This Week In WWE: Edition XXXXV

Welcome to the forty-fifth edition of This Week In WWE. 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.

WWE.com announced on Monday that World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms on the release of SmackDown Superstars Kizarny (real name- Nick Cvjetkovich) and Ryan Braddock (real name- Brad Bradley).

The 824th edition of Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL. Confirmed for RAW’s night in Jacksonville was the official contract signing for the World Heavyweight Title Match at WrestleMania. In a non-title 2-on-1 Handicap Match, WWE Champion Triple H would take on Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase. Also, it would be Women’s Champion Vs. Divas Champion as Women’s Champion Melina took on Divas Champion Maryse. The sixth participant in the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania would be revealed as Chris Jericho took on Kofi Kingston.

The show kicked off with an image of Randy Orton’s home in St. Louis, MO, where Randy Orton would later speak, via satellite, about his actions on this past Friday’s edition of SmackDown.

Shawn Michaels came out to address his match with The Undertaker at the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania. HBK starts by saying that he respects The Undertaker, but does not fear him. Michaels stated that he has never been outshined at WrestleMania and this is why he is known as "Mr. WrestleMania" and at WrestleMania, something has got to give. HBK is interrupted by a video package of Undertaker’s highlights at WrestleMania. "The Deadman" then appears behind Shawn Michaels. HBK turns around and tells Undertaker that he has been expecting him. Undertaker tells "The Hearbreak Kid" that Michaels’ arrogance is clouding his judgment. Undertaker states that he respects Shawn Michaels, but he has defeated those he respects at WrestleManias prior and Shawn’s fate will be no different. Michaels states that he should not have to qualify to face anyone at WrestleMania and says he can not wait for April 5 to get here. Undertaker tells "The Showstopper" that Michaels has had many big victories at WrestleMania, but also big losses. Undertaker told HBK that HBK should not worry about being "The Showstopper" at WrestleMania, but that he should be worried about what The Undertaker will do to him physically. Undertaker states that he does not need to outshine Michaels at WrestleMania and that Michaels and his dreams of beating him at WrestleMania will rest…Before Undertaker could finish his vintage saying, Michaels interrupted by saying he will rest easy the night of WrestleMania after he defeats The Undertaker. Before exiting, Michaels tells Undertaker that Undertaker has never beaten him and never will.

The opening match of the night was a bout for the Intercontinental Championship as CM Punk defended his title against John "Bradshaw" Layfield. In a shocking turn of events, JBL used an eye rake on Punk and hit Punk with the Clothesline From Hell to win the Intercontinental Title!

Backstage, Edge is talking with his wife, Interim RAW General Manager and SmackDown General Manage Vickie Guerrero. Edge asks his wife what John Cena whispered to her on SmackDown this past Friday. Vickie screamed that it did not matter an Edge agreed, saying that what matters is him signing the contract to face Big Show for the title at WrestleMania.

Randy Orton also appeared, via satellite from his home in St. Louis to explain his actions on last week’s SmackDown. Orton starts by introducing his wife, Samantha. Orton stated that it would have been easy to completely destroy Triple H on SmackDown, but he is glad that he didn’t because he would then be denied the opportunity to defeat Triple H at WrestleMania and regain the WWE Title. Orton states that he will take a little bit more out of Triple H every time he sees him and he will only leave enough of him so that Triple H can make it to WrestleMania.

In a special Champion Vs. Champion match, SmackDown’s Divas Champion Maryse picked up a big win over RAW’s Women’s Champion Melina. After the match, a slew of RAW and SmackDown Divas entered the ring and brawled with each other.

Vickie Guerrero announced that there will be a 25-Diva Battle Royal at the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania and will feature the Divas of RAW, SmackDown, & ECW, as well as some Divas from WWE’s past. The winner of the Battle Royal will be crowned the first ever "Miss WrestleMania".

Vickie then continued with the official contract signing for the World Heavyweight Title Match at WrestleMania. After introducing #1 Contender Big Show and champion Edge, Edge takes the microphone and proposes to Big Show that they set their differences aside in favor of having a historic match at WrestleMania. Edge then signs the contract. Big Show agrees and also signs the contract making the match official. The two WrestleMania opponents stood up and shook hands with each other, but John Cena crashed the signing and made his way to the ring. Vickie prevents Edge & Big Show from double-teaming John Cena. Vickie then reveals that she actually invited Cena! In a major announcement, Vickie Guerrero announces that John Cena will be a part of the World Heavyweight Title Match at WrestleMania, making the match a Triple Threat Match! John Cena then signs the contract to make the Triple Threat Match official. Before making his exit, Cena reveals that he got in touch with a friend in Boston last week and found some interesting security camera footage. Cena rolls the video and the video reveals Big Show & Vickie Guerrero in a very "unprofessional" kissing session. A cavalcade of emotions came over the four of them- Vickie Guerrero was visibly upset, Big Show was embarassed, Edge was maniacal, and Cena just smiled. What are the ramifications of Vickie & Show’s affair and how will it play out at WrestleMania?

Then it was time to determine the sixth participant in the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match as Chris Jericho took on Kofi Kingston for the spot. Jericho had the match won with the Walls of Jericho on Kofi, until Ric Flair made a shocking appearance! With Jericho distracted by "The Nature Boy", Kofi took advantage and hit Jericho with Trouble in Paradise to pick up the upset victory and qualify for the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania.

Randy Orton appears again and states that it is a good thing that he is not in Jacksonville, because he is afraid of what he might do to Triple H.

Seething from his loss, Jericho appeared backstage and challenged Ric Flair to come out of retirement and face him in a match next week! Will Flair accept Jericho’s challenge for a match next week?

In 6-Man Tag Team action, the team of Christian, Finlay, & Rey Mysterio defeated the team of Kane & World Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison.

A huge match was revealed for next week’s RAW as WrestleMania opponents will team up when Shawn Michaels teams with The Undertaker to take on new Intercontinental Champion JBL and Vladimir Kozlov!

Koko B. Ware was announced as the next inductee in the 2009 Hall of Fame and will be inducted on April 4 by The Honky Tonk Man.

Then it was time for the main event, a 2-on-1 Handicap Match pitting WWE Champion Triple H against both Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase of Legacy. However, when Triple H’s music was played, "The Game" was nowhere to be found. After a while, the referee had no choice but to award the match to Legacy via forfeit. Via satellite, Orton said that a forfeit win is nothing to smile about. Orton then states that Triple H has let everyone down, including him. Orton then stated that if Triple H does not show up on RAW, how can Orton be sure that Triple H will appear at WrestleMania? Orton then sends his wife, Samantha, to answer the door. However, Orton quickly realizes who is at the door and rushes to his wife’s safety. Orton’s fears were realized as Triple H knocked a hole in the Ortons’ front door with his sledgehammer. "The Game" then let himself in as Orton hid from the wrath of Triple H. Triple H searched the house high and low for Orton, but Orton blindsided Triple H with an attack, sending the sledgehammer out of Triple H’s hand. The two then brawled around and through the Orton house. Triple H then threw Orton threw a front window! Triple H followed Orton outside and continued to pound on Orton until the cops showed up and handcuffed Triple H. Orton then attacked a handcuffed Triple H, but was then restrained by several police officers while Triple H was stuffed into a police car. In what many would describe as a "breaking and entering" offense, Triple H assaulted Orton in his own home. What will happen to Triple H now that he is in police custody? Will Triple H even be able to compete at WrestleMania? What about Orton? How will Orton respond to the attack?

The 144th edition of ECW on Sci-Fi came to you from the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL. Confirmed for the main event of ECW was a special Tri-Branded Money-in-the-Bank Qualifying Battle Royal to determine the seventh competitor in the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match at the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania.

The opening contest of the night saw WWE Tag Team Champion Primo defeat World Tag Team Champion The Miz with their respective partners- Carlito & John Morrison on commentary. These two duos will meet again this Friday on SmackDown as The Miz & John Morrison defend their World Tag Team Titles against WWE Tag Team Champions Primo & Carlito. Can Primo & Carlito do what Miz & Morrison could not and become Undisputed Tag Team Champions?

Tyson Kidd was also in action, defeating DJ Gabriel.

It was revealed on ECW that next week’s show will feature the long-awaited return of Evan Bourne!

Then it was time for the main event- a historic Tri-Branded Battle Royal to determine the next participant in the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania. With the two biggest guys, The Great Khali & Vladimir Kozlov, eliminated early on in the match, it was anybody’s ball game. The Battle Royal even seen a betrayal between tag team partners as JTG took advantage of his Cryme Tyme partner Shad and eliminated the big man. In the end, it was Christian eliminating Chavo Guerrero to earn his spot as a competitor in the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania. Can "Captain Charisma" succeed at WrestleMania and become "Mr. Money-in-the-Bank"?

The 499th episode of WWE SmackDown came to you from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Mohegan Sun, CT. Confirmed for SmackDown was a one-on-one match between The Undertaker and Vladimir Kozlov. Also, The Miz & John Morrison would defend their World Tag Team Titles against the WWE Tag Team Champions Primo & Carlito. SmackDown would also host the Final Money-in-the-Bank Qualifying Match and Matt Hardy would make an appearance to "tell all" regarding his brother Jeff.

The opening match of the night saw World Heavyweight Champion Edge go one-on-one in a non-title match with Kofi Kingston, who was out for revenge for No Way Out where Edge attacked Kofi prior to the Elimination Chamber Match that kept Kofi from getting his shot at the title that Edge went on to win in that same match. However, Edge was able to defeat Kofi with a Canadian favorite- the Sharpshooter.

The World Tag Team Titles were on the line as The Miz & John Morrison defended against WWE Tag Team Champions Primo & Carlito. In the end, it was Miz & Morrison retaining their titles and leaving with The Bella Twins.

In tag team action, United States Champion Shelton Benjamin reluctantly teamed with Chavo Guerrero to defeat the team of MVP & R-Truth.

Matt Hardy made an appearance on SmackDown to "tell all" regarding his brother Jeff. Matt started by saying that the "black cloud" that has been floating over Jeff Hardy will continue to exist until Jeff "sucks it up" and fights him. Matt stated that, during Jeff’s suspension last year, no one cared about Matt or his injury, all they cared about was Jeff and his career. Matt said that Jeff refused to be responsible for his own actions and everyone looked to Matt to remedy the situation. Matt said that Jeff has had many "unfortunate accidents" as of late, including the fire that claimed the life of Jeff’s dog. Matt brought out the collar of Jeff’s former pet and revealed that he found it the day after the fire. Matt stated he was keeping the collar until the time was right to give it to Jeff and now was that time. Matt said that the collar was a "token of love" for his brother. Jeff came to the ring and snatched the microphone out of Matt’s hand. Jeff points the finger at Matt, telling him that Matt was responsible for all of Jeff’s "accidents" and that Matt hated him. Jeff added that Matt hates himself more than anything; that Matt is "sick, demented, and twisted", just like him. Jeff then attacked Matt! Matt makes a hasty retreat from the ring, telling his brother that he’s sorry, but as Matt turned his back, a smirk became visible on the face of Matt Hardy.

A huge announcement was made later in the night as at the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania, it will be "Brother Vs. Brother" when Jeff Hardy takes on his brother Matt! What will happen when this bitter and personal rivalry between brothers comes to a head in Houston?

In Divas tag action, Women’s Champion Melina made a special SmackDown appearance; teaming with Maria to defeat the dysfunctional team of Divas Champion Maryse and former champion Michelle McCool. At the end of the match, McCool refused to tag Maryse, which cost the duo the match. After the match, both Divas had to be separated from tearing each other apart.

Backstage, a paranoid Edge attacks Chavo Guerrero and accuses Chavo of "conspiring" against him to get his World Heavyweight Title.

Then it was time for the Final Money-in-the-Bank Qualifying Match as Finlay took on The Brian Kendrick. Before the match begun, Kendrick’s "advisor" Ezekiel Jackson hit a cheap shot on Finlay. "Big Zeke" would continue to distract Finlay and attempt to cost "The Fighting Irishman" the match, but Finlay overcame the virtual Handicap Match to defeat The Brian Kendrick to take the final spot in the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match at the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania. Finlay joins Kane, Mark Henry, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, CM Punk, & Christian in the match. Who will be "Mr. Money-in-the-Bank" come WrestleMania?

The main event of the evening saw The Undertaker defeat "The Moscow Mauler" Vladimir Kozlov en route to his huge match with Shawn Michaels at the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania.

Superstar of the Week: John "Bradshaw" Layfield