WWE Week In Review XXXII
December 7, 2008- December 13, 2008
Welcome to the thirty-second edition of the WWE Week In Review. Feel free to contact me on TWO or Wrestling 101 anytime with comments, questions, and anything in between. Also, check out my blog on Wrestling101.com.
The 2008 WWE Slammy Awards Special Edition of RAW emanated, live, from the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA. Confirmed for the special three-hour event was WWE Champion Vs. World Champion- Edge Vs. John Cena, Triple H Vs. Batista, Chris Jericho Vs. Jeff Hardy, & the Semi-Finals of the Intercontinental Title Tournament would also take place when CM Punk took on John Morrison and Rey Mysterio took on Kofi Kingston. Also, various WWE Slammy Awards were handed out in several categories, including "Superstar of the Year", "Diva of the Year", "Tag Team of the Year", & "Match of the Year".
Special Slammy Awards Edition of RAW
Good Week For: The Slammy Award Winners
Bad Week For: The Slammy Award Losers
It Will Be Interesting Next Week For: John Cena & Chris Jericho (To See Who Is Champion)
Best Mic Work: Chris Jericho
And In Other News…
Prior to the special edition of RAW begain, five Slammy Awards were handed out exclusively on WWE.com. The winner for "Best Announce Team of the Year" went to ECW’s Todd Grisham & Matt Striker, "Breakout Star of the Year" was Vladimir Kozlov, "Musical Performance of the Year" went to R-Truth, "Impersonation of the Year" went to Charlie Haas for his portrayal of "The Glamahaas", & "WWE.com Exclusive of the Year" went to "The Dirt Sheet" (The Miz & John Morrison).
RAW started with the announcement of the "Tag Team of the Year" with the winners being The Miz & John Morrison. However, the two-time Slammy Award Winner John Morrison did not have a perfect night, as he lost to CM Punk in the Semi-Finals of the Intercontinental Title Tournament. It was later revealed the two finalists in the tournament will face off at Armageddon to determine the new #1 Contender for the Intercontinental Title. CM Punk would face either Rey Mysterio or his tag team championship partner Kofi Kingston.
"Finishing Maneuver of the Year" went to Evan Bourne and his Shooting Star Press. Due to his injury, Bourne was unable to accept the award in person, but the man who prolonged Bourne’s injury- Mike Knox snatched the trophy.
Though Randy Orton and his RKO did not win the award, "The Legend Killer" was more concerned that he was not deemed good enough to be a nominee for "Superstar of the Year", despite spending four months of the year as WWE Champion and defending the title successfully at WrestleMania. Orton then challenged Triple H & Batista (who were originally scheduled to face each other) to a 3-on-2 Handicap Match against himself, Cody Rhodes, & Manu.
Slammy Award Winner Charlie Haas did what won him award on RAW- impersonating. This time Haas came out as MVC- Most Valuable Charlie to face MVP from SmackDown. MVC was able to roll-up MVP for the win.
The award for "Extreme Moment of the Year" went to Jeff Hardy for his Swanton Bomb off of the RAW stage onto Randy Orton in January. Jeff Hardy accepted his award and guaranteed victory in the WWE Title Match at Armageddon, however, Jeff was not able to overcome Chris Jericho, who picked up the win.
"Couple of the Year" went to Edge & Vickie Guerrero. Glamarella came out and was disgusted that Edge & Vickie won the Slammy and challenged any of the other nominees to a match. The father-son duo of Finlay & Hornswoggle answered the challenge and Hornswoggle was able to pin Santino Marella to pick up the win. Finlay & Hornswoggle will face Mark Henry & Tony Atlas in a tag match on ECW.
"Diva of the Year" went to Beth Phoenix, who dropped Santino Marella in her excitement.
"Oh My God Moment of the Year" went to CM Punk for cashing in his Money-in-the-Bank opportunity to win the World Title from Edge in June. CM Punk pondered the possibility of a superstar winning the World Title, World Tag Titles, & Intercontinental Title all in one year.
CM Punk’s tag team championship partner, Kofi Kingston, was also in action, but Kofi was unable to get past Rey Mysterio to advance to the Finals at Armageddon, meaning that CM Punk will go one-on-one with Rey Mysterio for the first time ever at Armageddon to determine the #1 Contender for William Regal’s Intercontinental Title.
"Match of the Year" went to Ric Flair Vs. Shawn Michaels in a Career Threatening Match from WrestleMania XXIV. HBK accepted the award on behalf of himself and "The Nature Boy". That was until JBL came out, who accepted the award, stating that he believed his NYC Parking Lot Brawl with John Cena at The Great American Bash was the Match of the Year.
-In a 3-on-2 Handicap Match, the team of Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, & Manu defeated the team of Triple H & Batista. The numbers game proved to be too much for "The Animal", who, just like at Survivor Series, was pinned by Randy Orton just six nights before the two face off at Armageddon.
"DAMN! Moment of the Year" went to The Great Khali for his Khali Kiss Cam.
In his first win since coming to RAW, Dolph Ziggler defeated Slammy Award Winner R-Truth by Count-Out.
It was then time for the prestigous "Superstar of the Year" Award, which went to Chris Jericho.
Then it was time for a huge main event as the WWE Champion took on the World Heavyweight Champion in a non-title match as Edge took on John Cena. Chris Jericho would interrupt the match by distracting Cena and the two brawled out of the ring and through the crowd. Meanwhile, Triple H ran in and assaulted WWE Champion Edge, Jeff Hardy then got involved and the three competitors fought tooth and nail before Edge escaped and the two challengers who will face each other one-on-one on SmackDown stared each other down.
The 131’st edition of ECW on Sci-Fi came to you from the Arena at Harbor Yard in Briidgeport, CT. Confirmed for the main event was Mark Henry & Tony Atlas taking on Finlay & Hornswoggle.
ECW
Good Week For: The Miz & John Morrison (Won Two Slammys On RAW & Won A Tag Match On ECW)
Bad Week For: Finlay & Tommy Dreamer (Both Got Decimated by Two Different Superstars)
It Will Be Interesting Next Week For: Matt Hardy & Vladimir Kozlov (To See Who Won At Armageddon)
Best Mic Work: Matt Striker
And In Other News…
ECW on Sci-Fi opened with ECW Original Tommy Dreamer. The former ECW Champion could barely get a few words out before he was assaulted by "The Moscow Mauler" Vladimir Kozlov. The unstoppable Russian from SmackDown stated that he is challenging Matt Hardy to a match and that Matt will end up just like Tommy Dreamer. It was announced later in the show that Vladimir Kozlov will get his wish as he will take on ECW Champion Matt Hardy in a non-title bout at Armageddon. To make matters worse for Tommy Dreamer, Jack Swagger came out and planted a helpless Tommy Dreamer with the Blue Thunder Bomb.
The Boogeyman also made his in-ring return to ECW by defeating Scott Reed.
In the main event, the "World’s Strongest Man" Mark Henry and the WWE Hall of Famer Tony Atlas defeated the father-son team of Finlay & Hornswoggle. Finlay sacrificed himself for Hornswoggle and paid the price with a World’s Strongest Slam to lose the match, but protect his son. It was revealed after ECW went off the air that Finlay will get another shot at Mark Henry in Finlay’s specialty, a Belfast Brawl, this Sunday at Armageddon.
WWE.com announced on Thursday, December 11 that World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms on the release of RAW Superstar Snitsky (Real Name- Gene Snisky).
The 487’th edition of WWE SmackDown came to you from the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, CT. Confirmed for the last stop before Armageddon was a battle between the two #1 Contenders for the WWE Title Sunday at Armageddon- Triple H & Jeff Hardy. Also, WWE Champion Edge presented "The Cutting Edge" with special guest- ECW Champion Matt Hardy.
Friday Night SmackDown
Good Week For: Edge (Got To See His Two Opponents Weaken Each Other & Laid Both Out)
Bad Week For: Matt Hardy (Got Assaulted by Vladimir Kozlov Yet Again)
It’ll Be Interesting Next Week For: Edge, Triple H, & Jeff Hardy (To See Who Is Champion)
Best Mic Work: Edge
And In Other News…
The last SmackDown before Armageddon got off to a quick start when a brawl ensued between Triple H & Jeff Hardy. It all started with Jeff Hardy blind-siding "The Game" en route to the ring and the two got enthralled in a brawl that also saw SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero & Chavo Guerrero get knocked down trying to calm the fray. Finally, several WWE Referees were able to get the two separated. The two would face off in the main event of the evening.
The opening match of the night saw the Slammy Award winning R-Truth defeat MVP.
The Brian Kendrick also picked up a win over one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions- Primo with a big assist by Ezekiel Jackson, who distracted Primo by shoving Primo’s brother Carlito into the steel steps at ringside.
In a non-title bout, Hurricane Helms defeated United States Champion Shelton Benjamin. After the match, Helms announced that he is looking to win the United States Title.
It was then time for a potentially volatile edition of "The Cutting Edge". It was revealed that ECW Champion Matt Hardy actually requested that he be the guest on the show. Before Edge brought Matt to the ring, the WWE Champion again proclaimed that Triple H was Jeff Hardy’s attacker, not him and he then said that no one believes him, especially his guest on "The Cutting Edge". Edge then introduced the ECW Champion and Matt made no bones about it and told the WWE Champion that he attacked his brother, not Triple H. Edge still denied the allegations, even after Matt told "The Rated-R Superstar" that he was "the scummiest man on the planet". Edge then said that Triple H had the most to gain by taking Jeff Hardy out of the Triple Threat Match at Survivor Series and that all the evidence points to Triple H. Matt then tells Edge that he came on "The Cutting Edge" for the truth. Edge responds by telling Matt that the only reason that Matt is concerned with who attacked his brother was because everyone cared about Jeff and no one cared about Matt. Matt responded by waylaying the WWE Champion with a right hand. Matt’s opponent at Armageddon- Vladimir Kozlov made his way to the ring and Edge shoved Matt from behind and quickly left the ring. "The Moscow Mauler" then destroyed Matt Hardy for the second week in a row.
The Great Khali was also in action, defeating former WWE Tag Team Champions Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder in a Handicap Match.
In a backstage interview, Triple H responded to the allegations placed on him by Edge by saying that Jeff Hardy also believes that he was the assailant. Triple H then said that if he did attack Jeff that Jeff would not be around. Triple H then said that he does not care if Jeff competes at Armageddon or not, he will still win the WWE Title. "The Game" then proclaims, that in their match tonight, he will "run Jeff Hardy down".
The Bella Twins were also in action, defeating the team of Maryse & Natalya.
In the much-anticipated main event of SmackDown, "The Game" Triple H & "The Strange Enigma" Jeff Hardy squared off, but after a long and grueling match, both contenders were susceptible to "The Ultimate Opportunist" Edge. The WWE Champion laid out both of his #1 Contenders with Spears.
The 2008 Tag Team of the Year- The Miz & John Morrison put the icing on the cake of a banner year in the WWE at a WWE Live Event in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on the night of December 13, 2008 as they shockingly defeated CM Punk & Kofi Kingston to win the World Tag Team Titles for the first time!
Superstars of the Week: The Miz & John Morrison
Armageddon Rundown
The ninth WWE Armageddon will come to you, live, from the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY.
-The WWE Championship will be on the line in a Triple Threat Match when Edge defends the title against both former champion Triple H & Jeff Hardy.
-Armageddon will also host a Survivor Series Rematch for the World Heavyweight Title as John Cena defends the gold against Chris Jericho.
-In a battle of former Evolution teammates, Randy Orton will take on Batista.
-The Finals of the Intercontinental Title Tournament will also be decided as Rey Mysterio takes on CM Punk to earn the opportunity to challenge William Regal for the Intercontinental Title.
-ECW Champion Matt Hardy will take on SmackDown’s Vladimir Kozlov in a non-title match.
-Finlay & Mark Henry will also face off in a Belfast Brawl.
-Armageddon will also host something "nice" as there will be a Santa’s Little Helper 8-Diva Tag Match that will see Divas Champion Michelle McCool team with Mickie James, Maria, & Kelly Kelly to take on Maryse, Natalya, Jillian, & Victoria.