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WWE Week In Review: December 20, 2009- December 26, 2009

WWE Week in Review: Edition LXXXVI
December 20, 2009- December 26, 2009

Welcome to the eighty-sixth edition of the WWE Week in Review. 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. I have also added a section that lists where WWE will be hosting their weekly shows.

You can follow me on Twitter at Wrestling101com. I will be posting the latest news from the wrestling world via my Twitter account, as well as Wrestling101.com. Also, make sure and follow TWO on Twitter at talkwrestling for all the latest, as well.

The 865th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the St. Pete Times Forum in the fifth best outdoor American city of Tampa, FL. Two-time World Series Champion Johnny Damon would serve as the Guest Host of RAW. Plus, D-Generation X would make their mandatory appearance in “Little People’s Court”.

Monday Night RAW
Good Week For: Hornswoggle (got elected as the “mascot” for DX)
Bad Week For: Chris Jericho (had his plot to come back to RAW spoiled by Hornswoggle)

And The Rest of the Story…
RAW Guest Host Johnny Damon opened the show and stated that he is used to being a “player in a franchise”, but on RAW, he is “running the franchise”! The former Red Sox & Yankees player vowed that one RAW Superstar would get their “wish” granted by Santa Clause on RAW! Which RAW Superstar would receive this holiday treat?

Speaking of holiday treats, the opening match of the night was a Santa’s Little Helpers 6-Diva Tag Match and it saw Divas Champion Melina, Kelly Kelly, & Gail Kim defeat the team of Maryse, Alicia Fox, & Jillian.

Unified WWE Tag Team Champions D-Generation X made their mandatory appearance in “Little People’s Court” on RAW and, after being on trial underneath the ring by a jury of Hornswoggle’s peers, the legendary duo were found guilty of the charges brought upon them by Hornswoggle! What will be the sentence for D-Generation X?

The Randy Orton/Kofi Kingston saga continued on RAW as Kofi Kingston teamed up with Evan Bourne & Mark Henry to defeat Randy Orton & Legacy in 6-Man Tag action.

Former WWE Champion John Cena was in action on RAW, picking up a victory over “The All-American American” Jack Swagger. Can Cena stay true to his vow to remain undefeated until he regains the WWE Championship?

After their run-in at the Slammy Awards, Carlito and Chris Masters went one-on-one with Carlito being defeated by Chris Masters and the devastating Masterlock.

The new WWE Champion was in action for the first time since winning the title at WWE TLC as Sheamus picked up an impressive win over MVP. After the match, John Cena rushed to the ring and told the new champion that Sheamus “owes” him a rematch and that he wants it now! “The Celtic Warrior” responded to the challenge by backing away and exiting the ring!

Backstage, WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon catches up with Guest Host Johnny Damon and asks Damon what he, as the Guest Host, plans to do about the situation between Sheamus and John Cena. The Guest Host reveals that, on next week’s RAW, Sheamus will defend the WWE Championship against John Cena! On the last RAW of 2009, will Cena exit the year the same way he entered it; as a champion or will Sheamus solidify himself as a WWE Champion to reckon with?

After this major announcement, Johnny Damon, much like Dennis Miller did last week, questioned Mr. McMahon about Hall of Famer Bret Hart hosting RAW in the future! The WWE Chairman responded by referring to the subject as a “bah humbug” on the holidays!

World famous rapper and producer Timbaland will serve as the Guest Host of the final RAW of 2009 next week! What will the rap superstar have in store for the RAW Superstars?

United States Champion The Miz was in non-title action on RAW as he picked up a victory over the jolliest Italian Santa in the WWE, Santino Clause!

Backstage, Big Show reveals that he is heading to the ring to call out the “real Santa” and says that Santa will grant his “wish” or Santa will get “knocked out”!

As promised, Big Show came to the ring and proclaimed that he will get his “wish” from Santa and demands that “Jolly Old St. Nick” come to the ring! Flanked by The Bella Twins, Santa came to the ring. Due to the overwhelming size difference between Big Show and Santa, the legendary Clause opted to sit on the knee of Big Show! “The World’s Largest Athlete” then tells Santa that his “wish” is for Chris Jericho to be allowed back on RAW! Show stated that he wanted it “more than anything” and Santa granted the wish of Big Show and proclaimed that Jericho will return to RAW next week!

A suspicious Hornswoggle emerged from under the ring and confronted Santa before pulling the beard off of Clause to reveal that it was actually Chris Jericho! Hornswoggle quickly called in his own “army” as Hornswoggle was joined by his friends in his battle against Jeri-Show. After Jeri-Show quickly dispatched the “little army”, Hornswoggle delivered some “Sweet Shin Music” to Jericho! Fed up with the antics of Hornswoggle, Big Show grabbed a hold of Hornswoggle, but DX made the save for their little antagonist! After disposing of Jeri-Show, DX turn their attention to Hornswoggle and, after Triple H stated that he wanted to “squash” Hornswoggle, both Triple H & Shawn Michaels admitted that Hornswoggle has grown on them! HBK then asks Triple H if they can “keep him”, which Triple H responds to by alleging that DX has a “height requirement”! DX then negotiates with Hornswoggle that, if Hornswoggle drops the court case against them, then he can be the official “mascot” of D-Generation X! Hornswoggle agreed to the terms and the new DX “mascot” celebrated with the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions!

The 185th edition of ECW on Syfy came to you from the Amway Arena in the city that hosted WrestleMania XXIV- Orlando, FL. Qualifying Matches for The ECW Homecoming Finale Battle Royal would continue as former ECW Champion Jack Swagger would return to ECW to face Yoshi Tatsu with a spot in the Battle Royal on the line.

ECW on Syfy
Good Week For: Yoshi Tatsu & Vance Archer (both qualified for The ECW Homecoming Finale)
Bad Week For: Jack Swagger (lost his third match in a row)

And The Rest of the Story…
With Rosa Mendes cheering him on at ringside, the opening match of the night saw Zack Ryder pick up an impressive win over “The ECW Original” Tommy Dreamer.

In a Qualifying Match for The ECW Homecoming Finale Battle Royal, Vance Archer continued to dominate the ECW Roster; this time defeating the veteran Goldust to secure his spot in the Homecoming Battle Royal! Will Vance Archer continue his rise to the top of ECW by becoming the new #1 Contender for the ECW Championship?

The main event of the evening was a second Qualifying Match for The ECW Homecoming Finale Battle Royal and it saw Yoshi Tatsu pick up a hard-fought victory over “The All-American American” Jack Swagger to qualify for The ECW Homecoming Finale!

Next week’s ECW on Syfy will see former ECW Champion Matt Hardy go one-on-one with another former ECW Superstar in Evan Bourne with the fifth spot in The ECW Homecoming Battle Royal on the line! Which Superstar will join Yoshi Tatsu, Vance Archer, Ezekiel Jackson, & Kane in the Battle Royal to crown a new #1 Contender?

The 37th edition of WWE Superstars came to you, on Christmas Eve, from the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL and from the Amway Arena in Orlando, FL. In their third face-off in recent weeks, “The Big Red Machine” Kane would go one-on-one with Mike Knox. After their controversial match almost two weeks ago on ECW on Syfy, former teammates would face off again as Ezekiel Jackson would square off against Vladimir Kozlov. Two members of historic wrestling families would go one-on-one as Chavo Guerrero would face Primo.

WWE Superstars
Good Week For: Chavo Guerrero (broke his long losing streak by defeating Primo)
Bad Week For: Drew McIntyre (was on the wrong end of Starship Pain by John Morrison)
 
And The Rest of the Story…
The opening match of the night was from ECW and it saw former teammates Ezekiel Jackson & Vladimir Kozlov fight to a Double Count-Out after the match between these two behemoths broke down on the outside of the ring. Who will win the apparent stalemate between these two seemingly unstoppable forces?

WWE Superstars also hosted a Latin showdown between a member of the famous Guerrero family and a member of the famous Colon family with Chavo Guerrero facing Primo in the RAW contribution to the show! In the end, it was Chavo using the legendary Frog Splash of his late, great Uncle Eddie that secured the win for “The Latin Warrior”! After being on the losing side of a rivalry with Hornswoggle for much of the year, is this a sign that 2010 will be a better year for Chavo?

New Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre made an appearance on WWE Superstars and stated that Mr. McMahon was “right” in personally selecting Drew McIntyre as a part of SmackDown. The new champion proclaimed that he accomplished everything that he said he would accomplish. The former Intercontinental Champion, John Morrison, then interrupted the new champion! The determined ex-champion revealed that, on the New Year’s Day edition of SmackDown, Drew McIntyre will make his first defense of the Intercontinental Title against John Morrison! “The Friday Night Delight” then vowed to “beat” McIntyre on New Year’s Day! This results in a brawl breaking out between champion and challenger; an encounter that ended with John Morrison hitting Starship Pain on the new Intercontinental Champion! Come the first day of the new year, will John Morrison regain the Intercontinental Championship or will 2010 kick off with the continuation of Drew McIntyre’s meteoric rise?

SmackDown hosted the main event as Kane & Mike Knox squared off for the third time in recent weeks with Kane getting his third win in a row over Mike Knox!

The 540th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you on Christmas Day from the Amway Arena in the site of WrestleMania XXIV- Orlando, FL. New Unified WWE Tag Team Champions D-Generation X would be on hand to present “A DX Christmas” and would also defend the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles against The Hart Dynasty. After defeating intense rival and former best friend, Batista, last week, Rey Mysterio would challenge The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Friday Night SmackDown
Good Week For: D-Generation X (successfully retained the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles)
Bad Week For: Vickie Guerrero (was plagued by Hornswoggle throughout the evening)

And The Rest of the Story…
The show kicks off with SmackDown Consultant Vickie Guerrero, who, along with SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, wishes everyone a Merry Christmas. After some unwelcome assistance from the GM, Vickie’s Christmas dinner preparation in her backstage kitchen is ruined by the new DX “mascot”, Hornwoggle, who devours the turkey in front of the stressed Vickie Guerrero!

The opening math of the night saw the team of R-Truth, Matt Hardy, Finlay, & former Intercontinental Champion John Morrison take on CM Punk, Luke Gallows, Dolph Ziggler, and the Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre in a huge 8-Man Tag Match! After all eight men enter the fray, the contest completely breaks down, but in the end, it’s John Morrison who hits the devastating Starship Pain on Dolph Ziggler to pick up the victory for himself, R-Truth, Finlay, & Matt Hardy! Can John Morrison repeat the same success come New Year’s Day when he challenges the new Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre on SmackDown or will the new champion make his first title defense a successful one?

Former Unified WWE Tag Team Champion Chris Jericho makes an appearance and calls the concept of “A DX Christmas” a “travesty of justice” and calls General Manager Theodore Long “incompetent”! Jericho claims that WWE is in a “conspiracy” against him and calls himself a “victim”. Jericho then claims to be “the face of SmackDown” and questions what The Hart Dynasty has done to be named the #1 Contenders for the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles. Jericho then says Jeri-Show were never “truly beaten”! The Hart Dynasty interrupts Jericho, to which Jericho responds to by saying he too trained in the legendary Hart Dungeon just like they did. Jericho calls the trio “punks” and asks what they have ever done to earn a title shot. David Hart Smith states that they do not run away from the problems they encounter. D-Generation X then interrupts the argument and appears on the big screen! Triple H says Jericho & The Hart Dynasty are “boring” everyone and Shawn Michaels presents a gift to remind Jericho of his former partner, a “Tickle Me Big Show”! Triple H says that “nobody cares” about The Hart Dynasty, but Shawn Michaels says he does “care” and he wants to give them the gift of a one-way ticket back to Canada! Jericho steps in and tells The Hart Dynasty that DX never takes anything seriously before getting in the faces of the trio and orders them to “make an impact”! Jericho then turns his attention back to DX and vows to regain the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles, but as soon as Jericho turns around, he is caught by The Hart Dynasty, who delivers the legendary Hart Attack maneuver to Jericho! After making their “impact” on Chris Jericho, is The Hart Dynasty on the fast track to getting the upset win over DX and claiming their first tag team titles?

After defeating his best friend turned intense rival, Batista, on last week’s SmackDown, “The Ultimate Underdog” Rey Mysterio would challenge The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship. In the middle of the huge championship match, it looked like The Undertaker was poised to retain the World Heavyweight Title when Batista interfered in the contest and attacked “The Phenom”! The two big men brawl with Batista getting the better of the exchange with a Spinebuster to the World Heavyweight Champion! “The Animal” then went for the Batista Bomb on Undertaker, but “The Deadman” reversed the attempt. Rey Mysterio then joins the fray and delivers the 619 to the champion! Mysterio then goes to launch himself onto The Undertaker, but the World Heavyweight Champion grabs Rey by the throat! Seeing his opening to attack, Batista charges and delivers a Spear to The Undertaker! Batista charges at Mysterio, but Rey delivers the 619 and seated senton to “The Animal”! What will be the ramifications of the chaotic encounter between these three top SmackDown Superstars?

After laying out a sour Santa impersonator, the holiday hooligans known as Cryme Tyme were in tag team action with a win over Pat Buck & Bryce Andrews.

Back in the backstage kitchen with SmackDown Consultant Vickie Guerrero & SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, the two heads of SmackDown were both victims of a pie to the face courtesy of the new DX “mascot”, Hornswoggle!

With Women’s Champion Michelle McCool on commentary, Mickie James teamed with the 2009 Diva of the Year, Maria, to face “The Glamazon” Beth Phoenix and the best friend of Michelle McCool, Layla. After pinning Layla to win the match, Mickie James makes a beeline for the Women’s Champion, who makes a quick escape from an angry Mickie! Mickie is then blindsided by Beth Phoenix, who, in turn, gets attacked by Maria! Phoenix disposes of Maria and resumes the assault on Mickie James, who is viciously thrown into the announce table by “The Glamazon”! Have Michelle McCool & Beth Phoenix formed an unstoppable alliance against Mickie James and the rest of the SmackDown Divas?

It was then time for the main event of the evening as the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions D-Generation X would make their first SmackDown defense of the titles against The Hart Dynasty. After a rendition of Sweet Chin Music from the apron by Shawn Michaels and the Pedigree by Triple H, the legendary DX had a very Merry Christmas as they successfully retained their Unified WWE Tag Team Titles over the very determined Hart Dynasty! After the title retention, DX celebrated their win with their new “mascot”, Hornswoggle! With The Hart Dynasty failing to dethrone DX, which team will emerge to challenge the legendary duo for the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles?

Superstars of the Week: Unified WWE Tag Team Champions D-Generation X

 

Superstar Profile of the Week
Name: MVP
Born On: October 28, 1973 in Liberty City, FL
Age: 36
Resides: Miami, FL
Billed From: Miami, FL
Wrestler Since: 2002
Trained By: Norman Smiley & Soulman Alex G

Accomplishments
Two Time United States Champion
The Longest Running United States Champion in SmackDown History
One Time WWE Tag Team Champion (w/ Matt Hardy)

Did You Know?
MVP joined a gang at the age of 12 and would later spend nine and a half years in prison for armed robbery and kidnapping; a sentence he started at 16 years old.

Next Week’s WWE Television Schedule
Monday, December 28: RAW, LIVE from the XL Center in Hartford, CT
Tuesday, December 29: ECW on Syfy from the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ
Thursday, December 31 (New Year’s Eve): WWE Superstars from Tampa, FL & Orlando, FL
Friday, January 1 (New Year’s Day): The Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ Hosts SmackDown