This Week In WWE: Edition LXXVIII
October 25, 2009- October 31, 2009
Welcome to the seventy-eighth 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 inaugural edition of WWE Bragging Rights came to you, live on pay-per-view, from Mellon Arena in the “Steel City” of Pittsburgh, PA. The true “Iron Man” would be determined in the “Steel City” as Randy Orton would defend the WWE Championship against John Cena in an Anything Goes 1-Hour WWE Iron Man Match where, if John Cena loses, he will be forced to leave RAW forever. A Fatal 4-Way would determine the World Heavyweight Champion as The Undertaker defended the title against three former World Heavyweight Champions in “The Choice of a New Generation” CM Punk, “The Ultimate Underdog” Rey Mysterio, & “The Animal” Batista. Three RAW Vs. SmackDown matches would take place to determine which brand would have “bragging rights”. In a special Champion Vs. Champion match, former friends and tag team partners would go head-to-head as the United States Champion, The Miz, from RAW would face the Intercontinental Champion, John Morrison, from SmackDown. The Divas would have their say in which brand is the best as Divas Champion Melina, Gail Kim, & Kelly Kelly represent RAW against the SmackDown team of Women’s Champion Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, & Natalya in a 6-Diva Tag. Finally, the “big one” to determine brand supremacy would be the huge 7-on-7 Bragging Rights Tag Match as the co-captains of Team RAW, D-Generation X, would lead Big Show, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston, & Mark Henry against the new Team SmackDown who, co-captained by Chris Jericho & Kane, would consist of Matt Hardy, R-Truth, Finlay, & The Hart Dynasty; Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith. Whoever is the first to win two of the three matches would be declared the superior brand.
WWE Bragging Rights
Good Night For: Team SmackDown (with a large assist by Big Show, won the Bragging Rights trophy)
Bad Night For: Rey Mysterio (was turned on and dismantled by his best friend, Batista)
And In Other News…
On a night that was clearly all about “bragging rights”, the appropriately-named pay-per-view kicked off with the first of three RAW Vs. SmackDown matches as United States Champion The Miz, from RAW, went head-to-head with his former friend and tag team partner, Intercontinental Champion John Morrison, from SmackDown, in a non-title Champion Vs. Champion contest. Being former tag team champions together served both champions well in this contest as counters were the name of the game, but in the end, it was The Miz capitalizing an attempt at Starship Pain by John Morrison that led to Miz getting the duke over his friend-turned-enemy and setting the precedent for RAW with a 1-0 lead in the RAW Vs. SmackDown war for brand supremacy with the winning brand getting the special Bragging Rights trophy to prove their dominance.
Backstage, Team SmackDown member R-Truth confronts Team RAW member Cody Rhodes and Rhodes calls Truth a “second rate competitor on second rate team on a second rate show” to which R-Truth responds by telling the Legacy member that Rhodes would not be in the WWE if it was not for his father, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, and would not be at the level he is at if it were not for the WWE Champion Randy Orton. Truth added that Rhodes most notable career moment would be him getting pinned in the Bragging Rights Tag Match! Fellow Team RAW member, Big Show, stepped in and told R-Truth that Truth has learned well from the co-captain of Team SmackDown, Chris Jericho, as Truth is taking “cheap shots” at Rhodes. “The World’s Largest Athlete” then tells Truth that Team RAW will let their “actions” do the talking. Tempers are flaring between the two teams, but who will be the dominant brand after the 7-on-7 Tag Match?
The Divas also took part in the war for brand supremacy the SmackDown trio of Women’s Champion Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, & Natalya picked up the win over the RAW team of Divas Champion Melina, Gail Kim, & Kelly Kelly. With the SmackDown Divas’ hands raised in victory, SmackDown ties the overall score with RAW at 1-1! Who will earn the Bragging Rights trophy in the monumental 7-on-7 RAW Vs. SmackDown Bragging Rights Tag Match?
Brand supremacy was not the only thing on the line at Bragging Rights as the World Heavyweight Championship was on the line in a Fatal 4-Way Match as The Undertaker defended the gold against “The Straightedge Superstar” CM Punk, “The Ultimate Underdog” Rey Mysterio, & “The Animal” Batista. When it was all said and done, it was Undertaker who drilled Batista with a Tombstone Piledriver and pinned “The Animal” to retain the World Heavyweight Title!
While The Undertaker earned a hard-fought victory in a chaotic Fatal 4-Way Match to retain the World Heavyweight Title, the big story took place between two of the four competitors in that match after the match was over. After the match concluded, Rey Mysterio assisted his friend, Batista, to his feet after “The Animal” suffered the Tombstone Piledriver at the hands of The Undertaker. An exasperated Mysterio commented on the match and stated that he and Batista did their “best” and optimistically proclaims that there will be “another day” for them to win the World Heavyweight Title. Back to his feet, Batista asks Rey if they were “close” to capturing the title. That’s when things took a dark turn as Batista told Mysterio that he thinks that “he” was “close” and that he is “tired of his best friend stabbing him in the back”! As Mysterio tried to calm the situation with “The Animal”, Batista assured Rey that he was “not playing” and told the man that calls Batista a member of his “family” that he was going to “rip his head off”! An unstable and irate Batista then waylaid Mysterio with a vicious clothesline! In a true example of changing his “spots”, Batista continued the brutal and emotionally charged assault on Mysterio; sending the helpless Mysterio to the outside of the ring. As “The Animal” grabbed Rey by the skull, a broken Mysterio tried to talk Batista out of it and begged Batista to stop, but “The Animal” viciously tossed Mysterio into the barricade and followed it up with a heinous kick to the skull of Mysterio! As the fans in attendance sat in total shock, Batista finally exited as referees came to the aid of Rey Mysterio. Batista took out his frustrations on someone he once considered his “family”, but the question is: why did Batista assault Rey Mysterio? How will Mysterio respond to the attack by Batista?
With The Miz scoring a fall for RAW and the SmackDown Divas scoring a fall for SmackDown, all sides were even as the Bragging Rights Tag Match got underway as seven of the best RAW Superstars teamed up to face seven of the best SmackDown Superstars. Team RAW would be headed up by co-captains and RAW staples, Triple H & Shawn Michaels, as DX led the team of “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show, the second-generation Superstar Cody Rhodes, “The All-American American” Jack Swagger, the former United States & Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston, & “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry against SmackDown co-captains Chris Jericho & Kane, with their team consisting of Matt Hardy, R-Truth, Finlay, & The Hart Dynasty. With so much on the line, the big tag match eventually broke down and the chaos all started with Kofi Kingston hitting Trouble in Paradise on Chris Jericho. When it looked like Kofi would score the upset and pin SmackDown co-captain, Chris Jericho, The Hart Dynasty intervened and prevented their team from losing the match. However, both members of The Hart Dynasty were taken out of the equation after Mark Henry mowed down Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith! The North Carolinian connection of Matt Hardy & R-Truth were able to take Mark Henry out of the match, but while this was going on, Finlay took out Cody Rhodes, followed by Jack Swagger coming in and laying Finlay out with the Swagger Bomb! SmackDown co-captain, Kane, then laid Swagger out with a big boot, but “The Big Red Machine” was nearly split in two following a huge Spear by Big Show! After all this chaos, Kofi Kingston climbed the top rope and was about to launch himself onto Chris Jericho until Big Show looked to offer Kofi some extra leverage. However, Big Show grabbed his RAW teammate by the throat and delivered a huge chokeslam off of the top rope! Witnessing this betrayal, RAW co-captain Triple H started to enter the ring to confront Big Show, but the Benedict Arnold of Team RAW leveled “The Game” with a devastating right hand! After doing his damage, Big Show walked out of the match and Chris Jericho was slowly able to recover and pin Kofi Kingston for the win! Though by very controversial means, Team SmackDown defeated Team RAW and claimed the Bragging Rights trophy and celebrated their brand supremacy! How will the Superstars of Monday Night RAW react to the betrayal by Big Show? What made Big Show decide to turn on his own teammates?
Even after the RAW Vs. SmackDown Bragging Rights Tag Match had concluded, tempers were still running high in the backstage area as Cody Rhodes confronted Kofi Kingston and blamed the loss on Kofi! Rhodes then assaulted Kofi and left Kingston laying! How will Kofi respond to this assault by Cody Rhodes?
After more than two years of battling over the WWE Championship, one of the greatest rivalries would come to a head at WWE Bragging Rights as Randy Orton would defend the WWE Title against John Cena in an Anything Goes 1-Hour WWE Iron Man Match with the stipulation that, if John Cena loses, he must leave RAW forever! Before the match got underway, the rules of the WWE Iron Man Match were clarified to include that pinfalls and submissions would count anywhere in the arena and that after every successful fall, there would be a thirty-second rest period for the Superstars. With so much on the line, Randy Orton & John Cena went to war one final time where the true “Iron Man” would be decided.
The first fall of the hour-long match was scored in the first four minutes of the match as John Cena locked in his STF on Randy Orton, which led to Orton immediately tapping out in an effort to save his energy to last the entire hour! With Cena taking the early 1-0 lead, the mandatory thirty-second rest period was in place.
After the thirty seconds of recovery time, the two bitter rivals went back to the match and just under the nine minute mark, Randy Orton was able to surprise John Cena with the RKO to tie the match at one fall a piece! With 51 minutes left in the match, the second rest period of the contest took place as both men prepared to square off again.
After the first two falls took place in the ring, the “Anything Goes” stipulation came into play as Orton & Cena took the match to the outside of the ring where the sadistic Orton began his plan to decimate John Cena. Orton starts the assault by leveling Cena with a television monitor from the announce table! Orton then grabs a microphone and blasts Cena in the skull with it! The shot with the microphone bloodied the head of the challenger, who refused any medical attention for his wound. After seeing the damage done to him by Randy Orton, John Cena got a rush of adrenaline and started pummeling the WWE Champion! The attack concluded with Cena setting Orton up for the Attitude Adjustment, but midway through the delivery of the maneuver, Orton grabbed the head of Cena which resulted to Cena hitting the Attitude Adjustment at the exact same time Orton hit the RKO! Not even aware of the situation, both men landed with their arm draped over their opponent’s chest, leading to the referee counting both men’s shoulders down for a three-count, earning both men a fall; keeping the match tied, but with two falls a piece!
With John Cena still recovering, the medics quickly tended to Cena and was able to temporarily “patch” the cut on Cena’s head in the thirty-second rest cycle.
With a little under forty-five minutes still left in the grueling contest, the warriors went back to the match and a few minutes later, Cena was able to score with the Attitude Adjustment on Orton off of the top rope, resulting in Cena earning the fall and taking the lead with a score of 3-2!
As soon as Cena scored his third fall of the match, Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase rushed to the ring to help Orton as Legacy attacked Cena! Proving that he is still a worthy member of Legacy, Ted DiBiase laid out Cena with Dream Street and then Legacy pulled Orton onto Cena for the pin, which scored Orton his third fall; evening up the match at three falls a piece! After being attacked by Cody Rhodes earlier in the evening, Kofi Kingston rushed out with a steel chair in hand and chased Legacy away from the ring!
With Kofi chasing Legacy away from the match, it was back to Orton against Cena as the two men resumed their grueling no holds barred war. The two men fought to the pyrotechnic area where Orton bounced the head of Cena off of the pyro board; igniting an explosion of pyro on the stage! The explosion looked like it had given Orton a sinister plan as Orton threw Cena through the lighting grid near the stage, resulting in an explosion of sparks! Orton then dragged Cena from the wreckage of lights and pinned Cena on the concrete to scored the 4-3 lead in the match!
During the rest period, Cena slowly crawled onto the stage as Orton investigated the pyrotechnic board. Once the match was back on, Orton grabbed a steel chair and blasted Cena in the back with it! Orton then laid his diabolical plan into place as he placed Cena over the area of the stage where the pyro explodes! Orton then went back to the board that controls the pyrotechnic explosions and assaulted to tech guy running the board. After the first button did nothing, an unstable Orton pressed a bunch of buttons at once, resulting in a massive pyro display on the stage! Luckily, Cena was narrowly able to escape the blast with just a bit of temporary blindness! Enraged that the pyro blast missed Cena Orton went back on the attack on Cena, brawling with the challenger back to ringside where Orton levels Cena with the steel steps! The fight returned to the ring and, about seven minutes after going through the lighting grid by the stage, Cena was able to surprise Orton with a roll-up to score his fourth fall and tie the match at four falls a piece!
Absolutely livid by the surprise roll-up, Orton went to the outside and delivered his patented suspended DDT onto the arena floor! After spiking Cena on the floor, Orton scored a fall to take lead at 5-4!
After being on the receiving end of Orton’s relentless assault for much of the match up to that point, Cena was finally able to mount some offense against “The Viper”! However, Orton would escape Cena’s offense and would go all the way to the stage in order to stall time for himself! With almost twenty-five minutes left in the contest, Cena pursued Orton on the stage where Orton regained control, but, once again, Orton high-tailed it back to the ring as soon as Cena got the advantage! Cena then made his way back to the ring, where Orton regained control again! Seeing that this plan was working, Orton took off once Cena gained momentum; this time taking off through the crowd. However, Cena was able to catch Orton before he got too far and Cena pummeled Orton throughout the crowd! Finally, Cena threw Orton back into the ringside area and continued to assault Orton. With revenge on his mind, Cena propelled Orton, not into, but through the barricade at ringside; leaving Orton and the barricade in a heap on the floor! With Orton out of commission for the moment, Cena took apart the steel steps and set the bottom half next to the announce table while he used the top half to level Orton with! Cena then reassembles the steel steps next to the announce table. Cena then carries a prone Orton to where the steel steps are set up an delivers the Attitude Adjustment through the announce table! After about twenty-five minutes, another fall was scored as Cena pinned Orton to tie the match at five falls each!
Cena then sets up a table in the ring and carries a lifeless Orton to ringside and rolls the WWE Champion in before placing him on the table. Cena then climbs to the top rope to deliver his signature leg drop, but when Cena takes flight, Orton rolls off of the table, which leads to Cena crashing through the table! After they both felt the unforgiving wrath of a table, Orton and Cena slowly got back into the match by brawling back and forth. It was Cena who regained momentum first and tried to take Orton down with a shoulder block, but Orton ducked out of the way and Cena plowed into the referee; taking the referee out of the match! When Cena turned around, Orton caught Cena with the RKO, but with the referee out of it, there was no one to count Orton’s fall. A second referee made his way to the ring, but enough time passed to allow Cena to kick out of the RKO! Orton then blamed the referee and shoved the referee down; taking the second referee out of the match! As the original referee recovers, Orton goes for the signature punt on Cena, but Cena is able to dodge the move! Cena then locked Orton in his STF and, unlike the beginning of the match, Orton hung on as long as he could, but with just four seconds remaining in the match, Orton tapped out; which gave Cena the sixth fall he needed to win the match and reclaim the WWE Championship! John Cena survived sixty minutes of hell with Randy Orton and came out the victor and is now a seven-time World Champion! Not only is Cena once again “The Champ”, but now he will remain a part of RAW! How will Randy Orton respond to losing the WWE Title? With Randy Orton out of the title picture as long as John Cena is champion, who will step up and become the new challenger for the WWE Title.
One night removed from WWE Bragging Rights, the 857th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the HSBC Arena in the second largest city in the state of New York- Buffalo. NASCAR’s Kyle Busch & Joey Logano would co-host RAW. Plus, one night after an incredible and grueling Anything Goes 1-Hour Iron Man Match against Randy Orton, the new WWE Champion John Cena would make his first appearance since winning his seventh World Title.
Monday Night RAW
Good Week For: Kofi Kingston (defeated Chris Jericho and got a measure of revenge over Randy Orton & Big Show)
Bad Week For: Big Show (paid for his crimes against RAW at the hands of DX, John Cena, and the RAW Roster)
And In Other News…
Just one night after Big Show betrayed Team RAW and Chris Jericho took advantage to win the Bragging Rights trophy for SmackDown, the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions opened Monday Night RAW with Chris Jericho proudly carrying the Bragging Rights trophy with him. Big Show was the first of the duo to speak and proclaimed that he is still a “proud member of RAW”! Chris Jericho backed his partner up by saying that Big Show is a “loyal man” and that he showed his loyalty to him and to Team SmackDown at Bragging Rights. Big Show tried to tell Jericho otherwise, but Jericho cuts “The World’s Largest Athlete” off and declares that Big Show did the “right thing”, as well as proclaiming that SmackDown would have won anyways because of his leadership of the team. Finally, Show blurts out that he did it for himself! Big Show then reveals that he “struck a deal” with SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long that, if he helped Team SmackDown defeat Team RAW, that he would be named the next challenger for The Undertaker’s World Heavyweight Championship! Taken aback by this announcement, Jericho asked his partner why Show did not run this by him, which sparked an argument between the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions. However, the bickering was interrupted by the squealing of tires as RAW co-hosts Kyle Busch & Joey Logano were using their special SmackDown Vs. RAW 2010 stock cars to do doughnuts in the parking lot! The rookie NASCAR racers then drove their cars right into the arena! After exiting their cars, Busch & Logano made their way to the ring. Once in the ring, the racing duo came face-to-face with the top team in the WWE today. Kyle Busch reveals that he approves of Big Show’s actions at Bragging Rights and shakes the hand of “The World’s Largest Athlete”, while Joey Logano voices his disapproval of Show’s betrayal and calls Big Show’s actions “weak”! Logano then reveals that he is putting Big Show in a one-on-one match against the man Big Show knocked out at Bragging Rights, Triple H! Not wanting to leave Chris Jericho out of the action, Kyle Busch placed Chris Jericho in a match against the victim of the betrayal and the man Jericho pinned at Bragging Rights, Kofi Kingston! Reeling from the betrayal and knockout punch by Big Show, Triple H has to have revenge on his mind, but how will “The Game” extract it?
As for Chris Jericho, he was up against Kofi Kingston in the opening contest as a fired up Kofi took it to the co-captain of Team SmackDown. Jericho looked to have the win after hitting the Codebreaker on Kofi, but the resilient Kingston was able to get his foot on the rope to stay in the match! While Jericho argued with the referee over the decision, Kofi recovered and, when Jericho turned around, Kofi hit Jericho with Trouble In Paradise and picked up the upset, as well as a measure of revenge! While Kofi earned a big fall over Chris Jericho, Kofi also took a “big fall” after exiting the ring as the former WWE Champion, Randy Orton, blind-sided Kofi and sent Kofi sailing off of the ramp with Kofi’s face bouncing off of the steel stage before landing on the concrete floor! After the forced fall, referees tended to the downed Kingston.
Backstage, an even more unstable Randy Orton explained his attack on Kofi Kingston by saying that Kofi “cost” him the WWE Championship at Bragging Rights and called the attack “justice” for Kofi’s interference. Orton then vows that he’s “only just begun” in his attack on Kofi Kingston! Legacy then approaches Orton and reveals that they have a “gift” for their mentor; a special stock car with a personalized Randy Orton paint job! With Orton mesmorized by the car, Legacy told Orton that they have another “surprise” in store and it involves the new WWE Champion John Cena! What does Legacy have planned for John Cena?
Backstage, after being hassled by both Jack Swagger and The Miz, RAW co-hosts Kyle Busch & Joey Logano revealed that, by the end of the night, they will announced the new #1 Contender for the WWE Championship! Who will the co-hosts deem to be worthy of a title shot?
The Divas Champion, Melina, was in action on RAW as she teamed with Santino Marella to defeat the team of former Divas Champion Jillian and Chavo Guerrero in a Mixed Tag Match, with a timely distraction by Hornswoggle. After the match, Hornswoggle was served with a “cease and desist” order from D-Generation X that stated that Hornswoggle must stop wearing the DX colors!
As the new WWE Champion, John Cena, was being introduced to the Buffalo crowd, Legacy interrupts and makes their way to the ring. Cody Rhodes states that “The Champ is not here” and said that Cena will have to “wait” for Legacy to get done before he can come out. Ted DiBiase then says that, per the stipulation of the Iron Man Match at Bragging Rights, Randy Orton can not challenge John Cena for the WWE Title, but that they can! The multi-generational duo then challenges John Cena to a title match at Survivor Series; either one-on-one with one of them or in a Handicap Match against both of them! After being called out by Legacy, John Cena comes out and declares that he does not need to “brag” about his match with Randy Orton at Bragging Rights and that the rivalry between the two of them “needed” to and has ended. “The Champ” then stated that, as the WWE Champion, he has the right to say “no more” when it comes to dealing with Randy Orton & Legacy like he has been doing. The new WWE Champion then declares that Legacy has not “earned” their title shot, but that he did talk to the RAW co-hosts and they agreed to put Legacy in a match against MVP & Mark Henry!
Legacy certainly did not earn any “points” towards getting a shot at the WWE Title as they lost their match to MVP & Mark Henry! After the match, the leader of Legacy, Randy Orton, came out and says that it appears as if he will not be the next challenger for John Cena’s WWE Title due to the stipulation put on the Iron Man Match. An unstable Orton then proclaims that he does not “care” what the rules say; that he deserves his title opportunity! Orton’s tirade is interrupted by Kofi Kingston, who appears on the big screen and tells Orton that “no one cares” what Orton has to say anymore! Orton then dares Kofi to come out and say it to his face, but Kofi points out that, in a way, he already is before revealing that he is standing on the hood of Orton’s custom stock car given to him by Legacy! With revenge on his mind, Kingston takes out a key and “keys” the side of Orton’s car; leaving several long scratches in the expensive paint job! Kofi then grabs a crowbar and bashes in the hood and windshield of the stock car! Finally, Kofi grabs a big bucket full of orange paint and covers the entire hood with it! As an irate Orton watches his expensive gift being vandalized, Kofi proclaims that Orton has “never looked better”. Given the psychotic history of Randy Orton, has Kofi Kingston made a huge mistake in further angering Orton?
One of the newest Divas on the RAW Roster, Eve Torres, served as Guest Ring Announcer as United States Champion The Miz took on Evan Bourne in a non-title match. In the middle of the match, “The All-American American” Jack Swagger makes his way to ringside and states that “no one is watching” The Miz’s match as they are all focused on Eve Torres, who is focused on him! Unable to concentrate on the match, Miz exits the ring and confronts Swagger, but both men are taken out when Evan Bourne takes flight and takes both men out! Bourne then rushes back into the ring and just narrowly beats the ten-count, but The Miz isn’t so fortunate as Miz gets counted out, given Bourne the count-out win over the United States Champion! How will The Miz respond to Jack Swagger costing him his match against Evan Bourne?
On next week’s RAW, legendary rocker, musician, and reality television star, Ozzy Osbourne, will host RAW with his wife, Sharon Osbourne; who is an author and a judge on “America’s Got Talent” in her right! What will the controversial rocker and his wife have in store for RAW next week?
“The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus made his debut on RAW as he picked up an impressive win over Jamie Noble! Now that Sheamus is a member of the RAW Roster, how will “The Celtic Warrior” fare in his new environment?
Then it was time for the main event as Triple H was out for revenge on behalf of himself and RAW as he went one-on-one with the man who turned on RAW at Bragging Rights, Big Show. The match begun, but Triple H quickly stopped and revealed that he talked to Kyle Busch & Joey Logano and they agreed to make the match a Lumberjack Match! “The Cerebral Assassin” then added that the lumberjacks for the match would be members of the RAW Roster; including members of Team RAW that were betrayed by Big Show directly! After hearing this news, Chris Jericho slowly backed away and exited through the crowd; leaving Big Show to deal with the situation on his own! The other half of DX, Shawn Michaels, then added even more by revealing that the match will have no disqualifications and the special referee would be none other than the new WWE Champion, John Cena! Now finding himself in a Lumberjack Match with no disqualifications and RAW Superstars surrounding the ring with the top RAW Superstar, John Cena, as the referee, Big Show started the match with Triple H and was actually in control of the match until Chris Masters grabbed the foot of Big Show from the outside. Show responded to the interference by pulling “The Masterpiece” into the ring and knocking Masters out with the devastating right hand! After knocking Masters out, Big Show went back to the match and had Triple H defeated, but John Cena refused to count for “The World’s Largest Athlete” and Big Show got in the face of “The Champ”. However, when Big Show turned around, he was met with a double dropkick by Primo & Chavo Guerrero! Show staggers back into the corner as Jack Swagger rushed in and hits a running clotheline on Show in the corner! Show shoves “The All-American American” down, but The Miz comes in and hits his own running clothesline on Show in the corner! Show still fights back and delivers a headbutt to the United States Champion! Mark Henry then enters the fray and hits a big corner splash on Big Show! Out on his feet, Big Show stumbles out of the corner and is finally knocked down with a big boot by MVP! With Show down, Evan Bourne scales the top rope and hits Air Bourne on “The World’s Largest Athlete”! Santino Marella comes in, but Big Show recovers and takes Marella out of the equation with a chokeslam! Show then turns around and, like his partner, Jericho, felt earlier, was hit with Trouble In Paradise by Kofi Kingston! The special referee, WWE Champion John Cena, then hits the Attitude Adjustment on Big Show! As Shawn Michaels “tunes up the band”, Triple H places a SmackDown shirt on Big Show followed by HBK delivering Sweet Chin Music to the RAW traitor! Triple H then hooks Big Show up and delivers the Pedigree and pins Big Show to win the match and earn retribution for Big Show’s betrayal at Bragging Rights!
John Cena and D-Generation X stood tall in the ring following the match, but then RAW co-hosts Kyle Busch & Joey Logano came out and made the big announcement regarding the new #1 Contender for the WWE Championship. In a shocking turn of events, the co-hosts announce that John Cena will defend the WWE Title at Survivor Series in a Triple Threat Match against Triple H & Shawn Michaels! Not only does John Cena have to defend the WWE Title in a Triple Threat Match against two of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time, but he has to defend the title against two men he considers his friends! Even more interesting is that the match will be a Triple Threat Match, meaning that best friends and DX teammates Triple H & Shawn Michaels will have to battle each other if one of them hopes to become the WWE Champion! With all these elements taken into account, can John Cena make it out of Survivor Series as the WWE Champion and will this match cause the dissention of D-Generation X? Will Triple H earn his fourteenth World Championship or will Shawn Michaels earn his first World Title since 2002 or will John Cena beat both veteran Superstars and retain the WWE Championship?
The 177th edition of ECW on Syfy came to you from the Blue Cross Arena in the largest “Rochester” in the United States- Rochester, NY. After defeating Zack Ryder last week to become the #1 Contender, Yoshi Tatsu would get his opportunity as he challenges Christian for the ECW Championship.
ECW on Syfy
Good Week For: Sheamus (in his last ECW match, defeated rival Shelton Benjamin)
Bad Week For: Yoshi Tatsu (did not win the ECW Title and was attacked after the match)
And In Other News…
ECW kicked off with The Abraham Washington Show as WWE Hall of Famer Tony Atlas introduced the host of the show, Abraham Washington, who came out and proclaimed that he is the “most entertaining” Superstar in the WWE before introducing his guest, the General Manager of ECW, Tiffany! The GM came out and Abe asked Tiffany about the lack of “impact” that ECW had at Bragging Rights. “The Beautiful Boss” stated that ECW was influential at Bragging Rights in the way that guys like Kofi Kingston & John Morrison got their start in ECW before moving on to RAW and SmackDown, respectively. The GM then delivers a “guarantee” that ECW will have a “big impact” at next year’s Bragging Rights event! When questioned about Sheamus leaving ECW for RAW, Tiffany revealed that “The Celtic Warrior” asked her if he could go to RAW and she agreed, but only if Sheamus had one last match against Shelton Benjamin! Abraham then asked Tiffany about her injured arm, but Tiffany’s answer was interrupted by William Regal and his “ruthless roundtable” of Ezekiel Jackson & Vladimir Kozlov! Once again, Regal asked Tiffany for another opportunity at the ECW Championship, which Tiffany refused; telling Regal that he will not get a title shot that night and may never get a title shot again! After Tiffany exits, William Regal snaps and destroys the set of The Abraham Washington Show!
As promised, the newest RAW Superstar, Sheamus, had his final match on ECW and was able to pull of an impressive victory over recent rival Shelton Benjamin! With two wins on back-to-back nights, will Sheamus continue his dominance on RAW?
Backstage, Gregory Helms is confronted by Paul Burchill and his sister, Katie Lea Burchill. “The Ripper” tells Helms to tell his “friend”, The Hurricane to meet him in the ring next week, to which Helms states that Hurricane “will be there”! What does Paul Burchill have in store for The Hurricane next week?
Then it was time for the main event as Christian defended the ECW Title against his protégé as of late, Yoshi Tatsu. While the two Superstars had an incredible match, it was the veteran Christian who was able to hit the Killswitch and retain the title! After the match, Christian tended to Tatsu, but both men were attacked by Ezekiel Jackson & Vladimir Kozlov! As William Regal entered the ring, Regal’s cohorts sent Yoshi Tatsu out of the ring and focused their attack on Christian, leaving the ECW Champion laid out in the ring! William Regal then stood over the fallen champion with the ECW Title in hand. How will Tiffany respond to the actions of Regal and company? How will Christian & Yoshi Tatsu react?
The 29th edition of WWE Superstars came to you from the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY and from the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, NY. Four days after teaming up with Chris Jericho, Kane, & Matt Hardy as a part of the winning Team SmackDown at Bragging Rights, R-Truth would oppose The Hart Dynasty as Cryme Tyme joined R-Truth to face Mike Knox & The Hart Dynasty in a 6-Man Tag. “The All-American American” Jack Swagger would be looking to keep his 2009 undefeated streak intact as he faced Primo one-on-one. Familiar foes would also do battle as Zack Ryder would go one-on-one with Tyler Reks.
WWE Superstars
Good Week For: Jack Swagger (continued his undefeated streak by defeating Primo)
Bad Week For: Kelly Kelly (after defeating Gail Kim last week, was defeated by Alicia Fox)
And In Other News…
The opening match of the night was from RAW as “The All-American American” Jack Swagger took one step further in remaining undefeated for the rest of 2009 by defeating Primo. Will Swagger be able to avoid a pin or submission loss for the next two months?
The RAW Divas were in action on Superstars as Alicia Fox picked up a victory over Kelly Kelly. Has Alicia Fox taken one step closer to getting another shot at the Divas Title?
The Superstars of ECW were also represented as Zack Ryder defeated Tyler Reks.
The main event of the evening saw three of the seven members of the winning Team SmackDown from Bragging Rights in action as R-Truth & Cryme Tyme picked up the win over Mike Knox & The Hart Dynasty in a 6-Man Tag.
On the eve of Halloween and five nights after WWE Bragging Rights, the 532nd edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the Blue Cross Arena in America’s largest “Rochester”- Rochester, NY. Five nights after being assaulted by his “family”, Batista, Rey Mysterio would be looking for answers from “The Animal” on SmackDown.
Friday Night SmackDown
Good Week For: Chris Jericho (defeated Kane to get a shot at the World Heavyweight Title at Survivor Series)
Bad Week For: Scott Armstrong (was forced to compete by Mr. McMahon, against CM Punk)
And In Other News…
As the General Manager of the winning brand at Bragging Rights, Theodore Long proudly made his way to the ring to open the show. The SmackDown GM started by congratulating Team SmackDown on their win over Team RAW at Bragging Rights and clinching the 2009 Bragging Rights trophy. Long proclaimed that, with the win at Bragging Rights, SmackDown is now officially the “a show” in the WWE! Long’s mood changed as he discussed a darker portion of Bragging Rights that took place after the Fatal 4-Way for the World Heavyweight Title where Batista viciously assaulted his friend, Rey Mysterio. Long vowed that the two would “settle their differences” later in the night! The GM starts to discuss Big Show becoming the new #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title when the co-captain of the winning Team SmackDown, Chris Jericho, interrupted Long! As has been the case all week, Jericho was carrying the Bragging Rights trophy, until Jericho arrived in the ring as Long told Jericho that the trophy is the “property of SmackDown” and took the trophy from an unhappy Jericho. Jericho tells the GM that the trophy “belongs” to him and proclaims that he is the one, and only one, who is responsible for Team SmackDown’s win at Bragging Rights. The narcissistic Jericho then said that he didn’t win for SmackDown or Theodore Long, that he won it for himself! Jericho then turns his attention to the World Heavyweight Title picture and calls Long’s decision to make Big Show the #1 Contender “underhanded” seeing as Big Show is not even a SmackDown Superstar. Jericho then proclaimed that he should be the champion, before the other co-captain of Team SmackDown, Kane, interrupts! “The Big Red Machine” reminds the Unified Tag Team Champion that he was a co-captain of the team and that Jericho did not do it alone. Kane then states that he deserves a title shot! In a questionable move, Jericho stood up to Kane and states that he is the won who scored the winning pin in the Bragging Rights Tag Match and calls himself the “hero of SmackDown” before telling Kane to get out of his face! Fed up with Jericho’s bravado, Kane grabbed Jericho by the throat and was ready to chokeslam Jericho until Theodore Long pleaded with Kane to put Jericho down. Kane eventually listened and aggressively put Jericho down. Once the two Superstars were separated, Long, in an effort to match the RAW main event, announced that the World Heavyweight Title match at Survivor Series will be a Triple Threat Match as The Undertaker defends against Big Show and either Chris Jericho or Kane! Long then proclaims that Kane and Jericho will face off in the main event to determine who will be the third man in the championship match! Who will win the match and become the third piece of the Triple Threat puzzle at Survivor Series? Will the Triple Threat be a “monster mash” between The Undertaker, Big Show, & Kane or will Jericho be the “wild card” in the Triple Threat?
As familiar adversaries, Intercontinental Champion John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler were set to face off in a non-title match, Dolph Ziggler proclaims that he “likes his chances” against John Morrison since Morrison was the only SmackDown Superstar to lose at Bragging Rights! Dolph then states that “they” did their part, but Morrison did not do his. The Intercontinental Champion responded by calling Dolph’s proclamations “premature” seeing as Dolph was not even a part of Bragging Rights, following it up by saying that Dolph is familiar with being “premature” and that Maria knows all about it!
After the insults flew, it was time for these two to face off as Intercontinental Champion John Morrison squared off with Dolph Ziggler in a non-title bout. The match came to an end when both men were on the outside of the ring and Dolph lifted Morrison up and slammed him on the announce table! Dolph then rushed into the ring and was able to defeat the Intercontinental Champion via count-out! With this win, will Dolph get another shot at the Intercontinental Championship?
Backstage, CM Punk confronts SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long and WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon protesting the World Heavyweight Title match at Survivor Series, saying that he should be in the match and that he would be champion had it not been for referee Scott Armstrong last week. Mr. McMahon agrees with the statement made by CM Punk and announces that CM Punk will be in action later in the night against referee Scott Armstrong! How can Scott Armstrong possibly survive a one-on-one match against a three-time World Heavyweight Champion?
“The Glamazon” Beth Phoenix made her in-ring SmackDown debut as she picked up a dominate win over a childhood rival of hers; Jenny Brooks! Phoenix looks to be a tear en route to getting a shot at the Women’s Title. Will Phoenix get a shot at regaining the gold?
In a rematch from two weeks ago, Matt Hardy took on Eric Escobar and, even with an injured knee, Matt was able to place the first loss on Eric Escobar! How will Escobar and girlfriend Vickie Guerrero react to this loss?
An emotional and confused Rey Mysterio made an appearance on SmackDown to try and get some answers for the savage beating he suffered at the hands of Batista at Bragging Rights. Rey stated that Batista hurt him more emotionally than he did physically, but that he still considers Batista his “family” and that their friendship means more to him than seeking revenge for the attack! Rey then says that he is giving Batista the “benefit of the doubt” and states that he is “disappointed” in Batista’s actions. Rey then asks Batista to come to the ring so they can “settle things like family”. An emotionally void Batista comes out and says that Rey “doesn’t get it” and states that he is going to be the “bigger man” and give Rey the chance to exit “his ring”. Mysterio contemplated the offer, but refused! Mysterio then told Batista that he is willing to “let it go” if Batista does the same and says that “brothers fight all the time” and that they will always be “family”. Batista responded by saying that it took “little effort” for him to leave Rey laying at Bragging Rights and orders Rey to get out of the ring. Rey said that if he knew the consequences, he would have never would have taken part in the Fatal 4-Way Match for the World Heavyweight Title at Bragging Rights and that accepting the match was a big “mistake”. Batista again tells Rey to leave the ring, but Rey refuses again, saying that he is not leaving until things are settled between them! Rey reminds Batista of all the times, good and bad, that they have been through and tells Rey to “look at Eddie”. Batista responds coldly by saying that “Eddie’s dead” and says that he is not thinking about Rey, that he is thinking about himself! Batista then exits the ring, leaving a stunned Rey Mysterio alone in the ring. It seems as though Rey has received more questions than answers in his confrontation with Batista. What has caused Batista to act this way and say such harmful things to a man he once considered his “family”? What will Mysterio’s reaction be?
After his confrontation with Rey Mysterio, Batista is confronted by Matt Hardy backstage, who tells “The Animal” that he knows about “brothers with conflicts”, saying that there are a lot of things he has said or done to Jeff that he wishes he could take back and pleads with Batista not to make the “same mistakes” that he has in the past. Batista smirks at Matt before leaving, but as Matt turns his back, Batista reemerges and blindsides Matt, leaving Hardy lying on the concrete!
Later in the night, it was announced that, on next week’s SmackDown, Matt Hardy will get his shot at revenge against Batista as he faces “The Animal” one-on-one! Will Matt Hardy extract revenge for the attack or will this new frame of mind by Batista lead to Matt being at the mercy of “The Animal”?
Before his scheduled match, Drew McIntyre congratulated Team SmackDown on their win at Bragging Rights and revealing that he never wanted to be a part of the team in the first place! McIntyre then proclaims that he is out to make his “own impact” and that, for this opponent, “the party is over”! McIntyre’s opponent would be a member of the winning Team SmackDown at Bragging Rights, Finlay! However, before Finlay could enter the ring, McIntyre blasted “The Fighting Irishman” with a big boot! McInyre then brutally assaulted Finlay and left Finlay laying on the outside before exiting with a smile on his face as referees tend to Finlay. How will Finlay respond to this unexpected attack by Drew McIntyre?
With Halloween just a day away, Cryme Tyme appeared on SmackDown to host a Halloween Divas Costume Contest! Cryme Tyme then introduced the Divas of SmackDown as Women’s Champion Michelle McCool came out dressed up as the “devil’s advocate”, Natalya as a matador, Layla as the late, great “King of Pop” Michael Jackson, and Mickie James as Elektra! After each presenting their costumes, the audience unanimously decided that Mickie James was “Miss Halloween 2009”! After the contest had been determined, a brawl broke out between the four Divas; a brawl that ended with Michelle McCool leaving Mickie James lying! With so many Divas gunning for Michelle McCool and the Women’s Championship, how much longer can McCool survive as champion?
Then it was time for the unique match made earlier in the night by WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon as referee Scott Armstrong was forced to compete against CM Punk! Showing no remorse, “The Straightedge Superstar” verbally abused the respected referee; blaming Armstrong for him not being the champion and calling Armstrong “old man”. Having his manhood and pride called into question, Armstrong fought back against Punk with a short flurry of punches before CM Punk started the heinous assault of Armstrong! Punk continued to assault Armstrong and finally ended the one-sided contest with the GTS. After the match, Punk stood over a broken Armstrong and smiled about his “accomplishment”. Though Punk got “revenge” in his mind, it does not change the fact that Punk is not in the World Heavyweight Title match at Survivor Series. Will Punk continue to work towards a title shot or will Punk target someone else on the SmackDown Roster?
In the main event, it was Unified Tag Team Champion Chris Jericho who won a hard-fought match over Kane with an impressive Codebreaker to earn his spot in the Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series! Jericho will now be placed in a match against, not only reigning champion The Undertaker, but also against his tag team partner; the other half of the Unified Tag Team Champions Big Show! Will Jeri-Show team up against The Undertaker or will the “every man for himself” environment lead to the tag champions butting heads in the contest? Who will walk out of Survivor Series as the World Heavyweight Champion?
Superstar of the Week: NEW WWE Champion John Cena
Superstar Profile of the Week
Name: The Miz
Born On: October 8, 1980 in Parma, OH
Age: 29
Resides: Los Angeles, CA
Billed From: Cleveland, OH
Wrestler Since: 2003
Trained By: Al Snow, Bill DeMott, & UPW Staff
Accomplishments
One Time & Reigning United States Champion
Two Time Tag Team Champion (1x World & 1x WWE)
One Time World Tag Team Champion (w/ John Morrison)
One Time WWE Tag Team Champion (w/ John Morrison)
Two Time 2008 Slammy Award Winner
Next Week’s WWE Television Schedule
Monday, November 2: RAW, LIVE from the DCU Center in Worcester, MA
Tuesday, November 3: ECW on Syfy from the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, RI
Thursday, November 5: WWE Superstars from Worcester, MA & Providence, RI
Friday, November 6: The Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, RI hosts SmackDown