WWE Week In Review: February 7, 2010- February 13, 2010

Welcome to the ninety-third 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.

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The 872nd edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the Cajundome in Lafayette, LA. NASCAR driver Carl Edwards would serve as the Guest Host of RAW and D-Generation X would defend the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles in a Triple Threat Elimination Tag Match as they face United States Champion The Miz & Big Show and The Straightedge Society.

Monday Night RAW
Good Week For: The Miz & Big Show (shockingly defeated DX to win the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles)
Bad Week For: Shawn Michaels (after losing the tag titles, Shawn Michaels declared his career was “over” before superkicking Theodore Long)

The show kicks off with the peeling of tires and the smell of burnt rubber as Guest Host Carl Edwards roars into the Cajundome, driving his #99 NASCAR stock car, or so we thought. Somehow, the DX mascot, Hornswoggle, sped into the arena. Following the false entrance, NASCAR’s Carl Edwards arrived on RAW and welcomed everyone to the show! Edwards states that he has something that his opposition, and past RAW Guest Hosts Joey Logano & Kyle Busch, does not and that is a “friend” in the WWE in John Cena! Edwards is then interrupted by the WWE Champion, Sheamus, who states that he plans on walking into WrestleMania as the WWE Champion, but he has to win inside the Elimination Chamber Match to get there. “The Celtic Warrior” then demands that Edwards make him the last one to enter the Elimination Chamber Match! Sheamus states that Edwards is not the Guest Host of RAW, but he is a “guest” on his show before threatening Edwards by telling the NASCAR racer that he will not make it to the Daytona 500 if he does not grant him his request! ECW Champion Christian then makes an unexpected interruption! Sheamus demands to know why “Captain Charisma” is on RAW and Christian explains that, on last week’s RAW, both himself and the ECW Title were overlooked by Edge, but the next night, Mr. McMahon announced the end of ECW and it all made came together. Sheamus jumps in and calls Christian a “lame duck champion”! The witty ECW Champion then makes fun of Sheamus and his pale complexion, but the WWE Champion tells Christian that, in two weeks, he will be “unemployed”! Christian then makes the surprise announcement that, when ECW comes to an end, every member of the ECW roster will become a “free agent”! The ECW Champion then challenges the WWE Champion to a one-on-one match and it is granted by Guest Host Carl Edwards!

After making a surprise appearance on RAW and revealing that he, as well as the rest of the ECW roster, will become “free agents” following the end of ECW on February 23, ECW Champion Christian challenged WWE Champion Sheamus to a match, which was granted by Guest Host Carl Edwards. Christian fought hard to combat the larger Sheamus, but, in the end, Sheamus planted the ECW Champion with his patented powerbomb to pick up the win! With the ECW roster essentially being set “free” following the end of ECW, will Christian become a part of the RAW brand?

Backstage, Shawn Michaels meets up with partner, Triple H, and apologizes for his demeanor last week before pitching the idea of them being a part of WrestleMania, together. Triple H admits that going to WrestleMania as a team sounds like a good idea, he states that, unlike Michaels, he did qualify for the Elimination Chamber Match! Triple H then vows to enter WrestleMania as the WWE Champion and HBK responded by telling Triple H that it is “all about” him! With their own separate agendas, is DX coming apart? Can the duo keep it together long enough to successfully defend the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles?

Backstage, Cody Rhodes confronts Ted DiBiase and asks DiBiase if he is “proud” of himself and says that he had to face John Cena while DiBiase faced Mark Henry. Rhodes stated that he could of beat Henry, because he has done it in the past. DiBiase tells Rhodes to “stop whining” and states that, if Rhodes had “what it takes”, then he could have beat Cena! DiBiase then tells Rhodes that he is “better” than him before the two are joined by Randy Orton who asks DiBiase if he thinks he is “better” than Orton! DiBiase says that they will “find out” inside the Elimination Chamber. Orton then reveals that, not only has Guest Host Carl Edwards booked Ted DiBiase Vs. John Cena, but Randy Orton will go one-on-one with Cody Rhodes! Eight days after inadvertently costing Randy Orton the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble, Cody Rhodes must go one-on-one with his mentor. Will Randy Orton be looking to extract revenge on Cody Rhodes?

Then it was time for D-Generation X to defend the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles in a Triple Threat Elimination Tag Match against United States Champion The Miz & Big Show and The Straightedge Society. With SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long sitting at ringside, his SmackDown representatives, The Straightedge Society, speak about the alcohol consumption in the area before CM Punk vows that he and Luke Gallows will win the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles! CM Punk then turns his attention to Jared, “The Subway Guy”, who is in the audience! Punk asks Jared to be a “spokesperson” for The Straightedge Society and, after Jared refuses, CM Punk and The Straightedge Society get ready to “make an example” out of Jared. Fortunately for Jared, DX derails Punk’s plans by making their entrance!

After The Straightedge Society attempted to “save” Jared from Subway, the Unified WWE Tag Team Title match got underway as D-Generation X defended the titles against United States Champion The Miz & Big Show and The Straightedge Society in a Triple Threat Elimination Tag Match. Following a rendition of Sweet Chin Music, Shawn Michaels pinned CM Punk to eliminate The Straightedge Society from the match! With it being down to champions DX and The Miz & Big Show, the match continued.

With The Straightedge Society being eliminated, it was down to the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions D-Generation X going against United States Champion The Miz & Big Show with the tag titles up for grabs. When it looked like Triple H had everything in control, Shawn Michaels tags himself into the match! Triple H & Shawn Michaels then go face-to-face, but The Miz shoves Michaels into Triple H and then rolls up HBK to defeat DX and win the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles! After the loss, Shawn Michaels walks out on his displeased partner, Triple H! After losing the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles due to a questionable decision by Shawn Michaels, have DX gone their separate ways?

Backstage, a frantic Shawn Michaels confronts SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long and pleads with Long to trade him to SmackDown and to take someone out of the SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match so he can enter and win the World Heavyweight Title to get a match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania! After Long explains to HBK that the SmackDown Superstars in the Elimination Chamber Match have earned their spot, HBK puts his hands on Long, but Triple H intervenes and asks Shawn Michaels if he is willing to throw DX away and throw his career away over his “obsession” with The Undertaker! Michaels responds by stating his career is “over” before super kicking Theodore Long! What will be the repercussions of Michaels’ actions? Has Michaels’ abruptly ended his career over his obsession with a WrestleMania rematch against The Undertaker?

With Maryse a guest on commentary, her adversary in the Finals of the Divas Tournament, Gail Kim, went one-on-one with Jillian. Gail Kim picked up a quick and dominant victory over Jillian with the Eat Defeat maneuver. After the match, Maryse enters the ring and tells Gail Kim that she wants to have the “best match of her life” with Gail when they square off at WWE Elimination Chamber to determine who wins the vacant Divas Title. In an uncharacteristic show of respect, Maryse shook the hand of Gail Kim! Which Diva will emerge as the Divas Champion at the Elimination Chamber event?

RAW also featured the announcement of the first inductee in the 2010 WWE Hall of Fame as “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase will be inducted into the Hall of Fame come March 27 in Phoenix!

Then it was time for the mentor to face the protégé as Randy Orton went one-on-one with Cody Rhodes. Orton was in complete control of Rhodes until Sheamus slides in the ring, distracting Orton long enough for Rhodes to hit the Cross Rhodes on Orton and pick up the shocking victory! After costing Orton the match, Sheamus lays Orton out with his patented kick! The WWE Champion was set to do further damage to Orton, but Rhodes comes in with a steel chair to protect his mentor! What exactly is going on between Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, & Ted DiBiase?

Backstage, Guest Host Carl Edwards makes the huge announcement that, on next week’s RAW, all six of the competitors in the Elimination Chamber Match will face off in three separate one-on-one matches as Kofi Kingston goes one-on-one with Ted DiBiase, WWE Champion Sheamus faces Randy Orton, & Triple H squares off with John Cena! Who will gain momentum on next week’s RAW just five nights before the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match?

Following the brutal attack by Batista last week, an amped-up John Cena was set to go one-on-one with Ted DiBiase, but a furious John Cena immediately took his frustrations out on DiBiase and assaulted DiBiase on the outside before locking in his STF on DiBiase, who frantically tapped out!

After John Cena let go of his STF on Ted DiBiase, Cena entered the ring and stated that he is not there to compete in a match! Cena then states that he does not even want to know “why” Batista attacked him last week, he just wants to “fight” Batista! Cena says that Batista was “sent to take him out” last week, but that it “did not work”! Cena then calls out Batista and states that he is not leaving until “The Animal” emerges! After waiting for Batista, Cena says that Batista is either “scared for his life” or his attack was a “business decision”. Cena then states that, when he thinks of a “business decision”, he thinks of Vince McMahon! Cena then says that he thinks Vince is behind the attack by Batista and states that, if he can’t fight Batista, he wants to “talk” to McMahon! WWE Chairman Vince McMahon comes out, flanked by a personal security force, and confidently asks Cena what he has to say! Cena tells Vince that ten security guards are not enough to stop him and gives the Chairman the ultimatum of coming into the ring, alone, or sending the security guards to try and stop him! Leaving the security force behind, Vince enters the ring and proclaims that he is the “ultimate, supreme alpha male”! The Chairman then admits that he is responsible for bringing Batista out last week and he did it to “screw” Bret Hart again! Vince then states that he had “nothing” to do with Batista assaulting Cena last week and throws out the possibility that Batista just “does not like” Cena and says he does not like Cena “personally”, but likes him “financially”! Cena states that Vince took a “good guy” like Batista and made him into someone who only cares about money! Cena proclaims that he does it because he loves to do it and does not do it for the money. Cena that he does it for the moments like when he wins the WWE Title inside the Elimination Chamber and when he hold the WWE Title high at WrestleMania! A passionate Cena then says that the Superstars do it for the “moments” and informs Vince that Bret Hart wants “another moment”! Cena then reveals that Bret said he would like to wrestle another match at WrestleMania and that he wants to wrestle Vince McMahon! McMahon responds by saying that Bret “does not want that”! Cena then puts the spotlight on Vince and tells Vince that it is “his moment”! Vince says that Bret does not want to face him and says that Cena is “wrong” and after Cena pressures Vince to make a decision, Vince shouts that he will tell Cena the answer to Cena’s face before loudly and emphatically saying that “yes” he will face Bret Hart at WrestleMania! Cena then thanks Vince for accepting the match to his face and tells Vince that there is one more person that Vince needs to tell! Assuming Bret Hart was in Canada, Vince commences his bad-mouthing of “The Hitman”, but Bret comes through the crowd and attacks McMahon! Vince quickly exits the ring as Bret deals with security. On the stage, Vince stands behind his line of security and shouts that he changed his mind and will not face Bret at WrestleMania! Upon hearing this from the Chairman, “The Hitman” goes ballistic and destroys electrical equipment, as well as the announce position at ringside!

The 192nd edition of ECW on Syfy came to you from the Baton Rouge River Center in Baton Rouge, LA. With ECW set to air it’s final episode next week to make way for the debut of WWE NXT on February 23, many questions remained unanswered in regards to the future of the ECW Superstars as well as the ECW Championship.

ECW on Syfy
Good Week For: Goldust & Yoshi Tatsu (became the #1 Contenders for the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles)
Bad Week For: Perry Wallace (was soundly defeated by Ezekiel Jackson)

The show kicks off with ECW General Manager Tiffany speaking to the ECW Roster as the GM states that ECW coming to an end is a “great thing” because it will allow the ECW Superstars to become “free agents” and sign with any brand they want, as well as being a part of the “next evolution” of the WWE! Tiffany then says that it has been an “absolute honor and privilege” to serve as their General Manager before telling the Superstars to “seize the day and have fun” over the next two weeks! The GM then puts on her Mardi Gras beads and grabs a drink as she prepares to “have fun” before ECW ends!

The opening match of the night saw the mentor and protégé team of Goldust & Yoshi Tatsu take on Trent Barreta & Caylen Croft with the winners facing United States Champion The Miz & Big Show on the final episode of ECW next week for the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles! In a hard-fought bout, it was Yoshi Tatsu blasting a bloody Caylen Croft with his signature Buzzsaw Kick en route to winning the match for himself and Goldust to become the #1 Contenders for the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles! On the final episode of ECW next week, will Goldust & Yoshi Tatsu unseat The Miz & Big Show as the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions?

With William Regal at ringside, Ezekiel Jackson was in action on ECW as he squared off with Baton Rouge native, Perry Wallace. With a smile on his face, “Big Zeke” soundly defeated the preliminary competitor. After the match, William Regal states that him getting ejected from ringside at the Royal Rumble was a “travesty” and tells General Manager Tiffany to grant Ezekiel Jackson an ECW Title match against Christian next week on the final episode of ECW! “Big Zeke” then proclaims that he will win the ECW Title next week and that it will “only be the beginning of the rise of his dominance”! Will Ezekiel Jackson be crowned the final ECW Champion next week or will Christian remain champion amidst the end of ECW?

Backstage, ECW Champion Christian grants Ezekiel Jackson his rematch for the ECW Championship, but Christian deems that, with next week’s ECW being the final ECW, the match should be contested under Extreme Rules! Can Christian carry the ECW Title to the end of ECW next week or will Ezekiel Jackson be crowned the ECW Champion?

It was then time for the main event of the evening as “The Gold Standard” Shelton Benjamin went one-on-one with Vance Archer in a No Disqualification Match. At the end of a grueling battle, it was Benjamin hitting Pay Dirt on Archer en route to picking up the victory over his rival in what could be the last time these two Superstars get an opportunity to face each other.

The 43rd edition of WWE Superstars came to you from the Cajundome in Lafayette, LA and from the Baton Rouge River Center in Baton Rouge, LA. Five nights before he makes his final defense of the ECW Title against Ezekiel Jackson in an Extreme Rules Match, ECW Champion Christian faces “The Long Island Loudmouth” Zack Ryder in a non-title match. After being taken out of the Royal Rumble Match at the hands of Jack Swagger, Santino Marella would be out for revenge as he goes one-on-one with “The All-American American”. Cryme Tyme’s JTG would be in action as he faces “The Platinum Superstar” Dolph Ziggler.

WWE Superstars
Good Week For: Dolph Ziggler (got back on the winning side of things with a victory over JTG)
Bad Week For: Santino Marella (was unable to exact revenge on Jack Swagger)

The opening match of the night was from RAW and it saw Santino Marella going one-on-one with the man who took him out of the Royal Rumble Match three weeks ago on RAW, “The All-American American” Jack Swagger. In the end, Santino’s quest for revenge was to no avail as Jack Swagger planted Santino with the Swagger Bomb en route to picking up the win!

Five nights before he defends the ECW Title for the final time against Ezekiel Jackson in an Extreme Rules Match, ECW Champion Christian went one-on-one with “The Long Island Loudmouth” Zack Ryder, accompanied by Rosa Mendes, in a non-title match. In the end, it was Christian hitting the Killswitch and pinning Zack Ryder to pick up the win over “The Long Island Loudmouth” and pick up momentum heading into his final ECW Title defense this Tuesday night. Can Christian survive the final night of ECW as the ECW Champion or will Ezekiel Jackson become the final ECW Champion by defeating “Captain Charisma” in the Extreme Rules environment?

Then it was time for the main event of the evening as Cryme Tyme’s JTG faced “The Platinum Superstar” Dolph Ziggler in the SmackDown contribution to the show. After hitting the Zig Zag, it was Dolph Ziggler picking up the win over the high-flying JTG in a hard-fought match.

The 547th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the Baton Rouge River Center in Baton Rouge, LA. Nine days before they step in the demonic Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Title at WWE Elimination Chamber, the six Chamber participants would be in three one-on-one matches, with the biggest of those seeing World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker going one-on-one with Chris Jericho in a No Disqualification Match, R-Truth would face John Morrison, and “The Straightedge Savior” CM Punk would go one-on-one with Rey Mysterio.

Friday Night SmackDown
Good Week For: Chris Jericho (picked up a major victory over World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker)
Bad Week For: Rey Mysterio (won his match against CM Punk, but was assaulted and laid out after the match)

The opening match of the night saw the first of three one-on-one matches between the Elimination Chamber competitors as “The Straightedge Savior” CM Punk, with Serena & Luke Gallows, went one-on-one with “The Masked Marvel” Rey Mysterio. In a fast-paced and hard-fought match, it was Rey Mysterio overcoming the interference of Serena & Luke Gallows to roll-up CM Punk and pick up the win! Mysterio’s victory came at a price as, after the match was over, all three members of The Straightedge Society decimated Rey, with CM Punk delivering the final blow with the GTS. How will Rey Mysterio respond to the three-on-one attack by The Straightedge Society? When Serena & Luke Gallows find themselves locked outside the Elimination Chamber, can their “Straightedge Savior”, CM Punk, survive to win the World Heavyweight Championship?

Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre made an appearance on SmackDown and states that he “does not care” who his opponent is because he is “undefeated and unstoppable”! The Intercontinental Champion’s demeanor changed when it was revealed that his opponent was “The Big Red Machine” Kane! McIntyre told Kane that he has “nothing to prove” and that he “dropped” Kane last week! McIntyre went on to offer Kane a match next week, but “The Big Red Machine” had no desire to wait as Kane blasted the Intercontinental Champion with a big boot to start the match, whether McIntyre wanted it to start or not! The intensity of both Superstars led to the match spilling to the outside of the ring, where both men were counted out of the match! After the match, McIntyre caught Kane with the biggest of big boots! McIntyre tried to blast Kane with his Intercontinental Title belt, but “The Big Red Machine” caught McIntyre with a spine-rattling chokeslam! It would appear that things are far from over between Kane & Drew McIntyre, but will this feud be McIntyre’s first true test as Intercontinental Champion? Is Kane seeking McIntyre’s Intercontinental Title?

Backstage, Team Lay-Cool continued to ridicule new Women’s Champion Mickie James in catering. When Team Lay-Cool offered Mickie a bowl of cottage cheese, the Women’s Champion smacked the bowl out of the hands of McCool and the cottage cheese inadvertently landed all over SmackDown Consultant Vickie Guerrero!

Women’s Champion Mickie James was in action on SmackDown as the new champion squared off with Michelle McCool’s right hand Diva, Layla. Following her inadvertent cottage cheese bath at the hands of Mickie James, SmackDown Consultant stopped the one-on-one match and announced that the match will be contested as a 2-on-1 Handicap Match with Michelle McCool joining the fray! In the end, the 2-on-1 disadvantage was too much for Mickie as McCool pinned the champion to pick up the win! When will Michelle McCool get her rematch for the Women’s Title? Can McCool unseat the new champion?

Following his bizarre actions last week on SmackDown where he intentionally got himself counted out in a match against CM Punk where, if he had won, he would have received a World Heavyweight Title opportunity inside the Elimination Chamber, Batista made an appearance on SmackDown to discuss his actions of last week and his actions against John Cena a couple of weeks ago on RAW. Batista grabbed the microphone and stood on the second turnbuckle before slowly walking around the ring and, after reentering the ring, Batista simply stood in the middle of the ring and symbolically dropped the microphone, not once, but twice! Why has Batista refused to speak on his recent actions? How will John Cena respond to Batista’s lack of explanation?

In his first appearance since being superkicked by Shawn Michaels on RAW, SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long states that since Batista does not want to give an explanation for his recent actions, then Batista will compete as he would go one-on-one with the winner of the 2010 Royal Rumble Match, Edge, on next week’s SmackDown!

Matt Hardy & The Great Khali were in action on SmackDown and, after Matt brought out his “valentine”, Maria, the unique tag team faced off with The Hart Dynasty. After a Diva brawl broke out between Maria & Natalya on the outside of the ring, Tyson Kidd tried to roll up Matt Hardy, but the veteran tag team competitor countered with his own roll-up to pick up the win!

In a one-on-one match between two of the participants Elimination Chamber Match, R-Truth faced off with John Morrison. Unfortunately, the match quickly came to an end as John Morrison went down with an ankle injury, forcing the referee to stop the match. What is the status of John Morrison? Will Morrison be able to compete inside the Elimination Chamber?

The winner of the 2010 Royal Rumble Match, Edge, made an appearance on SmackDown and states that he is out there to discuss the “benefits” of winning the Royal Rumble Match. Edge says that, in addition to getting a guaranteed WrestleMania title shot, winning the Rumble means that he does not have to compete in the Elimination Chamber. Edge then states that he will face whoever “survives” the Elimination Chamber Match and says that, of the twelve potential champions in the two Elimination Chamber Matches, The Undertaker “stands out” with his undefeated streak at WrestleMania. Edge begins to discuss his match with Batista next week, but “The Rated-R Superstar” is interrupted by Chris Jericho, who states that he is a “bad luck charm” for Edge as “bad things happen” when he is near Edge! Jericho then proclaims that he “does not get injured, but he does “win championships”, as well as “carry” the WWE! Jericho then tells Edge to “save himself some grief” and challenge the winner of the RAW Elimination Chamber Match! Jericho then vows to win the World Heavyweight Title inside the Elimination Chamber and tells Edge to “stay away” from him or “bad things” will happen to Edge! Jericho then tells Edge to “watch what happens” when he faces The Undertaker!

With the 2010 Royal Rumble Match winner, Edge, a guest on commentary, it was time for the main event as World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker went one-on-one with Chris Jericho in a No Disqualification Match. During the match, the action spilled to the outside of the ring, but after Chris Jericho got in the face of Edge, The Undertaker took advantage before intentionally throwing Chris Jericho over the announce table in a missed attempt to hit Edge! As Edge looked on, The Undertaker turned his focus back on Chris Jericho as “The Deadman” tossed Jericho back into the ring before blasting Edge with a big boot out of nowhere! After Jericho was run into the exposed steel turnbuckle, The Undertaker planted Chris Jericho with the Last Ride before “The Phenom” was laid out with the Spear by Edge! After Edge exited the ring, The Undertaker got back to his feet, but the Spear by Edge allotted Jericho enough time to recover and Jericho hit The Undertaker with the Codebreaker en route to picking up the win over the World Heavyweight Champion! Who will gain the final momentum on next week’s SmackDown two nights before the Elimination Chamber Match? Who will come out victorious when Edge goes one-on-one with Batista next week?

Superstars of the Week: NEW Unified WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz & Big Show

Accomplishments
One Time Women’s Champion
Won The Women’s Title In Her WWE Debut

Did You Know?
Before pursuing a career as a professional wrestler, Gail Kim earned her college degree in nutrition at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Next Week’s WWE Television Schedule
Monday, February 15: RAW, LIVE from the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA
Tuesday, February 16: ECW on Syfy from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO
Thursday, February 18: WWE Superstars from Des Moines, IA & Kansas City, MO
Friday, February 19: The Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO Hosts SmackDown