January 17, 2010- January 23, 2010
Welcome to the ninetieth 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. I recommend you also check out an awesome new wrestling website at: 123Wrestling.co.uk (you can also read my WWE Week In Review articles on there).
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.
WWE.com announced on Sunday that World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms on the release of SmackDown Superstar, Eric Escobar. Escobar was best known for being the boyfriend of SmackDown Consultant Vickie Guerrero.
The 869th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the Thompson-Boling Arena at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN. Two of the stars of the upcoming movie, “When In Rome”, will serve as Guest Co-Hosts of RAW as Jon Heder, famous for his starring role in “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Blades of Glory”, will be joined by the star of the TV Series “Miami Vice” & “Nash Bridges”, Don Johnson, in running RAW. After their legendary match at last year’s WrestleMania, Shawn Michaels has challenged The Undertaker to a rematch at this year’s WrestleMania and The Undertaker would give his answer to the challenge, live, in a rare RAW appearance.
Monday Night RAW
Good Week For: Sheamus (defeated Evan Bourne and laid out Randy Orton)
Bad Week For: Shawn Michaels (was denied a WrestleMania Rematch by The Undertaker and was sent over the top rope by his partner, Triple H)
The show kicks off with WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon, who states that life is about “decisions” and he made the “decision” to kick Bret Hart two weeks ago and he made the “decision” to ban Bret from the WWE forever last week. The Chairman states that the fans need to remember who Bret “was”, not who he “is” and calls Bret an “apologetic, broken down, old warhorse” and states that he needs to be “put down”! McMahon states that it is his “decision” to “put down” Bret and states that Bret lost his “flavor”, before saying that, if he let Bret stay in the WWE, Bret would be like a “disease” to the WWE! The Chairman then stated that the fans made the “decision” to ban Bret Hart, not him. Mr. McMahon is then interrupted by the eerie arrival of the World Heavyweight Champion, The Undertaker! Undertaker tells the Chairman that, the way he sees it, it is “his time” now and says that he is out there to tell McMahon something that his “ego” will not allow him to admit! “The Deadman” states that he was one of the few who was in Montreal twelve years ago for the incident and says that he saw the “fear” in McMahon’s eyes then and he sees the “fear” in his eyes now! Undertaker tells McMahon that he “screwed” Bret, twice and says what the Chairman did was the act of a “coward”! Mr. McMahon politely says he “disagrees” before he quickly exits the ring!
The Undertaker then turned his attention to Shawn Michaels and states that, while HBK proved that he is “Mr. WrestleMania”, the streak still remained intact. Undertaker then states that he wants to deliver the answer to Shawn Michaels’ challenge “personally”. Shawn Michaels then comes out and states that he is “all ears” for Undertaker’s answer. Undertaker tells Michaels that HBK came closer than anyone last year, but he still “failed” and proclaims that he has “nothing to prove” before saying “no” to a WrestleMania Rematch! Undertaker then adds that, if HBK still thinks he can win, then he will face him on RAW! Michaels then delivers a “no” of his own before saying that, when he beats Undertaker, he wants it to be at WrestleMania! HBK then announces that he is going to enter and win the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match and he will challenge The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania! Undertaker then tells HBK that the Royal Rumble Match is Michaels’ “only chance at salvation”! Michaels proclaims that, at WrestleMania, he will take Undertaker’s “title, streak, and soul”! Can Shawn Michaels outlast twenty-nine other Superstars to become a three-time Royal Rumble Match winner?
WWE Champion Sheamus was in action on RAW as “The Celtic Warrior” went one-on-one with Evan Bourne in a non-title match. As the match got underway, the #1 Contender for the WWE Title, Randy Orton, made his way to ringside. Despite a momentary distraction by Randy Orton, Sheamus was able to pick up a decisive victory over Evan Bourne! After the match, Orton came into the ring and came face-to-face with the WWE Champion! The two diabolical Superstars locked eyes and Sheamus held the WWE Title belt in the face of Orton before exiting the ring, where Orton continued to stare a whole through the champion. With two weeks to go until the Royal Rumble, what else will go down between Sheamus & Randy Orton before they square off with the WWE Title on the line?
“The All-American American” Jack Swagger was in action on RAW, but before his match, Swagger states that his loss to Santino Marella last week was a “fluke”, before proclaiming that he will throw anyone out of the Royal Rumble Match who gets in his way. Swagger then issues another “All-American American” Challenge and calls Santino out! Santino comes out dressed as Don Johnson and brings out Mark Henry to accept the challenge on his behalf! “The World’s Strongest Man” easily tosses Swagger over the top rope to win “The All-American American” Over-The-Top Rope Challenge! Losing his own over-the-top rope challenge for the last two weeks, will Swagger suffer a similar fate in the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match?
Guest Co-Hosts Jon Heder & Don Johnson come out and Don Johnson states that he knows what the fans want to see and announces that D-Generation X will be in action in the main event! Jon Heder says he wants something “new”, before introducing his “close, personal friend”, The Miz! The United States Champion comes out and states that it is nice to have “actual celebrities” as Guest Co-Hosts, before thanking Jon Heder for entering him into the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match! Miz then tells Don Johnson that MVP is the “Tubbs” of RAW, which prompts MVP to interrupt the United States Champion! MVP apologizes to Don Johnson for The Miz before revealing that he is also a participant in the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match! MVP then states that he is not going to wait until the Royal Rumble to throw The Miz over the top rope. As MVP & The Miz are set to go head-to-head, Big Show comes out and waylays MVP with a vicious right hand! Heder reveals that he struck an “insurance policy” in Big Show before announcing that Unified WWE Tag Team Champions D-Generation X will face the “brand new” team of Big Show & United States Champion The Miz! How will Miz & Big Show co-exist as a team? Can DX overcome this new team?
After Legacy cost them a shot at the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble last week, John Cena & Kofi Kingston faced off with Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase. Cena & Kofi were able to work flawlessly as a team to earn their retribution over Rhodes & DiBiase as they picked up the win over Legacy! With all four of these Superstars in the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match, will alliances crumble when it is every man for himself with a title shot at WrestleMania on the line?
After a backstage confrontation with Hornswoggle, Guest Co-Host Jon Heder found himself added to the tag team main event as DX & Hornswoggle will face The Miz, Big Show, & Jon Heder in a 6-Man Tag Match!
The four Semi-Finalists in the Divas Tournament were in action on RAW as Maryse teamed up with Alicia Fox to face the team of Gail Kim & Eve Torres. Eve Torres was able to use a unique arm bar submission to force Alicia Fox to tap out and win the match for herself & Gail Kim! Which of these four Divas will survive the Divas Tournament to become the new Divas Champion?
The #1 Contender for the WWE Title was in action on RAW as Randy Orton went one-on-one with “The Masterpiece” Chris Masters. As soon as the bell rang for the match to begin, WWE Champion Sheamus came out and stood at ringside, just as Randy Orton had done earlier in the evening! In the end, Orton was able to survive the rigors of the Masterlock and hit the RKO on Masters to pick up the win! After the match, Sheamus entered the ring and delivered a vicious boot to the face of Orton, laying “The Viper” out! As the Royal Rumble draws near, things are heating up between the WWE Champion and the #1 Contender. Who will emerge from the Royal Rumble as the WWE Champion?
It was announced during RAW that, on next week’s show, the stars of the TV series “Psych”, James Roday & Dule Hill, will serve as the Guest Co-Hosts of RAW! What will the “Psych” stars have in store for RAW next week?
Then it was time for the 6-Man Tag main event as Unified WWE Tag Team Champions D-Generation X teamed with their “mascot”, Hornswoggle and joined by Don Johnson, to face the team of United States Champion The Miz, Big Show, & “The Flame” Jon Heder! The end of the chaotic contest came after Don Johnson threw Jon Heder back into the ring, which led to Heder getting knocked down by Triple H! Big Show was set to chokeslam Triple H when Shawn Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to “The World’s Largest Athlete”, followed by Sweet Chin Music to The Miz! Following Sweet Chin Music, Big Show fell on Heder and Hornswoggle delivered the Tadpole Splash onto Heder to pick up the win for himself and DX!
After the match, Triple H tells Shawn Michaels that he has something important to say to HBK. Triple H tells his partner that going after the championship is “not going to work out”! Before Triple H could elaborate, John Cena came to the ring and stated that, after two years, he is officially announcing that he will take part in the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match! Cena states that he will win the Royal Rumble Match again this year, like he did in 2008! Big Show makes his way back into the ring and announces that he will also take part in the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match! Show then states that he will show why he will win the Royal Rumble Match before attacking DX! Cena then attacks Show and sends Show out of the ring, but then DX sends Cena over the top rope! Triple H then throws his partner, Shawn Michaels over the top rope! After this surprising act by “The Game”, Triple H proclaims that “none” of them are going to win the Royal Rumble Match, because he will! In a match where partnerships are void and the winner gets a shot at either the WWE or World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania, who will walk out of the Royal Rumble Match with a guaranteed title opportunity?
The 189th edition of ECW on Syfy came to you from the BI-LO Center in Greenville, SC. With just under two weeks to go until he defends the ECW Championship against Ezekiel Jackson at the Royal Rumble, ECW Champion Christian faces the mentor of “Big Zeke”, William Regal, in a non-title match.
ECW on Syfy
Good Week For: Ezekiel Jackson (left Christian laid out following the ECW Champion’s hard-fought match with William Regal)
Bad Week For: Christian (was left lying at the hands of Ezekiel Jackson & William Regal)
The opening match of the night saw “The Bizarre Lonestar” Goldust team up with his recent protégé, Yoshi Tatsu, to take on The Dudebusters; Caylen Croft & Trent Barreta. Following some questionable double-team tactics, it was Croft & Barreta who came out as the winners over Goldust & Yoshi Tatsu.
Along with his girlfriend, Rosa Mendes, “The Long Island Loudmouth” Zack Ryder made an appearance on ECW and proclaimed that he is the “new heart and soul of ECW” and that, last week, The Hurricane learned that he is “the man” on ECW! Ryder then demanded that everyone refer to him as the “new heart and soul superhero of ECW”, even going as far as having the ECW Ring Announcer, Savannah, announce him as such! As Rosa shouted at Savannah in Spanish, The Hurricane rushed the ring and attacked Ryder, sending “The Long Island Loudmouth” out of the ring!
Then it was for the main event as ECW Champion Christian would go one-on-one with William Regal, the mentor of his Royal Rumble opponent, Ezekiel Jackson. The hard-fought match came to an indecisive conclusion as Ezekiel Jackson blind-sided Christian with a relentless attack that was capped off by William Regal hitting the Knee Trembler and “Big Zeke” hitting Total Domination, twice, on the ECW Champion to leave Christian laid out in the middle of the ring! Was this a sign of things to come at the Royal Rumble? Will the powerhouse Ezekiel Jackson take the ECW Title from Christian or will the resilient champion find a way to overcome “Big Zeke”?
The 41st edition of WWE Superstars came to you from the Thompson-Boling Arena at the University on Tennessee in Knoxville, TN and from the BI-LO Center in Greenville, SC. Two of the premiere Superstars on SmackDown would go one-on-one as “The Big Red Machine” Kane would face Chris Jericho. In a budding ECW rivalry, the “intense” Vance Archer would face “The Gold Standard” Shelton Benjamin. Two of the RAW Divas would be in action as Kelly Kelly would go one-on-one with Jillian.
WWE Superstars
Good Week For: Shelton Benjamin (ended the undefeated streak of Vance Archer)
Bad Week For: Vance Archer (had his undefeated streak come to the end at the hands of Shelton Benjamin)
The opening match of the night featured two of the RAW Divas as Kelly Kelly squared off with “The Sour Songstress” Jillian and, one Kelly Kick later, Kelly Kelly was declared the winner of the match.
In a rematch from three weeks ago on WWE Superstars, Vance Archer would face off with “The Gold Standard” Shelton Benjamin in the ECW contribution to WWE Superstars. At the end of a hard-fought match, it was the resilient Shelton Benjamin who rolled up Vance Archer to end the undefeated streak of the “intense” Superstar! How will Vance Archer respond to the first loss in his WWE career?
SmackDown hosted the main event as “The Big Red Machine” Kane went one-on-one with the Chris Jericho. After escaping a chokeslam from Kane, Chris Jericho opted to take a loss by count-out to avoid “The Big Red Machine”!
The 544th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the BI-LO Center in Greenville, SC. After defeating Batista in a Steel Cage Match last week, the new #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title at the Royal Rumble, Rey Mysterio, would call out World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker!
Friday Night SmackDown
Good Week For: Batista (decimated Finlay and laid out Rey Mysterio)
Bad Week For: Finlay (was relentlessly and brutally assaulted by Batista)
After losing a Steel Cage Match to Rey Mysterio last week that determined the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title, an irate Batista was in action against “The Fighting Irishman” Finlay in the opening contest. The match came to a sudden and violent halt once Batista dug his fingers into the eyes of Finlay, which led to Batista getting disqualified! The bigger story came after the match was over as Batista ruthlessly tossed Finlay over the announce table, into the ring post, into the barricade, and capped it off with a vicious Batista Bomb in the middle of the ring! After his ruthless assault of Finlay, “The Animal” announced that he will take part in the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match! Batista vowed to win the Royal Rumble Match and go to WrestleMania XXVI to defeat The Undertaker and regain the World Heavyweight Championship! Batista then stated that, at WrestleMania, his reign as World Heavyweight Champion will “begin” and Undertaker’s undefeated WrestleMania streak will “end”. Can Batista outlast such Superstars as Triple H, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, & Chris Jericho in the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match to earn a title opportunity at WrestleMania?
The #1 Contenders for the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles, CM Punk & Luke Gallows, performed another “Straightedge Salvation” on SmackDown. Punk states that they became the #1 Contenders because they are “straightedge” before vowing to defeat D-Generation X for the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles when they challenge the legendary team for the gold on next week’s SmackDown! Punk then vows to win the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match and become the first “Straightedge Royal Rumble Winner”! Punk then turns his attention toe the fans and calls the fans a “weak-minded majority” and alleges that the fans are “reaching out” to him to take them to the “promise land”. Punk then states that he can “wash away” all of their problems and that he can “save” each and every one of them if they pledge allegiance to his “Straightedge Society”. Punk then scans the crowd for a volunteer, but a wild fan takes Punk by surprise and, after initially ordering security to take her away, Punk asks security to release the fan. Punk then asks the fan, named Serena, if she is an “addict” and Serena explains that there are times when she can not stop taking pills! Punk then states that the crowd does not care about her and they do not care about themselves. Punk then asks Serena if she is ready to “pledge allegiance” to the “Straightedge Society” and, after Serena accepts CM Punk as her “savior”, Punk proclaims that Serena will never have to “walk alone” again. Punk then proceeds to shave Serena’s head, much to the enjoyment of the young fan! Punk then proclaims that it happened to Serena and it can happen to everyone else, as well before officially inducting Serena into the “Straightedge Society”! Will Serena and the rest of the “Straightedge Society” be celebrating CM Punk & Luke Gallows winning the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles on next week’s SmackDown or will the legendary D-Generation X hang on to the gold heading into the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match?
In addition to the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles being on the line next week, the Intercontinental Title will also be up for grabs as Drew McIntyre defends the gold against John Morrison in a No Disqualification Match!
Before he faces off against Drew McIntyre in a No Disqualification Match for the Intercontinental Title next week, John Morrison would be forced to compete in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match by SmackDown Consultant Vickie Guerrero and would be competing against Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre & Chris Jericho! Before the match got underway, however, SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long came out and revealed that Vickie did not “consult” him about making the match a Handicap Match! Long then changed the Handicap Match into a tag team match and brought out Morrison’s tag partner, R-Truth! At the end of match embroiled in absolute chaos, it was a well-placed kick by John Morrison that set Chris Jericho up for the signature axe kick by R-Truth, which won the match for R-Truth & John Morrison! Can John Morrison dethrone Drew McIntyre when he challenges “The Scottish Superstar” for the Intercontinental Title on next week’s SmackDown in a No Disqualification Match?
Women’s Champion Michelle McCool & Layla made an appearance on SmackDown and McCool stated that she was supposed to defend the Women’s Title against Mickie James at the Royal Rumble, but that Mickie will be leaving SmackDown “forever”! Team Lay-Cool then presents a table with several insulting food items for Mickie James’ “going away party”. The 2009 Diva of the Year Maria interrupts the duo and proclaims that their torturing of Mickie James is ending! Team Lay-Cool then runs down Maria’s participation in the reality series “Celebrity Apprentice”, which Maria responds to by calling Team Lay-Cool “morons”! Mickie James then comes out and states she is getting “tired” of the antics of Team Lay-Cool and says she has dealt with women like them before and that, deep down, they both know that they are “nothing”! Mickie then declares that what she, Maria, and the women around the world look like is what “real women look like”! Mickie states that she is “proud” of the way she is and that she will not let their teasing affect her! Mickie then says that the only ones who will tell her when to leave SmackDown are the fans. Team Lay-Cool resumed their teasing of Mickie James and Mickie states that she will be at the Royal Rumble and she is looking to “embarrass” Team Lay-Cool! A brawl then broke out between the four Divas before Beth Phoenix came out and took Maria out of the ring before Phoenix got a hold of Mickie James and held Mickie as Michelle McCool shoved a pig-shaped cake into the face of the proud Diva! McCool then caps it off by dumping punch on the former Women’s Champion, leaving Mickie in tears. How will Mickie respond to Team Lay-Cool’s escalating means of embarrassment? Has the cruel duo of Divas, along with Beth Phoenix, finally broken Mickie James?
Cryme Tyme was in tag team action on SmackDown as they squared off with Mike Knox & Charlie Haas, but the match was quickly interrupted by “The Big Red Machine” Kane! Kane proceed to toss all four of the match’s competitors over the top rope in a physical announcement that Kane will be taking part in the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match! Kane holds the record for most eliminations in a Royal Rumble Match, but “The Big Red Machine” has never won the Royal Rumble Match. Will that change in this year’s Royal Rumble Match?
The unique pairing of Matt Hardy & The Great Khali was in action on SmackDown as they faced The Hart Dynasty. Natalya used her “womanly ways” to distract The Great Khali in an attempt to assist The Hart Dynasty, but Matt Hardy was somehow able to roll up David Hart Smith and pick up the surprise win over The Hart Dynasty!
Then it was time for the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title at the Royal Rumble, Rey Mysterio, to call out World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker! Mysterio explains that the only thing that is between him and a second reign as the World Heavyweight Champion is The Undertaker and states that he wants to look Undertaker “in the eyes” and tell him that he is “not afraid”! Rey then calls out “The Deadman”, who makes his way to the ring to confront his #1 Contender. Rey tells The Undertaker that he is “willing to do what it takes” to defeat The Undertaker and regain the World Heavyweight Title! Rey then states that Shawn Michaels may win the Royal Rumble Match, but that, come WrestleMania, Undertaker will not be the champion! Rey says that he is going to overcome his “nightmare” to achieve his dream once again before vowing that he will defeat The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Title! Undertaker then tells Rey that Mysterio has made a career out of doing the “impossible”, but tells Rey that “no one triumphs over the grave” and that Rey is “digging” his own “grave”! Undertaker then tells Rey that Mysterio will “rest in peace” at the Royal Rumble! The Undertaker then takes his leave from the ring, but Rey calls the name of “The Deadman” and stops The Undertaker before proclaiming that he is “not like the others”, but Rey is attacked from behind by Batista, who lays the #1 Contender out with the Batista Bomb! As The Undertaker approaches the ring, Batista quickly makes his exit from the ring; avoiding a confrontation with the World Heavyweight Champion! How will The Undertaker and Rey Mysterio respond to the actions of Batista? What does this mean for the World Heavyweight Title match at the Royal Rumble?
Superstar of the Week: WWE Champion Sheamus
Superstar Profile of the Week
Name: Melina
Born On: March 9, 1979 in Los Angeles, CA
Age: 30
Billed From: Los Angeles, CA
Resides: Los Angeles, CA
Wrestler Since: April 2002
Trained By: Finlay, Lance Storm, OVW, UPW, & Jesse Hernandez
Accomplishments
Three Time Women’s Champion
One Time Divas Champion
Third Diva In WWE History To Win The Women’s & Divas Titles
Did You Know?
Before becoming a wrestler, Melina was a model for Nike and also won the title of Miss California.
Next Week’s WWE Television Schedule
Monday, January 25: RAW, LIVE from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH
Tuesday, January 26: ECW on Syfy from the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, OH
Thursday, January 28: WWE Superstars from Columbus, OH & Cincinnati, OH
Friday, January 29: The U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, OH Hosts SmackDown