January 2008 (1st Half)
RAW
Vince, pissed at the Harts for their loss and already harboring disdain for them due to their family, wastes no time in firing them and promising that they’ll never work for him again. “Go join Bret on the unemployment line!”
Booker tries to lead by example and challenges Trips.
Carlito and Jeff continue to feud, costing each other matches.
With Shawn, Sandman, AND (by proxy) Cena after them, and with the firing of The Harts, Orton and Cody decide they need a third man to help them out; that third man, oddly enough, turns out to be Snitsky.
SMACKDOWN
Khali-Henry want revenge on Flair-Matt. Rey gets a 1-on-1 shot at Batista at “New Year’s Revolution”.
Long, grabbing the bull by the horns, hires The Harts right after Vince fires them. The Harts set their sights high, challenging The Majors for the tag-titles right off the bat (and making a snide comment to Brett Major about “having no right to call yourself ‘Bret’.”
The week after Long hires The Harts, Vince makes an appearance on “Smackdown”, basically saying that he felt Long was trying to undermine him by hiring them: “It was only last week that I told them they’d never work for me again! And now you go and hire them back? I’m the boss, and what I say goes, and I say, Fire The Harts!” Long is strong in his stance: “You know something, Mr. McMahon, I have a lot of respect for you. You created ‘Smackdown’, you created the entire World Wrestling Entertainment! But while you might have created ‘Smackdown’, you put ME in charge to run it. Last I checked, *I* was the General Manager of ‘Smackdown’, and what *I* say goes. And I say, The Harts are here to stay!” Vince responds: “You know what Teddy, you’re right. I did put you in charge of ‘Smackdown’, and I know you’re only doing what you feel is best for all these ‘Smackdown’ fans. But YOU seem to be forgetting that, while you’re in charge of ‘Smackdown’, I’m in charge of YOU. I could fire you before you could finish blinking. But I’m not gonna do that. No, Teddy, I’m not gonna fire you, but I can’t let this blatant show of disrespect go unpunished. I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do, Teddy… since you like wrestling so much… since you want to make ‘Smackdown’ the number one brand… I’m gonna put YOU in a match. That’s right Teddy, you’re gonna be in a match, you’re gonna be in a match at “New Year’s Revolution” against… Mr. Kennedy!” Over the next few weeks, various wrestlers are shown trying to help Long prep for his match.
ECW
V attacks Dreamer for no discernible reason.
CorVon takes a disliking to Balls, feeling that Balls is about as far from being a respectable athlete as one can get.
NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION 2008
S – World: BATISTA/Rey
R – WWE: TRIPS/Booker
I – Kennedy/Long
S – STag: MAJORS/Harts
E – ECW: CORVON/Balls
R – Jeff/Carlito
S – Flair-Matt/Khali-Henry
E – Dreamer/V
R – Cena-Shawn-Sandman/Orton-Cody-Snitsky
///
6-Man – Orton pins Shawn.
Dreamer/V – Dreamer pulls out an upset win.
Flair-Matt/Khali-Henry – Henry is knocked to the outside, faces double-team Khali allowing Flair to get the win.
Backstage – Cade-Murdoch bump into Jesse-Festus, and insult them for being “inbred bumpkins”; Festus starts getting agitated, but Jesse tries to diffuse the situation, telling the guys “good joke”, and prompting them to just keep walking.
Jeff/Carlito – Jeff.
CorVon/Balls – CorVon.
Majors/Harts – Harry hits the Running Powerslam on Brett at the same time Teddy gets Brian in the Sharpshooter.
Kennedy/Long – Kennedy gives Long one more chance, saying that if he fires the Harts, he won’t get beat-up. Long refuses, saying that not only are they great wrestlers, but they just became the new tag-champs. Kennedy tells Long it’s his own fault that he’s in this match, and the bell rings. Kennedy starts by making threats and backing him into the corner; he pulls his fist back and threatens to punch Long, but BOBBY LASHLEY’S music hits, distracting Kennedy. Lashley runs out and attacks Kennedy, which allows Long to run to the back; Lashley hits a few clotheslines, and Kennedy bails.
Trips/Booker – TWGTT try to interfere, but Shawn intervenes, allowing Trips to get the win.
Batista/Rey – Batista wins, and decimates Rey with power-bombs after the match; Flair runs out with a chair, which causes Batista to flee. Flair helps Rey to his feet.
January 2008 (2nd Half)
RAW
Feeling that he has once again earned a title-shot due to pinning Shawn, Orton challenges Trips. Trips gives him the shot, provided this is the last time.
Cade-Murdoch challenge Jesse-Festus.
SMACKDOWN
Looking to stack the deck against Batista, Long names Kane the #1 contendor.
Batista keeps ducking Flair, citing that he’s too old and too insane to be champion. Flair goes on a mission to prove that he’s still worthy of being champion, and his first step is to enter the Royal Rumble.
ECW
CorVon claims to respect ECW’s heritage, and offers a title-shot to any of the Originals. Fresh off his victory over V, Dreamer accepts the challenge.
Vince makes a surprise appearance on ECW, and states that he was asked here by Striker. Striker makes his way to the ring: “Mr. McMahon, sir, first, let me say that is an honor and a privilege to be standing in this ring with you. Now, the reason I called you here, is because I had a great idea on how to make the ‘Royal Rumble’, which is already one of the best ideas you’ve ever come up with, even better. You see, sir, something has been troubling me about the number of entrants in this year’s ‘Royal Rumble’ match; I know that ‘Raw’ and ‘Smackdown’ will both have twelve entrants each, and that ‘ECW’ will only have six. Now, I understand the reason behind that decision, since the ECW roster is comparatively smaller than those of ‘Raw’ and ‘Smackdown’, it only makes sense that we would have fewer entrants. Of course, let’s be honest, just between you and I, sir, we both know that the reason our roster is so much smaller is because it takes someone really special to make it in ‘ECW’. Oh, sure, any schlub can make a name for themselves on ‘Raw’ or ‘Smackdown’, but it takes someone truly amazing – truly EXTREME – to make it here in ‘ECW’. Somebody like, Big Daddy V, or myself for that matter.” Vince is getting agitated: “Get to the point.” “My point, sir, is this: Since ‘ECW’ will have fewer participants in the Rumble than either of the other brands, the odds are already stacked against an ‘ECW’ wrestler winning. And since the entries for the Rumble are completely random, we could very well end-up drawing the first six entries. So here’s what I propose: We alternate between ‘Raw’, ‘Smackdown’, and ‘ECW’. You start off with a ‘Raw’ superstar and a ‘Smackdown’ superstar. After that, you have an ‘ECW’ superstar. THEN, because they have twice as many entrants, you alternate them two more times, ‘Raw’, ‘Smackdown’, ‘Raw’, ‘Smackdown’, THEN you bring in another ‘ECW’ superstar, and you continue on like that: 4 guys, ECW, 4 guys, ECW, and on and on, and it all works out nice and evenly for everyone.” Vince is skeptical: “And you’re sure this works?” “I did it all in Lotus 1-2-3.” Vince ponders this for a minute: “You know what? That’s actually a fine idea you have there, let’s do it! I’m all about change, let’s change things up a bit! Let’s bring some innovation back to the ‘Rumble’!” Striker is overjoyed to hear that Vince likes his suggestion. Vince: “Is there anything else?” Striker looks confused and says “no”. Vince: “That’s it? You brought me out here just to tell me that? You made me fly all the way out to this cesspool of a city just to explain a math problem?” Striker is apologetic. “You couldn’t have e-mailed it to me? Called me on the phone? You know how a fax machine works, don’t you? If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s someone who makes a grand performance over every single word they say! Get out of my ring! Get!” Vince orders a match between Striker and Dreamer, which Dreamer wins.
ROYAL RUMBLE 2008
I – Rumble {Cena, Shawn, Kennedy, Jeff, Cody, Carlito, Sandman, Booker, Umaga, Santino, Lashley, Crazy, Flair, Rey, Matt, Khali, Taker, MVP, Finlay, Yang, Henry, Masters, Palumbo, Hornswoggle, Punk, Burke, Morrison, V, Boogey, Thorn}
R – WWE: TRIPS/Orton
S – World: BATISTA/Kane
E – ECW: CORVON/Dreamer
I – Cade-Murdoch/Jesse-Festus
///
Cade-Murdoch/Jesse-Festus – Jesse-Festus win.
CorVon/Dreamer – CorVon makes quick work of Dreamer, and gets on the mic to challenge any other ECW original; Stevie answers the challenge, but he, too, is quickly decimated. CorVon continues beating on Stevie, until TAZZ runs in; Tazz clotheslines him down and gets him in the Tazzmission, but CorVon powers out and puts Tazz himself in the Tazzmission. Tazz quickly taps, and CorVon spits on the fallen bodies of all three men.
Batista/Kane – Batista kicks Kane in the balls when the ref isn’t looking, and B-Bombs him for the win.
Trips/Orton – Shawn accompanies Trips to the ring. Trips just about has it won when Orton pulls the ref in the way of a punch; with the ref out, Cody’s music hits, but instead of coming down the aisle where Shawn is anticipating, he jumps out of the crowd, whacks Shawn with a chair, then whacks Trips with it. Cody drags Orton on top of Trips and revives the ref; 1-2-3, Orton wins the title.
*** RUMBLE ***
[1 – Kennedy]
[2 – Matt] (Matt, Kennedy)
Kennedy is the first out, and wears his disdain for everyone to see. He just wants to get this night over with, and motions to get the next entrant out already. Matt Hardy makes his entrance, and the two brawl.
[3 – Burke] (Burke, Matt, Kennedy)
Burke makes his way to the ring, and helps Matt double-team Kennedy.
[4 – MVP] (MVP, Burke, Matt, Kennedy)
MVP goes directly after Matt, while Burke and Kennedy continue to fight.
[5 – Jeff] (Jeff, MVP, Burke, Matt, Kennedy)
Jeff goes to help his brother Matt against MVP, while Kennedy and Burke continue to fight.
[6 – Masters] (Masters, Jeff, MVP, Burke, Matt, Kennedy)
Masters helps Kennedy dump Burke, which prompts Kennedy to extend his hand in thanks to Masters; however, after they shake hands, Kennedy turns on Masters and tosses him. Kennedy then notices Matt, Jeff, and MVP are all knotted up on the other side of the ring and manages to toss all three at once! Kennedy celebrates wildly while the announcers play up the fact that Kennedy just eliminated FOUR MEN! Kennedy is on top of the world waiting for the next entrant…
[7 – Cena] (Cena, Kennedy)
Not the man Kennedy wanted to see, Cena storms the ring and starts beating the crap out of Kennedy.
[8 – Thorn] (Thorn, Cena, Kennedy)
Cena is so amped up that he doesn’t notice Thorn make his way to the ring; Thorn attacks Cena from behind, and the heels double-team Cena.
[9 – Lashley] (Lashley, Thorn, Cena, Kennedy)
Again, Kennedy’s heart drops as the other man he least wanted to see makes his way to the ring; Kennedy ducks out of the ring under the bottom-rope, but since Lashley has already entered the ring, he [Lashley] decides to toss Thorn before going after Kennedy. Lashley then ducks under the bottom rope, and chases Kennedy around the ring; Kennedy is so focused on getting away from Lashley that he doesn’t notice Cena climb out on the other side. Kennedy stops on a dime before running into Cena, only to realize that Lashley is right behind him; the faces grab Kennedy and toss him back into the ring, then take turns beating on him.
[10 – Chavo] (Chavo, Lashley, Cena, Kennedy)
Chavo hides in the corner while Lashley and Cena do their job on Kennedy.
[11 – Crazy] (Crazy, Chavo, Lashley, Cena, Kennedy)
Crazy goes after Chavo. Lashley and Cena are so revved-up beating on Kennedy that they end-up stepping on each others’ toes, and begin fighting each other, eventually falling backwards over the top rope; they continue their fight to the back. With his two biggest threats out of the match, Kennedy dumps Chavo and Crazy. The announcers are in disbelief at how well Kennedy’s doing so far.
[12 – ???] (???, Kennedy)
The buzzer rings, but nobody comes out; the camera cuts to back-stage where Hornswoggle has been stuffed in a trash-can. When we come back, EDGE makes his surprise return! Edge and Kennedy get face-to-face in the middle of the ring before pounding the crap out of each other.
[13 – Morrison] (Morrison, Edge, Kennedy)
Morrison hangs back while Edge and Kennedy continue to beat on each other.
[14 – Taker] (Taker, Morrison, Edge, Kennedy)
As the gong sounds, the action in the ring comes to a complete stop; as Taker is walking up the aisle, the heels have a meeting and agree to take him on 3-on-1. However, once Taker is actually IN the ring, Edge and Kennedy shove Morrison at Taker; Taker choke-slams Morrison, but instead of tossing him, he sets his sights right on Edge as the announcers mention that it was Edge that used his MITB contract to win the title right after Taker had been bloodied by Henry. Edge backs off and tries throwing a few fists, but Taker just absorbs them and grabs Edge by the throat, allowing him to toss Edge; Kennedy immediately attacks Taker from behind, but Taker Goozles him, too, and finally tosses Kennedy. Noticing that Morrison is just now getting to his feet, Taker waits for Morrison to get up, but before he can, Edge and Kennedy climb back into the ring and toss Taker. Morrison is the only one left in the ring as Taker chases Edge and Kennedy to the back.
[15 – Sandman] (Sandman, Morrison)
Sandman enters with his cane, and immediately starts caning the shit out of Morrison.
[16 – Flair] (Flair, Sandman, Morrison)
With Morrison nothing but a quivering mass of Jell-O in the corner, Sandman stands in the center of the ring waiting for Flair; as a sign of respect, when Flair enters the ring, Sandman throws the cane down, and agrees to wrestle Flair in a scientific manner. Flair clearly has the advantage, though Sandman holds his own.
[17 – Umaga] (Umaga, Flair, Sandman, Morrison)
Umaga, as wild and savage as ever, gets into the ring and tries to decide who to attack; he growls at Sandman, who growls back, and then growls at Flair, who gives him a hearty “Whoo!” in return. However, before anything can happen, Morrison – who has since gotten to his feet and grabbed the cane that Sandman threw down – attacks the three faces with the cane. He continues caning everyone until…
[18 – Punk] (Punk, Umaga, Flair, Sandman, Morrison)
Morrison swings at Punk, but Punk catches it under his arm, wrestles the cane away from Morrison, and tosses it up the aisle. The four faces all team up to toss Morrison.
[19 – Cody] (Cody, Punk, Umaga, Flair, Sandman)
Cody is hesitant to get into the ring and decides to stand on the outside; as the other four wrestlers continue to fight (Punk/Sandman and Umaga/Flair), Shawn sneaks up behind Cody, spins him around, Super-Kicks him, and tosses him into the ring, which leaves Cody open to being eliminated by Punk.
[20 – Finlay] (Finlay, Punk, Umaga, Flair, Sandman)
Finlay, with shillelagh in hand, hits everyone in the head with it, to varying degrees of success; Punk, Flair, and Sandman all go down, but Umaga takes it and dares him to do it again. Finlay tries again, but Umaga chops him down and the two brawl.
[21 – Booker] (Booker, Finlay, Punk, Umaga, Flair, Sandman)
Booker is obviously looking for an easy way to win, and grabs both the Singapore Cane lying in the aisle and the Shillelagh lying outside the ring. He canes/clubs Sandman and Punk, who are both easy prey for elimination, then turns his attention to Flair while Umaga and Finlay continue fighting on the other side; Flair, now bleeding from the club to the head, grabs onto the ropes for dear life and refuses to be eliminated.
[22 – Henry] (Henry, Booker, Finlay, Umaga, Flair)
Henry goes straight for Flair, but when Booker goes too far in ordering him around, Henry decides to eliminate Booker instead. Before Henry can continue on Flair, however, Finlay goes to whip Umaga across the ring, but Umaga reverses and ends-up tossing Finlay into Henry’s back; Henry turns around and eliminates Finlay. With Flair resting in the corner, Umaga and Henry get nose-to-nose and begin duking it out, with Henry getting the upper-hand.
[23 – Boogey] (Boogey, Henry, Umaga, Flair)
Boogey tries to help Umaga eliminate Henry, but Henry is actually too strong and tosses them both out! Henry then continues his attack on Flair. Boogey lies on the floor for a while.
[24 – Rey] (Rey, Henry, Flair)
Rey races to Flair’s aid, but gets swatted away by Henry; it takes a few tries for Rey to draw Henry’s attention away from Flair, but he eventually does. Henry tries to grab Rey, but Rey’s able to stick and move, stick and move, until he eventually gets Henry near the ropes; he runs the opposite ropes and goes to fly at Henry, but Henry swats him down. At that point, Boogey climbs up on the apron and spits worms at Henry, which is enough of a distraction for Rey to come flying up behind him and knock him over the ropes. Rey is hesitant to go after Flair, but the buzzer sounds before he can make a move on Flair.
[25 – Carlito] (Carlito, Rey, Flair)
Carlito tries to go after the downed Flair, but Rey comes to the rescue and the two brawl. Flair tries to rest in the corner.
[26 – Yang] (Yang, Carlito, Rey, Flair)
Yang and Rey beat-down Carlito.
[27 – Santino] (Santino, Yang, Carlito, Rey, Flair)
Santino helps Carlito against Yang and Rey. In rapid succession, Carlito eliminates Rey, Yang eliminates Carlito, and Santino eliminates Yang; Santino is celebrating in the ring, but doesn’t notice Flair sneak up behind him, leading to Santino’s elimination. Flair is completely bloodied and exhausted by this point, and pretty much collapses in the ring in an effort to catch a quick breath.
[28 – V] (V, Flair)
V makes his way to the ring with an evil smile on his face as the announcers scream about how Flair has no chance now. V beats on Flair and tries to toss him out, but Flair once again clings to the ropes like his life depends on it.
[29 – Shawn] (Shawn, V, Flair)
Shawn absolutely SPRINTS to the ring and unloads on V, attacking him from every angle, punching and kicking to the best of his ability. Outside, Orton makes his way to the ring, but Trips follows him out, spins him around, and Pedigrees him on the floor; Trips then motions for a doctor, and the trainers and refs drag Orton’s unconscious carcass to the back. Trips decides to take a seat at ring-side.
[30 – Khali] (Khali, Shawn, V, Flair)
Khali calmly makes his way to the ring as Trips looks on intently. Shawn flies from V to Khali, but Khali swats him away and casually tosses Shawn over the top. Shawn is in absolute disbelief that he was eliminated so quickly, but Trips motions for him to come sit near him. In the ring, Khali and V take turns pummeling Flair, but Flair will not let anything come between him and the ropes. Khali and V decide to punish Flair, taking turns holding Flair while the other dishes out some punishment. Eventually, Flair is able to move out of the way, and the two monsters collide, causing them to start fighting each other. With them fighting, Shawn gets up on the apron and waves to Khali; Khali steps forward as the ref tries to get Shawn off the apron, allowing Trips to get the sledge, climb into the ring, hit V with the sledge, and eventually push him out of the ring.
FINALISTS: Khali and Flair
The announcers are hyping up that having Shawn and Trips in his corner might just be enough to propel Flair to victory, but just as they say that, the refs threaten to disqualify Flair if they don’t stop interfering. Khali continues to punish Flair for a while, and then motions to the crowd that he is going to lift Flair over his head and toss him out of the ring (and possibly into the stands); Trips and Shawn are obviously concerned. Out of desperation, Flair lets out a loud yell and begins to chop the hell out of Khali before poking him in the eye; DX cheers. The ref admonishes Flair, and while apologizing to the ref for his indiscretion, Flair mule-kicks Khali in the balls; DX cheer even louder. With Khali half-blind and leaning over the ropes because his testicles hurt, Flair positions himself underneath Khali, leveraging him up and over the rope for the win! Flair is in shock! Trips and Shawn run into the ring to celebrate! Flair gets back down, gives a quick strut, and falls on his face from exhaustion! Trips and Shawn help Flair up and put him on their shoulders! Batista shows up on the entry-way, prompting Flair to motion for the mic: “Batista… I only have one thing to say to you… WHOOOOOOOOO!!!” The camera fades to black on the private celebration.
February 2008
RAW
Trips demands a rematch from Orton, but Orton refuses, pointing out that it was Trips himself who stipulated that their last match would be “the last time” between the two. Trips: “Maybe you should have taken a closer look at that contract, because ‘the last time’ only referred to you getting a shot at MY title… it didn’t say anything about me getting a shot at yours…” Orton still refuses, saying that he’s beaten both he AND Shawn, “and really, what is the relationship with you two, anyway?” Trips: “Well, Randy, I can tell you this… it’s nothing like your relationship with Cody… I mean, really, why is his hair always so shiny?” Cody makes his way out to defend himself, but Shawn comes out right after him. The four of them are standing in the ring when Vince interrupts. “As much as I hate to admit that Triple H is right about anything, the fact of the matter is that Triple H does indeed have a rematch clause in his contract. And he WILL get that rematch at ‘No Way Out’. However, what the contract does NOT state is what kind of rematch Triple H will get. Because I know that all these WWE fans want to see a definitive winner, here’s what I’m gonna do. Since I know that if Triple H were to face Randy Orton in a one-on-one match, both Cody Rhodes and Shawn Michaels would likely intervene, so we’re gonna make this a FOUR CORNERS MATCH. And on top of that, this will be an ELIMINATION Four-Corners Match! Oh, but wait, there’s more. Since I know the four of you would love to do anything you could to each other, this will be a NO DISQUALIFICATION Elimination Four-Corners Match! Gentlemen, I bid you good luck.”
With “Smackdown” winning the Rumble match, a three-week, 8-Man Tournament for #1-contendorship is set-up, with the finals to be held at “No Way Out”. The brackets are:
- Cena/Snitsky
- Lashley/Kennedy
- Jeff/Booker
- Umaga/Carlito
Week 1 (2 Quarter-Finals): Cena beats Snitsky. Kennedy, in an effort to make amends to his father for failing to win the Rumble, puts his IC-title on the line in his quarter-final match against Lashley, which Kennedy loses.
Week 2 (2 Quarter-Finals): Jeff beats Booker, Carlito cheats in his match to beat Umaga.
Week 3 (2 Semi-Finals): Cena beats Lashley cleanly (the IC-title isn’t on the line), and Carlito cheats to win against Jeff; after Carlito’s match, Umaga comes out and chases him to the back. Also, Jeff approaches an angry Lashley backstage, and tells him that he’s sorry they missed the opportunity to wrestle each other, but if he’s interested, his schedule for the PPV is clear. Lashley accepts. Cena/Carlito at the PPV.
Cena/Snitsky Lashley/Kennedy Jeff/Booker Umaga/Carlito
Cena/Lashley Jeff/Carlito
Cena/Carlito
SMACKDOWN
Batista brags that there is nobody that can beat him, Taker answers the challenge, feeling that Batista is not worthy of being champ due to all his short-cuts.
Flair is given a “warm-up” match at the PPV against Finlay.
MVP wins the US-title from Matt.
Chavo picks another feud with Rey, which overlaps with both the Matt/MVP and Yang/Noble feuds.
ECW
Morrison states that if anybody deserves a shot at the ECW title at “WrestleMania”, it’s him. Burke interrupts, pointing out that Morrison has never been able to beat him, thus if either of them deserve the shot, Burke does. Punk now interrupts, pointing out that Burke has never been able to beat HIM, thus Punk is the one that deserves the shot. Morrison fires back that Punk has never been able to pin him. [To break it down, A is better than B, B is better than C, and C is better than A.] Estrada announces that, at “No Way Out”, we will find out who truly is the best of these three men, as they will meet in a 3-way #1-contendor match.
With all the hullabaloo over the #1-contendorship, CorVon feels that there is nobody left to challenge him at the next PPV; Boogey answers the call, and is the first person to intimidate CorVon.
INTERFED
Kennedy wants to make-up for his loss to Lashley by challenging Taker at “WrestleMania”; likewise, Edge wants to make an impact upon his return, and also wants to challenge Taker at “WrestleMania”. Vince decides that the two will meet at the PPV, with not only the shot at Taker on the line, but also a “Money-in-the-Bank” contract.
NO WAY OUT 2008
R – WWE, Elimination: ORTON/Cody/Trips/Shawn
S – World: BATISTA/Taker
E – Punk/Burke/Morrison
R – #1 Contendor: Cena/Carlito
I – MITB: Kennedy/Edge
S – Flair/Finlay
E – ECW: CORVON/Boogey
R – IC: LASHLEY/Jeff
S – Matt-Rey-Yang/Mvp-Chavo-Noble
///
6-Man – Yang pins MVP.
Lashley/Jeff – Lashley retains, the two shake hands afterwards.
CorVon/Boogey – Boogey’s mind-games mess with CorVon, but CorVon pulls out the win with a Pounce.
Flair/Finlay – Flair wins via figure-four.
Kennedy/Edge – Kennedy wins cleanly.
Cena/Carlito – Cena. After the match, Umaga chases Carlito to the back.
Punk/Burke/Morrison – Punk pins Burke.
Batista/Taker – Kennedy interferes, costing Taker the match.
4-Way – Cody is out first, then Orton. Trips tries everything he possibly can to win, but just cannot put Shawn away; Trips keeps trying to win cleanly, but finally, out of sheer desperation, Trip hits him in the back with the sledge-hammer and gets the pin. Trips basks in his evilness.
March 2008
RAW
The “Raw” after the PPV, Trips comes out to celebrate. He drones on for a while about how he is the greatest of all time, until “WHOOO!” JR and Lawler are dumb-founded as to why Ric Flair would be here tonight, but Flair is quick to clarify: “Hunter! I want to make one thing perfectly clear right now. I’ve done a lot of dirty things in this business. I’ve made dirty deals with dirty dogs, I’ve gotten down and dirty, and I’ve done some dirty women. If I had to scratch and claw my way to the top, then I scratched and I clawed, and damn it, I’ve been to the top sixteen times. I’ve turned on tag-team partners, I’ve turned on business associates, I’ve turned on the fans. I was the champion, and I was going to do whatever I could to stay champion, and when I lost, I did whatever it took to become champion once again. But the one man I never turned on, no matter what, because through thick and thin he was there for me and I was there for him, was Double A! Arn Anderson is my brother! Always has been, always will be. And even more than that, Arn Anderson is a man. And that’s more than you are! You showed me last night what you were and, brother, a ‘man’ ain’t it. And it makes me sick. You make me sick! I respected you for a long time, I backed you for a long time, no more. I thought Dave Batista was a man, and he makes me sick, too. And I was all set to take his title at ‘WrestleMania’, but you know what, I’ve changed my mind! I don’t want to face Batista at ‘WrestleMania’! I want to face you! Triple H, Ric Flair, for the WWE Championship, at WrestleMania!”
After missing a week due to “injuries”, Shawn returns, looking for Trips. Trips appears on the ramp, and the two argue back and forth over why Trips turned on him, but KHALI comes out from the crowd and decimates Shawn. Khali then walks up the ramp, where Trips hands him a fat wad of money. The feud is then built around the idea of “WrestleMania 24” being the 10-year anniversary of what was supposed to be Shawn’s final match (against Austin), and Khali – at Trips’ urging – fixing to permanently injure him and send him back into retirement, “where he belongs”.
Lashley is feeling good about his win, but Orton – desperate to hold gold – crashes his mood and challenges him at “WrestleMania”.
Umaga continues to chase Carlito from arena to arena, with Carlito always managing to get away at the very last second. This continues for weeks, with each week getting more and more surreal; it starts with Umaga chasing Carlito after his matches, then to Umaga chasing him backstage, until it grows to having the chase take place in crowded airports and fancy restaurants, with Carlito always running scared and Umaga maniacally stomping after him.
The Women’s-title will be defended.
SMACKDOWN
With Flair off to challenge Trips, Batista is flying high. He runs through the list of people he has defeated (Taker, Kane, Rey, Trips, Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Booker, Orton, JBL, etc.), and concludes that Flair was scared to face him. He gloats and gloats about his accomplishments, how there isn’t anybody left to face, when CENA’S music hits; Cena gets in Batista’s face, saying that he earned a shot at a World title, and damn it, he’s gonna use it. Cena is rock-steady while Batista tries to coolly walk to the back, saying “he doesn’t really want me”. They’re on for “Wrestlemania”.
Edge whines about losing at “No Way Out”, when Finlay interrupts him and gets in his face about his constant whining; he mentions Hornswoggle being tossed in a garbage-can, and challenges him at “WrestleMania”.
Vince makes an appearance on “Smackdown”, and states that he has really been enjoying all the tag-team action he’s been seeing. We’ve seen “Raw” superstars competing for the “Smackdown” tag-titles, we’ve seen Cade-Murdoch take on Jesse-Festus, but now it’s time to see just who is the greatest tag-team of all. At “WrestleMania”, the tag-titles will be unified and become property of “Smackdown”, and the match will be a four-way ladder-match for the titles. The respective tag-champs of each brand will be in (TWGTT and Harts), with each brand getting one other tag-team. After two 3-way qualification matches (Hooliganz/CrymeTyme/Cade-Murdoch and Majors/Jesse-Festus/Deuce-Domino), the participants are named: TWGTT, Harts, Hooliganz, and Majors. Just before “WrestleMania”, Jeff and Matt decide to reunite for the match, making it a 5-way.
MVP, embarrassed that Yang pinned him, mentions that no Cruiserweight could ever hang with him, and then goes on to beat (via cheating) a string of lower-card Cruiserweights to illustrate his point. Yang feels that any Cruiser is just as good as any heavyweight, citing guys such as Rey, Chris Jericho, and Eddie Guerrero as proof. Yang is so confident in his abilities that he is willing to not only put his Cruiser-title on the line against MVP, but, in the spirit of the tag-titles, wants it unified with the US-title; Long agrees to this.
ECW
Punk gets his shot at CorVon’s ECW-title.
INTERFED
Kennedy/Taker, Shawn/Khali, and the 5-way ladder-match are confirmed.
Morrison, in an effort to make-up for his loss, challenges any current or former ECW wrestler to a match at “WrestleMania”; both Sandman and Rey accept the offer.
WRESTLEMANIA 24
R – WWE: TRIPS/Flair
S – World: BATISTA/Cena
E – ECW: CORVON/Punk
R – Womens: X/x
I – Kennedy/Taker
SI – Ladder, STag: Kendrick-London/Haas-Benjamin/Brett-Brian/Teddy-Harry/Jeff-Matt
R – IC: LASHLEY/Orton
I – Shawn/Khali
S – Edge/Finlay
I – Sandman/Rey/Morrison
R – Umaga/Carlito
S – US: MVP/Yang
///
MVP/Yang – Yang wins the US title.
Umaga/Carlito – Umaga.
Sandman/Rey/Morrison – Rey hits the 619 on Sandman, Morrison tosses Rey and steals the pin.
Edge/Finlay – Edge.
Shawn/Khali – Shawn overcomes interference from both Runjin and Henry to win.
Lashley/Orton – Lashley retains.
Ladder – London-Kendrick win the titles and are moved to “Smackdown”.
Kennedy/Taker – Kennedy insists on not letting anyone help him; he just about has it won when a choke-slam from nowhere leads to a Tombstone and the win for Taker.
Women – X.
CorVon/Punk – Punk wins.
Batista/Cena – Cena.
Trips/Flair – The announcers wonder if all three heavyweight titles will change hands. Trips sets Flair up for the Pedigree, but Flair reverses to a back-body drop; Flair immediately follows-up with the Figure-Four, and, after a long struggle, Trips submits. Every face on the roster comes out to celebrate and honor Flair, with Cena and Punk carrying him on their shoulders.
April 2008
RAW
The night after “WrestleMania”, Flair, dressed in a suit and with the WWE-title over his shoulder, thanks the fans for all their support, and clarifies that he is still on “Smackdown” – “I’ll see all you wonderful ‘Raw’ fans again real soon, but for now, I have business to tend to on ‘Smackdown’. I’ll be back, though, and until then, take care, and I love you all.” Flair is about to exit the ring when Cena’s music hits; Cena makes his way out with the World-title on his shoulder. “Nature Boy… let me be the first to officially congratulate you. We all knew you could do it, and you did, you’re now a seventeen-time World champion. But there’s just one thing wrong with this picture.” Flair looks confused. “That!” says Cena, pointing to the “Spinner” title on Flair’s shoulder. Flair makes like he thinks the Spinner-title is a good fit for him, “What, not me?” Cena delicately takes the title off of Flair’s shoulder, and puts his own World-title on in its place. The camera zooms in to see that Cena had already had Flair’s name engraved onto the World-title face-plate, which makes Flair a bit teary-eyed. Cena: “Now that’s a pretty picture!” The two exit to Flair’s music.
Trips demands a title-match, but Shawn says that after losing at WM, he deserves nothing; instead, WM winners Shawn and Cena will meet at “Backlash”. Trips wants to know who he’s gonna face, so Lashley steps-up to defend his IC-title against him.
Vince, embarrassed by Kennedy’s loss, disowns him and punishes him by putting him into one-sided matches; however, Kennedy comes out on top in those matches. At “Backlash”, Kennedy will face TWGTT in a handicap match.
Orton blames Cody for his losses, Cody attacks Orton and turns face.
Carlito tries to avenge his loss by targeting Jeff.
Daivari challenges Crazy.
Snitsky gets in Sandman’s face about losing to Morrison, claiming Sandman just isn’t as “hardcore” as he thought he was. After Snitsky gets done talking about himself, he turns around to see Umaga in his face; Snitsky backs down.
Despite not having any tag-titles to go after, Cade-Murdoch want to prove they’re still the best, and target CrymeTyme.
SMACKDOWN
Batista demands a shot at Flair’s title, but Long feels that Batista needs to prove himself. Batista goes on a small tear, destroying low-card guys left and right, often brutalizing them after the match is already over.
Edge continues feuding with Finlay for a bit, with the two trading wins.
With the tag-titles now exclusive to “Smackdown”, the tag-team competition heats up, with everyone trying to prove that they’re the best. The Harts emerge as the front-runners, with The Majors and Jesse-Festus also looking strong.
Khali and Henry begin teaming again.
Yang beats MVP a second time, causing MVP to get upset and start facing (and beating) low-card cruisers.
ECW
Having won his match at WM, Morrison wants a shot at the ECW-title. Punk accepts.
CorVon congratulates Punk, but promises that they haven’t seen each other for the last time. CorVon goes right back to winning matches.
V runs through the low-card.
INTERFED
PPV’s are now either “Raw”- or “SD”-exclusive again, with “ECW” getting a small part of each.
BACKLASH 2008 (Raw)
WWE: CENA/Shawn
Kennedy/Twgtt
ECW: PUNK/Morrison
Jeff/Carlito
IC: Lashley/Trips
Orton/Cody
Crazy/Daivari
Hardcore: Umaga/Sandman/Snitsky
CrymeTyme/Cade-Murdoch
///
CrymeTyme/Cade-Murdoch – Cryme Tyme.
Umaga/Sandman/Snitsky – Sandman.
Crazy/Daivari – Crazy.
Orton/Cody – Orton.
Lashley/Trips – Lashley wins in a shocking upset.
Jeff/Carlito – Jeff.
Punk/Morrison – Punk.
Kennedy/TWGTT – Kennedy wins, much to Vince’s chagrin.
Cena/Shawn – Cena.
May 2008
RAW
The feuds continue on much the same, as the Draft will be happening in June.
SMACKDOWN
Having run rough-shod over the low-card, Batista wants his title-match against Flair, which Flair is happy to give him. The match is marketed as “The match you didn’t see at ‘WrestleMania’.”
Edge, wanting to prove that he could do what Kennedy couldn’t, challenges Taker.
The Harts want a straight shot at The Hooliganz’ tag-titles.
MVP, looking to avenge his loss to Yang and prove that he is better than “any cruiserweight”, attacks Rey.
Finlay gets a shot at Yang’s US-title.
After hearing Jesse talking about how strong big ol’ Festus is, Khali and Henry begin mocking them.
Deuce-Domino, looking to get back on the map, target The Majors.
Victoria targets Torrie.
ECW
V attacks Punk, claiming he’s tired of waiting for his shot at the title.
JUDGMENT DAY 2008 (SD)
World: FLAIR/Batista
Taker/Edge
ECW: PUNK/V
Victoria/Torrie
Tag: HOOLIGANZ/Harts
Rey/Mvp
Majors/Deuce-Domino
US: YANG/Finlay
Jesse-Festus/Khali-Henry
///
Jesse-Festus/Khali-Henry – Festus pins Henry.
Yang/Finlay – Yang.
Majors/Deuce-Domino – Majors.
Rey/MVP – MVP.
Hooliganz/Harts – Harts win the titles.
Victoria/Torrie – Victoria.
Punk/V – Punk.
Taker/Edge – Taker.
Flair/Batista – Flair.
June 2008 (1st Half)
RAW
Basic holding-pattern until after the Draft.
SMACKDOWN
Basic holding-pattern until after the Draft.
ECW
Morrison wants another shot at the title, but Burke says it’s time to step aside; Morrison laughs at this, citing that Burke has done nothing to warrant a shot himself, noting that he [Burke] wasn’t even on the “WrestleMania” card. The two are on for “One Night Stand”.
CorVon, by way of being so dominant lately, is named the next contendor to Punk’s title. “I told you we’d see each other again.”
Boogey and Thorn begin a feud where they try to “out-weird” each other.
Miz makes fun of Nunzio’s short height, ethnicity, and generally poor win/loss record; Nunzio plans on teaching him a lesson.
Knox, looking to get on the PPV, attacks Richards.
V takes out his frustration by targeting ECW-originals Balls and Dreamer.
INTERFED
Vince announces that this year’s draft will take place at “One Night Stand”, and promises that it will be the biggest draft ever. He later reveals that no less than FORTY superstars will be moving during the draft.
ONE NIGHT STAND 2008 (ECW)
ECW: PUNK/CorVon
Morrison/Burke
Boogey/Thorn
Miz/Nunzio
Richards/Knox
Balls-Dreamer/V-Striker
DRAFT 2008
///
Balls-Dreamer/V-Striker – Dreamer pins Striker.
Richards/Knox – Knox.
Up next is the first draft. There are three tumblers on stage, each corresponding to one of the three brands, with each tumbler filled with the names of every Superstar on that roster. It is noted that certain pairings are eligible to be drafted together. Picking from the tumblers will be the GM(s) of each show: Coach, Long/Vickie, Estrada. First up, “Raw” GM Coach will pick ten names from the “Smackdown” tumbler; as each name is drawn, that wrestler comes out, gives the appropriate in-character reaction to the news, and puts on that brand’s t-shirt.
RAW (From “Smackdown”):
1) Batista
2) Victoria
3) Funaki
4) MVP
5) Palumbo
6) Holly
7) Yang (minus US-title)
8) Chavo
9) Hornswoggle
10) Taker
Once all ten names are drawn, these ten wrestlers head to the back, and it is now time for “Smackdown” GMs Long and Vickie to pick ten names from the “Raw” tumbler.
SMACKDOWN (From “Raw”):
1) Kennedy
2+3) Cryme Tyme
4) Booker (w/ Sharmell)
5+6) Highlanders
7) Carlito
8+9) Cade-Murdoch
10) Shawn
Miz/Nunzio – Surprisingly technical match. Nunzio wins.
Boogey/Thorn – Boogey.
Now “Raw” and “Smackdown” will each draw five names from the “ECW” tumbler.
RAW (From “ECW”):
1) Balls
2) Thorn
3) Brooke
4) Knox
5) V
SMACKDOWN (From “ECW”):
1) Boogey
2) Richards
3) Layla
4) Striker
5) CorVon
Backstage: The “Smackdown” wrestlers are abuzz with the news that CorVon – who is competing for the ECW title tonight” – will be joining their brand; the heels start contemplating how to bring the ECW-title to SD.
Morrison/Burke – Burke.
In the final draft of the night, “ECW” GM Estrada will pick five names from the “Raw” tumbler, and five names from the “Smackdown” tumbler.
ECW (From both “Raw” and “Smackdown”):
1) Henry
2) Benjamin
3) Eugene
4) Val
5) Maryse
6) Daivari
7) Shannon
8) Crazy
9) Noble
10) Jeff
Punk/CorVon – Back and forth match. After fifteen minutes, Edge runs down to distract the referee while Khali gets in the ring and attacks Punk; this draws out the “ECW” wrestlers, which then draws out the “SD” wrestlers, which then draws out the “Raw” wrestlers. Match is thrown out, gigantic brawl all over the building as we go off the air.
June 2008 (2nd Half)
RAW
The first “Raw” after the PPV, Batista makes his way down to the ring. He demands his rematch against Cena, but Trips interrupts, saying that Batista has had enough shots lately, and needs to get to the back of the line. Lashley then comes out, reminding Trips that he [Lashley] has beaten him [Trips] and that if anyone deserves a shot, he himself does. ORTON then makes his way out, saying that he has some unfinished business with Lashley, “it’s only because of that loser Cody that I lost to you, but this time will be different”. Lashley and Orton get in each others’ faces. Finally, Coach comes out and announces what he’s gonna do: “Lashley. Orton. You two still have unfinished business. Fine. At ‘Vengeance’, you two will meet for the Intercontinental-title! Batista, I’m never one to turn down a money-making opportunity, the people want to see you and Cena again, that’s just what they’re gonna get!” Trips interrupts: “That’s bull! I’ve been waiting patiently, I’ve been doing everything I’m supposed to do, why does he get the shot???” Coach takes a gulp and tries to calmly explain: “Well… I already have you booked for a match at ‘Vengeance’.” Trips is confused, and demands to know against who. Coach only has time for a quick gulp before the gong hits and Taker makes his way out, causing Trips and Orton to sneak out and away, while Batista exits through the opposite side.
It is later explained that Taker is looking to make Trips pay for his sins.
MVP’s constantly-running mouth annoys Regal, who turns face by bitching MVP out.
Thorn, looking to establish himself as the dominant “monster”, attacks Umaga.
Chavo, feeling that he is as good as any other cruiser-weight, challenges Yang.
V continues his assault on ECW-originals, attacking Sandman.
SMACKDOWN
With Yang being drafted to “Raw”, Long sets-up a tournament to crown a new US-champion: Kennedy, Carlito, Shawn, Edge, Matt, Booker, Rey, and Finlay are named in the tournament.
Kennedy/Rey Edge/Shawn Carlito/Finlay Matt/Booker
Quarter-Finals:
Kennedy/Rey – Kennedy.
Edge/Shawn – Edge rolls Shawn up and grabs the tights, but Shawn reverses and grabs Edge’s tights for the win.
Carlito/Finlay – Carlito out-cheats Finlay.
Matt/Booker – Matt. Booker is visibly upset about the loss.
ECW
Henry makes an immediate impact, attacking and bloodying Punk.
New draftees Jeff and Benjamin get right into the mix, feuding with Morrison and Burke respectively. The over-lapping feuds results in a tag-match at “Vengeance”.
Val is kept off TV for a short time.
VENGEANCE 2008 (Raw)
WWE: CENA/Batista
Taker/Trips
ECW: PUNK/Henry
Mvp/Regal
IC: LASHLEY/Orton
Thorn/Umaga
Yang/Chavo
V/Sandman
Jeff-Burke/Morrison-Benjamin
///
Jeff-Burke/Morrison-Benjamin – Jeff pins Benjamin.
V/Sandman – The ref loses control early on, and allows Sandman to use the Cane; it proves useless, however, as V absorbs the blows and squashes Sandman.
Yang/Chavo – Yang.
Thorn/Umaga – Thorn.
Lashley/Orton – Lashley retains.
Mvp/Regal – MVP.
Punk/Henry – Henry wins the title.
Taker/Trips – Orton interferes, giving Trips the win.
Cena/Batista – Cena retains in a completely clean match.
July 2008
RAW
Trips and Orton confirm that they have put aside their differences, realizing that an alliance between the two is mutually beneficial. Trips announces that, via beating Taker, he gets a shot at Cena’s title; Orton wonders aloud what he gets… when the gong hits… Taker spends the next month terrorizing Orton and Trips.
While this is going on, Trips and Orton try to recruit Batista back into the fold, but Batista won’t have any of it. Trips makes mention of his recent losing streak, implying that it would be nice to have some old friends watching his back, but Batista notes that both Trips and Orton have been having losing-problems of their own; Trips points out that he just beat Taker and is on his way to beating Cena for the title, but Batista brings up their recent losses to Lashley. They ask Batista if he thinks he can beat Lashley, to which Batista responds that, yes, he thinks he can. Lashley, upon hearing this, gives Batista a shot at his IC-title.
SMACKDOWN
The US-title tourney continues, with the finals to take place at “The Great American Bash”. Kennedy/Shawn and Carlito/Matt as the two semi-final matches. Kennedy and Shawn have a straight-up match until Edge runs out and costs Shawn the match. Likewise, Carlito and Matt are matching up evenly until Booker runs out and costs Matt the match. Long allows the decisions to stand, but in response, makes Shawn/Edge and Matt/Booker for “TGAB”; in addition, to make sure there is no interference in the US-title match, it is made into a cage match.
CorVon cuts a promo and issues a challenge to Flair. Flair comes down to the ring, and, admiring CorVon’s straight-forward manner, grants him a title-shot. The two men shake hands, and that’s it, no attack from behind or anything.
The Hooliganz want their rematch with The Harts.
Finlay and Taylor begin teaming together and target The Majors.
Booker is still upset about not having his “Court” around, to the point where he is visibly depressed in the locker-room. Matt, who is still angry about Booker’s interference in his US-title semi-final match, sees him and approaches him: “Hey… I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but… I’ve never seen you look so down. I know you’re upset that you’re all alone here now, but… ya know, look at it as a new opportunity. This isn’t the first time you’ve been alone. You were alone when you won all five of your WCW championships… you were all alone when you won the World-title… man, you don’t need anyone riding your coat-tails, you’re Booker T, sucka, you never did! I’ve seen you do it before, you can do it again. Buck up, man, a new day has dawned, you’ll be fine.” Booker tells Matt to mind his own business, and challenges him for the PPV.
CrymeTyme, Jesse-Festus, Cade-Murdoch, and Deuce-Domino are all attempting to establish dominance in the tag-division. A 4-way is set for the PPV.
ECW
Henry is on a mission to become the most dominant ECW-champion of all time, and makes a challenge to anybody “extreme enough – and stupid enough – to face me!” Jeff answers the call, citing that, yes, he might not be the brightest guy around, but he definitely is extreme.
Daivari sets his sights on Crazy, which overlaps with the Punk/Morrison and Burke/Benjamin feuds. A 6-man tag match is set-up for “The Great American Bash”.
Val returns to TV, dropping the porn-star gimmick and going back to using his real name, Sean Morley. He adopts a serious, shoot-fighting style gimmick where his sole concern is winning matches through excellent technique.
THE GREAT AMERICAN BASH 2008 (SD)
World: FLAIR/CorVon
Tag: HARTS/Hooliganz
ECW: HENRY/Jeff
Shawn/Edge
Punk-Burke-Crazy/Morrison-Benjamin-Daivari
US, Cage: Kennedy/Carlito
Majors/Finlay-Taylor
Matt/Booker
CrymeTyme/Jesse-Festus/Cade-Murdoch/Deuce-Domino
///
4-Way – Cade-Murdoch when Cade pins Jesse.
Matt/Booker – Matt. Booker is so upset about the loss that he is almost in tears.
Majors/Finlay-Taylor – Majors.
Kennedy/Carlito – Carlito puts up an uncharacteristically valiant effort, but Kennedy eventually pins him for the win.
6-Man – The match starts off as a spot-fest, but eventually disintegrates into an uncontrollable brawl, with the ref having no choice but to throw the match out.
Shawn/Edge – Edge wins via cheating.
Henry/Jeff – Jeff.
Harts/Hooliganz – Hooliganz.
Flair/CorVon – CorVon (cleanly) dominates the majority of the match, but Flair gets the Figure-Four for the win. The two shake hands after the match, and CorVon walks to the back.
August 2008
RAW
At “Summerslam”, Trips will get his shot at Cena’s title, Taker will finally get his hands on Orton, and Lashley will put his IC-title up against Batista.
MVP and Yang re-ignite their feud, with Yang saying “I thought I’d already shut you up”.
SMACKDOWN
Edge wants his title-shot against Flair.
Shawn approaches CorVon backstage, beginning with: “You handled your loss to Ric Flair very well. You did the best you could, you lost, and you shook his hand. That took a lot. I’ve been around this game for a long time, I’ve seen a lot of guys come and go… I really like what you’ve done so far, and you have the right attitude for success. You’re good, but you’re not perfect, and that’s a good thing, cuz you realize you’re not perfect, and you’re not making excuses for not being perfect. You could go a long way, kid, and I just want you to know that if you ever want any help or advice or anything, I’m here. Don’t be afraid to ask.” CorVon takes this all in and gives a response: “First of all, I’m not afraid of anything. Secondly, as for your offer, with all due respect, and you certainly deserve all the respect in the world, I’m gonna have to decline your offer. I know there’s no shame in losing to Ric Flair, don’t come in here telling me how I handled myself.” Shawn: “Hey, you don’t want my help, fine, I can respect that. But you should have at least thought about it a little longer.” Shawn goes to leave, but CorVon grabs his arm: “I don’t need your help. And if you ever come near me again, all high and mighty and wanting to impart your wisdom when it’s not wanted, I will respond in a less civilized manner. And if you ever call me ‘kid’ again, I will re-break your back. If you want a match with me, you could just ask, you don’t have to pretend that you’re helping some rookie just so you can beat him and prove you’re still worth something. If you’re gonna come at me, come at me straight-on.” Shawn smiles a bit: “I didn’t come in here looking for a match, but if you want one, you got it. See you then.”
For putting up a courageous effort, Carlito gets a rematch for Kennedy’s US-title.
The Majors toss their hats back into the tag-title furor, setting up a 3-way for “Summerslam”.
Matt continues to try to help Booker, but to no avail; instead, Booker tries to make-up for TWGTT’s absence by introducing a new “Court”: Deuce and Domino! However, after losses to Jesse-Festus, CrymeTyme, and The Highlanders, the Court is in danger of breaking-up after only a few weeks.
ECW
Estrada wants to make an impact at “Summerslam”, making a 6-way match for Jeff’s ECW-title; the other participants are Punk, Burke, Morrison, Benjamin, and Henry.
Noble and Nunzio – with the announcers mentioning that they are indeed cousins – have a very technical match on TV, which starts a feud between them where they try to one-up each other at technical-wrestling. Their feud over-laps with the Crazy/Daivari feud. Crazy-Nunzio/Daivari-Noble at the PPV.
Eugene comes out to have some fun with the audience, when for seemingly no reason, Dreamer attacks him and canes the hell out of his head. Dreamer later explains that he’s sick of seeing this walking joke try to represent “the land of extreme”. Eugene is off TV for a while.
SUMMERSLAM 2008 (I)
R – WWE: CENA/Trips
S – CorVon/Shawn
E – ECW: JEFF/Punk/Burke/Morrison/Benjamin/Henry
R – IC: LASHLEY/Batista
S – World: FLAIR/Edge
E – Crazy-Nunzio/Daivari-Noble
R – Taker/Orton
S – US: KENNEDY/Carlito
R – Mvp/Yang
S – Tag, Triangle: HOOLIGANZ/Harts/Majors
///
Hooliganz/Harts/Majors – Majors.
MVP/Yang – MVP.
Kennedy/Carlito – Carlito wins the US-title cleanly. After the match, Kennedy goes to shake Carlito’s hand, but Carlito scoffs and walks away.
Taker/Orton – Taker.
Crazy-Nunzio/Daivari-Noble – Crazy pins Daivari.
Flair/Edge – Edge.
Lashley/Batista – Lashley retains.
ECW – The match is a non-stop spot-fest, with tons of high-flying and flashy moves. Benjamin pins Jeff for the title.
CorVon/Shawn – Shawn has the match won, until a Pounce out of nowhere gives CorVon the win.
Cena/Trips – The ref is bumped, which leads to Orton trying to interfere, but Taker comes out to counter him; once Cena notices that Taker has Orton under control, he turns his attention back towards Trips. However, since Cena is no longer watching Orton, he doesn’t see BATISTA attack Taker from behind, nor does he see Batista get into the ring until he turns around and walks right into a Batista-Bomb! Batista revives the ref, 1-2-3, Trips is the new champion.
September 2008
RAW
Batista explains that he had made a deal with Trips, basically saying that if he lost to Lashley, he’d join Trips and Orton, and admit that he still has a lot to learn. Trips and Orton then come out, and welcome Batista back into the fold; the three men then rechristen themselves “Xecution” (basically a combination of the “Evolution” name and the “X” that has been such a part of Trips’ history). Their reunion is spoiled, however, when it is announced that Trips will be defending his title against Taker at “Unforgiven”. Furthermore, due to all of the outside-interference as of late in Trips’ matches, their match will be a Lumberjack Match!
Cena looks for revenge against Orton.
With Lashley having already run-through the members of Xecution, MVP steps-up to challenge him for the IC-title.
Snitsky attacks Yang, feeling that Yang is an easy target due to his loss to MVP.
After receiving orders from Trips to “send a message”, Batista attacks Umaga.
Thorn and Knox, acknowledging their recent past in ECW, make a pact to watch each others’ backs; their first targets are Sandman and Balls.
SMACKDOWN
Edge sarcastically congratulates Shawn on his “Summerslam” match, riling Shawn up.
Booker is embarrassed at the way Deuce-Domino have represented him, but D&D insist that the only reason they’ve been losing is because their leader is distracted; D&D blame Matt’s constant unwanted help as the cause, and to prove that they’re winners, Deuce challenges Matt to a singles-match. Matt dominates, which draws Domino in for the DQ; they beat on Matt for a while until no-longer-“King” Booker runs out to help Matt, old music and all. He later says that he finally realized he needed to make some changes to himself, and thanks Matt for his help during this dark period. Matt and Booker have a short feud with Deuce-Domino, which Matt-Booker dominate.
Hooliganz/Harts/Majors continue to feud, swapping the belt amongst themselves.
ECW
Jeff gets a 1-on-1 rematch with Benjamin.
The Punk/Burke/Morrison feud reignites, this time for title-shots.
Miz makes fun of Morley’s new attitude, jokingly asking why he’s now out of the Adult Film Industry. Morley coolly replies “Just cuz I’m no longer in the industry… doesn’t mean I don’t still keep in touch…”
UNFORGIVEN 2008 (Raw)
WWE, Lumberjack: TRIPS/Taker
Cena/Orton
ECW: BENJAMIN/Jeff
IC: LASHLEY/Mvp
Punk/Burke/Morrison
Yang/Snitsky
Umaga/Batista
Morley/Miz
Sandman-Balls/Thorn-Knox
///
Sandman-Balls/Thorn-Knox – Sandman-Balls.
Morley-Miz – Morley.
Umaga/Batista – Umaga.
Yang/Snitsky – Yang.
Punk/Burke/Morrison – Morrison pins Punk.
Lashley/Mvp – MVP wins the IC-title.
Benjamin/Jeff – Jeff.
Cena/Orton – Cena.
Trips/Taker – The faces nullify the heels. Taker wins the title.
October 2008
RAW
Taker, Cena, and Lashley continue battling Xecution; in a side-feud, Lashley tries to regain the IC-title from MVP, but MVP uses a variety of underhanded methods to retain.
Yang continues to beat lower heels (Chavo, Santino, Holly).
SMACKDOWN
Khali wants a title-shot, but Edge talks him out of it, about how “two ‘heels’ fighting each other isn’t good for business. I mean, let’s be honest, most people don’t like you. And, hey, most people don’t like me, either. And if two un-liked guys were to headline a PPV, who would buy it? I mean, as great as the match would be, most people just wouldn’t understand the greatness that was happening before their eyes. And you know why? Cuz they’re jealous and they’re stupid. And if they’re so jealous and so stupid that they don’t buy a PPV, ‘Smackdown’ could go out of business. And if ‘Smackdown’ were to go out of business, you’d be out of a job! Do you want a title-shot so badly that you’d be willing to lose your job over it?” Kennedy interrupts and jumps all over Edge’s argument, trying to convince Khali that Edge is scared of him. Edge: “He just wants you to lose your job!” Khali thinks it over for a bit, then attacks Kennedy, setting up a feud between the two. Later on, Shawn tells Edge that he was impressed by the quick-thinking that Edge displayed, but that he himself [Shawn] has been around long enough not to fall for it – he wanted to finish their unfinished business, which is why he already had Long sign a title-match between them for “No Mercy”.
Booker, having regained his confidence, challenges Carlito for the US-title.
CorVon’s ego grows, and he decides to pick on “good Samaritan” Matt. “I saw how you were treating Booker like a charity case. I’m no charity case.”
The Hooliganz/Harts/Majors feud heats up when The Harts begin slamming the other two teams through the Spanish Announce Table. Another 3-way is made, this time a Table Match. The Majors are the champions by the time the PPV rolls around.
During a tag-match against The Highlanders, Kane turns on Rey. They are thrown into a 10-man tag match at the PPV, with CrymeTyme, Jesse-Festus, Deuce-Domino, and Cade-Murdoch. Kane’s reason for turning on Rey is not yet revealed.
ECW
Morrison gets a shot at Jeff’s ECW-title.
It is announced that Eugene will return at “No Mercy” against Dreamer.
Benjamin wants another shot at Jeff’s ECW-title, but Punk tells him to “stop whining like a little bitch”. The two feud.
NO MERCY 2008 (SD)
World: EDGE/Shawn
Matt/CorVon
ECW: JEFF/Morrison
Kennedy/Khali
Tag, Tables: MAJORS/Hooliganz/Harts
Eugene/Dreamer
US: Carlito/Booker
Punk/Benjamin
Rey-JTG-Shad-Jesse-Festus/Kane-Deuce-Domino-Cade-Murdoch
///
10-Man – JTG pins Cade.
Punk/Benjamin – Punk.
Carlito/Booker – Booker.
Eugene/Dreamer – Dreamer makes his way out first. New, harder music hits, and Eugene makes his return sporting a whole new look and attitude; he now has a goatee, slick spiked hair, black trunks, and a deadly serious attitude and angry look. He beats the crap out of Dreamer, winning with a Dragon Sleeper. After the match, Eugene gets on the mic and declares: “Let this serve as a message! Gene Dinsmore is Back!!!”
Tables – Harts win.
Kennedy/Khali – Kennedy has problems against the big man, but clocks him in the head with the MITB briefcase when the ref isn’t looking for the pin.
Jeff/Morrison – Morrison.
Matt/CorVon – Matt.
Edge/Shawn – Edge.
November 2008 (1st Half)
RAW
Taker will defend against one of the three members of Xecution.
V attacks Cena for no clear reason, other than to try to make a name for himself. They will meet at “Cyber Sunday”, either in a straight wrestling match, a Street Fight, or a First Blood match.
Snitsky has a match with Duggan; Snitsky wins, but continues to batter Duggan after the match. This leads Snitsky to decide to take on any “legend” in wrestling at “Cyber Sunday”. Duggan is one of the potential opponents. Flair throws his name in as a potential opponent, and Dreamer, claiming himself to be a “Hardcore Legend”, also volunteers.
Thorn-Knox attack Yang, so Yang needs a tag-partner for the PPV; it will either be Funaki, Rey, or Crazy.
MVP is so full of confidence, that he announces that he will defend the US-title against anyone at “Cyber Sunday”; Lashley, Sandman, and Balls are named.
SMACKDOWN
Long announces that the Harts will be defending their titles at “Cyber Sunday”, either against Jesse-Festus, CrymeTyme, or Cade-Murdoch.
Striker begins managing/teaming with Masters, claiming Masters to be a total-package in wrestling. They’re basically a “Brains and Brawn” combo.
ECW
Morrison will defend his ECW-title against Jeff, Punk, or Benjamin.
Noble claims himself to be one of the greatest technical-wrestlers on the planet, and issues an open challenge to anyone to try to beat him in that style; Estrada picks his opponents as Dinsmore, Morley, or Nunzio.
INTERFED
Snitsky will face either Duggan, Flair, or Dreamer.
Yang will team with either Funaki, Rey, or Crazy against Thorn-Knox.
A Womens’ Battle Royal is held where fans can vote on their outfits.
CYBER SUNDAY 2008 (Raw)
WWE: TAKER vs. [Trips, Batista, Orton]
Snitsky vs. [Duggan, Flair, Dreamer]
ECW: MORRISON vs. [Jeff, Punk, Benjamin]
Cena vs. V [Straight Wrestling, Street Fight, First Blood]
Yang & [Funaki, Rey, Crazy] vs. Thorn-Knox
Noble vs. [Dinsmore, Morley, Nunzio]
Womens’ Battle Royal [Pick their Outfits]
IC: MVP vs. [Lashley, Sandman, Balls]
Tag: HARTS vs. [Jesse-Festus, CrymeTyme, Cade-Murdoch]
///
Harts – Jesse-Festus win if picked, otherwise Harts win.
MVP/? – MVP wins via cheating.
Womens – x.
Noble/? – Noble loses.
Yang-?/Thorn-Knox – Yang pins Knox for the win. After the match, Kane comes out and either: a) lays out both Yang and Rey, or b) attacks Yang and his partner, prompting Rey to come to the aid, then lays Rey out, too.
Cena/V – Cena.
Morrison/? – Jeff wins if picked, otherwise Morrison wins via cheating.
Snitsky/? – Flair wins if picked, otherwise Snitsky wins.
Taker/? – Taker wins.
November 2008 (2nd Half)
RAW
Taker, Cena, and Lashley continue to feud with Xecution. They are scheduled for an elimination match at “Survivor Series”, necessitating both sides to pick a partner. Cody volunteers for the face-side, citing his history with Orton; the other faces are hesitant, questioning whether or not he can be trusted, but they eventually let him in. Xecution decides to wait until the PPV to name theirs.
Umaga, Sandman, Balls, Yang, and Haas will take on V, MVP, Thorn, Knox and Snitsky.
Holly picks a feud with Duggan.
Chavo picks a feud with Regal.
SMACKDOWN
Jesse-Festus win the tag-titles from the Harts if not done at “Cyber Sunday”.
Shawn, Kennedy, Booker, and Matt will take on Edge, CorVon, Khali, and Carlito.
A 20-man match featuring ten tag-teams will take place at the PPV; the teams are: The Hooliganz, The Majors, Jesse-Festus, CrymeTyme, and The Highlanders against The Harts, Deuce-Domino, Cade-Murdoch, Striker-Masters, and Finlay-Taylor.
Kenny picks a feud with Flair.
Rey demands an explanation from Kane. Kane says that Rey symbolizes everything he hates about himself: Rey is loved by kids, lusted after by women, and is still able to hide his pain behind a mask. He goes on to explain that his career has not exactly been filled with title-shots, and wonders aloud whether or not that has to do with not being likable or wholesome, and that he realized once again that the only way he’ll ever get anywhere is to once again destroy everything in his pass. Rey tries to reason with him, but Kane won’t have any of it.
ECW
Jeff beats Morrison for the title if it didn’t already happen at “Cyber Sunday”.
Jeff, Punk, Burke, and Dinsmore will take on Morrison, Henry, Benjamin, and Dreamer.
Miz picks a feud with Crazy, making fun of his accent.
INTERFED
The respected veterans Duggan, Regal, Flair, Rey, and Crazy will take on the disrespectful Holly, Chavo, Kenny, Kane, and Miz.
For the sake of symmetry, there are three 8-man matches (Raw, SD, and ECW) and three 10-man matches (Raw, SD, and Interfed) on the PPV. [SD’s 10-man is actually a 10-team match.]
SURVIVOR SERIES 2008 (I)
R – Taker-Cena-Lashley-Cody / Trips-Orton-Batista-???
S – Shawn-Kennedy-Booker-Matt / Edge-CorVon-Khali-Carlito
E – Jeff-Punk-Burke-Dinsmore / Morrison-Henry-Benjamin-Dreamer
I – Duggan-Regal-Flair-Rey-Crazy / Holly-Chavo-Kenny-Kane-Miz
R – Umaga-Sandman-Balls-Yang-Haas / V-Mvp-Thorn-Knox-Snitsky
S – London-Kendrick, Brett-Brian, Jesse-Festus, JTG-Shad, Rory-Robbie /
S – Teddy-Harry, Deuce-Domino, Cade-Murdoch, Striker-Masters, Finlay-Taylor
///
20-Man – Rules are that when someone is pinned, their partner is also eliminated. The Highlanders are first, followed by Striker-Masters. Deuce-Domino are next, followed by CrymeTyme. The Harts manage to eliminate the Majors, then shortly after eliminate the Hooliganz. Jesse manages to roll-up Taylor, but the four heels working together manage to pin Festus for the win.
Survivors: Cade-Murdoch, Harts
Umaga/V – Sandman pins Knox, Balls pins Thorn, and Yang Moonsaults Snitsky for the pin. Haas gets a surprise roll-up on MVP to eliminate him. Umaga beats V down.
Survivors: Umaga, Sandman, Balls, Yang, Haas
Interfed – Regal pins Chavo, Flair pins Kenny, Duggan pins Holly, Crazy pins Miz, leaving all five faces against Kane. The announcers wonder if we’ll see another shut-out, but Kane is more focused than ever, and makes quick work of Duggan, Regal, and Crazy. Flair and Rey try to double-team Kane, but Kane manages to Choke-Slam Flair for the elimination. Rey manages to out-maneuver Kane, eventually hitting the West Coast Pop for the surprise pin; Kane massacres Rey after the match, though, giving him a Tombstone in the middle of the ring.
Survivor: Rey
ECW – Dinsmore is like a wild animal, destroying and eliminating Dreamer right off the bat. Dinsmore tries the same with Henry, but is unsuccessful this time, getting eliminated. Henry then pins Burke, but Jeff and Punk utilize quick tags and high-flying moves to keep Henry off balance and eliminate him. Benjamin has his feet on the ropes while pinning Punk. Morrison, holding on to Benjamin’s hand for leverage, pins Jeff.
Survivors: Morrison, Benjamin
SD – CorVon starts by eliminating Booker, then Shawn eliminates CorVon with a surprise Super Kick. Shawn is in the ring against Edge and decides to run the ropes, which gives Carlito the opportunity to knee Shawn in the back; Shawn loses his temper and attacks Carlito, and the two end-up brawling on the outside for so long that both get counted out, but the two just continue fighting. Matt gets in the ring, but with the Shawn/Carlito brawl distracting the ref, Khali – who is still standing on the apron – grabs Matt, and ties him in the ropes, allowing Edge to Spear him and get the pin when the ref turns back around. Edge tags Khali into the match, but Matt, who is already eliminated, decides to give Khali a great big kick in the balls before leaving, which puts Khali down and in perfect position to receive a Kenton Bomb, eliminating Khali. Edge and Kennedy are left. Edge has the advantage and goes to the top-rope, but Kennedy crotches him and hits the Lambeau Leap for the win!
Survivor: Kennedy
Raw – Before the match starts, Trips introduces their tag-team partner… SANTINO! Santino immediately gets speared by Lashley and pinned, much to the chagrin of Evolution, who decide to do their best to keep Lashley out of the rest of the match. Cody is eliminated after Orton’s RKO, Orton is eliminated after Cena’s FU. A surprise B-Bomb takes Cena out, but Taker quickly hits the Tombstone on Batista for the pin. Taker and Lashley against Trips. Taker is in the ring, when Lashley attacks Taker from behind; Trips pins Taker, then Lashley lies down for Trips, giving Xecution the win. Lashley and Trips embrace.
Survivor: Trips
December 2008 (1st Half)
RAW
When asked why he would join Trips, Orton, and Batista, Lashley points out that he had been there to watch the backs of Cena and Taker, “making sure everything stayed fair and on a level playing-field”, but that neither of them did anything to help him regain the IC-title. “No matter how many times MVP got himself disqualified or cheated to keep that title, who was there to even the odds? That’s right, nobody!” Trips interjects that he saw the potential Lashley had, but that he needed some mentoring about who he could truly trust in the industry. Batista and Orton officially welcome him into the fold.
Taker and Cena feud with Xecution. There is some friction between the two, with both wary of trusting the other – resulting in things like each not being there to save the other from beat-downs – but they quickly patch things up.
MVP defends his title against Sandman and Balls; both times, MVP is on the verge of defeat, but cheats to keep the title.
SMACKDOWN
Having pinned Edge at “Survivor Series”, Kennedy announces that he will be cashing-in his MITB contract at “Armageddon”.
Khali attacks Matt, in retaliation for the low-blow.
Shawn and Carlito feud.
Jesse-Festus will defend the tag-titles in a 3-way against Cade-Murdoch and The Harts.
Rey and Kane continue to feud.
CorVon wants a shot at Booker’s US-title, which Booker is happy to give him.
The Hooliganz and The Majors will team-up against Finlay-Taylor and Striker-Masters.
ECW
Morrison is once again the #1 contendor to Jeff’s title.
Punk and Benjamin continue to feud.
ARMAGEDDON 2008 (SD)
World: EDGE/Kennedy
Matt/Khali
ECW: JEFF/Morrison
Shawn/Carlito
Tag: JESSE-FESTUS/Cade-Murdoch/Harts
Rey/Kane
Punk/Benjamin
US: BOOKER/CorVon
Hooliganz-Majors/Finlay-Taylor-Striker-Masters
///
8-Man – Hooliganz and Majors.
Booker/CorVon – CorVon.
Punk/Benjamin – Henry interferes, giving Benjamin the win.
Rey/Kane – Kane.
Jesse-Festus/Cade-Murdoch/Harts – Harts steal the win by pinning Jesse after Murdoch hits him with the Waxahachie Driver.
Shawn/Carlito – Shawn.
Jeff/Morrison – Morrison.
Matt/Khali – Khali dominates the majority of the match, but after about ten minutes, Matt begins to play it smart: he begins by climbing out of the ring, getting Khali to chase him, basically playing cat-and-mouse. He employs a hit and run strategy, jabbing and dodging, jabbing and dodging, hitting a Second-Rope Leg-Drop in the process. Khali, however, comes back, and locks Matt in the Claw – Matt fights to stay awake, but his arm goes down once… goes down twice… but it doesn’t go down a third time! Still fighting, Matt struggles towards the turnbuckle… he puts his feet on the bottom turnbuckle, then middle, then top, finally lifting his feet up and over, grabbing Khali around the head, and head-scissoring him forward! Khali hits his head on the turnbuckle, Matt rolls him up from behind, 1-2-3, Matt has beaten Khali!
Edge/Kennedy – Kennedy wins the World-title!
December 2008 (2nd Half)
RAW
Taker and Cena put their differences aside to battle Xecution.
Haas starts a little roll for himself, beating lower-card guys like Holly, Chavo, and Knox. He makes it clear that he’s sick of MVP’s “bling bling” attitude, and wants to disprove his ability as a wrestler.
SMACKDOWN
Edge demands a rematch for Kennedy’s title.
The Hooliganz and The Majors both petition Long for another title-shot against The Harts; while Long agrees that both teams deserve another shot, he also feels that the feud must come to an end. That is why, at “December to Dismember”, the three teams will meet for the last time… in an ELIMINATION CHAMBER MATCH!!!
ECW
Jeff wants a rematch against Morrison, but Benjamin interrupts, saying that he should get the shot. Estrada makes it a 3-way at “December to Dismember”, and to really put it over the top, makes it a ladder match.
Punk seeks revenge on Henry.
Burke calls Dreamer on his recent ways.
Noble and Nunzio continue trying to prove who is the superior man.
INTERFED
Crazy, realizing that his “Cyber Sunday” contemporaries Rey and Funaki are having woes, issues a good-natured challenge to them at “December to Dismember”.
DECEMBER TO DISMEMBER 2008 (ECW)
ECW, Ladder: MORRISON/Jeff/Benjamin
Taker-Cena/Trips-Lashley
Punk/Henry
World: KENNEDY/Edge
Burke/Dreamer
Tag, Elim-Cham: HARTS/Hooliganz/Majors
Nunzio/Noble
IC: MVP/Haas
Crazy/Funaki/Rey
///
Crazy/Funaki/Rey – Crazy pins Rey. Kane tries to interfere afterwards, but the three faces chase him out of the ring. Kane makes threats as he is walking back up the aisle, but THE BOOGEYMAN returns to intercept.
MVP/Haas – The match is completely clean as MVP wins by out-wrestling Haas.
Backstage – Rey and the Hooliganz are conversing backstage by the catering area, London and Kendrick trying to cheer Rey up after his loss, and Rey offering encouraging words to the Hooliganz. Xecution, looking to grab some coffee, barge their way past, which offends the faces. Trips is as dismissive as ever, telling the “children” that if they want an autograph, they need to wait outside just like everyone else. Rey shoves Trips, which gets all of Xecution to back him up, which causes the Hooliganz to back Rey up; after a brief stare-down, the Hooliganz talk things down, citing that several of them still have matches upcoming, and everyone backs off.
Nunzio/Noble – Nunzio.
Elim-Cham – Hooliganz.
Burke/Dreamer – Burke.
Kennedy/Edge – Kennedy has it won until Khali interferes, giving Edge the win and the title. After the match, Edge pulls a wad of cash out of his tights and pays Khali. Matt runs out with a chair, but the heels run off before he can do any damage.
Punk/Henry – Punk wins with the Anaconda Vice.
Taker-Cena/Trips-Lashley – With Trips keeping Taker busy on the outside, Batista and Orton try to interfere, but Sandman and Balls run interference; however, the commotion outside the ring is enough to distract Cena, who falls victim to a low-blow and Dominator from Lashley. Lashley basks in finally pinning Cena, but the celebration is cut short as Taker, Sandman, and Balls chase them off.
ECW – The wire holding the belt is threaded through the top of the Elim-Cham. After about fifteen minutes, all three men end up brawling on the outside; Jeff sets-up a table near the ring, but is unable to use it as the heels attack. The three men brawl all the way up the aisle, near a table with some (fake) controls on top, and end-up accidentally hitting the “switch” for the Elim-Cham, causing it to lower [the wire holding the belt also lowers, resulting in the belt more or less being “suspended” inside the Elim-Cham.] They battle back towards the ring, with Jeff eventually getting both heels on the table he had previously set-up; Jeff climbs the outside of the Elim-Cham, balances on the edge, and Swan-Bombs through his opponents! He then enters the Elim-Cham, sets-up the ladder (or, if there isn’t enough room for the ladder, hands-over-hands his away along the ceiling) and grabs the belt.
