This Week In WWE: September 6, 2009- September 12, 2009

Welcome to the seventy-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. 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.

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The 850th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the Allstate Arena in "The Windy City"- Chicago, IL. Monday Night RAW would be transformed into The Price Is RAW as legendary television personality Bob Barker would serve as Guest Host!

The Price Is RAW kicked off with the Guest Host of RAW, the legendary Bob Barker, as the former Price Is Right host started the show off with a special pricing game! With WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel serving as his announcer, Barker welcomed Santino Marella, Jillian Hall, WWE Legend Irwin R. Schyster, and a relunctant Chris Jericho to the show. The prize for the contestant who bid closest to the actual retail price would win the prize; an advanced copy of "A Decade of SmackDown" DVD set. After Santino placed his bid of "American dollars", Jillian sang her bid, & I.R.S. place his bid, tax included, Bob asked for Chris Jericho’s bid. Not one to be "fun loving", Jericho exited his post on contestant’s row and walked on the stage and got in the face of the television veteran and demanded that Barker refer to him as "Mr. Jericho". Jericho started to explain to the legend that he is one-half of the Unified Tag Team Champions; however, after Jericho said "one", Bob cut him off and took "one" as Jericho’s bid! Jericho threw his nametag down and started to walk towards the ring as Bob announced that Jericho bid the closest and won the DVD set! However, the game did not get Jericho’s attention until the chance to win a trip to Hawaii was dangled in front of him, but to get the trip, Jericho had to win a match against one of his challengers at Breaking Point- MVP!

After being defeated by Chris Jericho on last week’s RAW, MVP was ready for Jericho as he dodged the Codebreaker and rolled up Jericho to pick up a big win heading into Breaking Point! If MVP does the same thing at Breaking Point, MVP & Mark Henry will win the Unified Tag Team Titles! Can Big Show & Chris Jericho prevail at Breaking Point or will this new team on RAW dethrone the Unified Tag Team Champions?

Backstage, D-Generation X meets up with Guest Host Bob Barker and DX praise Barker for his legendary career in television. Bob then invites DX to spin the computerized wheel; where a wheel will be spun to determine two random opponents for DX! Shawn Michaels went first and the wheel landed on "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters, but who would Masters partner be? That would be up to Triple H and his spin, which revealed WWE Champion Randy Orton! How will the team of Orton & Masters fare against a seasoned team like DX?

Chavo Guerrero would be out for revenge on RAW as he went one-on-one with Evan Bourne! During the match, when it looked as though Chavo was poised to win the match, Hornswoggle came out from his "home" under the ring and sprayed Chavo with a Super Soaker ®! This distracted "The Mexican Warrior" long enough for Evan Bourne to take advantage and roll Guerrero up for the win!

A huge announcement was made regarding next week’s RAW in Toronto as "The Animal" Batista will return to RAW to make an announcement that could be career-altering! What will "The Animal" have to say when he returns to RAW next Monday night? What career-altering announcement could Batista have?

Legacy member Cody Rhodes had a lot on his plate on RAW as he was set to face the #1 Contender for the WWE Title, John Cena, in a one-on-one match! Before the match, Rhodes wanted to clear the air about Randy Orton’s unexpected RKO to his father, Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, last week. The second-generation star stated that he is still "very much a part of Legacy" and admits that Dusty is a "great father", but Dusty did not make him a main eventer; Randy Orton did. The confident Rhodes proclaimed that he would make Cena tap out for his mentor, Randy Orton, and states that "there is nothing that a son won’t do for his career"!

With his decision made to choose his career over his family, Cody Rhodes squared off with John Cena. After trying several times to get Cena to submit, Rhodes went to "Plan B" as Randy Orton rushed the ring and attempted to attack Cena. However, Cena saw the attack coming and managed to avoid it. Cena then tried to catch Orton in his STF, but "The Viper" was able to get out of dodge. Cena then sent a message to Orton for Breaking Point by laying Rhodes out with the Attitude Adjustment!

After getting the closest bid over I.R.S., Jillian, and even the pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, Santino Marella earned himself the WrestleMania XXVI Travel Package! Santino would then have the opportunity to win a hot tub. Unfortunately for Santino, he would have to win a Body Slam Challenge to win the prize. Santino’s hopes of winning plummeted when his opponent was revealed to be none other than "The World’s Largest Athlete" Big Show! To no surprise, Big Show made quick work of Santino; slamming him with ease. However, things got interesting when Guest Host Bob Barker made a second Body Slam Challenge; this time, Big Show would take on "The World’s Strongest Man" Mark Henry! After a back-and-forth battle between these two superhuman behemoths, Mark Henry proved why he is "The World’s Strongest Man" by body slamming Big Show to pick up the win! With MVP defeating Chris Jericho and Mark Henry beating Big Show, it looks as though the #1 Contenders for the Unified Tag Team Titles have all the momentum heading into this Sunday. Will MVP & Mark Henry claim the Unified Tag Team Titles or will the veteran champions walk out of Montreal with the gold still in their possession?

Next Monday night on RAW, the record-breaking seven-time Women’s Champion Trish Stratus will be on hand to have complete control of RAW as the "Diva of the Decade" will serve as Guest Host in her hometown of Toronto! What effect will one of the greatest Divas in WWE history have on Monday Night RAW? How will the Toronto beauty deal with the fallout from Breaking Point?

Then it was time for the main event as D-Generation X was set to face the team of WWE Champion Randy Orton & "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters. In the end, it was Triple H locking the Sharpshooter in on Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels locking in the Figure-4 Leg Lock on Chris Masters that led to Masters submitting; equaling a win for DX just six nights before their Submissions Count Anywhere face off with Legacy!

After Legacy rescued Orton from the grasp of Triple H, DX pursued Legacy and pummeled the young team while Orton managed to duck any physicality with the duo. After brawling throughout the Allstate Arena, DX & Legacy found their way outside. However, Legacy managed to escape by commandeering a car and escaping DX! What will happen this Sunday when DX and Legacy square off in the first ever Submissions Count Anywhere Match? Will DX put Legacy in their place for forcing the confident young team to submit or will Legacy cement their legacy by upsetting DX and forcing the duo to submit?

WWE Champion Randy Orton was in the ring and, not only vowed that Legacy would beat DX at Breaking Point, but vowed that he would defeat John Cena and keep the WWE Title in their "I Quit" Match this Sunday! Orton proclaimed that the WWE Title is "all that is important to him". John Cena then came out and wasted no time in racing to the ring and brawling with Orton. After brawling on the outside, Orton beat Cena getting in the ring and, as Cena entered the ring, Orton laid the #1 Contender out with a vicious DDT! Not satisfied with the destruction, Orton grabbed a steel chair and set it up in the middle of the ring before delivering a brutal RKO to Cena right on the unforgiving steel chair! Standing over his fallen opponent, Orton proclaims that Cena will be the one uttering the words "I Quit" at Breaking Point. Will Orton’s prophecy come true this Sunday or will Cena force "The Viper" to give it up and say "I Quit" and reclaim the WWE Championship?

The 170th edition of ECW on Syfy came to you from the Rockford MetroCentre in Illinois’ "Forest City"- Rockford, IL. Five nights before defending the ECW Championship against William Regal at Breaking Point, ECW Champion Christian would team with the "ECW Original" Tommy Dreamer to combat Regal’s "League of Nations", Ezekiel Jackson & Vladimir Kozlov. Also, in a match made during last week’s edition of The Abraham Washington Show, "The Ripper" Paul Burchill would go one-on-one with The Hurricane.

The opening match of the night saw The Hurricane go against "The Ripper" Paul Burchill, with the end of the contest coming when Katie Lea Burchill was inadvertently knocked off of the ring apron by her brother, which allowed "The Emerald Knight" to hit the Eye of the Hurricane and defeat Burchill! What will Burchill do next in his crusade to expose The Hurricane?

In tag team action, the unique team of "The Celtic Warrior" Sheamus & "The Gold Standard" Shelton Benjamin defeated the team of "The Bizarre One" Goldust & "The New Japanese Buzzsaw" Yoshi Tatsu. The match came to a conclusion after Sheamus laid Goldust out with a boot to the face and Benjamin tagged himself in and pinned Goldust to pick up the win for his team. Wanting to pin his recent rival, "The Celtic Warrior", despite winning the match, was unhappy with Benjamin to say the least. The war of words between these two turned into a physical battle as the two ended up brawling in and out of the ring until a slew of referees came out and separated the two combatants!

"The Long Island Loudmouth" Zack Ryder was in action, picking up a win over Rory Fargo.

Then it was time for the main event as ECW Champion Christian teamed with "ECW Original" Tommy Dreamer to face off with William Regal’s personal bodyguards, Ezekiel Jackson & "The Soviet War Machine" Vladimir Kozlov. With some assistance from William Regal on the outside, "Big Zeke" was able to plant Tommy Dreamer with Total Domination to pick up the win for himself and Kozlov. After the match, Regal sent a strong message to Christian for Breaking Point by locking Christian’s good friend, Tommy Dreamer, in the Regal Stretch! The ECW Champion tried to come to the rescue of his befallen friend, but the #1 Contender, William Regal, delivered a vicious kick to the skull of Christian! What will happen this Sunday at Breaking Point when Christian defends the ECW Title against William Regal? With Regal’s "Trio of Destruction" in his corner in Montreal, can Christian possibly retain the title or will the Regal regime commence with William Regal becoming the new ECW Champion?

The 22nd edition of WWE Superstars came to you from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL and from the Rockford MetroCentre in Rockford, IL. United States Champion Kofi Kingston would team with the high-flying Primo to take on the team of The Miz & "The All-American American" Jack Swagger, plus the #1 Contender for the Intercontinental Title, Dolph Ziggler, would go one-on-one with Slam Master J. The Divas from ECW would be in action as Nikki Bella would square off with "The Scarlet Witch" Katie Lea Burchill.

The opening match of the night was courtesy of SmackDown as "The Big Red Machine" Kane picked up an impressive win over "The Asian Redneck" Jimmy Wang Yang. However, Yang’s night was not over as "The Big Red Monster" grabbed a Singapore cane and sent a strong message to The Great Khali for Breaking Point by wearing Yang out with the weapon! What will happen this Sunday night when Kane and The Great Khali square off in a Singapore Cane Match? Which monster will reach their breaking point in Montreal?

From ECW, "The Celtic Warrior" Sheamus picked up a win over "The New Japanese Buzzsaw" Yoshi Tatsu. What or who is next for the pride of the New Superstar Initiative- Sheamus?

The Divas of ECW were in action as "The Seductive Sibling" Katie Lea Burchill would go one-on-one with one-half of The Bella Twins- Nikki Bella. However, when the referee’s attention was elsewhere, the Bellas performed their famous switch with Nikki Bella rolling to the outside while her identical twin sister, Brie Bella, took her place and pinned Katie Lea Burchill to pick up the win for Nikki Bella.

Last week on WWE Superstars, Dolph Ziggler won a Fatal 4-Way Match to become the #1 Contender for the Intercontinental Title and on this week’s Superstars, "The Name Dropper" picked up a win over Slam Master J in part of SmackDown’s contribution to Superstars. Will this roll that Dolph Ziggler is on lead to the Intercontinental Championship for the brash, but talented, SmackDown star?

Then it was time for the main event, courtesy of RAW, as United States Champion Kofi Kingston teamed with Primo to take on The Miz & Jack Swagger. In the end, it was The Miz pinning the United States Champion for the win for himself and Swagger! By pinning the United States Champion, has The Miz proven that he is ready for a one-on-one title match with the champion? Will The Miz’s prophecy come true with him winning the United States Championship?

It was announced on various wrestling websites on late Friday afternoon that recently departed WWE Superstar, Jeff Hardy, has been arrested in his home in Cameron, NC. According to The Pilot (the local Moore County newspaper), "[Jeff Hardy] was arrested after a search of his residence yielded 262 Vicodin prescription pills, 180 Soma prescription pills, 555 milliliters of anabolic steroids, a residual amount of powder cocaine and items of drug paraphernalia, according to a press release."

The former World Champion is currently in the Moore County jail with bail set at $250,000 and is being charged with felony drug trafficking in opium, two counts of felony drug possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule III controlled substance, felony maintaining a dwelling to keep controlled substances, felony possession of cocaine, and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

Jeff Hardy’s initial release from his WWE contract in 2002 was due to Jeff refusing to go to a drug rehabilitation facility. Jeff would return to the WWE in 2006, but would twice fail the WWE Wellness Policy, earning him a 30-day suspension for his first offense, a 60-day suspension for his second offense and, if a third occurred, he would be released from his contract again.

Jeff Hardy left the WWE on August 25 to recover from various injuries and to pursue other interests, including a new reality show and working with his band. Keep an eye on www.wrestling101.com and my Twitter updates at wrestling101 for all the latest on this breaking story.

The 525th edition of WWE SmackDown came to you from the Rockford MetroCentre in "Forest City"- Rockford, IL. Just two days before defending his World Heavyweight Title in a Submission Match against The Undertaker, CM Punk would go one-on-one with Matt Hardy in a non-title Submission Match! Also, The Undertaker would make an appearance on the show.

The show opened with an appearance by The Undertaker, who vowed to regain the World Heavyweight Title at Breaking Point and, once again, "cast his shadow over SmackDown". Undertaker stated that CM Punk is overcome with "fear" of facing The Undertaker and his devastating submission maneuver- Hell’s Gate. "The Phenom" states that CM Punk will submit at Breaking Point and that he will not only take the World Heavyweight Title from CM Punk, but will also take his "soul"! Undertaker then stated that, at Breaking Point, "the symphony of lies will end". The World Heavyweight Champion himself, CM Punk, then comes out and tells Undertaker that the fans believe in The Undertaker and his "powers", but that Undertaker realistically has no chance of taking the World Heavyweight Title from him at Breaking Point! "The Straightedge Champion" then proclaims that he is "stronger" than The Undertaker’s past "victims". The confident champion then vows to make Matt Hardy tap out to the Anaconda Vise! CM Punk then proclaims that, after Breaking Point, the fans will have no choice but to join him and "just say no". The Undertaker responded by telling Punk that the three words the fans will be saying will not be "just say no", but will be "rest in peace"! Both men are confident heading into Breaking Point, but who will emerge as the champion?

The opening match of the night was a brutal Belfast Brawl between "The Fighting Irishman" Finlay and "The Doctor of Pain" Mike Knox. In one of the most grueling Belfast Brawls in history, it was Finlay using the trusty shillelagh that led to the Irishman winning the hardcore contest!

The Great Khali was set for action on SmackDown against David Hart Smith, but the match was never able to get underway as "The Big Red Machine" Kane blind-sided "The Punjabi Nightmare" and assaulted Khali. However, when Kane brought a Singapore cane into the ring, Khali was able to counter and end up laying Kane out with the Punjabi Plunge! What will happen this Sunday at Breaking Point when these two giants are swinging Singapore canes at one another? Which monster will be left standing?

Two nights before they defended their titles against the team of MVP & Mark Henry, Unified Tag Team Champions Big Show & Chris Jericho were in action on SmackDown, picking up an impressive win over their opponents from SummerSlam, Cryme Tyme. Will Big Show & Chris Jericho be able to the do the same at Breaking Point or will MVP & Mark Henry prove to be the perfect team to dethrone Show & Jericho?

Backstage, WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon meets up with SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long and implores the GM to improve SmackDown. Long responds by informing the Chairman that he plans to "change the face of SmackDown" next week and that he has something "excellent" in store for Breaking Point this Sunday! What could the General Manager have planned for this Sunday? What kind of huge decision will Long have regarding SmackDown and what effect will it have on Friday Nights?

New Intercontinental Champion John Morrison was in action on SmackDown, "The Guru of Greatness" picked up a win over Charlie Haas. After the match, Morrison stated that he "would not be champion without Rey Mysterio" and praised the former champion and vowed to give Rey a rematch for the Intercontinental Title anytime he wants it. The #1 Contender for the Intercontinental Title, Dolph Ziggler, comes out and declares that Morrison’s respect for Mysterio "sickens" him and that he earned his opportunity at the Intercontinental Championship and he wants his chance. Showing that he is a fighting champion, "The Friday Night Delight" offers Ziggler the chance to have the match then, but Ziggler refuses, stating that he wants the match on his "terms". The Intercontinental Champion responds by getting in the head of the #1 Contender and calling him "Mr. Ziggles" and leading a "Mr. Ziggles" chant from the crowd. As the chants persisted, Dolph threatened to leave the stage, which was met with raucous applause! When the chanting did not stop, Ziggler did as promised and left the stage! When will we see these two impressive Superstars do battle over the prestigious Intercontinental Championship?

With Women’s Champion Michelle McCool in her corner, Layla went one-on-one with former Women’s Champion, Melina. In the end, it was an opportunistic shot to the ribs with her crutch, that allowed Michelle McCool to assist Layla in getting the upset win! How will Melina respond to being cheated out of a match by the Women’s Champion?

Backstage, R-Truth is being interviewed when he is attacked for the third week in a row by Drew McIntyre! The angry Scotsman brutally assaults R-Truth just like he has done the two previous weeks, but referees are finally able to get control of the situation. What will happen when R-Truth finally gets a hold of Drew McIntyre?

Then it was time for the main event as World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk squared off with Matt Hardy in a non-title Submission Match. Despite putting up a good fight against "The Straightedge Champion", Matt Hardy had no choice but to tap out when Punk locked in the devastating Anaconda Vise on his opponent! After the match, the familiar gong rang throughout the arena and the lights went out. When the lights came back on, The Undertaker appeared on the stage holding the World Heavyweight Title! In his 19-year career, The Undertaker has never tapped out to any opponent, will CM Punk make history this Sunday by forcing the immortal "Phenom" to submit or will The Undertaker’s prophecy come true at Breaking Point with him being crowned the new World Heavyweight Champion?

Superstar of the Week: Randy Orton

The debut edition of WWE Breaking Point will come to you, live on pay-per-view, this Sunday from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada!

For Randy Orton and John Cena, the winner of the match will be the WWE Champion, but the loser will be forced to speak the two words that no man wants to say; the two words and five letters that tell your opponent that you have had enough. Those two words are "I Quit". When Randy Orton defends the WWE Championship against John Cena this Sunday at Breaking Point, there will be no way out for "The Viper". At SummerSlam, Orton used absolutely every method he could possibly conjure up to walk out of the event as WWE Champion and was finally able to do so with plenty of backup. This Sunday at Breaking Point, Orton will not have that option as it has been announced that, if anyone interferes on Randy Orton’s behalf at Breaking Point, then Orton will be stripped of the WWE Championship. With no "plan B", no Legacy, and no rules to help him out, will Orton be able to hang on to the WWE Championship by forcing John Cena to speak the unspeakable two words, "I Quit" or will John Cena show his will to win and force Orton to utter "I Quit" and walk out of Montreal the WWE Champion once again?

At SummerSlam, CM Punk defeated Jeff Hardy in Jeff’s own specialty, a TLC Match, to claim the World Heavyweight Title. However, after the match, a dark cloud appeared over the title reign of "The Straightedge Champion" as The Undertaker returned and laid out the new champion with a chokeslam! When "The Phenom" returned to SmackDown the following week, CM Punk was drilled through the announce table by The Undertaker. When these two compete in a Submission Match for the World Heavyweight Title this Sunday at Breaking Point, who will force their opponent to submit and emerge the World Heavyweight Champion? Will CM Punk make history and force The Undertaker to submit in the 19-year career of "The Deadman" or will The Undertaker teach CM Punk the true meaning of pain by forcing the champion to submit to Hell’s Gate?

Ever since aligning himself with Ezekiel Jackson & Vladimir Kozlov, William Regal has been unstoppable on ECW. After an embarrassingly quick loss at SummerSlam, the 2008 King of the Ring earned himself another opportunity at the ECW Championship. With his "ruthless roundtable" in his corner this Sunday, can William Regal dethrone Christian and become the new ECW Champion or will "Captain Charisma" find a way to combat this evil alliance and leave Breaking Point with the ECW Title intact?

Ever since D-Generation X reformed, Legacy has been a constant thorn in the side of the legendary group. Before SummerSlam, the young duo crashed the return of DX and laid both multiple-time World Champions out. At SummerSlam, Legacy lost to DX, but put up an impressive effort against Triple H & Shawn Michaels. When these two teams face off in the first ever Submissions Count Anywhere Match this Sunday, will youth prevail over experience in an unprecedented win by Legacy or will D-Generation X show Legacy who they are messing with?

With a big assist by Floyd "Money" Mayweather on RAW a few weeks ago, the team of MVP & Mark Henry was able to defeat Unified Tag Team Champions Big Show & Chris Jericho to earn a title opportunity at Breaking Point. Ever since become the new #1 Contenders, MVP & Mark Henry have gotten the better of Big Show & Chris Jericho with MVP pinning Jericho and Mark Henry actually being able to lift up and slam Big Show, will MVP & Mark Henry continue to get the better of Show & Jericho this Sunday and walk out of Montreal as the Unified Tag Team Champions or will the veteran team of Big Show & Chris Jericho prove to be the better of the two teams?

For months, "The Big Red Monster" Kane has been tormenting The Great Khali by attacking Khali’s younger brother, Ranjin Singh. However, Kane has frequently ducked Khali when time to face the big man, but recently, Kane and Khali have butted heads multiple times; including a match at SummerSlam where Kane came out on top by controversial means. At Breaking Point, these two giants will face each other once again, but this time, it will be in a Singapore Cane Match! Will Khali finally get a measure of revenge for Kane’s torment of himself and Ranjin Singh or will Kane use the Singapore cane to his advantage and be able to defeat "The Punjabi Nightmare"?