the “King” of the WWE is than with a match between you two?

The crowd pops at the announcement, as these two always know how to put on a show when they're facing off.

Vince McMahon: You both wanna be the top gun here? Fine. But you're gonna have to put your money where your mouth is. Cena, at the King of the Ring, you're gonna put YOUR WWE Championship on the line.

The crowd pops and Edge cracks a smile, knowing that he doesn't have to put his title up for grabs.

Vince McMahon: And Edge, at King of the Ring, you're gonna have to put YOUR World Heavyweight Championship on the line.

There's an even bigger pop at that announcement, as Edge holds onto his title just a little tighter.

Vince McMahon: That's right, everyone! At King of the Ring, it will be World Heavyweight Champion Edge versus WWE Champion John Cena in a Title Unification Match!

Huge pops from the crowd, as Vince swaggers around knowing he can whip his power around any time he wants.

Vince McMahon: You two got that? (Both men nod at their boss) GOOD. Now get the HELL out of my ring, these fans paid good money to see a show, not to see you two sit in this ring and do nothing!

Cena leaves the ring first, and as he and Edge begin to walk off, Vince has one more quick announcement.

Vince McMahon: Oh, and both of you get your gear on. You two are gonna team up in a tag-team match against an opponent of my choosing later tonight, so you better get your act together. Now SCRAM!

Cena and Edge share a look at each other as if to say “oh great, I have to work with THIS guy?”. Vince is jolly as he struts around the ring as RAW goes to it's first commercial break of the evening.

***COMMERCIAL***

***Live for the Moment***

RAW returns with it's first match of the night, and it's announced as a King of the Ring first round match. There's a nice added touch with the crown being shown at ringside on a pillow by JR, King, and JBL. Coming out first, “The Man Who Will Not Die” Matt Hardy. Matt, despite teaming with his brother Jeff in his last appearance 8 days ago, wants to establish himself as a singles star. The announcing crew goes over some notable names that have won the KOTR, including Bret Hart, Steve Austin, and Triple H. He enters the ring and begins to prepare for his opponent.

***Paparazzi***

His opponent, the final ECW Champion and budding singles star himself, Johnny Nitro. Along with him is his girlfriend, Melina, who is fawning over Nitro's expensive fur coat. The announcers remark that, while Nitro is a supremely gifted athlete, he has to keep his focus if he wants to become a star in this company. Nitro makes his way to the ring and our first match of both RAW and of the King of the Ring tournament has begun.


Match One
King of the Ring First Round Match
Matt Hardy vs. Johnny Nitro


OOC: I will do a brief recap of most matches on TV shows. This is for a few reasons, with the main one being time concerns. I also find it the most tedious part of BTBs and, especially if it's just a normal singles match on RAW, probably not worth walls of text. I don't want to burn myself out figuring out what move to use on a TV match that most will forget about in three minutes, so bear with me. If it's worth writing about (i.e. a title match) I'll go into more detail, but otherwise I'll do a quick recap with some details on the finish. Back to the show

After an eventful opener to get the crowd going, we join in at about the eight minute mark. Both men have had control of the match at some point, but currently it's Hardy who appears to have the upper hand. Hardy takes Nitro down with a Side Effect in the middle of the ring and is getting the crowd going. Matt climbs to the second turnbuckle and flashes his V1 hand signal, which has the crowd going. Matt jumps from the turnbuckle, attempting a diving elbow drop and... NITRO ROLLS OUT OF THE WAY!

With Hardy's elbow and ribs in pain, Nitro sees an opening to regain some energy and momentum in the match. Nitro beats Hardy to his feet and lifts Matt up as well. Johnny delivers a kick to the midsection before he takes Hardy down to the ground near one of the turnbuckles with a side Russian legsweep! Hardy is in trouble, and Nitro knows it. Nitro climbs up to the top rope, points at his girlfriend who is outside of the ring and winks at her, and then leaps from the top rope and... CONNECTS WITH A SPLIT-LEGGED CORKSCREW MOONSAULT! Nitro hooks the leg after connecting...

ONE...

TWO...


THREE!


Winner and advancing to the Quarter-Finals of the King of the Ring: Johnny Nitro via Pinfall (8:58)

Nitro is victorious in his return to RAW, and Melina joins him in the ring to celebrate. They share a kiss, then he turns over near the announcers table and takes a hard look at the crown that he hopes is his in a few weeks. The two continue to celebrate as we are taken backstage with Kelly Kelly, who's ready to interview the United States Champion, M.V.P

***


Kelly Kelly: Thanks JR, and I'm here with the current United States Champion, MVP. MVP, you requested this interview, do you want to tell the public why?

MVP, who is dressed in a fancy suit, has a large chain around his neck and watch on his wrist, removes his Oakley sunglasses, and takes a deep breath before beginning.

MVP: You're damn right I do, Kelly. I know you're supposed to ask the questions, but I got one for you.

Kelly Kelly is a bit startled by MVP's request, but she plays along.

Kelly Kelly: And what would that be?

MVP licks his lips and takes a deep breath before asking

MVP: How in the HELL is it that the current United States Champion of the world and the Franchise Playa of the WWE isn't in the King of the Ring tournament?

Kelly ponders for a moment or two, but before she can answer MVP cuts her off.

MVP: Dat's right, it doesn't make any damn sense to you neither, now does it? You got the WWE's fastest rising superstar right here waiting to get his hands on a World Title shot, and somehow I get SWEPT under the rug!? Are you serious?!

Kelly realizes she's not going to ask anymore questions.

MVP: I don't know what genius made up this bracket, but whoever did is a few cards from a full deck, knaw 'm sayin?

Kelly doesn't know whether to nod or just continue to sit there, but MVP isn't exactly paying attention to her right now.

MVP: I mean, CM Punk is in this tournament and I'm not? Seriously? How many titles has that guy won here? I've been the US Champion for 42 days now. What has Punk done with his life aside from prove that he'd be boring to party with?

MVP pauses as if he's going to allow Kelly to answer, but before she does he continues on.

MVP: Oh, and he's not the only bum that shouldn't be in this tournament instead of me. Hey Nature Boy, you better put some tennis balls on your walker, we wouldn't wanna see your old ass fall on your way to the ring! Hahaha!

MVP bellows out a big laugh, very proud of that not very original burn on Flair.

MVP: And Matt Hardy? That guy sucks so much he was already eliminated before I could even MAKE this interview! HA-HA!

MVP doubles over, continuing to laugh at his uncreative shots at his colleagues.

MVP: But for real, y'see my point Kelly Kelly? This company is out here lettin' these dopes fight for a chance at a World Title, and I'm here not gettin' the proper respect I should be receiving.

MVP cracks his neck, takes a deep breath, and continues on.

MVP: The Franchise Playa may not be involved with the next pay-per-view, and everyone knows dat dat ain't right!

Some boos are heard in the background, as many fans aren't big on the United States Champion.

MVP: Don't 'chu worry everybody, M. V. P is gonna get to the bottom of dis and I'm gonna get what's mine. Bes' beleeve dat.

MVP lets go of the mic, puts his sunglasses back on, and walks off the set as RAW goes to another commercial break.

***COMMERCIAL***

***Virtual Voodoo***

RAW returns with it's second match of the night, this one featuring “The Samoan Bulldozer” Umaga. Umaga is accompanied by his manager, Armando Alejandro Estrada, who seems to be in his typical cheerful/cocky mood. The announcers remark what a dangerous wrestler Umaga is, and that anyone going against him is asking for a death wish. Before Umaga's opponent comes out, however, Estrada grabs a microphone and addresses the crowd.


Armando Alejandro Estrada: Ladies annn' 'hentlemen... ha ha... I... am Armando... Alejandro... Estrada! An' dis, dis is de Samoooooan Bullllldoozer... UUUMAAAGGGAAA!

AAE let's out a light laugh as the heat flows in quickly.

Armando Alejandro Estrada: Eight days agoo... ju saw what happined when Santino Marella stepped inside wit' de Samooooan Bulllldoozer... ha ha!

Estrada bellows out a huge laugh as Umaga continues to stand next to him, heavily breathing and ready to kill something.

Armando Alejandro Estrada: Well today … today Umaga is issuin' dis rematch clause he gets to win back his Intercontinental Champ'yonship.

Umaga let's out a huge scream, which gets Armando to start clapping for his client.

Armando Alejandro Estrada: Ju' see... Umaga coulda won dat match in tirty secons at Vengeance if he waned ju... but dat wouln't have been fun for anyone.

Umaga has a huge grin on his face and is nodding in agreement with Estrada, who really knows how to build up his guy.

Armando Alejandro Estrada: Unfortunately … unfortunately de referee did not see de fun in Umaga destroyin' Santino like a rag doll an disqualified … AHEM … unjustly disqualified Umaga before he could finnish his match.

Estrada stops and slaps Umaga on the shoulder, as if to say “I got your back”.

Armando Alejandro Estrada: So Santino … Santino get jurr ass out dere now so Umaga can finnish what de started.. ha HA!

Umaga is seen getting himself loose for a match that seems to be almost imminent.

Armando Alejandro Estrada: Because dis time … dis time, Santino, Umaga isn't gonna take it EASY on ju! Ha ha!

***La Vittoria è Mia***

Of course, the music of “The Milan Miracle” and current Intercontinental Champion Santino Marella hits, and there's an audible amount of cheers for the underdog. Santino looks a bit petrified when he first walks out, as he remembers the damage Umaga did to him the last time they met inside of the ring. But he sucks it up and begins to sprint down the ring, ready to fight. The announcers love his spirit, but JBL remarks that he's gonna need more than that if he wants to win tonight. This match is indeed for the Intercontinental Championship, JR remarks, and they hope to see a cleaner fight than the last time. The bell then rings and the second match of the night is underway.


Match Two
Singles Match for the Intercontinental Championship
Santino Marella (c) vs. Umaga


The match is underway and... well, it doesn't last much longer than the opening bell. Umaga begins the assault immediately with some right hands before he whips him off the ropes and sends him down with a Samoan Drop! Umaga is clearly in control and is barely breaking a sweat. The Samoan Bulldozer picks Santino back up by his feet and Irish Whips him hard into one of the corner turnbuckles, which sends Santino down to a seated position. Umaga, knowing he can do whatever he wants, runs to the opposite corner, howls out a huge yell, and charges at Santino... CONNECTING WITH A SAMOAN WRECKING BALL!

Armando doesn't want to risk his client getting disqualified again, so he yells to get Umaga's attention and slashes a finger across his throat, telling him to end the match now. Umaga nods and grabs Santino by his head. He drags Santino into the middle of the ring and again belts out a boisterous yell before STRIKING WITH A SAMOAN SPIKE! Yikes, this match is not pretty. Umaga lays for the cover to put Santino out of his misery...

ONE...

TWO...

THREE!

Winner and NEW Intercontinental Champion: Umaga via Pinfall (1:13)

That was not a particularly fun match to watch, but nevertheless there is a new champion crowned! Estrada makes a beeline to Umaga to hand him his newly won Intercontinental Championship, but stops before relinquishing it. He points at the still downed Marella and nods his head, which can't mean anything good for Marella. A moment later Umaga picks up Marella and drops him with ANOTHER SAMOAN DROP!

Santino is clearly out of it and the crowd doesn't appreciate the additional assault Umaga wants to give out. Umaga slides out of the ring and pulls a groggy Santino out with him. Umaga gets Santino into a standing position before he WHIPS SANTINO INTO THE STEEL STEPS! Santino hits the steps hard and actually flips over them, which tells you how much force Umaga put behind the toss.

The referee tries to stop any more of a beatdown from occurring, but Umaga tosses him aside and wants to do more damage to Santino, knowing that he can't lose the title for it now. Umaga walks over to Marella and props him up against the steel steps, and I don't think the crowd is going to like what happens next to their favorite underdog. Umaga takes a few steps back, shrieks another loud yell, charges and SMASHES SANTINO'S FACE INTO THE STEPS WITH A SAMOAN WRECKING BALL!

Santino is busted open now and appears to be unconscious. Umaga wants to continue, but Estrada pulls the reigns in on him, knowing he's sent enough of a message to the roster. Estrada hands Umaga his newly won Intercontinental belt and they make their way to the back to a parade of boos.

As for Santino, the ref motions for some paramedics and a stretcher, as Santino is in no position to move. The medics work on putting Santino onto a stretcher as RAW goes to another commercial break.

***COMMERCIAL***

***Cool***

RAW returns from commercial break with JR updating everyone on Santino's condition after the beatdown he suffered from the hands of Umaga. JR says he is going to be taken to the nearby hospital and that they will give additional updates when they can.

While JR is informing the viewers, the music of Carlito is playing, as Justin Roberts announces that this is another King of the Ring first round match. Carlito, who receives some mild heat from the crowd as he makes his way down, is coming out in his traditional blue trunks with an apple in hand. Like the participants in the previous KOTR match earlier in the night, the announcers comment about how the opportunity is there for Carlito to win the whole thing and take the next step towards WWE stardom. He tries to get loose as he awaits for his opponent to come out.

***Loaded***

There's the music of “The Charismatic Enigma”, one Jeff Hardy. Hardy comes out to a pretty loud pop, which is highlighting how over he is. Hardy does his usual geriatrics before he sprints down to the ring, ready for the match to begin. JR remarks how Jeff will try to have better luck than his brother Matt did earlier in the night in his KOTR qualifier and that we should be in for a treat with these two in the ring.


Match Three
King of the Ring First Round Match
Carlito vs. Jeff Hardy


The match, as you may expect, is a very back and forth affair. Hardy began the match ahead with his flurry of aerial attacks, even gaining a near-fall after connecting with a Whisper in the Wind to the face of the WWE's Caribbean Superstar. Carlito was then able to gain momentum after a poke to the eyes of Hardy, and we jump in to about the six and a half minute mark with Carlito looking to end the match with a Backstabber.

A groggy Hardy is struggling to make it to a vertical position, as Carlito is looking to end it with his famous finisher. Hardy uses the ring ropes to eventually get to a standing position and Carlito walks over to Jeff's back and wraps his hands around Hardy's shoulders. Carlito attempts to perform the backstabber near the ropes and... FAILS TO CONNECT! Carlito's over-aggressiveness backfires as Hardy smartly holds onto the ropes, causing Carlito to fall flat on his back! Hardy gives Carlito no time to recover, as he turns around, grabs Carlito's legs and flips over into a covering position...

ONE...

TWO...


TH– NO!

Carlito just gets his shoulder up at two and a half! Jeff is a little discouraged, but keeps his focus on the task at hand. He waits for Carlito to make it to his feet, and when he does, Hardy puts him in a front facelock and is setting him up for the Twist of Fate! Hardy belts out a yell before attempting the move and... CONNECTS! The crowd is hot for Hardy, and you can tell he's being energized by them. With Carlito down and out on the mat, Hardy climbs the top turnbuckle, which can only mean one thing: a Swanton Bomb. Hardy again yells out some incoherent noises to get the crowd on their feet before he... CONNECTS WITH THE SWANTON! HARDY FOLLOWS WITH A COVER...

ONE...

TWO...


THREE!


Winner and advancing to the Quarter-Finals of the King of the Ring: Jeff Hardy via Pinfall (7:16)

The Charismatic Enigma's music hits as he gets to his feet to celebrate his victory. Lawler talks about the toughness Hardy brought in the match tonight to not lose his cool after some nearfalls, and if he keeps it up with performances like that he may be able to win the whole thing. Hardy is seen walking back up the entrance ramp and celebrating with his fans as RAW goes to another commercial break.

***Commercial***

RAW shifts gears and we are now backstage, with multiple personalities in front of Vince McMahon's door arguing with each other. There's Batista, Randy Orton, Bobby Lashley, and King Booker, all of them wanting to speak to Vince. Vince, along with his assistant Jonathan Coachman, comes outside with a shocked expression on his face.


Vince McMahon: Alright … ALRIGHT … SHUT THE HELL UP, ALL OF YOU!

The bickering comes to a screeching halt, as the superstars act like they're getting yelled at by the principal.

Vince McMahon: What's the meaning of this? What do you all want?

The bickering then resumes, which causes Vince to grind his teeth before speaking up again.

Vince McMahon: ONE AT A TIME DAMN IT!

There's a slight pause from all of the men before King Booker speaks up.

King Booker: Yo' Vince 'dis is whack, man. 'Ow you givin' up 'dese title shots like candy, man, an' I 'aven't 'ad a singles shot in weeks?

Vince wants to speak up but now it's Batista's turn to talk.

Batista: I didn't even get pinned at Vengeance, yet you're letting that worm Edge avoid a rematch with me?

Vince again tries to speak, but now Orton has to get his two cents in.

Randy Orton: Vince, how many more legends am I going to have to knock out for you to realize I need more of a challenge?

Well you know Lashley has to say something now, too.

Bobby Lashley: What kind of show are you running here, Vince?

Lashley's comment seems to set Vince off, as he's had enough of all of their bitching.

Vince McMahon: Alright that's enough! You all want a damn title shot?

All four seem to nod in agreement.

Vince McMahon: You all wanna prove that you're the big dog here?

Again, all four seem to like what Vince is saying to them.

Vince McMahon: Well, that seems easy enough.

Batista starts to clap really loudly as the other three are getting riled up as well.

Vince McMahon: The King of the Ring tournament has just begun, and I'm going to throw ALL of you in it!

There are some pops in the background from the crowd, although the players don't seem as excited for the opportunity.

King Booker: 'Ey man I've already taken care of that befo'!

The others want to chime in as well, but Vince cuts them off before they can try.

Vince McMahon: (Vince cracks a smile) Did I forget to mention that the winner gets a title shot?

All four superstars eyes perk up after that comment.

Vince McMahon: Oh, that's right! So you guys want a title shot? Fine. Prove it. Go win King of the Ring.

Vince has a shit eating grin on his face now, as he knows those guys are competitors and will help make his tournament a success.

Vince McMahon: In fact, one of you is wrestling in their first round match tonight, so you all better get going.

The four men oblige and begin to walk out of the door. They walk out of the shot and the camera focuses on Vince, who has a satisfied look on his face.

Vince McMahon: Hey you two, hold up! Come here, I have a different assignment for you tonight.

Vince is yelling to two guys who are off camera, but before we can see them RAW goes back to the arena.

***

***Regality***

A third King of the Ring First Round match is announced, and coming out first is William Regal. Unlike most participants in King of the Ring tournaments, JR remarks that this may be one of the few chances Regal has left to gain a world title shot. Regal comes out in his traditional fancy British robe and has a small amount of heat from the fans. As he enters the ring, the crew remarks that while he isn't the biggest or the fastest, he is one of the smartest wrestlers in all of the WWE.

***This Fire Burns***

His competitor is the increasingly popular CM Punk, but Punk doesn't come out as his entrance music is being played. We wait a few moments before the titantron goes to the back, where we see PUNK IN A POOL OF HIS OWN BLOOD! There is not a soul around him, so we have no clue who was responsible for the attack. Eventually, a WWE official finds him and tries to help him regain consciousness, but it is a struggle. Inside of the ring, William Regal demands the match to be started, and if Punk can't make it out in time he lose via count-out. The ref seems hesitant to do so at first, but after getting a buzz in his ear he orders the bell to be rung.


Match Four
King of the Ring First Round Match
William Regal vs. CM Punk


As you might expect, Punk was never able to make it out to the ring. Unfortunately for everyone, aside from Regal, a chance for an exciting match was thrown to the wayside. The referee works on the ten count, and eventually reaches ten without a sight from Punk at all.

Winner and advancing to the Quarter-Finals of the King of the Ring: William Regal via Count-out (0:10)

The crowd boos Regal as he gets his hand raised by the referee, but he shows no shame in picking up the win. Meanwhile, the announcing crew continues to express concern for the health of Punk and hope that whoever is responsible for it gets their comeuppance soon enough. RAW then goes to another commercial break.

***COMMERCIAL***

RAW returns and we see Edge in the dressing room, getting prepared for his tag-team match in tonight's main event. Edge is putting on his arm pads as someone enters the room.


Edge: What are YOU doing in here?

Edge is, of course, talking to his tag-team partner for the night – John Cena, who enters in the shot now.

John Cena: I'm gonna make this short and sweet for you, Edge. I know we're going to be enemies at King of the Ring in a few weeks, but tonight we're teammates. I don't know about you, but I don't like to lose.

Edge seems a bit incredulous that Cena's implying that he may like to lose.

Edge: Oh I sure as hell don't like to lose, Cena. You'll see that at King of the Ring.

The WWE Champion is a bit annoyed at Edge's insistence to interrupt him, but keeps on going.

John Cena: Edge, save it, alright. We'll have more than enough time to talk about how (Cena begins talking in a patronizing tone)“you're gonna kick my ass” next week.

Edge isn't a fan of patronizing, I guess.

Edge: Cena I'm not in the mood for one of your little pep talks. Say what you have to say and get out of the Champs locker room.

Cena takes a quick look at the WWE Championship belt on his shoulder, smirks, then gets on with it.

John Cena: As I was saying … tonight, we're teammates. I don't want to lose, and I'm guessing you don't want to either. So how about, for the rest of the night, we act like teammates. No cheap shots. No leaving the other guy out to dry. You wanna kick my ass? Save it for King of the Ring. Agreed?

Cena offers a hand shake, looking for a truce for the rest of the night at least. Edge takes a second to ponder Cena's offer before answering.

Edge: Fine... that's fair. (Edge shakes Cena's hand) Now leave.

Cena holds onto the handshake for a moment longer before stepping out. As he closes the door, we see Edge let out a small smirk and muffle something under his breath before getting back to warming up for his match.

***

***Masterpiece***

A fourth and final King of the Ring First Round match of the night is announced, and the first wrestler to come out is “The Masterpiece” Chris Masters. Masters, who's Master Lock has been known to make wrestlers pass out, seems awfully confident as he makes his way down. He shuns the fans offers for high fives and even yells something that the microphones can't catch at one of them as he walks down. He enters the ring and poses for a few seconds as he awaits for his opponent to come out.

***I Walk Alone***

Well, that's probably not the first guy that Masters wanted to face in the King of the Ring tournament. That is the music of “The Animal” Batista, of course, and he seems pumped to be wrestling tonight. Yes, it's not for a world title shot, but he knows what the stakes are for the King of the Ring. Batista does his normal pyro theatrics midway down the entrance ramp, and once he enters the ring he looks very focused. The two go to their corners and get ready for the bell to ring.


Match Five
King of the Ring First Round Match
Chris Masters vs. Batista


The match, while not a squash, is very much in Batista's control for the most part. Batista nearly finished the match off after a diving clothesline, but Masters kicked out at two and a half. Masters was able to finally turn the advantage his way when he pulled Batista face first into one of the turnbuckles. We jump in at the five minute mark from that spot.

Batista is trying to shake off the shot to the face, as Masters is standing behind him with his hands locked in the air, trying to signal for the Master Lock. Batista slowly gets to his feet, and when he does Masters is able to wrap in a half nelson very quickly. Batista realizes what's happening and uses his massive strength to try to prevent Masters from locking both hands together. Masters continues to attempt the full nelson, knowing that if he does he may be able to score the upset. Masters soon gets within six inches of his hands clasping when... BATISTA DELIVERS AN ELBOW TO THE MIDSECTION! Masters releases hold of the half nelson as he doubles over, and Batista sees an opening. He grabs Masters by the head and shoves it in between his legs. Batista lifts Masters up and... CONNECTS WITH THE BATISTA BOMB! Batista hooks the outside leg of Masters for the cover...

ONE...

TWO...


THREE!


Winner and advancing to the Quarter-Finals of the King of the Ring: Batista via Pinfall (5:49)

The crowd gives the Animal a rousing ovation as he completes the first step to becoming the next King of the Ring. The commentary crew asks if he is the betting favorite to win the whole thing, and not one of them can make a case against him. Batista gets his hand raised by the referee and shares some high fives with the crowd as the announcers continue to talk him and the upcoming main event up as RAW goes to it's final commercial break of the evening.

***COMMERCIAL***
***KING OF THE RING PROMO***

When RAW returns, we are not taken to the arena, but to a poorly lit room. It's five guys seated around a table playing a game of cards, it looks like a game of poker. There is some cigarette smoke in the air, some beers on the table, and one guy appears to be using a cooler as a chair. As the camera focuses in better, we discover that the poker players are none other than the ECW Originals – Tommy Dreamer, Sabu, The Sandman, Balls Mahoney, and Stevie Richards. Richards is seen throwing his chips into the middle of the table as we jump into their conversation.


Stevie Richards: Well I'm ALL IN boys!

Mahoney, Sabu, and Sandman all quickly fold in the hand, not sure if Richards is bluffing or if he actually has a strong hand. Dreamer takes a puff of his cigar, looks at Richards, looks back at his cards, then looks at Richards again.

Tommy Dreamer: You're bluffin'. I call.

Tommy read Richards well, as he only had an ace-high while Dreamer had a two pair. Tommy grabs Richards stack of chips and begins counting them out one by one.

Tommy Dreamer: Heh heh, fellas, we should do this more often!

Mahoney lets out an audible groan and Sabu plays with his much smaller amount of chips when we hear a door open.

Balls Mahoney: Who is it?

The man walks through the door and comes on screen, and it's none other than former ECW Champion and announcer Tazz! The Originals are all glad to see him as they exchange hugs and pleasantries before they get to business.

Tommy Dreamer: So Tazz, what brings you to this neck of the woods? We thought you got too big for us and were spending all your free time with JBL and Jerry Lawler, right guys?

The Originals break out into a heap of laughter, as Tazz knows they're just busting his balls and giving him a hard time.

Tazz: Naw naw, I'm done with that announcin' gig fellas. Jus' didn' give me the same rush that bein' in the ring with you guys did.

Tazz seems very happy to see his old pals, but they're wondering what his angle is.

Stevie Richards: Alright Tazz, shoot us straight. We all know you can't wrestle anymore because of your neck, so what's going on?

Tazz clears his throat and wipes his brow before he continues.

Tazz: I know I can't wrestle anymore, fellas, but my doctors never said I couldn't be at ringside. So here's what I'm proposing: You guys let me join the gang, and I'll help you guys out.

Dreamer, who was nonchalantly paying attention to Tazz before that last sentence, takes the cigar out of his mouth and leans in to the table, wanting to hear more from Tazz.

Tommy Dreamer: Tazz, I love ya man, but how are you gonna be able to help us out if you can't step inside the ring with us?

All eyes have shifted onto Tazz again, as he's really going to have to sell himself if he wants in with the Originals.

Tazz: Well, uh, it's simple, really. We're all brotha's here, right?

The five men sitting all look at each other before sharing a nod.

Tazz: Well, some of us have the wrasslin' ability, some of us have the brawlin' ability, some... no ALL of us have the extreme ability. But y'know what you boys need?

The Originals again look at each other before one of them speaks up.

The Sandman: What's that?

Tazz let's out a big grin before he gives out the big reveal.

Tazz: A manager. A mouthpiece. Someone that can articulate what y'all are feelin'. Someone that can watch your back inside and out of the ring. Someone that can get you matches. Someone that can get you title shots. I can provide that to you.

Dreamer, the assumed leader of the group, seems to like what he hears, but also looks a bit hesitant.

Tommy Dreamer: You want in the group? You want to be our manager?

Tazz is nodding up and down with excitement, wanting to be back involved with wrestling.

Tommy Dreamer: What do you think, boys?

The other four share grunts and chirps of approval, and it looks like we have another member of the ECW Originals.

Tommy Dreamer: Alright Tazz, we'll give you a shot.

Tazz claps his hands and begins exchanging enthusiastic handshakes with his new stablemates, but Dreamer isn't done yet.

Tommy Dreamer: A temporary shot. You think you belong with us, you have to prove it. Am I right, guys?

The four follow their leader again, and Tazz seems to understand.

Tazz: Oh don't you worry, boys, you won't regret this. I'll cya around, I got work to do.

Tazz exchanges a few final handshakes and goodbyes before he walks out of the room and the rest of the Originals resume their poker game.

***

***The Time Is Now***

RAW comes back out to the main arena as the tag-team main event is announced. Out first is the current reigning WWE Champion, the “Face of the WWE” John Cena. Cena runs around the edge of the entrance ramp to a mixed response from the crowd, pumped to be wrestling in tonight's main event. He exchanges high fives with the willing members of the audience before he slides into the ring and hoists up his WWE Championship. He then hands his title to the ref and begins to get in ring shape as he awaits the other three men.

***Metalingus***

That is the music of John's teammate for the night and current World Heavyweight Champion, the “Rated-R Superstar” Edge. Edge doesn't burst out with the same amount of energy as Cena, as he doesn't seem nearly as happy with teaming with his rival. As he makes his way into the ring, the announcing crew wonders if these two are going to be able to coexist long enough to win the match, or if they are going to just be at each others' throat throughout. Edge gives Cena a dirty look as he enters the ring, then climbs the top turnbuckle and shows off his World Heavyweight Championship. The two keep their distance as they await for their opponents to come out.

***White Man's Dead***

Their first opponent is none other than the still current reigning King of the Ring, King Booker along with his wife, Queen Sharmell. Booker makes his slow waltz down the aisle, with Sharmell yelling “All hail King BOOKAH” during his entire entrance. Booker enters the ring and does his traditional pinky-out pyrotechnics, as JBL talks up Booker as a man that should be more respected than he is and that Sharmell is the most beautiful queen out there. Booker removes his robe and stretches his legs out as he waits for his teammate to make his way out.

***Burn In My Light***

King Booker's teammate and final member of the match, the “Legend Killer” Randy Orton, comes out to a decidedly negative reaction. He strikes his pose at the top of the entrance ramp, with fireworks raining down on him. Orton has a stone cold expression on his face as he walks down, knowing what a win tonight would do for him as he tackles the King of the Ring tournament soon. Orton enters the ring and the two teams are separated to their corners, with Cena and Edge taking the top left side and their opponents taking the bottom right side. There is little disagreement between the two champions on who starts their match, as Edge offers his hands out to Cena, implying “if you want to start, get in there”. Cena obviously obliges, and it's Cena and Booker to start of the tag team main event.


Match Six
Tag-Team Match
John Cena and Edge vs. King Booker and Randy Orton


This match, as you may expect, is a very strong main event. Cena and Edge controlled the match early on, not having much of a hiccup in their connection. They even teamed up to connect on a double back body drop on Orton. The momentum was shifted when Orton reversed a Cena F-U attempt by sliding off his shoulders and landing a picture perfect dropkick. Orton was then able to tag Booker back in and the two continued to work on Cena for the next three or so minutes. We jump in at about the nine minute mark with Cena and Booker inside of the ring...

And Booker takes Cena down with a sidewalk slam! The WWE Champion is in bad shape right now, as Booker walks over to his teammates corner and tells Orton “I got 'dis”. Booker climbs the nearby top rope and yells it's over before attempting a Houston Hangover and... CENA ROLLS OUT OF THE WAY! Booker lands hard on his tailbone, and the two men are both down and trying to get to their respective corners. Edge and Orton, despite not having any connection with their partners, are into the match and begging to be tagged in. Booker is maybe a step closer to his teammate than Cena is to his, but both need to crawl another pace or two to make the tag. Booker inches closer, leaps and.. MAKES THE TAG!

Orton sprints in to try to catch Cena before he can make the tag. Cena realizes this, takes a chance and leaps towards his corner... AND TAGS EDGE IN! Both hot tags are made, and this crowd is on their feet! Edge charges and takes Orton down with a clothesline. Orton quickly gets up to his feet and charges Edge, but Edge sidesteps Orton and Orton CRASHES INTO BOOKER! Booker is knocked off the apron, and Orton is astonished at what has just transpired. Orton is slow to turn around, but unbeknownst to him, Edge is in position to hit with the Spear. Orton makes the rotation and Edge LANDS THE SPEAR! Edge hooks the leg of his former Rated-RKO partner...

ONE...

TWO...


TH– NO!!!

Booker, being the wise veteran that he is, grabbed Orton's foot and placed it on the rope, causing a rope break! Edge can't believe it and begins arguing with the referee, which bothers his teammate since they were literally seconds away from winning. While Edge is throwing his tantrum, Booker is able to slap the back of a downed Orton, signaling a tag back into the matchup. Edge didn't recognize this, and once he's done pouting he's met with a Spinning Wheel Kick! Cena realizes his partner is in trouble and begs for a tag back in, but Booker is having none of that. Booker bring Edge back up to a vertical position and Irish Whips him of the ropes, connecting with 110th Street Slam on the rebound! Booker thinks he has the match won and covers Edge in the middle of the ring...

ONE...

TWO...


TH– NO!!

And this time Cena breaks up the count with an axe handle to the back of Booker! Orton enters the ring and charges at Cena, trying to help his teammate out, but Cena is ready for him. As Orton charges Cena, the WWE Champion shows why he is that by taking two steps back and body drops Orton over the top rope! Orton lands hard on the padded covering as Cena makes his way back to his corner and tries to get tagged back into the match.

Booker tries to have none of that, though, as he takes Edge down with a sidewalk slam before getting in position for the Book End. Edge slowly gets to his feet and Booker is able to wrap his hand around Edge's shoulder, but Edge refuses to be taken down. Edge struggles at first before he delivers a few elbows to the side of Booker's head, forcing him to release his hold. Booker tries to retain the advantage by clotheslining Edge, but the World Heavyweight Champion shows his savvyness and ducks the attempt. Edge sees an opening and sprints towards his corner... TAGGING CENA IN!

Cena comes in hot, as he starts off with a clothesline to ground Booker. Booker quickly gets back up to his feet and whiffs on a big right hand, which Cena ducks, before Cena lifts him off the ground and hits Booker with a side belly-to-belly suplex! The crowd is picking up steam on Cena, who flashes his hand in the air, and you all know what that means: “You Can't See Me!” followed by Cena's usual theatrics and a CONNECTION WITH THE FIVE-KNUCKLE SHUFLE! Cena gets in position to hit Booker with the F-U as he waits, but ORTON COMES INTO THE RING WITH A CHAIR IN HIS HAND!

Clearly the “Legend Killer” was more than a little irked at the back body drop Cena gave him a few moments ago. But just before he can swing the chair and hit Cena with it, Edge comes to his rescue and SPEARS ORTON TO THE GROUND! Orton drops the chair to the ground as Edge helps save his teammate. Cena then regains his focus and delivers a kick to the midsection of a still groggy Booker, before the Champ hoists him onto his shoulders. Booker doesn't struggle very long, and Cena... HITS BOOKER WITH THE F-U! Cena immediately hooks the leg of Booker...

ONE...

TWO...


THREE!


Winners: John Cena and Edge via Pinfall (11:20)

The WWE Champion gets to his feet and has his arm raised in excitement. He looks around for his partner for a split second, but continues to celebrate with the hot crowd. Just as Cena starts to take his attention to celebrating his win, though, EDGE HITS CENA IN THE BACK WITH A STEEL CHAIR! It was the same chair Edge protected Cena from literally seconds ago, and now he's using it to his advantage! Cena immediately drops to the ground, and the World Heavyweight Champion is getting his fair share of boos from the crowd by peeing on the ending of what was a very solid main event.

Edge isn't done, though, and frankly doesn't give a damn what the fans want. Edge delivers some stomps onto the downed Cena with the chair still in hand. The timekeeper keeps ringing the bell to try to get Edge to stop his onslaught, but it's clear Edge is going to do what he wants right now. Edge drags Cena towards the middle of the ring and delivers a few more kicks to the body before sliding out of the ring. Edge walks over to the timekeepers table and grabs three items – his World Heavyweight Championship, Cena's WWE Championship, and another steel chair.

Edge slides back inside of the ring and tosses the two titles to the ground, as he has some evil intentions he still has to go through. He takes the chair that's already in his hand and places it under Cena's head, and this is not looking good for the WWE Champion. Edge has a maniacal grin on his face as he grabs ahold of the other chair inside of the ring. Edge lifts the chair above his head and yells “I'M THE ONLY CHAMPION HERE” then CONNECTS WITH A CON-CHAIR-TO TO CENA'S SKULL!!! Cena is now busted open and it's a mess inside of the ring!

The boos are raining on Edge, who is just bathing in it right now. He disposes of the chairs, as he no longer has a need for them. He then wraps his World Heavyweight Championship around his shoulder, grabs Cena's WWE Championship, and drops down to his knees and gets right in Cena's face. He's looking at Cena and points to his WWE Championship at the same time, shouting “THREE WEEKS! THREE WEEKS, CENA! THREE WEEKS AND THIS IS MINE!”

Edge holds onto Cena's title for a few seconds longer before getting back to his feet. He tosses Cena's title onto his chest and finally ends the beatdown, using the steps to walk out of the ring. Edge's music plays and he walks backwards up the entrance ramp, looking at the carnage he's given to Cena. Cena is inside being tended to as RAW fades to black


***End Show***

Quick Results:
Johnny Nitro def. Matt Hardy
Umaga def. Santino Marella (c) to become the NEW Intercontinental Champion
Jeff Hardy def. Carlito
William Regal def. CM Punk
Batista def. Chris Masters
John Cena and Edge def. King Booker and Randy Orton

Current Card for KING OF THE RING
Date:
July 22, 2007
Location: HP Pavilion at San Jose, San Jose, California
Event Music: The Church of Hot Addiction by Cobra Starship

Champion vs. Champion; Title Unification Match
WWE Champion John Cena (c) vs. World Heavyweight Champion Edge (c)

King of the Ring Semi-Finals and Finals
Participants TBA
 
#9 ·
Appreciate the review, Stojy. Not much more I can add without spoiling some plans, so here's a Smackdown preview. I have it probably 70ish% done. The show is only an hour long so it won't take as long to finish. I got it all planned/booked, just have to get down to finish writing it at this point. Hopefully it'll be up by the weekend, but no promises. News and notes will only likely be a once a week/sporadic thing as well, just since there's only so much that I can make up/is real in a span between shows. Will likely have one attached to the RAW preview.


Thursday Night Smackdown Preview
July 5, 2007
American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

Thursday Night Smackdown makes it's USA Network debut tonight as it comes to you from the American Airlines Center in the great state of Texas. We have an action packed show tonight, here's what's on tap for tonight's show:

~The King of the Ring tournament was announced by WWE Owner Vince McMahon and the first round was kicked off this past Monday night on RAW. Johnny Nitro, Jeff Hardy, William Regal, and Batista all punched their tickets to the Quarter-finals with victories, and tonight two more tickets shall be punched. Tune in to see the newly won Intercontinental Champion Umaga, WWE Legend Ric Flair, Elijah Burke, and Randy Orton all participate in First Round matches tonight.

~Last Monday on RAW, Tazz met up with his old friends from ECW – the Orignals – and they made a pact that allowed Tazz into the group as their manager. Well, their manager didn't take long to get them involved in the show, as he signed them onto a tag-team match against the Highlanders for tonight! Will the Originals make a statement in the tag-team division and do well for their newly decided manager? Or will the Highlanders spoil the party and pull off the upset? You'll have to tune in to find out!

All of this, and more, will be shown on Thursday Night Smackdown, 9-10 ET on the USA Network!


Confirmed for the show:

Umaga, Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Elijah Burke are in action

Two of the ECW Originals will be in tag-team action vs. the Highlanders
 
#10 · (Edited)
OOC: I know this show was a little light on the promo/segment side, but a few things to consider: 1) I'm trying to squeeze a KOTR tournament in what amounts to six shows + PPV 2) it is only an hour long 3) I'm trying to work into a groove with some storylines/plans. I wanted to have an in ring promo but realistically there wouldn't be much time, plus I wanted to get the show up in case I didn't have time on the weekend. I *hope* to be able to get more in terms of the midcard/tag-team division involved in future Smackdowns, but this episode had to be done to get some bigger fish going. Enjoy!


Thursday Night Smackdown
July 5, 2007
American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

*Rise Up*
*PYRO*
*PYRO*
*PYRO*


We are welcomed to a new era of Smackdown with the same announcing team as in the previous weeks, Michael Cole and JBL. Cole begins the broadcast addressing the viewer at home, saying that while Smackdown will no longer have it's own designated World Champion that appears on the show weekly, all of the champions will make appearances on the program, some just more than others. He then goes on by saying that Smackdown will present some of the best action that can be seen on television and that it will be a non-stop, breathtaking hour of television. Additionally, this is where stars hone their craft and this is the first place where you can witness the stardom of others.

Once Cole is done reading off the spiel Vince wrote out for him, he runs down the lineup for tonight's show. There are two more King of the Ring First Round matches tonight along with a tag-team match with the ECW Originals. JBL then goes on about what Mr. McMahon said recently that this is a new era in the WWE and that if you want to prove something come out here and take it. We then hear the bell ring, which means it's time for our first match of the night.

***Virtual VooDoo***

The match is announced as a King of the Ring First Round match, and out first is the newly crowned Intercontinental Champion, the “Samoan Bulldozer” Umaga along with his handler, Armando Alejandro Estrada. Surprisingly, Estrada does NOT speak into the microphone before the match, maybe because he has nothing to say – yeah … right. JBL talks about how he doesn't know who can take out the “Samoan Bulldozer” when his head is on right, but whoever is challenging him probably has a death wish. Cole then brings up how the beatdown Umaga gave Santino Marella after defeating him for the Intercontinental Championship is just one of the many examples of how dangerous this guy can be.

***Also sprach Zarathustra***

And there's the iconic entrance theme of the sixteen-time World Heavyweight Champion, the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Flair comes out in one of his lavish robes and to a nice pop from the audience. Flair isn't appearing to show any fear as he comes down the ring, although we are reminded of these two's past history a little over a year ago when Umaga defeated Flair. Still, the announcers talk up how Flair is one of the dirtiest, smartest, and most savvy wrestlers to ever step inside of the square circle and a King of the Ring title is one of the last things that he has to do to decorate up his Hall-of-Fame resume even more. Flair then enters and we get the action kicked off.


Match One
King of the Ring First Round Match
Umaga (w/ Armando Alejandro Estrada) vs. Ric Flair


The match is a solid enough opener for the “New Era” of Thursday Night Smackdown, with Umaga controlling a majority of the match but Flair using his experience to get a few shots in himself. We jump to the six and a half minute mark with Flair in a seated position in the corner turnbuckle and Umaga preparing to hit him with the Samoan Wrecking Ball...

Umaga belts out a large yell and charges at Flair, who has just enough wherewithal to know where he is and PULLS HIMSELF OUT OF HARMS WAY! Umaga crashes ass first into the bottom turnbuckle, and Flair sees an opening. He quickly slides back into the ring and chop blocks Umaga's left leg because, hey, he didn't get his reputation for nothing. Umaga falls to the ground and Flair let's out a large “WOOO” cheer to get the crowd involved some more. Flair then grabs the leg he just chop blocked and begins to lock in for the figure-four leglock!

Umaga's large legs makes it hard for Flair to lock it in, and it turns into a struggle. Flair is close to locking it in when UMAGA GIVES HIM A SWIFT KICK TO THE CHEST! Flair releases hold of Umaga's leg and flies to the adjacent turnbuckle. Umaga doesn't take long to get to his feet and Flair charges at him, only for UMAGA TO DROP HIM WITH A SAMOAN DROP!

Umaga let's out a toothy grin, and it's not looking too good for Flair. Estrada gets Umaga's attention and points toward the nearby turnbuckle, letting him know that he's about ready to finish Flair up. Umaga grabs Flair by his bleach blonde hair and drags him to the corresponding turnbuckle and gives a few shots to the head for good measure. Umaga takes his time in making his way to the opposite turnbuckle, knowing that Flair is all but done. Umaga again let's out a huge yelp before charging at Flair... but FLAIR DODGES IT AGAIN! FLAIR THEN FOLLOWS IT UP WITH A ROLL UP!

ONE!...

TWO!...
FLAIR GRABS EXTRA HOLD OF UMAGA'S TIGHTS


THREE!


Winner and advancing to the Quarter-Finals of the King of the Ring: Ric Flair via Pinfall (6:57)

There's a HUGE pop for the unexpected win for Flair, and even the two competitors in the ring don't believe it to be true. Flair, since he is no dummy, quickly slides out of the ring and makes his way up the entrance ramp to avoid the wrath of a pissed off Umaga. Umaga seems to take a second to have the result register in his head, but once he does he goes berzerk. With nobody in the ring for him the beat up, he begins to slam his hands on the ground and then kicks the ring ropes. He's then able to make eye contact with Flair as Flair is making his way up the ring, and Flair has a cheeky grin on his face. Umaga gets one foot out of the rope when Estrada runs into him. Estrada guides Umaga back into the ring and begins calming him down, saying some things in his ear that we can't seem to record on the microphone. The camera then turns back onto Flair, who celebrates with a few more “WOOOS” as Smackdown goes to it's first commercial break of the night.

***COMMERCIAL***

Smackdown returns from commercial and we are taken into a dressing room backstage. There's five guys there, a few of them with beers in their hand, and after the cameras focus, we see it's the ECW Originals – Tommy Dreamer, Sabu, The Sandman, Balls Mahoney, and Stevie Richards. Absent at the moment is their newly appointed manager, Tazz. We cut in with the guys sharing in a laugh.


The Sandman: … And that's when Balls grabbed the cooler of beer, walked over to that dickhead, and dumped it all on his head!

The Originals burst into a sea of laughter after one of the Sandman's crazy drunken stories. While they are all enjoying themselves, we hear the door open. The Originals all let out a few hoots and hollers, as it is Tazz who walks into the locker room to greet his friends.

Tazz: Hey fellas, what's goin' on?

Dreamer collects himself enough to speak for the group.

Tommy Dreamer: Oh nothin', Tazz, we're just listening to Sandman tell another one of his wise tales from back in our E-C-dub days.

The Sandman feels the need to interject.

The Sandman: Wise tales my ass!

Sandman takes another swig of his beer as Tazz speaks back up.

Tazz: Well that's all fine and great, fellas, but I hope some of you are ready.

Stevie Richards, who was not drinking, has his ears perk up after Tazz says “ready”.

Stevie Richards: Ready? Ready for what?

Tazz looks at Stevie like he's stupid, but all of the Originals don't seem to know what's going on.

Tazz: Are you... heh .. are you guys serious? You guys didn't hear the news?

Stevie scratches his head while he others continue to look confused.

Tazz: Ah, well, great news: I got 'chu guys a match tonight! It's a tag-team match against the Highlanders.

The Originals, some who haven't been in a match in as much as a few weeks, are a bit surprised by Tazz's news.

Tazz: Heh-heh, what – you guys didn't think I'd do my job? What kind of manager would I be if I couldn't get 'chu guys back out there? Truth is, you're ol' pal Tazz was able to pull some strings, an' if … no, when you guys put a few match wins together, I was promised a title shot could be possible. Isn't that great?

Some of the guys, like Balls and Sandman, aren't incredibly enthused, but Dreamer and Richards show a bit more excitement.

Balls Mahoney: That's awesome, Tazz. But, uh … but which one of us is teamin' together?

Tazz rubs his hands together and points at all of the Originals.

Tazz: That's the best part! Management don't care which two of you decide to team up, so I'mma let you guys decide that part. Whichever two of you wanna stand up for the team can go out there. But y'all betta decide quickly, because the match is only a few minutes away. So you guys figure it out amongst yourselves, come find me, then we'll go out there and kick some ass, E-C-dub style. Right?

Dreamer and Richards let out audible cheers, although Sandman and Mahoney appear to be too buzzed to fully comprehend what Tazz was saying.

Tazz: Aight, see ya' guys out there.

Tazz walks out as the Originals begin to discuss among themselves who's going to wrestle for the night as the cameras pan out of the locker room.

***KING OF THE RING Promo***
~Promo highlights the history of the King of the Ring PPV and highlights a former winner
~Today it shows “Stone Cold” Steve Austin winning and giving his infamous “Austin 3:16” speech
~Then it cuts to a picture of a throne as the promo ends

***

Smackdown, now in a different locker room, has someone watching television, giving off some audible laughs. The camera pans back, and it's Eugene! Eugene seems to be enjoying himself, clapping at the television while talking to himself.


Eugene: Ha ha! He hit him in the head with a watermelon!

Eugene appears to be watching some sort of cartoon and enjoying his life at the moment. Not much later, though, the door is heard flying open and we hear a voice.

???: What are you doin' in my seat? Get out of here!

Eugene, a bit scared after getting yelled at, sulks and follows the persons orders. Eugene walks out of the seat and walks off the screen, holding his head low, as Chavo Guerrero, current Cruiserweight Chmampion, comes in and sits down in the seat Eugene was using.

Chavo Guerrero: Damn retards an' there stupid cartoons. I'm the Cruiserweight Champion and he 'dinks he can touch my stuff.

Chavo opens his recliner and begins leaning back, clutching onto his title as he begins to drift off. Not very long after he falls asleep, Jonathan Coachman walks in. Chavo wasn't awaken when Coachman made his way in, so Coachman tries to clear his throat to get Guerrero's attention.

Jonathan Coachman: Chavo … (Coachman clears his throat again) … Cha-VO … (Clearly getting annoyed, he does it loud enough to startle Chavo) … CHAVO!

Guerrero snorts and wakes up, looking around to see who woke him before noticing Coachman.

Chavo Guerrero: 'Ey ese, what's your deal? Can't let a guy sleep?

Coachman puts his hands up as if he means no harm before answering the Cruiserweight Champions question.

Jonathan Coachman: No no no, by all means relax. I was just given some news from Mr. McMahon that I was told to relay to you.

Chavo closes the recliner and gets up, letting a smirk out before speaking.

Chavo Guerrero: Heh-heh, so he's made you his pack mule that does all the errands he doesn't want to do? Heh-heh, talk about a demotion ese. From runnin' your own show to bein' McMahon's secretary. Heh-heh.

Coachman adjusts his tie and tries to shake off the stinging words from Chavo.

Jonathan Coachman: I'll have you know my input was acknowledged in this decision, Chavo.

Chavo doubles over in laughter now, which is getting to the Coach's head.

Chavo Guerrero: Heh-heh, I'm sure your input was taken. “Yes sir” an' “No sir” is considered input, right? Heh-heh-heh-heh!

The Coach has had it and snaps.

Jonathan Coachman: ALRIGHT THAT'S ENOUGH!

Chavo tries to muffle his laughing as he replies.

Chavo Guerrero: Okay okay, heh-heh, what's the big announcement Coach? You're runnin' in on my sleep time.

Coachman brushes his suit off and clears his throat, happy he can finally deliver the news.

Jonathan Coachman: As I was saying … Mr. McMahon and I have been impressed with your current run as the Cruiserweight Champion. You've brought some strength to the division that we've been looking for.

Chavo, as you may expect, is pleased to get his ego stroked, even if it's by Coachman.

Jonathan Coachman: However, we feel it's time you defend the title again.

Chavo's eyes bug out a little bit, as if he's surprised that he has to actually defend his championship.

Chavo Guerrero: Wha– tonight? Coach I don't have enough time to –

Coach uses his hands and moves them in a downward motion, almost as if to tell Chavo to calm the hell down.

Jonathan Coachman: Calm down, Chavo. You aren't defending your title tonight. (Chavo breaths a sigh of relief) You're defending it next week right here on Smackdown!

The crowd pops, as who wouldn't enjoy to see a title match?

Chavo Guerrero: But... but that's not enough time! How am I supposed to prepare when I don't even know who I'm gonna face?

Coachman lets out a sly grin before answering Chavo's questions.

Jonathan Coachman: Well, Chavo, you'll find your opponent on Monday Night on RAW, as I've already sent out the notice to the Cruiserweights that, on Monday, there will be a six-way gauntlet match to determine the number one contender! Whoever wins that match will take you on a week from today.

Chavo is a little speechless, as he doesn't really have any more questions to be answered.

Jonathan Coachman: Now, go back to your … (Coachman looks at the television to see Eugene's cartoons are still on) cartoons …

Chavo interjects, embarrassed that Coach believes he'd be watching what Eugene watches.

Chavo Guerrero: Hey! These are Eugene's cartoons! Honest!

Coach let's out a chuckle before continuing.

Jonathan Coachman: Heh, riiight. Well, Chavo, you enjoy that and have a great rest of the night.

Coach exits the locker room and lets out another laugh as Chavo clutches onto his title a bit tighter. Smackdown then goes to another commercial break.

***COMMERCIAL***

***Extreme Originals***

We return from commercial break and the music of the ECW Originals is heard. We don't see all of the Originals come out from the back, however. Instead, it's only Tommy Dreamer, Stevie Richards, and their manager Tazz who come down the ring. Tazz is seen talking the two up as their opponents, Robbie and Rory McAllister, the Highlanders are already inside of the ring awaiting their opponents. Cole talks about this newfound connection between the Originals and Tazz, even though they've known each other from their ECW days. JBL says he's fought all three of them before and if they're going to start to work the tag-team division both the ******* Wrecking Crew and Deuce 'n Domino better watch out. Dreamer and Richards enter the ring, with Dreamer letting Richards start off the match inside.


Match Two
Tag-Team Match
ECW Originals (Tommy Dreamer & Stevie Richards) (w/ Tazz) vs. The Highlanders (Robbie and Rory McAlister)


This match isn't a long one, as the Highlanders haven't been seen on TV in a while and even when they have been, they haven't been a force of nature. As for the Originals, Dreamer and Richards show a good deal of chemistry, even connecting on a double back body drop and a double DDT during the short duration of the match. We then jump to near the finish of the match with Richards and Rory in the ring.

Rory Irish Whips Richards off the ring and attempts a clothesline, only for Richards to duck and take Rory down with a reverse neckbreaker! Both men are down in the middle of the ring now, but Richards begins to inch his way towards Dreamer. Rory begins moving as well and eventually... RICHARDS MAKES THE TAG! Dreamer sprints inside of the ring to try to catch Rory, but RORY TAGS ROBBIE! Both teams get their hot tags in!

However, only one of them takes advantage of the hot tag. Robbie charges at Dreamer, only to be taken down with a clothesline! He gets back up quickly, but Dreamer charges this time and takes down Robbie with ANOTHER CLOTHESLINE! The crowd is getting hot now, and Dreamer is looking to finish off the match. Dreamer waits for Robbie to get up to his feet, and once he does Dreamer grabs him in a front-facelock. Dreamer raises his non-holding hand up to get the crowd going then throws Robbie on his shoulder before CONNECTING WITH THE DREAMER DRIVER! Richards crosses the ring and knocks Rory down off the apron as Dreamer recovers for the victory...

ONE!...

TWO!...


THREE!


Winners: The ECW Originals via Pinfall (3:08)

The crowd pops as the two Originals meet inside to celebrate. Tazz climbs inside of the ring to come and celebrate with them as well, as his first match signed as their manager is a success. The announcers talk up the team as a potential title threat in the tag-team division, talking about the great chemistry Richards and Dreamer had.

Meanwhile, outside of the ring, Robbie and Rory are clearly at odds with each other. Robbie is asking Rory where the hell he was to break up the count, and Rory says he got taken out. Rory continues to try to explain himself, but Robbie doesn't seem to want to hear it. After months of inactivity and being the perennial tag-team jobbers, Robbie has seemed to have enough. Robbie throws his hands down at Rory in a motion that's as if to say “That's it” and walks to the back without his partner by his side. Cole and JBL remark that these two haven't seen much success in the tag-team division recently and maybe Robbie has reached his breaking point. They continue to speculate as the ECW Originals keep on celebrating inside the ring. Smackdown then transitions by heading backstage with Todd Grisham, who's ready to give an interview.

***

We are now backstage with Todd Grisham, who's ready to interview someone.


Todd Grisham: Ladies and gentlemen I'm Todd Grisham, and with me at this time … Elijah Burke.

A small choir of boos rain out as Elijah Burke makes his way onto the camera shot.

Todd Grisham: Elijah, what brings you here to the interview set?

Elijah, sporting his traditional track suit, towel over his shoulder, and trademark cornrows, seems delighted to be involved in an interview.

Elijah Burke: Todd, as you might have heard, I have my King of the Ring match in a little bit against Randy Orton. But before I go out there, I wanted to give Randy a little message.

Burke puts his hand on Grisham's shoulder before grabbing the microphone out of his hand and continuing.

Elijah Burke: Randy, you may call yourself a “Legend Killer”, but lemme keep it real with you: this legend right here (Burke points a finger to his chest) is TOO BIG of a legend to be killed!

Burke pauses and we hear some mild boos, as people don't think Burke's really earned “legend” status yet.

Elijah Burke: Randy, here's some facts for you to chew on: I was the leader of one of the hottest young groups that ECW, nay, the WWE have ever seen! Vince McMahon, the owner of this great company, declared me as the future of ECW!

Elijah stops and shrugs his shoulders, really getting into his segment, before Grisham grabs the microphone and cuts him off.

Todd Grisham: Excuse me, Elijah, I don't mean to interrupt, but... but ECW isn't around anymore.

Elijah seems insulted that Todd bought that up, as if he didn't already know that.

Elijah Burke: Y' don't think I didn't already know that, Todd?

Now Grisham is on the defensive.

Todd Grisham: No, no, it's just... why should Randy care about what happened in ECW when that's all in the past?

Elijah pauses, ponders Todd's question, as he has a decent point, before answering.

Elijah Burke: I'll tell ya why Randy should care, Todd. Randy should be shakin' in his bootstraps on facing me tonight because I'm the real deal. Me an' Randy aren't exactly cut from the same cloth – I don't waste my time on elders that can't cut it in the ring, but Randy seems to have a sick fetish about taking them on.

Some small pops for Burke now, as many fans aren't a big fan of Randy continuing to punt any legend he sees fit.

Elijah Burke: Randy was born wit' a silver spoon in his mouth, I was born wit' a silver tongue. Randy isn't gettin' some guy that's collecting social security out there tonight. He's gettin' me, an I'm gonna give him one hell of a fi–

What the hell!? Randy Orton has come from out of nowhere and JUMPS ELIJAH BURKE! Grisham bails as Randy delivers some punches to the head of Burke, sending the unsuspecting superstar to the floor. Randy then deliver stomps as he's heard saying:

“YOU ARE A NOBODY! YOU WILL NOT STAND IN MY WAY OF WINNING KING OF THE RING!”

Randy continues to kick Burke while he's down, and the crowd is giving Randy all the hell that it can. He takes a step back and Burke is rolling around, groggy as would be expected. Randy then grabs Burke by his cornrows and brings him to a standing position. The Legend Killer takes a long stare into Burke's eyes, who's just trying to get away at this point. Randy delivers another punch to the head before...

RANDY THROWS BURKE HEAD FIRST THROUGH THE TELEVISION SCREEN BEHIND THEM! The television cracks and shuts off, and Burke is now BUSTED OPEN! Randy smirks at the damage he's done, before SPITTING ON BURKE! This is just disrespectful! Randy delivers one more stomp for good measure before walking off, saying:

“I'll see you in the ring... if you can make it.”

Randy then let's out a somewhat forced laugh as he walks out of the camera shot as Smackdown goes to it's final commercial break of the night.

***COMERCIAL***

***RAW Rebound***
~Rebound highlights the tag-team main event between John Cena and Edge vs. Randy Orton and King Booker
~Shows Cena and Edge surprisingly working in cohesion
~Cena is seen scoring the pinfall victory for his team
~Edge jumping Cena and beating him down is then heavily focused
~Edge is shown connecting with a con-chair-to before yelling “THREE WEEKS” to Cena as the RAW Rebound ends.

***Burn In My Light***

Smackdown returns and it's time for it's main event of the night. Just minutes after delivering a beatdown to his next opponent in the interview area, “The Legend Killer” Randy Orton makes his way out from the back. To be expected, there is a large negative reaction to Orton, who doesn't look like he gives a shit what they think. Cole talks about how he is just a dirty person and deserves all the backlash he gets from the crowd, but JBL disagrees. JBL says this is the big leagues and sometimes you have to be like a dog and mark your territory. He says Burke started running his mouth and Orton had to put him where he belongs. Orton walks around the outside of the ring and puts his hands on the King of the Ring crown that is shown out there, remembering what he is fighting for. He then enters the ring and does his trademark pose as he awaits for his opponent to come out.

***Don't Waste My Time***

Elijah Burke's music hits, but we do not see Burke come out. We all know why Burke isn't out here, but it's still disappointing nevertheless. Cole brings up the attack that we all just saw before the commercial break, saying he can't blame Burke if he doesn't make his way out here. JBL says he feels bad for the kid but you can't be saying words that your ass can't cash. Cole is flustered at that comment as we don't know if he could back up his words since he was jumped before the match even started. Inside of the ring, Randy demands that the bell be rung and the match started. The referee doesn't want to, but obliges after he gets a buzz in his ear. Damn it, there goes not only another KOTR match, but the main event of the night.


Match Three
King of the Ring First Round Match
Randy Orton vs. Elijah Burke


The referee rings the bell and begins to make the ring out count very quickly, but... what's this? ELIJAH BURKE MAKES HIS WAY OUT FROM THE BACK! Even though Burke isn't the biggest crowd favorite, these fans are loving the guts he is showing. The camera zooms in on Burke, who still has a nice cut on his head from the television and dried up blood on his face. He's gingerly walking down the aisle, about halfway down as the referee reaches a ring out count of five.

Orton is still inside and a bit incredulous that Burke was strong enough to even make his way out, pacing around the referee and yelling at Burke to “STAY OUT OF HERE”. Burke, showing the fight that he has and desire that he has of wanting to become the next King of the Ring, ignores what Orton has to say and inches closer to the ring. Burke gets to the bottom of the apron at the count of nine, and as the referee begins to yell “TEN” … BURKE SLIDES INTO THE RING! The crowd begins to get wild for Burke!

Randy Orton isn't a fan of this underdog story, though, and ruins the fun by immediately attacking the still downed Burke. He begins with some stomps to the head of the cut open Burke, each shot taking more out of Burke than the last. Orton then drags him by the hair into the middle of the ring and makes an aggressive pinfall cover...

ONE!...

TWO!...


TH–

Burke kicks out at 2 ½! Orton, a bit perturbed, stays on his knees and begins to deliver straight shots to the head of Burke. One shot, two, three, four shots in a row! The referee tries to get Randy to give him some space, but Randy gives no fucks about the refs opinion. He delivers another shot for good measure before covering for a pin again, hoping Burke finally throws in the towel...

ONE!...

TWO!...


TH –

Burke gets the shoulder up again! The crowd is starting to get louder, trying to help will Burke on enough to pull off the upset victory. Randy gets up and takes a step back to assess the situation, thinking about what maneuver he should attempt next. He decides to wait for Elijah to get back to a vertical position, and once Burke is able to stand on his own two feet, Orton grabs him by the head and knocks him with a European uppercut, which sends Burke back into the nearest turnbuckle. Orton follows Burke to the turnbuckle and delivers a few more punches to the head, continuing to just brutalize the now reopened wound of Burke. Randy steps back, sees that Elijah isn't going anywhere and begins backing up to the opposite turnbuckle. Orton then charges at the still cornered Burke with his arm out for a clothesline attempt and … BURKE PULLS HIMSELF OUT OF THE WAY!

Orton rebounds off the turnbuckle and is now doubled over, with Burke finally having a chance to get some offense in this match. After a moment or two of recuperating, Burke hits Randy with a few jabs to the chest followed by an UPPERCUT TO ORTON'S JAW! Orton immediately crashes to the ground and Burke covers him with a lateral press, hoping to stun the more experienced Orton...

ONE!...

TWO!...


TH –

NO! Orton gets the shoulder up at 2 ½! Burke slaps his hands in frustration, thinking he was going to pick up the victory there. Burke gets up to his feet and walks over to Orton's backside, waiting for the Legend Killer to get up. Orton uses the ropes to assist him in getting to his feet, and once he does Burke wraps his arms around Orton's waist and tries to pull him over his head for a belly-to-belly suplex! But Orton, being the veteran that he is, smartly holds onto the ropes and Burke falls down to the ground on his own, hitting his head on the canvas. Burke quickly gets back up as Orton is turning around, and Burke charges at his opponent. Orton continues to show his ring experience by pulling the ropes down, which causes Burke to go flying to the outside!

Burke crashes onto the padded floor below, and Orton takes a knee to gain his breath. Randy let's out a smirk, since he continues to be one step ahead of him. While Randy may be able to wait and earn the win by count-out, he decides to take the initiative and slides out of the ring to meet Burke, who remains on the ground. Randy picks him up by his head, delivers a strong knee to the sternum, then walks him over to the steel steps and SLAMS BURKE FACE FIRST ONTO THEM!

Randy senses the window to finish this match is opening back up, so he lifts Burke up and rolls him back into the ring. Burke isn't all the way inside, though, as his head is still hanging over the outside of the apron. Randy notices this before he slides back in himself, so he takes two steps back, charges forward and delivers a HARD ELBOW TO BURKE'S HEAD! Burke now rolls inside of the ring, and Randy re-enters as well. Burke continues to roll around in pain, and he's going to have a throbbing headache when this match is over. Randy slithers near Burke and begins to pound his fists onto the canvas. We know what that means – it's RKO time. Burke barely knows what state he's in at this point, so there's no way he knows what Randy's about ready to attempt.

Elijah slowly gets up, with Randy basically punching the mat harder and harder as Burke gets closer and closer to getting up. Elijah finally gets to a vertical position and begins to turn around to face Orton, only for Orton to attempt an RKO... AND BURKE PUSHES HIM AWAY! What a counter from Burke! Randy clearly didn't expect a reversal on that, but tries to not have it get to him as he rises back to his feet and charges Burke with a clothesline attempt... and Burke ducks it! The quick thinking Burke then wraps his arm around the turned around Orton's shoulder, places his foot in front of Randy's and... SENDS HIM TO THE GROUND WIH AN ELIJAH EXPERIENCE! The crowd is going nuts as Burke once again covers for a win...

ONE!...

TWO!...


TH –

ORTON KICKS OUT AT 2 ½! What was looking as an uneventful main event has now developed into a barnburner, as Orton is in serious danger of not even making it out of the first round now. Burke smacks the mat and looks at the ref in disbelief that he couldn't score the fall there, but he tries to not lose his focus. He makes his way back up and brings Orton up to his feet as well, before he Irish whips Orton hard into the corner turnbuckle. Burke runs over to the opposite corner and raises his hand up, trying to get the crowd going as he makes an Elijah Express attempt.

Burke charges at the cornered Orton and begins to leap to hit Randy with the double knee strike to his chest... BUT ORTON PULLS HIMSELF OUT OF THE CORNER! Elijah lands knee first into the second turnbuckle and tries to walk it off, but ORTON HITS HIM WITH THE SURPRISE RKO OUT OF NOWHERE! You can't ever fall asleep when you're wrestling the Legend Killer, Elijah! The boos start to rain down as Orton immediately covers for the pinfall after connecting with the move...

ONE!...

TWO!...


THREE!


Winner and advancing to the Quarter-Finals of the King of the Ring: Randy Orton via Pinfall (9:49)

Just like that, Burke went from being a half a count away from advancing to being eliminated in the first round. Orton gives a huge sigh of relief as he gets his hand raised by the referee, while Burke is seated in the corner, a little distraught at how close he really was. The crowd appreciates Burke's guts by coming out here and giving Orton a run for his money after all that went down, and JBL even remarks that he gained some respect for Burke tonight even if he came out the loser. Orton gives a dismissive look before he slides out of the ring and again makes his way over to the King of the Ring crown that sits on a pillow at ringside. He puts his hands on it and gives it a brush, not wanting to get very far from it. Cole and JBL talk Orton up as a star in the making as Smackdown fades to black.

*End Show*

Quick Results:
Ric Flair def. Umaga
ECW Originals (Tommy Dreamer and Stevie Richards) def. The Highlanders
Randy Orton def. Elijah Burke

Current Card for KING OF THE RING
Date:
July 22, 2007
Location: HP Pavilion at San Jose, San Jose, California
Event Music: The Church of Hot Addiction by Cobra Starship

Champion vs. Champion; Title Unification Match
WWE Champion John Cena (c) vs. World Heavyweight Champion Edge (c)

King of the Ring Semi-Finals and Finals
Participants TBA
 
#11 ·
Makes sense to have Michael Cole and JBL really hype up the new era on the Smackdown side of things. I probably would have mentioned something if you didn’t put this in, as considering this seems recapped a lot of people would have skipped it. Great stuff though and I love the way Cole almost built Smackdown up as the show for the future. I know Raw’s where all the big business will go down but a lot of times in reading threads I actually prefer to see what gets done with the lesser likes.

Pretty awesome match to open the show and I like the fact you mentioned Umaga and Flair’s previous match in 2006. I hate it when bookers/WWE IRL ignore past history. In all seriousness I’m not all that sure how I feel about the result. I mean the win for Flair is a feel good moment and is fine for his character’s point of view, but I’m not completely sure how this effects Umaga. I think I mentioned in my Raw feedback that Umaga came out of the Santino thing looking pretty shitty IRL so you had a bit of work to do to build him up. I felt like Raw started on but I just feel maybe the next show is a little early for him to suffer one of these upset losses. Still though, a great win for Flair and a pretty good way to actually start the show.

I can’t help but slightly feel as if The ECW Originals are a bunch of hacks who can’t really go anymore, however the inclusion of Tazz as their manager has me interested. Segment was okay with Tazz getting them a match, although seems a little weird that they wouldn’t know. It does put over the ‘Don’t give a shit’ mentality of ECW guys though so props for that. A decent enough segment to hype this new pairing and their match tonight, I’m watching this space.

KOTR 1996. Watched this no to long ago, AUSTIN!

I got the idea of Chavo being put over as a dick being mean to Eugene, but after the whole Benoit incident, I doubt the WWE would be using the word ‘retard’ on television. Chavo falling asleep was a little strange too, I’m guessing it was supposed to be humour, but it didn’t come across that amusing. Sorry. The Coach running errands is really where he should be in this structure, and it was great how you had Guerrero make fun of him for this. Every wrestler on the roster needs to give The Coach shit, awesome stuff. The six way and title match next week sounds good as well. The segment could have used a bit of work, but good booking.

ECW Originals always winning this one to start off their new partnership with Tazz the right way. The Highlanders breaking up isn’t really a blow to the tag division here, solid stuff.

The Elijah Burke interview started off okay, but it was weird how he called himself a legend acted like a heel and got boo’ed… Then he went all face and hated on Randy for attacking legends, and got cheered. It seemed like a big jump way to quickly… The attack from Orton is all you really needed here rather than Burke having bi polar. Orton’s attack sets himself up as the mega heel and gives the fans a reason to cheer Burke.

A huge well done goes out for the match write up here in the main event. I know you said you hated match recaps but you’ve done a tremendous job here of turning Burke into a face all in the space of one night with this match. Not only that but you’ve shown despite starting with a disadvantage he can hang with the absolute best. Awesome booking, I would have loved to see him advance but it makes sense for the bigger name to win. Burke to cost Orton next round and a feud to come out of this please, Burke can become a star. A great finish really, good booking to establish a new character early on in the thread.

Show was pretty uneventful really, with KOTR matches dominating. A few little things I mentioned but you seem to have everything going in a direction. The show gets a thumbs up due to the booking of Elijah Burke though, brilliant. Keep it up, PP.
 
#13 ·
OOC: No, no, I haven't abandoned this thread, but I've become a bit more busy in recent weeks. Unfortunately, that will likely become more of a trend with school resuming next Monday. Not only that, but I had my wisdom teeth removed yesterday and have been taking it easy in the past 24 hours while it heals. I hope to get RAW up before then (I have two matches and maybe one or two other segments left to write), but after Monday it'll maybe, maybe be at a show every three weeks pace. My goal is to get through King of the Ring by Thanksgiving, as I hope to do that as an extended recap of sorts (with the matches maybe being the length of a typical main event of RAW, give or take a little). I'll write when I get the urge, but my activity with the thread, especially early in the semester, I expect to not be very high. It's unfortunate as I am having fun writing these shows, but as always, life > BTB. So yeah, hopefully RAW's in by the end of the weekend, but after that who knows. I like to post my show preview when I'm nearing the end of that particular show, so when you see one that should be somewhat of a heads up on where I'm at.

“Wrestling News and Rumors” said:
~While the WWE is trying to rebuild King of the Ring back up as a bigger PPV, we've had sources tell us that they don't expect this card to be very large. Reason being twofold – they're working on building up some of these angles to having a payoff towards Summerslam (which is the following month) and they want to give the matches on the card proper time. Expect the King of the Ring Final and Title Unication match to be given more than enough time.

~As per tradition when one of the “Big 4” PPV's rolls around, expect some big names to be resurfacing to perform some angles in the near future. Triple H has been widely discussed as having his return match at Summerslam, as have Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio. Shawn Michaels, who was storyline knocked out by Randy Orton a few weeks ago, does not appear to be in the immediate plans as he's enjoying his current time off, but plans could change as we get closer to the event.

~The recent breakup angle of the Highlanders has been seen as a long time coming. Creative has reportedly thought the groups gimmick has run stale and a change in their characters is coming. WWE has removed their profiles from WWE.com and they participated in tag-team matches over the weekend for OVW not under their Highlanders gimmick. With their weak tag-team division we expect them to not have a very long stay in the WWE's minor leagues.

~Along with the Highlanders, expect a few other faces to be called up from the minor leagues before Survivor Series in November. Some names being thrown around are Kofi Kingston, Sheamus O'Shaunessy, Jake Hager, Nick Nemeth, Matt Sydal, Cody Runnels, Ted DiBiase Jr., Harry Smith, and TJ Wilson.

~To go off that last bit of news, some wrestlers are appearing to be phased out, such as Val Venis, Dave Taylor, The Boogeyman, Balls Mahoney, and Scotty 2 Hotty. Some will likely be kept on as road agents, such as Venis and Taylor, while others will likely be outright released. Mahoney has made it known he doesn't want to keep being occupied by traveling to multiple shows a week, but with the ECW Originals clearly having a storyline it may take some time before he gets his wish, as he is still under contract until the end of Wrestlemania 24.

~Our final bit of news is that there's been reports out of TNA circles that two current superstars aren't enjoying their time at the promotion and wish to wrestle for the WWE. They were cited as saying that TNA is “the minor leagues” compared to how the WWE treats their talent and that the Impact Zone “is a dump that should be blown up”. One of those superstars has heavily rumored to be former WWE Champion Kurt Angle, who initially just tried to use TNA for leverage before ultimately signing a deal with them. TNA has appeared to try and ease his worries by making him their World Champion, but Angle initially only signed a one year deal which expires shortly after their Bound For Glory event in October. We've been told Angle plans to play out his contract there and either get a Shawn Michaels-like deal with the WWE where he will get 2-3 large angles a year, or he will simply retire. While the WWE didn't cater to his needs the last time they negotiated, since we can see they're more willing to give guys time off now and always appreciate star power, Angle may be able to work his way back into the company.

The other TNA name we haven't heard as much on, but some potential names that have been thrown to us are Christian, Rhyno, the Dudley Boys (they tend to come as a package deal), Tyson Tomko, Scott Steiner, and AJ Styles. As you may recognize from those names, all of them aside from Styles are former WWE talents.

Monday Night RAW Preview
July 9, 2007
Cajundome, Lafayette, Louisiana

Tonight's Monday Night RAW comes to you live from the “Bayou State” with another action-filled show for you tonight. With only two weeks to go until the King of the Ring pay-per-view, there's sure to be a lot going down in the near future. Here's what is on store for tonight's show:

~After emerging victorious in last weeks tag-team main event, the current World Heavyweight Champion and “Rated-R Superstar” Edge attacked his King of the Ring opponent, WWE Champion John Cena. Cena score the pinfall for the duo, and then was subject to a beatdown that would be considered brutal by any measure. Edge took to Cena with multiple con-chair-to's as the show closed out, and “The Champ” is none too happy about it. Tonight Cena will open the show to air his grievances, and you won't want to miss it!

~The King of the Ring tournament has seen six of the eight first round matches completed, and tonight on RAW we wrap up the first round with two matches – 2006 King of the Ring King Booker vs. Finlay and Shelton Benjamin vs. Bobby Lashley. Will Shelton Benjamin finally step up out of the tag-team ranks and make some noise? Will the veteran Finlay take advantage of the opportunity at hand and get closer to a lifelong goal? Will Bobby Lashley continue his quest and live up to the hype he's been given? Will King Booker make it to the quarterfinals, thus one step closer to becoming back to back King of the Ring? What two superstars will get one step closer to becoming King of the Ring and earning the World title shot that comes with it? You'll have to tune in to find out!

~As announced by Jonathan Coachman on last weeks Smackdown, tonight on RAW there will be a six man Cruiserweight gauntlet match to determine the number one contender to the Cruiserweight Championship. The winner of the match will receive his title shot on this Thursday's Smackdown against Chavo Guerrero, who has successfully defended his title against all comers since becoming the champion at No Way Out in February. Who will come out on top and have a chance to face Chavo three days from now? The only way to find the answer to that question is to tune in to RAW tonight.

~CM Punk was brutally assaulted before his King of the Ring First Round match last week on RAW, thus he was eliminated as a result of a count-out loss to William Regal. Punk has demanded to be placed back into the tournament as he wasn't given a fair chance, but Vince McMahon's assistant Jonathan Coachman has put his foot down and has declared that Punk will NOT be allowed to reinsert into the tournament. That announcement hasn't put Punk in the best of moods, and he plans on addressing the RAW fanbase tonight, which you won't want to miss!

All of this, and more, will be shown on Monday Night RAW, 9-11 ET on the USA Network!


Confirmed for the show:

King of the Ring First Round Matches: King Booker vs. Finlay; Shelton Benjamin vs. Bobby Lashley

Six Man Gauntlet Match for #1 Contendership to the Cruiserweight Championship

Plus, John Cena and CM Punk address the RAW audience
 
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