The Coolest Tag Team in the Biz, the Colon Brothers, took on the Edgeheads, Zach Ryder and Curt Hawkings in tonight's first match. Although the former WWE Tag Team champions were resilient, they couldn't cope with their opponents' high-flying style, and eventually succumbed to a backstabber by Carlito, and lost the bout.
Do you meet the Standard?
Before tonight's match for the U.S Title between Hurricane Helms and Shelton Benjamin could commence, The Brian Kendrick had a talk with Vickie Guerrero, claiming that the Gold Standard deliberately sabotaged last week's match, and that he was the one who should be competing tonight. The cocky Kendrick got his wish, and Vicky included him in the match, making it a Triple Threat match.
The three superstars stepped into the ring and each had their moments of dominance. In what was a minute of non-stop, chaotic action, Ezekiel Jackson interfered on Kendrick's behalf, attacking Hurricane Helms. Helms hit a vicious Enziguri on the imposing man, but the distraction allowed Ezekiel's employer to hit The Kendrick on his opponent. The Gold Standard, who had been laid out previously, took advantage by hitting a mule kick on Kendrick, who was sent against the ropes and rebounded back towards Shelton, who hit him with the Pay Dirt and pinned him to retain his title.
Dynasty on Break
MVP has not been doing well these past weeks, and in tonight's promo, he told the WWE universe that it was about time for a change. MVP said that losing to the "midget-killer's ass-kisser" last week, combined with the awful treatment he's received from the company (his pyros, entrance tent and titantron have all been taken away) and from the fans (who should be embarrassed for booing him) has made him realise that the world had yet to appreciate his talent, which was why he was going to leave the WWE for a while, until the world is able to understand who the best wrestler of all time is. Unsurprisingly, MVP's news were met with loud cheers from the crowd.
Hubba-Bubba
4 of the most beautiful women on TV faced off tonight, when Michelle McCool and Maria went head-to-head with Maryse and Natalya. The winning team would face off against two of Raw's divas in a match to decide who will face the Glamazon for the Undisputed Women's Title. The history between all of these divas showed as Natalya and Maryse vented all of their frustrations on the ex-Divas Champion. Michelle was left to fend for her own for most of the match, as Maria simply couldn't handle her opponents, and tagged her partner in whenever possible.
In the end there was nothing they could do, and Michelle tapped out to Natalya's Sharpshooter, meaning that her partner and she will are at touching distance from a title match with Beth Phoenix.
Mauler meets Bulldozer
Vladimir Kozlov is officially an ECW superstar. However, as Vickie Guerrero pointed out tonight, Teddy Long agreed to have Kozlov compete in one more match on Smackdown. An irate Vicky told the Moscow Mauler that he had committed a grave mistake by going against her orders, but she was a forgiving person. Since he had always said that he wanted better competition, she had a goodbye gift for him. A match against UMAGA!
The two dominant forces fought back-and-forth, with both relentless beasts attempting to knock out the other. Finally, it was the Samoan Bulldozer who triumphed, following a series of powerful punches with a Samoan Drop from the second rope, and got the pinfall win, thus ending Kozlov's undefeated streak on his last Smackdown appearance.
Not wishing to to let Kozlov get away with his attack on Tuesday, Matt Hardy appeard on the ramp, ready to attack Kozlov yet again. But Vickie Guerrero had been prepared and she had sent Big Show to stop Hardy from interfering with her show. But since she was sure Hardy wanted to get his hands on someone, she was placing him tonight in a tag team match, in which the Hardyz face off against two wrestles of her choice.
Stop Singing and Turn Around!
It seemed Edge was not going to be one of those to face the two World champions, because he made his way to the ring ready to face off against another superstar on the rise: R-Truth. But it seemed that Edge was not about to step into the ring without protection, as he had his lover make Zach Ryder and Curt Hawkings the guest time-keepers. The flamboyant rapper made his way to the ring from the audience, singing all the way down. He was so immersed in his singing with the crowd, that he hadn't noticed that Edge had told the Edgeheads to ring the bell, and with mic still in hand, R-Truth got speared and pinned by Edge, in the night's shortest match.
Payback's a Bitch
In the main event, the Hardyz once again had the tough challenge of facing two of WWE's top stars, hand-picked by Vicky Guerrero: Big Show and Chavo Guerrero. The match started out well for the dynamic duo, as they combined their extraordinary skills and styles to dispose of Chavo, but they faced 440 pounds' worth of a human brick wall in the form of Big Show, who flung both competitors around the ring like ragdolls.
But it wasn't long before the two put their heads to use and focused on Show's leg, bringing him down and making it hard for him to use his superior strength on them. Finally, a Twist of Fate followed up by a Swanton Bomb seemed to guarantee them the win, but Chavo had other plans, and the two recieved chairshots to the back and the head. The ref called for a DQ just as Edge made his way to the ring, his visage as crazed as ever.
The Master Opportunist tried to spear the WWE champion for the second week in a row, but just as he was about to do, it was time to play the Game, and Triple H made his way to the ring, sledgehammer in hand. Both Edge and Chavo exited the ring quickly, as the King of Kings stood above them menacingly in the squared circle. Triple H then approached Jeff, but instead of checking up on him like it seemed he was about to do, he slammed the weapon into Jeff's gut twice, before hitting him with the Pedigree. It's clear that Triple H was still upset about last week's main event, but no one thought that he would react in such a violent manner.
Quote:
The Colon Brothers def. The Edgeheads
Shelton Benjamin def. Hurricane Helms, The Brian Kendrick w/Ezekiel Jackson
Maryse & Natalya def. Michelle McCool & Maria
Umaga def. Vladimir Kozlov
Edge def. R-Truth
The Hardyz def. Big Show & Chavo Guerrero (DQ)
Don't forget to tune in for next week's Smackdown when the plot continues and remember to watch Raw on Monday!
I thought about doing a similar format to this myself, but I prefer the promos in full personally. Sorry if you've already explained, but are you going to do pay-per-views in full?
Regardless, the SmackDown seemed good, and I liked the booking of Jeff Hardy, sort of having Edge sit back and having Big Show go after him. I also like how you're unifying the women's titles. My only complaint is the booking of Kozlov, if he's moving to ECW, it would've been better to put some momentum behind him, instead of jobbing to Umaga. But I suppose, in terms of monster heels: Umaga > Kozlov.
I'm still unsure about how the PPVs will go, but they will be fuller than the shows, and if not the whole matches, will describe more spots.
I considered having Kozlov win, but in the end I decided that Umaga deserved to win. Remember that Kozlov is going to ECW, not Raw, where he'll be one of the top dogs. I also wanted to give Umaga a nice push before they go their seperate ways, and ending Kozlov's undefeated streak is a pretty nice honor for him, IMO.
This Week – Last Week – Superstar
1 – (1) – Jeff Hardy - Jeff won by DQ this week and retains his top spot on the list. But attacks from both Edge and Triple H in recent weeks are making his stay up there very difficult.
2 – (4) – Matt Hardy - A draw on ECW and a DQ win on Smackdown has both Hardyz at the top spots. Can they keep it up?
3 – (6) – Chris Jericho - A big win against Rey Mysterio qualifies Y2J for the Fatal 4-way match this week. Will he challenge for the title at the Rumble?
4 – (3) – John Cena - Cena had no matches this week, and the World Heavyweight Champion drops one spot as a result.
5 – (2) - Batista - Losing to one of your biggest rivals is not a pleasant experience, and nor is dropping 3 places, a bad week for The Animal, no doubt.
6 – (8) – CM Punk - CM Punk also qualified for the #1 Contender’s match next week, will he emerge victorious and challenge Cena for the title?
7 – (5) – Vladimir Kozlov - The new Extremist bid adieu to the blue brand with a loss to another monster, Umaga. Will Kozlov have an undefeated streak on his new brand?
8 – (10) –Edge - The Master Opportunist didn’t even give R-Truth a chance to face him before spearing him for the victory. It seems Edge will do anything he can to avoid a proper fight, but he won’t be able to evade Jeff Hardy at the Rumble, unless his efforts to injure him succeed, that is.
9 – (9) – Triple H - Triple H had no match to speak of this week, but with a vicious attack on the champ he sure made his presence known on Smackdown.
10 – (7) – The Undertaker - The Phenom has yet to make an appearance, is he biding his time for something big?
11 – (11) – Mark Henry - Mark Henry was the first to be eliminated this week on ECW, but his team’s draw keep him safe for the time being.
12 – (14) – Finlay - Finlay defeated Ziggler on Raw before getting beaten up by Orton’s cohorts. With his son in a coma, it is unknown whether Finlay will return to the ring any time soon, but for now, he moves up 2 places.
13 – (13) – Kofi Kingston - Kofi was out of action this week, and if he keeps this absenteeism up, he will soon be absent from this list.
14 – (12) – Beth Phoenix - Beth lost her match this week, but what should really be on her mind is the race for her title, which already has two divas waiting for the chance to face the Glamazon.
15 – (19) – Shawn Michaels - A tremendous win against Kane skyrockets HBK up the list. But the question everyone is asking is: what will happen if he wins Monday’s match?
16 – (18) – The Great Khali - The biggest Extremist on Sci-Fi debuted fantastically by defeating Tommy Dreamer. Will he have the same result next week in an Extreme-Rules match?
17 – (21) – Randy Orton - A big win against Batista put the Legend Killer in Raw’s Main Event, but his despicable attack on Hornswoggle leaves such a bad taste in our mouths, that we would very much like to see him ejected from the match.
18 – (15) – Big Show - Big Show might’ve dominated at first, but in the end he was outdone by the Hardyz, and due to others on the list getting big wins, he drops 3 places.
19 – (16) – Cody Rhodes & Manu- Their only activity this week was to restrain Finlay and help their leader get his win against Batista. If you guys want to dominate Raw, you’re going to have to participate in a match.
20 – (17) – Kane - JBL cost Kane his match this week, and the Big Red Machine has demanded a match against The Self-Made Millionaire. Will he get his revenge?
21 – (20) – Carlito & Primo - Despite winning this week’s match, the volatile nature of the list has actually caused the Colon Brothers to drop one spot.
22 – (22) – Jack Swagger - Swagger was very impressive in his match on ECW, but his elimination and the team’s draw mean that he stays still on the list.
23 – (23) – The Miz & John Morrison - Morrison was spared a one-on-one with Matt Hardy when the two were the last men standing in their match. Who will these two face this week under extreme conditions?
24 – (NR) – Shelton Benjamin - The Gold Standard returns to the list after defeating both The Brian Kendrick and Hurricane Helms this week and retaining his title.
25 – (NR) – Umaga - The Samoan Bulldozer is back! RUN!
Quote:
Farewell
JBL - JBL lost his match against CM Punk, but if his deal with his employee Shawn Michaels is fruitful, we will soon see him back in the list.
Regal – The Intercontinental champion’s only action this week was a slight scuffle with Santino Marella.
Quote:
Earning Votes
Maryse & Natalya – The two divas won their match and are within touching distance of the Undisputed Women’s Title.
I like the Power 25. Nice touch to the BTB and the layout is awesome. I have to give a lot of credit who goes through probably around 2 - 3 hours making that, even not a show mate. But I'm not sure on the layout of that Smackdown. I reckon it should be written more like a script instead of headlines and a bit of info. It's more like a revie on WWE.com tbh. But nonetheless it's a strong looking thread mate.
Honestly the most time-consuming part about the Power 25 is deciding who goes where... such a pain in the ass.
It seems a lot of people don't like the style of my shows, although they are modeled in part after the WWE.com reviews. If anyone has any idea about how to make it short and sweet (and recap-y) but changing the format, I'll appreciate it.
Well, at the end of the day its up to you what way you lay your shows out, do what you want to do i would say. Your shows are very small so if youre going to keep them small i wouldnt bother changing the format. The power 25 thing looks good aswell.
Finlay def. Dolph Ziggler
Shawn Michaels* def. Kane
Chris Jericho* def. Rey Mysterio
Mickie James & Melina def. Beth Phoenix w/Santino Marella& Layla w/William Regal
CM Punk* def. JBL
Randy Orton* w/Cody Rhodes, Manu & Hornswoggle def. Batista
* Have qualified for next week's Fatal 4-way #1 Contender's Match for the World Heavyweight Title
** Randy Orton punted Hornswoggle in the head, putting him in a coma. Finlay attempted to attack Orton, but was stopped by The Legacy, and RKOed
Quote:
The Great Khali w/Ranjin Singh def. Tommy Dreamer
DJ Gabriel* w/Alicia Fox def. Gavin Spears
Team Hardy vs. Team Guerrero declared no-contest.
* Qualified for next week's tournament
** Teddy Long announced several changes to ECW
*** The Great Khali and Vladimir Kozlov became ECW superstars
**** Extreme Tournament for the #1 Contendership for the ECW Title announced
***** Kozlov attacked Matt Hardy after his match
Quote:
The Colon Brothers def. The Edgeheads
Shelton Benjamin* def. Hurricane Helms, The Brian Kendrick w/Ezekiel Jackson
Maryse & Natalya** def. Michelle McCool & Maria
Umaga def. Vladimir Kozlov
Edge def. R-Truth
The Hardyz def. Big Show & Chavo Guerrero (DQ)
* Retained his U.S Title
** Will face two Raw Divas for a chance to face Beth Phoenix for the Undisputed Women's Title
*** MVP announced he will be taking a break from the WWE
**** Edge tried to attack Jeff Hardy, but Triple H beat him to the punch
*
Raw Preview (December 29th)
Last week, 8 former world champions faced off for the opportunity to meet John Cena at the Royal Rumble. This week on Raw, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, CM Punk and Chris Jericho will face off in a Fatal Four-Way Match, with the winner going on to face the World Heavyweight Champion at the Rumble.
The unlikely alliance of JBL and HBK seems to be on the rocks. A few weeks ago JBL employed Michaels, extending a helping hand in these times of need. But last week, after JBL put his neck on the line to give his employee the win against Kane, HBK did not reciprocate, and his employer lost his spot at Raw's Main Event. The Heart-Break Kid claims that he couldn't help his boss because he was still hurt from his match. What will happen if Shawn Michaels becomes the Number One Contender? Will he voluntarily forfeit the opportunity? Or perhaps involuntarily? But before we start scratching our heads, we'll have to see if Shawn Michaels actually wins tomorrow's match.
One person who will do everything he can to stop Michaels is Randy Orton. Orton will step into the ring tomorrow with major heat behind him, after having punted Hornswoggle in the head last week, placing the diminutive wrestler in a coma. The 'Midget Killer' as he has been known this week, managed to avoid Finlay's wrath last week, but will he be so lucky tomorrow?
One person who has run out of luck is JBL, who will face Kane's wrath for costing him his spot at tomorrow night's Main Event. However, JBL's focus is placed on Cena's title and on getting his employee through his match. Will Kane trample The Self-Proclaimed Wrestling God, or does JBL have an ace up his sleeve?
In two weeks' time Beth Phoenix will defend her title against a worthy diva, either from Smackdown or Raw. Tomorrow night 4 lucky divas will go head-to-head, with the winners going on to face Smackdown's Natalya and Maryse, with the winner being the Number One Contender for the Glamazon's title.
Before Beth can focus on herself, though, she will have to accompany her boy-toy, Santino Marella, yet again. The Italian Stallion blamed William Regal for their girlfriends' loss last week, and the accusations caused the Intercontinental Champion to request a match with the man he took the title from. Will Layla and Phoenix get involved in the match? Will Santino prove his worth and get a shot at Regal's title? All of these questions will be answered tomorrow, when the two face off one more time.
Tomorrow night's Raw will be the last of 2008, and reports are suggesting that General Manager Stephanie McMahon has prepared a special treat for the WWE Universe. To find out what this treat is, and much, much more, tune in for tomorrow night's Raw.
Dunno if I'll be able to post it tomorrow, so here goes:
The Last RAW of 2008
The Billion Dollar Princess started Raw off by wishing a happy New Year to all of the WWE fans in the world. She then announced a few of the night's matches, including the Fatal 4-Way #1 Contender's Match Main Event, as well a Royal Rumble Preparation match: a 10-man Over-the-Top-Rope Battle Royal, featuring current World Heavyweight Champion John Cena!
England meets Italy
Following Marella's outburst last week, claiming that William Regal was an inadequate lover, Stephanie McMahon arranged a match between the two, by the request of the 2008 King of the Ring. The cocky Marella tried every dirty trick he could think of, but was countered nearly every time by Regal, who outclassed him in the ring. Beth Phoenix attempted to interfere with the match by attacking Regal, but was subdued by the referee. Regal capitalized on the opportunity by grabbing brass knuckles from Layla, and hitting the Italian Stallion with the Power of the Punch, followed up by a pinfall win.
Hubba-Bubba V.2
Backstage, CM Punk wished Kelly Kelly good luck in her match, reciprocating her doing the very same thing the previous week. As the two inched closer to each other, ready to pucker up, Regal and Layla interrupted their heartwarming interaction, scoffing at the pair and leaving them without uttering a single word.
Onstage, Kelly was joined by Mickie James in a tag team match against their friends, Candice Michelle and Melina, with the winners going on to face Natalya and Maryse for the chance to face Beth Phoenix for her title. In a match with few memorable spots, Mickie James pinned Candice after a Mickie-DT which followed an impressive hurricanrana from Kelly.
Cowardly Cowboy
If it wasn't for JBL's interference last week, it would have been Kane in tonight's Main Event, and not Shawn Michaels. The livid Big Red Machine stepped into the ring, ready to inflict as much pain as he could on the Longhorn Loudmouth. Surprisingly enough, JBL didn't seem at all scared as he stepped into the ring, and the fans only had to wait until the bell rung for the beginning of the match to know why that was. JBL quickly stepped out of the ring, avoiding Kane's grasp, and headed towards the announce tables, with his opponent hot on his heels. JBL then pushed Lilian Garcia off her chair, folded it, and hit Kane on the head, forcing the referee to call for a disqualification. JBL didn't wait for Kane to recuperate and hurried backstage before Kane could stand up again.
This is Your Chance
Both Manu and Cody Rhodes were due to participate in tonight's Battle Royal, and backstage, Randy Orton had a few words for them. He told them that this was their chance to impress him and prove to him that they deserved to be mentioned in the same breath as him. Come Royal Rumble, the three of them will more likely than not find themselves in the ring together, and he needed to know that they were capable of performing at the highest level. Not only should they win tonight, but they should do it with panache, skill, and pedigree.
Poor Man's Rumble
The 10 superstars involved in the 10-man Battle Royal stepped into the ring one after the other, and they surveyed each other in the ring, pondering over who they should target first and who to watch out from. Sim Snuka, Batista, Charlie Haas, Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio, Dolph Ziggler, Snitsky, Cody Rhodes, Manu and John Cena anxiously waited for the bell to ring and when it did, boy did all hell break loose.
First to be eliminated was Sim Snuka, toppled over the top-rope after a huge Big Boot from Snitsky. Shortly afterward Charlie Haas attempted a German Suplex on Kofi Kingston, who wriggled out of his hold, and hit him with the Jamaican Buzzsaw, after which Kofi easily pushed him out the ring. Next to be eliminated was Snitksy, who got caught in a jumping russian legsweep from Ziggler, and was then tossed out of the ring by the combined efforts of Batista and Cena.
A long brawl began between Kingston and Manu, with Manu ducking Kingston's Jamaican Buzzsaw, and picking him up into the Samoan Drop position, before hitting him with the Samoan Shock* (Cradleshock). He had no time to celebrate, though, because an opportunistic Batista delivered a vicious spear, and both Kofi and Manu were then tossed out of the ring. A battle of technique occurred at the other side of the ring, with Ziggler and Cody ducking and reversing each other's moves one after the other, it was Rhodes who triumphed however, hitting Ziggler with the Roll of the Dice.
As Cody Rhodes picked Ziggler up and tossed him over the rope, Rey Mysterio tripped Batista and hit the 619, allowing Cena to irish-whip him over the rope. It was down to 3, and following a back-and-forth of punches between them, Rey hit Cena with the headscissors, placing him in position for the 619, but when he ran to hit the move, Cody Rhodes used his own momentum against him to throw him over the rope. Cena and Cody then exchanged a few blows before Cody was on the receiving end of an FU, and was tossed out of the ring, giving Cena the win.
* Manu's new finisher
The Return
A short promo aired before the Main Event: 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.
Will Someone Please Maintain Some Order?
Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, CM Punk and Randy Orton all stepped into the ring after one another, ready for their Fatal 4-Way match. All four men paced around the ring, surveying one another. There were no eliminations and no disqualifications, first to get the pinfall or submission will be heading into the Royal Rumble as the Number One Contender.
The bad blood between Orton & Punk and Jericho & HBK was obvious, as the two pairs beelined towards each other. It was a long fight, in which every competitor had his pinfall broken up. First it was HBK, whose Sweet Chin Music laid out Punk, but the brawling Jericho and Orton both dived to stop the count. After that it was Jericho, who placed Orton in the Walls of Jericho, but a revived Punk kicked him in the gut and hit him with the GTS. The pin was then broken by HBK, who climbed up the turnbuckle, and elbow-dropped Jericho, and then did the same to Punk. It seemed like HBK was destined to win, but the pin stopped at 2 after Jericho kicked out, and as HBK stood he was hit with a vicious RKO by the opportunistic Orton. It seemed like it would be Orton - Cena at the Rumble, but the pin was stopped by Punk.
The fight raged on. Both Jericho and Orton were lying outside of the ring when Punk placed HBK in the Anaconda Vise. Would Shawn tap? The pain practically glowed from his face when... JBL! The Self-Made Millionaire rushed to the ring and got Punk off his employee, following up with a Clothesline From Hell. But JBL shouldn't have put himself in the spotlight, because immediately after Punk hit the mat, Kane started walking down the ramp. The two exchanged punches in the middle of the ring, as the 4 competitors were in agony around the ring. The Kane - JBL brawl knocked out the referee, but both powerhouses found themselves on the receiving end as Orton turned Kane around just as Jericho turned JBL around, and the two brawlers hit the mat following an RKO/Codebreaker.
It seemed like peace was restored and we could get back to business, with Punk and HBK also rising from the mat, and a 4-way brawl taking place. But it wasn't made to be. Running down the ramp seeking revenge with a murderous look on his face, Finlay rushed into the ring, shillelagh at hand, and pushed all of the contenders out of his way until finally getting to Orton and beat him repeatedly with the weapon. With their leader under threat, the tired Cody Rhodes and Manu also rushed to ringside, and tore the Irishman off the Legend(Midget) Killer.
It was now total chaos as the four contenders as well as The Legacy, Kane, JBL and Finlay were battling it out in the ring. Raw GM, Stephanie McMahon stepped onto the ramp, and with a legion of security at hand, separated the wrestlers, most of whom were now bleeding profusely. They had crossed the line, she said, and she was not going to have the title race jeopardized by personal squabbles. She therefor called the match a no-contest, and set up a rematch for the following week. In order to keep JBL and Kane from interfering, she placed them both in a No-DQ match. And in order to keep Finlay and The Legacy from ruining the match, she ejected Randy Orton from the match, making it a Triple Threat Match instead. An outraged Orton yelled at Stephanie, but with impressive composure, she told him that following his wretched attack on Hornswoggle, he should be glad not be suspended, fired or worse.
And with that, the last Raw of 2008 came to an end.
Quote:
William Regal w/Layla def. Santino Marella w/Beth Phoenix
Mickie James & Kelly Kelly def. Melina & Candice Michelle
Kane def. JBL (DQ)
John Cena wins a 10-man Battle Royale
Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho vs CM Punk vs Randy Orton declared No-Contest
WildeThing presents: Road to Wrestlemania XXV
Re: Diverging Paths - A Current WWE BTB
