After weeks of qualifying matches, #1 contender matches and rematches, we know who will challenge John Cena for the World Heavyweight Title in two weeks at the Royal Rumble. Or do we? Shawn Michaels' win last week and his relationship with JBL adds another twist to the WHC Match. The Self-Made Millionaire hired HBK in order to assure his title shot at the Rumble. JBL has informed WWE.com that he has a special announcement to make tomorrow night, after the Main Event. Who will John Cena be facing two weeks from now?
The JBL & HBK alliance has wreaked quite a bit of havoc on Raw. JBL interfered in Kane's match with his employee three weeks ago, costing him the match, and after disqualifying himself the week after, finally fell to the Big Red Machine's wrath last week, but only after hiring Snitsky to injure to help him. Kane KOed Snitsky before his match, but has reportedly asked Stephanie McMahon for a chance to lay his hands on him again, apparently not content with the damage he's already done.
CM Punk is out of the WHC Title picture, but he is still the #1 Contender for the Intercontinental Title. While he was preparing for his match last week, his girlfriend, Kelly Kelly, defended his honor in a match against Regal's female companion, Layla. The two couples are out to get each other, and many are hoping that The Straight Edge superstar and the Blond Bombshell will wipe the smirk off the 2008 King of the Ring and his 'queen'.
The Glamazon Beth Phoenix already knows who will face her at the Rumble: Smackdown diva, Natalya Neidhart. Last week Natalya came to the Monday Night show, and had a stare-down with the Undisputed Women's Champion. Will she return this week?
The rivalry between Randy Orton and Finlay is heating up week after week. Orton's attack on the Irishman's son led him to attack The Legend Killer during his match two weeks ago, costing him the #1 Contendership. Finlay has yet to get the chance to go one on one with his nemesis, thanks to Orton's Legacy involving themselves at every chance they get. Last week Cody Rhodes & Manu lost to Finlay, but it seems that the Legacy is back on top, after Ted DiBiase Jr attacked Finlay on ECW. Has Dibiase joined forces with the man who injured him? Will Finlay finally get his hands on Orton?
The answers to the questions and more, tomorrow night on Raw!
Raw kicked off this time around with The Legacy making their way to the ring. The crowd expected Orton to speak first, but instead it was Ted Dibiase Jr who opened his mouth. He said that when he was at the hospital, he wanted nothing more than to get his hands on Orton, and destroy him. But as time went by, and he healed, he realized that he didn't really hate Orton. He respected him. Randy does what he wants, when he wants, and he has the ability to back all of his talk up. That was why he looked up to him, that was why he was willing to forgive Orton for punting him, that was why he wanted to ally himself with Orton, and that was why he was going to learn from one of the best, and wear WWE gold around his waist again.
Dibiase shook hands with the other three members of the group, but their celebrations of sorts was marred by Raw GM Stephanie McMahon. Steph informed Orton that Dibiase's words were far from true. He couldn't do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. At the Royal Rumble, he won't be participating in the Main Event like he desired, instead, he would be facing Finlay. She had had a talk with Finlay earlier, and the two of them agreed on the stipulations for the match. It would be a Belfast Brawl, and if Orton lost, he would be banished from the WWE.
Understandably, Orton was far from happy. He told Stephanie that there was no way he was going to waste an opportunity like the Royal Rumble, and step into the ring with a disgrace of a wrestler like Finlay. He added that if she knew any good, she would listen to him, because he was the future of the company, and the single greatest commodity of the brand. Steph replied by saying that even though she detested doing so, she would have to agree with some of what Randy was saying. That was since Finlay picked his stipulations for the match, Orton will get to pick two of his own.
Cody Rhodes tried getting his voice heard, telling Steph that there was no way that Randy would waste his time with Finlay but Orton cut him off. He accepted the match, and told Steph that he would announce his chosen stipulations next week. Before anyone could leave, Orton went on, saying that now that there were some spots free, it was only fair for them to be filled by those truly worthy, which was why he was lobbying for Ted, Cody and Manu to be entered into the Rumble. After some thought, Stephanie yielded, and the three were inserted into the match.
Monster vs Monster
Last week Kane laid out an attacking Snitsky, who had attempted to stop him from participating in his match with JBL. Not content with the damage he had done, he demanded a match against his aggressor this week, and his demands were met.
In a brutal match between two men with a long history, the two gave it their all. Stiff clotheslines, hard punches and ring-shaking slams aplenty, the match finally ended when Kane caught Snitsky's foot in the air as he attempted a Big boot, and chokeslammed his opponent, getting his 3rd consecutive win.
Winner: Kane
Women who Wear Pants
Backstage, Natalya and Beth Phoenix came face to face, trading insults and threats regarding their match at the Rumble. Just as they were reaching breaking point, with Santino making things worse by loudly deluding himself into believing that they were fighting over him, Beth issued a challenge for tonight. She told Natalya that their fight could wait until the Rumble, but tonight, she could pick anyone from the Raw roster to fight in her place against Beth's man, Santino. With great timing, Dolph Ziggler appeared to introduce himself.
After a short promo about the Rumble, Santino stepped into the ring, followed by Dolph. In a surprisingly good, technical match, both arrogant men showed off their abilities, although in the end it was Ziggler who triumphed, getting a roll-up win after Santino was distracted by Beth's shouting at Natalya. The two divas once again came face to face, although things didn't end as calmly as last time, when Natalya slapped the champion, leading to a cat fight in the ring, which forced security to step in and separate them.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Backstage, Jericho was in Stephanie's office, and he was outraged that she would negotiate like she did with Orton. She was slowly but surely driving the show to the ground, like Shane told her she would. Stephanie calmly retorted by saying that she was fine without being subjected to Jericho's 'constructive criticism', but since he was so disposed to opening his yap, she would have to get someone to close it for him, which was why she placing him in a handicap match later in the night.
Double Date
The animosity between the pair of William Regal & Layla and CM Punk & Kelly Kelly was practically tangible. What with Punk being the #1 Contender to Regal's title, and the long history between the two divas, the duos were simply bound to face off. Before the match, Punk informed Regal that he was going to challenge for the IC Title next week, and the bout between Punk & Kelly and Regal & Layla started.
Quite in the fashion of good vs evil, the former pair showed off their constantly improving wrestling skills with some excellent spots, whilst the latter couple cheated their way on top. Despite Kelly hitting the K2 on Layla, she had tagged Regal in, who showed no qualms over hitting a woman, and hit the Regal-plex on Punk's girl, covering her for the win before Punk could make it into the ring, and hastily making his exit, leaving Layla behind.
Winners: William Regal & Layla
The Return
A short promo airs: a man shrouded in darkness is walking along a sinister hallway, his footsteps echoing, the shot pans up over his body. You can only make out the outline of the man who extends his hand to a scrawny figure on the floor, helping the man stand up. A flash of lightning ends the promo, but the identity of the man is not revealed by the flash of light.
1 vs 2
Stephanie McMahon couldn't have picked a better choice for who Jericho should face. After all, she wanted someone to shut him up, and who better than two people who would rarely shut up themselves?
Y2J first faced JTG, and dominated the entirety of the latter's duration in the ring, hitting several of his high-impact moves, such as the Enziguri and the Lionsault. He cunningly avoided Shad's corner of the ring, in order to stop him from tagging his partner in, and cheap-shotting the bulky street thug whenever he could. Just when Shad couldn't take in anymore, Jericho revealed just how smart he really is, avoiding the incoming attack and hitting the Codebreaker on Shad, before placing JTG in the Walls of Jericho and getting the submission win.
Winner: Chris Jericho
Visibly content, Jericho celebrated in the ring, grabbing the mic and telling the WWE Universe and Steph that it would take more than two 50 cent wannabees to 'shut him up'. More than happy with his day's work, he made his way backstage.
Champion's Words
Todd Grisham was backstage, and before conducting his interview with John Cena, he announced that he had just gotten word that the Main Event of the night would feature The Legacy taking on 3 of Raw's top stars. With that out of the way, he asked Cena about who he thinks he would face at the Rumble, and what will JBL say after the Main Event. The champ said that he fully expected Shawn Michaels to do the right thing and give the fans the fight they want to see, HBK vs Cena at the Rumble. He added that he didn't care what JBL had to say, but that he would be listening just in case, because you never can trust someone like him.
Main Event
It was time for the final match of the night. Lilian Garcia announced that it would a 3 vs 3 Elimination Tag Team match and Ted Dibiase, Cody Rhodes and Manu stepped into the ring, accompanied by their leader Randy Orton and ready to prove their dominance on Raw. Their opponents: Batista, Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio all made their way to the ring.
Manu and Kofi started up, and the long match saw every pairing possible between the 6 take place. Manu wound up being the first eliminated, being hit with a Trouble in Paradise from Kingston after a 619 from Rey. Cody stepped in to take his place, and dominated Kofi for a few minutes before hitting the Roll of the Dice on him. Rey quickly tried to stop the pin, but Manu, who stayed at ringside with Orton, stopped him from doing so, hitting him with the Samoan Shock. This led to an all out brawl between the 3 men and Batista, which saw The Animal lay everyone out only for Orton to come up from behind and RKO him.
After that, Dibiase made Rey submit with a Cobra Clutch and then also pinned the RKOed Batista for the win.
Winners: The Legacy (Cody Rhodes, Ted Dibiase Jr. & Manu w/ Randy Orton)
What will he do?
John Bradshaw Layfield made his way to the ring with the same confidence and haughtiness that accompanied him to the ring every week. He made his way to the podium at the centre of it and grabbed the mic saying that after weeks of planning and fighting off mindless brutes, he's done it. He IS the #1 Contender for Cena's title, and he WILL be facing him at the Rumble. Why? Because Shawn Michaels made some bad decisions, and one man's misfortunes is another's bliss. Tonight, HBK will surrender his title shot at the Rumble and hand it over to his employer, in the only arrangement possible. That was why he was officially relinquishing his spot at the Royal Rumble, and with that, JBL asked Shawn to come out into the ring, which he did.
When Michaels entered the ring, without the theatrics and crowd-hyping, JBL pulled out a document from his jacket, and a pen. He placed the contract on the podium and told Shawn to sign it, saying that it was time for him to officially become the #1 Contender. Shawn, hesitantly, neared the podium and grabbed the pen, but did not sign. Beginning to get irritated, JBL told Michaels to sign, now without the confidence and haughtiness, but with a double serving of menace. Shawn's hand moved closer to the piece of paper, and, still hesitating, was about to sign when- 'My Time is Now' hits and John Cena stood on the ramp.
John told HBK that he couldn't believe this was what he had become. He couldn't believe that money had destroyed his integrity and his principals so completely. But he added that what was most unfortunate was that Shawn was so immersed in his own problems, and his judgment so clouded by JBL, that he wasn't even reading the contract he was signing. JBL tried cutting Cena off, but he went on, telling a bemused Michaels that he had a copy of the #1 Contender's contract Michaels was about sign over to JBL in his hand. He then told Shawn to read a particular clause, but before he could do so, JBL attacked, going for the Clothesline from Hell. Years of experience allowed HBK to duck, and he hit JBL with Sweet Chin Music as Cena ran to the ring.
HBK could finally read what Cena had pointed out, and realised, as Cena made clear to the WWE Universe, that the WWE had recently included a monetary bonus to those who become #1 Contender's, and even bigger one to those who wind up becoming Champions. Walking over to the knocked out JBL, Shawn tore up the contract over his head, and told Cena that nothing was going to stop him from facing him at the Rumble, prompting the two to shake hands. But, he added, he was going to pull out all the stops, and he expected Cena to do the same. The Champ replied by saying that he could be sure of that, and with the image of the two Rumble opponents shaking hands, Raw went off the air.
Find out that and more next week on Raw! Don't forget to tune in to ECW tomorrow night for more WWE action!
Quote:
Kane def. Snitsky
Dolph Ziggler def. Santino Marella
William Regal & Layla def. CM Punk & Kelly Kelly
Chris Jericho def. Cryme Tyme
The Legacy (Cody Rhodes, Ted Dibiase Jr. & Manu w/Randy Orton) def. Batista, Rey Mysterio & Kofi Kingston
Confirmed Matches: - 30-Man Royal Rumble Match - (Batista, Big Show, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Hurricane Helms, Kane, Kofi Kingston*, Manu, Mr. Kennedy, Rey Mysterio, R-Truth, Shelton Benjamin, Ted Dibiase Jr., The Brian Kendrick, Triple H, Umaga, Undertaker, William Regal) - WWE Title Match - (Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Edge) - World Heavyweight Title Match - (John Cena (c) vs. Shawn Michaels) - ECW Title Match - (Matt Hardy (c) vs. Vladimir Kozlov) - Undisputed Women's Title Match - (Beth Phoenix (c) vs. Natalya Neidhart) - Belfast Brawl Match** - (Finlay vs. Randy Orton)
Card subject to change
* Announced by the commentary team during the Main Event
** If Orton loses, he leaves the WWE
Good start to the show with the Legacy. Nice way to get DiBiase into the group. Intresenting announcement about Finlay and Orton. Good stipulation for the match also but the only problem for me is that it will be quite predictable because of the fact if Orton loses he gets banished from the WWE. Nice opening to the show.
Monster vs Monster - Not much too say but Kane winning was a good idea against Snitsky.
Woman who Wear Pants - It was quite good the way you made Santino look in this part. Them fighting over Santino was funny. Intresting, the match with Santino and Dolph but it had a good ending with Dolph winning and Natalya and Beth fighting together.
Jericho & Stephanie - Good backstage segment with Jericho and Stephanie. Announcement about Jericho and a handicap match was not seen coming.
Double Date - Good tag match and it will be good to see Punk and Regal next show. Even though Regal and Layla won it did seem like you made Kelly look better than expected and William Regal picking up the victory by pinning Kelly I didn't expect.
Short Promo - I think I know who it is but I could be wrong. Be good to see who it is and if it's the person I think it is then it will be great.
1 vs 2 - Good choice to put cryme tyme in the match but them losing I didn't want because Cryme Tymes my favourite tag team . Anyway, it was a good match for Jericho and Cryme Tyme, Liked the ending because Jericho laided out both of them.
Champion's Words - Good interview with John Cena although it did seem a bit "cheesy".
Main Event - I really liked the main event. Good how every person got a piece of everyone else. Good win for the Legacy and the way it was done helped Manu get some rep.
What will he do - It was a good start to this segment and the way Michaels was hesitating and JBL getting irritated was excellent. Nice idea for Cena too come out and tell Michaels what he's become. The rumble title match is going to be good better than Cena/JBL. Anyway good way to ende the show.
Overall - Overall good show and nice booking. Some nice promos maybe not all. The start of the show was good and so was the end.
DiBiase forgiving Orton? What a little bitch, hit the guy in the face! That would be the real world, but I can understand as to why DiBiase wanted to be under Orton's wing as it makes sense in the storyline. And wow! That is a huge match made for the Rumble, a Belfast Brawl between Orton and Finlay. Gonna be great, shame that Orton isn't in the Rumble itself, but at least he is being used in a big time match, hopefully the fued ends here, as Orton deserves better at WrestleMania than Finlay. Orton gets to pick two more stipulations? What else can you even add? And nice to see the rest of the Legacy get put in the Rumble as they are deserving.
Kane/Snitsky match, not gonna have a 5 star thriller there, but still decent and it served it's purpose, which was to put Kane over Snitsky, and uh-oh for JBL, as Kane is now on a roll of sorts.
A little weird sequence here as the women were backstage arguing, and then all of a sudden, their back in the ring for the match with the men. Left a gap there, but still, nice to see Beth and Natalya have no love lost, and Dolph beating Santino was just filler for the match come Rumble time.
Jericho speaks the truth, as Steph giving in so easily, can be very bad. And ouch, it's that time of the month for Steph as she forces Jericho into a handicap match.
Real good match here, and like as you said, a lot of background history between all 4 competitors. Punk vs. Regal next week should be good stuff, as was this match here. Nice to see Regal being a jerk and pinning Kelly for the win here.
Oh BTW, that's the Rock in the picture, you can tell by the side of his head. If I am wrong, I am gonna feel really dumb, lol. Or at least I hope it is the Rock, because that would be freaking awesome, and could bring a hell of a lot to the show. Orton/Rock, WM anyone?
Y2J vs. Cryme Time, nice little match here, but I can't really see Cryme Time being the punishing kind of tag team after Jericho ran his mouth. Nice little match, but Jericho taking down Cryme Time on his own, is not all that great, but still nice to see him keep momentum heading towards the Rumble.
Nice little Cena promo, and it was a good way to get him on the show, because he needs to be on there. A guest commentator for the Main Event could have worked too.
Wow, the Legacy picking up a big time win right there! Batista, Kofi, and Rey taking a step back, as Orton helps the Legacy to a victory over three big time stars. Can't really see one of the Legacy winning the Rumble, but this is a nice push for them.
Awesome end to the show, that was really top notch, I loved it. Can really see Cena saying that HBK and HBK sitting there with a look on his face. Nice to see HBK take out JBL as I knew that he wouldn't give up the title shot that easily. Setting up a tremoundous match come Rumble time, as Cena vs. HBK is gonna blow the roof off, gonna be a great match and gonna be interesting to see who goes to WrestleMania as the champion.
Overall, it was a nice RAW, maybe a little weak on match quality here, and it did seem a little quick, but I enjoyed it. Kept a big time match, and added another. Looking forward to ECW.
Explanations & Announcements: Good choice of opening with Legacy. Ted DiBiase taking the mic and explanining how he felt and came to terms with Orton was also good. But Finaly, really why? I just feel its a bit unfair to not have Orton in the rumble or main event, but we will see what happens. Lol Cody trying to stick up for Orton. Randy leaving his desicion until next week gives something to look forward to and him getting his team in the Rumble was good leadership.
Monster v Monster: Nice win for Kane who is on a bit of a role. I dont blame you for not writting much on this match as they are just two power houses.
Women who Wear Pants: You set the match up well with them talking about the rumble and then putting men in their place for Raw. I wouldnt see it as a suprise that they had a good techinical match, gimmicks aside they are great wrestlers. Santino losing boosts his heel reputation and the fact that beth put him off was good. I liked the catfight breaking down, Natalya is not afraid of Beth.
Good mouthing from Jericho that got himself a handicap match, classic GMing.
Double Date: This was strange. Good choice of match but during it i felt i didnt know what was going on lol. Regal hitting a girl when he claims to be a gentleman? lol!! Announcing the inter title match for next week also good.
1 vs 2: This was a good preformance from Jericho. Stephanie didnt get what she wanted. He hit all of his trademark moves etc and picked up the win. I liked the pop at 5o cent aswel lol.
Champion's Words: Basic interview with Cena, dont have much to say but he needed some time on the show as he hadnt been on it yet.
Main Event: This is a good match with the teams being fair. Batista laying everyone out is realistic and Orton giving him an RKO isn good. DiBiase is hopefully getting a push as he gets the win.
What will he do: I was liking the deal so im not happy that its over lol. It was also very like what happened in the wwe except Shawn made a different desicion. Its good that you went in a different direction though and i wonder what JBL will do next.
Overall: It was a good show, they all seem to be running at a consistant basis. Never awsome but never bad, which is a good thing. Your promo's are getting longer aswell so keep it up.
Before the opening theme, Ricky Ortiz, injured, was being consoled backstage by Tiffany for his loss last week. In comes Jack Swagger who mocks the loss, telling Tiffany that Long wanted to talk to her. Staring at her ass as she walked out, Swagger was caught by Ortiz, who told him to back off. Swagger laughed this off, telling him that quite like he has no skill and no pride, he will soon have no girlfriend.
After the opening video, Tommy Dreamer entered the ring, demanding an apology from Teddy Long for his sabotaging of his match last week. Long appeared with The Great Khali, and told Dreamer that for his insolence, he will not be taking part in the Royal Rumble, instead he will be facing Khali, and when he loses, he will be forced to leave ECW. He added that as preparation for the match, he will be facing Chavo Guerrero tonight. With that out of the way, Long announced who will be taking part in the Rumble: Jack Swagger, Chavo Guerrero, John Morrison, The Miz, DJ Gabriel, and Ricky Ortiz.
Brutal Brit
Accompanied by Katie Lea, Paul Burchill stepped into the ring, ready for his match against World Tag Team Champion The Miz, who has been outshone by his partner recently. Despite doing his best to rectify that, he could not match Burchill's strength, who after hitting the C-4 and getting the pin, had Katie Lea hit her finisher as well, in a sadistic act of humiliation.
Winner: Paul Burchill w/Katie Lea
Backstage, Ortiz was trying to convince DJ Gabriel, who was dancing with Alicia Fox, to fight Swagger. He informed him of Swagger's remarks about England, but Gabriel didn't care, and told him to either 'boogie' or leave, which he promptly did.
Consequences
Before his match with Chavo could place, Dreamer was informed that this would be a No-DQ match, but only for Chavo, meaning he could still be DQed. Although he did his best to keep the match wrestling-based, Chavo managed to drag it to the outside, where Dreamer met several weapon attacks, but managed to battle through. It was only after repeated chair shots and a Gory Bomb that Chavo got the pinfall.
Winner: Chavo Guerrero
Minor Payback
In the locker room Evan tried to talk to a once again unresponsive Finlay. He told him that he was there for him, whether he wanted him there or not, both tonight against Orton's cohorts, and at the Rumble. In fact, he even requested to be excluded from the Rumble so he could concentrate fully on helping him. Finlay however barely seemed to care about this spectacular gesture, and just stared at the floor before the show went to commercials.
In the match, Bourne started off against Cody Rhodes, and the two showed off their skills, going back and forth in non-stop action, but Bourne was finally caught between the two 2nd Generation Superstars, and after being on the receiving end of several attacks, hit the Frankensteiner and tagged in Finlay, who went berserk as soon as he stepped between the ropes.
Both Cody and Ted received multiple stiff punches but they managed to turn the tables, and restrained the Irishman. Finlay would not tag Bourne in for some reason, and they were slowly losing the match. Bourne had to interfere, and hit both Legacy members with some highflying moves. The ref instructed him to get back to his corner, and Finlay used the opportunity to hit both opponents with the Shillelagh, and covered Cody for the pin, walking up the ramp without Bourne, who seemed worried.
Winners: Finlay & Evan Bourne
After the match, Swagger and Morrison entered Long's office and demanded that Kozlov be removed from the title match, and they be inserted. It is unfair that Kozlov only came a few weeks ago and is already in the title match, when they had been the top guys at ECW for a while now, and shouldn't have had to compete for a title shot anyway. Long concedes that they have a point, and places them in a match against Kozlov in the Main Event. Whoever wins in inserted in the Rumble match.
Nasty Guys
Backstage again, Ortiz was trying to convince someone else to fight Swagger, this time it was Paul Burchill. Ortiz told him about Swagger's remarks about Great Britain, and unlike DJ Gabriel, Burchill was incensed, and told Ortiz to arrange a match for next week.
Mike Knox stepped into the ring, ready to face Matt Hardy, who had requested a match this week in order to prepare for the Royal Rumble. Although the sadistic Knox was a tough opponent, he was not good enough to beat the ECW Champion, and was hit with the Twist of Fate for the win.
Winner: Matt Hardy
Triple Threat
Before heading out for his match, John Morrison had a word with The Miz, once again telling his fellow Tag Team Champion that he will soon propel them to stardom, news which did not enthuse The Miz, who mumbled something about fairness.
The final three in last week's Main Event circled each other in the ring. Although the challengers knew they would have to fight one another, they decided to unite for the time being, and double-teamed Kozlov, pulling off some impressive moves and coordinating well, which must not bode well with The Miz backstage. After several grapples and attacks, Kozlov was downed, but Swagger did not wait for confirmation before pouncing on Morrison and hammering away at him.
The two fought back and forth, with Morrison using some high-flying offense to counter Swagger's intense technical wrestling, which saw Morrison grounded for much of the match. The two seemed to have forgotten that Kozlov was there too, and the Moscow Mauler punished them for it, hitting Morrison with a Sambo Suplex, and Swagger with repeated headbutts to the chest.
The match continued to wage on, and each wrestler got a pin attempt, but all three were resilient and determined to come out on top. It looked like Morrison had it won when he hit the Moonlight Driver on Swagger for the second week in a row, but once again, he was caught off-guard by Kozlov, who followed up the Battering Ram with a Russian Chokeslam for the win.
Kozlov will be facing Hardy one on one at the Rumble, and despite everyone's attempts to be added to the match, the Moscow Mauler has come out on top yet again.
Winner: Vladimir Kozlov
Quote:
Paul Burchill w/Katie Lea def. The Miz
Chavo Guerrero def. Tommy Dreamer
Finlay & Evan Bourne def. The Legacy (Ted DiBiase Jr. & Cody Rhodes)
Matt Hardy def. Mike Knox
Vladimir Kozlov def. Jack Swagger & John Morrison
Tune in next week when the plots thicken, and the Royal Rumble draws near! Also, don't forget to visit WWE.com for another edition of 'America and the World'.
Confirmed Matches: - 30-Man Royal Rumble Match - (Batista, Big Show, Chavo Guerrero, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, DJ Gabriel, Hurricane Helms, Jack Swagger, John Morrison, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Manu, Mr. Kennedy, Rey Mysterio, Ricky Ortiz, R-Truth, Shelton Benjamin, Ted DiBiase Jr., The Brian Kendrick, The Miz, Triple H, Umaga, Undertaker, William Regal) - WWE Title Match - (Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Edge) - World Heavyweight Title Match - (John Cena (c) vs. Shawn Michaels) - ECW Title Match - (Matt Hardy (c) vs. Vladimir Kozlov) - Undisputed Women's Title Match - (Beth Phoenix (c) vs. Natalya Neidhart) - Belfast Brawl Match* - (Finlay vs. Randy Orton) - Dreamer's Fate Match** - (The Great Khali vs. Tommy Dreamer)
Card subject to change
* If Orton loses, he leaves the WWE
** If Dreamer loses, he leaves ECW
No Preview again, just didn't get around to it, and I didn't want to wait postpone the show any longer. Hopefully I'll manage to get one up for Raw. Also, didn-t have time to do a Swagger promo, but they will be back as soon as possible.
Smackdown (January 16th)
Injustice & Title Match
Coming out to the ring accompanied by her husband Edge and The Edgeheads, Vicky Guerrero announced that tonight's main event will feature WWE Champion in a handicap match against the top superstar on Smackdown, Edge, and the Samoan Bulldozer, Umaga. This match was set up after Jeff refused to finish his match last week. The crowd booed loudly at the injustice and untruth in her words, but that didn't change things, and the power couple left, allowing The Edgeheads to participate in their title match with the WWE Tag Team Champions, The Colon Brothers.
After the champions stepped into the ring the match began, with the Colons' high-flying abilities giving them the edge. It didn't take long for the bubble to burst, however, when Carlito refused to tag in his brother, instead using the opportunity to show off an extreme move off the turnbuckle. The move backfired when the ref went to restrain Primo, the Edgeheads knocked Carlito off the turnbuckle, and delivered the Double Edgecution, with Hawkings getting the pin.
Winners: New WWE Tag Team Champions 'The Edgeheads' (Zach Ryder & Curt Hawkings)
After the match Primo yelled at his older brother, and left him in the ring.
Arrogant Guys
Backstage, Shelton Benjamin and Mr. Kennedy crossed path yet again. Kennedy told The Gold Standard all about what he was going to do to him when they were to step into the ring together only to be cut off by Shelton, who told him that Kennedy should come up with something new instead of repeating the same old crap week in week out. Kennedy proceeded to slap him across the face and hitting the Mic Check, telling him not to interrupt Misteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer Kennedyyyyyyyyyy.... KENNEDY!
In the ring, Hurricane Helms and The Brian Kendrick made battle. Kendrick, with help from Ezekiel Jackson, dominated much of the match but in the end, it was Helms who triumphed, hitting the Enziguri on his cocky opponent and getting the victory.
Winner: Hurricane Helms
Backstage, Carlito tried telling Primo that he's sorry, and that they will soon get their titles back, only for Primo to ignore him completely and exit the locker room.
Assault & Retribution
With the usual theatrics, The Undertaker made his way to the ring, ready for his match. As he walked down the ramp, however, Triple H jumped over the barricades and assaulted him with his sledgehammer, landing blow after blow, causing The Phenom to bleed. With Triple H standing over his fallen rival, the show went to commercial. When the show came back on, Edge stepped into the locker room, where he informed Triple H that according to Vicky Guerrero, he would now starting the Rumble at No. 1 because his attack forced her to cancel The Undertaker's match tonight. Edge smirked as Triple H processed this information, telling him that this is what happens when your enemy's enemy is not your friend.
The next match pitted Mr. Kennedy against R-Truth. Just before the match was about to begin, Shelton Benjamin made his way to the ring, and sat at the Announce Table as Kennedy watched on. Visibly rattled enough, Kennedy fell to Truth's attacks, who nearly got a pinfall. With Benjamin doing the commentary, insulting both men in the ring, Kennedy finally got his head on right, and mounted a comeback, picking up Truth and hitting the Green Bay Plunge. As he stood back up again, ready to pin Truth, Benjamin jumped into the ring and assaulted him, battering his head with repeated lefts and rights before hitting him with a vicious Yakuza Kick.
Winner: Mr. Kennedy (DQ)
The Star
Last week saw the airing of a promo hyping the arrival of a superstar. This week, the same promo aired, with a bit added at the end, with a man's southern voice claiming that at the Royal Rumble, the star of sports entertainment will shine.
Hellish Ride
WWE Champion faced tough odds this week, with two of Smackdown's top stars against him. Edge allowed Umaga to start the match, who attacked mercilessly and relentlessly. For several minutes it seemed like Edge wouldn't even have to participate, with Umaga firmly in control. However, as Umaga was ready to hit the Super Samoan Drop, Hardy wriggled out of it, and sent The Samoan Bulldozer to the ring, hitting him with Swanton Bomb. As Jeff went for the pin, he waited for what seemed like forever, because Edge had distracted the ref. Finally, he arrived for the count, but Umaga kicked out.
It was now Jeff who was in control, but Edge was having none of it and as Jeff slowly prepared for a Swanton, pulled Umaga close and tag him out, and attacked Hardy. The two continued to fight, with Edge having a distinct advantage. Still, Hardy managed to turn the tables, and it seemed like he was about to hit the Twist of Fate, but Edge spun out of it and tagged Umaga back in. Umaga now dominated, but made the mistake of whipping Hardy to the turnbuckle, from where he hit the Whisper in the Wind. Now distinctly fed up, Edge stepped in and speared Hardy after knocking out the ref. Vicky Guerrero appeared on the ramp, and yelled at someone to run down. A ref quickly appeared and counted the pin after Edge pulled Umaga over Hardy, and the duo go the win.
Winners: Umaga & Edge
Not content with the damage done, Edge got out two chairs and delivered the Con-Chair-To, and Smackdown went off the air with him celebrating with Vicky Guerrero.
Quote:
The Edgeheads def. The Colon Brothers
Hurricane Helms def. The Brian Kendrick w/Ezekiel Jackson
Maryse def. Michelle McCool
Mr. Kennedy def. R-Truth (DQ)
Umaga & Edge def. Jeff Hardy
Don't forget to tune in for next week's Smackdown when the plot continues and remember to watch Raw on Monday!
Confirmed Matches: - 30-Man Royal Rumble Match - (Batista, Big Show, Chavo Guerrero, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, DJ Gabriel, Hurricane Helms, Jack Swagger, John Morrison, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Manu, Mr. Kennedy, Rey Mysterio, Ricky Ortiz, R-Truth, Shelton Benjamin, Ted DiBiase Jr., The Brian Kendrick, The Miz, Triple H, Umaga, Undertaker, William Regal) - WWE Title Match - (Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Edge) - World Heavyweight Title Match - (John Cena (c) vs. Shawn Michaels) - ECW Title Match - (Matt Hardy (c) vs. Vladimir Kozlov) - Undisputed Women's Title Match - (Beth Phoenix (c) vs. Natalya Neidhart) - Belfast Brawl Match* - (Finlay vs. Randy Orton) - Dreamer's Fate Match** - (The Great Khali vs. Tommy Dreamer)
Card subject to change
* If Orton loses, he leaves the WWE
** If Dreamer loses, he leaves ECW
Kane def. Snitsky
Dolph Ziggler def. Santino Marella
William Regal & Layla def. CM Punk & Kelly Kelly
Chris Jericho def. Cryme Tyme
The Legacy (Cody Rhodes, Ted Dibiase Jr. & Manu w/Randy Orton) def. Batista, Rey Mysterio & Kofi Kingston
Quote:
Paul Burchill w/Katie Lea def. The Miz
Chavo Guerrero def. Tommy Dreamer
Finlay & Evan Bourne def. The Legacy (Ted DiBiase Jr. & Cody Rhodes)
Matt Hardy def. Mike Knox
Vladimir Kozlov def. Jack Swagger & John Morrison
Quote:
The Edgeheads* def. The Colon Brothers
Hurricane Helms def. The Brian Kendrick w/Ezekiel Jackson
Maryse def. Michelle McCool
Mr. Kennedy def. R-Truth (DQ)
Umaga & Edge def. Jeff Hardy
* New WWE Tag Team Champions
*
Raw Preview (January 19th)
The Royal Rumble is less than a week away - what will the last Raw before the first PPV of 2009 entail? Ten Raw Superstars have already qualified for the Royal Rumble Match, but with five spaces left, will we see more wrestlers entered into the match?
Beth Phoenix had established herself as the top Diva in the WWE when she defeated Michelle McCool to become the Undisputed Women's Champion, and unified the two women's titles. But this Sunday she faces tough opposition from Smackdown Diva Natalya Neidhart, who will look to bring the title to the Friday Night Brand, and win her first title belt.
Two men who have qualified for the Rumble are CM Punk and Intercontinental Champion William Regal, who puts his belt on the line tomorrow night against his No. 1 Contender, after several weeks of confrontations between the two males and their female companions. Will Punk become the fastest Triple Crown Champion since Diesel, or will Regal retain and squash Punk's dream to become the IC Champion?
Rumours in the locker room suggest that Stephanie McMahon has an announcement to make about Sunday's PPV. What other twists can the RAW GM insert, and who will be affected by this special announcement. Another announcement everyone is waiting for is the one pending by Randy Orton. After being taken out of the Royal Rumble match and placed in one with Finlay, whose son he punted a month ago. Finlay was allowed to dictate two stipulations for the match, and tomorrow night, Orton will tell Finlay and the WWE Universe which two stipulations he will be adding to the match.
But the story that is truly shaking Raw up is the title picture. Shawn Michaels became the No. 1 Contender two weeks ago, but his contract with JBL suggested that it would be the employer, and not the employee, who would be taking on World Heavyweight Champion John Cena. Last week saw HBK superkick his employer, in a show of defiance, and seems clear that Mr. Wrestlemania will be taking on The Doctor of Thugonomics at the Rumble. Before that happens, however, JBL and another temporary employee, Snitsky, will take on the Champ and the Contender tomorrow night.
-Good choice to have DiBiase back in the Legacy. Not sure about Orton facing Finlay at the Rumble. I suppose one of his stipulations could be that the winner goes to the Rumble match though. Otherwise, it will lack star power.
-Kane over Snitsky. Seemed to be a short squash, so no complaints.
-Good to see some effort in the women's division. Natalya and Beth should be a good match, and Ziggler over Santino is good. Santino doesn't really need to win to be over.
-Interesting segment with Jericho and Steph.
-Not a huge fan of mixed-tag matches, but at least this made sense. I think it might have been better to have Punk pin Regal to give him some momentum ahead of next week though. Gives a lot of heat for Regal though. I'm thinking Punk takes the title. He'd be a better champ going into 'Mania.
-The Rock's back at the Rumble then. I hope he doesn't win tbh...
-Jericho needed this victory going into the Rumble, so a good choice. No complaints, not a huge fan of Cryme Tyme.
-I like how you're booking Cena. He's kind of in the background with the main storylines with Steph, Orton and Jericho taking center stage.
-Great match here. The Legacy is getting a big push in this thread, although Batista's momentum going into the Rumble has kind of been killed. He was my pick too... so I'm not so sure now.
-I prefer it when Raw ends with a match, but a good promo here. Kind off odd with the contract clause proving the decision-maker for Michaels. I mean surely JBL could just up his offer? Regardless, HBK/Cena will be a better match than JBL/Cena. It really could go either way. Cena or HBK could go onto 'Mania, so I'm not sure.
OVERALL: Pretty good show. I'm enjoying the Women's division, and the Michaels/Cena/JBL storyline. The match recaps should've been slightly extended though I thought.
ECW feedback
-You're giving Ortiz too much air-time for my liking. Just have Swagger kill the loser already!
-Like the pushing of Burchill, although you didn't mention whether Morrison accompanied The Miz to the ring, so I presume he didn't, which is kind of weird. You mentioned how Morrison's out-shining him though so I guess there's a storyline there. I'm interested.
-Meh. Not really interested in Chavo or Dreamer. Both past it.
-Well-booked match here. Finlay needs a win going into the Rumble, but you protected the Legacy by having him use the shillelagh.
-Matt Hardy isn't really being featured prominently enough as the champion of the show. A win over Knox hardly does much for him. I'm backing Kozlov to take the title.
-Well-booked main event. However, three heels is suspect. You got Kozlov over by having him come back from the double team. Morrison and Swagger's credibility wasn't really hurt, and both should have good stays in the Rumble match.
OVERALL: A lot of thought is going into the storylines, which is a change from ECW in real life, which is just match after match. Matt should've been featured more prominently.
SmackDown! feedback
-Typical Vickie promo here. Could've used more detail, like the ending of your Raw, and I also would've liked Edge to have some mic time...
-Edgeheads are getting a re-newed push, which is good. A tag title win is perfect to reinstate Vickie and co's dominance. I hope you don't break Carlito and Primo up though. SD's tag division is already pretty thin.
-Didn't like the Kennedy/Shelton confrontation. Kennedy should be more about destroying Benjamin with words. Laying him out doesn't really seem like his style.
-This match could've used more detail. Not a huge fan of Helms, though he is a decent addition to the US division.
-Brilliant cowardly attack from Triple H. This pretty much sets up this match for WrestleMania, which rules them out of winning the Royal Rumble.
-I liked Benjamin ending the match prematurely. He was getting dominated in this feud, so it's good you gave him some momentum, and some heat.
-Southern voice? Hmmm..... not sure. Rules out Christian I guess.
-Great main event. Edge is getting a big push ahead of the Rumble. I don't really like the idea of Umaga being his bitch in this match though, but he did score the pinfall so at least he's getting a rub from it.
OVERALL: Show of the week. Edge and Hardy could've done with some mic time, but the matches were all good, and I'm enjoying the Triple H and Undertaker feud.
Haha good man Swagger. Funny start to the show, pretty funny if Swagger just said that to make Tiffany leave and stare at her ass. And ooo, them are fighting words by Swagger to Ortiz.
Three big time announcements right here, all made by T-Lo. First off, nice match for the Rumble, I would assume that it is an ECW Rules match? Nice match, and hopefully Dreamer can overcome all those odds and make his way back, as he is an ECW staple. Next announcement, Dreamer v. Chavo tonight. I like it, gonna be interesting to see if we see Khali and Long stick their head in there, wouldn't really be surprised. Finally, the ECW contingent for the Royal Rumble, some nice guys in there such as Swagger and Morrison. Can't see any of them realisticlly winning, but some strong performances would do everybody well.
Nice match, and good dominating win for Burchill, but Katie Lea hitting her finisher on Miz really weakens his credibility in my opinion.
Ortiz trying to get somebody else to fight his battles I see. Ha, funny little scene with Gabriel.
Uh oh, Chavo picking up a relatively clean win over Dreamer. Gives Chavo some nice credibility before the Rumble Match, but kinda makes Dreamer look weak, even though he had the DQ stipulation going against him. Little surprised at the fact that neither Khali or Long appeared.
Finlay is in the zone right now. Nice little tag match here, gave some build to the brawl at the Rumble, as well as Bourne & Finlay's "friendship". A tough loss for Rhodes & DiBiase though I think but still, it was a strong loss as it was a good match.
BIG TIME main event! Like that announcement a lot, even though I'm not a huge fan of when superstars push their ways into matches like this. Still, got me on the edge of my seat for the main event.
Haha, Ortiz finally pulled it off. And against Paul Burchill nonetheless, Swagger could be in trouble, especially if he wins the triple threat tonight, that could weaken him before the Rumble.
Hardy asking for this match is a little out there, but he shows the fighting champion that he is, and picks up a big time win against Knox. Nice, quick little match that did it's job of making Hardy look strong.
Good length TV Main Event with some big time implications towards the Rumble. Really nice match right here, would have preferred to see my man Morrison win, but Kozlov makes sense, and it shows his true dominance going into the Rumble.
Overall, nice ECW, a lot of action tonight, and some big time announcements. Looking forward to Burchill v. Swagger next week, should be a good one. I'll review Smackdown! in a bit.
WildeThing presents: Road to Wrestlemania XXV
Re: Diverging Paths - A Current WWE BTB
. Anyway, it was a good match for Jericho and Cryme Tyme, Liked the ending because Jericho laided out both of them.
