Breaking Point, 2009 thru WrestleMania 27
Writing Began: September 14th, 2009 (Day after Breaking Point, 2009)
Writing Finished: December 12th, 2009 (Day before WWE: TLC, 2009)
iEvents Going on at the Time:i
“Breaking Point, 2009”:
Emanating from Montreal, Quebec, the first “submission”-themed Pay-Per-View in history ended with C.M. Punk successfully defending the World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker after an apparent “screw-job”; Taker seemed to have won the match after making Punk tap-out to the “Hell’s Gate” submission-hold, but after Smackdown’s General Manager reminded everybody that that particular move was banned from WWE, the match was restarted, only for Punk to immediately lock Taker in the “Anaconda Vice” and the referee call for the bell, despite Taker seemingly not submitting (though his hand DID touch the ground as he was trying to leverage out of the move). In the other two submission-based matches of the night, John Cena defeated Randy Orton in an “I Quit” match to win the WWE Championship, and “The Legacy” (a.k.a. “Priceless”, Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase, Jr.) defeated “D-Generation X” (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) in the first ever “Submissions Count Anywhere” match. The rest of the card saw Christian successfully defend the ECW Championship against William Regal; Raw’s Big Show and Smackdown’s Chris Jericho successfully defend the Unified WWE Tag-Team Championships against the Raw duo of Montel Vontavious Porter and Mark Henry; Kofi Kingston successfully defend the United States Championship against Mike “The Miz” Mizanin; and Kane defeat The Great Khali in a “Singapore Cane” match.
Other Notes:
“Raw”: For several months, every episode of “Raw” had featured a “Special Guest Host” (either a celebrity or retired wrestler) that would serve as a one-night General Manager with virtually unlimited power; this trend would seem to continue for the foreseeable future. Batista was announced to be returning on the September 14th episode of “Raw”, and was said to have a major announcement. Chavo Guerrero, Jr. was embroiled in a feud with Hornswoggle, always coming out on the losing end due to having the deck stacked against him in a string of bizarre gimmick matches.
“Smackdown”: Jeff Hardy was forced to retire after losing a “cage” match against C.M. Punk; Matt Hardy, now back on Jeff’s side after realizing that he had let his jealousy overcome him, swore that he would get even with Punk. Rey Mysterio was forced to serve a 30-day suspension for a violation of WWE’s “Wellness Policy”; the sentence would run from 9/2/09 thru 10/2/09. Drew McIntyre debuted, and began targeting R-Truth.
“ECW”: General Manager Tiffany had recently enacted another “New Talent Initiative”, which led to the debuts of Yoshi Tatsu, Abraham Washington, Sheamus, and Tyler Reks, as well as the return of Ezekiel Jackson. Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov had joined forces and began to serve as William Regal’s personal back-up. Paul Burchill was desperately trying to prove that Gregory Helms and The Hurricane were the same person. The fans were beginning to support Shelton Benjamin, as he was focused on closing Zach Ryder’s big mouth.
“Breaking Point, 2009”:
Emanating from Montreal, Quebec, the first “submission”-themed Pay-Per-View in history ended with C.M. Punk successfully defending the World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker after an apparent “screw-job”; Taker seemed to have won the match after making Punk tap-out to the “Hell’s Gate” submission-hold, but after Smackdown’s General Manager reminded everybody that that particular move was banned from WWE, the match was restarted, only for Punk to immediately lock Taker in the “Anaconda Vice” and the referee call for the bell, despite Taker seemingly not submitting (though his hand DID touch the ground as he was trying to leverage out of the move). In the other two submission-based matches of the night, John Cena defeated Randy Orton in an “I Quit” match to win the WWE Championship, and “The Legacy” (a.k.a. “Priceless”, Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase, Jr.) defeated “D-Generation X” (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) in the first ever “Submissions Count Anywhere” match. The rest of the card saw Christian successfully defend the ECW Championship against William Regal; Raw’s Big Show and Smackdown’s Chris Jericho successfully defend the Unified WWE Tag-Team Championships against the Raw duo of Montel Vontavious Porter and Mark Henry; Kofi Kingston successfully defend the United States Championship against Mike “The Miz” Mizanin; and Kane defeat The Great Khali in a “Singapore Cane” match.
Other Notes:
“Raw”: For several months, every episode of “Raw” had featured a “Special Guest Host” (either a celebrity or retired wrestler) that would serve as a one-night General Manager with virtually unlimited power; this trend would seem to continue for the foreseeable future. Batista was announced to be returning on the September 14th episode of “Raw”, and was said to have a major announcement. Chavo Guerrero, Jr. was embroiled in a feud with Hornswoggle, always coming out on the losing end due to having the deck stacked against him in a string of bizarre gimmick matches.
“Smackdown”: Jeff Hardy was forced to retire after losing a “cage” match against C.M. Punk; Matt Hardy, now back on Jeff’s side after realizing that he had let his jealousy overcome him, swore that he would get even with Punk. Rey Mysterio was forced to serve a 30-day suspension for a violation of WWE’s “Wellness Policy”; the sentence would run from 9/2/09 thru 10/2/09. Drew McIntyre debuted, and began targeting R-Truth.
“ECW”: General Manager Tiffany had recently enacted another “New Talent Initiative”, which led to the debuts of Yoshi Tatsu, Abraham Washington, Sheamus, and Tyler Reks, as well as the return of Ezekiel Jackson. Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov had joined forces and began to serve as William Regal’s personal back-up. Paul Burchill was desperately trying to prove that Gregory Helms and The Hurricane were the same person. The fans were beginning to support Shelton Benjamin, as he was focused on closing Zach Ryder’s big mouth.
OCTOBER, 2009 (1st Half)
RAW
The night after “Breaking Point”, Orton, Cody, and TJ open the show, with Orton demanding a rematch against Orton. Cena makes his entrance, but before making his way down the ramp, DX make their entrance, as well. The three faces march to the ring, and Cena says that he is absolutely sick of everything that has gone on between the six of them, and that it’s time to finally end this. Orton wants to know how, and Cena offers to put his WWE Championship up for grabs in a 6-way match at the next PPV… which just happens to be “Hell In A Cell”! Orton is hesitant, as he feels that it is a trap, but Cena mentions that he has had just as many problems with Trips and Shawn as anyone. Orton thinks for a moment, and then coolly replies “ok”. Orton says that, at “Hell in a Cell”, we will finally find out who the best is, and extends his hand to Cena; Cena shakes it, which prompts Cody and TJ to extend their hands, which DX shake. The six men have their eyes locked on each-other, when BATISTA makes his return! Batista says that if anyone needs to settle things with “Legacy”, it’s him. Batista says that he will be cleared to wrestle at the next PPV, and that he wants to finish this thing just as badly as anyone. Batista offers his hand to Orton, and Orton shakes it… Batista, however, won’t let go! Batista says, “But until then…”, at which point he pulls Orton in for a spine-buster, and the faces clear the ring of the heels.
Orton complains to the guest host that it’s not fair, that there is a 4-on-3 advantage come the PPV. The guest host allows Orton to find one more partner before the PPV; all three members of “Legacy” are on a quest to find that fourth man.
Kofi continues to defend his US-championship against all comers, with Swagger and Miz being his two top contendors. MVP inserts himself into the mix, helping Kofi, and citing that he still hasn’t settled things with Swagger.
Bourne is backstage talking to the guest host, when Jericho-Show enter; Jericho-Show bully Bourne, which leads to a Bourne/Jericho match that night. Bourne is just about to win when a knock-out punch from an interfering Show costs him the match. Jericho celebrates the win like it’s the biggest win of his career.
SMACKDOWN
The first show after “Breaking Point” opens with Teddy Long explaining that, while it might SEEM like he had screwed Taker, that was not the case at all. (Long plays it completely straight, instead of smarmy and suggestive of a heel-turn.) Long gives us video of Taker’s hand touching the mat just after Punk applied the “Anaconda Vice”, and admits that it was definitely debatable as to whether or not Taker tapped-out. Long says that he has known Taker for a long time, and has even considered him a friend – or at least, a close acquaintance – at times. Long apologizes profusely, saying that what happened was unfortunate, and that he knew that reminding everybody that the “Hell’s Gate” was banned would not be a popular move, but he also had to do his job and make sure the match didn’t end like that. He also says that, deep down, he knows Taker would never submit, but that Taker’s hand DID hit the mat, and that the referee’s decision stands. This draws out Punk, who argues that, however Long, Taker, or any of the fans might want to twist it around, Taker’s hand DID “tap” the mat, thus constituting a “tap-out”. Punk brags that he is the first man to ever make Taker submit, to which Long replies “You seem quite full of yourself right now… you must feel like you’re on top of the world… let’s see how good you feel after I drop this bombshell on you… in two weeks, you’ll be defending that World Heavyweight Championship once again… inside the ‘Hell in a Cell’… against… THE UNDATAKAHH!!! Holla, playa!” Punk is shocked.
Later on, Long decides to do some investigating into the whole mess, and discovers that the referee, Scott Armstrong, had a large amount of money deposited into his account the day before “Breaking Point”. Long thinks that Punk paid Armstrong, but the ref claims it’s just a coincidence, claiming that his uncle died and left him a large sum. Long then moves on to Punk, but Punk seems just as shocked as anyone. Finally, Long presents this evidence to Vince, but Vince doesn’t seem to care; he basically says “Taker is getting another shot, anyway, so what’s the big deal?” Long realizes something is up, but isn’t sure what.
Morrison continues to defend his IC-championship against all comers; Ziggler is granted a shot on TV, but he says he’d rather have it on a bigger stage, namely the PPV.
Khali is talking to Long backstage, when Jericho-Show barge into Long’s office. They try to dismiss Khali, but Khali isn’t hearing it. Long makes Show/Khali that night; during the match, Khali has the upper-hand, only for a low-blow from Jericho to turn the tables, allowing Show to win.
Cody-TJ are walking around backstage; when a reporter asks them what they’re doing on “Smackdown”, they respond that they’re looking for their fourth man for the 8-way “HIAC” match. After seeing a CrymeTyme/HartDynasty match where Smith dominates Shad for the win, they invite Smith to join them. Smith says that he is loyal to his family, but it would be an honor to compete with other second-generation stars like himself. Kidd and Natalya offer him their support.
ECW
An eight-man tournament is set-up to determine the #1-contendor to Christian’s ECW-championship. The brackets are:
- Ezekiel/Dreamer
- Vladimir/Shelton
- Ryder/Yoshi
- Sheamus/Goldust
Ezekiel beats Dreamer when Vladimir interferes, and Vladimir beats Shelton when Ezekiel interferes. Ryder pins Yoshi by rolling him up and putting his feet on the ropes, and Goldust beats Sheamus by tricking Sheamus into getting counted-out. In the semi-finals, Ryder beats Goldust, again by rolling him up and putting his feet on the ropes, and when Ezekiel and Vladimir begin their match (with Regal at ring-side), Shelton and Dreamer run-out and kidnap Regal, forcing both Zeke and Vlad to abandon the match and go after their boss, leading to a double count-out. Tiffany reluctantly announces that, due to the bye, Ryder is the winner and new #1-contendor.
INTERFED
After the Jericho/Bourne and Show/Khali matches, rematches are held the following week, except this time, Bourne and Khali make surprise appearances on the opposite show to give each-other a hand. This leads to Jericho-Show defending the Tag-Championships against Bourne-Khali at the PPV.
Smith is made a “temporary member” of “Legacy”, with Orton making it clear that the other three are to help him retain the title.
The night after “Breaking Point”, Orton, Cody, and TJ open the show, with Orton demanding a rematch against Orton. Cena makes his entrance, but before making his way down the ramp, DX make their entrance, as well. The three faces march to the ring, and Cena says that he is absolutely sick of everything that has gone on between the six of them, and that it’s time to finally end this. Orton wants to know how, and Cena offers to put his WWE Championship up for grabs in a 6-way match at the next PPV… which just happens to be “Hell In A Cell”! Orton is hesitant, as he feels that it is a trap, but Cena mentions that he has had just as many problems with Trips and Shawn as anyone. Orton thinks for a moment, and then coolly replies “ok”. Orton says that, at “Hell in a Cell”, we will finally find out who the best is, and extends his hand to Cena; Cena shakes it, which prompts Cody and TJ to extend their hands, which DX shake. The six men have their eyes locked on each-other, when BATISTA makes his return! Batista says that if anyone needs to settle things with “Legacy”, it’s him. Batista says that he will be cleared to wrestle at the next PPV, and that he wants to finish this thing just as badly as anyone. Batista offers his hand to Orton, and Orton shakes it… Batista, however, won’t let go! Batista says, “But until then…”, at which point he pulls Orton in for a spine-buster, and the faces clear the ring of the heels.
Orton complains to the guest host that it’s not fair, that there is a 4-on-3 advantage come the PPV. The guest host allows Orton to find one more partner before the PPV; all three members of “Legacy” are on a quest to find that fourth man.
Kofi continues to defend his US-championship against all comers, with Swagger and Miz being his two top contendors. MVP inserts himself into the mix, helping Kofi, and citing that he still hasn’t settled things with Swagger.
Bourne is backstage talking to the guest host, when Jericho-Show enter; Jericho-Show bully Bourne, which leads to a Bourne/Jericho match that night. Bourne is just about to win when a knock-out punch from an interfering Show costs him the match. Jericho celebrates the win like it’s the biggest win of his career.
SMACKDOWN
The first show after “Breaking Point” opens with Teddy Long explaining that, while it might SEEM like he had screwed Taker, that was not the case at all. (Long plays it completely straight, instead of smarmy and suggestive of a heel-turn.) Long gives us video of Taker’s hand touching the mat just after Punk applied the “Anaconda Vice”, and admits that it was definitely debatable as to whether or not Taker tapped-out. Long says that he has known Taker for a long time, and has even considered him a friend – or at least, a close acquaintance – at times. Long apologizes profusely, saying that what happened was unfortunate, and that he knew that reminding everybody that the “Hell’s Gate” was banned would not be a popular move, but he also had to do his job and make sure the match didn’t end like that. He also says that, deep down, he knows Taker would never submit, but that Taker’s hand DID hit the mat, and that the referee’s decision stands. This draws out Punk, who argues that, however Long, Taker, or any of the fans might want to twist it around, Taker’s hand DID “tap” the mat, thus constituting a “tap-out”. Punk brags that he is the first man to ever make Taker submit, to which Long replies “You seem quite full of yourself right now… you must feel like you’re on top of the world… let’s see how good you feel after I drop this bombshell on you… in two weeks, you’ll be defending that World Heavyweight Championship once again… inside the ‘Hell in a Cell’… against… THE UNDATAKAHH!!! Holla, playa!” Punk is shocked.
Later on, Long decides to do some investigating into the whole mess, and discovers that the referee, Scott Armstrong, had a large amount of money deposited into his account the day before “Breaking Point”. Long thinks that Punk paid Armstrong, but the ref claims it’s just a coincidence, claiming that his uncle died and left him a large sum. Long then moves on to Punk, but Punk seems just as shocked as anyone. Finally, Long presents this evidence to Vince, but Vince doesn’t seem to care; he basically says “Taker is getting another shot, anyway, so what’s the big deal?” Long realizes something is up, but isn’t sure what.
Morrison continues to defend his IC-championship against all comers; Ziggler is granted a shot on TV, but he says he’d rather have it on a bigger stage, namely the PPV.
Khali is talking to Long backstage, when Jericho-Show barge into Long’s office. They try to dismiss Khali, but Khali isn’t hearing it. Long makes Show/Khali that night; during the match, Khali has the upper-hand, only for a low-blow from Jericho to turn the tables, allowing Show to win.
Cody-TJ are walking around backstage; when a reporter asks them what they’re doing on “Smackdown”, they respond that they’re looking for their fourth man for the 8-way “HIAC” match. After seeing a CrymeTyme/HartDynasty match where Smith dominates Shad for the win, they invite Smith to join them. Smith says that he is loyal to his family, but it would be an honor to compete with other second-generation stars like himself. Kidd and Natalya offer him their support.
ECW
An eight-man tournament is set-up to determine the #1-contendor to Christian’s ECW-championship. The brackets are:
- Ezekiel/Dreamer
- Vladimir/Shelton
- Ryder/Yoshi
- Sheamus/Goldust
Ezekiel beats Dreamer when Vladimir interferes, and Vladimir beats Shelton when Ezekiel interferes. Ryder pins Yoshi by rolling him up and putting his feet on the ropes, and Goldust beats Sheamus by tricking Sheamus into getting counted-out. In the semi-finals, Ryder beats Goldust, again by rolling him up and putting his feet on the ropes, and when Ezekiel and Vladimir begin their match (with Regal at ring-side), Shelton and Dreamer run-out and kidnap Regal, forcing both Zeke and Vlad to abandon the match and go after their boss, leading to a double count-out. Tiffany reluctantly announces that, due to the bye, Ryder is the winner and new #1-contendor.
INTERFED
After the Jericho/Bourne and Show/Khali matches, rematches are held the following week, except this time, Bourne and Khali make surprise appearances on the opposite show to give each-other a hand. This leads to Jericho-Show defending the Tag-Championships against Bourne-Khali at the PPV.
Smith is made a “temporary member” of “Legacy”, with Orton making it clear that the other three are to help him retain the title.
HELL IN A CELL, 2009
R - WWE, "HIAC": CENA/Trips/Shawn/Batista/Orton/Cody/Tj/Smith
S - World, "HIAC": PUNK/Taker
E - ECW: CHRISTIAN/Ryder
2 - Tag: SHOW-JERICHO/Bourne-Khali
R - US: KOFI/Miz/Mvp/Swagger
S - IC: MORRISON/Ziggler
E - Shelton-Dreamer/Ezekiel-Vladimir
///
Shelton-Dreamer/Zeke-Vlad – The heels dominate Dreamer, but a tag to Shelton, followed by a springboard-dropkick, is enough to surprise Vladimir for a quick 3-count. Shelton scampers out of the ring as Vladimir is shocked and angry.
Morrison/Ziggler – Morrison has Ziggler set-up for “Starship Pain”, but as Morrison jumps, Ziggler jumps up, and hits the “Zig Zag” with Morrison on the top rope. The announcers mention how huge of a win that is, considering some of the names that Morrison has beat.
Kofi/Miz/Mvp/Swagger – Kofi tosses Miz to the outside; Swagger catches Kofi in a “Swagger Bomb”, MVP catches Swagger with a “Drive-By”, and Miz runs back into the ring, hitting MVP with the “Skull-Crushing Finale” to win the title.
Show-Jericho/Bourne-Khali – Show knocks Khali out of the ring, where Jericho then hits Khali with a chair without the ref seeing. Inside the ring, Show locks Bourne in the “Colossal Clutch”; Bourne hangs on for about twenty seconds, but finally gives up.
Christian/Ryder – Christian is in control, but Regal’s music hits; with Christian distracted, Ryder quickly rolls Christian up, getting the surprise pin.
Backstage – Miz bursts into Morrison’s dressing room, and brags about how he won a title while Morrison lost his. Morrison attacks Miz, and the two brawl until stage-hands break it up.
Punk/Taker – Before the Cell is lowered, a bunch of Druids wheel a casket down the ramp, resting it against the side of the ring; the Cell is then lowered, and Taker pops out of the casket. At the end, Taker has Punk up for the “Tombstone”, but a mystery man (a large, muscular guy wearing a black mask and black clothing) climbs out from under the ring, spears Taker, gets him up for a “Jackhammer”, and then climbs back under the ring. Punk seems confused, but pins Taker anyway.
8-man – The faces begin by beating on the heels, but that quickly degenerates into an all out war. Cody and TJ spend most of their time helping each-other and Orton; Smith does the same for a while, but eventually surprises Orton with a Running Powerslam that gets a 2 and upsets all three members of “Legacy”. Trips, Shawn, and Orton are the last three standing, with Shawn hitting the “Super Kick” on Orton, which sends Orton directly into a “Pedigree”. Shawn motions for Trips to pin Orton, which Trips thanks him for; as Trips turns to pin him, though, Shawn spins Trips around and hits him with the “Super Kick”! Cena runs in, however, hits the “Attitude Adjuster” on Shawn (with Shawn landing on Trips); Shawn rolls around in agony, and Cena pins Trips for the pin.
R - WWE, "HIAC": CENA/Trips/Shawn/Batista/Orton/Cody/Tj/Smith
S - World, "HIAC": PUNK/Taker
E - ECW: CHRISTIAN/Ryder
2 - Tag: SHOW-JERICHO/Bourne-Khali
R - US: KOFI/Miz/Mvp/Swagger
S - IC: MORRISON/Ziggler
E - Shelton-Dreamer/Ezekiel-Vladimir
///
Shelton-Dreamer/Zeke-Vlad – The heels dominate Dreamer, but a tag to Shelton, followed by a springboard-dropkick, is enough to surprise Vladimir for a quick 3-count. Shelton scampers out of the ring as Vladimir is shocked and angry.
Morrison/Ziggler – Morrison has Ziggler set-up for “Starship Pain”, but as Morrison jumps, Ziggler jumps up, and hits the “Zig Zag” with Morrison on the top rope. The announcers mention how huge of a win that is, considering some of the names that Morrison has beat.
Kofi/Miz/Mvp/Swagger – Kofi tosses Miz to the outside; Swagger catches Kofi in a “Swagger Bomb”, MVP catches Swagger with a “Drive-By”, and Miz runs back into the ring, hitting MVP with the “Skull-Crushing Finale” to win the title.
Show-Jericho/Bourne-Khali – Show knocks Khali out of the ring, where Jericho then hits Khali with a chair without the ref seeing. Inside the ring, Show locks Bourne in the “Colossal Clutch”; Bourne hangs on for about twenty seconds, but finally gives up.
Christian/Ryder – Christian is in control, but Regal’s music hits; with Christian distracted, Ryder quickly rolls Christian up, getting the surprise pin.
Backstage – Miz bursts into Morrison’s dressing room, and brags about how he won a title while Morrison lost his. Morrison attacks Miz, and the two brawl until stage-hands break it up.
Punk/Taker – Before the Cell is lowered, a bunch of Druids wheel a casket down the ramp, resting it against the side of the ring; the Cell is then lowered, and Taker pops out of the casket. At the end, Taker has Punk up for the “Tombstone”, but a mystery man (a large, muscular guy wearing a black mask and black clothing) climbs out from under the ring, spears Taker, gets him up for a “Jackhammer”, and then climbs back under the ring. Punk seems confused, but pins Taker anyway.
8-man – The faces begin by beating on the heels, but that quickly degenerates into an all out war. Cody and TJ spend most of their time helping each-other and Orton; Smith does the same for a while, but eventually surprises Orton with a Running Powerslam that gets a 2 and upsets all three members of “Legacy”. Trips, Shawn, and Orton are the last three standing, with Shawn hitting the “Super Kick” on Orton, which sends Orton directly into a “Pedigree”. Shawn motions for Trips to pin Orton, which Trips thanks him for; as Trips turns to pin him, though, Shawn spins Trips around and hits him with the “Super Kick”! Cena runs in, however, hits the “Attitude Adjuster” on Shawn (with Shawn landing on Trips); Shawn rolls around in agony, and Cena pins Trips for the pin.
OCTOBER 2009 (2nd Half)
RAW
Trips is, of course, a bit miffed that Shawn double-crossed him at “Hell In a Cell”, but Shawn knows when Trips is being self-righteous – Shawn makes it clear that Trips would have done the very same thing, and even brags a bit that, maybe, just maybe, this proves that Shawn is just a tad smarter than Trips. As Shawn continues to talk, Trips is getting more and more furious; he eventually gets nose-to-nose with Shawn, which causes Shawn to become deadly serious. Trips begins threatening Shawn, the two are about to come to blows… and Trips busts out laughing. Shawn is confused, and Trips says “I had you going there for a minute. I know, I know, I can be a heartless bastard when it comes to the Championship, I know. Seriously, though, we both want to be champion, so how about, tonight, you and I go one-on-one to name a new #1 contendor?” The two shake, only for Orton to interrupt. Orton insists that he should be part of a #1-contendor 3-way, and Batista insists that they make it a 4-way match. The 4-way happens that night, with Cody and TJ distracting Shawn and Batista; Orton goes for an “RKO” on Trips, but Trips reverses into a “Pedigree” for the win. Cena/Trips is announced for “Bragging Rights”.
Kofi wants a rematch against Miz for the US-Championship, but the Guest Host of the evening (whomever that may be) informs him that the WWE Board of Directors has a big announcement concerning Kofi, Miz, and the US-Championship. Everyone will have to wait one week to find out.
Cody-TJ want revenge on Smith (and, by extension, Kidd) for turning on Orton.
MVP and Swagger continue to feud.
SMACKDOWN
The first “Smackdown” after the PPV, Punk opens the show; he wants to make it very clear that he has no idea what happened, he has no idea who that masked man was, and he had no idea that Taker would be attacked. Taker, of course, isn’t hearing any of this, and makes his way out to confront Punk; Punk tries to plead his case, but Taker just grabs Punk around the neck. Taker is staring into Punk’s sole, but before he can choke-slam Punk, the masked man comes out from under the ring and spears Taker. Punk tries to ask the masked man who he is, but the stranger just marches to the back.
Long decides to dig deeper into the mystery, but nobody is talking. Shane and Stephanie both figure that their father must be part of it, but politely warn him that anybody that investigates their father always ends up crushed. Long faces his fears, though, and confronts Vince about it – Vince basically warns Long to stop asking questions. Long respectfully tells Vince that, as the GM of “Smackdown”, it’s his job to investigate; Vince coldly responds that maybe it shouldn’t be his job anymore. Sensing that his time might soon be running-out, Long announces Punk/Taker for “Bragging Rights”.
Going further with Long’s investigation, Long enlists the help of “internet expert” Matt Hardy to help him find some clues. Matt discovers that Vince has been receiving documents from an individual in Atlanta, Georgia. Matt also discovers that the “wweshop.com” warehouse has been reorganizing some of their older stock; when Long visits the warehouse, he discovers one of boxes being moved on a forklift, and decides to open it. It contains “Goldberg” t-shirts.
Vince doesn’t like Matt snooping around on him, and sends Kane and Knox after him; a returning Rey helps Matt.
Morrison wants a rematch with Ziggler, but Ziggler ducks him.
Kidd-Smith accept the challenge from Cody-TJ.
ECW
Ryder announces that he is already well on his way to becoming the greatest ECW Champion in history, and that he is willing to defend the belt against ANYBODY… provided they’ve never held the ECW Championship before (“They’ve had their shot”) or faced him in a match (“I get tired of beating the same people over and over again”). Tiffany is very glad to hear Ryder’s resolve, and announces that, next week, she has a very special surprise for him.
Regal decides that Vladimir-Ezekiel should go after the Tag Championships held by Jericho-Show.
Shelton and Sheamus feud.
INTERFED
Vince announces that, at “Bragging Rights”, we will see nothing but interpromotional matches, and makes some changes to the previously-announced matches.
Instead of Cena/Trips for the WWE Championship, and Punk/Taker for the World Heavyweight Championship, Cena and Punk will square-off in a 1-on-1 match; no titles on the line, just bragging rights. Also, Miz will be defending the US Championship against Morrison from “Smackdown”, and Ziggler will defend the IC Championship against Kofi from “Raw”. There will also be a tri-branded Diva Battle Royal; Jericho-Show will defend the Tag Championships against Vladimir-Ezekiel; Cody-TJ will face Kidd-Smith; and a big 10-man tag will feature Batista, MVP, Rey, Matt, and Shelton against Orton, Swagger, Kane, Knox, and Sheamus.
Lastly, on “ECW”, Tiffany announces that big surprise she had for Ryder: at “Bragging Rights”, Ryder will defend the ECW Championship against not one, but TWO #1-contendors… Triple H… and the Undertaker! Ryder is obviously scared out of his mind, and does a terrible job hiding his fear. The following week, he defends his title against Hurricane; about thirty seconds into the match, Ryder feigns a knee injury, and gets himself counted out. The following week, Ryder claims he’s fine, but after beginning a mandated match against Goldust, he again gets himself counted out, claiming that he must have re-aggravated the injury. Tiffany warns him not to embarrass the “ECW” brand at “Bragging Rights”; Ryder responds that, if anything, his courageousness in fighting through his crippling injury only makes the brand look better.
Trips is, of course, a bit miffed that Shawn double-crossed him at “Hell In a Cell”, but Shawn knows when Trips is being self-righteous – Shawn makes it clear that Trips would have done the very same thing, and even brags a bit that, maybe, just maybe, this proves that Shawn is just a tad smarter than Trips. As Shawn continues to talk, Trips is getting more and more furious; he eventually gets nose-to-nose with Shawn, which causes Shawn to become deadly serious. Trips begins threatening Shawn, the two are about to come to blows… and Trips busts out laughing. Shawn is confused, and Trips says “I had you going there for a minute. I know, I know, I can be a heartless bastard when it comes to the Championship, I know. Seriously, though, we both want to be champion, so how about, tonight, you and I go one-on-one to name a new #1 contendor?” The two shake, only for Orton to interrupt. Orton insists that he should be part of a #1-contendor 3-way, and Batista insists that they make it a 4-way match. The 4-way happens that night, with Cody and TJ distracting Shawn and Batista; Orton goes for an “RKO” on Trips, but Trips reverses into a “Pedigree” for the win. Cena/Trips is announced for “Bragging Rights”.
Kofi wants a rematch against Miz for the US-Championship, but the Guest Host of the evening (whomever that may be) informs him that the WWE Board of Directors has a big announcement concerning Kofi, Miz, and the US-Championship. Everyone will have to wait one week to find out.
Cody-TJ want revenge on Smith (and, by extension, Kidd) for turning on Orton.
MVP and Swagger continue to feud.
SMACKDOWN
The first “Smackdown” after the PPV, Punk opens the show; he wants to make it very clear that he has no idea what happened, he has no idea who that masked man was, and he had no idea that Taker would be attacked. Taker, of course, isn’t hearing any of this, and makes his way out to confront Punk; Punk tries to plead his case, but Taker just grabs Punk around the neck. Taker is staring into Punk’s sole, but before he can choke-slam Punk, the masked man comes out from under the ring and spears Taker. Punk tries to ask the masked man who he is, but the stranger just marches to the back.
Long decides to dig deeper into the mystery, but nobody is talking. Shane and Stephanie both figure that their father must be part of it, but politely warn him that anybody that investigates their father always ends up crushed. Long faces his fears, though, and confronts Vince about it – Vince basically warns Long to stop asking questions. Long respectfully tells Vince that, as the GM of “Smackdown”, it’s his job to investigate; Vince coldly responds that maybe it shouldn’t be his job anymore. Sensing that his time might soon be running-out, Long announces Punk/Taker for “Bragging Rights”.
Going further with Long’s investigation, Long enlists the help of “internet expert” Matt Hardy to help him find some clues. Matt discovers that Vince has been receiving documents from an individual in Atlanta, Georgia. Matt also discovers that the “wweshop.com” warehouse has been reorganizing some of their older stock; when Long visits the warehouse, he discovers one of boxes being moved on a forklift, and decides to open it. It contains “Goldberg” t-shirts.
Vince doesn’t like Matt snooping around on him, and sends Kane and Knox after him; a returning Rey helps Matt.
Morrison wants a rematch with Ziggler, but Ziggler ducks him.
Kidd-Smith accept the challenge from Cody-TJ.
ECW
Ryder announces that he is already well on his way to becoming the greatest ECW Champion in history, and that he is willing to defend the belt against ANYBODY… provided they’ve never held the ECW Championship before (“They’ve had their shot”) or faced him in a match (“I get tired of beating the same people over and over again”). Tiffany is very glad to hear Ryder’s resolve, and announces that, next week, she has a very special surprise for him.
Regal decides that Vladimir-Ezekiel should go after the Tag Championships held by Jericho-Show.
Shelton and Sheamus feud.
INTERFED
Vince announces that, at “Bragging Rights”, we will see nothing but interpromotional matches, and makes some changes to the previously-announced matches.
Instead of Cena/Trips for the WWE Championship, and Punk/Taker for the World Heavyweight Championship, Cena and Punk will square-off in a 1-on-1 match; no titles on the line, just bragging rights. Also, Miz will be defending the US Championship against Morrison from “Smackdown”, and Ziggler will defend the IC Championship against Kofi from “Raw”. There will also be a tri-branded Diva Battle Royal; Jericho-Show will defend the Tag Championships against Vladimir-Ezekiel; Cody-TJ will face Kidd-Smith; and a big 10-man tag will feature Batista, MVP, Rey, Matt, and Shelton against Orton, Swagger, Kane, Knox, and Sheamus.
Lastly, on “ECW”, Tiffany announces that big surprise she had for Ryder: at “Bragging Rights”, Ryder will defend the ECW Championship against not one, but TWO #1-contendors… Triple H… and the Undertaker! Ryder is obviously scared out of his mind, and does a terrible job hiding his fear. The following week, he defends his title against Hurricane; about thirty seconds into the match, Ryder feigns a knee injury, and gets himself counted out. The following week, Ryder claims he’s fine, but after beginning a mandated match against Goldust, he again gets himself counted out, claiming that he must have re-aggravated the injury. Tiffany warns him not to embarrass the “ECW” brand at “Bragging Rights”; Ryder responds that, if anything, his courageousness in fighting through his crippling injury only makes the brand look better.
BRAGGING RIGHTS, 2009
2 - CENA/PUNK
3 - ECW: RYDER/Trips/Taker
3 - Tag: SHOW-JERICHO/Ezekiel-Vladimir
2 - US: MIZ/Morrison
2 - IC: ZIGGLER/Kofi
2 - Cody-Tj/Kidd-Smith
3 - Divas Battle Royal
3 - Batista-Mvp-Rey-Matt-Shelton/Orton-Swagger-Kane-Knox-Sheamus
///
10-man – Batista pins Orton.
Divas – Beth and Natalya are the last two in the ring, with Natalya winning.
Backstage – Trips and Shawn are talking, when Shawn mentions that he has a bad feeling about Trips’ match tonight. Trips asks why, and Shawn responds that somebody keeps attacking Taker. Trips: “So?” Shawn: “So… it seems like Vince is behind it… and since you’re Vince’s son-in-law…” “You think I’m scared of Taker?” “I know you’re not, but Taker has never really believed in ‘innocent-until-proven-guilty’. If he thinks you have anything to do with it, things could get out of hand.” “Then let them get out of hand.” “If things get out of hand, you won’t win the ECW Championship.” Trips thinks about what Shawn has said, and then tells him he has to go talk to someone.
Cody-Tj/Kidd-Smith – Kidd hits the Springboard Elbow-Drop on Cody for the win.
Ziggler/Kofi – Kofi wins the IC Championship, bringing it to “Raw”.
Backstage– Trips knocks on Vince’s door. Trips tells Vince that he generally tries to stay out of Vince’s business (“Cuz, ya know, you’re insane”), but warns him that if Vince really is behind these attacks on Taker, it better not interfere with his match tonight. “Who are you to tell me what to do?” “I’ll tell you who I am: if and when The Undertaker discovers that this is all your doing, I’m the guy that could protect you from him. Of course, if you don’t want that protection, that’s fine with me, too.” Vince orders Trips out of his office.
Miz/Morrison – Morrison wins the US Championship, bringing it to “Smackdown”.
Show-Jericho/Ezekiel-Vladimir – Ezekiel actually manages to over-power Show, knocking him out of the ring. Sensing that their reign is in jeopardy, Jericho antagonizes Regal to the point where Regal gets into the ring and tackles Jericho, leading to Jericho-Show winning and retaining by DQ.
Ryder/Trips/Taker – Trips makes his way to the ring first, followed by Taker. Ryder’s music plays, but he comes out on crutches. He apologizes to the fans, claiming that he wanted nothing more than to prove himself as the ECW Champion by beating both Trips and Taker at the same time, but that his bravery in continuing to wrestle over the last few weeks has only made his condition worse. Tiffany makes her way out, and announces that, since she is contractually obligated to provide an ECW-Championship match, she is stripping Ryder of the title, and awarding it to the winner of the Taker/Trips match. Just as the match is about to get underway, Christian makes his entrance! He calls Ryder a disgrace to ECW, and volunteers to represent “ECW” in the match; Tiffany is fine with that. Christian has some “parting words” for Ryder – a “Killswitch” on the ramp! Christian walks to the ring, not an ounce of fear in his eyes. The match begins, and Christian is actually able to hold his own against the other two men, using his speed and counter-wrestling ability to keep the other two off-balance. During the match, Vince makes his way to the ring. Taker abandons the match, and goes straight for Vince; Trips, out of family loyalty, attempts to save him, trying to reason with Taker, but eventually getting into a brawl with him. The two men get counted-out, and Christian is announced the winner; this does not sit well with Christian. Shawn runs down to the ring, and attempts to separate Trips and Taker; Vince walks up the ramp, taunting Taker, while Shawn yells at Vince to stop provoking him.
Cena/Punk – Cena has Punk up for the “Attitude Adjuster”, when GOLDBERG’S music hits! The familiar pyro hits on the ramp, and the masked man walks down to the ring. The distraction is, of course, enough to distract Cena, who ends-up getting hit with the “Go To Sleep” and pinned by Punk. The masked man then enters the ring and hits Cena with a “Jackhammer”. Punk is confused, but the masked man runs out of the ring, grabs the Championship, and hands it to Punk. Punk decides to celebrate, but the lights go out. The gong sounds, and Taker makes his way to the ring. Punk bails, and the masked man tries to stop Taker; the two men brawl for a little, with Taker knocking the masked man out of the ring; the masked man tries to walk back up the ramp, but DX BLOCKS THE WAY! Trips and Shawn batter the mysterious figure back into the ring, where he gets hit with a “Super Kick”, a “Pedigree”, an “Attitude Adjuster”, and, finally, a “Tombstone”. Taker rips the mask off, revealing… BATISTA??? Nobody is sure how to take this, but Punk appears on the ramp, where Vince raises his hand; the show goes off the air to Punk’s music, with the announcers in disbelief of what we have just witnessed.
2 - CENA/PUNK
3 - ECW: RYDER/Trips/Taker
3 - Tag: SHOW-JERICHO/Ezekiel-Vladimir
2 - US: MIZ/Morrison
2 - IC: ZIGGLER/Kofi
2 - Cody-Tj/Kidd-Smith
3 - Divas Battle Royal
3 - Batista-Mvp-Rey-Matt-Shelton/Orton-Swagger-Kane-Knox-Sheamus
///
10-man – Batista pins Orton.
Divas – Beth and Natalya are the last two in the ring, with Natalya winning.
Backstage – Trips and Shawn are talking, when Shawn mentions that he has a bad feeling about Trips’ match tonight. Trips asks why, and Shawn responds that somebody keeps attacking Taker. Trips: “So?” Shawn: “So… it seems like Vince is behind it… and since you’re Vince’s son-in-law…” “You think I’m scared of Taker?” “I know you’re not, but Taker has never really believed in ‘innocent-until-proven-guilty’. If he thinks you have anything to do with it, things could get out of hand.” “Then let them get out of hand.” “If things get out of hand, you won’t win the ECW Championship.” Trips thinks about what Shawn has said, and then tells him he has to go talk to someone.
Cody-Tj/Kidd-Smith – Kidd hits the Springboard Elbow-Drop on Cody for the win.
Ziggler/Kofi – Kofi wins the IC Championship, bringing it to “Raw”.
Backstage– Trips knocks on Vince’s door. Trips tells Vince that he generally tries to stay out of Vince’s business (“Cuz, ya know, you’re insane”), but warns him that if Vince really is behind these attacks on Taker, it better not interfere with his match tonight. “Who are you to tell me what to do?” “I’ll tell you who I am: if and when The Undertaker discovers that this is all your doing, I’m the guy that could protect you from him. Of course, if you don’t want that protection, that’s fine with me, too.” Vince orders Trips out of his office.
Miz/Morrison – Morrison wins the US Championship, bringing it to “Smackdown”.
Show-Jericho/Ezekiel-Vladimir – Ezekiel actually manages to over-power Show, knocking him out of the ring. Sensing that their reign is in jeopardy, Jericho antagonizes Regal to the point where Regal gets into the ring and tackles Jericho, leading to Jericho-Show winning and retaining by DQ.
Ryder/Trips/Taker – Trips makes his way to the ring first, followed by Taker. Ryder’s music plays, but he comes out on crutches. He apologizes to the fans, claiming that he wanted nothing more than to prove himself as the ECW Champion by beating both Trips and Taker at the same time, but that his bravery in continuing to wrestle over the last few weeks has only made his condition worse. Tiffany makes her way out, and announces that, since she is contractually obligated to provide an ECW-Championship match, she is stripping Ryder of the title, and awarding it to the winner of the Taker/Trips match. Just as the match is about to get underway, Christian makes his entrance! He calls Ryder a disgrace to ECW, and volunteers to represent “ECW” in the match; Tiffany is fine with that. Christian has some “parting words” for Ryder – a “Killswitch” on the ramp! Christian walks to the ring, not an ounce of fear in his eyes. The match begins, and Christian is actually able to hold his own against the other two men, using his speed and counter-wrestling ability to keep the other two off-balance. During the match, Vince makes his way to the ring. Taker abandons the match, and goes straight for Vince; Trips, out of family loyalty, attempts to save him, trying to reason with Taker, but eventually getting into a brawl with him. The two men get counted-out, and Christian is announced the winner; this does not sit well with Christian. Shawn runs down to the ring, and attempts to separate Trips and Taker; Vince walks up the ramp, taunting Taker, while Shawn yells at Vince to stop provoking him.
Cena/Punk – Cena has Punk up for the “Attitude Adjuster”, when GOLDBERG’S music hits! The familiar pyro hits on the ramp, and the masked man walks down to the ring. The distraction is, of course, enough to distract Cena, who ends-up getting hit with the “Go To Sleep” and pinned by Punk. The masked man then enters the ring and hits Cena with a “Jackhammer”. Punk is confused, but the masked man runs out of the ring, grabs the Championship, and hands it to Punk. Punk decides to celebrate, but the lights go out. The gong sounds, and Taker makes his way to the ring. Punk bails, and the masked man tries to stop Taker; the two men brawl for a little, with Taker knocking the masked man out of the ring; the masked man tries to walk back up the ramp, but DX BLOCKS THE WAY! Trips and Shawn batter the mysterious figure back into the ring, where he gets hit with a “Super Kick”, a “Pedigree”, an “Attitude Adjuster”, and, finally, a “Tombstone”. Taker rips the mask off, revealing… BATISTA??? Nobody is sure how to take this, but Punk appears on the ramp, where Vince raises his hand; the show goes off the air to Punk’s music, with the announcers in disbelief of what we have just witnessed.
NOVEMBER, 2009
RAW
The night after “Bragging Rights”, the show opens with Cena’s music hitting. Cena walks out onto the ramp, but he hesitates before heading down to the ring; that’s because DX make their entrance, as well, and the three men head down to the ring. The three men want answers, and demand that Vince make his way down to the ring. Vince arrives, but stays at the top of the ramp. Vince says that he doesn’t have to answer to anybody, but that he is more than willing to give the four of them what they want – revenge. At “Survivor Series”, Cena, Trips, Shawn, and Taker will meet Batista and three partners of his choosing.
Trips continues trying to get answers out of Vince, but is always shot down.
Kofi continues to feud with Miz over the IC Championship.
Orton is embarrassed at Cody-Tj’s loss to Kidd-Smith, and sends them after Carlito-Primo.
Swagger and MVP continue to feud. Masters picks a feud with Henry over who really is the strongest. Chavo picks a feud with Bourne. Noble begins having more TV-time. These seven men will be involved in a match at “Survivor Series”, with the faces having a surprise for their fourth man.
SMACKDOWN
Batista announces that, by order of Vince McMahon, he is now officially on “Smackdown”, and picks his partners for “Survivor Series”: Unified Tag-Team Champions Jericho-Show, and World Heavyweight Champion Punk. Punk is honored to be picked, but does say that there’s something he’d rather have – another shot at Cena. “I want people to know that, as much as I appreciate all the help Batista has given me, I want to prove that I can beat Cena.” Vince arrives, and says that he can’t allow that. Punk wants to know why. Vince: “Don’t you get it. All this help. All this help you’ve gotten over the last few months, is because I need you at the top. You’re the first-ever ‘Straight Edge’ World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history! My investors love you! You’re exactly the type of champion this company needs! You know how people love to attack me for no reason, even the Federal Government has tried to attack me in the past! For no reason whatsoever! But with you on top, Punk, ‘Mr. Straight Edge’, my company is safe. I’m safe, we don’t have to worry about being attacked for no reason.” Punk: “So basically what you’re saying is that you didn’t think I could do it on my own.” Vince: “I know you could have done it on your own. But I’m a business-man, I had to protect my investment.” Punk is angry. “So you won’t give me a match against Cena, cuz you’re afraid I might lose or get hurt or something.” “I’m not afraid of that, I know what an amazing competitor you are, but I just can’t take that risk.” “So how can I prove that it’s not a risk at all?” Vince announces that, at “Survivor Series”, he’ll allow Punk to captain a team of three wrestlers of his choosing against Cena and three of his (Cena’s) choosing… and if Punk’s team is successful, he’ll grant Punk a 1-on-1 match against Cena, no outside-interference guaranteed. Punk likes this idea.
Later, Batista asks Vince if he should do anything about Punk’s ungrateful attitude; Vince tells him to just “let it be”, that Punk will eventually come around to their way of thinking.
Morrison and Ziggler continue to feud over the US Championship.
Kidd-Smith feel pretty cocky after their win against Cody-Tj; Jtg-Shad attempt to sour their mood.
Yang makes his return to TV, and is assaulted by a debuting Kaval.
Matt and Knox continue to feud. McIntyre sets his sights on Rey. Truth and Haas begin a feud, with Haas sure that his superior wrestling acumen will lead him to victory.
ECW
Christian makes it clear that he doesn’t want to win ECW Championship in such a cheap way, and insists that Tiffany come-up with some way to name a new Champion. Tiffany announces a 3-week, 8-man tournament. The brackets are:
- Christian/Burchill
- Dreamer/Regal
- Shelton/Sheamus
- Ryder/Yoshi
Christian beats Burchill; Regal beats Dreamer (with help from Vlad and Zeke); Shelton beats Sheamus, and Ryder beats Yoshi by holding his tights. From there, Christian beats Regal (Dreamer and a singapore-cane keep Vlad-Zeke at bay), and Ryder beats Shelton. In the finals, Christian beats Ryder.
INTERFED
With Cena and Punk being removed from the main-event of “Survivor Series”, both the Taker-Trips-Shawn and Batista-Jericho-Show teams need to find a fourth member. Batista reaches out to his old team-mate, Orton; Orton is skeptical, due their long-running rivalry and the fact that Batista is now working directly for the man whose family Orton assaulted, by they eventually put their difference aside. As for the faces, Taker decides to reach out to the one man he knows he can fully trust: Kane!
Cena picks his partners: IC-champ Kofi, US-champ Morrison (from “Smackdown”), and ECW-champ Christian (from “ECW”). Punk decides to pick three people that – just like he is – are all looking to make names themselves: Ziggler, Miz (from “Raw”), and Ryder (from “ECW”).
Carlito-Primo will team with Jtg-Shad against Cody-Tj and Kidd-Smith.
The night after “Bragging Rights”, the show opens with Cena’s music hitting. Cena walks out onto the ramp, but he hesitates before heading down to the ring; that’s because DX make their entrance, as well, and the three men head down to the ring. The three men want answers, and demand that Vince make his way down to the ring. Vince arrives, but stays at the top of the ramp. Vince says that he doesn’t have to answer to anybody, but that he is more than willing to give the four of them what they want – revenge. At “Survivor Series”, Cena, Trips, Shawn, and Taker will meet Batista and three partners of his choosing.
Trips continues trying to get answers out of Vince, but is always shot down.
Kofi continues to feud with Miz over the IC Championship.
Orton is embarrassed at Cody-Tj’s loss to Kidd-Smith, and sends them after Carlito-Primo.
Swagger and MVP continue to feud. Masters picks a feud with Henry over who really is the strongest. Chavo picks a feud with Bourne. Noble begins having more TV-time. These seven men will be involved in a match at “Survivor Series”, with the faces having a surprise for their fourth man.
SMACKDOWN
Batista announces that, by order of Vince McMahon, he is now officially on “Smackdown”, and picks his partners for “Survivor Series”: Unified Tag-Team Champions Jericho-Show, and World Heavyweight Champion Punk. Punk is honored to be picked, but does say that there’s something he’d rather have – another shot at Cena. “I want people to know that, as much as I appreciate all the help Batista has given me, I want to prove that I can beat Cena.” Vince arrives, and says that he can’t allow that. Punk wants to know why. Vince: “Don’t you get it. All this help. All this help you’ve gotten over the last few months, is because I need you at the top. You’re the first-ever ‘Straight Edge’ World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history! My investors love you! You’re exactly the type of champion this company needs! You know how people love to attack me for no reason, even the Federal Government has tried to attack me in the past! For no reason whatsoever! But with you on top, Punk, ‘Mr. Straight Edge’, my company is safe. I’m safe, we don’t have to worry about being attacked for no reason.” Punk: “So basically what you’re saying is that you didn’t think I could do it on my own.” Vince: “I know you could have done it on your own. But I’m a business-man, I had to protect my investment.” Punk is angry. “So you won’t give me a match against Cena, cuz you’re afraid I might lose or get hurt or something.” “I’m not afraid of that, I know what an amazing competitor you are, but I just can’t take that risk.” “So how can I prove that it’s not a risk at all?” Vince announces that, at “Survivor Series”, he’ll allow Punk to captain a team of three wrestlers of his choosing against Cena and three of his (Cena’s) choosing… and if Punk’s team is successful, he’ll grant Punk a 1-on-1 match against Cena, no outside-interference guaranteed. Punk likes this idea.
Later, Batista asks Vince if he should do anything about Punk’s ungrateful attitude; Vince tells him to just “let it be”, that Punk will eventually come around to their way of thinking.
Morrison and Ziggler continue to feud over the US Championship.
Kidd-Smith feel pretty cocky after their win against Cody-Tj; Jtg-Shad attempt to sour their mood.
Yang makes his return to TV, and is assaulted by a debuting Kaval.
Matt and Knox continue to feud. McIntyre sets his sights on Rey. Truth and Haas begin a feud, with Haas sure that his superior wrestling acumen will lead him to victory.
ECW
Christian makes it clear that he doesn’t want to win ECW Championship in such a cheap way, and insists that Tiffany come-up with some way to name a new Champion. Tiffany announces a 3-week, 8-man tournament. The brackets are:
- Christian/Burchill
- Dreamer/Regal
- Shelton/Sheamus
- Ryder/Yoshi
Christian beats Burchill; Regal beats Dreamer (with help from Vlad and Zeke); Shelton beats Sheamus, and Ryder beats Yoshi by holding his tights. From there, Christian beats Regal (Dreamer and a singapore-cane keep Vlad-Zeke at bay), and Ryder beats Shelton. In the finals, Christian beats Ryder.
INTERFED
With Cena and Punk being removed from the main-event of “Survivor Series”, both the Taker-Trips-Shawn and Batista-Jericho-Show teams need to find a fourth member. Batista reaches out to his old team-mate, Orton; Orton is skeptical, due their long-running rivalry and the fact that Batista is now working directly for the man whose family Orton assaulted, by they eventually put their difference aside. As for the faces, Taker decides to reach out to the one man he knows he can fully trust: Kane!
Cena picks his partners: IC-champ Kofi, US-champ Morrison (from “Smackdown”), and ECW-champ Christian (from “ECW”). Punk decides to pick three people that – just like he is – are all looking to make names themselves: Ziggler, Miz (from “Raw”), and Ryder (from “ECW”).
Carlito-Primo will team with Jtg-Shad against Cody-Tj and Kidd-Smith.
SURVIVOR SERIES, 2009
2 - Trips-Shawn-Taker-Kane/Batista-Orton-Jericho-Show
2 - Cena-Kofi-Morrison-Christian/Punk-Miz-Ziggler-Ryder
2 - Carlito-Primo-Jtg-Shad/Cody-Tj-Kidd-Smith
R - Mvp-Henry-Bourne-???/Swagger-Masters-Chavo-Noble
S - Matt-Rey-Yang-Truth/Knox-McIntyre-Kaval-Haas
E - Shelton-Dreamer-Hurricane-Yoshi-Goldust/Regal-Burchill-Sheamus-Ezekiel-Vladimir
///
ECW – Vladimir eliminates Goldust, and Ezekiel eliminates Hurricane. Shelton eliminates Sheamus, and Dreamer eliminates Burchill. Regal eliminates Dreamer. Shelton tries to hit a springboard-dropkick on Vladimir, but while Shelton is in mid-air, Vlad headbutts him in the sternum, stunning him enough for the pin. Yoshi is the last man left on the face-team; Zeke and Vlad hit their finishers right after another, then allow Regal to get the pin and the win.
Survivors: Regal, Vladimir, Ezekiel
Smackdown – Truth eliminates Haas, and Kaval eliminates Truth. Kaval then eliminates Yang, as well, and Matt eliminates Knox. McIntyre and Kaval try everything they can to defeat their opponents, they cheat and double-team, but Matt and Rey just keep fighting back. McIntyre and Rey fight to the outside, and McIntyre eventually decides that he’s had enough; he begins to walk to the back, and gets himself counted out. Kaval is in disbelief, so much so that he doesn’t notice Matt sneak up behind him; one “Twist of Fate” later, and Matt gets the final fall.
Survivors: Matt, Rey
Raw – The four heels make their way to the ring together. Bourne then makes his entrance, but stays up on the ramp; MVP then makes his entrance, followed by Henry. The three men wait for their partner… BISCUITS AND GRAVY! Festus – already completely nuts – doesn’t even wait for his partners; they begin making a slow walk to the ring, and Festus runs to the ring at 100 mph! Festus makes quick work of Noble and Chavo, eliminating them both in about a minute. Masters is able to match power with Festus, but when he locks Festus in the “Master Lock”, Festus quickly breaks out of it; Festus then immediately reverses it and puts Masters in the “Master Lock”, forcing Masters to submit. Swagger attempts to run, but Henry catches him and tosses him back in the ring; Festus mauls Swagger, then tags in Bourne; Bourne climbs the ropes and hits the “Air Bourne” for the win. Swagger is furious afterwards, so Festus (apparently no longer affected by the ring-bell) chases him to the back.
Survivors: Festus, Bourne, MVP, Henry
Tag – Shad eliminates Smith, Primo eliminates TJ. Cody eliminates Carlito, and Kidd eliminates Shad. JTG eventually catches Cody with the “Shout Out”, but Kidd catches JTG with a flashy roll-up to eliminate him. Primo and Kidd wrestle a fast-paced match, with Kidd eventually catching Primo in the “Sharpshooter”… Primo tries to hold on, but eventually submits.
Survivor: Kidd
Cena/Punk – Punk makes a big show about how he wants to start the match against Cena, but when Cena gets in the ring, Punk quickly rolls out of the ring. Miz then starts with Cena. Cena and Miz have a pretty back-and-forth match, with Miz then insisting that Cena tag Morrison; Cena is happy to oblige. Morrison quickly gets the advantage with flash and counter-wrestling, but Miz is able to brawl his way out. Miz tags in Ziggler, who methodically works Morrison over. Ziggler attempts to hit the “Zig Zag”, but Morrison stands his ground, causing Ziggler to crash into the ground. Morrison tags Kofi, and Ziggler tags Ryder. Ryder runs his mouth to Kofi, so Kofi hits a quick “Trouble in Paradise” to eliminate him. Miz comes in for his team, and manages to ground Kofi with his brawling style. Miz whips Kofi into his team’s corner, and then distracts the ref, allowing Punk and Ziggler to beat on Kofi; Kofi battles back, and reverses Miz into the corner, then goes for his “leaping straddle” onto the corner; as Kofi is punching Miz, Ziggler tags himself in, and hits the “Zig Zag” on the elevated Kofi for the pin. Christian enters for his team, and squares off with Ziggler; Christian manages to chain-wrestle and frustrate Ziggler, causing Ziggler to tag out to Punk. Punk and Christian are pretty evenly matched; Christian eventually winds Punk’s arm, and tags Cena. Punk and Cena are nose-to-nose, and look like they’re about to rumble, but Punk instead runs and tags Miz. Miz, of course, runs his mouth, saying that Cena “ain’t nothing”; Cena dominates for a while, but a low-blow behind the referee’s back allows Miz to dominate Cena. Cena, hurting, hits a “Throwback” on Miz, and tags Morrison in; Morrison immediately goes for the “Starship Pain”, but Miz moves, and pulls Morrison’s tights for the 3. Miz keeps running his mouth as Morrison exits the ring, to the point where he doesn’t realize that Christian is right behind him! Christian spins Miz around, hits the “Kill Switch”, and pins Miz. It’s now down to Cena and Christian against Punk. Christian and Punk wrestle a straight-up match. Eventually, Christian hooks Punk for the “Killswitch”, but Punk reverses into the “Go To Sleep” for the pin. Cena enters the ring, and Punk decides to play cat-and-mouse; he runs out of the ring, and baits Cena into chasing after him, which leads to Punk catching Cena as he gets back into the ring. Punk dominates for a while, and eventually hits the “Go To Sleep” on Cena! 1… 2… Cena kicks out! Punk lifts Cena for another “Go To Sleep”, but this time, Cena fights out of it, and lifts Punk for the “Attitude Adjuster”… Cena throws Punk in the air… Cena pivots him over… Punk lands on his feet… BIG kick out of nowhere to Cena’s face allows Punk to make the cover and win the match. The announcers play-up the fact that Punk just beat both the “WWE” and “ECW” champions.
Survivor: Punk
DX-BOD/Batista-Orton-Jericho-Show – Before the match begins, Vince makes his way to the ring, and takes his seat near the time-keeper. The four heels enter separately. DX make their entrance (and wait at the bottom of the ramp), followed by Kane, then Taker. The four faces make their way to the ring, but instead of getting into the ring, they head towards Vince! Taker stares Vince down, while the other three try to keep him from going too far. Trips and Batista start off, with Trips hitting some big punches on Batista, when suddenly, the bell rings. Vince grabs a microphone: “Triple H… Hunter… Son-in-Law… I shouldn’t have to remind you that closed fists are illegal. You’re disqualified.” Trips is shocked! Vince: “I told you to stay out of my business.” Trips, furious, storms to the back. Kane comes in for his team, and immediately Batista by the throat; again, the bell rings. Vince: “Need I remind you that choking is illegal, as well? You’re disqualified.” Kane is furious, and goes after Vince; Shawn tries to calm Kane down, but, AGAIN, the bell rings! “Shawn, I do believe that you’re the legal man. Well, you’ve been standing outside of this ring for more than ten seconds. Thus, you’ve been counted out.” Vince dares Shawn to hit him, but Shawn can only smirk; Vince wants to know what Shawn finds so funny… Shawn points out that Taker is standing right behind Vince! Taker tries to get his hands on Vince, but the four heels attack Taker; Shawn and Kane try to help Taker, while Vince gets on the microphone: “Referee, I do believe that Taker is no longer in any condition to compete. Therefore, your winners are Chris Jericho, The Big Show, Randy Orton, and Batista!” The announcers are in utter disbelief at all the shenanigans, as well as the fact that the entire match lasted about two minutes.
Survivors: Batista, Orton, Jericho, Show
The 4-on-3 brawl continues after the match, YOU KNOW IT’S THE MACK MILITANT! Vince wants to know what Teddy is doing here; Teddy announces that, while he would never want to step on Vince’s toes, he also has a responsibility to the fans to provide them with the greatest wrestling action possible. He says that, while he can’t do anything about the match we just saw, he CAN announce a brand new match. “That match will feature Chris Jericho, The Big Show, Randy Orton, and Batista, against Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kane… and the Undatakah! And this new match will be a one-fall-to-a-finish, no-countout, no-disqualification, anything-goes, TORNADO MATCH! And that match will happen… right now!” Trips makes his way back to the ring, sledge-hammer in hand, and begins attacking all of the heels. All eight men begin brawling around the ring, using all manner of weaponry. Eventually, Taker and Batista end-up in the ring; Taker hits the “Tombstone”, pins Batista, the bell rings, and Vince is seen crying. Vince: “It was all so perfect!” Taker’s music hits, and the four faces celebrate in the ring as the show goes off the air.
2 - Trips-Shawn-Taker-Kane/Batista-Orton-Jericho-Show
2 - Cena-Kofi-Morrison-Christian/Punk-Miz-Ziggler-Ryder
2 - Carlito-Primo-Jtg-Shad/Cody-Tj-Kidd-Smith
R - Mvp-Henry-Bourne-???/Swagger-Masters-Chavo-Noble
S - Matt-Rey-Yang-Truth/Knox-McIntyre-Kaval-Haas
E - Shelton-Dreamer-Hurricane-Yoshi-Goldust/Regal-Burchill-Sheamus-Ezekiel-Vladimir
///
ECW – Vladimir eliminates Goldust, and Ezekiel eliminates Hurricane. Shelton eliminates Sheamus, and Dreamer eliminates Burchill. Regal eliminates Dreamer. Shelton tries to hit a springboard-dropkick on Vladimir, but while Shelton is in mid-air, Vlad headbutts him in the sternum, stunning him enough for the pin. Yoshi is the last man left on the face-team; Zeke and Vlad hit their finishers right after another, then allow Regal to get the pin and the win.
Survivors: Regal, Vladimir, Ezekiel
Smackdown – Truth eliminates Haas, and Kaval eliminates Truth. Kaval then eliminates Yang, as well, and Matt eliminates Knox. McIntyre and Kaval try everything they can to defeat their opponents, they cheat and double-team, but Matt and Rey just keep fighting back. McIntyre and Rey fight to the outside, and McIntyre eventually decides that he’s had enough; he begins to walk to the back, and gets himself counted out. Kaval is in disbelief, so much so that he doesn’t notice Matt sneak up behind him; one “Twist of Fate” later, and Matt gets the final fall.
Survivors: Matt, Rey
Raw – The four heels make their way to the ring together. Bourne then makes his entrance, but stays up on the ramp; MVP then makes his entrance, followed by Henry. The three men wait for their partner… BISCUITS AND GRAVY! Festus – already completely nuts – doesn’t even wait for his partners; they begin making a slow walk to the ring, and Festus runs to the ring at 100 mph! Festus makes quick work of Noble and Chavo, eliminating them both in about a minute. Masters is able to match power with Festus, but when he locks Festus in the “Master Lock”, Festus quickly breaks out of it; Festus then immediately reverses it and puts Masters in the “Master Lock”, forcing Masters to submit. Swagger attempts to run, but Henry catches him and tosses him back in the ring; Festus mauls Swagger, then tags in Bourne; Bourne climbs the ropes and hits the “Air Bourne” for the win. Swagger is furious afterwards, so Festus (apparently no longer affected by the ring-bell) chases him to the back.
Survivors: Festus, Bourne, MVP, Henry
Tag – Shad eliminates Smith, Primo eliminates TJ. Cody eliminates Carlito, and Kidd eliminates Shad. JTG eventually catches Cody with the “Shout Out”, but Kidd catches JTG with a flashy roll-up to eliminate him. Primo and Kidd wrestle a fast-paced match, with Kidd eventually catching Primo in the “Sharpshooter”… Primo tries to hold on, but eventually submits.
Survivor: Kidd
Cena/Punk – Punk makes a big show about how he wants to start the match against Cena, but when Cena gets in the ring, Punk quickly rolls out of the ring. Miz then starts with Cena. Cena and Miz have a pretty back-and-forth match, with Miz then insisting that Cena tag Morrison; Cena is happy to oblige. Morrison quickly gets the advantage with flash and counter-wrestling, but Miz is able to brawl his way out. Miz tags in Ziggler, who methodically works Morrison over. Ziggler attempts to hit the “Zig Zag”, but Morrison stands his ground, causing Ziggler to crash into the ground. Morrison tags Kofi, and Ziggler tags Ryder. Ryder runs his mouth to Kofi, so Kofi hits a quick “Trouble in Paradise” to eliminate him. Miz comes in for his team, and manages to ground Kofi with his brawling style. Miz whips Kofi into his team’s corner, and then distracts the ref, allowing Punk and Ziggler to beat on Kofi; Kofi battles back, and reverses Miz into the corner, then goes for his “leaping straddle” onto the corner; as Kofi is punching Miz, Ziggler tags himself in, and hits the “Zig Zag” on the elevated Kofi for the pin. Christian enters for his team, and squares off with Ziggler; Christian manages to chain-wrestle and frustrate Ziggler, causing Ziggler to tag out to Punk. Punk and Christian are pretty evenly matched; Christian eventually winds Punk’s arm, and tags Cena. Punk and Cena are nose-to-nose, and look like they’re about to rumble, but Punk instead runs and tags Miz. Miz, of course, runs his mouth, saying that Cena “ain’t nothing”; Cena dominates for a while, but a low-blow behind the referee’s back allows Miz to dominate Cena. Cena, hurting, hits a “Throwback” on Miz, and tags Morrison in; Morrison immediately goes for the “Starship Pain”, but Miz moves, and pulls Morrison’s tights for the 3. Miz keeps running his mouth as Morrison exits the ring, to the point where he doesn’t realize that Christian is right behind him! Christian spins Miz around, hits the “Kill Switch”, and pins Miz. It’s now down to Cena and Christian against Punk. Christian and Punk wrestle a straight-up match. Eventually, Christian hooks Punk for the “Killswitch”, but Punk reverses into the “Go To Sleep” for the pin. Cena enters the ring, and Punk decides to play cat-and-mouse; he runs out of the ring, and baits Cena into chasing after him, which leads to Punk catching Cena as he gets back into the ring. Punk dominates for a while, and eventually hits the “Go To Sleep” on Cena! 1… 2… Cena kicks out! Punk lifts Cena for another “Go To Sleep”, but this time, Cena fights out of it, and lifts Punk for the “Attitude Adjuster”… Cena throws Punk in the air… Cena pivots him over… Punk lands on his feet… BIG kick out of nowhere to Cena’s face allows Punk to make the cover and win the match. The announcers play-up the fact that Punk just beat both the “WWE” and “ECW” champions.
Survivor: Punk
DX-BOD/Batista-Orton-Jericho-Show – Before the match begins, Vince makes his way to the ring, and takes his seat near the time-keeper. The four heels enter separately. DX make their entrance (and wait at the bottom of the ramp), followed by Kane, then Taker. The four faces make their way to the ring, but instead of getting into the ring, they head towards Vince! Taker stares Vince down, while the other three try to keep him from going too far. Trips and Batista start off, with Trips hitting some big punches on Batista, when suddenly, the bell rings. Vince grabs a microphone: “Triple H… Hunter… Son-in-Law… I shouldn’t have to remind you that closed fists are illegal. You’re disqualified.” Trips is shocked! Vince: “I told you to stay out of my business.” Trips, furious, storms to the back. Kane comes in for his team, and immediately Batista by the throat; again, the bell rings. Vince: “Need I remind you that choking is illegal, as well? You’re disqualified.” Kane is furious, and goes after Vince; Shawn tries to calm Kane down, but, AGAIN, the bell rings! “Shawn, I do believe that you’re the legal man. Well, you’ve been standing outside of this ring for more than ten seconds. Thus, you’ve been counted out.” Vince dares Shawn to hit him, but Shawn can only smirk; Vince wants to know what Shawn finds so funny… Shawn points out that Taker is standing right behind Vince! Taker tries to get his hands on Vince, but the four heels attack Taker; Shawn and Kane try to help Taker, while Vince gets on the microphone: “Referee, I do believe that Taker is no longer in any condition to compete. Therefore, your winners are Chris Jericho, The Big Show, Randy Orton, and Batista!” The announcers are in utter disbelief at all the shenanigans, as well as the fact that the entire match lasted about two minutes.
Survivors: Batista, Orton, Jericho, Show
The 4-on-3 brawl continues after the match, YOU KNOW IT’S THE MACK MILITANT! Vince wants to know what Teddy is doing here; Teddy announces that, while he would never want to step on Vince’s toes, he also has a responsibility to the fans to provide them with the greatest wrestling action possible. He says that, while he can’t do anything about the match we just saw, he CAN announce a brand new match. “That match will feature Chris Jericho, The Big Show, Randy Orton, and Batista, against Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kane… and the Undatakah! And this new match will be a one-fall-to-a-finish, no-countout, no-disqualification, anything-goes, TORNADO MATCH! And that match will happen… right now!” Trips makes his way back to the ring, sledge-hammer in hand, and begins attacking all of the heels. All eight men begin brawling around the ring, using all manner of weaponry. Eventually, Taker and Batista end-up in the ring; Taker hits the “Tombstone”, pins Batista, the bell rings, and Vince is seen crying. Vince: “It was all so perfect!” Taker’s music hits, and the four faces celebrate in the ring as the show goes off the air.
DECEMBER, 2009
RAW
The first show after “Survivor Series” opens with Cena. He admits that he lost to Punk last night, fair and square, and apologizes for letting down the “Raw” audience. Jericho-Show interrupt, and brag that, unlike Cena, they won their match last night. Cena corrects them, pointing out that they only won one of their matches last night – they lost the rematch. Jericho smarms it up, citing that only the first match, the one they won, actually “counted”, since the rematch was announced as a spur-of-the-moment thing. Cena then corrects Jericho’s correction, saying “If I remember correctly, that first match, the one you claim to have ‘won’… you didn’t even get in the ring during that match, did you?” Jericho: “I didn’t have to get in the ring, it was my incredible leadership abilities that allowed my team to triumph.” Cena, growing tired, asks Jericho what he wants. Jericho tells him that the reason he and Show have been so focused on the tag-championships was because it allows them to be on all brands, and thus, would allow them to dominate the WWE by holding all of the championships. “So you want a shot at the WWE Championship?” “I don’t want just any shot. In case you didn’t know, our next pay-per-view is going to be entitled ‘Tables, Ladders, and Chairs’. I think you owe it to this ‘Raw’ audience, for your lackluster, disappointing, talentless hack embarrassment of a performance last night to allow them to see a true champion face you for the WWE Championship, in what will only be able to be called a true championship endurance test. You and me, in a ‘TLC’ match!” Cena thinks it over, and then agrees to it; he then lifts Jericho over his head, swings around so that Jericho’s feet catch Show in the face, and hits Jericho with the “Attitude Adjuster”.
A tournament is held to name a new #1-contendor for Kofi’s IC-championship:
- Bourne/Masters
- Henry/Chavo
- Mvp/Miz
- Festus/Swagger
Bourne beats Masters, Henry squashes Chavo, Miz cheats to beat MVP, and Festus mauls Swagger to the point where Swagger can’t make it back in the ring after being tossed over the ropes. In the semi-finals, Bourne pulls a big upset over Henry (with the two shaking hands at the end), and Miz wins via forfeit when Festus mysteriously doesn’t show up. It is later announced that Festus has been deemed a danger to all of his fellow wrestlers in the locker-room, and has been banned from “Raw”. During the finals-match of Bourne/Miz, Swagger makes his way to the ring; this then prompts Mvp to make his way down, followed by Masters, then Henry. Swagger attempts to interfere, so Mvp cuts him off; this leads to a brawl amongst the four non-participants. The four men brawl around and through the ring, eventually leading to Bourne climbing the top-rope and hitting “Air Bourne” outside the ring onto the four interferers. Bourne, obviously hurting himself in the process, gets back in the ring; Miz attempts to capitalize by going for the “Skull-Crushing Finale”, but Bourne reverses out, kicks Miz in the face, and hits “Air Bourne” for the win. Miz, of course, cries foul, while the faces celebrate with Bourne.
Trips and Shawn spend several weeks trying to get answers out of Vince, and finally get Vince to show-up on “Raw”. Vince confronts the two men in the ring, and tells them that he doesn’t have to answer them, but that the two of them will have to answer for sticking their noses in his business… MIZ AND SWAGGER attack DX from behind with chairs, leaving them laying. Miz and Swagger make it clear that they have pooled their talents and plan to watch each others’ backs so as to not end-up the (self-proclaimed) victims of circumstances that they were in the IC-tourney; furthermore, they make it clear that they are looking to climb the ladder as quickly as possible, and if that means sucking-up to Vince and making their names at the expense of “DX”, so be it. This leads to a tag-match at “Tables, Ladders, and Chairs” where chairs are legal.
Backstage, Orton announces to Cody and TJ that he has done some deep soul-searching, and has decided to take a leave of absence. “This I.E.D., my anger issues… they’ve been really bad lately. I just need some time off. Cody, TJ, you guys have been like brothers to me. I know you’ll be okay without me. I wish you nothing but the best of luck in your future endeavors.” Cody and TJ aren’t sure what to do without their leader around, and spend several weeks pleading for him to come back and lead them.
SMACKDOWN
The first episode after “Survivor Series” opens with Teddy Long standing in the middle of the ring. “First of all, I want to congratulate C.M. Punk on his incredible performance. We may have had our differences in the past, but he fought with honor and brought an incredible sense of pride to the entire ‘Smackdown’ locker-room when he was able to pin both the ECW-champion Christian and the WWE-Champion John Cena in the same match. So C.M. Punk, congratulations. Also, I want to extend my congratulations to Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kane, and the Undertaker-“ Long is cut off as Vince’s music hits. Vince: “I know where you’re going with this, and let me make one thing very clear to you right now. There is no reason to congratulate ‘DX’ or ‘The Brothers of Destruction’, because they lost their match last night. They lost! They got shut-out in less than three minutes! That’s not something they should be congratulated on.” Long: “Mr. McMahon, with all due respect, that was only the first match-“, Vince: “There was only one match! There was only one match, that other match didn’t count, you don’t have the power to make matches like that!” Long: “But Mr. McMahon”, Vince: “You’re the General Manager of ‘Smackdown’, so whatever you want to do on this brand is up to you, but you don’t get to make matches involving ‘Raw’ superstars, and you sure as hell don’t get to reverse MY decisions!” Long offers his apologies, but Vince isn’t having it. “Teddy, this is the last straw; if you ever again try to undermine my authority, you’re fired.” Vince leaves, and Long looks upset.
Punk brags about his accomplishment of beating both the WWE-champion and ECW-champion in one match, and claims that he looks forward to ushering in a new golden-age for wrestling, one where fans can be proud of having a straight-edge champion with the fighting-spirit of a true warrior. Long announces that, since Punk did exactly what he said he would do, he’s now going to give Punk what he asked for: a 1-on-1 match against John Cena. Punk smiles, but then says “No, that’s ok, I don’t need it now.” Long: “You don’t want the match now?” Punk: “No, I already proved myself, I don’t need to beat him again.” Long pushes the point, but Vince makes his way out. Vince: “What did I JUST tell you?” Long: “Not to undermine your authority.” Vince: “So what are you doing trying to force this man into a match he doesn’t want?” Long: “But Mr. McMahon.” Vince: “Teddy, this is the very first straight-edge champion in WWE history, we have to respect his wishes. We have to keep his best interests in mind. He’s already proven he can beat John Cena, there’s no telling what Cena might try to do to hurt him, we have to protect our investment.” The three men bicker in the ring, when MATT makes his entrance. Matt tells Punk that he’s sick of Punk’s excuses, and bragging, and general attitude, and challenges Punk to a match at “Tables, Ladders, and Chairs”. Vince begins to question Matt on who he thinks he is, but Punk interrupts, saying it’s ok. Punk takes some personal shots at both Matt and Jeff, and then accepts Matt’s challenge. Long injects that it will be a “TLC” match, which Punk accepts, too. “I’ve already embarrassed your brother, I might as well embarrass the entire family.”
Batista and Taker attack each-other at every turn, with Batista tossing Taker through one of the announce-tables one week, and Taker returning the favor the next. This leads to a “Tables” match at the PPV.
Rey wants his rematch against Morrison, which Morrison is more than happy to give him. They agree to meet at the PPV.
ECW
Christian defends the ECW-championship against all-comers. Regal challenges him to an “Extreme Rules” match, which Christian loses due to Ezekiel and Vladimir interfering. Christian wants his rematch, but Regal convinces Tiffany that it’s time to let someone else have a shot. Tiffany couldn’t agree more, and decides that Regal will defend the title at “Tables, Ladders, and Chairs” against a mystery opponent. Regal is nervous, especially after Tiffany confides in Christian and Dreamer; Christian and Dreamer agree to show him the ropes, since “he’s brand new to ECW”. Christian and Dreamer both taunt Regal, claiming, “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to face this guy.”
Ryder picks a feud with Shelton, basically saying that Shelton’s career has been “a whole lot of nothing”. Burchill thinks that Yoshi has a problem with Englishmen. Sheamus focuses on embarrassing Hurricane.
INTERFED
To go along with Jericho challenging for Cena’s WWE-Championship, Show asks Long for a shot at Punk’s WHC-Championship. Long apologizes for not being able to do that (“I’ve already signed the match, and I don’t think Mr. McMahon would be too happy if I changed it.”), so Show petitions to get added to the Cena/Jericho match. It is changed to a three-way. Tension is teased between Show and Jericho, though they (pretty much) agree that they will work together to beat Cena.
Vince decides to combine the IC- and US-championship matches, leading to a four-way involving Kofi, Bourne, Morrison, and Rey. It’s also made into a double “Ladder” match, with both the IC- and US-championships hanging over the ring, and the match can only end when both belts are captured.
The first show after “Survivor Series” opens with Cena. He admits that he lost to Punk last night, fair and square, and apologizes for letting down the “Raw” audience. Jericho-Show interrupt, and brag that, unlike Cena, they won their match last night. Cena corrects them, pointing out that they only won one of their matches last night – they lost the rematch. Jericho smarms it up, citing that only the first match, the one they won, actually “counted”, since the rematch was announced as a spur-of-the-moment thing. Cena then corrects Jericho’s correction, saying “If I remember correctly, that first match, the one you claim to have ‘won’… you didn’t even get in the ring during that match, did you?” Jericho: “I didn’t have to get in the ring, it was my incredible leadership abilities that allowed my team to triumph.” Cena, growing tired, asks Jericho what he wants. Jericho tells him that the reason he and Show have been so focused on the tag-championships was because it allows them to be on all brands, and thus, would allow them to dominate the WWE by holding all of the championships. “So you want a shot at the WWE Championship?” “I don’t want just any shot. In case you didn’t know, our next pay-per-view is going to be entitled ‘Tables, Ladders, and Chairs’. I think you owe it to this ‘Raw’ audience, for your lackluster, disappointing, talentless hack embarrassment of a performance last night to allow them to see a true champion face you for the WWE Championship, in what will only be able to be called a true championship endurance test. You and me, in a ‘TLC’ match!” Cena thinks it over, and then agrees to it; he then lifts Jericho over his head, swings around so that Jericho’s feet catch Show in the face, and hits Jericho with the “Attitude Adjuster”.
A tournament is held to name a new #1-contendor for Kofi’s IC-championship:
- Bourne/Masters
- Henry/Chavo
- Mvp/Miz
- Festus/Swagger
Bourne beats Masters, Henry squashes Chavo, Miz cheats to beat MVP, and Festus mauls Swagger to the point where Swagger can’t make it back in the ring after being tossed over the ropes. In the semi-finals, Bourne pulls a big upset over Henry (with the two shaking hands at the end), and Miz wins via forfeit when Festus mysteriously doesn’t show up. It is later announced that Festus has been deemed a danger to all of his fellow wrestlers in the locker-room, and has been banned from “Raw”. During the finals-match of Bourne/Miz, Swagger makes his way to the ring; this then prompts Mvp to make his way down, followed by Masters, then Henry. Swagger attempts to interfere, so Mvp cuts him off; this leads to a brawl amongst the four non-participants. The four men brawl around and through the ring, eventually leading to Bourne climbing the top-rope and hitting “Air Bourne” outside the ring onto the four interferers. Bourne, obviously hurting himself in the process, gets back in the ring; Miz attempts to capitalize by going for the “Skull-Crushing Finale”, but Bourne reverses out, kicks Miz in the face, and hits “Air Bourne” for the win. Miz, of course, cries foul, while the faces celebrate with Bourne.
Trips and Shawn spend several weeks trying to get answers out of Vince, and finally get Vince to show-up on “Raw”. Vince confronts the two men in the ring, and tells them that he doesn’t have to answer them, but that the two of them will have to answer for sticking their noses in his business… MIZ AND SWAGGER attack DX from behind with chairs, leaving them laying. Miz and Swagger make it clear that they have pooled their talents and plan to watch each others’ backs so as to not end-up the (self-proclaimed) victims of circumstances that they were in the IC-tourney; furthermore, they make it clear that they are looking to climb the ladder as quickly as possible, and if that means sucking-up to Vince and making their names at the expense of “DX”, so be it. This leads to a tag-match at “Tables, Ladders, and Chairs” where chairs are legal.
Backstage, Orton announces to Cody and TJ that he has done some deep soul-searching, and has decided to take a leave of absence. “This I.E.D., my anger issues… they’ve been really bad lately. I just need some time off. Cody, TJ, you guys have been like brothers to me. I know you’ll be okay without me. I wish you nothing but the best of luck in your future endeavors.” Cody and TJ aren’t sure what to do without their leader around, and spend several weeks pleading for him to come back and lead them.
SMACKDOWN
The first episode after “Survivor Series” opens with Teddy Long standing in the middle of the ring. “First of all, I want to congratulate C.M. Punk on his incredible performance. We may have had our differences in the past, but he fought with honor and brought an incredible sense of pride to the entire ‘Smackdown’ locker-room when he was able to pin both the ECW-champion Christian and the WWE-Champion John Cena in the same match. So C.M. Punk, congratulations. Also, I want to extend my congratulations to Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kane, and the Undertaker-“ Long is cut off as Vince’s music hits. Vince: “I know where you’re going with this, and let me make one thing very clear to you right now. There is no reason to congratulate ‘DX’ or ‘The Brothers of Destruction’, because they lost their match last night. They lost! They got shut-out in less than three minutes! That’s not something they should be congratulated on.” Long: “Mr. McMahon, with all due respect, that was only the first match-“, Vince: “There was only one match! There was only one match, that other match didn’t count, you don’t have the power to make matches like that!” Long: “But Mr. McMahon”, Vince: “You’re the General Manager of ‘Smackdown’, so whatever you want to do on this brand is up to you, but you don’t get to make matches involving ‘Raw’ superstars, and you sure as hell don’t get to reverse MY decisions!” Long offers his apologies, but Vince isn’t having it. “Teddy, this is the last straw; if you ever again try to undermine my authority, you’re fired.” Vince leaves, and Long looks upset.
Punk brags about his accomplishment of beating both the WWE-champion and ECW-champion in one match, and claims that he looks forward to ushering in a new golden-age for wrestling, one where fans can be proud of having a straight-edge champion with the fighting-spirit of a true warrior. Long announces that, since Punk did exactly what he said he would do, he’s now going to give Punk what he asked for: a 1-on-1 match against John Cena. Punk smiles, but then says “No, that’s ok, I don’t need it now.” Long: “You don’t want the match now?” Punk: “No, I already proved myself, I don’t need to beat him again.” Long pushes the point, but Vince makes his way out. Vince: “What did I JUST tell you?” Long: “Not to undermine your authority.” Vince: “So what are you doing trying to force this man into a match he doesn’t want?” Long: “But Mr. McMahon.” Vince: “Teddy, this is the very first straight-edge champion in WWE history, we have to respect his wishes. We have to keep his best interests in mind. He’s already proven he can beat John Cena, there’s no telling what Cena might try to do to hurt him, we have to protect our investment.” The three men bicker in the ring, when MATT makes his entrance. Matt tells Punk that he’s sick of Punk’s excuses, and bragging, and general attitude, and challenges Punk to a match at “Tables, Ladders, and Chairs”. Vince begins to question Matt on who he thinks he is, but Punk interrupts, saying it’s ok. Punk takes some personal shots at both Matt and Jeff, and then accepts Matt’s challenge. Long injects that it will be a “TLC” match, which Punk accepts, too. “I’ve already embarrassed your brother, I might as well embarrass the entire family.”
Batista and Taker attack each-other at every turn, with Batista tossing Taker through one of the announce-tables one week, and Taker returning the favor the next. This leads to a “Tables” match at the PPV.
Rey wants his rematch against Morrison, which Morrison is more than happy to give him. They agree to meet at the PPV.
ECW
Christian defends the ECW-championship against all-comers. Regal challenges him to an “Extreme Rules” match, which Christian loses due to Ezekiel and Vladimir interfering. Christian wants his rematch, but Regal convinces Tiffany that it’s time to let someone else have a shot. Tiffany couldn’t agree more, and decides that Regal will defend the title at “Tables, Ladders, and Chairs” against a mystery opponent. Regal is nervous, especially after Tiffany confides in Christian and Dreamer; Christian and Dreamer agree to show him the ropes, since “he’s brand new to ECW”. Christian and Dreamer both taunt Regal, claiming, “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to face this guy.”
Ryder picks a feud with Shelton, basically saying that Shelton’s career has been “a whole lot of nothing”. Burchill thinks that Yoshi has a problem with Englishmen. Sheamus focuses on embarrassing Hurricane.
INTERFED
To go along with Jericho challenging for Cena’s WWE-Championship, Show asks Long for a shot at Punk’s WHC-Championship. Long apologizes for not being able to do that (“I’ve already signed the match, and I don’t think Mr. McMahon would be too happy if I changed it.”), so Show petitions to get added to the Cena/Jericho match. It is changed to a three-way. Tension is teased between Show and Jericho, though they (pretty much) agree that they will work together to beat Cena.
Vince decides to combine the IC- and US-championship matches, leading to a four-way involving Kofi, Bourne, Morrison, and Rey. It’s also made into a double “Ladder” match, with both the IC- and US-championships hanging over the ring, and the match can only end when both belts are captured.
TABLES, LADDERS, AND CHAIRS, 2009
R - WWE, "TLC": CENA/Jericho/Show
S - World, "TLC": PUNK/Matt
R - Chairs: Trips-Shawn/Swagger-Miz
S - Table: Taker/Batista
2 - IC, US, "Ladder": KOFI/Bourne/MORRISON/Rey
E - ECW: REGAL/???
E - Shelton-Yoshi-Hurricane/Ryder-Burchill-Sheamus
///
6-Man – Yoshi pins Ryder.
ECW – Regal makes his way to the ring, accompanied by Ezekiel and Vladimir. Christian and Dreamer make an entrance, and taunt Regal that “We’re glad we’re not in your shoes right now.” After a pause to draw anticipation, BISCUITS AND GRAVY! Festus runs to the ring, destroys Regal, pins him, and then fends off both Ezekiel and Vladimir virtually single-handedly. Zeke and Vlad help Regal to the back.
Kofi/Bourne/Morrison/Rey – Bourne grabs the IC-Championship, while Rey grabs the US-Championship.
Taker/Batista – The two brawl all over the arena. The finish comes when the two men are fighting at the top of the ramp – Taker tries to “Tombstone” Batista, but Batista reverses, eventually getting Taker up for the “Batista Bomb”, before jumping off the stage and bombing Taker through a table on the floor.
Trips-Shawn/Swagger-Miz – Swagger and Miz surprisingly hold their own against “DX”, but Shawn is able to “Super Kick” a chair into Swagger’s face while Trips hits Miz with the “Pedigree” onto a chair, leading to a double pinfall.
Punk/Matt – The two men brutalize each-other, though Matt comes out with the advantage. With Punk outside the ring, Matt climbs the ladder; however, as Matt goes to grab the title, it is lifted higher into the air. Long makes his entrance: “Matt, I’m sorry. I can’t let you win this match.” Matt, still on the ladder, is flabbergasted, to the point where he doesn’t notice Punk get back in the ring; Punk tips the ladder over, causing Matt to fall over the top-rope and through a stack of tables outside the ring. Punk repositions the ladder, and the title is dropped back down so that he can win.
Cena/Jericho/Show – Cena does an admirable job fighting the two men, while Jericho and Show are actually able to work pretty cohesively. In the end, though, the odds are just too much; Show wraps a ladder around Cena and squeezes it shut, as Jericho ascends to grab the strap.
R - WWE, "TLC": CENA/Jericho/Show
S - World, "TLC": PUNK/Matt
R - Chairs: Trips-Shawn/Swagger-Miz
S - Table: Taker/Batista
2 - IC, US, "Ladder": KOFI/Bourne/MORRISON/Rey
E - ECW: REGAL/???
E - Shelton-Yoshi-Hurricane/Ryder-Burchill-Sheamus
///
6-Man – Yoshi pins Ryder.
ECW – Regal makes his way to the ring, accompanied by Ezekiel and Vladimir. Christian and Dreamer make an entrance, and taunt Regal that “We’re glad we’re not in your shoes right now.” After a pause to draw anticipation, BISCUITS AND GRAVY! Festus runs to the ring, destroys Regal, pins him, and then fends off both Ezekiel and Vladimir virtually single-handedly. Zeke and Vlad help Regal to the back.
Kofi/Bourne/Morrison/Rey – Bourne grabs the IC-Championship, while Rey grabs the US-Championship.
Taker/Batista – The two brawl all over the arena. The finish comes when the two men are fighting at the top of the ramp – Taker tries to “Tombstone” Batista, but Batista reverses, eventually getting Taker up for the “Batista Bomb”, before jumping off the stage and bombing Taker through a table on the floor.
Trips-Shawn/Swagger-Miz – Swagger and Miz surprisingly hold their own against “DX”, but Shawn is able to “Super Kick” a chair into Swagger’s face while Trips hits Miz with the “Pedigree” onto a chair, leading to a double pinfall.
Punk/Matt – The two men brutalize each-other, though Matt comes out with the advantage. With Punk outside the ring, Matt climbs the ladder; however, as Matt goes to grab the title, it is lifted higher into the air. Long makes his entrance: “Matt, I’m sorry. I can’t let you win this match.” Matt, still on the ladder, is flabbergasted, to the point where he doesn’t notice Punk get back in the ring; Punk tips the ladder over, causing Matt to fall over the top-rope and through a stack of tables outside the ring. Punk repositions the ladder, and the title is dropped back down so that he can win.
Cena/Jericho/Show – Cena does an admirable job fighting the two men, while Jericho and Show are actually able to work pretty cohesively. In the end, though, the odds are just too much; Show wraps a ladder around Cena and squeezes it shut, as Jericho ascends to grab the strap.
JANUARY, 2010
RAW
Brag, brag, brag, that’s all Jericho wants to do. “Not only am I the new WWE Champion… and the first ever Undisputed WWE Champion… AND the first man to ever hold the WWE Championship and the Unified WWE Tag-Team Championship simultaneously… AND the only man to ever beat ‘Stonecold’ Steve Austin and The Rock on the same night… AND the very best in the world at what I do… AND a hero to every single member of the audience… but last night was also the very first time that I ever beat John Cena. Due to circumstances beyond my control, by a horrible series of flukes and conspiracies, I have never actually scored a win against John Cena. But now, I have proven myself, I have proven that John Cena is simply a flash-in-the-pan, that has only managed to get lucky against me, time and time again, and that I am, quite simply, his superior.” Jericho continues talking, until Cena interrupts. Cena points out that, yes, Jericho did win their match last night, but Jericho has still yet to ever beat him in a 1-on-1 match. Furthermore, Jericho has never pinned Cena, or made him submit, either. Cena challenges Jericho to a 1-on-1 rematch at “Royal Rumble”; Jericho, with his ego bruised, accepts.
Bourne successfully defends the IC-Championship against Masters, Chavo, and Noble.
Carlito-Primo call Cody-TJ out on being pathetic. The teams feud.
The following “Raw” Superstars are named for the “Royal Rumble” match: Trips, Shawn, Miz, Swagger, Bourne, Kofi, MVP, Henry, Masters, Chavo, Santino, and Hornswoggle.
SMACKDOWN
The first episode after “Tables, Ladders, and Chairs” opens with Matt making his entrance, and demanding answers from Long. Long makes his entrance, and asks for Matt’s forgiveness. Long: “I did what I had to do for business. I didn’t want to, Matt, you have to believe me when I say I didn’t want to. But we have share-holders we have to answer to. CM Punk is the first ever straight-edge World Heavyweight Champion, the share-holders are happy when he’s on top.” Matt questions why Long all of a sudden has an interest in who the champion is, when he’s spent the last few months trying to uncover this whole conspiracy. Long: “The truth is, Matt, my job was on the line. Everybody knows that I’ve been on probation for a long time, and while Mr. McMahon and I have butted heads quite often in the past, he’s never been so serious about firing me as he was when he thought you might become champion.” Matt: “Why would he be mad at you? Punk was the one that insisted on that match.” Long: “Yes, Punk did insist on that match, and Vince didn’t even mind that the match was made… he just didn’t want you winning it. He said that if I didn’t figure-out a way to prevent you from winning the match, I’d lose my job. Matt, I’m sorry, but I have a family. I have a wife and kids to worry about, I couldn’t chance losing my job.” Matt: “So that’s it, Teddy? You screwed me out of the World Heavyweight Championship because you didn’t want to lose your job?” Long goes to answer, but Vince’s music hits. Vince: “Matt, I don’t know who you think you are, but Mr. Long doesn’t need to answer to you. And as a matter of fact, neither do I. I’m sick of having my authority questioned, so you know what, I’m going to lay everything out for you. That’s what you want, that’s what all these people want, I’m going to tell you everything. I’ll give you the truth, but I warn you, it’s an ugly truth. Matt, the reason I screwed you out of the championship, is because your last name is ‘Hardy’. And the name ‘Hardy’ is tainted! Your brother has been a screw-up his whole life, I gave him chance after chance, and he just threw them all away. I’ve had to fire him, he’s had run-ins with the law, and I’m not going to risk flushing this company down the toilet by allowing the World Heavyweight Championship to be worn around the waist of a Hardy! C.M. Punk has never failed a wellness-test, he’s never exhibited any type of ‘erratic behavior’, he’s never been in an ounce of trouble - he’s exactly the type of champion this company needs, the type of champion our stock-holders demand. THAT’S why I screwed you, THAT’S why I screwed the Undertaker, and THAT’S why I’ll do everything in my power to assure that C.M. Punk remains the champion.” Matt is obviously hurt, both by the insults directed at his brother, as well as the insinuation that he, too, is a “screw-up”. Matt’s tone becomes deadly serious: “I know my brother Jeff has had his share of demons in the past, but I will always love him and be there for him. And if you ever say anything like that again about my brother, I don’t care who you are, I will hurt you.” Vince: “What did you say?” Matt: “You heard me. If you ever run your mouth like that again, I. Will. Hurt. You.” Vince: “You’ll hurt me, huh? Let’s see what this man thinks about that.” With that, Batista makes his entrance, and hunts Matt. Matt grabs a chair, and dares Batista to get into the ring. Batista does, and Matt beats the hell out of him, causing Batista to retreat. Matt is full of rage, and doesn’t notice Punk jump out from the audience; Punk clocks Matt with the belt from behind, and Punk and Batista begin to beat on Matt. GONG! The lights go out, and when they come back on, Taker is in the ring! Punk and Batista high-tail it, and Taker helps Matt to his feet.
Keeping in line with Vince’s feelings on Punk as champion, he announces a very “special” match at “Royal Rumble”: Punk will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against three mystery opponents in a “Gauntlet” match! Punk wants to know what Vince is thinking with such a crazy match, but Vince assures him that it’s the perfect way to prove that there’s no more deserving champion than Punk. Punk asks Vince if he can have any hints about who the mystery men are, but Vince won’t give any details. Punk is nervous, but does his best to hide it.
Rey successfully defends the US-Championship against Ziggler, Haas, and Knox.
“CrymeTyme” and “HartDynasty” reignite their feud.
The following “Smackdown” Superstars are named for the “Royal Rumble” match: Batista, Rey, Morrison, Kane, Ziggler, Khali, Kaval, Truth, Yang, and McIntyre.
Vince, Long, Batista, and Punk are all backstage in Vince’s office. After the graphic airs showing the above ten men being named to the “Rumble” match, Long asks Vince if he should sign Taker and Matt to the “Rumble” match; Vince responds with an emphatic “No!”, but Batista says he’d like another shot at Taker. “Imagine his face when I throw him out of the ‘Rumble’!” Vince understands where Batista is coming from, and tells him he’ll think about it. Punk chimes in: “Yeah, and it’s not like Matt has any chance of winning, might as well throw him in there, too.” Vince doesn’t want to just allow them in, so Punk and Batista come-up with an idea: if Taker and Matt can beat them in a tag-match, they’ll qualify for the “Rumble”. Vince doesn’t like the idea, but they eventually talk him into it. Of course, the plan backfires, and Taker-Matt end-up winning. Vince is furious at them, but they both assure him that they won’t make it through the “Rumble”.
ECW
Regal wants revenge on Festus. Regal is backed by Ezekiel and Vladimir, Festus is backed by Christian and Dreamer.
Tiffany holds a “Battle Royal” to determine which Superstars will represent “ECW” in the “Rumble” match: Christian, Dreamer, Regal, Ezekiel, Vladimir, Shelton, Ryder, Yoshi, Sheaumus, Hurricane, Burchill, Goldust, Reks, Gabriel, and Washington are named, with the last six men in the ring qualifying for the “Rumble”. Tiffany leads Festus to the announce-table (even going so far as to put his headphones on for him), since she thinks it’d be a good idea for him to see who might be challenging him at “WrestleMania”; Festus, of course, doesn’t say anything. The match begins, and Washington eliminates himself immediately. Gabriel is eliminated by Ezekiel, followed by Reks being eliminated by Vladimir. Striker: “You know, I just realized something - *I* could qualify to headline ‘WrestleMania’!” With that, Striker – suit and all – jumps into the ring, gets clothes-lined out by Shelton, and goes back to the announce-table. “Like I said, my wrestling days are behind me.” Christian dumps Regal, which upsets Regal greatly; Regal tries to jump back into the ring, and the distraction allows Zeke and Vlad to eliminate Christian and Dreamer. Seeing this injustice causes Festus to stir; he roars a mighty roar, runs into the ring (headphones still on his head), and eliminates Zeke and Vlad. He jumps out of the ring and chases Regal, Zeke, and Vlad to the back. There are only seven men left (Shelton, Ryder, Yoshi, Sheamus, Hurricane, Burchill, and Goldust), meaning that the next elimination is the final one: after much struggling, Yoshi manages to kick Burchill in the face so hard that it propels him back and over the ropes! Shelton, Ryder, Yoshi, Sheamus, Hurricane, and Goldust qualify for the “Rumble”.
INTERFED
A 4-way tag match will be held at “Royal Rumble”, featuring Carlito-Primo, Cody-Tj, Jtg-Shad, and Kidd-Smith.
Brag, brag, brag, that’s all Jericho wants to do. “Not only am I the new WWE Champion… and the first ever Undisputed WWE Champion… AND the first man to ever hold the WWE Championship and the Unified WWE Tag-Team Championship simultaneously… AND the only man to ever beat ‘Stonecold’ Steve Austin and The Rock on the same night… AND the very best in the world at what I do… AND a hero to every single member of the audience… but last night was also the very first time that I ever beat John Cena. Due to circumstances beyond my control, by a horrible series of flukes and conspiracies, I have never actually scored a win against John Cena. But now, I have proven myself, I have proven that John Cena is simply a flash-in-the-pan, that has only managed to get lucky against me, time and time again, and that I am, quite simply, his superior.” Jericho continues talking, until Cena interrupts. Cena points out that, yes, Jericho did win their match last night, but Jericho has still yet to ever beat him in a 1-on-1 match. Furthermore, Jericho has never pinned Cena, or made him submit, either. Cena challenges Jericho to a 1-on-1 rematch at “Royal Rumble”; Jericho, with his ego bruised, accepts.
Bourne successfully defends the IC-Championship against Masters, Chavo, and Noble.
Carlito-Primo call Cody-TJ out on being pathetic. The teams feud.
The following “Raw” Superstars are named for the “Royal Rumble” match: Trips, Shawn, Miz, Swagger, Bourne, Kofi, MVP, Henry, Masters, Chavo, Santino, and Hornswoggle.
SMACKDOWN
The first episode after “Tables, Ladders, and Chairs” opens with Matt making his entrance, and demanding answers from Long. Long makes his entrance, and asks for Matt’s forgiveness. Long: “I did what I had to do for business. I didn’t want to, Matt, you have to believe me when I say I didn’t want to. But we have share-holders we have to answer to. CM Punk is the first ever straight-edge World Heavyweight Champion, the share-holders are happy when he’s on top.” Matt questions why Long all of a sudden has an interest in who the champion is, when he’s spent the last few months trying to uncover this whole conspiracy. Long: “The truth is, Matt, my job was on the line. Everybody knows that I’ve been on probation for a long time, and while Mr. McMahon and I have butted heads quite often in the past, he’s never been so serious about firing me as he was when he thought you might become champion.” Matt: “Why would he be mad at you? Punk was the one that insisted on that match.” Long: “Yes, Punk did insist on that match, and Vince didn’t even mind that the match was made… he just didn’t want you winning it. He said that if I didn’t figure-out a way to prevent you from winning the match, I’d lose my job. Matt, I’m sorry, but I have a family. I have a wife and kids to worry about, I couldn’t chance losing my job.” Matt: “So that’s it, Teddy? You screwed me out of the World Heavyweight Championship because you didn’t want to lose your job?” Long goes to answer, but Vince’s music hits. Vince: “Matt, I don’t know who you think you are, but Mr. Long doesn’t need to answer to you. And as a matter of fact, neither do I. I’m sick of having my authority questioned, so you know what, I’m going to lay everything out for you. That’s what you want, that’s what all these people want, I’m going to tell you everything. I’ll give you the truth, but I warn you, it’s an ugly truth. Matt, the reason I screwed you out of the championship, is because your last name is ‘Hardy’. And the name ‘Hardy’ is tainted! Your brother has been a screw-up his whole life, I gave him chance after chance, and he just threw them all away. I’ve had to fire him, he’s had run-ins with the law, and I’m not going to risk flushing this company down the toilet by allowing the World Heavyweight Championship to be worn around the waist of a Hardy! C.M. Punk has never failed a wellness-test, he’s never exhibited any type of ‘erratic behavior’, he’s never been in an ounce of trouble - he’s exactly the type of champion this company needs, the type of champion our stock-holders demand. THAT’S why I screwed you, THAT’S why I screwed the Undertaker, and THAT’S why I’ll do everything in my power to assure that C.M. Punk remains the champion.” Matt is obviously hurt, both by the insults directed at his brother, as well as the insinuation that he, too, is a “screw-up”. Matt’s tone becomes deadly serious: “I know my brother Jeff has had his share of demons in the past, but I will always love him and be there for him. And if you ever say anything like that again about my brother, I don’t care who you are, I will hurt you.” Vince: “What did you say?” Matt: “You heard me. If you ever run your mouth like that again, I. Will. Hurt. You.” Vince: “You’ll hurt me, huh? Let’s see what this man thinks about that.” With that, Batista makes his entrance, and hunts Matt. Matt grabs a chair, and dares Batista to get into the ring. Batista does, and Matt beats the hell out of him, causing Batista to retreat. Matt is full of rage, and doesn’t notice Punk jump out from the audience; Punk clocks Matt with the belt from behind, and Punk and Batista begin to beat on Matt. GONG! The lights go out, and when they come back on, Taker is in the ring! Punk and Batista high-tail it, and Taker helps Matt to his feet.
Keeping in line with Vince’s feelings on Punk as champion, he announces a very “special” match at “Royal Rumble”: Punk will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against three mystery opponents in a “Gauntlet” match! Punk wants to know what Vince is thinking with such a crazy match, but Vince assures him that it’s the perfect way to prove that there’s no more deserving champion than Punk. Punk asks Vince if he can have any hints about who the mystery men are, but Vince won’t give any details. Punk is nervous, but does his best to hide it.
Rey successfully defends the US-Championship against Ziggler, Haas, and Knox.
“CrymeTyme” and “HartDynasty” reignite their feud.
The following “Smackdown” Superstars are named for the “Royal Rumble” match: Batista, Rey, Morrison, Kane, Ziggler, Khali, Kaval, Truth, Yang, and McIntyre.
Vince, Long, Batista, and Punk are all backstage in Vince’s office. After the graphic airs showing the above ten men being named to the “Rumble” match, Long asks Vince if he should sign Taker and Matt to the “Rumble” match; Vince responds with an emphatic “No!”, but Batista says he’d like another shot at Taker. “Imagine his face when I throw him out of the ‘Rumble’!” Vince understands where Batista is coming from, and tells him he’ll think about it. Punk chimes in: “Yeah, and it’s not like Matt has any chance of winning, might as well throw him in there, too.” Vince doesn’t want to just allow them in, so Punk and Batista come-up with an idea: if Taker and Matt can beat them in a tag-match, they’ll qualify for the “Rumble”. Vince doesn’t like the idea, but they eventually talk him into it. Of course, the plan backfires, and Taker-Matt end-up winning. Vince is furious at them, but they both assure him that they won’t make it through the “Rumble”.
ECW
Regal wants revenge on Festus. Regal is backed by Ezekiel and Vladimir, Festus is backed by Christian and Dreamer.
Tiffany holds a “Battle Royal” to determine which Superstars will represent “ECW” in the “Rumble” match: Christian, Dreamer, Regal, Ezekiel, Vladimir, Shelton, Ryder, Yoshi, Sheaumus, Hurricane, Burchill, Goldust, Reks, Gabriel, and Washington are named, with the last six men in the ring qualifying for the “Rumble”. Tiffany leads Festus to the announce-table (even going so far as to put his headphones on for him), since she thinks it’d be a good idea for him to see who might be challenging him at “WrestleMania”; Festus, of course, doesn’t say anything. The match begins, and Washington eliminates himself immediately. Gabriel is eliminated by Ezekiel, followed by Reks being eliminated by Vladimir. Striker: “You know, I just realized something - *I* could qualify to headline ‘WrestleMania’!” With that, Striker – suit and all – jumps into the ring, gets clothes-lined out by Shelton, and goes back to the announce-table. “Like I said, my wrestling days are behind me.” Christian dumps Regal, which upsets Regal greatly; Regal tries to jump back into the ring, and the distraction allows Zeke and Vlad to eliminate Christian and Dreamer. Seeing this injustice causes Festus to stir; he roars a mighty roar, runs into the ring (headphones still on his head), and eliminates Zeke and Vlad. He jumps out of the ring and chases Regal, Zeke, and Vlad to the back. There are only seven men left (Shelton, Ryder, Yoshi, Sheamus, Hurricane, Burchill, and Goldust), meaning that the next elimination is the final one: after much struggling, Yoshi manages to kick Burchill in the face so hard that it propels him back and over the ropes! Shelton, Ryder, Yoshi, Sheamus, Hurricane, and Goldust qualify for the “Rumble”.
INTERFED
A 4-way tag match will be held at “Royal Rumble”, featuring Carlito-Primo, Cody-Tj, Jtg-Shad, and Kidd-Smith.
ROYAL RUMBLE, 2010
3 - "Rumble" Match {Bourne, Chavo, Henry, Hornswoggle, Kofi, Masters, Miz, MVP, Santino, Shawn, Swagger, Trips, Batista, Kane, Kaval, Khali, Matt, McIntyre, Morrison, Rey, Taker, Truth, Yang, Ziggler, Goldust, Hurricane, Ryder, Sheamus, Shelton, Yoshi}
R - WWE: JERICHO/Cena
S - World, "Gauntlet": PUNK/???
2 - Carlito-Primo/Cody-Tj/Jtg-Shad/Kidd-Smith
E - Festus-Christian-Dreamer/Regal-Ezekiel-Vladimir
///
ECW – Burchill attempts to interfere, but is quickly tossed by Festus. Festus pins Regal.
Backstage: Several wrestlers are lined-up in the back, ready to draw their numbers. Trips draws his number, and is obviously happy about it, and shows it to Shawn. Shawn then draws his number, and flips out – he shows Trips, and then throws a mock tantrum; he shows his paper to everyone around him, yelling “This is no way to treat a legend! Doesn’t anybody remember that I was the first ‘Grand Slam’ champion in WWE history! That’s it, I need some air”, before finally storming out of the room. Trips: “You’d think he’d be used to it.”
4-Way – Jtg hits the “Shout Out” on Tj to win the match.
Backstage: The wrestlers continue drawing their numbers. Morrison draws his number, and shows it to Maria, who is standing nearby. Maria: “Oh, I’m sorry, John.” Morrison responds, “Actually… it’s exactly what I wanted.”
Punk/??? – Before the match begins, Vince makes his way to the ring, with Long following closely behind him. Vince: “Tonight, you shall witness a display of athletic excellence unlike any you’ve ever seen before. Tonight, C.M. Punk, the very first straight-edge World Heavyweight Champion, will defend his title against not one, not two, but THREE hand-picked mystery opponents.” Vince begins ripping on the fans, explaining why they need a straight-edge champion, when Punk interrupts; he’s obviously upset, and has no qualms about getting in Vince’s face in public. Vince tells Punk to calm down, and hands the mic to Long; Long is obviously not crazy about this, but announces Punk’s first opponent. “Ladies and Gentlemen, please put your hands together for… CHARLIE HAAS!” Haas is all business, and goes straight for Punk. Punk handles everything Haas throws at him, and after about a minute, hits the “Go To Sleep” for the win. Long: “Congratulations on your impressive victory, Punk, but before you get to cocky, let me introduce you to your next opponent: SLAMASTER J!” Jesse makes his way to the ring, and again, goes straight for Punk. He manages to knock Punk down, and heads for the top-rope; Jesse goes for the top-rope splash, but Punk rolls out of the way before applying the “Anaconda Vice”, forcing Jesse to submit. Long: “Very impressive, but you still have one more opponent. Ladies and Gentlemen, the one, the only… KUNG FUNAKI!” Funaki does a surprisingly good job of hanging with Punk, but Punk eventually gets the advantage. Punk decides to toy with Funaki for a while, proving that he knows just as much about martial-arts as Funaki. With Funaki down on the ground, Punk signals that he’s about to end it; he taps his thigh, and winds up for a big kick, when JEFF HARDY’S MUSIC HITS! Punk is completely distracted, to the point where he doesn’t notice Funaki get back to his feet; when Punk finally turns back to Funaki, he is met with a CRANE KICK! Funaki covers, 1, 2, 3, FUNAKI IS THE NEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION! Punk is in shock, Vince is furious, and Long tries to suppress a smile. Funaki runs up the ramp while Vince yells at Punk in the ring.
Backstage: Matt is alone is in his dressing-room, staring intently at his laptop, when one of the backstage-interviewers bursts in. The interviewer wants to know what Matt thinks about what just happened with Punk; Matt responds that that’s actually why he’s been on the computer all night. Interviewer: Interviewer: “So you’re blogging about it with all of your followers?” Matt, cryptically: “Who said anything about blogging?” Interviewer: “Well Matt, what else would you be doing on the computer?” Matt: “If you don’t mind, I have to get ready for my match.”
Jericho/Cena – Jericho purposely bumps the ref, allowing to Show to run-in. The heels double-team Cena for a bit, but Cena is eventually able to fight back; Cena lifts Jericho for the “Attitude Adjuster”, spins him so that Jericho’s feet bash Show in the face, and delivers the move to get the win and the title.
Rumble:
1) Shawn
2) Morrison [Morrison, Shawn]
Morrison begins by offering Shawn a handshake; Shawn smirks, shakes his hand, and the match begins. Shawn attempts to chain-wrestle Morrison, and while Shawn is always able to get the advantage, Morrison’s counters and breaks impress him. They continue to go back-and-forth.
3) Henry [Henry, Morrison, Shawn]
Shawn and Morrison stop fighting, and attempt to attack Henry 2-on-1; Henry is able to swat them away, however, and manages to beat them both down pretty well.
4) Khali [Khali, Henry, Morrison, Shawn]
Khali begins to pound away at Morrison, while Henry continues pounding on Shawn. The two giants beat on the two smaller men for a few moments, but end-up accidentally getting in each-others’ ways. Upset at having their toes stepped on, Khali and Henry stare each other down in the middle of the ring, then begin to brawl. Shawn and Morrison take the chance to regroup, and when Henry and Khali eventually wear each-other down a bit, Shawn is able to “Super Kick” Henry out of the ring! Shawn then quickly ducks down behind Khali, allowing Morrison to hit Khali with the “Flying Chuck”, sending Khali tripping backwards over Shawn and out of the ring. Shawn offers his hand to Morrison, and Morrison shakes it; Shawn won’t let go, though, and tries to toss Morrison out of the ring, but Morrison continues to hold onto Shawn’s hand, and attempts to toss HIM out of the ring. Shawn lands on the apron, and slides under the ropes back into the ring; he then gives Morrison a small clap, as if to say “You’re better than I thought.” The two continue their scientific battle.
5) Shelton [Shelton, Morrison, Shawn]
Shelton is the next in, and spring-boards across the ring at Shawn and Morrison, knocking both down with a double-dropkick. The three men wrestle.
6) Kofi [Kofi, Shelton, Morrison, Shawn]
In a bit of irony, Kofi waits until Shelton has the advantage, then spring-boards across the ring and knocks HIM down with a dropkick. The four men wrestle each other.
7) Rey [Rey, Kofi, Shelton, Morrison, Shawn]
With the other four men fighting, Rey spring-boards into the ring, but then spins and hits an Asai Moonsault onto everyone. Lots of fast-paced action in the ring.
8) Bourne [Bourne, Rey, Kofi, Shelton, Morrison, Shawn]
With the other five men fighting, Bourne runs up the turnbuckle, and hits a big “Shooting Star Press” onto everyone. Bodies continue to flip and fly everywhere.
9) Hurricane [Hurricane, Bourne, Rey, Kofi, Shelton, Morrison, Shawn]
Hurricane joins the high-flying action.
10) Yang [Yang, Hurricane, Bourne, Rey, Kofi, Shelton, Morrison, Shawn]
More high-flying action. All eight men end-up exhausting themselves, and have to take a moment to recharge their batteries as the next Superstar enters.
11) Santino [Santino, Yang, Hurricane, Bourne, Rey, Kofi, Shelton, Morrison, Shawn]
Santino runs into the ring, but then has an idea – with everybody down, he decides to climb the turnbuckle. He climbs the turnbuckle, very awkwardly and shakily, and manages to stand on the turnbuckle. Santino motions that he is going to fly, but suddenly loses his balance, and falls all the way to the outside. Santino is eliminated. With that out of the way, everybody begins to stir, the last one being Shawn, who kips-up, and begins to wail on everyone.
12) Kane [Kane, Yang, Hurricane, Bourne, Rey, Kofi, Shelton, Morrison, Shawn]
Kane is obviously in a foul mood as he heads to the ring, and when he gets there he immediately wraps his hands around the throats of whomever is closest – in this case, Yang and Hurricane, who both get tossed out of the ring. Next are Kofi and Shelton, who both go flying. Kane goes to grab Rey and Bourne, but Shawn and Morrison make the save. The four faces try to beat Kane down, but Kane is absolutely unstoppable tonight.
13) Sheamus [Sheamus, Kane, Bourne, Rey, Morrison, Shawn]
Sheamus eyes-up Kane, and decides to tackle the monster alone; the two brawl, as do Bourne/Rey and Morrison/Shawn.
14) Miz [Miz, Sheamus, Kane, Bourne, Rey, Morrison, Shawn]
Miz goes straight for Shawn, and then stands in front of Morrison in order to let Morrison know that he [Miz] helped him. Morrison doesn’t want Miz’ help, and slaps Miz; the two men brawl along with Shawn. Sheamus and Kane decide to temporarily join forces and attempt to dump Rey and Bourne.
15) Swagger [Swagger, Miz, Sheamus, Kane, Bourne, Rey, Morrison, Shawn]
Swagger goes to help Miz, as the announcers mention that Swagger and Miz have been teaming lately. Miz-Swagger square-off with Morrison-Shawn, while Kane-Sheamus dominate Rey-Bourne on the opposite side.
16) Ziggler [Ziggler, Swagger, Miz, Sheamus, Kane, Bourne, Rey, Morrison, Shawn]
Ziggler makes his way to the ring, but decides to wait outside. Kane-Sheamus continue to dominate Rey-Bourne, while Morrison-Shawn actually have Miz-Swagger on the ropes.
17) Masters [Masters, Ziggler, Swagger, Miz, Sheamus, Kane, Bourne, Rey, Morrison, Shawn]
As Masters makes his way to the ring, he his stopped by Ziggler; Ziggler whispers some stuff in his ear, and Masters nods in agreement. Ziggler and Masters stalk around the outside of the ring, waiting to pick their spot – Kane and Sheamus get Bourne and Rey teetering on the ropes, only for Masters and Ziggler to grab them [Bourne and Rey] and pull them out of the ring! Rey and Bourne, naturally, dispute the decision with refs, but it ultimately proves futile. Masters and Ziggler climb into the ring, and try to play nice with Kane and Sheamus, telling them that they should go attack the other four men on the other side of the ring; Kane and Sheamus agree, but as soon as Masters and Ziggler turn to walk towards the opposite corner, Kane and Sheamus grab them and toss them, as well! Kane and Sheamus then go to square-off again, but Morrison and Shawn end-up irish-whipping Swagger and Miz right into them. The four heels fight, while Shawn and Morrison both grab a breather.
18) Hornswoggle [Hornswoggle, Swagger, Miz, Sheamus, Kane, Morrison, Shawn]
Hornswoggle runs down the ramp, but – upon seeing the four heels on the closest side of the ring – hesitates to get into the ring. Hornswoggle slowly makes his way up the stairs, on stands on the apron; at this point, the four heels stop fighting, and focus on Hornswoggle like a pack of wolves focusing on a fresh lunch. The heels are so distracted, in fact, that they fail to notice Shawn and Morrison getting back to their feet; Shawn and Morrison run and dive at Miz and Swagger, knocking them into Kane and Sheamus. In retaliation, Kane and Sheamus toss Miz and Swagger. Shawn and Morrison mount a comeback against Kane and Sheamus, while Hornswoggle hangs back in the corner.
19) Ryder [Ryder, Hornswoggle, Sheamus, Kane, Morrison, Shawn]
Ryder, cocky as ever, decides to storm the ring and get fully involved in the action; unfortunately for him, as soon as he runs at his opposition, Shawn pulls the top rope down, and Ryder goes flying over it to the outside. And while Shawn pulls himself back up, Morrison dumps him over the ropes! Shawn throws a bit of a fit, but quickly regains his composure. Sheamus attempts to hip-toss Morrison out of the ring, but Morrison lands on the apron; then, while still standing on the apron, Morrison manages to hip-toss Sheamus out of the ring. From there, with Morrison still on the apron, Kane stalks over to him, but Morrison slides under the ropes and through Kane’s legs, then quickly leverages Kane out, too! Hornswoggle wants to know what Morrison plans to do to him, but Morrison promises not to fight him. The two of them eagerly await their next opponent.
The buzzer sounds, and Chavo’s music hits, but nobody comes out. Morrison continues to stare at the ramp, and doesn’t notice RANDY ORTON emerge from the crowd!
20) Orton [Orton, Hornswoggle, Morrison]
Orton, dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt, slithers into the ring behind Morrison, and hits him with the “RKO”! With Morrison unconscious, Orton turns his attention to Hornswoggle; Orton stalks Hornswoggle, and when Horny tries to run, Orton catches him. Orton toys with Hornswoggle.
21) Goldust [Goldust, Orton, Hornswoggle, Morrison]
Goldust jumps the gun on his entry, but the refs allow it. Goldust is all riled up and goes for Orton; he dominates Orton for a few minutes, even allowing Hornswoggle to bite Orton’s butt, but the fun, games, and advantage don’t last long, as Orton eventually hits the “RKO” on Goldust. Hornswoggle kneels next to his fallen friend… and gets PUNTED BY ORTON! Trainers and EMTs immediately run down to the ring, and stretcher little Hornswoggle out of the ring. Meanwhile, Orton continues to stomp on Goldust and Morrison.
22) Batista [Batista, Goldust, Orton, Morrison]
Batista gets in Orton’s face, but then turns around and dumps Goldust. Batista and Orton stomp on Morrison.
23) Truth [Truth, Batista, Orton, Morrison]
Truth goes straight for Batista and Orton, when suddenly, FINLAY – whom wasn’t even scheduled that evening – runs out from the back and assaults Orton with the shillelagh! Orton dives out of the ring and runs to the back, with Finlay right on his tail. Truth helps Morrison against Batista.
24) Yoshi [Yoshi, Truth, Batista, Morrison]
Yoshi goes to help Truth and Morrison dump Batista, but Batista is able to power out, and dumps Yoshi and Truth at the same time. Batista turns his attention to Morrison, and beats on him for a while.
25) Matt [Matt, Batista, Morrison]
Matt battles Batista, while Morrison catches his breath.
26) Trips [Trips, Matt, Batista, Morrison]
Trips goes straight for Batista, and helps Matt try to dump him; Batista is able to hold-on and stay in the ring, though.
27) Kaval [Kaval, Trips, Matt, Batista, Morrison]
Kaval beats on Matt while Trips and Batista brawl. Morrison hangs back.
28) McIntyre [McIntyre, Kaval, Trips, Matt, Batista, Morrison]
McIntyre helps Kaval beat on Matt, but Morrison gets back to his feet and helps Matt fight them off. After some struggling back and forth, McIntyre and Kaval get dumped. Morrison then tries to dump Matt, but Matt holds on; the two struggle back and forth, with both eventually going over the top-rope and battling on the apron. Batista knocks Trips down, and then, seeing Morrison and Matt on the apron, runs across the ring at them – he clotheslines Morrison off, but Matt is able to hold onto the top-rope and get back into the ring.
29) MVP [MVP, Trips, Matt, Batista]
MVP, Trips, and Matt all try to get Batista down, but Batista just won’t go over.
30) Taker [Taker, MVP, Trips, Matt, Batista]
The lights go out, and when they come back on, Taker is standing in the middle of the ring. The other faces part like the Red Sea, and allow Taker to go straight for Batista. Taker beats on Batista for a few moments, but Trips eventually gets impatient, and tries to push Taker out of the way so that HE can continue beating on Batista. Taker doesn’t take kindly to this, and shoves Trips out of the way, which then causes Trips and Taker to fight amongst themselves. Batista tries to crawl away, but MVP and Matt stop him and pound on him.
Final Combatants: Taker, MVP, Trips, Matt, Batista
Taker and Trips continue to brawl, while MVP and Matt team-up against Batista. Vince makes his way down to the ring, which distracts the faces… and also prompts them all to gang-up on Batista. Punk, Swagger, and Miz now make their way down to the ring, and just in the nick of time, too – the faces get Batista teetering over the ropes, but Punk, Swagger, and Miz catch him on his way out, and shove him back into the ring under the bottom rope. Shawn and Kane now make their way down to the ring and attempt to restore order. Punk, Swagger, and Miz attempt to run, going through the ring to make their get-away; this all leads to Taker, Trips, Matt, MVP, Shawn, and Kane surrounding Batista, Punk, Swagger, and Miz. The faces pile on the heels, but in the ensuing melee, Batista is able to slide away from everyone. With everything in chaos, Batista is able to toss Taker and Trips! Taker and Trips blame each other, which leads to Taker-Kane brawling to the back with Trips-Shawn. Batista motions for Punk, Swagger, and Miz to get out of the ring; they’re hesitant, but eventually do. Matt and MVP try to oust Batista, but Batista quickly tosses MVP.
Final Two: Matt, Batista
Matt is ready to fight Batista, but Punk jumps on the apron to distract him, yelling “I know what you did!”, obviously implying that Matt was responsible for playing Jeff’s music. Batista runs at Matt, but Matt moves, causing Batista to collide with Punk! Punk goes flying, and Batista grabs his head in agony; Matt quickly grabs him and dumps him over the ropes! Matt Hardy is going to “WrestleMania”!
3 - "Rumble" Match {Bourne, Chavo, Henry, Hornswoggle, Kofi, Masters, Miz, MVP, Santino, Shawn, Swagger, Trips, Batista, Kane, Kaval, Khali, Matt, McIntyre, Morrison, Rey, Taker, Truth, Yang, Ziggler, Goldust, Hurricane, Ryder, Sheamus, Shelton, Yoshi}
R - WWE: JERICHO/Cena
S - World, "Gauntlet": PUNK/???
2 - Carlito-Primo/Cody-Tj/Jtg-Shad/Kidd-Smith
E - Festus-Christian-Dreamer/Regal-Ezekiel-Vladimir
///
ECW – Burchill attempts to interfere, but is quickly tossed by Festus. Festus pins Regal.
Backstage: Several wrestlers are lined-up in the back, ready to draw their numbers. Trips draws his number, and is obviously happy about it, and shows it to Shawn. Shawn then draws his number, and flips out – he shows Trips, and then throws a mock tantrum; he shows his paper to everyone around him, yelling “This is no way to treat a legend! Doesn’t anybody remember that I was the first ‘Grand Slam’ champion in WWE history! That’s it, I need some air”, before finally storming out of the room. Trips: “You’d think he’d be used to it.”
4-Way – Jtg hits the “Shout Out” on Tj to win the match.
Backstage: The wrestlers continue drawing their numbers. Morrison draws his number, and shows it to Maria, who is standing nearby. Maria: “Oh, I’m sorry, John.” Morrison responds, “Actually… it’s exactly what I wanted.”
Punk/??? – Before the match begins, Vince makes his way to the ring, with Long following closely behind him. Vince: “Tonight, you shall witness a display of athletic excellence unlike any you’ve ever seen before. Tonight, C.M. Punk, the very first straight-edge World Heavyweight Champion, will defend his title against not one, not two, but THREE hand-picked mystery opponents.” Vince begins ripping on the fans, explaining why they need a straight-edge champion, when Punk interrupts; he’s obviously upset, and has no qualms about getting in Vince’s face in public. Vince tells Punk to calm down, and hands the mic to Long; Long is obviously not crazy about this, but announces Punk’s first opponent. “Ladies and Gentlemen, please put your hands together for… CHARLIE HAAS!” Haas is all business, and goes straight for Punk. Punk handles everything Haas throws at him, and after about a minute, hits the “Go To Sleep” for the win. Long: “Congratulations on your impressive victory, Punk, but before you get to cocky, let me introduce you to your next opponent: SLAMASTER J!” Jesse makes his way to the ring, and again, goes straight for Punk. He manages to knock Punk down, and heads for the top-rope; Jesse goes for the top-rope splash, but Punk rolls out of the way before applying the “Anaconda Vice”, forcing Jesse to submit. Long: “Very impressive, but you still have one more opponent. Ladies and Gentlemen, the one, the only… KUNG FUNAKI!” Funaki does a surprisingly good job of hanging with Punk, but Punk eventually gets the advantage. Punk decides to toy with Funaki for a while, proving that he knows just as much about martial-arts as Funaki. With Funaki down on the ground, Punk signals that he’s about to end it; he taps his thigh, and winds up for a big kick, when JEFF HARDY’S MUSIC HITS! Punk is completely distracted, to the point where he doesn’t notice Funaki get back to his feet; when Punk finally turns back to Funaki, he is met with a CRANE KICK! Funaki covers, 1, 2, 3, FUNAKI IS THE NEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION! Punk is in shock, Vince is furious, and Long tries to suppress a smile. Funaki runs up the ramp while Vince yells at Punk in the ring.
Backstage: Matt is alone is in his dressing-room, staring intently at his laptop, when one of the backstage-interviewers bursts in. The interviewer wants to know what Matt thinks about what just happened with Punk; Matt responds that that’s actually why he’s been on the computer all night. Interviewer: Interviewer: “So you’re blogging about it with all of your followers?” Matt, cryptically: “Who said anything about blogging?” Interviewer: “Well Matt, what else would you be doing on the computer?” Matt: “If you don’t mind, I have to get ready for my match.”
Jericho/Cena – Jericho purposely bumps the ref, allowing to Show to run-in. The heels double-team Cena for a bit, but Cena is eventually able to fight back; Cena lifts Jericho for the “Attitude Adjuster”, spins him so that Jericho’s feet bash Show in the face, and delivers the move to get the win and the title.
Rumble:
1) Shawn
2) Morrison [Morrison, Shawn]
Morrison begins by offering Shawn a handshake; Shawn smirks, shakes his hand, and the match begins. Shawn attempts to chain-wrestle Morrison, and while Shawn is always able to get the advantage, Morrison’s counters and breaks impress him. They continue to go back-and-forth.
3) Henry [Henry, Morrison, Shawn]
Shawn and Morrison stop fighting, and attempt to attack Henry 2-on-1; Henry is able to swat them away, however, and manages to beat them both down pretty well.
4) Khali [Khali, Henry, Morrison, Shawn]
Khali begins to pound away at Morrison, while Henry continues pounding on Shawn. The two giants beat on the two smaller men for a few moments, but end-up accidentally getting in each-others’ ways. Upset at having their toes stepped on, Khali and Henry stare each other down in the middle of the ring, then begin to brawl. Shawn and Morrison take the chance to regroup, and when Henry and Khali eventually wear each-other down a bit, Shawn is able to “Super Kick” Henry out of the ring! Shawn then quickly ducks down behind Khali, allowing Morrison to hit Khali with the “Flying Chuck”, sending Khali tripping backwards over Shawn and out of the ring. Shawn offers his hand to Morrison, and Morrison shakes it; Shawn won’t let go, though, and tries to toss Morrison out of the ring, but Morrison continues to hold onto Shawn’s hand, and attempts to toss HIM out of the ring. Shawn lands on the apron, and slides under the ropes back into the ring; he then gives Morrison a small clap, as if to say “You’re better than I thought.” The two continue their scientific battle.
5) Shelton [Shelton, Morrison, Shawn]
Shelton is the next in, and spring-boards across the ring at Shawn and Morrison, knocking both down with a double-dropkick. The three men wrestle.
6) Kofi [Kofi, Shelton, Morrison, Shawn]
In a bit of irony, Kofi waits until Shelton has the advantage, then spring-boards across the ring and knocks HIM down with a dropkick. The four men wrestle each other.
7) Rey [Rey, Kofi, Shelton, Morrison, Shawn]
With the other four men fighting, Rey spring-boards into the ring, but then spins and hits an Asai Moonsault onto everyone. Lots of fast-paced action in the ring.
8) Bourne [Bourne, Rey, Kofi, Shelton, Morrison, Shawn]
With the other five men fighting, Bourne runs up the turnbuckle, and hits a big “Shooting Star Press” onto everyone. Bodies continue to flip and fly everywhere.
9) Hurricane [Hurricane, Bourne, Rey, Kofi, Shelton, Morrison, Shawn]
Hurricane joins the high-flying action.
10) Yang [Yang, Hurricane, Bourne, Rey, Kofi, Shelton, Morrison, Shawn]
More high-flying action. All eight men end-up exhausting themselves, and have to take a moment to recharge their batteries as the next Superstar enters.
11) Santino [Santino, Yang, Hurricane, Bourne, Rey, Kofi, Shelton, Morrison, Shawn]
Santino runs into the ring, but then has an idea – with everybody down, he decides to climb the turnbuckle. He climbs the turnbuckle, very awkwardly and shakily, and manages to stand on the turnbuckle. Santino motions that he is going to fly, but suddenly loses his balance, and falls all the way to the outside. Santino is eliminated. With that out of the way, everybody begins to stir, the last one being Shawn, who kips-up, and begins to wail on everyone.
12) Kane [Kane, Yang, Hurricane, Bourne, Rey, Kofi, Shelton, Morrison, Shawn]
Kane is obviously in a foul mood as he heads to the ring, and when he gets there he immediately wraps his hands around the throats of whomever is closest – in this case, Yang and Hurricane, who both get tossed out of the ring. Next are Kofi and Shelton, who both go flying. Kane goes to grab Rey and Bourne, but Shawn and Morrison make the save. The four faces try to beat Kane down, but Kane is absolutely unstoppable tonight.
13) Sheamus [Sheamus, Kane, Bourne, Rey, Morrison, Shawn]
Sheamus eyes-up Kane, and decides to tackle the monster alone; the two brawl, as do Bourne/Rey and Morrison/Shawn.
14) Miz [Miz, Sheamus, Kane, Bourne, Rey, Morrison, Shawn]
Miz goes straight for Shawn, and then stands in front of Morrison in order to let Morrison know that he [Miz] helped him. Morrison doesn’t want Miz’ help, and slaps Miz; the two men brawl along with Shawn. Sheamus and Kane decide to temporarily join forces and attempt to dump Rey and Bourne.
15) Swagger [Swagger, Miz, Sheamus, Kane, Bourne, Rey, Morrison, Shawn]
Swagger goes to help Miz, as the announcers mention that Swagger and Miz have been teaming lately. Miz-Swagger square-off with Morrison-Shawn, while Kane-Sheamus dominate Rey-Bourne on the opposite side.
16) Ziggler [Ziggler, Swagger, Miz, Sheamus, Kane, Bourne, Rey, Morrison, Shawn]
Ziggler makes his way to the ring, but decides to wait outside. Kane-Sheamus continue to dominate Rey-Bourne, while Morrison-Shawn actually have Miz-Swagger on the ropes.
17) Masters [Masters, Ziggler, Swagger, Miz, Sheamus, Kane, Bourne, Rey, Morrison, Shawn]
As Masters makes his way to the ring, he his stopped by Ziggler; Ziggler whispers some stuff in his ear, and Masters nods in agreement. Ziggler and Masters stalk around the outside of the ring, waiting to pick their spot – Kane and Sheamus get Bourne and Rey teetering on the ropes, only for Masters and Ziggler to grab them [Bourne and Rey] and pull them out of the ring! Rey and Bourne, naturally, dispute the decision with refs, but it ultimately proves futile. Masters and Ziggler climb into the ring, and try to play nice with Kane and Sheamus, telling them that they should go attack the other four men on the other side of the ring; Kane and Sheamus agree, but as soon as Masters and Ziggler turn to walk towards the opposite corner, Kane and Sheamus grab them and toss them, as well! Kane and Sheamus then go to square-off again, but Morrison and Shawn end-up irish-whipping Swagger and Miz right into them. The four heels fight, while Shawn and Morrison both grab a breather.
18) Hornswoggle [Hornswoggle, Swagger, Miz, Sheamus, Kane, Morrison, Shawn]
Hornswoggle runs down the ramp, but – upon seeing the four heels on the closest side of the ring – hesitates to get into the ring. Hornswoggle slowly makes his way up the stairs, on stands on the apron; at this point, the four heels stop fighting, and focus on Hornswoggle like a pack of wolves focusing on a fresh lunch. The heels are so distracted, in fact, that they fail to notice Shawn and Morrison getting back to their feet; Shawn and Morrison run and dive at Miz and Swagger, knocking them into Kane and Sheamus. In retaliation, Kane and Sheamus toss Miz and Swagger. Shawn and Morrison mount a comeback against Kane and Sheamus, while Hornswoggle hangs back in the corner.
19) Ryder [Ryder, Hornswoggle, Sheamus, Kane, Morrison, Shawn]
Ryder, cocky as ever, decides to storm the ring and get fully involved in the action; unfortunately for him, as soon as he runs at his opposition, Shawn pulls the top rope down, and Ryder goes flying over it to the outside. And while Shawn pulls himself back up, Morrison dumps him over the ropes! Shawn throws a bit of a fit, but quickly regains his composure. Sheamus attempts to hip-toss Morrison out of the ring, but Morrison lands on the apron; then, while still standing on the apron, Morrison manages to hip-toss Sheamus out of the ring. From there, with Morrison still on the apron, Kane stalks over to him, but Morrison slides under the ropes and through Kane’s legs, then quickly leverages Kane out, too! Hornswoggle wants to know what Morrison plans to do to him, but Morrison promises not to fight him. The two of them eagerly await their next opponent.
The buzzer sounds, and Chavo’s music hits, but nobody comes out. Morrison continues to stare at the ramp, and doesn’t notice RANDY ORTON emerge from the crowd!
20) Orton [Orton, Hornswoggle, Morrison]
Orton, dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt, slithers into the ring behind Morrison, and hits him with the “RKO”! With Morrison unconscious, Orton turns his attention to Hornswoggle; Orton stalks Hornswoggle, and when Horny tries to run, Orton catches him. Orton toys with Hornswoggle.
21) Goldust [Goldust, Orton, Hornswoggle, Morrison]
Goldust jumps the gun on his entry, but the refs allow it. Goldust is all riled up and goes for Orton; he dominates Orton for a few minutes, even allowing Hornswoggle to bite Orton’s butt, but the fun, games, and advantage don’t last long, as Orton eventually hits the “RKO” on Goldust. Hornswoggle kneels next to his fallen friend… and gets PUNTED BY ORTON! Trainers and EMTs immediately run down to the ring, and stretcher little Hornswoggle out of the ring. Meanwhile, Orton continues to stomp on Goldust and Morrison.
22) Batista [Batista, Goldust, Orton, Morrison]
Batista gets in Orton’s face, but then turns around and dumps Goldust. Batista and Orton stomp on Morrison.
23) Truth [Truth, Batista, Orton, Morrison]
Truth goes straight for Batista and Orton, when suddenly, FINLAY – whom wasn’t even scheduled that evening – runs out from the back and assaults Orton with the shillelagh! Orton dives out of the ring and runs to the back, with Finlay right on his tail. Truth helps Morrison against Batista.
24) Yoshi [Yoshi, Truth, Batista, Morrison]
Yoshi goes to help Truth and Morrison dump Batista, but Batista is able to power out, and dumps Yoshi and Truth at the same time. Batista turns his attention to Morrison, and beats on him for a while.
25) Matt [Matt, Batista, Morrison]
Matt battles Batista, while Morrison catches his breath.
26) Trips [Trips, Matt, Batista, Morrison]
Trips goes straight for Batista, and helps Matt try to dump him; Batista is able to hold-on and stay in the ring, though.
27) Kaval [Kaval, Trips, Matt, Batista, Morrison]
Kaval beats on Matt while Trips and Batista brawl. Morrison hangs back.
28) McIntyre [McIntyre, Kaval, Trips, Matt, Batista, Morrison]
McIntyre helps Kaval beat on Matt, but Morrison gets back to his feet and helps Matt fight them off. After some struggling back and forth, McIntyre and Kaval get dumped. Morrison then tries to dump Matt, but Matt holds on; the two struggle back and forth, with both eventually going over the top-rope and battling on the apron. Batista knocks Trips down, and then, seeing Morrison and Matt on the apron, runs across the ring at them – he clotheslines Morrison off, but Matt is able to hold onto the top-rope and get back into the ring.
29) MVP [MVP, Trips, Matt, Batista]
MVP, Trips, and Matt all try to get Batista down, but Batista just won’t go over.
30) Taker [Taker, MVP, Trips, Matt, Batista]
The lights go out, and when they come back on, Taker is standing in the middle of the ring. The other faces part like the Red Sea, and allow Taker to go straight for Batista. Taker beats on Batista for a few moments, but Trips eventually gets impatient, and tries to push Taker out of the way so that HE can continue beating on Batista. Taker doesn’t take kindly to this, and shoves Trips out of the way, which then causes Trips and Taker to fight amongst themselves. Batista tries to crawl away, but MVP and Matt stop him and pound on him.
Final Combatants: Taker, MVP, Trips, Matt, Batista
Taker and Trips continue to brawl, while MVP and Matt team-up against Batista. Vince makes his way down to the ring, which distracts the faces… and also prompts them all to gang-up on Batista. Punk, Swagger, and Miz now make their way down to the ring, and just in the nick of time, too – the faces get Batista teetering over the ropes, but Punk, Swagger, and Miz catch him on his way out, and shove him back into the ring under the bottom rope. Shawn and Kane now make their way down to the ring and attempt to restore order. Punk, Swagger, and Miz attempt to run, going through the ring to make their get-away; this all leads to Taker, Trips, Matt, MVP, Shawn, and Kane surrounding Batista, Punk, Swagger, and Miz. The faces pile on the heels, but in the ensuing melee, Batista is able to slide away from everyone. With everything in chaos, Batista is able to toss Taker and Trips! Taker and Trips blame each other, which leads to Taker-Kane brawling to the back with Trips-Shawn. Batista motions for Punk, Swagger, and Miz to get out of the ring; they’re hesitant, but eventually do. Matt and MVP try to oust Batista, but Batista quickly tosses MVP.
Final Two: Matt, Batista
Matt is ready to fight Batista, but Punk jumps on the apron to distract him, yelling “I know what you did!”, obviously implying that Matt was responsible for playing Jeff’s music. Batista runs at Matt, but Matt moves, causing Batista to collide with Punk! Punk goes flying, and Batista grabs his head in agony; Matt quickly grabs him and dumps him over the ropes! Matt Hardy is going to “WrestleMania”!
FEBRUARY, 2010
RAW
“DX” opens the first episode after “Royal Rumble”. They congratulate Matt on his victory, and then call Vince out for all of the chaos that – Trips feels – cost him the match. Vince makes his way to the ring, followed by Miz and Swagger. Vince warns Trips to watch his mouth, and tells him that he’s about to make some major announcements about the next PPV. Vince announces that the next PPV will be entitled “WWE Elimination Chamber”, and, true to the name, will feature a #1-contendors “Elimination Chamber” match, with each brand being represented by two Superstars. Trips guesses that he and Shawn have been passed-over in favor of Miz and Swagger. Vince corrects him, saying that, while Trips and Shawn will not be in that match, neither will Miz or Swagger – as a matter of fact, Vince is officially naming them the new #1-contendors, meaning that they will face Cena for the WWE-Championship in a three-way match. Vince: “As for you two, I’ve already booked the two of you in a match, as well. You two have been a thorn in my side for over ten years, and I’ve finally realized that, if I truly want to rid myself of all my enemies, I must turn them against each other. At ‘WWE Elimination Chamber’, it will be the two of you taking on… ‘The Brothers of Destruction’, The Undertaker and Kane!” DX attack Miz-Swagger, causing them to walk back up the ramp with Vince.
Jericho-Show announce that, while Jericho may have lost the WWE-Championship, they are still the Tag-Champions and the most dominant force in WWE today. They then also announce that, in order to prove that, they will be putting their tag-titles on the line in the first-ever tag-team “Elim-Cham” match. “Raw” and “Smackdown” will both be represented by a team.
Orton feels that Cody-TJ have not been impressive enough, and enacts a new “tough love” policy – he begins putting them through various “exercises” that are meant to toughen them up, such as punching brick walls, holding them under water, etc. In addition, Cody and/or TJ should ever lose, they will get beaten by Orton. The three of them begin competing in jeans and black t-shirts, and get progressively more disheveled – messy hair, stubble, etc. This eventually leads to Cody-TJ defeating Carlito-Primo for the right to face Jericho-Show at “WWE Elimination Chamber” for the Tag-Championships.
A tournament is held, with the final two men earning the right to compete in the #1-contendor “Elimination Chamber” match. This 9-man tournament will involve three 3-way matches, with the three winners competing in a 3-way the following week; the man that loses that three-way is out of the “Elim-Cham” match.
- MVP/Kofi/Noble – Mvp pins Noble.
- Orton/Henry/Chavo – Orton pins Chavo.
- Bourne/Masters/Santino – Bourne pins Masters.
- MVP/Orton/Bourne – Orton and MVP are brawling on the outside, and Bourne goes to dive onto them; unfortunately, he misses, and splats on the floor. Orton climbs back into the ring, but MVP tries to help Bourne. The referee gets to 9, MVP runs into the ring, Bourne gets counted out, and MVP runs back to the outside to help him up. MVP apologizes to Bourne for having won that way, but Bourne understands.
Backstage, Masters confronts Bourne, claiming that Bourne’s mistake in the finals proves how much of a fluke it was when Bourne pinned Masters. Bourne doesn’t back down, and mentions that he hasn’t forgotten how Masters illegally eliminated him from the “Rumble”. Masters laughs, and attacks Bourne.
Noble approaches Kofi backstage, and says he wants to prove himself. The two agree to a match at the PPV.
It is announced that, due to the “cowardly actions” of Orton, Hornswoggle suffered a serious concussion, and will be out of action for a while. The announcers send their get-well wishes.
SMACKDOWN
The show opens with a replay of Matt’s “Rumble” win, but then cuts to Punk, who is in the ring. “Enough. Enough. We get it. Matt won the ‘Rumble’. Whatever. Yippee. Good for him. Matt, I know what you did, I know you’re the one that cued up Jeff’s music, so come out here and face me like a man.” Matt makes his way to the ring, and gets right in Punk’s face. Punk: “Matt, first of all, congratulations, you had an amazing showing in the ‘Rumble’, good going champ.” Matt: “Well, obviously, first, thank you, but, uhh… sorry I can’t refer to you as ‘champ’, too.” “Cute Matt, that means a lot coming from a guy that didn’t have to do anything to win the ‘Rumble’. I mean, you entered at, what, like number 25 or something? Jeez, great accomplishment, the match was already like 85% over when you got in. Oh, and how many guys did you eliminate? A whole whopping one? Yeah, wow, great job, I wish I got to the chance to main-event ‘WrestleMania’ by sitting on my ass the whole night.” “Punk, you can insult my victory all you want, but at least I got the victory.” “That’s because you cost me my match!” “No Punk, I didn’t cost you anything. Your own paranoia cost you the match.” “You’re the one that played Jeff’s music!” “Yes, music, that’s all it was, just sounds in the air. You heard some drums and guitars, and that was enough to distract you… tell me, Punk, what kind of champion allows himself to get distracted so easily?” The two men continue to bicker, when Vince makes his way to the ring. He announces that, at “WWE Elimination Chamber”, he will make sure everybody gets a fair shot – Funaki will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Punk, and, just like Punk did at “Royal Rumble”, Matt will face three mystery opponents in a gauntlet match… and just like Punk’s WH-Championship was on the line in his match, Matt’s WM title-shot will be on the line in this one.
Backstage, Long approaches Matt in his dressing room, and apologizes for all he has done. Matt doesn’t want to hear it, but Long tells him that it’s only because he’s on such thin-ice with Vince that he hasn’t been running “Smackdown” the way he truly wants to. Matt asks if Long could at least tell him who his opponents are at “WWE Elimination Chamber”; Long says he can’t announce anything to the audience, but whispers some stuff in Matt’s ear. Matt obviously doesn’t like what he hears.
Funaki defends the WH-Championship against lower-carders: Slamaster, Yang, Haas, etc. He is also featured in vignettes that depict him training (in stereotypical fashion, with stereotypical music) harder than ever in preparation of his upcoming match with Punk.
Batista is named as one of the two “Smackdown”-representatives in the #1-contendor “Elim-Cham” match, while a 10-man battle-royal is used to determine the other. The entrants are: Rey, Morrison, Ziggler, Finlay, Knox, Truth, Kaval, McIntyre, Haas, and Yang. The last three are Rey, Morrison, and Ziggler – Rey eliminates Ziggler, and Morrison eliminates Rey. After the match, Ziggler attacks Rey, but Morrison runs him off.
Taker and Kane deliver “messages” to “DX”.
Jtg-Shad defeat Tyson-Smith to qualify for the Tag-Championship “Elim-Cham” match.
It is announced that Finlay will be taking some time off to be with his son Hornswoggle.
ECW
Burchill officially joins Regal’s group, and demands a match against Festus at “WWE Elimination Chamber”. Festus responds by storming the ring and clearing everyone out.
Tiffany announces that, since the “Elimination Chamber” requires a certain degree of teamwork and strategy, she has decided to set-up a tag-team tournament in order to determine which two Superstars will represent “ECW” at the next PPV. The teams will be Christian-Shelton, Dreamer-Yoshi, Goldust-Hurricane, and Ryder-Sheamus.
- Christian-Shelton/Dreamer-Yoshi – Christian pins Dreamer.
- Goldust-Hurricane/Ryder-Sheamus – Ryder pins Goldust.
- Christian-Shelton/Ryder-Sheamus – Shelton pins Ryder, meaning that Christian and Shelton will be in the #1-contendor “Elim-Cham” match.
INTERFED
The #1-contendor “Elim-Cham” match will be comprised of Orton and MVP (from “Raw”), Batista and Morrison (from “Smackdown”), and Christian and Shelton (from “ECW”).
The Tag-Championship “Elim-Cham” match will consist of Show-Jericho (of “Raw” and “Smackdown”, respectively) defending their titles against Cody-Tj (from “Raw”) and Jtg-Shad (from “Smackdown”).
Trips-Shawn will face Taker-Kane.
IC-champ Bourne (from “Raw”) will team with US-champ Rey (from “Smackdown”) against Masters (from “Raw”) and Ziggler (from “Smackdown”).
“DX” opens the first episode after “Royal Rumble”. They congratulate Matt on his victory, and then call Vince out for all of the chaos that – Trips feels – cost him the match. Vince makes his way to the ring, followed by Miz and Swagger. Vince warns Trips to watch his mouth, and tells him that he’s about to make some major announcements about the next PPV. Vince announces that the next PPV will be entitled “WWE Elimination Chamber”, and, true to the name, will feature a #1-contendors “Elimination Chamber” match, with each brand being represented by two Superstars. Trips guesses that he and Shawn have been passed-over in favor of Miz and Swagger. Vince corrects him, saying that, while Trips and Shawn will not be in that match, neither will Miz or Swagger – as a matter of fact, Vince is officially naming them the new #1-contendors, meaning that they will face Cena for the WWE-Championship in a three-way match. Vince: “As for you two, I’ve already booked the two of you in a match, as well. You two have been a thorn in my side for over ten years, and I’ve finally realized that, if I truly want to rid myself of all my enemies, I must turn them against each other. At ‘WWE Elimination Chamber’, it will be the two of you taking on… ‘The Brothers of Destruction’, The Undertaker and Kane!” DX attack Miz-Swagger, causing them to walk back up the ramp with Vince.
Jericho-Show announce that, while Jericho may have lost the WWE-Championship, they are still the Tag-Champions and the most dominant force in WWE today. They then also announce that, in order to prove that, they will be putting their tag-titles on the line in the first-ever tag-team “Elim-Cham” match. “Raw” and “Smackdown” will both be represented by a team.
Orton feels that Cody-TJ have not been impressive enough, and enacts a new “tough love” policy – he begins putting them through various “exercises” that are meant to toughen them up, such as punching brick walls, holding them under water, etc. In addition, Cody and/or TJ should ever lose, they will get beaten by Orton. The three of them begin competing in jeans and black t-shirts, and get progressively more disheveled – messy hair, stubble, etc. This eventually leads to Cody-TJ defeating Carlito-Primo for the right to face Jericho-Show at “WWE Elimination Chamber” for the Tag-Championships.
A tournament is held, with the final two men earning the right to compete in the #1-contendor “Elimination Chamber” match. This 9-man tournament will involve three 3-way matches, with the three winners competing in a 3-way the following week; the man that loses that three-way is out of the “Elim-Cham” match.
- MVP/Kofi/Noble – Mvp pins Noble.
- Orton/Henry/Chavo – Orton pins Chavo.
- Bourne/Masters/Santino – Bourne pins Masters.
- MVP/Orton/Bourne – Orton and MVP are brawling on the outside, and Bourne goes to dive onto them; unfortunately, he misses, and splats on the floor. Orton climbs back into the ring, but MVP tries to help Bourne. The referee gets to 9, MVP runs into the ring, Bourne gets counted out, and MVP runs back to the outside to help him up. MVP apologizes to Bourne for having won that way, but Bourne understands.
Backstage, Masters confronts Bourne, claiming that Bourne’s mistake in the finals proves how much of a fluke it was when Bourne pinned Masters. Bourne doesn’t back down, and mentions that he hasn’t forgotten how Masters illegally eliminated him from the “Rumble”. Masters laughs, and attacks Bourne.
Noble approaches Kofi backstage, and says he wants to prove himself. The two agree to a match at the PPV.
It is announced that, due to the “cowardly actions” of Orton, Hornswoggle suffered a serious concussion, and will be out of action for a while. The announcers send their get-well wishes.
SMACKDOWN
The show opens with a replay of Matt’s “Rumble” win, but then cuts to Punk, who is in the ring. “Enough. Enough. We get it. Matt won the ‘Rumble’. Whatever. Yippee. Good for him. Matt, I know what you did, I know you’re the one that cued up Jeff’s music, so come out here and face me like a man.” Matt makes his way to the ring, and gets right in Punk’s face. Punk: “Matt, first of all, congratulations, you had an amazing showing in the ‘Rumble’, good going champ.” Matt: “Well, obviously, first, thank you, but, uhh… sorry I can’t refer to you as ‘champ’, too.” “Cute Matt, that means a lot coming from a guy that didn’t have to do anything to win the ‘Rumble’. I mean, you entered at, what, like number 25 or something? Jeez, great accomplishment, the match was already like 85% over when you got in. Oh, and how many guys did you eliminate? A whole whopping one? Yeah, wow, great job, I wish I got to the chance to main-event ‘WrestleMania’ by sitting on my ass the whole night.” “Punk, you can insult my victory all you want, but at least I got the victory.” “That’s because you cost me my match!” “No Punk, I didn’t cost you anything. Your own paranoia cost you the match.” “You’re the one that played Jeff’s music!” “Yes, music, that’s all it was, just sounds in the air. You heard some drums and guitars, and that was enough to distract you… tell me, Punk, what kind of champion allows himself to get distracted so easily?” The two men continue to bicker, when Vince makes his way to the ring. He announces that, at “WWE Elimination Chamber”, he will make sure everybody gets a fair shot – Funaki will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Punk, and, just like Punk did at “Royal Rumble”, Matt will face three mystery opponents in a gauntlet match… and just like Punk’s WH-Championship was on the line in his match, Matt’s WM title-shot will be on the line in this one.
Backstage, Long approaches Matt in his dressing room, and apologizes for all he has done. Matt doesn’t want to hear it, but Long tells him that it’s only because he’s on such thin-ice with Vince that he hasn’t been running “Smackdown” the way he truly wants to. Matt asks if Long could at least tell him who his opponents are at “WWE Elimination Chamber”; Long says he can’t announce anything to the audience, but whispers some stuff in Matt’s ear. Matt obviously doesn’t like what he hears.
Funaki defends the WH-Championship against lower-carders: Slamaster, Yang, Haas, etc. He is also featured in vignettes that depict him training (in stereotypical fashion, with stereotypical music) harder than ever in preparation of his upcoming match with Punk.
Batista is named as one of the two “Smackdown”-representatives in the #1-contendor “Elim-Cham” match, while a 10-man battle-royal is used to determine the other. The entrants are: Rey, Morrison, Ziggler, Finlay, Knox, Truth, Kaval, McIntyre, Haas, and Yang. The last three are Rey, Morrison, and Ziggler – Rey eliminates Ziggler, and Morrison eliminates Rey. After the match, Ziggler attacks Rey, but Morrison runs him off.
Taker and Kane deliver “messages” to “DX”.
Jtg-Shad defeat Tyson-Smith to qualify for the Tag-Championship “Elim-Cham” match.
It is announced that Finlay will be taking some time off to be with his son Hornswoggle.
ECW
Burchill officially joins Regal’s group, and demands a match against Festus at “WWE Elimination Chamber”. Festus responds by storming the ring and clearing everyone out.
Tiffany announces that, since the “Elimination Chamber” requires a certain degree of teamwork and strategy, she has decided to set-up a tag-team tournament in order to determine which two Superstars will represent “ECW” at the next PPV. The teams will be Christian-Shelton, Dreamer-Yoshi, Goldust-Hurricane, and Ryder-Sheamus.
- Christian-Shelton/Dreamer-Yoshi – Christian pins Dreamer.
- Goldust-Hurricane/Ryder-Sheamus – Ryder pins Goldust.
- Christian-Shelton/Ryder-Sheamus – Shelton pins Ryder, meaning that Christian and Shelton will be in the #1-contendor “Elim-Cham” match.
INTERFED
The #1-contendor “Elim-Cham” match will be comprised of Orton and MVP (from “Raw”), Batista and Morrison (from “Smackdown”), and Christian and Shelton (from “ECW”).
The Tag-Championship “Elim-Cham” match will consist of Show-Jericho (of “Raw” and “Smackdown”, respectively) defending their titles against Cody-Tj (from “Raw”) and Jtg-Shad (from “Smackdown”).
Trips-Shawn will face Taker-Kane.
IC-champ Bourne (from “Raw”) will team with US-champ Rey (from “Smackdown”) against Masters (from “Raw”) and Ziggler (from “Smackdown”).
ELIMINATION CHAMBER, 2010
2 - Trips-Shawn/Taker-Kane
3 - "Elim Cham": Orton/Mvp/Batista/Morrison/Christian/Shelton
S - World: FUNAKI/Punk
R - WWE: CENA/Miz/Swagger
2 - Bourne-Rey/Masters-Ziggler
3 - ECW: FESTUS/Burchill
S - "Gauntlet": Matt/???
R - Kofi/Noble
2 - "Elim Cham", Tag: SHOW-JERICHO/Cody-Tj/Jtg-Shad
///
Tag Elim-Cham – The rules are explained that, even if one member of a team is eliminated, their partner will be allowed to continue; the last man standing wins the tag-titles for his team. Jericho and Jtg start the match, with a lot of back-and-forth chain-wrestling. Cody is the next in, and begins by helping Jericho beat on Jtg, but then turns on Jericho and begins beating on him. Tj is the next in, and helps Cody fight the other two men. Shad is next, and plows straight through the heels; “CrymeTyme” do decently despite the 3-on-2 disadvantage. Show is the final entrant, and quickly goes for Shad – a quick choke-slam on the metal floor eliminates him. Show then does the same to Cody, eliminating him. Show helps Jericho to his feet, while TJ and JTG realize that they’re going to have to work together if either of them stand a chance of winning. TJ quickly goes to work on Jericho, while JTG does his best with Show. Shad and Cody run back down to the ring carrying bats, and slide them to their partners; Jericho goes down quickly, while TJ and JTG back Show into one of the pods. With Show in the pod, Cody and Shad hold the door closed from the outside. TJ pins Jericho, but then turns on JTG; seeing this, Shad attacks Cody on the outside, allowing Show to get out of the pod. With the other two men fighting, Show easily grabs them both by their throats, and Choke-slams them both for the win. Jericho-Show leave, while Cody and Shad brawl on the outside.
Kofi/Noble – Kofi wins.
Gauntlet – Matt makes his way to the ring, and awaits his opponents. McIntyre is his first opponent, and is able to put up a decent fight, but Matt hits the “Twist of Fate” for the win. Knox is the next, and dominates Matt for a bit, but Matt rebounds and hits a quick “Side Effect” followed by the middle-rope leg-drop for the win. Matt’s final opponent is Khali, who dominates Matt for a while. Khali eventually grabs Matt in the head-vice, but Matt fights his heart out – he eventually gets his feet on the ropes, and pushes himself backwards, landing on Khali, and scoring a quick 1-2-3. Matt celebrates.
Backstage: Orton is angry that Cody-Tj didn’t win the Tag-Championships. Cody blames “CrymeTyme”, but Orton doesn’t want to hear excuses. He tells them to get out of his sight, because he has a match to prepare for.
Festus/Burchill – Regal tries to interfere, but it’s not enough. Festus wins.
Bourne-Rey/Masters-Ziggler – Bourne pins Masters.
Cena/Miz/Swagger – With Swagger down, Cena lifts Miz for the “Attitude Adjuster”, tosses him onto Swagger, and pins Swagger.
Funaki/Punk – Before the match, Vince and Long make their way to the ring and take a seat at ringside. Punk makes his entrance, and Funaki makes his. The two men warm-up in opposite corners as full introductions (stats, home-towns, etc.) are made. The ref forces them to shake hands, and the bell rings. Both men are very cautious, and begin to circle around each other. Punk rolls outside the ring, and discusses strategy with Vince. Punk gets back in the ring, the two circle some more, and now Punk demands the ref pat Funaki down. Vince jumps up, yells “Yeah, pat him down”, and the ref obliges. Punk and Funaki circle each other one more time, Funaki goes for a kick, Punk ducks, and then delivers a big kick of his own to Funaki’s face. Funaki is down, Punk covers for the win! Punk celebrates like it’s the biggest accomplishment of his life. Vince is all into the celebration, though Long clearly thinks it’s ridiculous. After a little speech, Punk begins stomping on Funaki; Matt runs down, and everyone else clears out of the ring. Matt yells that the title will be his soon.
Backstage: Trips and Shawn are prepping for their match, when there’s a knock at the door; they’re wary of who it could be, and open the door slowly, but it’s Morrison on the other end. DX say it’s a welcome surprise to see him. Morrison apologizes for interrupting them, saying that he knows they have a big match to prepare for, then says that he actually has a match in a few minutes, but didn’t want to miss them. Morrison tells Shawn that he’s always been a huge fan of his work (to which Shawn replies that he’s a big fan of Morrison’s work, as well), and tells him that he thought the two of them stole the show at “Royal Rumble”, “and, knowing how much you love to steal the show, I was hoping you might want to steal the show with me one more time. It’d be an honor to face you at ‘WrestleMania’.” Shawn is flattered. Shawn: “Wow, umm… well, first, John, I gotta say, you’re really good at a lot of things, but timing ain’t one of them. That’s ok, though. You know what, I’m glad that you would consider it an honor to face me at ‘WrestleMania’, and the truth is, you’re one of the most talented young talents I’ve ever seen come through that door. It would be just as much of an honor for me to face you at ‘WrestleMania’. You’re on.” Morrison thanks him, tells him he has to leave for his match, and wishes Shawn luck in his. Shawn is in a bit of shock, but Trips tells him to remain focused.
#1-Contendor Elim-Cham – Before the match, Long makes his way down to the ring, a hesitant look on his face. Morrison is the first to make his entrance, followed by Christian, Shelton, and Batista; these four men are locked in their pods. MVP makes his entrance, and awaits Orton. Orton makes his entrance, but as he walks to the ring, he is attacked by Finlay! Finlay beats him in the head with the shillelagh until security pulls him off. Orton, obviously injured badly, still enters the ring and insists on competing. He attempts to fight back, but a quick “Play Maker” eliminates him quickly. Orton exits the ring, but as he walks up the aisle, he is met by the stoic presences of Cody and TJ. Cody-TJ stare Orton down, but Orton decides to just keep walking. Back in the ring, Christian is the next entrant, and he and MVP go back and forth. The buzzer sounds, and the spotlight lands on Batista; however, Long orders a do-over, claiming that he witnessed the light malfunction, and now the spotlight lands on Shelton. All four men battle, with no clear-cut winner. Morrison is the next in, and all five men battle, with no clear-cut winners. The buzzer sounds again, and the other four men in the ring stop what they’re doing and crowd around Batista’s pod; Long, however, makes-up some cockamamie story about not being zoned to have so many Superstars competing in the Chamber at once – “due to legal restrictions”, he cannot in good conscience allow the last pod to open until there have been at least two more eliminations. The other four men continue to battle; Shelton hits the “Pay Dirt” on MVP, pinning him, but then turns around into a “Moonlight Drive” by Morrison, eliminating Shelton. With two men eliminated, Batista’s pod opens. He is able to dominate the two less-fresh men for a bit. While all three are on the outer metal-floor, Morrison surprises Batista with a “Flying Chuck”. Christian then climbs onto the pod, and attempts to “Frog Splash” Batista, but Batista moves, causing Christian to splat on the metal floor; Batista tosses Morrison into the ring and covers Christian. Batista and Morrison wrestle around the Chamber for a while, with Batista eventually ending-up back on the metal floor; Morrison spring-boards at him, but Batista catches him and spine-busters him on the metal. Batista then picks him up, and “Batista Bombs” him on the metal again, earning the win. Long storms to the back, not wanting to be there any longer.
Trips-Shawn/Taker-Kane – The four work a standard tag-match, with no real clear-cut advantage on either side; the two teams also aren’t shy about bending the rules a bit, like having both members of a team in the ring for more than five seconds. Eventually, Trips gets upset with the way Taker and Kane are double-teaming Shawn, and jumps into the ring; this causes a big brawl to erupt. After all four brawl on the outside for a while, Trips and Taker find themselves back in the ring, where Taker hits the “Tombstone” for the win. Taker begins to celebrate, while Trips argues with the ref; the announcers intuit that Trips is complaining that the pin shouldn’t have counted because he [Trips] wasn’t the legal man. The camera cuts backstage, where Vince and Long are watching the match on a monitor; Vince is smiling to himself, which prompts Long to ask what Vince is so happy about. “Remember how I said I would destroy my enemies? This is just the first step.” The camera cuts back to Taker and Kane celebrating in the ring, while Trips storms to the back.
2 - Trips-Shawn/Taker-Kane
3 - "Elim Cham": Orton/Mvp/Batista/Morrison/Christian/Shelton
S - World: FUNAKI/Punk
R - WWE: CENA/Miz/Swagger
2 - Bourne-Rey/Masters-Ziggler
3 - ECW: FESTUS/Burchill
S - "Gauntlet": Matt/???
R - Kofi/Noble
2 - "Elim Cham", Tag: SHOW-JERICHO/Cody-Tj/Jtg-Shad
///
Tag Elim-Cham – The rules are explained that, even if one member of a team is eliminated, their partner will be allowed to continue; the last man standing wins the tag-titles for his team. Jericho and Jtg start the match, with a lot of back-and-forth chain-wrestling. Cody is the next in, and begins by helping Jericho beat on Jtg, but then turns on Jericho and begins beating on him. Tj is the next in, and helps Cody fight the other two men. Shad is next, and plows straight through the heels; “CrymeTyme” do decently despite the 3-on-2 disadvantage. Show is the final entrant, and quickly goes for Shad – a quick choke-slam on the metal floor eliminates him. Show then does the same to Cody, eliminating him. Show helps Jericho to his feet, while TJ and JTG realize that they’re going to have to work together if either of them stand a chance of winning. TJ quickly goes to work on Jericho, while JTG does his best with Show. Shad and Cody run back down to the ring carrying bats, and slide them to their partners; Jericho goes down quickly, while TJ and JTG back Show into one of the pods. With Show in the pod, Cody and Shad hold the door closed from the outside. TJ pins Jericho, but then turns on JTG; seeing this, Shad attacks Cody on the outside, allowing Show to get out of the pod. With the other two men fighting, Show easily grabs them both by their throats, and Choke-slams them both for the win. Jericho-Show leave, while Cody and Shad brawl on the outside.
Kofi/Noble – Kofi wins.
Gauntlet – Matt makes his way to the ring, and awaits his opponents. McIntyre is his first opponent, and is able to put up a decent fight, but Matt hits the “Twist of Fate” for the win. Knox is the next, and dominates Matt for a bit, but Matt rebounds and hits a quick “Side Effect” followed by the middle-rope leg-drop for the win. Matt’s final opponent is Khali, who dominates Matt for a while. Khali eventually grabs Matt in the head-vice, but Matt fights his heart out – he eventually gets his feet on the ropes, and pushes himself backwards, landing on Khali, and scoring a quick 1-2-3. Matt celebrates.
Backstage: Orton is angry that Cody-Tj didn’t win the Tag-Championships. Cody blames “CrymeTyme”, but Orton doesn’t want to hear excuses. He tells them to get out of his sight, because he has a match to prepare for.
Festus/Burchill – Regal tries to interfere, but it’s not enough. Festus wins.
Bourne-Rey/Masters-Ziggler – Bourne pins Masters.
Cena/Miz/Swagger – With Swagger down, Cena lifts Miz for the “Attitude Adjuster”, tosses him onto Swagger, and pins Swagger.
Funaki/Punk – Before the match, Vince and Long make their way to the ring and take a seat at ringside. Punk makes his entrance, and Funaki makes his. The two men warm-up in opposite corners as full introductions (stats, home-towns, etc.) are made. The ref forces them to shake hands, and the bell rings. Both men are very cautious, and begin to circle around each other. Punk rolls outside the ring, and discusses strategy with Vince. Punk gets back in the ring, the two circle some more, and now Punk demands the ref pat Funaki down. Vince jumps up, yells “Yeah, pat him down”, and the ref obliges. Punk and Funaki circle each other one more time, Funaki goes for a kick, Punk ducks, and then delivers a big kick of his own to Funaki’s face. Funaki is down, Punk covers for the win! Punk celebrates like it’s the biggest accomplishment of his life. Vince is all into the celebration, though Long clearly thinks it’s ridiculous. After a little speech, Punk begins stomping on Funaki; Matt runs down, and everyone else clears out of the ring. Matt yells that the title will be his soon.
Backstage: Trips and Shawn are prepping for their match, when there’s a knock at the door; they’re wary of who it could be, and open the door slowly, but it’s Morrison on the other end. DX say it’s a welcome surprise to see him. Morrison apologizes for interrupting them, saying that he knows they have a big match to prepare for, then says that he actually has a match in a few minutes, but didn’t want to miss them. Morrison tells Shawn that he’s always been a huge fan of his work (to which Shawn replies that he’s a big fan of Morrison’s work, as well), and tells him that he thought the two of them stole the show at “Royal Rumble”, “and, knowing how much you love to steal the show, I was hoping you might want to steal the show with me one more time. It’d be an honor to face you at ‘WrestleMania’.” Shawn is flattered. Shawn: “Wow, umm… well, first, John, I gotta say, you’re really good at a lot of things, but timing ain’t one of them. That’s ok, though. You know what, I’m glad that you would consider it an honor to face me at ‘WrestleMania’, and the truth is, you’re one of the most talented young talents I’ve ever seen come through that door. It would be just as much of an honor for me to face you at ‘WrestleMania’. You’re on.” Morrison thanks him, tells him he has to leave for his match, and wishes Shawn luck in his. Shawn is in a bit of shock, but Trips tells him to remain focused.
#1-Contendor Elim-Cham – Before the match, Long makes his way down to the ring, a hesitant look on his face. Morrison is the first to make his entrance, followed by Christian, Shelton, and Batista; these four men are locked in their pods. MVP makes his entrance, and awaits Orton. Orton makes his entrance, but as he walks to the ring, he is attacked by Finlay! Finlay beats him in the head with the shillelagh until security pulls him off. Orton, obviously injured badly, still enters the ring and insists on competing. He attempts to fight back, but a quick “Play Maker” eliminates him quickly. Orton exits the ring, but as he walks up the aisle, he is met by the stoic presences of Cody and TJ. Cody-TJ stare Orton down, but Orton decides to just keep walking. Back in the ring, Christian is the next entrant, and he and MVP go back and forth. The buzzer sounds, and the spotlight lands on Batista; however, Long orders a do-over, claiming that he witnessed the light malfunction, and now the spotlight lands on Shelton. All four men battle, with no clear-cut winner. Morrison is the next in, and all five men battle, with no clear-cut winners. The buzzer sounds again, and the other four men in the ring stop what they’re doing and crowd around Batista’s pod; Long, however, makes-up some cockamamie story about not being zoned to have so many Superstars competing in the Chamber at once – “due to legal restrictions”, he cannot in good conscience allow the last pod to open until there have been at least two more eliminations. The other four men continue to battle; Shelton hits the “Pay Dirt” on MVP, pinning him, but then turns around into a “Moonlight Drive” by Morrison, eliminating Shelton. With two men eliminated, Batista’s pod opens. He is able to dominate the two less-fresh men for a bit. While all three are on the outer metal-floor, Morrison surprises Batista with a “Flying Chuck”. Christian then climbs onto the pod, and attempts to “Frog Splash” Batista, but Batista moves, causing Christian to splat on the metal floor; Batista tosses Morrison into the ring and covers Christian. Batista and Morrison wrestle around the Chamber for a while, with Batista eventually ending-up back on the metal floor; Morrison spring-boards at him, but Batista catches him and spine-busters him on the metal. Batista then picks him up, and “Batista Bombs” him on the metal again, earning the win. Long storms to the back, not wanting to be there any longer.
Trips-Shawn/Taker-Kane – The four work a standard tag-match, with no real clear-cut advantage on either side; the two teams also aren’t shy about bending the rules a bit, like having both members of a team in the ring for more than five seconds. Eventually, Trips gets upset with the way Taker and Kane are double-teaming Shawn, and jumps into the ring; this causes a big brawl to erupt. After all four brawl on the outside for a while, Trips and Taker find themselves back in the ring, where Taker hits the “Tombstone” for the win. Taker begins to celebrate, while Trips argues with the ref; the announcers intuit that Trips is complaining that the pin shouldn’t have counted because he [Trips] wasn’t the legal man. The camera cuts backstage, where Vince and Long are watching the match on a monitor; Vince is smiling to himself, which prompts Long to ask what Vince is so happy about. “Remember how I said I would destroy my enemies? This is just the first step.” The camera cuts back to Taker and Kane celebrating in the ring, while Trips storms to the back.
MARCH, 2010
RAW
The first episode after “WWE Elimination Chamber” opens with Cena making his way to the ring. “I’m going to make this short and sweet. Batista, I know you’re in the building tonight, so why don’t you come on out.” Batista makes his entrance, and wants to know why Cena has called him out. Cena explains that, seeing as Batista won the #1-contendor “Elim-Cham” match the night before, and decided to come to “Raw” tonight, he can only assume that Batista plans on challenging him for the WWE Championship at “WrestleMania”. Batista confirms that theory. Cena: “Let me ask you one thing, though. What exactly makes you think you have any right to this title? Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re a ‘Smackdown’-contracted Superstar, are you not?” Batista says that, while he is technically contracted to “Smackdown”, Vince has granted him special permission to challenge Cena. “And why exactly would Vince McMahon do such a thing?” “Because, Cena, Vince wants a champion that can bring prestige to that belt. See, CM Punk is the current World Heavyweight Champion, and with me as the WWE Champion, this company would soar to new heights. Between the first-ever Straight-Edge Champion and the most dominating force in the history of this business, there’s nothing we couldn’t accomplish. Ratings would go up, business would go up, it’s only smart business that Mr. McMahon would allow me the opportunity.” Cena: “Oh, I get it, you kiss Vince McMahon’s ass and you get title-shots, thanks for explaining it to me.” Batista: “I don’t have to kiss anyone’s ass, John. I won the ‘Elimination Chamber’ match last night, and on top of that, I’ve already beaten you. I could snap you like a twig right now if I wanted to.” This gets Cena riled-up; he gets in Batista’s face, “Then why don’t you want to?” Batista laughs at him, and extends his hand to him; “I’ll see you at ‘WrestleMania’, John.”
Trips is upset about being pinned by Taker, citing that he wasn’t even the legal man. Shawn tries to calm him down, and tells him just chalk it up to bad luck. “Bad luck? Let me ask you, Shawn, would you ever chalk something up to bad luck?” “Well, no, but-“ “Exactly, you wouldn’t. And if you were screwed-over in a match, would you just let it go?” “Well, no, but-“ “Exactly. If I lost because I wasn’t the better man that night, fine, but I’m gonna make this right.” Shawn wants to know how Trips intends to do that. Trips tells him that he plans on challenging Taker at “WrestleMania”.
Later on, Vince confronts Trips about his challenge to Taker, and tells him that, despite their differences, he’s willing to help Trips in his mission. Trips isn’t interested, but over the next few weeks, Vince continues to try to get into Trips’ head, reminding him that Taker beat him almost ten years ago at “WrestleMania X-7”, and that this wouldn’t be the first time Vince has “screwed” someone. Shawn, worried about Trips’ state of mind, tries to convince him not to listen to Vince; Trips is offended that Shawn thinks he would even consider Vince’s offer, but Shawn says he’s just making sure. Trips states that, while it’d be a great honor to end Taker’s streak, he wouldn’t dream of doing it unfairly. Shawn continues to doubt him, while Trips continues to deny that he would ever accept help from Vince.
Cody-TJ make their way to the ring, and call Orton out on his loss at “WWE Elimination Chamber”, but Orton does some quick thinking, and manipulates the facts to suit him. He claims that the only reason he lost is because he was attacked by Finlay, but Cody-TJ tell him that they don’t want to hear excuses. Orton then says that he was at a 5-on-1 disadvantage, while Cody-TJ were in a completely fair 2-on-2-on-2 situation. Cody-TJ think this over, but Orton insists that you can’t argue the math. MVP then makes his entrance, and says that he doesn’t appreciate the way they’re making it sound like MVP beating Orton is some sort of fluke. Orton argues that MVP saw what happened, to which MVP replies that, yes, he saw what happened, but even if Finlay hadn’t attacked him, the result would have been the same. Orton implies that he has more important things to worry about, and sends Cody-TJ after MVP; Cody-TJ get about half-way up the ramp, when FINLAY jumps out of the crowd, and beats on Orton again! Cody-TJ run back to the ring, but by then, Finlay has already jumped back over the barricade and gotten away.
Bourne defends his IC Championship against all-comers; he successfully defends against Miz, Swagger, Kofi, Masters, Henry, Chavo, and Noble in various 1-on-1 and 3- and 4-way matches. Eventually, he decides to put his title on the line in an 8-man “Battle Royal”.
Carlito-Primo get another shot at Cody-TJ, with the winners getting the right to meet Jericho-Show at “WrestleMania” for the Tag-Championship; Carlito-Primo win, which upsets Orton.
SMACKDOWN
Matt and Punk are on a collision-course for “WrestleMania”. Punk insults Matt in every way possible, calling him “The Hardy without the talent”, and also hints about all of the “help” he has at his fingertips. Matt takes this to mean that Punk realizes he can’t win fairly.
Kidd-Smith beat Jtg-Shad to get a shot at Jericho-Show’s Tag-Championship.
Rey defends his US Championship against several lower-card guys – Knox, Truth, and Haas. After one match, he is assaulted by Kaval, who later explains that this was simply his way of getting Rey’s attention. The two are on for “WrestleMania”.
Finlay swears revenge on Orton.
Ziggler calls a meeting with McIntyre, Haas, and Knox. He thinks it’s a disgrace that the four of them aren’t on the “WrestleMania” card, and has a plan to remedy that. The four of them begin attacking random wrestlers, those being Funaki, Truth, Yang, and Slamaster. This leads to an 8-man at “WrestleMania”.
ECW
Tiffany leads Festus to the ring, and says that Festus has something he wants to say. “VLAD!!! ZEKE!!! MANIA!!!” Tiffany announces that, at “WrestleMania”, Festus will defend the ECW Championship against Vladimir and Ezekiel in a 3-way match.
Christian confronts Shelton backstage, and says that he thought the two of them made a pretty good team; he asks Shelton if he’d be interested in teaming again, and challenging Jericho-Show for the Tag-Championships at “WrestleMania”. Shelton doesn’t think long before saying yes.
Washington hosts an episode of “The Abraham Washington Show”, with Dreamer as his guest. Washington insults Dreamer for being old, and then is joined by Ryder and Sheamus, both of whom claim to be better than the broken-down Dreamer. Ryder and Sheamus attack Dreamer. This leads to Yoshi and Hurricane coming to Dreamer’s rescue.
INTERFED
Cena (from “Raw”) will defend the WWE Championship against Batista (from “Smackdown”).
Trips (from “Raw”) will face Taker (from “Smackdown”). Vince goads Taker by saying that his “son-in-law” will finally put an end to his fabled “Streak”, and that he [Vince] is going to make sure of it.
Shawn (“Raw”) will face Morrison (“Smackdown”).
Orton-Cody-Tj (from “Raw”) will face MVP (“Raw”), Finlay (“Smackdown”), and a partner of their choice. Hornswoggle’s friend Goldust (“ECW”) volunteers.
Show (from “Raw”) and Jericho (from “Smackdown”) will defend the Tag-Championships against Carlito-Primo (“Raw”), Kidd-Smith (“Smackdown”), and Christian-Shelton (“ECW”).
The first episode after “WWE Elimination Chamber” opens with Cena making his way to the ring. “I’m going to make this short and sweet. Batista, I know you’re in the building tonight, so why don’t you come on out.” Batista makes his entrance, and wants to know why Cena has called him out. Cena explains that, seeing as Batista won the #1-contendor “Elim-Cham” match the night before, and decided to come to “Raw” tonight, he can only assume that Batista plans on challenging him for the WWE Championship at “WrestleMania”. Batista confirms that theory. Cena: “Let me ask you one thing, though. What exactly makes you think you have any right to this title? Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re a ‘Smackdown’-contracted Superstar, are you not?” Batista says that, while he is technically contracted to “Smackdown”, Vince has granted him special permission to challenge Cena. “And why exactly would Vince McMahon do such a thing?” “Because, Cena, Vince wants a champion that can bring prestige to that belt. See, CM Punk is the current World Heavyweight Champion, and with me as the WWE Champion, this company would soar to new heights. Between the first-ever Straight-Edge Champion and the most dominating force in the history of this business, there’s nothing we couldn’t accomplish. Ratings would go up, business would go up, it’s only smart business that Mr. McMahon would allow me the opportunity.” Cena: “Oh, I get it, you kiss Vince McMahon’s ass and you get title-shots, thanks for explaining it to me.” Batista: “I don’t have to kiss anyone’s ass, John. I won the ‘Elimination Chamber’ match last night, and on top of that, I’ve already beaten you. I could snap you like a twig right now if I wanted to.” This gets Cena riled-up; he gets in Batista’s face, “Then why don’t you want to?” Batista laughs at him, and extends his hand to him; “I’ll see you at ‘WrestleMania’, John.”
Trips is upset about being pinned by Taker, citing that he wasn’t even the legal man. Shawn tries to calm him down, and tells him just chalk it up to bad luck. “Bad luck? Let me ask you, Shawn, would you ever chalk something up to bad luck?” “Well, no, but-“ “Exactly, you wouldn’t. And if you were screwed-over in a match, would you just let it go?” “Well, no, but-“ “Exactly. If I lost because I wasn’t the better man that night, fine, but I’m gonna make this right.” Shawn wants to know how Trips intends to do that. Trips tells him that he plans on challenging Taker at “WrestleMania”.
Later on, Vince confronts Trips about his challenge to Taker, and tells him that, despite their differences, he’s willing to help Trips in his mission. Trips isn’t interested, but over the next few weeks, Vince continues to try to get into Trips’ head, reminding him that Taker beat him almost ten years ago at “WrestleMania X-7”, and that this wouldn’t be the first time Vince has “screwed” someone. Shawn, worried about Trips’ state of mind, tries to convince him not to listen to Vince; Trips is offended that Shawn thinks he would even consider Vince’s offer, but Shawn says he’s just making sure. Trips states that, while it’d be a great honor to end Taker’s streak, he wouldn’t dream of doing it unfairly. Shawn continues to doubt him, while Trips continues to deny that he would ever accept help from Vince.
Cody-TJ make their way to the ring, and call Orton out on his loss at “WWE Elimination Chamber”, but Orton does some quick thinking, and manipulates the facts to suit him. He claims that the only reason he lost is because he was attacked by Finlay, but Cody-TJ tell him that they don’t want to hear excuses. Orton then says that he was at a 5-on-1 disadvantage, while Cody-TJ were in a completely fair 2-on-2-on-2 situation. Cody-TJ think this over, but Orton insists that you can’t argue the math. MVP then makes his entrance, and says that he doesn’t appreciate the way they’re making it sound like MVP beating Orton is some sort of fluke. Orton argues that MVP saw what happened, to which MVP replies that, yes, he saw what happened, but even if Finlay hadn’t attacked him, the result would have been the same. Orton implies that he has more important things to worry about, and sends Cody-TJ after MVP; Cody-TJ get about half-way up the ramp, when FINLAY jumps out of the crowd, and beats on Orton again! Cody-TJ run back to the ring, but by then, Finlay has already jumped back over the barricade and gotten away.
Bourne defends his IC Championship against all-comers; he successfully defends against Miz, Swagger, Kofi, Masters, Henry, Chavo, and Noble in various 1-on-1 and 3- and 4-way matches. Eventually, he decides to put his title on the line in an 8-man “Battle Royal”.
Carlito-Primo get another shot at Cody-TJ, with the winners getting the right to meet Jericho-Show at “WrestleMania” for the Tag-Championship; Carlito-Primo win, which upsets Orton.
SMACKDOWN
Matt and Punk are on a collision-course for “WrestleMania”. Punk insults Matt in every way possible, calling him “The Hardy without the talent”, and also hints about all of the “help” he has at his fingertips. Matt takes this to mean that Punk realizes he can’t win fairly.
Kidd-Smith beat Jtg-Shad to get a shot at Jericho-Show’s Tag-Championship.
Rey defends his US Championship against several lower-card guys – Knox, Truth, and Haas. After one match, he is assaulted by Kaval, who later explains that this was simply his way of getting Rey’s attention. The two are on for “WrestleMania”.
Finlay swears revenge on Orton.
Ziggler calls a meeting with McIntyre, Haas, and Knox. He thinks it’s a disgrace that the four of them aren’t on the “WrestleMania” card, and has a plan to remedy that. The four of them begin attacking random wrestlers, those being Funaki, Truth, Yang, and Slamaster. This leads to an 8-man at “WrestleMania”.
ECW
Tiffany leads Festus to the ring, and says that Festus has something he wants to say. “VLAD!!! ZEKE!!! MANIA!!!” Tiffany announces that, at “WrestleMania”, Festus will defend the ECW Championship against Vladimir and Ezekiel in a 3-way match.
Christian confronts Shelton backstage, and says that he thought the two of them made a pretty good team; he asks Shelton if he’d be interested in teaming again, and challenging Jericho-Show for the Tag-Championships at “WrestleMania”. Shelton doesn’t think long before saying yes.
Washington hosts an episode of “The Abraham Washington Show”, with Dreamer as his guest. Washington insults Dreamer for being old, and then is joined by Ryder and Sheamus, both of whom claim to be better than the broken-down Dreamer. Ryder and Sheamus attack Dreamer. This leads to Yoshi and Hurricane coming to Dreamer’s rescue.
INTERFED
Cena (from “Raw”) will defend the WWE Championship against Batista (from “Smackdown”).
Trips (from “Raw”) will face Taker (from “Smackdown”). Vince goads Taker by saying that his “son-in-law” will finally put an end to his fabled “Streak”, and that he [Vince] is going to make sure of it.
Shawn (“Raw”) will face Morrison (“Smackdown”).
Orton-Cody-Tj (from “Raw”) will face MVP (“Raw”), Finlay (“Smackdown”), and a partner of their choice. Hornswoggle’s friend Goldust (“ECW”) volunteers.
Show (from “Raw”) and Jericho (from “Smackdown”) will defend the Tag-Championships against Carlito-Primo (“Raw”), Kidd-Smith (“Smackdown”), and Christian-Shelton (“ECW”).
WRESTLEMANIA 26
S - World: PUNK/Matt
R - WWE: CENA/Batista
2 - Trips/Taker
2 - Tag: SHOW-JERICHO/Carlito-Primo/Kidd-Smith/Christian-Shelton
E - ECW: FESTUS/Ezekiel/Vladimir [Regal, Burchill]
R - Orton-Cody-TJ/Mvp-Finlay-Goldust
2 - Shawn/Morrison
E - Yoshi-Hurricane/Ryder-Sheamus
S - US: REY/Kaval
R - IC, Battle Royal: BOURNE, Swagger, Miz, Kofi, Masters, Henry, Chavo, Noble
S - Truth-Funaki-Yang-Slamaster/Ziggler-McIntyre-Knox-Haas
///
8-Man – Truth pins Ziggler.
IC – The last three are Bourne, Swagger, and Miz. Swagger and Miz end-up stepping on each other’s toes, which allows Bourne to toss them both. Bourne celebrates as Swagger and Miz bicker all the way to the back.
Backstage: Vince, Long, Punk, and Batista are together backstage, discussing what a glorious night it will be. Vince mentions that everything is in place for Batista to win the WWE Championship, Punk to retain the World Heavyweight Championship, and that he and Trips have come-up with a plan to end Taker’s streak.
Rey/Kaval – Rey’s high-flying moves are no match for Kaval’s martial-arts mastery; Kaval wins the US Championship.
Yoshi-Hurricane/Ryder-Sheamus – Dreamer accompanies the faces, Washington the heels. Yoshi kicks Ryder in the face for the win.
Backstage: Shawn is about to go to the ring, when Trips wishes him luck; Shawn thanks him, and then states that he hopes “luck” is all Trips has going for him in his match with Taker. Trips is a little miffed, but somewhat jokingly asks “When have I ever done anything underhanded?” Shawn gives him a knowing stare, so Trips interrupts, “When have I ever done anything underhanded lately?” Trips wishes him luck again, and Shawn leaves to go to the ring; Vince enters the locker-room, and tells Trips “we need to talk”, before telling the cameraman to leave.
Shawn/Morrison – Morrison has Shawn down by the corner, and signals that he’s going to go for “Starship Pain”. Morrison jumps, and bounces off the ropes, but as he comes down, Shawn rolls towards the corner, causing Morrison to fly over him; Morrison lands on his hands and knees, but as he gets back up, he gets met with “Sweet Chin Music”. Shawn gets the win, but then pulls Morrison up; the two shake hands and embrace.
6-man – Finlay pins Orton. After the match, Cody-Tj turn on Orton, beating him down and leaving him lying in the ring.
Backstage: Shawn returns to his locker-room to find Vince still talking to Trips. Vince leaves, and Shawn tells Trips “We’ve been friends for a long time, but if you take the easy way out, that’s it – not just for our friendship, but for you as a man.”
Festus/Ezekiel/Vladimir – Festus goes nuts straight from the beginning, with neither Ezekiel or Vladimir able to get an advantage. Regal attempts to interfere, as does Burchill; Festus merely grabs them and tosses them onto his opponents. Eventually, KatieLea gets on the apron and attempts to seduce Festus; it seems to work, but when Vlad and Zeke attempt to take advantage, Festus tackles them both down, pins them both, and then goes back to grab KatieLea and kiss her. KatieLea freaks out and runs to the back.
Tag-Titles – After much flying around by Jericho-Show’s six opponents, Christian hits the “Killswitch” on Jericho for the win.
Trips/Taker – Before the match begins, Vince makes his way to the ring. Taker and Trips are both wary of Vince’s presence, with Trips constantly refusing to take Vince’s help. After about twenty minutes, Trips hits the “Pedigree”, and the ref makes a fast count! Trips’ music hits, but instead of celebrating, Trips yells at Vince. Vince tells Trips he should be happy, but Trips shows his gratitude by tossing Vince into the ring, where Taker is waiting for him; Taker grabs him by the throat, but before he can choke-slam Vince, LONG makes his entrance! Long: “That’s it! Vince, that’s it! I’m not taking it anymore! You know that what you just did was a total crock! I don’t care if this costs me my job, if you want to fire me, fine, but at this moment, I’m the General Manager of ‘Smackdown’, and since ‘Raw’ has no General Manager at the moment, what I say goes! And I say that the referee’s decision will be stricken from the record, and that this match will continue! And just to make sure you don’t try anything funny, I got a surprise for you, Mr. McMahon.” With that, Kane stalks down to the ring. Kane goes for Vince, but Vince runs up the ramp to get away… where he’s met with a “Super Kick”! The bell rings again, and the match restarts. After a few minutes, Taker hits the “Tombstone”, but there is no ref; with that, Long runs to the ring, and counts the three himself! Trips and Shawn congratulate Taker; Taker and Kane celebrate.
Backstage: Batista and Punk corner Long in the locker-room, and ask him what that was all about. Long says he’s done being Vince’s puppet, and tells them that if they’re going to win the titles tonight, they’re going to have to win them on their own. “And I do mean ‘on your own’, because the two of you are barred from ring-side during each others’ matches!” The heels storm away.
Cena/Batista – Cena wins.
Punk/Matt – Matt kicks-out of a “Go To Sleep”, refuses to submit to the “Anaconda Vice”, and kicks-out of a second “Go To Sleep”. One more “Go To Sleep” attempt is reversed into the “Twist of Fate”, Matt wins the World Heavyweight Championship! Vince and Batista make their way to the ring to complain, but the lights go out, and when they come back on, Taker is standing in the ring with Matt. Vince and Batista decide that it is better to live to fight another day, and Taker raises Matt’s hand in victory.
S - World: PUNK/Matt
R - WWE: CENA/Batista
2 - Trips/Taker
2 - Tag: SHOW-JERICHO/Carlito-Primo/Kidd-Smith/Christian-Shelton
E - ECW: FESTUS/Ezekiel/Vladimir [Regal, Burchill]
R - Orton-Cody-TJ/Mvp-Finlay-Goldust
2 - Shawn/Morrison
E - Yoshi-Hurricane/Ryder-Sheamus
S - US: REY/Kaval
R - IC, Battle Royal: BOURNE, Swagger, Miz, Kofi, Masters, Henry, Chavo, Noble
S - Truth-Funaki-Yang-Slamaster/Ziggler-McIntyre-Knox-Haas
///
8-Man – Truth pins Ziggler.
IC – The last three are Bourne, Swagger, and Miz. Swagger and Miz end-up stepping on each other’s toes, which allows Bourne to toss them both. Bourne celebrates as Swagger and Miz bicker all the way to the back.
Backstage: Vince, Long, Punk, and Batista are together backstage, discussing what a glorious night it will be. Vince mentions that everything is in place for Batista to win the WWE Championship, Punk to retain the World Heavyweight Championship, and that he and Trips have come-up with a plan to end Taker’s streak.
Rey/Kaval – Rey’s high-flying moves are no match for Kaval’s martial-arts mastery; Kaval wins the US Championship.
Yoshi-Hurricane/Ryder-Sheamus – Dreamer accompanies the faces, Washington the heels. Yoshi kicks Ryder in the face for the win.
Backstage: Shawn is about to go to the ring, when Trips wishes him luck; Shawn thanks him, and then states that he hopes “luck” is all Trips has going for him in his match with Taker. Trips is a little miffed, but somewhat jokingly asks “When have I ever done anything underhanded?” Shawn gives him a knowing stare, so Trips interrupts, “When have I ever done anything underhanded lately?” Trips wishes him luck again, and Shawn leaves to go to the ring; Vince enters the locker-room, and tells Trips “we need to talk”, before telling the cameraman to leave.
Shawn/Morrison – Morrison has Shawn down by the corner, and signals that he’s going to go for “Starship Pain”. Morrison jumps, and bounces off the ropes, but as he comes down, Shawn rolls towards the corner, causing Morrison to fly over him; Morrison lands on his hands and knees, but as he gets back up, he gets met with “Sweet Chin Music”. Shawn gets the win, but then pulls Morrison up; the two shake hands and embrace.
6-man – Finlay pins Orton. After the match, Cody-Tj turn on Orton, beating him down and leaving him lying in the ring.
Backstage: Shawn returns to his locker-room to find Vince still talking to Trips. Vince leaves, and Shawn tells Trips “We’ve been friends for a long time, but if you take the easy way out, that’s it – not just for our friendship, but for you as a man.”
Festus/Ezekiel/Vladimir – Festus goes nuts straight from the beginning, with neither Ezekiel or Vladimir able to get an advantage. Regal attempts to interfere, as does Burchill; Festus merely grabs them and tosses them onto his opponents. Eventually, KatieLea gets on the apron and attempts to seduce Festus; it seems to work, but when Vlad and Zeke attempt to take advantage, Festus tackles them both down, pins them both, and then goes back to grab KatieLea and kiss her. KatieLea freaks out and runs to the back.
Tag-Titles – After much flying around by Jericho-Show’s six opponents, Christian hits the “Killswitch” on Jericho for the win.
Trips/Taker – Before the match begins, Vince makes his way to the ring. Taker and Trips are both wary of Vince’s presence, with Trips constantly refusing to take Vince’s help. After about twenty minutes, Trips hits the “Pedigree”, and the ref makes a fast count! Trips’ music hits, but instead of celebrating, Trips yells at Vince. Vince tells Trips he should be happy, but Trips shows his gratitude by tossing Vince into the ring, where Taker is waiting for him; Taker grabs him by the throat, but before he can choke-slam Vince, LONG makes his entrance! Long: “That’s it! Vince, that’s it! I’m not taking it anymore! You know that what you just did was a total crock! I don’t care if this costs me my job, if you want to fire me, fine, but at this moment, I’m the General Manager of ‘Smackdown’, and since ‘Raw’ has no General Manager at the moment, what I say goes! And I say that the referee’s decision will be stricken from the record, and that this match will continue! And just to make sure you don’t try anything funny, I got a surprise for you, Mr. McMahon.” With that, Kane stalks down to the ring. Kane goes for Vince, but Vince runs up the ramp to get away… where he’s met with a “Super Kick”! The bell rings again, and the match restarts. After a few minutes, Taker hits the “Tombstone”, but there is no ref; with that, Long runs to the ring, and counts the three himself! Trips and Shawn congratulate Taker; Taker and Kane celebrate.
Backstage: Batista and Punk corner Long in the locker-room, and ask him what that was all about. Long says he’s done being Vince’s puppet, and tells them that if they’re going to win the titles tonight, they’re going to have to win them on their own. “And I do mean ‘on your own’, because the two of you are barred from ring-side during each others’ matches!” The heels storm away.
Cena/Batista – Cena wins.
Punk/Matt – Matt kicks-out of a “Go To Sleep”, refuses to submit to the “Anaconda Vice”, and kicks-out of a second “Go To Sleep”. One more “Go To Sleep” attempt is reversed into the “Twist of Fate”, Matt wins the World Heavyweight Championship! Vince and Batista make their way to the ring to complain, but the lights go out, and when they come back on, Taker is standing in the ring with Matt. Vince and Batista decide that it is better to live to fight another day, and Taker raises Matt’s hand in victory.
