This Week In WWE: June 14, 2009- June 20, 2009

Welcome to the fifty-ninth 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. I have added a new section at the end of the article highlighting a different WWE Superstar or Diva every week. Please contact me if you have a request for a Superstar you would like to see highlighted in an upcoming edition.

The first ever WWE 3-For-All was a special three-hour edition of RAW that came to you, live, from the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC. Confirmed for the three-hour extravaganza was a Fatal 4-Way Match that would determine the new WWE Champion as former champions Randy Orton, Triple H, John Cena, & Big Show would face each other for the title. The World Heavyweight Title would be on the line in a Triple Threat Match as CM Punk defended against Edge & Jeff Hardy. Tommy Dreamer would make his first defense of the ECW Title against former champion Christian. WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon would make a special appearance on the show to name the new General Manager of RAW. Chris Jericho would also defend his Intercontinental Title against Rey Mysterio.

On what would promise to be a historic night, The 3-For-All kicked off with Chris Jericho successfully defending the Intercontinental Title against ex-champion Rey Mysterio. Jericho stated before the match that Rey’s mask would be his "downfall" and, much like at Extreme Rules, Jericho was right as Jericho twisted the mask to temporarily blind Rey Mysterio so that Jericho could hit the Codebreaker and retain the gold. On two different occasions, Rey Mysterio’s mask has cost him the Intercontinental Title. How can Rey defeat Jericho if Jericho knows how to use the mask to his advantage?

Backstage, championship hopeful Randy Orton vowed to win the WWE Title in the Fatal 4-Way and make Triple H "irrelevant" in the process. John Cena interrupts and calls Orton "spineless" and reminds Orton to not forget about him or Big Show in the championship match.

WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon made an appearance on RAW to name a new RAW General Manager. The Chairman starts by revealing that he will not be naming a new General Manager after all. Mr. McMahon then drops the bombshell announcement that he has sold Monday Night RAW! After 17 years, Mr. McMahon is no longer in control of RAW. The Chairman did not elaborate on who bought RAW, but said that he would reveal the new owner following the WWE Championship Match. McMahon then added that, before tonight, he would have told this individual that they had "no chance in hell" of owning RAW. What brought on this decision to sell RAW? Who could possibly be the new owner of Monday Night RAW?

In his first title defense, ECW Champion Tommy Dreamer successfully kept the title against "Captain Charisma" Christian. Who will be the next contender for the champion’s title?

Then it was time to determine who the new WWE Champion would be as "The Game" Triple H, John Cena, "The World’s Largest Athlete" Big Show, & "The Viper" Randy Orton battled in a Fatal 4-Way for the title. Big Show had suffered a Pedigree by Triple H and an Attitude Adjustment by John Cena before Randy Orton took advantage and hit the RKO on Big Show to reclaim the WWE Championship!

As promised, Mr. McMahon came out following the WWE Championship Match to announced the new owner of Monday Night RAW. The WWE Chairman states that he feels he made the right decision is selling RAW. Mr. McMahon then made the stunning announcement that RAW’s new owner is a fellow billionaire, a media-mogul, and an entrepeneur of the business world; none other than "The Donald" Donald Trump! Trump appeared via satellite with some major news for his newest acquisition. "The Donald" announced that, as a gesture of giving back to the WWE fans, next week’s RAW will air completely commercial-free! That means, two complete hours of RAW action with no commercials whatsoever! Trump then vowed to be on hand, live, for the historic RAW in Green Bay! After Trump finished his first appearance as the new RAW owner, Mr. McMahon stated that, with the permission of Donald Trump, he would appear on next week’s commercial-free RAW to present his "farewell address". What will the Chairman have to say in his final address to the RAW fans? For that matter, what will "The Donald" have to say in his first live address of  RAW as the new owner? What does Trump have planned for Monday Nights?

Mr. McMahon also said that he is still in control of RAW until next week’s show. The Chairman announced that there will be a 10-Man Battle Royal in the main event and the winner of that match will face the new WWE Champion Randy Orton for the title at The Bash! Later on in the show, the ten participants were revealed for the Battle Royal as being- "The Game" Triple H, "The Attitude Adjuster" John Cena, "The World’s Largest Athlete" Big Show, Legacy members Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase, "The Chick Magnet" The Miz, United States Champion Kofi Kingston, "The Ballin’ Superstar" MVP, "The Malicious" Matt Hardy, & the 2008 King of the Ring William Regal. Who will be the man to step up and challenge Randy Orton for the WWE Title in just under two weeks at The Bash?

With Divas Champion Maryse at ringside, Mickie James picked up a win over Rosa Mendes in Divas action.

 The odd couple of Goldust & Hornswoggle are using a t-shirt gun to rocket shirts into the crowd when The Miz comes out and ruins the festivities. Miz starts by addressing the new owner of RAW, Donald Trump, and saying that Miz should be the "new face of RAW" instead of John Cena. Miz then vows to win the Battle Royal and take the WWE Title from Randy Orton at The Bash. Miz then notices that Goldust & Hornswoggle are still in the ring. Miz demands that the fun-loving duo exit the ring. Goldust responds by saying that he is "disappointed" in The Miz and the way Miz has been acting since coming to RAW. Goldust then calls Miz a "loser" before Miz responds by calling Goldust a "waste of his time". Miz then cheap shots "The Bizzare One" with a microphone and then lays out Goldust with a DDT. Miz then turns his attention to the helpless Hornswoggle. Miz then grabs the t-shirt gun and blasts a rolled up t-shirt into the mid-section of "The Lively Leprechaun". How will Goldust & Hornswoggle respond to this attack by The Miz?

In the last of four championship matches on the show, CM Punk defended the World Heavyweight Title against "The Rated-R Superstar" Edge & "The Extreme Enigma" Jeff Hardy. During the match, CM Punk was thrown to the outside by Edge and Punk landed knee-first onto the steel steps, which temporarily took the champion out of the contest. Back in the ring, Jeff got the advantage over Edge and laid Edge out with the Twist of Fate and followed it up with the Swanton Bomb. Just as it looked like Jeff would regain the World Heavyweight Title, the opportunistic CM Punk pulled Jeff out of the ring and pinned Edge to survive the Triple Threat Match with his World Heavyweight Title intact. After the match, SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long came out and announced a big match for The Bash as it will be CM Punk defending the World Heavyweight Title against Jeff Hardy! Can the resourceful "Straightedge Superstar" hang on to his title again or will Jeff Hardy get his revenge from Extreme Rules by taking the title from CM Punk?

Another championship match was announced for The Bash as it will be Primo & Carlito making their first pay-per-view defense of the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles against Legacy’s Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase.

Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase were on guest commentary as their Bash opponents, Primo & Carlito, faced ECW’s Hart Dynasty in a non-title match. After Carlito hit the Back Stabber on David Hart Smith, Rhodes & DiBiase rushed the ring and assaulted both Primo & Carlito to send a message to the champions for their match at The Bash. Who will leave The Bash as the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions? Will Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase make Legacy a "trio of champions" or will Primo & Carlito retain their tag titles?

Backstage, Mr. McMahon receives a phone call from RAW’s new owner, Donald Trump. Trump told the Chairman that he will be making another major announcement following the #1 Contender’s Battle Royal! After buying Monday Night RAW and presenting a commercial-free edition of the show next week, what else could "The Donald" possibly have up his sleeve?

Earlier, a new WWE Champion was crowned in Randy Orton. The main event would determine who Randy Orton would be defending the title against at The Bash. In the 10-Man Battle Royal, it was Big Show eliminating Matt Hardy & MVP followed by Big Show getting eliminated by all of the other seven participants in the match! With their "marching orders" from their leader, Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase set out to eliminate the opposition for Orton. Rhodes & DiBiase eliminated Kofi Kingston & Wulliam Regal before John Cena eliminated Ted DiBiase. Triple H then followed suit by eliminating Cody Rhodes. Despite their elimination, Rhodes & DiBiase came back into the ring and assaulted Triple H. Referees were able to get the two of them out of the ring, but the damage was done. With Triple H & John Cena down in the ring, a forgotten combatant slid into the ring. Earlier in the match, The Miz rolled under the bottom rope following a chokeslam by Big Show and stayed out of the ring until that moment. Miz then attempted to eliminate Triple H & John Cena, but the two low-bridged The Miz, sending Miz over the top rope and out of title contention. With John Cena’s attention on The Miz, Triple H quickly eliminated Cena to become the #1 Contender for the WWE Title at The Bash!

There was one more piece of business to be conducted on the historic RAW as RAW’s new owner, Donald Trump, promised another major announcement. "The Donald" then made the blockbuster announcement that Triple H is the new #1 Contender, but "The Game" will not be facing Randy Orton for the title at The Bash because Randy Orton & Triple H will square off in a Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Title on next week’s commercial-free RAW! Trump bought Monday Night RAW from Mr. McMahon, made next week’s show a commercial-free broadcast, vowed to make a live appearance on next week’s RAW, and made a huge WWE Title match for next week. What else does Trump have in store for RAW? Who will leave next week’s RAW with the WWE Championship? Will the champion Randy Orton or the challenger Triple H be the Last Man Standing next week?

The 158th edition of ECW on Sci-Fi came to you from the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, VA. Confirmed for ECW was a non-title match between ECW Champion Tommy Dreamer & "The All-American American" Jack Swagger. Also, "The World’s Strongest Man" Mark Henry would attempt to avenge his DQ & Count-Out losses to Evan Bourne when he faced the high-flyer one-on-one.

The opening match of the night saw former ECW Champion, "Captain Charisma" Christian taking on The Hart Dynasty’s David Hart Smith. When it looked like Christian was honing in on a victory over the second-generation star, Natalya & Tyson Kidd intervened. With Natalya distracting the referee, Tyson Kidd pulled Christian off of the top turnbuckle and hung him up on the top rope. This gave Smith the edge to be able to pick up a big win over Christian.

After the match concluded, The Hart Dynasty was ready to deliver the Hart Attack to Christian when Finlay made the save with shillelagh in hand. "The Fighting Irishman" made his return and ran The Hart Dynasty out of the ring. To the shock of everyone in attendance, Finlay then clocked Christian with the shillelagh! Why did Finlay attack Christian? How will Christian respond?

Backstage, Finlay reveals that he hit Christian with the shillelagh due to the eye injury he suffered a few weeks ago when he was breaking up a brawl between Christian & Tommy Dreamer. Finlay vowed to make things "an eye for an eye". What does Finlay mean by this? Will Finlay target the ECW Champion as well?

After two weeks of losing to the aeronautic Evan Bourne (by count-out and disqualification) and seeing his Hall of Fame manager, Tony Atlas, defeated by Bourne, "The World’s Strongest Man" Mark Henry planted Evan Bourne with the World’s Strongest Slam for the win. After the match, Henry made sure that Bourne would remember the name of Mark Henry when he planted the high-flyer with a second World’s Strongest Slam. Is this issue over between Bourne & Henry or will Henry strive to injure Bourne further?

Then it was time for the non-title main event as ECW Champion Tommy Dreamer squared off with "The All-American American" Jack Swagger. In the end, the crafty Swagger was able to roll the champion up for the win. As a result, Jack Swagger has earned a future shot at the ECW Championship! When will "The All-American American" get his title shot and will he be able to capitalize on it to win the title back?

After the match, Finlay made another appearance when he ran Jack Swagger out of the ring. Just like he did to Christian earlier in the night, Finlay saved Dreamer and then leveled Dreamer with the shillelagh. After seeing this transpire, Swagger smelled opportunity and jumped on Christian and attacked the former champion. Swagger then threw "Captain Charisma" out of the ring. When Swagger turned around, he was also met with a shillelagh shot, courtesy of "The Fighting Irishman"! Why did Finlay attack Christian, Dreamer, & Swagger? Does Finlay have some sort of revenge in mind for the three of them or has he forced his way into the ECW Title picture? In any case, what will be the repercussions of Finlay’s actions?

On Wednesday afternoon, WWE.com revealed that Interim ECW General Manager Tiffany has made a huge ECW Title match for The Bash. It will be the ECW Champion, Tommy Dreamer, defending the title against "Captain Charisma" Christian, "The All-American American" Jack Swagger, "The Fighting Irishman" Finlay, & "The World’s Strongest Man" Mark Henry in an ECW Championship Scramble Match! This will be the first ECW Championship Scramble Match since last year’s Unforgiven event. The rules of the Championship Scramble Match are as follows: two Superstars will start the match and every five minutes, another competitor enters the ring until all five competitors have entered the match. After the fifth and final wrestler comes into the match, there will be a five minute time limit placed on the match. The match is an "every man for himself" style of contest, meaning that the ECW Champion does not have to be pinned to lose the championship. Whoever earns a pinfall or submission in the match will become an unofficial interim champion. Whoever is the interim champion when the time limit expires will be the ECW Champion. If no pinfalls or submissions occur, then the champion retains the title. Can Tommy Dreamer fight off four of ECW’s top Superstars to hang on to the ECW Title or will the dream die for Tommy Dreamer at The Bash?

The 10th edition of WWE Superstars came to you from the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC & the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, VA. Confirmed for Superstars was a 6-Man Tag that would see "Captain Charisma" Christian team up with Unified Tag Team Champions Primo & Carlito to take on the team of "The All-American American" Jack Swagger & The Hart Dynasty. From RAW, "The Mexican Warrior" Chavo Guerrero took on former Intercontinental Champion Santino Marella. The SmackDown Divas were in action on Superstars as Eve Torres squared off with recent rival, Layla, with Maria serving as the special referee.

The opening match of the night was from RAW and it seen "The Mexican Warrior" Chavo Guerrero make his first appearance since his aunt Vickie’s departure as Chavo picked up a big win over Chavo & Vickie’s recent tormentor, "The Italian Imitative" Santino Marella. With Vickie gone, is Chavo stepping up his game to prove that he can survive without Vickie? Has Chavo silenced Santino?

From ECW, Zack Ryder was in action with a win over Mike Williams.

From SmackDown, the mesmeric Maria served as Special Referee as the "Dynamite Denverite" Eve Torres defeated Layla. After the match, Maria actually got Eve & Layla to shake hands! Was this a symbol of the end of the feud between these two Divas?

In the 6-man main event of the evening, "Captain Charisma" Christian teamed up with Unified Tag Team Champions Primo & Carlito to defeat the team of "The All-American American" Jack Swagger & The Hart Dynasty, picking up momentum for their respective matches at The Bash! Will Christian be as successful in his ECW Title match and will Primo & Carlito retain the tag titles against Legacy?

The 513th edition of WWE SmackDown came to you from the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, VA. With nine days until The Bash, SmackDown would feature a double main event with huge Bash implications; it would be World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk squaring off with Rey Mysterio in a non-title match. In another non-title match, the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title at The Bash, Jeff Hardy, would face Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho.

SmackDown opened with the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title in nine days at The Bash, Jeff Hardy. "The Extreme Enigma" expressed his disapproval of CM Punk’s actions at Extreme Rules. World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk interrupted and told his #1 Contender that he has absolutely no regrets about what he did to get the World Heavyweight Title, nor did he have any regrets about how he won the Triple Threat Match for the title on RAW. Jeff Hardy responded by letting Punk know that he was coming to regain the title at The Bash. Will the determination of Jeff Hardy be enough to dethrone CM Punk or will Punk find a way past Jeff Hardy to retain the title?

After coming face-to-face with the World Heavyweight Champion, Jeff Hardy came face-to-face with the Intercontinental Champion, Chris Jericho as the two squared off in the opening contest. In the middle of the match, Jeff deposited Jericho to the outside. With Jericho vulnerable on the outside, Rey Mysterio emerged out of the front row and laid his tormentor out on the arena floor; a measure of revenge for a similar attack by Jericho several weeks ago. Jericho slowly recovered on the outside. However, Jericho could not answer the ten count of the referee, giving Jeff Hardy the win via count-out! How will Jericho respond to Rey Mysterio costing him his match?

Speaking of revenge, The Great Khali looked to get some revenge over Dolph Ziggler as they faced each other one-on-one. During the match, Dolph Ziggler tried to expose the top turnbuckle to assist him in slaying the giant Khali. However, Khali’s translator, Ranjin Singh, pointed Dolph’s actions out the referee, who worked on putting the turnbuckle pad back on. With the referee’s back turned, Dolph went to the outside and grabbed a steel chair, hoping to do with it what he did to Khali about a month ago. Khali seen the attack coming and swatted the chair out of the hands of Ziggler. Dolph then played possum by laying down on the mat and holding his head. Khali grabbed the chair and was ready to waffle Dolph with it, but the referee turned around in time to stop "The Punjabi Nightmare". Seeing Dolph Ziggler down on the mat and Khali holding a steel chair, the referee disqualified Khali! For the second week in a row, Dolph Ziggler has outsmarted The Great Khali and picked up a win over the large adversary. What will happen the next time these two meet up? How long can Dolph dodge the wrath of Khali?

It was announced on SmackDown that Michelle McCool will get her shot at the Women’s Title at The Bash when she takes on reigning champion, Melina. Will McCool make history by becoming the first Diva to hold both the Women’s & Divas Titles or will Melina find a way to overcome her vicious #1 Contender?

With her #1 Contender, Michelle McCool, at ringside, Women’s Champion Melina defeated Alicia Fox in a non-title match. The big story occurred after the match, when Michelle McCool entered the ring and blasted the Women’s Champion with a vicious kick to the head of Melina. McCool then sent Melina to the outside where she delivered and even more sinister kick the head of Melina, this time sandwiching the head of Melina between McCool’s boot and the announce table. After demolishing the opposition at The Bash, McCool vowed to win the Women’s Title in nine days and become the first Diva to hold both the Women’s Title & Divas Title.

Before facing off with John Morrison, former World Heavyweight Champion Edge had some thoughts on the title situation between CM Punk & Jeff Hardy. "The Rated-R Superstar" made the claim that he was "robbed" of his rematch for the World Heavyweight Title. Edge stated that the Triple Threat on RAW did not count as his rematch since the "odds were stacked" against him in the contest. Edge then switched his attention to John Morrison. He proclaimed that Morrison was not good enough to be in the same ring as him. "The Friday Night Delight" John Morrison interrupts the former champion and Edge responds by telling Morrison that, just like CM Punk, Morrison wants to be him. Morrison said that no one wants to be Edge. "The Guru of Greatness" said that Edge is a talker and he used to actually "do stuff" and that Edge is the same thing every week; complaining about he is being cheated or conspired against. Morrison then vowed to give Edge "something to complain about" when he defeats "The Ultimate Opportunist".

While John Morrison put up an incredible fight against the nine-time World Champion, Edge was able to secure a victory over John Morrison. What is next for "The Rated-R Superstar"? What will Edge do to keep his name in title contention?

In 6-Man Tag action, the trio of R-Truth & Cryme Tyme defeated the team of Charlie Haas, Shelton Benjamin, & Ricky Ortiz.

Before his main event match with the World Heavyweight Champion, former Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio had some words for Chris Jericho. Rey stated that he got some "pay back" over Chris Jericho earlier in the evening, but that his quest for revenge will not be complete until he regains the Intercontinental Title. "The Master of the 619" then challenges Jericho for the title at The Bash! The Intercontinental Champion comes out and tells Rey that Rey had his rematch for the title on RAW and that he will not give him another chance. Mysterio responds by telling Jericho that, if it was not for Jericho’s "obsession" over Rey’s mask, that he would be the Intercontinental Champion. Jericho responds by saying that he is Rey’s "savior" and that Rey’s mask is his "downfall". Rey tells the narcissistic Intercontinental Champion that he wears a mask for his heritage and more importantly, for him. Rey then calls Jericho a "disgrace" as Intercontinental Champion. Jericho states that he will "open Rey’s eyes to the truth". Jericho then accepts the challenge for The Bash on one condition; that Rey puts his mask up against the Intercontinental Title. If Rey wins, then Rey will regain the Intercontinental Title, but if Rey loses, then he must remove his mask! Rey Mysterio readily accepts the challenge for The Bash! Something has got to give at The Bash. Will it be Jericho’s Intercontinental Title or will it be Rey’s mask?

Chris Jericho then served as a guest commentator as his Bash opponent, Rey Mysterio, squared off with the World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk in a non-title bout. During the match, Punk throws Rey to the outside. With the referee distracted, Chris Jericho attacks Rey; throwing Rey into the steel ring post. It looked like Jericho had done the same thing to Rey that Rey did to Jericho earlier in the night, but Rey just barely managed to beat the count and get back into the ring. However, the damage was done to Mysterio and CM Punk capitalized and hit the GTS to pick up the win! After the match, Jeff Hardy rushed to the ring to dispute the decision of the referee. Jeff then turned his attention to CM Punk and the two of them faced off in the ring before CM Punk made his exit. Who will emerge from The Bash as World Heavyweight Champion? Will it be the ever resilient CM Punk or will it be the determined former champion, Jeff Hardy?
 

Superstar of the Week: CM Punk

Superstar Profile of the Week
Name: CM Punk
Born On: October 26, 1978 in Chicago, IL
Age: 30
Billed From: Chicago, IL
Resides: Lockport, IL
Height: 6’1"
Weight: 222 lbs.
Wrestler Since: 1999
Accomplishments
Two Time & Reigning World Heavyweight Champion
One Time ECW Champion
Two Time Money-in-the-Bank Winner
First Ever Back-To-Back Money-in-the-Bank Winner
One Time Intercontinental Champion
One Time World Tag Team Champion (w/ Kofi Kingston)
One Time Slammy Award Winner (2008)
Nineteenth WWE Triple Crown Champion