This Week In WWE: June 28, 2009- July 4, 2009

Welcome to the sixty-first 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 Bash came to you, live on pay-per-view from the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, CA. Confirmed for The Bash was a Three Stages of Hell Match for the WWE Championship as Randy Orton defended the title against Triple H in a Normal Match, Falls Count Anywhere Match, and (if necessary) a Stretcher Match. The World Heavyweight Title would be on the line as "The Straightedge Champion" CM Punk defended the gold against "The Extreme Enigma" Jeff Hardy. Tommy Dreamer would defend the ECW Title in the unique Championship Scramble Match against Christian, Jack Swagger, Finlay, & Mark Henry. It would be Chris Jericho’s Intercontinental Title against Rey Mysterio’s mask in a Title Vs. Mask contest. John Cena would go one-on-one with The Miz. Melina would defend the Women’s Title against Michelle McCool. Primo & Carlito would defend the Unified Tag Team Titles against Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase. In a No DQ Match, Dolph Ziggler would square off with The Great Khali.

The night kicked off with the ECW Championship Scramble Match. Out of the five combatants, two were randomly selected to start the match. Every five minutes, another participant comes out until all competitors are the match. After that point, a five minute clock counts down. Whoever scores a pinfall or submission becomes an "interim champion". Whoever is "interim champion" when the time limit expires will leave as the champion.

No strangers to each other, Christian & Jack Swagger started the match. Finlay would join the fray, followed by the ECW Champion Tommy Dreamer and "The World’s Strongest Man" Mark Henry. The first fall of the match went to "The All-American American" Jack Swagger, who took advantage of Finlay’s eye injury to roll up "The Fighting Irishman" to become interim champion. Finlay comes back and hits the Celtic Cross on Swagger and become the interim champion. "The World’s Strongest Man" Mark Henry pinned the ECW Champion Tommy Dreamer in the match to become interim champion. Swagger then managed to find a way to pin Mark Henry to become the interim champion for the second time. Desperate to keep the dream alive, Tommy Dreamer planted Christian with the DDT to become the interim champion. Dreamer hung on for the remainder of the match and was able to leave Sacramento as the ECW Champion.

Backstage, an angry Edge enters the office of SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long. "The Rated-R Superstar" protests to Theodore Long that he is perfectly healthy, but he is not scheduled to compete. Edge implores Teddy to add him to the World Heavyweight Title match between CM Punk & Jeff Hardy. Long refuses and tells Edge that he had his chance to take the title back. Edge then tells Long that he will be out of a job by the end of the night if he doesn’t give Edge what he wants. What will Theodore Long do to impress Mr. McMahon?

It was respect against disrespect, pride against narcissism, it was the mask of Rey Mysterio against the Intercontinental Title of Chris Jericho. With his legacy and notoriety on the line, Rey Mysterio came out on top against Chris Jericho to keep his mask and regain the Intercontinental Title! The end of the match came when Chris Jericho pulled the mask off of Rey Mysterio. However, Rey had predicted such a tactic from the opportunistic champion, so Mysterio wore two masks! After pulling off the outer mask, Jericho was confused long enough for Mysterio to take advantage and win the Intercontinental Title and keep his signature mask.

Backstage, Chris Jericho barges into the office of SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long and tells the GM that Rey Mysterio cheated to win the title back. Jericho demands that Long make a rematch for the title. Long refuses Jericho’s rematch. Jericho tells Long to reconsider his decision.

In a No DQ Match, Dolph Ziggler picked up a huge win over The Great Khali, but not without controversy. During the course of the match, fire exploded on the stage and a familiar face made his way to the ring; none other then "The Big Red Machine" Kane! The returning Kane made his way to the ring and completely wore out The Great Khali with a steel chair! Kane then made his exit and Dolph Ziggler took advantage by pinning "The Punjabi Nightmare" to pick up the win. The question now is- why did Kane attack The Great Khali and cost him the match? Why did Kane pick The Bash to make his return?

Backstage, WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon confronts SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long. The Chairman tells Long that he was going to apologize for his behavior on SmackDown. McMahon then accused Long of doing "absolutely nothing" in his almost five years as a General Manager! The Chairman informed Teddy that he was still on probation.

Then it was time for the Unified Tag Team Championship match as Primo & Carlito were set to defend the gold against Legacy’s Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase. Before the match could begin, however, SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long came out and made a shocking announcement; that the title match is now a Triple Threat Match! Even more shocking than the addition of a third team to the contest was who that third team was; it was the team of nine-time World Champion, Edge, and five-time World Champion and the man who had just lost the Intercontinental Title, Chris Jericho! In the end, it was Edge hitting Carlito with the Spear that made Edge & Chris Jericho the new Unified Tag Team Champions! Teddy Long certainly "shook things up" in the Unified Tag Team Title match, but was it enough for Mr. McMahon? Is there any team that can defeat the "super team" of former World Champions Edge & Chris Jericho?

Backstage, Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase meet up with the leader of Legacy, Randy Orton. Orton conveys to the duo that he does not care about them not winning the tag titles and all that matters is that he is the WWE Champion. Ted DiBiase took exception to this, telling Orton that he did not join Legacy to serve as Orton’s "lackey". DiBiase then says that it was a mistake joining Legacy and tells Orton "good luck with Triple H" before storming off! Cody Rhodes tells Orton that he will talk to him. Have we witnessed the end of Legacy? Can Orton survive his match with Triple H without any backup?

With some help from Alicia Fox, Michelle McCool defeated Melina to become the new Women’s Champion! Not only did McCool become the Women’s Champion, but she became the first Diva to have won both the Women’s & Divas Titles! Now that she’s won the gold, how long can McCool keep it?

Then it was time to decide the World Heavyweight Championship as CM Punk defended the title against "The Extreme Enigma" Jeff Hardy. In the closing moments of the match, Jeff Hardy hit the Swanton Bomb on CM Punk and pinned the champion! However, the referee waved the win off since CM Punk had his foot under the bottom rope; saving his title. The match continued with CM Punk going for the GTS. However, Jeff countered with an elbow to the eye of Punk. Punk backed into the corner, grabbing his eye. The referee was checking on CM Punk when a vision-impaired Punk delivered a kick to the back of the referee! The referee had no choice but to ring the bell for the disqualification, meaning that CM Punk would keep the title. CM Punk made his way up the ramp, but was stopped by Jeff Hardy. Jeff accused Punk of getting disqualified on purpose to keep the title. Punk responded by telling Jeff that he could not see what he was doing. A frustrated Jeff Hardy then attacked the champion, assaulting CM Punk all the way into the ring. The fight continued until referees came into the ring and pulled Jeff off of Punk. CM Punk was then assisted to the back. Did CM Punk intentionally get himself disqualified to keep the title or could he really not see the referee? How will Punk respond to the post-match attack by Jeff Hardy? What is the next step in Jeff Hardy’s quest to regain the World Heavyweight Title?

It was put up or shut up time for The Miz as he squared of with John Cena. In the end, it was emphatic "shut up" for The Miz as Cena forced Miz to submit to Cena’s signature STF. Miz got his "reality checked" by John Cena, but is this feud over between these two?

Then it was time for the much-anticipated Three Stages of Hell Match for the WWE Championship between champion, Randy Orton, and Triple H. In the first fall of the match, which was a regular match, Triple H blasted Randy Orton with a chair shot to get himself disqualified and lose the first fall! Always having a plan in mind, "The Cerebral Assassin" then took full advantage of the rules of the Falls Count Anywhere second fall by hitting the Pedigree on Orton on the outside and pinning Orton to earn the second fall and tie the match up at one fall a piece. Then it was time to determine the third and deciding fall in the contest with a Stretcher Match. The two bitter rivals fought tooth-and-nail against each other, using anything they could get their hands on. Towards the conclusion of the match, Randy Orton planted "The Game" with a vicious DDT on the steel ramp! Orton then tried to roll the stretcher over the line, but Triple H managed to recover and stop Orton. Now on the staging area, Triple H delivers and thunderous Pedigree to "The Viper" on the unforgiving steel stage. Triple H then loaded Orton onto the stretcher and was just about to cross the line when Cody Rhodes came out and stopped the stretcher. Triple H took care of Rhodes and went back to the stretcher. Triple H had the stretcher halfway over the line when Ted DiBiase came to Orton’s aid and again kept "The Game" from winning the title. The numbers game got the best of Triple H as Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase commenced the assault of Triple H. Legacy then loaded Triple H on the stretcher, but Triple H fought the duo off and fell off the stretcher onto the staging area. With another plan worthy of "The Cerebral Assassin", Triple H removed a piece of the steel stage to reveal a hidden compartment containing a sledgehammer! With his "great equalizer" in his possession, Triple H took out Rhodes & DiBiase. However, the ever crafty Randy Orton blasted Triple H with the piece of steel stage Triple H removed. Triple H landed on the stretcher and Orton used his last bit of energy to pull the stretcher over the line and survive the Three Stages of Hell to retain the WWE Title! After the match, Randy Orton held his WWE Title high after his successful defense. However, Triple H recovered and stood behind the champion with sledgehammer in hand. Orton then turned around to face "The Game" and Triple H blasted Orton right in the skull with the sledgehammer! With Orton & Legacy motionless at his feet, Triple H held his sledgehammer high. Triple H has shown to Randy Orton that it is not over yet between the two of them. After nearly tearing each other apart in Three Stages of Hell, what is the next step in this intense rivalry?

The 840th edition of Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA. Confirmed for the night after The Bash was a special appearance by WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon, who would open the show by introducing a Guest Host for RAW! Mr. McMahon would also make a major announcement on RAW. One night after losing the Unified Tag Team Titles, Primo & Carlito invoked their rematch clause to face the new champions, Edge & Chris Jericho, for the titles.

The show opened with WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon; the Chairman stated that he can not offer a commercial-free RAW like former RAW owner, Donald Trump, wanted to do. McMahon said that he could refund the fans in attendance, but that he wouldn’t. The Chairman started with a major announcement as McMahon revealed that, while he was still the owner of Monday Night RAW, Donald Trump came up with a fifteen Superstar trade between all three brands! In other words, all three brands would be getting five new Superstars! The surprises just kept on coming from Mr. McMahon as he announced that week’s Guest Host for RAW. The man that would serve as Guest Host was a former World Champion, none other than "The Animal" Batista!

Following his introduction as the Guest Host of RAW, Batista came out and said that it felt good to be on RAW again. "The Animal" revealed that a Guest Host will have the same role as a General Manager would; meaning that the Guest Host would have complete control over RAW for that week! Batista wasted no time in making an impact as he announced a four-man tournament to determine who would face WWE Champion Randy Orton at Night of Champions! The first semi-final match would see "The Game" Triple H square off with "The Ballin’ Superstar" MVP and the second semi-final match would be a rematch from The Bash as John Cena faces off with The Miz! The winners of those two matches will face each other on next week’s RAW with the winner of that match heading to Night of Champions to face Randy Orton for the WWE Championship! WWE Champion Randy Orton & Legacy interrupt "The Animal" and Orton warns the Guest Host that Batista should not have come back. Orton then threatens to tear Batista apart the rest of the way. "The Animal" responds by informing the trio that he could fire every single one of them if he saw fit, since he has "unlimited power" as Guest Host. Batista vowed to make Legacy’s night a "living nightmare". Batista then announced that Randy Orton will be competing in a 3-on-1 Gauntlet Match in the main event with his opponents being three of the five Superstars coming to RAW in the Trump Trade! Who are the newest members of the RAW Roster? Can Orton possibly survive the 3-on-1 Gauntlet Match after enduring Three Stages of Hell against Triple H just twenty-four hours prior?

The opening match of the night saw the first semi-final match for the Night of Champions tournament and it seen "The Game" Triple H get right back in the title hunt with a win over MVP. Who will Triple H face in the finals next week? Will it be John Cena or The Miz?

Before their first title defense as Unified Tag Team Champions, Edge & Chris Jericho proclaimed that they can "dominate" the WWE as a unit. The cocky Canadian champions proved just that as they defeated former champions Primo & Carlito to hang on to the gold. Can anyone stop the unreal pairing of Edge & Jericho?

Backstage, Guest Host Batista confronts Randy Orton & Legacy and informs the three of them that if Cody Rhodes and/or Ted DiBiase get involved in the Gauntlet Match, then he will fire them both on the spot! Without Legacy by his side, will Orton survive the Gauntlet Match?

Then it was time to determine who would face Triple H next week in the finals of Night of Champions tournament. In the end, it was a repeat of The Bash as John Cena forced The Miz to submit, meaning that it will be Triple H Vs. John Cena on next week’s RAW to determine the #1 Contender for the WWE Title at Night of Champions! Who will come out on top in this huge main event?

Backstage, Ted DiBiase reveals that next week’s Guest Host will be none other than his father, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase! With his father in charge, how will DiBiase and the rest of Legacy be treated on next week’s RAW?

At Night of Champions, every championship in the WWE will be on the line; including the Divas Championship. Mickie James won a Fatal 4-Way against Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, & Rosa Mendes on RAW to earn the right to face Maryse for the Divas Title at Night of Champions! Maryse protests that she is not afraid of Mickie James, will the same be the case when she defends the Divas Title against Mickie?

United States Champion Kofi Kingston had a daunting task on RAW as he squared off with "The World’s Largest Athlete" Big Show in a non-title match. In the end, both Kofi Kingston & Big Show were counted out on the outside of the ring.

Then it was time for the main event as WWE Champion Randy Orton would face three of RAW’s newest Superstars in a Gauntlet Match. The first man to face Randy Orton in the Gauntlet Match? None other than the ultra-quick Evan "Air" Bourne! In the battle of the St. Louisans, Orton managed to defeat the lightning-quick Evan Bourne in his debut as a RAW Superstar. The hits just kept on coming for Orton as his second opponent was "The All-American American" Jack Swagger. It looked as though we were set to see these two square off for the first time in a must-see match. However, Swagger parked himself on the apron of the ring and got intentionally counted out! After getting counted out, Swagger stated that he "respects" Orton and that he wanted to leave a "lasting impression" on his night as a RAW Superstar. Orton & Swagger then shook hands and Swagger made his exit. With two Superstars down and one to go, could Orton make Batista’s plan backfire and win the Gauntlet Match? Any hopes to win the third installment of the Gauntlet Match were quickly dashed for the WWE Champion as "The World’s Strongest Man" Mark Henry was revealed as the final opponent in the match! Henry grabs a microphone and tells Orton that, like Swagger, he "respects" Orton as well and that he wants to leave a "lasting first impression". It looked as though Orton would luck out as Mark Henry did the same as Jack Swagger and parked himself on the apron as the referee counted. It turns out that "The World’s Strongest Man" was toying with the WWE Champion as Henry stopped the count of the referee and came back into the ring! Orton pleads with Henry, but Mark Henry flattens the WWE Champion with the World’s Strongest Slam and pins Orton to win the match! Mark Henry most definetly made a "lasting first impression" by pinning the WWE Champion. After the match, Henry celebrated in the ring while Batista stood on the stage and applauded "The World’s Strongest Man". Now that Henry is a member of the RAW Roster, will Henry be looking to take the WWE Championship from Randy Orton in the future? What kind of impact will Evan Bourne & Jack Swagger have now that they are a part of RAW, as well? Who else did RAW gain in the Trump Trade?

WWE.com revealed which Superstars went where in the Trump Trade. Mark Henry, Evan Bourne, Jack Swagger, Alicia Fox, & Gail Kim will all be heading to RAW. Matt Hardy, Finlay, & The Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd, Natalya, & David Hart Smith) will all be heading to SmackDown. Goldust, William Regal, The Bella Twins (Brie & Nikki), & Shelton Benjamin will all be heading to ECW. What kind of impact will these Superstars have on their new brands?

The 160th edition of ECW on Sci-Fi came to you, live, from the Save Mart Center at Fresno State University in Fresno, CA. Confirmed for ECW was a tag team main event that would see ECW Champion Tommy Dreamer team up with Christian to take on one of ECW’s newest acquisitions, William Regal, & "The Moscow Militant" Vladimir Kozlov.

The show kicked off with Interim ECW General Manager Tiffany in the ring. The excited GM proclaimed that ECW is in a "new era" with ECW’s five new Superstars that were picked up in the "Trump Trade." Tiffany also announced that the New Superstar Initiative is in "full effect."

After that proclamation, we saw the debut of Yoshi Tatsu, a product of the New Superstar Initiative. Yoshi faced the daunting task of facing a seasoned Superstar in "The Gold Standard" Shelton Benjamin, who had returned to ECW via the "Trump Trade." Benjamin decided to try and humiliate the new talent by mocking Yoshi’s heritage. Yoshi had seen and heard enough from "The Gold Standard" and with one swift kick to the head of Benjamin, Yoshi Tatsu picked up a major win in his ECW debut! What can we expect from this new addition to the ECW Roster? How will Shelton Benjamin respond to being defeated so easily?

It was announced on ECW that next week’s show will have a special air day and time as ECW will be seen on Thursday at 7/6c on SyFy (the new name of Sci-Fi that will change on July 7).

The debuts just kept on coming as ECW also seen the debut of Abraham Washington, the host of the appropriately named "Abraham Washington Show". Washington’s first guests were two of the five new ECW talent; The Bella Twins! "The Silver-Tongued Host" interviewed the beautiful Bellas about the Bellas’ first kiss, as well as which twin was smarter, and who was the better athlete. Once the Bella Twins started arguing amongst themselves, Washington decided that it was time to end the show. What kind of guests can we expect from Abraham Washington in the future/?

ECW also saw the debut of "The Celtic Warrior" Sheamus. The proud Irishman made quick work of Oliver John. What can we expect from this intense "Celtic Warrior"? Sheamus has vowed to make ECW his "own", will he deliver on that promise in the coming weeks?

Another new ECW Superstar, Tyler Reks, made his first ECW appearance when he confronted "The Loud-Mouthed Long Islander" Zack Ryder. "The So-Cal Surfer" and Zack Ryder argued over which area has the best surfing. What will happen when these two square off this Thursday on WWE Superstars?

Then it was time for the main event as ECW Champion Tommy Dreamer teamed with "Captain Charisma" Christian to square off with the team of the 2008 King of the Ring William Regal & "The Moscow Mauler" Vladimir Kozlov. The tag match turned into an "international incident" of sorts after William Regal used a blind tag on his partner to get into the match. Shortly after, Kozlov used the same method to steal the win from Regal by tagging himself in and pinning the ECW Champion! After the match, Regal & Kozlov shake hands and celebrate their win. Have William Regal  & Vladimir Kozlov formed some sort of team? Who will be the next Superstar to step up and challenge Tommy Dreamer for the ECW Title?

The 11th edition of WWE Superstars came to you from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA and from the Save Mart Center at Fresno State University in Fresno, CA. Confirmed for Superstars was a non-title match pitting World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk against one-half of the new Unified Tag Team Champions, Edge. Also, John Morrison would square off with Charlie Haas. Santino Marella would go one-on-one with The Brian Kendrick and one of ECW’s newest Superstars, Tyler Reks, would make his in-ring debut against Zack Ryder.

The opening match of the night was from RAW and it seen former Intercontinental Champion Santino Marella pick up a win over The Brian Kendrick.

From SmackDown, "The Guru of Greatness" John Morrison was in action, picking up a win over Charlie Haas.

From ECW, "The So-Cal Surfer" Tyler Reks made his in-ring debut, but in a losing effort to "The Long Island Loudmouth" Zack Ryder. How will Reks respond to losing his debut match?

Then it was time for the main event from SmackDown as World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk would square off with former World Champion and one-half of the new Unified Tag Team Champions, Edge, in a non-title bout. The end of the match came after Edge intentionally raked the already injured eye of CM Punk. Following this questionable tactic from "The Ultimate Opportunist", CM Punk signaled to the referee that he wanted the match to stop, telling the official that he was unable to see. The referee stopped the match and Edge picked up the win via forfeit. After the match had concluded, the World Heavyweight Champion stated that "if I can’t see, I can’t compete" and he would be more than happy to give Edge a rematch after he recovers from the injury. Regardless of what surrounded the win, Edge still defeated the World Heavyweight Champion by forfeit; will this earn Edge a future shot at CM Punk and the World Heavyweight Title? What will go down on Friday Night SmackDown when World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk is forced to team with his disgruntled former #1 Contender, Jeff Hardy, in a non-title match against the new Unified Tag Team Champions Edge & Chris Jericho? Will the team of CM Punk & Jeff Hardy be able to keep it together long enough to defeat the tag champions or will two of the WWE’s most opportunistic Superstars pick up the win over the dysfunctional team? What is the status of CM Punk’s eye injury and how will it affect his performance in the tag match?

The 515th edition of WWE SmackDown came to you from the Save Mart Center at Fresno State University in Fresno, CA. Confirmed for the post-Bash SmackDown was a tag team main event as World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk was forced to team up with his bitter rival, Jeff Hardy, to take on the new Unified Tag Team Champions, Edge & Chris Jericho, in a non-title match. Also, new Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio would square off with "The Big Red Machine" Kane.

Coming off of a controversial title defense at The Bash, World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk opened the show. "The Straightedge Superstar" stated that he is tired of hearing about his actions at The Bash; that people keep accusing him of getting intentionally disqualified to keep the World Heavyweight Title. The champion alleged that he was the one who was "almost robbed" of the title at The Bash after the referee counted the pinfall for Jeff Hardy with Punk’s foot under the bottom rope. Punk said that it was an unintentional move when he kicked the referee in the back; that his vision was impaired. The World Heavyweight Champion said that Jeff Hardy has every right to be angry about how things went down at The Bash, but that there was "no excuse" for Jeff Hardy’s attack on him after the match was over. Punk proclaimed that what he did was accidental, but what Jeff did was intentional. The champion said that he would be fine with giving Jeff Hardy a rematch for the World Heavyweight Title, but that he wants an apology from "The Extreme Enigma". SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long made his way to the ring and wasted no time in getting down to business as he informed the World Heavyweight Champion that Punk will be defending the gold against Jeff Hardy, again, at the Night of Champions! This brought Jeff Hardy out, who made his way to the ring and told the champion that he is done with Punk’s "excuses" and told Punk that what he did was intentional at The Bash and that he can "see right through" Punk. The World Heavyweight Champion responded by telling Jeff Hardy that "unless your next words are an apology, then shut up". Jeff responded by shoving CM Punk; Punk shoved back before Theodore Long stepped in between the champion and challenger. Punk advises that Jeff Hardy "just say no" when it comes to attacking him again. As the rivalry between these two gets more and more personal, how can CM Punk & Jeff Hardy possibly coexist in the main even? Can the champion and challenger put their differences aside and defeat the new Unified Tag Team Champions or will Edge & Chris Jericho capitalize on the dysfunctional team and pick up the win?

The opening match of the night saw "The Fighting Irishman" Finlay make his return to Friday nights as picked up a win over Ricky Ortiz.

Five nights after picking up a big win over The Great Khali, Dolph Ziggler picked up another win; this time over R-Truth.

"The Big Red Machine" Kane made his return to SmackDown as he picked up a win over the new Intercontinental Champion, Rey Mysterio, in a non-title bout. After the match, "The Big Red Monster" was not through with Mysterio, as he was prepared to chokeslam Rey Mysterio when The Great Khali came out with steel chair in hand and chased Kane through the crowd. When will these two behemoths square off against each other?

Backstage, one-half of the new Unified Tag Team Champions, Chris Jericho, announced that, on next week’s SmackDown, he will be implementing his rematch clause and challenging Rey Mysterio for the Intercontinental Title. The other half of the tag champions, Edge, reminded Jericho that they should be focusing on CM Punk & Jeff Hardy. Will Chris Jericho win the Intercontinental Title for an unprecedented 10th time next week or will Rey Mysterio one up Jericho once again?

Cryme Tyme was also in action, picking up a win over The Hart Dynasty in tag team action.

The Divas were also in action as former Women’s Champion Melina teamed with Maria to defeat the team of new Women’s Champion Michelle McCool & Layla. When will Melina get her rematch for the Women’s Title?

Then it was time for the tag team main event as World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk teamed up with his #1 Contender, Jeff Hardy, to combat the new Unified Tag Team Champions, Edge & Chris Jericho. During the course of the match up, Jeff Hardy tried on several occasions to tag in his "partner", CM Punk. Each time, Punk claimed that his injured eye prevented him from being able to make the tag. Frustrated with his tag team partner, Jeff Hardy forced the tag on CM Punk by slapping the World Heavyweight Champion. Later on in the match, CM Punk tried to tag in Jeff Hardy, but the #1 Contender faked an eye injury to show the champion what it’s like to compete under those circumstances. With his partner leaving him alone with the Unified Tag Team Champions, CM Punk succumbed to a Spear by "The Ultimate Opportunist" Edge, who picked up his second win over the World Heavyweight Champion this week. After the match, Jeff Hardy entered the ring and mocked CM Punk by holding his eye as if it was injured. When Jeff made his way to the stage, "The Extreme Enigma" showed Punk that his eye was perfectly fine; just like he alleged that Punk’s eye was fine. It has been made very clear that Jeff Hardy does not believe a word that comes out of the mouth of the World Heavyweight Champion, will that help or hinder Jeff Hardy in his quest to take the title from "The Straightedge Superstar"? Is CM Punk really injured like he claims or is what Jeff speaks the truth? What will go down when these two square off at the Night of Champions?
 

 Superstar of the Week: Edge