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WWE Week In Review VIII

Until a new editor is revealed for the TWO Newsletter, I will post the most recent Week In Review here. Enjoy.

TPIB’s
WWE Week In Review VIII
June 22, 2008- June 28, 2008

Welcome to the eighth edition of TPIB’s WWE Week In Review. Feel free to contact me, via PM, through TWO (Username- ThePowerIsBack).

I had the privilege on Monday afternoon to interview one of the winners of McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania, Alayna Ayres, who won $784, 998 on last week’s RAW. You can see that interview at Wrestling101.com.

WWE’s week started off in an epic way with a special 3-Hour 2008 WWE Draft edition of Monday Night RAW in San Antonio, where lives were changed forever. No lives were changed as much as WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon’s. The Chairman’s generosity may have cost him something much bigger than a million dollars. I will explain this at the end of this section.

The entire night would consist of interpromotional matches where superstars would face off to try and win a draft pick for their respective brand. Every singe draft pick was a shocker, to say the least.

In the opening bout, RAW’s WWE Champion Triple H defeated SmackDown’s Mark Henry to earn RAW the first pick in the 2008 WWE Draft and RAW could not have been any happier with their WWE Champion when the whole world found out RAW’s first draft pick- SmackDown’s Rey Mysterio!

The second match of the evening saw SmackDown’s #1 Contenders for the WWE Tag Team Titles Finlay & Hornswoggle defeat the international duo of RAW’s Carlito & Santino Marella. How appropriate that this particular draft pick from RAW is a tag team specialist- RAW’s Jeff Hardy.

In another tag team bout (non-title), RAW’s World Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly defeated ECW’s Chavo Guerrero & Bam Neely to earn RAW the reward of having Mr. Money-in-the-Bank CM Punk come to Monday Nights.

In a non-title match, ECW’s WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison scored a huge upset win over the newly reformed Hardys (since Jeff Hardy was drafted to SmackDown, both brothers represented SmackDown) to earn ECW what would be their only draft pick of the night in the United States Champion himself, Matt Hardy.

A Divas tag match set the stage for an epic shakeup outside the ring as this match would be for Commentators, Referees, & Ring Announcers Only. RAW’s Women’s Champion Mickie James & Melina fought SmackDown’s Natalya & Victoria to a Double Disqualification after the referee lost all control of the match. As a result, both RAW & SmackDown got a draft pick. In a stunning set of circumstances, the legendary play-by-play voice of RAW, Jim Ross was drafted to SmackDown. Thus leaving Jerry "The King" Lawler alone at the desk on Monday Nights, but not for long, as the second pick saw SmackDown’s play-by-play voice of Michael Cole head to RAW.

In a huge interpromotional main event, the #1 Contender to the WWE Title, RAW’s John Cena defeated SmackDown’s World Heavyweight Champion Edge via count-out to earn RAW another draft pick. Even though Edge lost the match, the Rated-R Superstar had to feel like a winner when he saw who was drafted to RAW from SmackDown- none other than the #1 Contender to the World Heavyweight Title, Batista.

SmackDown’s Franchise Player scored a win over an ECW Original in ECW’s Tommy Dreamer to earn SmackDown a "huge" draft pick in Umaga.

RAW’s Mauling Millionaire destroyed ECW’s high-flying Jamaican Kofi Kingston to earn RAW an epic draft pick in ECW Champion, Kane. Yes, that means that the ECW Championship is now on RAW, along with Kane.

In the star-studded 15-Man Tri-Branded Battle Royal, the winner of the match would earn their brand two draft picks. World Heavyweight Champion Edge outlasted RAW’s John Cena, CM Punk, ECW Champion Kane, Batista, & WWE Champion Triple H, SmackDown’s Big Show, MVP, Jeff Hardy, & The Great Khali, and ECW’s United States Champion Matt Hardy, WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison, Shelton Benjamin, & Chavo Guerrero to earn SmackDown the final two draft picks of the night. The first saw a RAW Superstar return to his roots as Mr. Kennedy will be making his return to Friday Nights. In the biggest and most stunning pick of the night, a certain legendary superstar will be heading to SmackDown for the first time since the brand extension in 2002- none other than the WWE Champion himself, Triple H.

Mr. McMahon also gave away $1,000,000 for the third week in a row, but now the question is- was the risk worth the reward? In a completely unspeakable series of events, the Chairman had to be stretchered out of the AT&T Center on RAW. After giving away a half of a million dollars in McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania, a mysterious piece of equipment fell to the stage just mere steps away from Mr. McMahon. Then, after some sparks, the steel staging area collapsed right out from under the Chairman, spilling Mr. McMahon and his millions to the concrete floor below. Even after all of that, Vince McMahon made his way to his feet, but was immediately crushed and trapped under the McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania sign. The wrestlers on hand put aside all differences and rivalries to come to the aid of the boss. WWE Champion Triple H, John Cena, World Heavyweight Champion Edge, Shawn Michaels, and countless WWE Officials and EMT’s assisted McMahon out of the rubble. Vince screamed out, "Paul!" to his son-in-law and told the EMT’s that he could not feel his legs. The EMT’s placed a neck brace on the Chairman and slowly got him out from under the destruction. I will update you as soon as I get any word on the condition of Vince McMahon. The only word now is that McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania is obviously suspended until further notice. There will be more information provided on the Chairman at a WrestleMania XXV Press Conference on Tuesday at 1/12c on WWE.com.

It was announced during ECW on Sci-Fi that a Supplemental Draft was held and the information will be posted on WWE.com on Wednesday at Noon/11c. The draftees will be included here in this article.

Tuesday’s post-Draft ECW saw the newest addition to the ECW Roster, United States Champion Matt Hardy team up with a former ECW and now RAW Superstar CM Punk to defeat the WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison in non-title action. Kofi Kingston also scored a big win over Shelton Benjamin in an Extreme Rules Match. Mike Knox got revenge on the ECW Newcomer Evan Bourne by picking up a win over the high-flyer. In the main event, ECW Champion Kane (now a RAW Superstar) faced off with SmackDown’s Mark Henry. In a huge upset, the World’s Strongest Man scored a non-title win over The Big Red Machine. The champion took his eyes off of Henry for a moment to glance at his #1 Contender at Night of Champions Big Show and it cost him the match. The question now is- what will happen with the ECW Title? At Night of Champions, Kane will defend the ECW Title against Big Show. The confusing part is the fact that the ECW Championship will be contested between a RAW and SmackDown Superstar. If Kane retains, the title remains on RAW, but if Big Show wins, it heads to SmackDown. The only man with the answers would have to be ECW General Manager Theodore Long.

Due to Mark Henry pinning the ECW Champion Kane on ECW, Mark Henry has been added to the ECW Championship Match at Night of Champions, making it a Triple Threat Match. This also means that there will be over 1,160 pounds battling it out for the ECW Title on Sunday.

The results of the WWE Supplemental Draft have been posted on WWE.com, here are the results of the supplemental draft:

RAW To SmackDown: Carlito, Brian Kendrick, Maria, DH Smith, & Trevor Murdoch
SmackDown To RAW: Deuce, Jamie Noble, & Chuck Palumbo
RAW To ECW: Super Crazy
SmackDown To ECW: Finlay, Hornswoggle, & Mark Henry
ECW To RAW: Matt Striker, Layla, & Kofi Kingston
ECW To SmackDown: Shelton Benjamin & Big Daddy V

As of Thursday, there is no injury update on the Chairman of the WWE, Vince McMahon. All that is known is that the McMahon Family has chosen to keep his status a secret, for now.

The first post-Draft Friday Night SmackDown started in an explosive way with WWE Champion Triple H’s first appearance as a SmackDown Superstar. Triple H warned his challenger at Night of Champions, RAW’s John Cena. The WWE Champion was then interrupted by the World Heavyweight Champion Edge. Edge proposed an alliance to "The Game", but Triple H was nowhere near on board for a ‘golden’ team such as that. After some traded insults between the two, the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title, RAW’s Batista came to the ring. As he made his way to the ring, Triple H tossed Edge to "The Animal", who followed the lead of his former mentor and laid out "The Rated-R Superstar" with a Spear. The former Evolution teammates stood tall with all the gold in hand.

The opening match of the night saw ECW Champion Kane team up with one of his opponents this Sunday, Big Show to take on the team of MVP and Kane’s other challenger, Mark Henry. The two teams were dysfunctional from the beginning. In the end, MVP tried to intentionally get counted-out as opposed to facing the ECW Champion. His teammate, Mark Henry, was having none of that and tossed "The Franchise Playa" into the ring and into a Chokeslam by Kane to score the win for the team of Kane & Big Show. RAW’s ECW Champion Kane will defend his title this Sunday at Night of Champions against SmackDown’s Big Show and ECW’s Mark Henry in a Triple Threat Match.

Two of ECW’s newest superstars, Finlay & Hornswoggle gained momentum on their way to Night of Champions by scoring a win over Edge’s buddies, Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder. The father and son duo will challenge The Miz & John Morrison for the WWE Tag Team Titles this Sunday.

In a ‘Champion Vs. Champion’ non-title bout, personal and professional rivals faced off as World Heavyweight Champion Edge faced ECW’s United States Champion Matt Hardy. A split-second distraction cost Matt Hardy the match, as Edge picked up a win en route to Night of Champions. Matt Hardy will defend his United States Title against Chavo Guerrero this Sunday.

In 6-Diva Tag action, Natalya teamed up with Maryse and her ‘best friend’ Victoria to take on Michelle McCool, Cherry, & ECW’s Kelly Kelly. After everything broke down, it was Maryse rolling up Cherry to pick up the win. Will it be Maryse facing Natalya for the Divas Championship?

The ‘Moscow Mauler’ Vladimir Kozlov continued his reign of destruction; this time destroying Domino. With his former partner on RAW, Domino stood no chance against Kozlov and his unique style.

One of RAW’s biggest acqusitions, Rey Mysterio made his final SmackDown appearance on Friday Night. The former World Champion told all of the fans in Houston that SmackDown will always hold a place in his heart, but he looks forward to the new challenges being on RAW will provide him.

In a blockbuster main event, Batista faced off with Umaga (in his debut as a SmackDown Superstar). The match was back-and-forth, but just as Batista was poised for victory, he was assaulted by La Familia, allowing the World Heavyweight Champion Edge to regain his belt that was stolen by Batista earlier in the night. Umaga led the assault on the #1 Contender, with the praise of Edge and the rest of La Familia. Things were spoiled for the champion when WWE Champion Triple came out to save his friend and protégé. "The Game" & "The Animal" cleared the ring and once again stood tall on their way to Dallas for Night of Champions.

Superstar of the Week: Triple H

Ratings Report
SmackDown: June 20- 2.1 Rating (Down From Last Week’s 2.3 Rating)
RAW: June 23- 3.4 Rating (Up From Last Week’s 3.3 Rating)
ECW: June 24- 1.2 Rating (Up From Last Week’s 1.0 Rating)