Ric Flair’s Final Run
(12-31-07 “Raw” thru WrestleMania 24)
Writing Began: December 18th, 2007
Writing Finished: December 23rd, 2007
iEvents Going on at the Time:i
Armageddon 2007:
Edge retained his World Heavyweight Championship against both Batista and The Undertaker when two Edge look-alikes (later revealed to be the tag-team of Curt Hawkins and Zach Ryder, who up until then had been known as “The Major Brothers”) distracted Batista and The Undertaker. Randy Orton retained his WWE-Championship against the newly-returned Chris Jericho, when Jericho accidentally hit commentator John “Bradshaw” Layfield outside the ring, causing Layfield to interfere. Jeff Hardy beat Triple H to win a title-shot against Randy Orton at Royal Rumble 2008. Beth Phoenix beat Mickie James to retain the Women’s-Championship, and Montel Vontavious Porter retained his US-Championship against Rey Mysterio by intentionally getting himself counted out. Shawn Michaels defeated Mr. Kennedy, Fit Finlay (with a little help from his buddy Hornswoggle) defeated The Great Khali, and the team of Big Daddy V and Mark Henry defeated the team of Kane and C.M. Punk.
Other Notes:
“Raw”: Ric Flair had just made a grand return to WWE, only to be told by Vince McMahon that, should he ever lose another match, he would be fired. On the December 17th, 2007 edition of “Raw”, Vince made a match between Flair and Triple H, to be held two weeks later. Chris Jericho wanted a combination of answers and revenge against John “Bradshaw” Layfield for costing him the WWE-title at Armageddon 2007. Both John Cena and Bobby Lashley were still out with injuries. Vince McMahon continued to torture his son Hornswoggle through what Vince called “Tough Love”.
“Smackdown”: Edge had built himself a stable of Curt Hawkins, Zach Ryder, and new girlfriend, “Smackdown” General Manager, Vickie Guerrero; they were making life hell for Batista and The Undertaker. John “Bradshaw” Layfield, in response to Chris Jericho’s challenge, announced that he would soon be coming out of retirement and jumping to “Raw”. Matt Hardy was legimately out of action due to his appendix bursting and complications that followed, though he was expected to return in a month or two; Rey Mysterio was inserted in his place in his feud with US-Champion Montel Vontavious Porter. Finlay continued to stand-up for his little buddy Hornswoggle against Vince McMahon.
“ECW”: The “Smackdown” tag-team of Jimmy Wang Yang and Shannon Moore was causing all kinds of grief for WWE Tag-Team Champions John Morrison and The Miz, both of whom are ECW Superstars. C.M. Punk continued to defend his title against all-comers. Shelton Benjamin had recently jumped to “ECW” from “Raw”, promising to win gold very soon. Chavo Guerrero had just recently returned to television, attacking C.M. Punk after a match. Kevin Thorn had recently debuted a new look, dropping the more formal, “gothic” look he had used before.
New Year's Eve 2007
“Raw”, 12-31-07
Early in the show, Vince announces that, since Trips is likely to lay down for his best friend Flair, he has decided that, should Trips lose the match, he will never be allowed to wrestle for any title ever again. Trips and Flair are later seen in the back, declaring to each other that they both understand what is at stake, and agree that they will both give it their all.
Trips/Flair - After about fifteen minutes, Flair is on the ground and Trips is motioning that he is getting ready to execute the Pedigree. Just as Flair is about on his feet, Shawn runs in, and argues with Trips. Flair sees this, and tries to reason with Shawn. The three men argue back and forth until Shawn runs the ropes and delivers a split-legged dropkick to both men, essentially hitting BOTH with Sweet Chin Music. The ref has no choice but to throw the match out, with no winners or losers being declared.
January 2008
RAW
Flair is pissed at Shawn for interfering; Shawn explains that he didn’t want to see Flair’s career end, but Flair explains that he was embarrassed by Shawn’s lack of faith in him. Trips is also pissed at Shawn, feeling that it was disrespectful of Shawn to try to fight Flair’s fight for him. Vince announces that, in addition to Trips, Shawn, and Flair all being in the Rumble, they will have to compete in a 3-way prior to the match. Vince later adds that the same stipulations will be repeated: if either Trips or Shawn lay down, neither may ever again wrestle for a championship.
Orton and Jeff begin to feud.
JBL jumps from “Smackdown” to engage in a feud with Jericho.
SMACKDOWN
Batista, Taker, Hawkins, and Ryder are all in the Rumble.
ECW
Punk and Chavo continue to feud.
INTERFED
Yang-Moore continue to cause problems for Morrison-Miz.
Royal Rumble 2008
I - Rumble {Trips, Shawn, Flair, Jbl, Jericho, Santino, Carlito, Kennedy, Umaga, Regal, Snitsky, Crazy, Batista, Taker, Hawkins, Ryder, Rey, Kane, Mvp, Finlay, Khali, Henry, Noble, Funaki, V, Shelton, Burke, Thorn, Dreamer, Boogey}
R - WWE: ORTON/Jeff
E - ECW: PUNK/Chavo
R - Trips/Shawn/Flair
S - Tag: MORRISON-MIZ/Yang-Moore
///
Morrison-Miz/Yang-Moore - Yang-Moore.
Trips/Shawn/Flair – Jim Ross notes how unfair it is that these are the only three Superstars who have to pull double-duty tonight. Trips hits Shawn with a Pedigree for the pin. After the match, Flair gives an emotional farewell speech, with Trips and Shawn right there beside him; after his speech, he hugs both Trips and Shawn before leaving.
Punk/Chavo - Punk.
Orton/Jeff - Jeff wins the title!
Rumble - Around the #20th entry, the buzzer sounds, but nobody comes out. Jim Ross notes that that was to be Ric Flair’s entry. Batista is the last man in the ring before the buzzer sounds for the thirtieth entry: Funaki. However, Funaki is jumped in the hallway by EDGE, who steals his entry-number. Edge approaches the ring, but the Edge-Heads jump out of the crowd, and the three heels work together to toss Batista out! Edge grabs a mic, and vows that at “WrestleMania”, he will unify two belts into one. WHOOOO! Flair makes his way down to the ring while the announcers speculate what is going on. Flair grabs Edge, and tosses him out of the ring! Lillian announces Flair as the winner of this year’s “Royal Rumble”. The announcers aren’t sure what to make of it, but they’re happy for him.
February 2008
RAW
The next night on “Raw”, Linda McMahon announces that, since Flair was not pinned in the 3-way match, he did not technically “lose” the match. His Rumble-win still stands, and she gives him until the night after No Way Out 2009 to make his decision on which champion he wants to face. She also announces that, due to winning the 3-way, Trips gets a shot at the WWE-title against Jeff at No Way Out 2009.
Flair, Trips, and Shawn make amends, but Flair is still a bit miffed at Shawn for coming to his aid a month ago. To make-up for it, Shawn offers Flair a 1-on-1 match with himself, and promises to fight harder than he’s ever fought before.
The Hooliganz want a shot at the tag-belts currently held by Cody-Holly.
SMACKDOWN
Rey takes a very personal issue with Vickie’s relationship with Edge. At first, Vickie tries to screw with Rey, but Edge says that the biggest punishment would be to have to face him [Edge] in a match.
Edge sends the Edge-Heads after the tag-titles held by Yang and Moore.
Matt returns right where he left off, shooting for a shot at MVP’s US-title. MVP feels that Matt isn’t ready to face him, so he recommends a “warm-up” match for Matt… against Khali!
ECW
V is sick of waiting for title-shots, and wants Punk A.S.A.P.
INTERFED
Vince announces that, at “No Way Out 2009”, there will an “Elimination Chamber” match to decide a second #1-contendor to whichever titles Flair doesn’t go after. From “Raw”, it will be Jericho and JBL, from “Smackdown” it will be Batista and Taker, and from “ECW”, it will be Morrison and Shelton.
No Way Out 2008
R - WWE: JEFF/Trips
S - World: EDGE/Rey
I - Elim-Cham: Jbl/Jericho/Batista/Taker/Morrison/Shelton
E - ECW: PUNK/V
S - STag: YANG-MOORE/Hawkins-Ryder
R - Shawn/Flair
S - Matt/Khali
R - RTag: CODY-HOLLY/Hooliganz
///
Cody-Holly/Hooliganz - Kendrick pins Cody for the titles. Holly is pissed afterwards.
Matt/Khali – During the match, Runjin exposes the turnbuckle. Khali dominates the match, eventually whipping Matt into the exposed turnbuckle (which catches Matt in the back) and getting him in the Vice-Grip. Matt struggles and struggles, looking like he’s about to pass out, but in a last ditch effort, lifts his legs up and over his head, grabbing Khali by the head, and head-scissors him into the exposed turnbuckle; Matt gets behind the groggy Khali, and rolls him up for the win.
Shawn/Flair - Flair wins cleanly. After the match, the two hug.
Yang-Moore/Hawkins-Ryder - Yang-Moore in a surprising upset.
Punk/V - Punk wins via arm submission.
Elim-Cham – Participants enter every three minutes. Jericho and Morrison start-off. Back and forth with nobody getting a clear-cut advantage. JBL is in third, and goes right for Jericho; the heels double-team him until the next entry. Batista is fourth, and helps even the odds against the heels; Batista brawls with JBL and Jericho brawls with Morrison on opposite sides of the structure. Shelton is in fifth, and cautiously makes his way towards Jericho and Morrison. Shelton tries to attack Jericho from behind, but Jericho catches him; however, with Jericho’s back to Morrison, Morrison grabs Jericho again, allowing Shelton to scamper off. Shelton then tries to attack Batista – who has been dominating JBL – from behind, but Batista grabs hold of him, allowing JBL to get away. Morrison kicks Jericho in the balls, and when Jericho turns around, he is caught with a Clothesline From Hell, hitting his head on the metal floor on the way down; he’s pinned by Morrison. As Jericho is being led out of the cage, JBL makes sure to start insulting him; Jericho grabs the now-open door, and slams it into JBL’s head, knocking him out, and allowing him to be pinned by Morrison also. Shelton and Morrison then try to surround Batista, but they don’t realize how long it’s been since the last entry – Taker makes his way out of his pod, and he and Batista manhandle Morrison and Shelton. They hit a stereo Tombstone/B-Bomb on the two heels, eliminating them both. Taker and Batista then square off like the old rivals they are. Taker eventually wins with a Tombstone.
Edge/Rey - Edge
Jeff/Trips – Trips tries everything he can to put Jeff away, but Jeff just keeps fighting back. Trips continues to grow more and more frustrated, reaching his breaking point when Jeff reverses TWO attempts at the Pedigree. Completely frustrated, Trips “accidentally” bumps the ref, grabs the sledge-hammer, and whacks Jeff with it, leading to the Pedigree and the pin. After the match, Shawn and Flair run down to the ring looking for answers, but Trips tries to brush them aside; Shawn and Flair are so busy with Trips that they don’t notice Umaga sneak up behind them. Trips sneaks out of the ring while Umaga lays out both Shawn and Flair. Trips gloats from the entry-way, but doesn’t notice MATT come and attack him; Matt actually gets the upper-hand, up until Khali comes out and lays Matt out. We fade out after focusing on all the bodies lying everywhere.
March 2008 (1st Half)
RAW
Shawn, Jeff, and Flair continue feuding with Trips.
Kennedy tells Vince that he has his sights set on being a “big star” in the future. To this, Vince makes Kennedy Trips’ tag-partner against Shawn and Jeff at “Saturday Night’s Main Event”.
SMACKDOWN
Edge, the Edge-Heads, and Vickie continue to make life hell for Taker and Batista.
ECW
With Morrison and Shelton both making a claim to be the #1-contendor to Punk’s ECW-title, Estrada makes a match between the two at “Saturday Night’s Main Event”.
Thorn challenges Punk for a title-shot.
INTERFED
An interfed 8-man tag is set-up for “Saturday Night’s Main Event”.
“Saturday Night’s Main Event”
R - Shawn-Jeff/Trips-Kennedy
S - Taker-Batista/Hawkins-Ryder
E - ECW: PUNK/Thorn
E - #1 Contendor: Morrison/Shelton
I - Hooliganz-Yang-Moore/Cade-Murdoch-Deuce-Domino
///
8-Man – With the four heels down in the ring, the four faces all come off the top ropes with their signature high-flying move to win.
In-Ring: Vince calls Finlay to the ring, and tries to explain why he’s constantly abusing his son. Finlay isn’t having any of it, and grabs Vince by the neck. JBL attacks Finlay from behind.
Morrison/Shelton – Morrison goes to hit his finisher, but Shelton spins an extra 180* parallel to the mat, landing on all fours, and transitions right into the Dragon-Whip for the win.
In-Ring: Flair cuts a promo about his WM-match with Trips.
Punk/Thorn – Punk.
Backstage: Jericho finds Morrison backstage, and insults him about losing to Shelton: “Just think, that could have been you headlining ‘WrestleMania’.” Jericho then tells Morrison that he hasn’t forgotten what happened in the Elim-Cham, with Jericho being eliminated due to a low-kick. Morrison goes to sucker-punch him, but Jericho blocks and tosses him around the hallway area.
Taker-Batista/Hawkins-Ryder – Taker and Batista are about to hit their finishers in unison when V, Striker, and Edge interfere. The five heels dominate the two faces with weapons, leaving them lying in the ring.
Shawn-Jeff/Trips-Kennedy – Kennedy and Trips get intentionally disqualified by shoving the ref, and the four men brawl after the bell rings. The heels simultaneously kick the faces in the balls, allowing Trips to sneak away and grab the sledge-hammer while Kennedy continues to stomp on them. Trips stands over Shawn and raises the hammer over his head while Kennedy eggs him on – they don’t notice Jeff come over and grab the sledge out of Trips’ hands. Jeff hits both Trips and Kennedy in the stomach, allowing Jeff and Shawn to get the advantage. With the heels subdued, Jeff grabs a ladder and a table from under the ring; Shawn places Trips and Kennedy on the table, and Jeff hits the Swan-Bomb from the top of the ladder.
March 2008 (2nd Half)
RAW
Trips and Flair continue to feud, mainly on the mic, with Trips calling Flair too old, and Flair saying that Trips has yet to accomplish all that Flair has.
Shawn tells Jeff that he’s impressed with Jeff’s ability with ladders, and offers a good-natured challenge to him for a ladder-match at “WrestleMania”. Jeff is honored and accepts.
Vince and JBL become close buddies, sharing stock tips, etc.
Mickie is named #1-contendor to Beth’s Womens-Title.
SMACKDOWN
Taker and Batista continue to feud with Edge, Hawkins, Ryder, and the man Edge has paid to be his bodyguard, V. Batista tells Taker to just concentrate on his match with Edge, “I’ll take care of the rest”.
MVP is forced to finally grant Matt a shot at his US-title.
Finlay demands a match with JBL.
ECW
Punk and Shelton are on a collision-course for “WrestleMania”.
Morrison wants Jericho at “WrestleMania”.
INTERFED
It is announced that, at “WrestleMania”, the tag-titles will be unified and become property of Smackdown.
Batista/V, Jericho/Morrison, and JBL/Finlay are confirmed for “WrestleMania”.
Vince announces a 10-Man “Money in the Bank” Battle Royal for “WrestleMania”.
WrestleMania 24
R - WWE: TRIPS/Flair
S - World: EDGE/Taker
I - Batista/V
R - IC, Ladder: JEFF/Shawn
I - Jbl/Finlay
E - PUNK/Shelton
S - Unification, Tag: Yang-Moore/Hooliganz
R - Womens: BETH/Mickie
I - Morrison/Jericho
S - US: MVP/Matt
I - “MITB” Battle Royal: Kennedy, Orton, Carlito, Kane, Rey, Khali, Miz, Burke, Thorn, Boogey
///
MITB - Everybody gangs-up on Khali, eliminating him first. Carlito wins by last eliminating Rey.
MVP/Matt - Matt.
Morrison/Jericho - Jericho.
Beth/Mickie - Mickie.
Yang-Moore/Hooliganz - Yang-Moore.
Punk/Shelton - Punk.
JBL/Finlay - Finlay.
Jeff/Shawn - Jeff.
Batista/V - V dominates the match, but Batista is able to rebound; just as Batista has the match turned around, Henry interfere. Batista wins by DQ, but V and Henry continue to pound on Batista after the bells rings… that is, until CENA makes his surprise return to help Batista! Batista thanks Cena, and the two shake hands.
Taker/Edge - Taker is able to overcome the interference of the Edge-Heads to win the match and the title.
Trips/Flair - Trips goes for the Pedigree, but Flair Back-Bodies him; Flair then locks in the Figure-Four, and, after a minute of fighting the pain, Trips taps out.
