This Week In WWE: July 26, 2009- August 1, 2009

Welcome to the sixty-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. 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 or Diva you would like to see highlighted in an upcoming edition.

The 3rd annual WWE Night of Champions came to you, live on pay-per-view, from the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA. Every match would be a championship match and every championship in the WWE would be on the line. For the World Heavyweight Title, "The Straightedge Superstar" CM Punk would defend the gold against "The Unique Enigma" Jeff Hardy. Randy Orton would defend the WWE Championship in a Triple Threat Match against former champions Triple H & John Cena. Tommy Dreamer would return to Philadelphia as ECW Champion and would defend the title against "Captain Charisma" Christian. Dolph Ziggler would look to make a name for himself as he challenged Rey Mysterio for the Intercontinental Championship. Kofi Kingston would face the daunting task of defending the United States Championship in a 6-Pack Challenge against Big Show, MVP, Jack Swagger, Carlito, & The Miz. Chris Jericho would select a mystery partner from any brand to replace an injured Edge as Unified Tag Team Champion; the new duo would then defend the titles against Legacy. The Women’s Title would be up for grabs as Michelle McCool would defend the gold against former champion Melina. Mickie James would look to become the second Diva to have held the Women’s & Diva’s Titles as she challenged Maryse for the Diva’s Championship.

The show kicked off with a match for the Unified Tag Team Titles, but Chris Jericho would first have to select a partner to replace the injured Edge as the other half of the Unified Tag Team Champions. Before he made the big announcement, Jericho called his former partner, Edge, "selfish" and that his new partner was "worthy" of holding the gold with him. Jericho then revealed that his new tag team partner would be the biggest option he had to choose from as it was none other than "The World’s Largest Athlete" Big Show! This new team was quickly put to the test as they defended the Unified Tag Team Titles against the tightly knit team of Legacy. Legacy put up a good fight against this unholy alliance, but the cunning of Chris Jericho and the sheer size and strength of Big Show was too much for Legacy to handle and "The World’s Largest Athlete" ended the match by forcing Ted DiBiase to submit to the Colossal Clutch! Can anyone even come close to stopping the unreal team of Big Show & Chris Jericho?

World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk made an early appearance before his title defense later that night against Jeff Hardy. Punk asked the fans in attendance if they still supported Jeff after Punk’s recent pleas to the fans. After the fans gave their audible loyalty to Jeff Hardy, CM Punk asked the Jeff Hardy fans to stand up. "The Straightedge Superstar" then states that he blames the "parent" for allowing their children to look up to Jeff Hardy. CM Punk alleges that the Jeff Hardy fan base are from a single-parent home and that the parent gives their kids whatever they want to make up for the divorce of their parents. CM Punk then calls the fans "enablers" and states that being a fan of Jeff Hardy will lead to drug and alcohol abuse. CM Punk then implores the fans in attendance to "just say yes" to the straightedge lifestyle and to "just say yes" to him being the World Heavyweight Champion.

In the birthplace of the original ECW, Tommy Dreamer would return to Philadelphia to defend his ECW Championship against Christian. However, Christian would prove to be the better man on this night as "Captain Charisma" hit the Killswitch on the "ECW Original" to claim his second ECW Championship! After the match, Christian & Tommy Dreamer renewed their friendship with an embrace, followed by former champion Tommy Dreamer raising the hand of the new champion Christian. What challenges await Christian now that he is, once again, the ECW Champion?

Backstage, Unified Tag Team Champions Big Show & Chris Jericho state that they will be the "best team ever". Jericho then "thanks" Edge for making the new team possible.

Then it was time for the United States Championship to be decided in a 6-Pack Challenge as Kofi Kingston faced the seemingly impossible task of defending his United States Title against five different opponents that will all be in the ring at the same time. Before the match began, we learned that Primo would be replacing Big Show in the match. With Primo & Carlito in the same ring, things were bound to get interesting and they did. Carlito managed to convince Primo to help him eliminate the opposition, but when Primo turned his back on his older brother, Carlito hit the Back Stabber on Primo! MVP, Jack Swagger, The Miz, Primo, & Carlito scrambled and fought to try and win the United States Championship, but in the end, it was a timely delivery of Trouble In Paradise that secured the win for Kofi Kingston. Kofi Kingston has battled through a Triple Threat match, a Fatal 4-Way match, and now a 6-Pack Challenge to hang on to the United States Title. Who can take the championship away from "The Jamaican Sensation"?

The Women’s Title was also up for grabs as Michelle McCool made a successful title defense against the former champion, Melina. Will Melina get another shot at the title or will another SmackDown Diva step and challenge the champion?

Then it was time for the WWE Championship to be decided in a Triple Threat Match as "The Viper" Randy Orton defended the prestigious championship against former champions, John Cena & "The Game" Triple H. All three men fought in and out of the ring and gave it their all, but the controversial end of the match came when Triple H locked in a Sharpshooter on Randy Orton. With Orton locked in the Sharpshooter being administered by "The Game", Cena saw the opportunity to lock in his STF on Orton, as well. This left a major decision for the referee to make as Randy Orton tapped out frantically. With both Triple H & John Cena forcing Randy Orton to submit, the referee could not make a decision as to who would win the fall. However, Legacy would negate the decision as they attacked both Triple H & John Cena. Triple H & Ted DiBiase fought to the outside while John Cena & Cody Rhodes did battle in the ring. Cena was able to fight back against Rhodes and had Rhodes on his shoulders for the Attitude Adjustment when Randy Orton sacrificed the safety of Cody Rhodes by hitting Cena with a lightning-quick RKO. With the help of Legacy, "The Viper" walked out of Philadelphia still the WWE Champion. How will Triple H & Cena respond to how Orton retained the title? Who will be the next man to challenge Orton for the gold?

The Diva’s Championship was on the line as Maryse defended the gold against Mickie James. In the end, Mickie James overcame a very game Maryse to claim the Diva’s Title and become the second Diva in history to have held both the Women’s & Diva’s Titles! How will Maryse react to losing her Diva’s Title?

In a match for the Intercontinental Championship, Rey Mysterio was able to overcome the talented Dolph Ziggler to keep the Intercontinental Title around his waist.

Then it was time for the much-anticipated main event as CM Punk would defend the World Heavyweight Title against the man who, many believe, was "robbed" of the championship- Jeff Hardy. In the end, "The Extreme Enigma" was able to overcome everything that CM Punk threw at him to reclaim the World Heavyweight Championship! Now that Jeff Hardy has regained the title, who will be the first to challenge "The Charismatic Champion" for the gold? What will CM Punk have to say about losing the championship?

The 844th edition of Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The Guest Host for RAW would be NBA Legend, Shaquille O’Neal!

The show kicked off with WWE Hall of Famer Jerry "The King" Lawler in the ring. Lawler introduced the Guest Host of RAW- Shaquille O’Neal! Shaq made his way to the ring and promised that it would be a "great night" with him in charge. Shaq wasted little time in making an impact as he announced that there would be a 5-Man Beat The Clock Challenge to determine who would face Randy Orton for the WWE Championship next month at SummerSlam! A Beat The Clock Match sees a Superstar face off with an unknown opponent. The first match of the night will set the time for the matches to follow. For example, if the first match is won by the announced Superstar in 3:00, then the other Superstars must beat that time in order to advance. However, to successfully "beat the clock", the Superstar must beat their opponent. If the mystery opponent wins, then the Superstar will not advance. At the end of the night, whoever has the fastest time would be named the #1 Contender. Shaq revealed the five competitors in the challenge as being Triple H, MVP, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, & John Cena! After this blockbuster announcement by the legendary NBA star, Unified Tag Team Champion Chris Jericho came out and attempted to come face-to-face with the seven foot tower known as Shaquille O’Neal. Jericho told the Guest Host that he and Big Show are the "most dominant team" in any sport. Jericho then alleged that, like all the prior Guest Hosts, Shaq has disrespected Jericho by not "catering" to the Unified Tag Team Champion. A confident Jericho then brings out the other half of the Unified Tag Team Champions, "The World’s Largest Athlete" Big Show. Big Show made his way into the ring and actually got face-to-face with the fellow seven-footer. Big Show tells the Guest Host that Shaq can not intimidate him and calls the NBA All-Star a "toothpick" and tells the Guest Host to leave the ring. Shaq responds by calling Big Show "fat boy" and then challenges Big Show to a match! Big Show responds to the challenge by telling Shaq that he does not want the NBA coming after him after he "destroys" Shaq, so Show & Jericho both refuse to fight O’Neal. Shaq stated that he knew that Show & Jericho would back down, so he hired "help". With those magic words, Cryme Tyme from Friday Night SmackDown came to the ring and stood by Shaq as Show & Jericho backed away from the trio. Shaq then announces that it will be Unified Tag Team Champions Big Show & Chris Jericho facing off with Cryme Tyme in a non-title match in the main event and Shaquille himself will serve as the Special Enforcer for the match! What will happen in this huge main event with Shaq at ringside ready to jump in if things get bad? Would we see the NBA All-Star mix it up with Show and/or Jericho?

The opening match of the night was the first of five Beat The Clock Challenges as "The World’s Strongest Man" Mark Henry squared off with "The Caribbean Back Stabber" Carlito. Carlito tried to play the role of "spoiler" by trying to either defeat Henry or run the clock so high that the other four Superstars could beat the time with ease. Carlito lasted 6:49 before Mark Henry planted him with the World’s Strongest Slam for the victory. Can MVP, Jack Swagger, Triple H, or John Cena beat the time set by "The World’s Strongest Man"? Who will the other four men face?

New Diva’s Champion, Mickie James was in action as she teamed up with Gail Kim & Kelly Kelly to defeat the team of Beth Phoenix, Rosa Mendes, & Alicia Fox in a 6-Diva Tag Match. Who will be the first Diva to challenge Mickie for the gold?

MVP was faced with the task of beating the clock with a time less than 6:49 and MVP’s chances of beating the clock started to lessen once everyone learned who MVP’s opponent would be- it would be none other than "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters! After an almost two year hiatus from the WWE, "The Masterpiece" was back in action! Chris Masters gave MVP all "The Ballin’ Superstar" could handle and more. In the end, it was Masters locking in the grueling Masterlock on MVP on the outside of the ring that led to both men getting counted out! With a double count-out decision, MVP would not advance in the Beat The Clock Challenge. Can Jack Swagger, Triple H, or John Cena beat Mark Henry’s time of 6:49 and punch their ticket to SummerSlam?

Before The Brian Kendrick squared off with United States Champion Kofi Kingston, Kendrick had some choice words for the man he lost to last week, Hall of Famer Jerry "The King" Lawler. Kendrick told Lawler that he would "not be embarassed" and that after the match, he is coming for Lawler. Despite what he thought, The Brian Kendrick was "embarrassed" as as soon as Kendrick turned around to face his opponent, Kofi blasted Kendrick with Trouble In Paradise to pick up the quick win! How will The Brian Kendrick respond to this humiliating quick loss?

Backstage, Triple H is shown heading towards the ring for his Beat The Clock Challenge match with Cody Rhodes. However, in a heinous hit and run attack, Ted DiBiase blasted "The Game" from behind, in the knee, with a club! How can Triple H possibly beat Cody Rhodes on one leg, much less beat the clock?

With an injured leg courtesy of the diabolical Ted DiBiase, Triple H squared off with Cody Rhodes as "The Game"  would try and beat Mark Henry’s time of 6:49 and get another shot at Randy Orton and the WWE Champion. Just like at Night of Champions, Legacy once again cost Triple H the WWE Title. Triple H did his best to compete in the match with his bad knee and had Cody Rhodes finished off when Ted DiBiase got on the apron of the ring and distracted Triple H. Triple H responded by throwing Cody Rhodes into Rhodes’ partner. However, the distraction served it’s purpose as Triple H hit the Pedigree on Cody Rhodes, but time expired before "The Game" could get the pinfall, meaning Triple H would not advance and would not be facing Orton for the WWE Title at SummerSlam. How will Triple H respond to Legacy’s continued efforts to cost him the WWE Championship?

Once again, with the help of a Guest Host, Chavo Guerrero was humiliated with a loss to Hornswoggle. This time, Guest Host Shaq ordered Chavo Guerrero to be blindfolded for the contest! As one would imagine, "The Mexican Warrior" had plenty of trouble in the match. Chavo accidentally attacked the referee, mistaking him for Hornswoggle. Chavo’s downfall came when Chavo tried to climb to the top rope blindfolded. Hornswoggle took advantage of Chavo’s impaired vision and hit the Tadpole Splash to beat Chavo for the fourth time!

It was "The All-American American" Jack Swagger’s time to shine as he tried to do what Triple H & MVP failed to do; beat the 6:49 time set by Mark Henry. However, Swagger would have his work cut out for him as he would square off with Evan Bourne. In the end, it was Bourne surprising "The All-American American" with a roll-up to defeat Swagger! Can John Cena beat Mark Henry’s time or will "The World’s Strongest Man" be heading to SummerSlam to challenge Randy Orton for the WWE Title?

Backstage, a furious Triple H states that he has made the mistake of aiming directly for Randy Orton and the WWE Championship when he should have taken care of Legacy first. "The Game" then challenges both Legacy members to a 2-on-1 Handicap Match on next week’s RAW! Triple H then informed Rhodes & DiBiase that they "messed with the wrong guy". Triple H has apparently had enough of Legacy’s interference in his business; will "The Game" take away Randy Orton’s back up next week or does Legacy have a plan to deal with Triple H?

A major main event was announced during RAW for this week’s SmackDown- new World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy will make his first title defense this Friday night against John Morrison! Can "The Charismatic Champion" hang on to his newly obtained gold or will Morrison spoil the celebration and win the World Heavyweight Title?

Then it was down to one man, John Cena, to try and beat the time of Mark Henry. Cena would face a familiar foe in The Miz. Despite Miz’s attempts to take the match to the time limit, Cena managed to catch Miz and force Miz to submit to his STF to beat the time of Mark Henry and head to SummerSlam to challenge Randy Orton, one-on-one, for the WWE Championship! "The Viper" slid into the ring and came face-to-face with his new #1 Contender. Who will come out on top in this classic clash between Orton & Cena? Who will emerge from the Staples Center as the WWE Champion?

There was still business to tend to as Unified Tag Team Champions Big Show & Chris Jericho would square off with Cryme Tyme, but the big news was that Guest Host Shaquille O’Neal would be keeping the peace on the outside as Special Enforcer! After the match ended in a disqualification win for Cryme Tyme due to Big Show refusing to leave the ring as the illegal man in the match, Big Show disposed of Cryme Tyme and challenged Shaq to come into the ring to face him! The NBA All-Star gladly obliged as the two giants of the sports industry came face-to-face. Big Show shoved Shaq but Shaq shoved back. Big Show then grasped the throat of the NBA MVP! Even more surprising, Shaq grabbed Show’s throat in response! Seeing that Shaq might be in trouble, Cryme Tyme came in and attacked Big Show, forcing Big Show to release his grip. Shaq then shocked everyone as he ran right through "The World’s Largest Athlete" with a shoulder block! The maneuver sent Big Show reeling to the outside! What an impact Shaquille O’Neal made as Guest Host of RAW. What will happen next week when the star of "The Goods", Jeremy Piven is the Guest Host of Monday Night RAW? What can we expect from the Emmy award winning star of "Entourage"? What can we expect when Triple H faces off with Legacy in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match? What will we see from Randy Orton & John Cena as their encounter for the WWE Title at SummerSlam draws near?

The 164th edition of ECW on Syfy came to you from the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, MD; the birthplace of legendary baseball player, Babe Ruth. Two nights removed from winning the ECW Championship, new ECW Champion Christian would make his first appearance as the new champion.

The opening match of the night saw "The So-Cal Surfer" Tyler Reks pick up his second win in a row over "The Ripper" Paul Burchill. How will Burchill respond to losing to the newcomer two straight weeks?

"The Russian Militant" Vladimir Kozlov was also in action, laying waste to Bill Baine. After the match, Ezekiel Jackson came out and the two huge men had a stare down before "Big Zeke" flattened Baine with Total Domination in a response to Vladimir Kozlov’s actions last week. When can we expect to see this international clash of the ECW titans?

"The Celtic Warrior" Sheamus picked up his biggest win since coming to ECW by defeating "The Bizarre One" Goldust.

The new ECW Champion, Christian made his first appearance as a two-time ECW Champion and said that everyone says that "the second time is just a little bit sweeter". Christian then started to discuss his friend and former champion, Tommy Dreamer. This brought out the "ECW Original" who congratulated "Captain Charisma" on defeating him at Night of Champions for the title. Dreamer then made the huge announcement that, on next week’s show, he will be getting his rematch for the ECW Championship in an Extreme Rules Match! However, Christian had some business to attend to in the present week as he squared off with "The Long Island Loudmouth" Zack Ryder. The cocky young Superstar put up a valiant fight against the new champion, but the ECW Champion was able to plant Ryder with the Killswitch to pick up the win. What will happen next week when Christian defends the ECW Title against Tommy Dreamer in an Extreme Rules Match? What lengths will these two hardcore veterans go to for the ECW Championship? Will Tommy Dreamer relive the glory of winning the ECW Championship or will "Captain Charisma" put an end to the Dreamer era?

WWE.com announced on Thursday, July 30 that World Wrestling Entertainment came to terms on the release of RAW Superstar The Brian Kendrick (real name- Brian Kendrick). Kendrick was a two-time tag team champion in the WWE, holding both the World Tag Team & WWE Tag Team Titles in his career; both reigns were with Paul London as his partner. Together, the team of London & Kendrick were the longest reigning WWE Tag Team Champions in that title’s history.

The 16th edition of WWE Superstars came to you from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. and from the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, MD. The main event of the show would see WWE Champion Randy Orton make his Superstars debut as he squared off with Primo in a non-title match. Also, just twenty-four hours before he challenges Jeff Hardy for the World Heavyweight Title on SmackDown, John Morrison squared off with Tyson Kidd.

The opening match of the night was from SmackDown and saw "The Guru of Greatness" John Morrison continue his winning streak by defeating Tyson Kidd. The downfall for "The Crown Prince" came when the referee ejected Tyson Kidd’s Hart Dynasty teammates from ringside. How will Morrison fair on SmackDown when he if the first man to challenge Jeff Hardy for his newly won World Heavyweight Championship? Will Jeff Hardy make his first title defense a successful one or will John Morrison shock the world and defeat "The Charismatic Champion" for his first World Title? How will CM Punk react to John Morrison getting the title shot over him?

After getting defeated by Yoshi Tatsu on last week’s ECW, "The Blackpool Brute" William Regal redeemed the loss by picking up a win over Tatsu.

Then it was time for the main event, from RAW, as WWE Champion Randy Orton made his WWE Superstars debut by squaring off with Primo. Primo had a strong showing against Orton, but "The Viper" gained control of the match and ended the match with the RKO for the win. How will Randy Orton fair in four weeks at SummerSlam when he defends the WWE Title against John Cena? Will "The Viper" find a way to keep the coveted championship or will "The Champ" be here once again on August 23?

The 519th edition of WWE SmackDown came to you from the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, MD. Five nights after defeating CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Title, Jeff Hardy would defend his newly won championship against "The Guru of Greatness" John Morrison.

The show opened with the new World Heavyweight Champion, Jeff Hardy, who started by thanking his supporters. "The Charismatic Champion" then proclaimed that the world would be a "boring" place if everyone was like CM Punk. The proud new champion then states that he’s the World Heavyweight Champion for the fans. The champion then reveals that CM Punk has been granted his rematch for the title and can use the rematch whenever he wants. Jeff then turned his attention to his big title defense against John Morrison in the main event. Jeff proclaimed that his match with John Morrison will be a "breathtaking" match.

The opening match of the night saw Cryme Tyme defeat their recent rivals, The Hart Dynasty, to become the new #1 Contenders for the Unified Tag Team Titles at SummerSlam! After the match, Unified Tag Team Champions Big Show & Chris Jericho came out. Jericho told Shad & JTG that things will go "downhill from here" for the new #1 Contenders. The ever confident Jericho then proclaimed that himself and Big Show would "destroy the hopes and dreams" of Cryme Tyme. Jericho then calls himself and Big Show the "perfect team". Shad & JTG interrupt and remind the tag champions of what happened to Show & Jericho on RAW. The duo then vowed to win the Unified Tag Team Titles at SummerSlam. Big Show then tells Cryme Tyme that they are talking because himself and Jericho "allow" them to and that they know what it is like to be champions of all types. "The World’s Largest Athlete" then proclaims that he is "bigger and better" than everyone. Jericho then states that "the party will be over at SummerSlam". Can Cryme Tyme overcome Show & Jericho? How does the #1 Contenders plan to deal with the sheer size of Big Show and the cunning of Chris Jericho?

Backstage, former World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk makes an appearance and states that he believes that Jeff taking the title from him at the Night of Champions was an "upset". Punk then proclaims that he can not respect someone who lives the Jeff Hardy lifestyle. "The Straightedge Superstar" then says that he wishes that everyone could be "straightedge" like him.

The Divas were in tag team action as the team of Melina & Eve Torres defeated the team of Women’s Champion Michelle McCool & Layla with Melina pinning the Women’s Champion! Will Melina get another shot at Michelle McCool and the Women’s Championship?

After successfully defending the Intercontinental Championship at the Night of Champions, Rey Mysterio teamed up with Finlay to defeat the team of Dolph Ziggler & Mike Knox with Rey pinning Ziggler for the win.

Before his big match for the World Heavyweight Title, John Morrison makes an appearance backstage and congratulates the new champion, Jeff Hardy. "The Friday Night Delight" proclaimed that neither he or Jeff Hardy will "hold anything back" and that he will take the World Heavyweight Title from Jeff Hardy.

The Great Khali was in action as "The Punjabi Nightmare" squared off with Charlie Haas. In the middle of the contest, Kane entered the ring and got the attention of The Great Khali. Kane quickly slipped out of the ring and grabbed a hold of Khali’s translator, Ranjin Singh. Kane lured Khali out of the ring with Singh and "The Big Red Monster" then threw Singh down on the steel ramp. The Great Khali checked on his fallen comrade as Kane backed away, pleased with his actions.

Then it was time for the main event as the World Heavyweight Championship was on the line as Jeff Hardy defended the newly acquired title against John Morrison. In a classic bout between these two resilient high-flyers, it was Jeff Hardy that was able to put John Morrison away and retain the World Heavyweight Championship. After the match had concluded, CM Punk made his way to the ring and actually raised the hand of the new champion! Punk then initiated one of the most brutal assaults ever seen on SmackDown as "The Straightedge Superstar" blasted Jeff Hardy in the head with a microphone, which busted the champion wide open. As the blood poured from the head of Jeff Hardy, CM Punk threw Jeff to the outside and continued the evil assault on the new champion; throwing Jeff several times into the ringside barricade. Punk then delivered several vicious elbow shots to the head of a helpless Jeff Hardy before walking away from the scene, proud of his actions. However, Punk came back and dished out more punishment on Jeff Hardy with several kicks to the back. Punk then threw Jeff over the announce table and finally left the ringside area as EMT’s attended to the battered and bloody champion. CM Punk then revealed that he will be getting his rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship on next week’s SmackDown and that he will take "his" title back! How can Jeff Hardy possibly defend the World Heavyweight Title just one week removed from such a heinous assault? Will CM Punk be allowed to have his rematch if Jeff is unable to compete? Has CM Punk won himself the World Heavyweight Title a week ahead of time with this assault on Jeff Hardy?
 

Superstars of the Week: Cryme Tyme (Shad & JTG)