“2008 Draft” thru WrestleMania XXV
Writing Began: July 6th, 2008 (One week after Night of Champions 2008)
Writing Finished: August 16th, 2008 (Day before Summerslam 2008)
iEvents Going on at the Time:i
“2008 Roster Draft”:
On June 23rd edition of “Raw”, WWE produced arguably the biggest shake-up to their roster since the initial “brand extension” in 2002. The results are as follows:
Raw
- Batista, Rey Mysterio, Deuce, Jamie Noble, Chuck Palumbo, Michael Cole
- Kane (ECW Champion), C.M. Punk, Kofi Kingston, Matt Striker, Layla
Smackdown
- Triple H (WWE Champion), Jeff Hardy, Mr. Kennedy, Umaga, Carlito, Trevor Murdoch, DH Smith, Brian Kendrick, Maria, Jim Ross
- Shelton Benjamin, Big Daddy V
ECW
- Super Crazy
- Matt Hardy (US Champion), Mark Henry, Finlay, Hornswoggle
Vince McMahon’s Injury:
On the same night as the “2008 Roster Draft”, and just after giving away $500,000 in what would later turn out to be the final installment of “Vince McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania”, a (kayfabe) freak accident resulted in part of the “Raw” set falling on - and seriously injuring - the one and only Vincent Kennedy McMahon. The following week, Shane McMahon opened the show, stating that, out of respect for his family’s right to privacy, no announcements would be forthcoming about Vince’s condition.
Night of Champions 2008:
Smackdown’s Triple H retained the WWE Championship against Raw’s John Cena, and Smackdown’s Edge retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Raw’s Batista, resulting in “Smackdown” becoming the home of both top titles. Raw’s Kane lost the ECW Championship to ECW’s Mark Henry, in a three-way match that also included Smackdown’s Big Show. Due to the “working relationship” between “Smackdown” and “ECW”, two “Smackdown”-exclusive titles were contested in matches featuring only “ECW”-contracted Superstars, as Matt Hardy retained the United States Championship against Chavo Guerrero, and the team of John Morrison and Mike “The Miz” Mizanin retained the WWE Tag-Team Championships against Fit Finlay and his son Hornswoggle. As for the rest of the “Raw”-exclusive titles, Kofi Kingston scored a huge upset by winning the Intercontinental Championship from Chris Jericho, Mickie James retained the Women’s Championship against Katie Lea Burchill, and the team of Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes lost the World Tag-Team Championships when Cody turned on Holly, and revealed himself to be the mystery partner of their opponent, Ted Dibiase, Jr.
Other Notes:
“Raw”: The night after “Night of Champions 2008”, Edge made a surprise appearance on “Raw”, for the sole purpose of rubbing it in the face of everyone at “Raw” that they no longer had a heavyweight-title. Edge’s celebration was cut short, however, as Batista made his presence felt by beating the crap out of Edge, which then led directly into C.M. Punk cashing-in his “Money in the Bank” contract and beating Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship! Later that night, John “Bradshaw” Layfield challenged Punk for a shot at the title, which Punk quickly granted him; just as the match was beginning, JBL’s “personal security” surrounded the ring, but John Cena and Cryme-Tyme (JTG and Shad) arrive to even the odds, with the distraction having a part in JBL losing the match. Elsewhere, the feud between Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels continued to escalate, with Jericho having recently injured Shawn’s eye. Also, Rey Mysterio made a brief return to wrestle (and beat) Santino Marella, but he was still not yet ready to return to full-time duty.
“Smackdown”: Upset over losing the World Heavyweight Championship to C.M. Punk, Edge was in a foul mood, and announced that his wedding to General Manager Vickie Guerrero was off, which crushed Vickie. At the same time, Vickie immediately announced that Triple H would defend the WWE Championship against Edge at “The Great American Bash 2008”. A new “Diva’s Championship” was being created. MVP (Montel Vontavious Porter) became more out-spoken in regards to other heels, openly criticizing Vickie’s decision-making ability.
“ECW”: Evan Bourne and Atlas Ortiz had recently debuted. Tommy Dreamer continued to mentor Colin Delaney. Armando Estrada was still desperately trying to earn a contract, but General Manager Theodore Long was not making it easy for him.
JULY 2008
RAW
JBL, feeling he was screwed out of the title by Cena and CrymeTyme, demands a rematch from Punk, which Punk happily grants him.
Batista cuts a promo in which he claims that he has no hard feelings towards Punk for taking advantage of the beating that he [Batista] gave Edge, but makes it clear that he feels that, in return, Punk should at least grant him a title match. Jericho interrupts, claiming that Batista has no right to claim any title-shots, due to all the times he came up short in his battles with Edge. The two are about to go at it, when Shawn interrupts, sporting an eye-patch. Shawn tells Jericho that any man who takes the short-cuts that Jericho takes is undeserving of the championship. This brings out Cena, who lays out a challenge: 4-way at “The Great American Bash” for the #1-contendorship. In the mean-time, Shawn focuses on getting his eye back into shape.
Holly returns to seek revenge against Dibiase and Cody. Holly’s tag-team partner? Jim Duggan.
Also at this time, Ted Dibiase, Jr. begins to be referred to as “TJ Dibiase”. (TJ = Ted Jr.)
Kofi declares that he will be one of the “fightingest” IC-champs of all time, and defends the belt against lower-card guys like Haas, Palumbo, and Striker. After a successful defense, he is attacked by Burchill.
SMACKDOWN
Trips is set to defend his title against Edge at “The Great American Bash 2008”.
Edge and Vickie patch up their differences, and set the date for their wedding for after “The Great American Bash 2008”.
Kennedy, feeling brash, confronts Carlito on his recent string of losses.
ECW
Mark Henry grants Dreamer and Delaney a shot at his title in a 2-on-1 handicap match at “Bash”.
INTERFED
Vickie - at Edge’s behest - deems it “improper” for ECW’s Matt Hardy to be holding a Smackdown-owned championship. Teddy Long won’t allow her to strip him of the title (citing that it would hurt negotiations for their “talent exchange” agreement), so Vickie assigns MVP the job of wresting the title from Matt at “Bash”, claiming that not only does MVP know Matt well, but that it would also help MVP get back into Vickie’s good graces. MVP is happy to fight Matt again, but makes it known that he could care less about being on her good side.
Morrison and Jeff have a match on “Smackdown”. With it already noted that Matt is not in the building that night, Miz helps Morrison win, and then the two heels attack Jeff after the bell. Show comes to Jeff’s rescue.
The Great American Bash 2008
S - World: TRIPS/Edge
R - #1: Cena/Batista/Shawn/Jericho
E - ECW: HENRY/Dreamer-Delaney
R - WWE: PUNK/Jbl
2 - US: MATT/Mvp
R - RTag: TJ-CODY/Holly-Duggan
S - Kennedy/Carlito
R - IC: KOFI/Burchill
2 - STag: MIZ-MORRISON/Show-Jeff
///
Miz-Morrison/Show-Jeff - Morrison occupies Show on the outside while Miz is able to roll Jeff up for a surprise win.
Kofi/Burchill - Kofi retains.
Kennedy/Carlito - Kennedy.
TJ-Cody/Holly-Duggan - TJ-Cody retain.
Matt/MVP - Very even match, Matt reverses into the Twist-of-Fate for the win.
Punk/JBL - Punk retains.
Henry/Dreamer-Delaney - Henry wins rather easily.
Cena/Batista/Shawn/Jericho - The ref loses control early, and decides to go easy on enforcing the rules, essentially changing the match to a big wild brawl. Part-way through the match, Jericho just starts maniacally ripping into Shawn’s eye, resulting in Shawn having to be assisted to the back. The end comes when Cena hits the FU on Jericho, but then Batista spears Cena, giving him the easy pin on Jericho.
Trips/Edge - Vickie is ring-side for this. Trips is just about to win, but La Famiglia blatantly interfere - the ref wants to stop it, but is ordered by Vickie not to. All five heels beat on Trips, dragging him out of the ring; once there, Bam, Chavo, and the EdgeHeads hold Trips at the bottom of the ramp, while Edge walks all the way back to the entrance, getting ready to get a biiig running start before spearing Trips into the side of the ring. However, just as Edge begins to run down the aisle, the lights go out. After about fifteen seconds, they come back on, and Edge connects with the spear - except he’s now just speared Vickie! Somehow, Trips and Vickie switched places! With all of the heels tending to Vickie, Trips grabs Edge, throws him in the ring, hits the Pedigree, and retains the WWE-title.
AUGUST 2008
RAW
Punk and Batista are on a collision-course for “Summerslam”. Batista speaks well of Punk, but makes sure to twist the knife a bit by always reminding the audience that it was Batista’s beat-down on Edge that allowed Punk to win the title. Punk, on the other hand, plays up the fact that Batista should know better than anyone that there’s no such thing as a fair match against Edge, “and besides, maybe you should be a little more thankful; if it weren’t for me cashing in my ‘Money-in-the-Bank’ contract, you wouldn’t even have a title to be going after.”
JBL enlists the aid of TJ and Cody in his feud with Cena and CrymeTyme.
Jericho takes great pride in what he did to Shawn, proclaiming that we should all thank him for slaying the dragon that was Shawn Michaels’ huge ego and never-ending lies. He then goes on to issue a different type of challenge to Shawn: he challenges him to see who truly has a more successful set of rules to live by, citing that Cade has dumped everything that Shawn taught him, and now seeks guidance from the Fountain of Jericho, and challenges Shawn to pick a disciple to represent him. The next week, Shawn - wearing an eye-patch - appears via video-feed to inform Jericho that he has picked Paul London, another former Shawn-student, as his rep. London and Cade have a “warm-up” match, but Shawn’s surprise appearance (and subsequent super-kick on Jericho) distracts Cade enough to allow London to grab a quick and surprising victory. The next week, Jericho claims that London’s victory means nothing, as it was once again Shawn’s trickery and deception that were center-stage, not even allowing his supposed “star pupil” the courtesy of wrestling the match on his own - on that note, Jericho proposes a 2-out-of-3-Falls match between Cade and London for “Summerslam”, and says that he [Jericho] will be at ring-side just to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
SMACKDOWN
Taker - despite still not appearing on TV - continues to harass Edge and Vickie, playing his usual tricks on them. This all culminates at the Edge-Vickie wedding. The wedding goes relatively well, with Edge suave as ever and Vickie wearing a gorgeous dress and veil, up until the preacher asks if there is anybody that objects - Trips interrupts to speak his mind, but is attacked by Khali and dragged backstage. Vickie is getting anxious, and tells the preacher to continue. They make it through the rest of the ceremony, until they get to “I now pronounce you…” the lights go out, and then come back on not long after. Everything seems to be ok. “… man and wife.” Edge is beaming and goes to kiss the bride, but when he lifts her veil… it’s a catatonic Chavo! Edge and Chavo have just gotten married! Chavo eventually wakes, and the two of them freak out as we fade to black. The next week, Vickie is in tears, but Edge assures her everything will be ok. “I just have to find a good divorce lawyer.” Vickie wants to know why it’s taking so long to find a lawyer, and Edge claims that “for some reason, nobody will take the case. It’s like they’ve all been put under a spell.” Chavo pipes up that “it is nice having someone there when I get home, though.” Eventually, they all deduce that Taker is behind everything, and are forced to bring him out of retirement in order to rectify everything. It is announced that Taker will return at “Summerslam 2008”, and that Edge will have that night off to visit a lawyer - the second Taker returns, Edge will be able to get divorced. Chavo is slightly upset by this, claiming that Edge is actually quite a good listener. Taker is scheduled for a 4-on-1 handicap match against Chavo, Bam, and the Edgeheads.
Also, as a thank-you for taking care of Trips at the wedding, Khali is named #1-contendor. Khali begins terrorizing Trips, trapping him in the Vice-Grip.
MVP holds an episode of “The VIP Lounge” where he states his case for a rematch against Matt. Kennedy interrupts, saying that MVP had his shot. The two argue, with Kennedy noting that MVP seems to have lost a step since they were last on “Smackdown” together. MVP claims that he hasn’t lost anything, but it’s actually Kennedy who has lost something - “I remember when you did whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted, to whomever you wanted. Now you’re pandering to these idiot fans, and what’s it gotten you? Less wins than before? Less titles than before? When was the last time you beat a former World-champion? You’re the one who’s ‘lost a step’.” Vickie, sick of hearing them whine, decides to make them both miserable: they will team up against Jeff and Show. During that match, Kennedy and MVP have a falling out, with Jeff and Show both getting caught in the cross-fire.
ECW
Henry is looking for some tougher competition. Finlay steps up.
Morrison and Miz are riding high, and bump into Delaney backstage. They mock him and shove him around a bit, and then challenge him to a tag match. Delaney notes that Dreamer is at home resting his injuries, so they tell him to pick someone else. Come match time, Delaney has picked Evan Bourne! Bourne actually manages to squeak out a victory on Morrison! Miz and Morrison can’t believe it! Bourne campaigns for a shot at the tag-titles, but the champs maintain that it was a fluke. Morrison grants Bourne a 1-on-1 match at “Summerslam”, where if Bourne wins, he will get his shot.
INTERFED
Vickie still wants “her” US-title back, and dispatches Umaga to reclaim it at “Summerslam”.
Summerslam 2008
R - World: PUNK/Batista
S - WWE: TRIPS/Khali
2 - Taker/Hawkins-Ryder-Chavo-Bam
E - ECW: HENRY/Finlay
R - 2/3 Falls: London/Cade (Shawn/Jericho second)
2 - US: MATT/Umaga
E - Morrison/Bourne
S - Jeff/Show/Kennedy/Mvp
R - Cena-CrymeTyme/Jbl-Tj-Cody
///
Cena-CrymeTyme/JBL-TJ-Cody - Shad pins TJ.
Jeff/Show/Kennedy/MVP - The announcers note that the three smaller men spend most of the match ganging up on Show, but Show’s ability to fight back causes Kennedy and MVP to start blaming each other; with the two of them occupied, Show hits Jeff with the Chokeslam to win.
Morrison/Bourne - Bourne counters Miz’s interference on his way to victory.
Matt/Umaga - Matt retains.
London/Cade - Cade manages to maul London, winning two straight falls in relatively little time. After the match, as Shawn is tending to London, Jericho sneaks up on Shawn via his blind-side, and lays him out.
Henry/Finlay - Hornswoggle tries to interfere, but gets massacred. Henry wins.
Taker/Hawkins-Ryder-Chavo-Bam - Undertaker makes his return in dramatic fashion, but is surrounded by the four heels. Before the bell rings, though, BOOM, Kane makes his way to ringside! It unofficially becomes a tag match, with Taker and Kane winning.
Trips/Khali - Trips manages to fight out of the Vice-Grip, and goes to hit the Pedigree, but Khali is just too big. They get into a big brawl, and the ref gets bumped. Khali beats on Trips outside the ring a bit, and then goes to grab a chair, which he then uses to bloody Trips - however, after a while, Trips is able to grab the sledgehammer from under the ring, and uses it to NAIL the chair that Khali is holding back into Khali’s face! He is now able to hit the Pedigree on Khali, leading to the groggy ref coming to and counting the pin for Trips.
Punk/Batista - At the end of match, Punk slips out of the Batista-Bomb and hits the Go-To-Sleep to retain. The two shake hands.
September 2008
RAW
Batista congratulates Punk on the win, but says that, while Punk was the better man on that night, he knows that he [Batista] is the better man overall. Punk has no qualms about granting him a rematch. Over the next few weeks, it becomes obvious that the loss has really affected Batista - several low-card heels (Palumbo, Haas, Deuce) spread rumors about Batista’s mental state, only for Batista to beat the crap out of them, either back-stage or in actual matches.
CrymeTyme earn a shot at TJ-Cody’s tag-titles. JBL becomes a sort of mentor to TJ and Cody.
With Shawn now out of commission for the time being, Jericho sets his sights on Cena, in a “lead-by-example” scenario for Cade. At the same time, Jericho sends Cade after Kofi’s IC-title. Eventually, Shawn does make his return, and deems himself Cena’s “partner” against Jericho and Cade. Cena is not happy about this, citing that Shawn’s already turned on him once.
With no authority figure in place, Regal returns to TV, citing that he can’t be kicked out, since nobody’s in charge! He thanks Burchill for all his support and friendship, and takes on the role of his manager. Regal’s first piece of advice? Target Rey, a beloved international star.
SMACKDOWN
With Edge and Chavo now successfully divorced, Edge can free his mind and return to the ring. As revenge against Taker and Trips, Vickie books them in a 2-on-5 match for “Unforgiven 2008”.
Carlito and Shelton are talking backstage, when Jeff walks by - they both harass him over his loss, which sets Jeff off, resulting in a big brawl.
Kennedy and MVP continue feuding.
Vickie announces that she had originally intended to name the winner of the 4-way match the new #1-contendor to Matt’s US-title, but she changed her mind. Instead of Show, Khali is getting the shot. Show is pissed.
ECW
Henry wants to know when he’s finally gonna get some competition. Matt interrupts, partly in defense of the recovering Hornswoggle. Henry mentions that it’s “cute” that “some second-rate champion thinks they can come out here and put themselves on the same pedestal as the Extreme Heavyweight Champion”, and grants Matt a match at “Unforgiven 2008”.
With Hornswoggle injured, Finlay is not in the right frame of mind. He tries to get revenge on Henry, but can’t get the job done.
Morrison-Miz grant Bourne and Delaney their tag-title shot on TV, which Bourne-Delaney actually WIN! In disbelief, Morrison-Miz demand a rematch at the PPV.
INTERFED
Matt will wrestle twice at “Unforgiven”, defending his US-title against Khali, and facing Henry for the ECW-title.
Unforgiven 2008
2 - Trips-Taker/Edge-Hawkins-Ryder-Chavo-Bam
R - World: PUNK/Batista
E - ECW: HENRY/Matt
R - RTag: TJ-CODY/CrymeTyme
S - Kennedy/Mvp
2 - STag: BOURNE-DELANEY/Morrison-Miz
S - Jeff/Carlito/Shelton
2 - US:MATT/Khali
R - Cena-Shawn-Rey-Kofi/Jericho-Cade-Regal-Burchill
///
8-Man - Things get out of hand quickly, with everyone eventually brawling with everyone. Shawn goes to Super-Kick Cade, but Cade ducks, resulting in Shawn accidentally connecting with Cena. Jericho tackles Shawn, allowing Cade to pin Cena for the win.
Matt/Khali - Khali removes the turnbuckle-pad, and throws Matt into it before locking him in the Vice-Grip. However, Matt manages to throw his body forward, resulting in Khali’s head hitting the exposed turnbuckle, leaving him prone to a Side-Effect for the upset win. After the match, a pissed-off Show comes out to the ring and drops Khali with one punch.
Jeff/Carlito/Shelton - Jeff wins.
Bourne-Delaney/Morrison-Miz - Miz pins Delaney to regain the titles.
Kennedy/MVP - Long, hard-fought match with lots of reversals and pin-attempts. Eventually, Kennedy hits the Mic-Check for the win.
TJ-Cody/CrymeTyme - CrymeTyme overcome JBL’s interference to win the tag-titles.
Henry/Matt - Matt is on the verge of winning, until ELIJAH BURKE (in his “Black Pope” gimmick) makes his return, interfering in the match and giving Henry the win.
Punk/Batista - Punk goes for the Go-To-Sleep, but Batista slides out of it, and gets him up for the B-Bomb; however, before Batista can throw him back down to the mat, Punk slides out and traps him in the Anaconda-Vice. Batista taps. After the match, Punk goes to shake Batista’s hand, but Batista viciously attacks him, and leaves him lying in the middle of the ring.
2-on-5 - All seven men are outside the ring, but only Edge is paying attention to the ref’s count, rolling into the ring just as the count runs out. Trips and Taker get their revenge after the match, though, beating up all five men.
OCTOBER 2008
RAW
Jericho holds an episode of “The Highlight Reel” in which he allows Punk to air any grievances he might have. Punk begins ripping into Batista, saying he’s a sore loser who’s just jealous of Punk beating Edge after all the times Batista has failed. Batista, with a disgusted sneer on his face, makes his way to the ring. Batista agrees that, yes, he’s been on the losing end against Edge and Punk as of late, but that “last night, I regained something I hadn’t even realize I’d lost - my killer instinct. And if you’re man enough, I want one more shot.” Punk: “As much as I’m addicted to competition, and I never turn down the chance for a good fight, guess what? You’re not worthy of another shot.” They argue back and forth until Jericho gets involved and questions Punk’s guts; when Punk turns to answer him, Batista attacks him from behind. Punk continues to be pummeled until REY runs in to make the save, which in turn prompts Jericho to attack Rey for “ruining my show”. Rey later explains that he and Batista have been friends for years, but that after “Unforgiven”, he was ashamed of Batista’s actions.
Cena feels that Shawn’s kick in the face was no accident, and cites history to prove it. Shawn swears up and down that it was a simple mistake, but Cena’s not buying it - they decide to “clear the air” with a match at “No Mercy 2008”. Shawn stays a face, with no hints that he isn’t.
Burchill wants another shot at Kofi’s IC-title, but so do Deuce and Noble.
JBL makes sure that TJ-Cody get their rematch against CrymeTyme for the tag-titles.
SMACKDOWN
Vickie decides to try a new strategy in dealing with Trips and Taker: at “No Mercy 2008”, they will face each other for the WWE-title. In a similar vein, she forces Matt to defend his US-title against his brother Jeff.
Show demands a match with Khali, but Edge interrupts, saying that Khali is out with a broken jaw due to Show’s punch. Show claims that he wants a fight, and asks Edge if he wants to be his opponent - Edge doesn’t want any of Show, but Vickie says that, unfortunately, the fans really want to see it, and that she’d be in a lot of trouble if she gave-up the chance to do some serious buy-rates. Edge accepts his responsibility.
Kennedy and MVP come to an understanding that, if they were to combine forces, the world would be their oyster - of all the hungry young guys in the back, they’re the hungriest. The make a challenge for the tag-titles held by Morrison-Miz, which the champs, in all their egotistical glory, accept. The two teams get into a verbal war.
ECW
Henry explains that Burke is his new business-slash-spiritual advisor, with Burke promising that he will take “his brother” to new heights of power, wealth, and popularity. Matt, of course, takes issue with them, citing how they cheated to keep the title, but Burke spins it that Matt’s real problem is not in losing the match, “but what color the man was that you lost the match to”. Matt argues that that’s ridiculous, and says that all he wants is a fair match. Burke: “Are you implying that any rematch you got against Mr. Henry wouldn’t be fair? Are you calling him a cheater? Why, because of his race?” Matt assures him that that’s not the case, and asks them point blank: “Can I have a rematch or not?” As Burke is thinking it over, Teddy Long interrupts, first claiming that Burke’s allegations against Matt are completely ridiculous, and then granting Matt his rematch. Matt and Teddy share a “Holla holla!” Over the next few weeks, Matt is interviewed about whether or not he is worried that Burke will interfere in his rematch, to which Matt replies that, no, he has someone to watch his back… and it’s not Jeff…
Finlay continues to grow more angry and disconnected. Richards attempts to befriend him, but Finlay wants none of it; he attacks Richards, turning himself heel.
INTERFED
Matt and Jeff prepare themselves for their match against each other, while also watching each others’ backs. Jeff says that he understands why Matt didn’t choose him for his back-up against Henry and Burke, citing that Matt needs somebody who can stick to the ECW roster, and says that he couldn’t have picked anyone better.
No Mercy 2008
S - WWE: TRIPS/Taker
R - Rey-Punk/Batista-Jericho
E - ECW: HENRY/Matt
R - Cena/Shawn
2 - STag: MORRISON-MIZ/Kennedy-Mvp
R - IC: KOFI/Burchill/Deuce/Noble
S - Edge/Show
2 - US: MATT/Jeff
R - RTag: CRYMETYME/Tj-Cody
///
CrymeTyme/TJ-Cody - Shad gets rid of JBL early. CrymeTyme are on their way to retaining the titles, until TJ distracts the ref and an unidentified young man runs into the ring and delivers a fisherman-buster on JTG, allowing Cody to get the pin and the titles.
Matt/Jeff - Matt kicks out of the Swanton, and hits the Twist-of-Fate for the win. The two hug afterwards.
Edge/Show - Khali returns and stands at the top of the ramp, attempting to distract Show. Edge goes for a spear, but Show manages to grab him by the throat, choke-slamming him for the 1-2-3. Show motions for Khali to come down to the ring, but Khali just turns and walks away.
Kofi/Burchill/Deuce/Noble - Burchill is on a roll, tossing Kofi to the outside, hitting the Curb-Stomp on Noble, and the C-4 on Deuce. Kofi, however, gets back in the ring and hiss the Trouble-in-Paradise on Burchill for the win.
Backstage: Jeff arrives in Vickie’s office, after being summoned; Henry and Burke are there as well. Vickie explains that “Mr. Burke” feels that Jeff poses a threat to them. Jeff protests that he had no intentions of getting involved in the Matt/Henry match, but Burke argues that “a tattooed hick that lives in the woods ALWAYS poses a threat to a brother.” Jeff is escorted out of the building.
Morrison-Miz/Kennedy-MVP - Kennedy-MVP win the titles.
Cena/Shawn - Cena wins.
Henry/Matt - Burke blindsides the ref, and dramatically makes his way into the ring. Before any real damage can be done, though, a familiar theme blares over the sound-system: YOU’RE LOOKING AT THE REAL DEAL NOW!!! D’Lo Brown makes his return to WWE, racing down the aisle! D’Lo takes Burke out with the Sky-High, and Matt manages to hit some quick jabs and the Twist-of-Fate on Henry! D’Lo wakes the ref, who counts the 3! Matt Hardy is the new ECW champion! Matt thanks D’Lo for the back-up as D’Lo raises Matt’s hand.
Rey-Punk/Batista-Jericho - Batista pins Rey.
Trips/Taker - Trips wins. The two shake hands afterwards.
NOVEMBER 2008 (1st Half)
RAW
Batista announces that he deserves another title-shot, but is interrupted by Cena. Cena says that Batista has had enough chances, and needs to step aside. This brings Kane out, who claims that HE wants a title-shot. Punk mentions that “Cyber Sunday” is right around the corner, and says that he’s up for fighting whomever the fans pick.
Jericho sarcastically congratulates Shawn on his match. Shawn says that there’s still unfinished business between them, and challenges him for “Cyber Sunday”, with the fans picking the stipulation.
JBL claims that it’s always good to have a back-up plan, and introduces the man that helped Cody-TJ last night, Joseph Hennig, son of “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig. Joseph comes to the ring to a remix of his father’s music, and quickly proclaims himself the “Prince of Perfect”. CrymeTyme want revenge.
SMACKDOWN
Edge is furious at Khali for not helping, and demands that he come down to the ring; he gets Trips instead. Trips says it’s ridiculous that Edge is actually admitting that he wanted and needed help. Edge challenges him for the title, but Trips says he’ll have to earn it at “Cyber Sunday” by winning the fans’ vote. Khali attacks Trips from behind, in an effort to gain favor back with Edge and Vickie. From there, Trips and Taker unite against Edge and Khali.
Vickie is delighted that Matt has won the ECW-title, because that means she can now strip him of the US-title! Vickie announces her intention to put the title on Chavo, but VINCE MCMAHON MAKES HIS SURPRISE RETURN! He notes how hypocritical it is for her to have spent the last few months “trying to take the title from one ECW superstar just to put it on another”. He claims that he is a changed man, to wit he makes the following match: at “Cyber Sunday”, there will be a one-night, 4-man tournament for the title, where the fans will be able to pick four out of eight possible participants. Those names are: Jeff, Show, Kennedy, MVP, Carlito, Shelton, Umaga, Vladimir.
Kennedy-MVP continue to play “lone wolf”-style tweeners, not allying themselves with anyone.
ECW
Burke feels that D’Lo is “a sell-out to the white devil and a disgrace to all his brothers”, and challenges them to a tag match at “Cyber Sunday”. Matt and D’Lo accept. Long announces that, with Matt’s mastery of the TLC match, the fans will get to vote on which weapon will be legal: tables, ladders, or chairs.
Finlay wins his TV-feud with Richards, and bludgeons him after the match. Nunzio tries to get Finlay to stop, setting them up for a feud.
Morrison and Miz, upset at losing the tag-titles, take their frustrations out on the smaller Bourne. Bourne recruits a tag-team partner: Crazy.
INTERFED
Kofi wants to defend his IC-title against anyone and everyone. His call is answered by Rey from “Raw”, Yang from “Smackdown”, and Bourne from “ECW”.
Cyber Sunday 2008
R - World: PUNK vs. [Batista, Kane, Cena]
S - WWE: TRIPS vs. [Taker, Edge, Khali]
R - Shawn/Jericho ["I Quit", "Cage", "First Blood"]
S - US Tournament: [Pick 4: Jeff, Show, Kennedy, Mvp, Carlito, Shelton, Umaga, Vladimir]
E - Matt-D'lo/Henry-Burke [Tables, Ladders, Chairs]
3 - IC: KOFI vs. [Rey, Yang, Bourne]
R - RTag: CrymeTyme vs. [CODY-TJ, CODY-JOSEPH, TJ-JOSEPH]
///
CrymeTyme - CrymeTyme regain the titles, but Joseph is not the one to get pinned.
IC - Rey wins if picked, otherwise Kofi retains.
Matt-D’lo/Henry-Burke - The faces are about to win when RON “THE TRUTH” KILLINGS interferes, giving the heels the win. The announcers sell him as a new debut, wondering who he is and noting how ripped he is.
US-Title - Again, this is conducted as a mini-tournament, with the four winners squaring off in 1-on-1 matches, and the winners of those two matches facing each other in a third match to crown a new US-champion. If Jeff is one of the four selected, he wins the title. If not, the “highest-ranking” heel does.
Shawn/Jericho - Shawn wins.
WWE - Taker wins if selected, with the momentarily uniting to take out any heels that might interfere. If either Edge or Khali are selected, the other heel tries to help them, but is nullified by Taker, leading to Trips retaining.
World - Regardless of what the numbers say, we cut backstage to find that both Kane and Cena have been laid out, leaving Batista as the only viable contender. (If Batista is the one selected, it is explained that he was just hedging his bet.) Batista wins the title.
NOVEMBER 2008 (2nd Half)
RAW
Batista claims innocence over the attacks of Kane and Cena. Cena comes down to the ring, but has no time for words - he simply decks Batista, causing Batista to run up the ramp, only to run into Kane at the top. Batista escapes around the side of the stage. Vince McMahon makes another surprise appearance, first reclaiming his throne as the head of “Raw”, and then once again claiming to be a changed man who only wants to serve the fans, this time by making a 2-on-1 handicap match that night, Batista vs. Cena and Kane. Before the main-event, Batista again claims that he wasn’t behind the attacks, nor does he know who was. The match gets underway, but before any real damage can be done, ORTON makes his return, RKO’ing both Cena and Kane. The heels continue to work over the faces, Orton destroying Cena, Batista destroying Kane.
This segues into a Batista/Kane feud, and both Cena and Punk wanting revenge against Orton (Punk feels that Orton didn’t allow the “proper” match to take place at “Cyber Sunday”). Orton “hires” the threesome of Cody-TJ-Joseph away from JBL to be his personal back-up; Orton evolves into the captain and leader of what is dubbed “Generation Next”.
If Rey wasn’t selected as Kofi’s opponent at “Cyber Sunday”, they have a match, and Rey wins the IC-title.
Regal approaches JBL backstage, and, noting that JBL no longer has any pupils, asks if he would be interested in mentoring Burchill. JBL accepts, and becomes Burchill’s new “guiding light”. JBL mentions that Burchill has a lot of potential, but has seemingly “lost his way” and doesn’t seem to finish what he starts - he insists they target Rey and Kofi.
SMACKDOWN
If Taker was not selected as Trips’ opponent at “Cyber Sunday”, Vickie makes a match between the two, and Taker wins the title. Trips is granted a rematch, but this time, BDV (Big Daddy V) interferes and attacks both men, throwing the match out.
If Jeff was not selected as one of the four men for the US-title tournament, he wins the title from whatever heel won the tournament.
Kennedy and MVP, showing they have no allegiance, congratulate Edge on either not winning the title or not even being picked, which greatly upsets Edge. At the same time, all eight men who were named for the US-title tourney feud, all wanting shots at the title. Kendrick and Yang both want to be US-champ, also, and end-up being able to beat Vladimir in 1-on-1 matches. Domino adds himself into the mix.
ECW
Burke introduces Killings as the greatest soldier possible, strong and athletic as hell, and a true believer. Matt wants this whole problem with Henry and Burke to be over, and challenges them to a match at “Survivor Series”.
Finlay wins his TV-feud against Nunzio by once again bludgeoning him after the match - this time, however, Ortiz makes the save. The two have a match the following week, with Finlay getting so violent and weapon-friendly that he is disqualified - he continues to beat on Ortiz after the bell, but Hornswoggle’s music blares over the speakers! Finlay is in disbelief as Hornswoggle runs out! Hornswoggle is upset at his dad’s behavior, and Finlay is simultaneously so happy to see his son back and so ashamed of his actions that he breaks down into tears as the two embrace. Finlay helps Ortiz to his feet and apologizes, to which Ortiz says that he understands and that everything’s cool. Finlay later realizes that all of this anger and upset should be directed towards Henry, the man responsible for putting Hornswoggle in the hospital in the first place - he begins attacking Henry at every opportunity. Finlay is added to Matt’s team.
Henry, Burke, and Killings are looking for a forth man to add to their team - Knox volunteers, much to Burke’s chagrin. This gives the heels four people, but the faces only three - Matt wants his fourth man to remain a mystery.
Having to deal with Bourne and Crazy (who are now dubbed “Born Crazee”), Morrison-Miz decide that what two “huge stars and chick magnets” like themselves need is a bodyguard - they recruit Bam, with Chavo as part of the deal. Chavo wants them to see what Bam can do, so Bam beats the crap out of the “weakened” Nunzio and Ortiz.
Sick of not getting anywhere, Dreamer turns on Delaney.
INTERFED
Vince announces that, at “Survivor Series”, he’s going to truly give the fans what they want, in the form of a renewal of “one of the greatest rivalries in WWE history”. Taker and Batista will captain opposing 5-man teams, and not only that, but we will witness the reunions of BOTH “D-Generation X” and “The Brothers of Destruction”, as Taker teams with Kane, Trips, and Shawn. Delaney is the fifth member of the face team, while Batista will team with Jericho, Khali, BDV, and Dreamer.
Rey and Kofi will team with Kendrick and Yang against JBL, Burchill, Vladimir, and Domino.
Survivor Series 2008
3 - Taker-Trips-Shawn-Kane-Delaney vs. Batista-Jericho-Khali-Bdv-Dreamer
R - Cena-Punk-Jtg-Shad vs. Orton-Tj-Cody-Joseph
E - Matt-D'lo-Finlay-??? vs. Burke-Henry-Killings-Knox
S - Kennedy-Mvp-Jeff-Show vs. Edge-Umaga-Carlito-Shelton
E - Bourne-Crazy-Nunzio-Ortiz vs. Morrison-Miz-Bam-Chavo
2 - Rey-Kofi-Kendrick-Yang vs. Jbl-Burchill-Vladimir-Domino
///
Rey-Kofi-Kendrick-Yang/JBL-Burchill-Vladimir-Domino - Early in the match, Domino is getting dominated, and rolls to the outside to catch a breather. While down on the floor, the heels take too long to discuss strategy, resulting in the four faces diving onto them. Domino is rolled back into the ring and pinned by Kendrick. Vladimir dominates the faces for a while, but is pinned after a Yang moonsault. JBL decides to “take control” - just as he’s about to beat Rey, he tags in Burchill, who makes the mistake of showboating too long before hitting his finisher, allowing Rey to fight out of the C4 and hit a Hurricanrana for the elimination. JBL is so furious that he doesn’t notice Kofi waiting behind him; as JBL turns around, he is hit with the Trouble-in-Paradise.
Survivors: Rey, Kofi, Kendrick, Yang
Bourne-Crazy/Morrison-Miz - Nunzio pins Chavo, Bam pins Nunzio, Ortiz pins Bam. Morrison and Miz double-team Ortiz to eliminate him. Bourne-Crazy and Morrison-Miz begin working a normal tag-match, lots of back-and-forth action. In the end, Bourne puts Morrison (the two legal men) on the top rope for a Super-Plex; however, Miz crawls up behind him and locks in a German Suplex, only for Crazy to position himself under Miz for an Electric-Chair Drop. All four men hit their move, Tower-of-Doom style, resulting in all four landing with their shoulders on the mat. The ref isn’t sure what to do, but decides to count to 3 twice. Lillian consults with the ref, and announces that, first, Bourne and Morrison (the two legal men) pinned each other, and then Crazy and Miz pinned each other; therefore, the result is a draw.
Result: Draw
Last Eliminated: Bourne, Crazy, Morrison, Miz
Kennedy-MVP/Edge - Carlito reverses a Play-Maker into the Back-Stabber to eliminate MVP, and Shelton reverses a Mic-Check into a T-Bone to eliminate Kennedy. Jeff eliminates Edge, which shocks the hell out of Edge. Umaga gets in the ring, and after a few minutes, Vickie announces that Edge “wasn’t ready”, and will be reinstated into the match. Edge eliminates Jeff, but as Edge is show-boating, he gets caught in a Choke-Slam to be re-eliminated. Show fights his heart out, but is eventually pinned by Umaga.
Survivors: Umaga, Carlito, Shelton
Matt/Burke - The four heels are standing in the ring, as cocky as can be, awaiting Matt’s announcement as to who is mystery partner is. The faces all smile as Matt reveals their partner: THE BOOGEYMAN! Boogey makes quick work of Knox, Finlay eliminates Henry. Killings eliminates Finlay and D’Lo. Boogey has Burke out cold, but Killings breaks-up the pin - this upsets Boogey, but Killings doesn’t care, and just starts hammering Boogey in the face, causing Boogey to fall backwards, allowing the still-down Burke to drape an arm over Boogey for the upset pin. Burke is still the legal man, and Matt comes in to finish him off with a Twist-of-Fate. It’s down to Matt and Killings. The two go back-and-forth for a while, more like a normal 1-on-1 match; Killings dominates, with Matt having to use an out-of-nowhere Twist-of-Fate to get the win. After the match, Matt extends his hand to Killings, but Killings instead walks away, angry at himself.
Survivor: Matt
Cena/Orton - Shad pins TJ, Cody pins JTG. Joseph pins Shad after hitting a fisherman-buster. Cena pins Cody after an FU. Punk makes Joseph submit to the Anaconda Vice. Orton hits Punk with the RKO, but PUNK KICKS OUT! Cena hits Orton with the FU for the pin.
Survivors: Cena, Punk
Taker/Batista - Both “D-Generation X” and “The Brothers of Destruction” come out to the appropriate team music. Delaney and Dreamer start the match, but before they make contact, Dreamer tags in Khali; in response, Delaney tags in Taker. Taker hammers away on Khali, with Khali reeling early - BDV gets into the ring to interfere, but Kane intercepts him. Khali tags in to Jericho, prompting Taker to tag Shawn. Shawn gets the early advantage, and tags in Trips, who then takes over. Jericho tags in Dreamer, who tries to act tough to Trips; Trips reacts by giving him a Pedigree, and then tagging in Delaney so Delaney can get the pin. Batista then enters, B-Bombing Delaney for the elimination. Kane gets into the ring, and takes it to Batista. Batista tags in BDV, and the two trade punches. Khali tags in, and Khali and BDV take advantage of the 5-second rule, trying to double-suplex Kane, but Kane breaks free and tries to bounce off the ropes - he makes the mistake of bouncing off the heel-side ropes, though, and gets a knee in the back by Jericho, allowing Khali and BDV to double-avalanche him for the elimination. Shawn is in against Khali. Shawn uses hit-and-run techniques to keep Khali off-balance, but when he goes for the Super-Kick, Khali swats it away and Brain-Chops him down; Shawn plays face-in-peril as the four heels take turns kicking his ass - they start by double-teaming him, and work their way up to quadruple-teaming him in their corner. Eventually, Trips and Taker get tired of seeing this, and storm into the ring, at which point the ref loses all control. Everyone is brawling with everyone, until Shawn sees his opening and goes to Super-Kick Jericho - Jericho ducks, however, resulting in Shawn connecting with Taker! Shawn realizes how badly he messed up, but before he can do anything, Khali tosses him aside while BDV splashes Taker, eliminating Taker (the ref is too confused to bother with figuring out who is legal). Taker’s unconscious body is kicked to the outside of the ring. Jericho throws Shawn back in the ring, where is he man-handled by Batista; the two go at it for a bit, until Taker regains consciousness and attacks Shawn! Trips gets in the ring to try to reason with Taker, but that of course goes nowhere - Taker attacks Trips, and the three faces brawl, prompting Kane to come back down the aisle, resulting in the four faces brawling until they all get counted out. The heels celebrate as the four faces brawl up the aisle and to the back.
Survivors: Batista, Jericho, Khali, BDV
Promo: Immediately after the main-event (as the heels are still celebrating), Vince makes his way out, and announces that he doesn’t want to end the PPV with such a “downer” ending, and makes one more bonus match for the night, in which all of the night’s survivors will team-up against each other. “And to make the stakes even higher, this match will be one fall to a finish!”
Faces: Rey, Kofi, Cena, Punk, Kendrick, Yang, Matt, Bourne, Crazy
Heels: Batista, Jericho, Khali, BDV, Umaga, Carlito, Shelton, Morrison, Miz
18-Man - At the end, Cena and Batista are in the ring, when Orton and “Generation Next” try to interfere, but CrymeTyme chases after them with bats. Batista tries to take advantage of the distraction, but Cena reverses into an FU for the win.
DECEMBER 2008
RAW
The first episode after “Survivor Series”, Shawn mans up and announces that he is sorry for accidentally kicking Taker. Jericho interrupts, and says that everyone should know by now that Shawn is full of it. Shawn says he thought “it was over” between the two of them, to which Jericho replies that he WAS done until Shawn decided to “once again prove everything I’ve said about you.” They go back through history, recapping their recent feud, and get back to where it all started, Shawn retiring Flair and not being “man enough” to be honest with Batista. After they argue about Batista’s opinions on Flair, Batista himself interrupts, stating that he can speak for himself. Jericho then decides to take a cheap-shot at Batista, mentioning that he lost in the final match of the night. This upsets Batista, but when Shawn begins to smile at the sight of two of his enemies fighting, the heels turn their attention to him. It looks like it’s about to get ugly, when Kane arrives! He, too, wants answers from Shawn, but the heels attack, forcing Kane and Shawn to work together. Vince makes a tag-match for later that night, Shawn-Kane/Batista-Jericho. The faces work without any type of problem, while the heels argue over who gets to beat-up Shawn - Shawn ends-up pinning Batista after a Super-Kick. The lack of problems between Shawn and Kane convinces Kane that Shawn is on the up-and-up. The next week, Batista wants to prove that it was a fluke, and offers Shawn a shot at the World-title at “Armageddon 2008”; Jericho interrupts, claiming that he [Jericho] is not only more deserving of a shot at the title, but is more deserving of the title itself, seeing as how Batista has been pinned twice recently. The three argue, which sets-up a three-way at “Armageddon”. The next week, the three argue about their shared history once again, but are interrupted by RIC FLAIR! Flair wants Batista to know that Shawn did the right thing by him, and that Jericho never should have stuck his nose in. Flair is made the special-ref at “Armageddon”.
A big war erupts with Cena, Rey, Punk, Kofi, and CrymeTyme against Orton, Generation-Next, JBL, and Burchill. Lots of mix-and-match tag matches. Cena and Orton are at each others’ throats, which leads to a “Lumberjack” match at “Armageddon 2008”.
Kofi challenges Rey for the IC-title, and a match is set for “Raw”. Back-and-forth match that is ruined when Snitsky interferes and assaults both men. Snitsky wants the IC-title.
SMACKDOWN
The first episode after the PPV, Trips follows Shawn’s lead, and announces that he’s sorry for what happened - “Shawn did not mean to hit you, and I got carried away trying to protect a friend. Anytime you want a match, I’ll give you one, but it was a cheap shot, I cost our team the match, and I’m sorry.” Taker makes his entrance, but, unlike Kane with Shawn, is not so understanding of DX’s actions. The two stare holes through each other, and start brawling! They go back and forth, until Khali and BDV get involved and beat on Taker and Trips. Jeff, Kennedy, and MVP try to help, but that only leads to Umaga and Vladimir getting involved. Jesse-Festus, Carlito-Shelton, and Kendrick-Yang then run in! The announcers note that we still have one more PPV before “The Royal Rumble”, but this is like a free preview. Everyone’s fighting, it’s complete chaos… WELLLLLL, WELL IT’S THE BIG SHOW! The faces eventually clear the heels out of the ring.
The above gives Vickie plenty of ammunition for “Armageddon 2008”, first announcing that Trips will take on his old friend Jeff, with Jeff’s US-title on the line, Kennedy-MVP will take on “big scary monster” Festus and Jessie, and Kendrick-Yang will be punished by taking on Carlito-Shelton. She then caps off her announcement by saying that she will force Taker to be a fighting champion, taking on progressively harder challenges week after week. The first night, he takes on (and defeats) the EdgeHeads, and the next week, he single-handedly defeats the team of Umaga and Vladimir. The week after that? A 3-on-1 handicap match against BDV, Khali, and Henry ends in a no-contest when Edge interferes - all the heels Taker has faced begin to beat him down, and all the faces that tried to help a few weeks ago once again try to help now. Again, everyone’s brawling, Show makes his entrance, but then, SO DOES KANE! Taker and Kane clear the ring of everybody! From here, Vickie announces his match at “Armageddon 2008”: a 10-man, over-the-top rope Battle-Royal with Taker’s WWE-title on the line. And this won’t be just any battle-royal, it will feature only the biggest and baddest that WWE has to offer - she dubs it the “Behemoth Battle Royal”. The ten men will be Taker, Kane, Vladimir, Umaga, Henry, Show, BDV, Khali, Edge (“Cuz he’s a real baaad boy!”) and the one and only Colin Delaney!
ECW
Matt was so impressed by Killings' performance that he offers him a title-shot. Killings makes his way to the ring and accepts Matt’s offer. The two shake hands, but Burke interrupts, telling Killings that this is all manipulation on Matt’s part, trying to “treat a brother like a charity case, so he doesn’t seem so racist. But what he’s actually doing is belittling you in front of an audience, he’s calling you a loser on national television! He’s already beaten you, he wants to try to do it again.” Matt tries to argue, but Burke won’t let him get a word in; Long appears, telling Burke to “just stop with the nonsense already! Everybody knows Matt isn’t a racist, he’s one of my best friends! And I think D’Lo Brown might disagree with you, too! To be quite honest, I’m sick of hearing you whine all the time! And I bet these people are sick of hearing you, too!” Burke responds: “The only reason you don’t want to hear my message, the only reason that D’Lo Brown doesn’t want to hear my message, is because you’ve already sold out! You work for a white man, you work for the whitest white man of all, you work for the rich, arrogant, power-hungry, iron-fisted Vince McWhiteman!” Long: “You work for him, too!” Burke: “There’s a reason why I work for him, I’m taking one for the team, I’m volunteering to be the egg that gets broken for your omelette! I’m hear to spread a message, and whether or not you believe it - or want to believe it - nobody here is sick of hearing me. And as long as there is oppression for my people, I will continue to spread the truth- “ BAM, Killings punches Burke in the mouth! Burke is in disbelief! Burke rolls to the outside, and Matt and Killings shake hands.
Morrison-Miz try to get back into the swing of things by targeting Boogey; D’Lo comes to Boogey’s defense.
INTERFED
Raw’s Kane and ECW’s Henry and Delaney will be part of Smackdown’s “Behemoth Battle Royal” for the WWE-title.
Armageddon 2008
R - World: BATISTA/Shawn/Jericho (Ref=Flair)
3 - WWE, Battle Royal: TAKER/Khali/Bdv/Henry/Show/Vladimir/Umaga/Kane/Edge/Delaney
S - US: JEFF/Trips
R - Lumberjack: Cena/Orton (Rey, Punk, Kofi, Jtg, Shad, Cody, Tj, Joseph, Jbl, Burchill)
S - STag: KENNEDY-MVP/Jesse-Festus
E - ECW: MATT/Killings
S - Carlito-Shelton/Kendrick-Yang
R - IC: REY/Kofi/Snitsky
E - D'lo-Boogey/Morrison-Miz
///
D’lo-Boogey/Morrison-Miz - D’Lo pins Morrison after a Sky-High.
Rey/Kofi/Snitsky - Snitsky pins Rey to win the IC-title.
Carlito-Shelton/Kendrick-Yang - Shelton pins Kendrick.
Matt/Killings - Matt wins. The two shake hands afterwards.
Kennedy-Mvp/Jesse-Festus - Kennedy and MVP work heel, dominating Jesse and insulting Festus for most of the match. Jesse, however, is able to turn the momentum, tagging in Festus, resulting in Festus getting the win and the tag-titles.
Lumberjack - The lumberjacks on both sides can’t help but get into a fight, resulting in complete chaos that Orton is able to take advantage of, hitting the RKO for the win.
Jeff/Trips - Jeff pins Trips to retain! The announcers make sure to mention that Jeff has now beaten Trips two years in a row at “Armageddon”.
WWE Battle Royal - Taker, Edge, and Khali are the last three in the ring. The heels dominate Taker, and then actually eliminate him! Khali turns his attention to Edge, which freaks Edge out for a moment… however, Edge decides to threaten Khali, telling him that if he [Khali] doesn’t eliminate himself, he’ll be in trouble with Vickie. Khali thinks for a moment, and then eliminates Edge! Khali is the new WWE champion.
Batista/Shawn/Jericho - Flair calls it right down the middle, sending Cade to the back early. Jericho hits Batista with the Code-Breaker, but then Shawn hits Jericho with the Super-Kick for the win and the title.
JANUARY 2009
RAW
The first night after the PPV, Shawn comes out for a congratulatory speech, but Orton and Gen-Next quickly interrupt him. The heels play nice, with Orton simply challenging Shawn for the title at “Royal Rumble 2009”. Shawn accepts, and the heels walk away.
JBL-Burchill get some wins over the Highlanders and Duggan-Holly, then challenge CrymeTyme for the tag-titles.
Everything else is in a basic holding-pattern until “Royal Rumble 2009”.
Rumble Entrants:
Cena, Batista, Jericho, Rey, Punk, Kane, Kofi, Snitsky, Cade, Santino, Deuce
SMACKDOWN
Edge and Vickie try to gently persuade Khali to relinquish the title, but when Khali refuses, they turn to more forceful persuasion. Out of options, they realize that the only way to get the title off of Khali and onto Edge is by a match. Vickie announces such a match at “Royal Rumble 2009”, and makes it into an “Anything Goes” match. Runjin promises that we will see a more violent, disturbing side of Khali than we’ve ever seen before, which worries Edge.
Edge wants to give the Edgeheads some time in the spotlight by giving them a match at “Royal Rumble 2009”. However, he wants to give them what he feels would be an “easy” match, putting them against Kendrick-Yang.
Basic holding-pattern until the PPV.
Rumble Entrants:
Trips, Taker, Show, Jeff, Kennedy, MVP, Carlito, Shelton, BDV, Umaga, Festus
ECW
Poking Killings for his loss, Burke says that he [Killings] was always an expendable loser, and lays out a challenge for Killings to face Henry at “Royal Rumble 2009”. Killings accepts, and Matt volunteers to be in his corner.
Holding-pattern until the PPV.
Rumble Entrants:
D’Lo, Morrison, Boogey, Bourne, Finlay, Burke, Crazy, Hornswoggle
Royal Rumble 2009
I - Rumble {Cena, Jericho, Batista, Kofi, Punk, Kane, Snitsky, Santino, Rey, Deuce, Cade, Trips, Taker, Kennedy, Mvp, Carlito, Shelton, Show, Jeff, Umaga, Bdv, Festus, D'lo, Morrison, Boogey, Bourne, Crazy, Finlay, Burke, Hornswoggle}
R - World: SHAWN/Orton
S - WWE, Anything Goes: KHALI/Edge
R - RTag: CRYMETYME/Jbl-Burchill
E - Killings/Henry
S - EdgeHeads/Kendrick-Yang
///
EdgeHeads/Kendrick-Yang - Yang wins with a moonsault.
Killings/Henry - Killings decimates Henry, with Matt keeping Burke at bay.
CrymeTyme/Jbl-Burchill - Burchill hits the C4 on JTG for the win.
Khali/Edge - An obviously-nervous Edge makes his way to the ring in street clothes, pushing a shopping-cart full of weapons. He gets in the ring, puts on a football helmet and chest-protector, and pulls a barbed-wire-wrapped 2x4 out of the cart. As Khali gets into the ring, Edge lights the 2x4 on fire! Khali stands there for a moment, as Edge threatens to use the 2x4. Edge raises it over his head, and Khali collapses! Edge covers him with one foot to get the 1-2-3 and the title. Edge then takes a wad of money out of his pocket, and hands it to Khali.
Shawn/Orton - Cody and TJ attempt to interfere, but Trips comes out to counter them! Joseph, however, is able to get into the ring and hit Shawn with a Fisherman-Buster, allowing Orton to win the title. Trips tries to comfort Shawn.
*** RUMBLE ***
[1 - Morrison]
[2 - Jeff]
Morrison and Jeff square off, with neither man getting an advantage.
[3 - Kofi] (Kofi, Jeff, Morrison)
Kofi helps Jeff against Morrison, and then, once Morrison is down, Kofi and Jeff square off.
[4 - Shelton] (Shelton, Kofi, Jeff, Morrison)
Shelton and Morrison team up against Kofi and Jeff, eventually breaking off into Shelton/Kofi fighting on one side and Morrison/Jeff fighting on the other.
[5 - Deuce] (Deuce, Shelton, Kofi, Jeff, Morrison)
Deuce sneaks up behind Jeff and kicks him in the back of the head. Deuce and Morrison double-team Jeff while Shelton and Kofi fight.
[6 - BDV] (BDV, Deuce, Shelton, Kofi, Jeff, Morrison)
With Shelton and Kofi fighting on the side closer to the entrance, BDV involves himself there. He helps Shelton double-team Kofi, but when Shelton accidentally hits BDV while attempting a Dragon-Whip, BDV starts pounding on him instead.
[7 - Burke] (Burke, BDV, Deuce, Shelton, Kofi, Jeff, Morrison)
Burke rushes down to the ring, and immediately attempts to get BDV and Shelton to stop fighting, while Kofi is still recovering. BDV and Shelton agree with him, and the three begin working together. The hot-headed Deuce goes right after the three, and gets tossed by BDV. Jeff is the next to try, and he, too, is eliminated by BDV. BDV, Shelton, and Burke surround Morrison, but Kofi recovers, and tries to stop BDV and Shelton. Burke shouts that Kofi is a “sell-out” and “non-believer” during this time.
[8 - MVP] (MVP, Burke, BDV, Shelton, Kofi, Morrison)
MVP gets right in Burke’s face, which rallies BDV and Shelton to Burke’s side. Burke tries to convince MVP to “look inside” and “follow the path that you know is righteous”; MVP responds by grabbing Burke and tossing him out of the ring! BDV and Shelton try to attack MVP, but Kofi is able to subdue Shelton, and MVP is able to outmaneuver BDV, tripping up the big man with hit-and-run attacks. As all this is happening, Morrison tries to buy time in the corner.
[9 - Rey] (Rey, MVP, BDV, Shelton, Kofi, Morrison)
Rey goes to help his friend Kofi against Shelton, but Morrison catches Rey from behind. Morrison is then able to sneak-up behind Kofi and Shelton, who are leaning against the ropes, and eliminates the both of them. Morrison then works on Rey. Meanwhile, BDV gets the advantage on MVP, and lays him out and splashes him.
[10 - Show] (Show, Rey, MVP, BDV, Morrison)
Show and BDV, the two behemoths, have a big stare-down in the middle of the ring. BDV attempts to establish his dominance by taking MVP’s prone body and eliminating him. Show sees this and raises by grabbing Morrison by the hair, and eliminating him. The two big men then clash, trying to drop each-other with shoulder-blocks and clotheslines, with neither man giving an inch. Rey is still down in the corner at this time.
[11 - Jericho] (Jericho, Show, Rey, BDV)
Jericho immediately tries to help BDV eliminate Show; the two of them together can’t do it, but when the eliminated Morrison grabs Show from outside the ring, that is enough to do it. Show is furious, and chases Morrison to the back. Rey and Jericho then team-up to eliminate BDV, but BDV is able to swat them away.
[12 - Bourne] (Bourne, Jericho, Rey, BDV)
The lighting-fast Bourne, along with the help of Rey and Jericho, is able to get BDV reeling, to the point where they actually get him to fall over the ropes, eliminating him! Jericho wants to shake hands with Rey and Bourne, but they are too smart for that, and double-team him.
[13 - Snitsky] (Snitsky, Bourne, Jericho, Rey)
Snitsky runs right over Bourne and Rey, while Jericho hangs back, allowing Snitsky to do the dirty work.
[14 - Kennedy] (Kennedy, Snitsky, Bourne, Jericho, Rey)
Kennedy targets Jericho, while Snitsky continues working on Bourne and Rey.
[15 - Crazy] (Crazy, Kennedy, Snitsky, Bourne, Jericho, Rey)
Crazy goes to help his friends Bourne and Rey against Snitsky, while Kennedy and Jericho continue to brawl.
[16 - Umaga] (Umaga, Crazy, Kennedy, Snitsky, Bourne, Jericho, Rey)
Umaga is completely fired-up, and goes right to work attacking everybody. He lays out both Kennedy and Jericho, then tosses Bourne, Crazy, and Rey. Umaga and Snitsky go to work on each other.
[17 - Punk] (Punk, Umaga, Kennedy, Snitsky, Jericho)
Punk gets into the Umaga/Snitsky brawl, managing to eliminate Snitsky. Punk and Umaga brawl, while Jericho and Kennedy recover.
[18 - Festus] (Festus, Punk, Umaga, Kennedy, Jericho)
Jesse guides Festus to the ring, and once there, rings the bell. Festus goes psycho, and single-handedly both Umaga and Jericho! He also does a good job at beating down both Kennedy and Jericho.
[19 - Santino] (Santino, Festus, Punk, Kennedy)
Santino decides to sneak around the far side of the ring, attack Jesse, and ring the bell. This causes Festus to return to his catatonic state, which allows Punk and Kennedy to eliminate him. However, as soon as Festus hits the ground, Santino rings the bell AGAIN, causing Festus to climb back into the ring and eliminate Punk and Kennedy! Santino rings the bell one more time, causing Festus to go back into his trance. Jesse wakes up, and decides it’d be best to just bring Festus to the back. Santino celebrates wildly.
[20 - Hornswoggle] (Hornswoggle, Santino)
Hornswoggle is nervous to get into the ring, but realizes he has no choice. Santino berates and humiliates him, tossing him around for a bit before casually eliminating him. Santino is ready to take on the world.
[21 - Finlay] (Finlay, Santino)
Santino’s confidence disappears when Finlay’s music hits. Finlay, with shillelagh in hand, meets Hornswoggle in the aisle, first to make sure he’s alright, and then to promise that he’ll make Santino pay. Santino begs on his knees, but Finlay just starts beating him with the shillelagh. After a minute or so, Santino eliminates himself, jumping over the top rope and walking back up the aisle. He’s almost backstage when the next entrant comes out…
[22 - Kane] (Kane, Finlay)
Santino, walking up the aisle, is even more terrified than before - Kane gives him a Chokeslam on the concrete just for the hell of it. Kane and Finlay brawl.
[23 - Batista] (Batista, Kane, Finlay)
Batista takes the fight to both men, and a three-way brawl erupts.
[24 - D’Lo] (D’Lo, Batista, Kane, Finlay)
D’Lo surprisingly takes the fight to Batista, as Kane and Finlay continue to brawl.
[25 - Carlito] (Carlito, D’Lo, Batista, Kane, Finlay)
Carlito isn’t sure where to get involved, eventually deciding on helping Finlay to beat down Kane.
[26 - Taker] (Taker, Carlito, D’Lo, Batista, Kane, Finlay)
Taker goes straight to help Kane, with Taker and Kane hitting stereo Chokeslams on Carlito and Finlay, eliminating them. The Brothers of Destruction then turn their attention to D’Lo and Batista, with Batista trying to back away a bit, but D’Lo - again, surprisingly - doing his damnedest to fight against the impossible odds; D’Lo even manages to break out of Kane’s Chokeslam and reverse it into a Sky-High! Meanwhile, Taker has Batista on the defensive.
[27 - Boogey] (Boogey, Taker, D’Lo, Batista, Kane)
The arena goes red and black, Boogey makes his entrance, approaches Taker, approaches Kane, does his dance, laughs at Batista, and then leaves.
[28 - Cena] (Cena, Taker, D’Lo, Batista, Kane)
Cena takes a moment to ponder whom he should go after, and then decides to just go after everyone, landing punches on whoever is closest. Cena and D’Lo take on Taker and Kane, with Batista keeping a low profile in the corner.
[29 - Trips] (Trips, Cena, Taker, D’Lo, Batista, Kane)
Trips gets right in Cena’s face, asking “You remember last year?” The two brawl, and the entire thing is one big schmozz, with everyone fighting everyone in a big pile in the middle of the ring.
[30 - Cade] (Cade, Trips, Cena, Taker, D’Lo, Batista, Kane)
The buzzer goes off, and Cade’s music plays, but he doesn’t come out. The camera cuts to the back, where Cade is lying on the ground, holding his jaw. The music halts, and eventually everybody continues fighting. All of a sudden, SHAWN MICHAELS comes out of the crowd, and starts pushing and Super-Kicking everyone he sees, eventually eliminating Taker! Taker, of course, is furious, and gets back into the ring to kick the crap out of Shawn. This causes Trips and Kane to have to abandon the match, and the four men brawl up the aisle.
Finalists: Cena, Batista, D’Lo
The three men brawl, with no real clear-cut advantage. Cena eventually gets D’Lo up in the FU, but D’Lo reverses, and tosses Cena! D’Lo, however, isn’t watching his back, and ends up getting hit with a Spear by Batista. Batista then picks him up for the Batista-Bomb, but D’Lo reverses into the Sky-High! D’Lo then goes to the top rope, and hits the Lo-Down! He has difficulty lifting Batista to eliminate him, though, and that allows Batista to hit a desperation Batista-Bomb. Batista then picks him up, but D’Lo reverses and eliminates Batista! D’LO BROWN HAS WON THE ROYAL RUMBLE!!!
FEBRUARY 2009
INTERFED
The first “Raw” after “Royal Rumble 2008”, Kane makes his way to the ring, and demands that Shawn meet him in the ring. Shawn comes out, but instead of getting physical, decides to grab a mic instead. Shawn explains that he is not the first person to have stolen a spot in the Rumble, and that he certainly won’t be the last, “and if you or the Undertaker have a problem with that, too bad. Deal with it.” Kane decks Shawn, resulting in a brawl that forces a horde of refs to break them up. Vince makes a 1-on-1 match between them as the main event that night. The match begins only a few minutes before they are to go off the air: Kane comes out first, but when it’s Shawn’s turn to come out, he is found lying in the back, and Taker’s music/Tron combo play as we go off the air. The following “Smackdown” opens with Trips in the ring demanding an answer from Taker; Taker and Trips waste little time in attacking each other, and Vickie is overjoyed that the two people she hates most want to rip each others’ heads off. A 1-on-1 match is made for that night. The match is back-and-forth, until Shawn runs out from the crowd and interferes right in front of the ref. Shawn attacks Taker and beats him down, with Trips trying to get Shawn to stop (“That’s enough!”); eventually, a disgusted Shawn just walks away, leaving Taker to get up on his own, and Chokeslam Trips for good measure. The NEXT “Raw” opens with a surprise appearance Taker, who wants Shawn’s blood. Another surprise guest, Trips, meets him out there instead. This then draws Kane out, and eventually Shawn. Vince has seen enough, and announces that, at “No Way Out 2009”, we will see an absolute dream-match: The Brothers of Destruction vs. D-Generation X!
RAW
Orton, as the new World-champ, is quick to sing his praises, as are his followers, Gen-Next. Cena and CrymeTyme still want to shut their mouths, but Batista makes his presence felt, and says that, as the last “Raw” participant in the Rumble-match, he should be next in line for a title-shot. Vince makes the match for “No Way Out 2009”, which actually puts Batista in a tough position: he realizes that Orton has a lot of back-up, and that he himself has none. He swallows his pride, and asks Cena to watch his back for him, to which Cena rattles off a list of all the terrible things Batista has done lately, to his fans and friends, but then rattles off the list of things that Orton has done to people, including Cena’s father. Cena isn’t crazy about it, but he and CrymeTyme will have his back for that match.
JBL brags that he and Burchill are the greatest tag-team ever (“even better than the A.P.A.!”), but Rey and Kofi aren’t about to let them go for their bullying ways. JBL accepts the challenge, but intends on showing his dominance by setting up a bunch of 1-on-1 matches featuring either himself or Burchill fighting - and defeating - a cruiserweight.
Vince summons Snitsky to his office. Vince tells Snitsky that he’s a big fan, and sees a lot of potential in him. Snitsky thanks him, but is unsure of where Vince is going with this. Vince tells him that if he wants to be a worthy IC-champ, he’ll have to take on all comers, “and at ‘No Way Out’, you’re going to be defending that belt against the man who eliminated you from the Rumble, C.M. Punk.”
SMACKDOWN
Vickie and Edge are backstage in Vickie’s office, assuring Khali that he made the right decision, and joking that “we really don’t want to have to fire you.” On top of that, Edge is ecstatic that with Trips and Taker already occupied with each other, he doesn’t have to worry about defending his title for a while. Just as he says that, Jeff enters Edge’s office; Jeff makes a simple argument that, having defeated Trips at “Armageddon”, he feels he should get a title-shot. Edge makes a joke about Matt and Lita, and recognizes the bad-blood between them. “It will be my pleasure to kick your ass again.” Jeff smiles, and thanks them for his time.
MVP wants some of BDV, to which BDV replies that not only can he beat MVP, he can beat MVP and his friend Kennedy at the same time. Kennedy makes his way out, and Kennedy and MVP basically look at each other, shrug their shoulders, and knock BDV out of the ring.
Carlito-Shelton challenge Jesse-Festus for the tag-titles.
ECW
The first “ECW” after the PPV, Matt introduces the winner of the 2008 Rumble-match - and his good friend - D’Lo! D’Lo gives a speech about everything he’s been through in this industry, the good and the bad, losing friends, and making new ones. He relates stories about starting out on the independent scene, losing a ton of weight, and finally making it to WWE. He recounts his time in the Nation of Domination, and breaking out on his own. He mentions the highs of working with The Rock and being the first “Eurocontinental” champion, and the lows of the tag-team “Lo Down” and the terrible injury suffered by Darren Drozdov, which resulted in a five year hiatus. He announces that he is back with a vengeance, to continue climbing that ladder of success, little by little, and that at “WrestleMania XXV”, he will be the new ECW-champion. He and Matt shake hands, and are about to exit the ring, when Morrison and Miz interrupt him. They make mention that Droz’ injury was a direct result of D’Lo being such a terrible wrestler, and that “for Matt’s sake, you should just go back into retirement before you break another one of your friends’ necks.” Matt tries to diffuse the situation and keep D’Lo from doing something he might regret, and asks them if they’re out there stirring up trouble because they want a shot at the title. Matt says that if that’s what they really want, then they can have it any time they want. Morrison wants a shot at “No Mercy 2009”, but Miz one-ups him and says that he wants a shot tonight! Matt accepts both challenges. Matt wins his match that night against Miz, and after the match, D’Lo lays Morrison out with a Sky-High and Lo-Down.
Burke convinces Henry that what he [Henry] needs to regain his killer instinct is some top-quality competition. They pick on Nunzio, Richards, and Delaney. Eventually, BornCrazee come to the rescue.
D’Lo announces that, in preparation for his match against Matt at “WrestleMania XXV”, he wants to take on all challengers. Long okays this, offering an open-invitation for anyone from “Raw” or “Smackdown” to come to “ECW” for a match against D’Lo. The first four weeks, the challenge is answered by Burchill (at JBL’s behest), Umaga, Jericho, and Vladimir, all of whom D’Lo defeats cleanly (with Matt watching his back when applicable).
NO WAY OUT 2009
2 - Trips-Shawn/Taker-Kane
R - World: ORTON/Batista
S - WWE: EDGE/Jeff
R - RTag: JBL-BURCHILL/Rey-Kofi
S - Kennedy-Mvp/Bdv
E - ECW: MATT/Morrison
S - STag: JESSE-FESTUS/Carlito-Shelton
R - IC: SNITSKY/Punk
E - Bourne-Crazy/Burke-Henry
///
Bourne-Crazy/Burke-Henry - Bourne and Crazy pin Henry after several high-flying moves.
Snitsky/Punk - Punk wins the IC-title.
Jesse-Festus/Carlito-Shelton - Shelton pins Jesse for the title.
Matt/Morrison - D’Lo counters Miz’s interference, to the point where the ref sends Miz to the back. Matt retains. After the match, Morrison walks up the ramp, where he is met by Show. Show grabs him by the throat, but Jericho and Cade come out and attack Show; the three heels then leave.
Kennedy-MVP/BDV - Kennedy and MVP make quick work of BDV, barely breaking a sweat, pinning him after a Yakuza-Kick and Kenton-Bomb.
JBL-Burchill/Rey-Kofi - Kofi pins Burchill. After the match, JBL berates and shoves Burchill before stomping out of the ring, leaving Burchill embarrassed in the ring.
Edge/Jeff - Jeff almost has the match won, but Khali makes a music-accompanied entrance, distracting Jeff and allowing Edge to win.
Orton/Batista - GenNext accompany Orton to the ring, whereas Batista makes his entrance alone. Batista has the advantage, but as he runs at Orton for a Spear, Orton drags the ref in front of him. With the ref out, Cody, TJ, and Joseph all get into the ring to beat on Batista. The announcers wonder if Cena and CrymeTyme will really come to the rescue, and it takes a while, but eventually they do run out, with the faces clearing the heels out of the ring, and Cena hitting the FU on Orton, before everyone clears out of the ring. Batista picks Orton up for a Batista-Bomb, the ref regains consciousness, and Batista wins the title. After the match, Cena puts his hand out for Batista to shake, but Batista scoffs and walks to the back, cocky as can be.
Trips-Shawn/Taker-Kane - The Brothers of Destruction dominate the match, with Shawn playing face-in-peril for most of it, bumping around like a pinball and doing a nasty blade-job. Eventually, Taker knocks Shawn to the outside, and Shawn decides he’s had enough and leaves! Trips is pissed, but turns around into a Chokeslam from Taker to give the BOD the win.
MARCH 2009
INTERFED (Main)
The night after “No Way Out 2009”, the show opens with Shawn making his way to the ring, and attempting to offer an explanation as to why he walked out of his match the previous night. He explains that he’s been in this business a long time, and has been at the center of his share of controversy. He relates how he used to be a bit of a “problem child” during the earlier part of his career, but has since found inner-peace and learned to handle himself in a mature fashion. Taker, however, has never learned these things: unlike everyone else in this business, he never learned that you can’t always get his way. “When I lose a match, I have to go back and prove all over again that I am worthy of being at the top of this business. But the Undertaker? When he loses a match, when he doesn’t get his way, he throws a temper-tantrum. He makes threats, he shoots lightning, whatever it takes to eventually get his way. And you know what? I’m sick of it. I’m gonna tell you something about The Undertaker: He’s not special. There’s nothing special about a grown man, a man who supposedly only fights for what’s right, acting like a spoiled six-year old anytime things don’t go quite the way he wanted them to. I entered the Rumble match, and I eliminated him, but he couldn’t handle that, so he broke the rules and got back in the ring to eliminate me. And that’s what he always does, he acts like he’s above the law, and because he’s a big scary guy, everyone just accepts it. Well not me. To my friend Hunter, I’m sorry, I’m sorry that you got caught in the cross-fire of my decision, but I just couldn’t stomach it anymore. He had no problem breaking the rules, using closed-fists, keeping me in the corner for more than five seconds, choking me, and did anyone do anything about it? Did the referee disqualify him? No, he just allowed it to continue. Why? Cuz it’s what the Undertaker wants? It doesn’t work like that. Mark Calloway - oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin it for anyone - Mark Calloway is a spoiled little whiny cry-baby, and it was about time that someone took a stand. Guess it makes sense that that man just happened to be old HBK. You want to be a man, Mark? Stop acting like a child. Stop playing dress-up and stop trying to make every day into Halloween. You’re not a man, you’re an over-grown little boy. “WrestleMania XXV” is taking place in Texas, and I suggest that while you’re down there, you visit some friends and family, maybe some old teachers or gym-coaches, or better yet, why don’t you go knock on MY father’s door, The Colonel could certainly teach you a thing or two about not stepping out of line. And Mark, when we’re back in our home state, I’ll be glad to introduce you to him.” From there, Taker and Shawn hit their usual marks: Taker does his magic tricks, Shawn makes a bunch of scathing remarks. The match is set for “WrestleMania XXV”, but Vince decides to add one more wrinkle to the festivities: With two of Texas’ biggest stars set to square off in their home state, he decides to add a special guest referee… “STONE COLD” STEVE AUSTIN!
RAW
The night after “No Way Out 2009”, Batista makes his way to the ring, and brags about how dominant he was the night before, how he didn’t even need Cena and CrymeTyme, and that they did so little that he practically beat-up four guys all by himself. Cena interrupts, and mentions that “a ‘thank you’ would have been nice”. Batista states that Cena was always jealous of him, to which Cena mentions that there’s nothing to be jealous of, since they’ve virtually paralleled each other since they stepped foot in a WWE ring. Batista: “I’ll tell you what you’re jealous of: You grew up in a rich family, and yet have continued to slide down further and further into the ghetto, while I was raised by a single mom in the poor section, and managed to claw my way up the ladder to tailored suits and Ric Flair. You think you’re so much better than me? You want a shot at this championship? I’ll give you one, you and me, ‘WrestleMania XXV’.” The feud is built around the idea of them being two sides of the same coin, two different personalities taking very similar paths to greatness: debuting at the same time, winning their first world-titles on the same night, being swapped in the “2005 Roster Draft”, etc.
Orton whines about the way his match with Batista went, and promises to take GenNext to greatness. Punk interrupts, and says that he is disgusted by the way Cody, TJ, and Joseph handle themselves. “There’s no reason to be following this man! Guys like us should be representing our generation proudly! Stand on your own two feet and fight your own battles.” Cody, TJ, and Joseph seem to be absorbing Punk’s words, only to turn around and beat him down. Punk defeats the three of them in consecutive weeks, eventually leading to a match with Orton.
JBL-Burchill get a rematch against Rey-Kofi for the tag-titles, which Rey-Kofi win. Again, JBL berates Burchill, but this time, Burchill stands up for himself and knocks JBL on his ass.
Snitsky picks a feud with Kane.
Jericho explains that he helped Morrison because he felt that Show’s attack was indicative of the problems men like him face: “all these big, fat, ugly behemoths are jealous of my talent, intelligence, and good looks.”
SMACKDOWN
Edge brags that there is nobody left for him to defeat, to which Trips answers the call, reminding Edge that he [Edge] has never beaten him [Trips]. Trips campaigns for a shot, first by stating his case, and then later through taking out Chavo, Bam, and the EdgeHeads, but Vickie continues to turn him down. Eventually, Vince makes a surprise appearance, and over-rules Vickie - at “WrestleMania XXV”, Edge defends the WWE-title against Trips! Trips thanks Vince, adding “and I just want to say, I’m really glad that this whole change-of-heart thing really seems to be working for you. You’ve really helped me out a lot lately, it really means a lot to me. Seriously, you’ve almost become like a father-figure to me.”
Jeff wants a match with Khali, and even offers to put his US-title on the line.
Kennedy-MVP want a shot at the tag-titles that Carlito-Shelton hold, but Carlito-Shelton claim that they don’t have the power to make matches. It turns out that Vince actually does have a big announcement that concerns the tag-titles at “WrestleMania”, and that until then, Kennedy-MVP are just out of luck.
Feeling embarrassed about losing to Kennedy-MVP, BDV targets an “easy target” in Jesse, while Festus is in his “simple” state.
Show explains that he attacked Morrison simply because Morrison illegally eliminated him from the Rumble match.
ECW
D’Lo’s open challenge continues, this time with him defeating JBL, Carlito, Joseph, Shelton, Snitsky, and BDV.
INTERFED (Other)
Vince announces that he wanted to do something special for “WrestleMania XXV”, and has decided to unify the tag-titles. Rey-Kofi will take on Carlito-Shelton, with the winning team unifying the titles onto their brand. And this won’t just be any match… this will be a ladder match! Bourne-Crazy later petition to be added to the match, and are granted a shot, provided they can beat Miz-Morrison, which they do after Show interferes in that match. The match is set for WM, Rey-Kofi vs. Carlito-Shelton vs. Bourne-Crazy. However, the week before WM (nine days prior), Carlito-Shelton lose the titles to Kendrick-Yang, when Kennedy and MVP interfere (in response to constantly being ducked for a title-match). This results in the tag-unification match being changed to Rey-Kofi vs. Kendrick-Yang vs. Bourne-Crazy. In addition, Vickie adds the tag match of Kennedy-MVP/Carlito-Shelton to the card.
A “Divas Battle Royal” is announced, featuring all the women on the roster.
Kane-Festus-Finlay will face Snitsky-BDV-Henry on the pre-show.
WrestleMania 25
S - WWE: EDGE/Trips
R - World: BATISTA/Cena
2 - Taker/Shawn (Ref=Austin)
3 - Tag, Ladder: REY-KOFI/KENDRICK-YANG/Bourne-Crazy
E - ECW: MATT/D'lo
3 - Divas Battle Royal
R - Burchill/Jbl
S - US: JEFF/Khali
3 - Jericho/Show/Morrison
R - IC: PUNK/Orton
S - Kennedy-Mvp/Carlito-Shelton
(3 - Kane-Festus-Finlay/Snitsky-Bdv-Henry)
///
(Preshow) - Festus goes nuts and beats the crap out of all the heels, eventually pinning Henry.
Kennedy-MVP/Carlito-Shelton - MVP knocks Carlito out of the ring with a Yakuza-Kick, and Kennedy hits Shelton with the Lambeau-Leap for the win.
Punk/Orton - The ref ejects GenNext from the ring-side area early in the match. Orton hits Punk with the RKO, but Punk kicks out! Punk hits the Go-to-Sleep for the win.
Jericho/Show/Morrison - Show Chokeslams Jericho, but Morrison catches Show with his spring-board roundhouse to pick-up the win.
Jeff/Khali - Jeff uses hit-and-run techniques to keep Khali off balance, eventually tripping him up and hitting the Swan-Bomb for the pin.
Burchill/JBL - Burchill wins.
Divas - X.
Matt/D’Lo - Just as the match is about to start, Burke comes out and tries to make his way down to the ring; he doesn’t get far, as Killings runs out and beats him to the back. At the end, D’Lo hits the Sky-High, but Matt kicks out at two. Matt hits the Twist-of-Fate, but D’Lo kicks out at two. They then hit some more of their signature moves, D’Lo hitting the Sudden-Impact and swinging-sideslam, and Matt hitting the Side-Effect and second-rope leg-drop. D’Lo catches Matt with the Sky-High again and then follows it with the Lo-Down, but again, Matt kicks out. One more Twist-of-Fate from Matt ends it, though. The two shake hands and embrace afterwards.
Tag, Ladders - Kendrick-Yang win.
Taker/Shawn - Taker wins.
Batista/Cena - Cena wins a very close-fought match.
Edge/Trips - The ref is bumped, which allows Vickie to come down to ring-side. Vickie grabs a chair, but before she can do any damage, STEPHANIE MCMAHON’S music hits, and she power-walks to the ring. She tackles Vickie to the ground, and then makes her way into the ring. Edge threatens her, but Steph stands her ground and SMACKS EDGE! This infuriates Edge, but before Edge can do anything, Trips hits him with the Pedigree. Steph wakes the ref, Trips gets the pin, and Trips and Steph embrace for all the world to see.
