MVP's Unlucky 13 Losses

Right now according to impactwrestling.com, Smackdown's Montell Vontavius Porter aka "MVP", is on a losing streak of 13 straight matches. MVP's losses date back to August 29th edition of Smackdown, where he lost to Jeff Hardy. He's only been a part of the recent Unforgiven PPV, where he was pinned by both Jeff Hardy and Triple H in the Championship Scramble for the WWE title.

Here's a look at MVP's 13 losses, from impactwrestling.com:

08-29 SmackDown - Pinfall loss to Jeff Hardy.
09-05 SmackDown - Pinfall loss to Shelton Benjamin.
09-07 Unforgiven - Pinned twice; by Jeff Hardy, and by Triple H at the conclusion of the match.
09-12 SmackDown - Lost Fatal Four Way Match to Jeff Hardy when Kendrick was pinned.
09-19 SmackDown - Pinfall loss to Triple H.
09-26 SmackDown - Pinfall loss to Triple H in tag match vs. Triple H & Jeff Hardy.
10-03 SmackDown - Pinfall loss to Jeff Hardy in All Star Eight-Man Tag Team Match.
10-10 SmackDown - Pinfall loss to Jeff Hardy.
10-17 SmackDown - Pinfall loss to R-Truth.
10-24 SmackDown - Pinfall loss to Kung Fu Naki in tag match vs. R-Truth & Kung Fu Naki.
10-31 SmackDown - Pinfall loss to Jeff Hardy in six-man tag match vs. The Hardys & Rey Mysterio.
11-03 Raw - Pinfall loss to Matt Hardy in tag match vs. The Hardys.
11-07 SmackDown - Pinfall loss to The Great Khali.

They're calling MVP's stats measure the "MVP Loss-A-Meter", similar to Santino's "Honk-A-Meter". MVP was informed recently on Smackdown that he has until Survivor Series to win a match. If he doesn't, he has to pay back his multi-million dollar signing bonus from his contract. So can the brash, cocky MVP win a match? Or will he be going bankrupt trying to pay back millions to WWE & Smackdown?

WWE's Newest Champs: Hardy & Jericho

Surprisingly enough the Championship Scrambles produced two new champions. Hats off to not only Matt Hardy for finally achieving the ECW title, but also the surprise winner, Chris Jericho who captured the World Heavyweight title. While some fans may disagree with the way in which the titles were contested, and changed hands often in 20 minutes, you can't argue that WWE aims to please. Surprises were once again hatched and two new champs were crowned.

Matt Hardy winning the ECW title is a great movie for that brand. As soon as Hardy was drafted to the show, it became clear he was the new face of ECW, replacing one-time champ, CM Punk. Punk of course moved on to bigger things by going to Raw, and cashing in to win the World Heavyweight title. But Hardy epitomizes extreme, which puts the E in ECW. Of course the contention will be that Hardy didn't officially pin Mark Henry and has yet to defeat him in a 1 on 1 situation. That will most likely change. Hardy as champ definitely gives fans a reason to tune in to ECW, as well as its exciting new superstars like Evan Bourne and Ricky Ortiz. The thing with Hardy will continue to be how he deserves one of the major titles. His brother Jeff is in the title picture with Triple H on Smackdown. I still believe it would be a smart move for the Hardy brothers to win those two major titles at Wrestlemania 25. Something historic and memorable to add to the history books.

As for Chris Jericho, what more can be said than he is like the Edge of Raw. He took advantage of a golden opportunity when he was put in the Scramble to replace a knocked out CM Punk. Jericho was the last entrant and stole a pinfall in the closing moments to become new World Heavyweight champ. He has quite a target on his back though, with Shawn Michaels, Batista, Kane, JBL, Rnady Orton and of course CM Punk. I'm already expecting we see Orton or his proteges (Manu, Rhodes, Dibiase) find a way to thwart Punk's rematch in the steel cage on Raw. Punk's title reign does look a bit like what JBL and Orton accused him off now too, and you have to wonder why he had the title in this way. It's a definite oddity, but maybe he wins it back to start a true title reign.

The bothersome point about the Scrambles for some fans may be how the titles changed hands several times, making Finlay, Kendrick, Kane, Chavo, etc brief champions (Sorry Miz). It may very well taint or diminish the titles a bit, making them look more like the hardcore or cruiserweight titles of yesterday, which were on the line in situations all the time, and always moving around. If anything, Triple H should have held onto his belt for the entirety to solidify himself as legendary. Either way, the WWE has two new champions ready for new challengers. Bring em on!

Unforgiven 2008 Results

The Unforgiven Pay-Per-View is officially in the history books! This year's event gave us three Championship Scramble matches with the ECW, World Heavyweight and WWE titles each on the line. Also the Divas Championship and World Tag Team titles were up for grabs, and Shawn Michaels battled Chris Jericho in an Unsanctioned contest. Two of tonight's Championship Scrambles have produced brand new champions. Without further ado, let's take a look the match recaps and results from the 2008 Unforgiven Pay-Per-View.

ECW Championship Scramble

The match started off with Matt Hardy facing off against the Miz. Next, Chavo Guerrero arrived to the ring, and capitalized on a fallen Matt Hardy by scoring a Frogsplash off the turnbuckle and then a pin. Chavo became ECW champ momentarily, until Matt Hardy hit the Side Effect and became champ. Mark Henry was the 4th entrant to the match and went to work on Hardy, but Finlay entered next and DDT'd Henry.

Finlay was the last entrant for the Scramle and was able to score a pinfall with under 4:30 left in the match against Matt Hardy. Finlay became the ECW champion briefly, until Matt Hardy was able to knock down the Miz and score a pinfall to become current champ.

The Miz got Matt Hardy into a roll-up pinfall but Mark Henry came over to break things up. Henry then hit his trademark World's Strongest Slam on Chavo Guerrero, but Matt Hardy came over to interrupt his 3 count. Finlay went for a quick pinfall on Matt Hardy, but Matt escapes. Mark Henry hit a huge splash on The Miz, but Matt Hardy again breaks up his pinfall attempt.

In the final minute of the Scramble, Matt Hardy went to work on mark Henry who was trying to pin Finlay. Hardy tossed Miz and Chavo to the outside, but Chavo is able to get back in. In the final 10 seconds there was a flurry of pin attempts, but none official, leaving Matt Hardy as the winner and new ECW champ!

Winner: Matt Hardy scores the final pinfall of the ECW Championship Scramble to become the new ECW Champion.

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Cryme Tyme vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted Dibiase
World Tag Team Title Match

In this match, Big Shad had the offensive advantage against Ted Dibiase as he used several moves including a running slam face-first into the turnbuckle. Shad tried for a pinfall, but Cody Rhodes was quick to get involved, breaking up the pinfall. With the ref not seeing it, Rhodes was also able to hit a DDT on Shad. Dibiase went for the pinfall, but Shad had a leg on the ropes.

Shad made the tag to JTG and Dibiase tagged in Rhodes at the same time. Rhodes was able to steal a quick pinfall win with a roll-up pinfall.

After the victory, Cryme Tyme got into a further battle with Dibiase & Rhodes. A mystery wrestler hit the ring and attacked Cryme Tyme, then celebrated in the ring with the World Tag Team championships.

Winners: Ted Dibiase & Cody Rhodes win via pinfall over Cryme Tyme to retain the World Tag Team titles.

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Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
Unsanctioned Match

In this long-running feud, HBK and Y2J took the ring in a match in which WWE was not liable for the consequences. In the match, Shawn Michaels let it be known Jericho would suffer, as he hit a flying elbow on the outside of the ring. HBK then tossed a lifeless Jericho back into the ring, and took off his belt to beat Jericho with. A bloody Jericho continued to be beaten up by a furious Shawn Michaels, until finally the referee called for the bell, saying Jericho couldn't continue.

After the bell, HBK continued to beat on Chris Jericho, and then delivered Sweet Chin Music to the referee, capping off his anger and frustration in the ring.

Winner: Shawn Michaels wins due to the referee stopping the match because Jericho couldn't continue.

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WWE Championship Scramble

Jeff Hardy and Shelton Benjamin started this one off, with Kendrick the next man to enter. Jeff Hardy was able to overcome the two heels and pinned Kendrick to become interim WWE champ. Later, Shelton took control against Jeff hitting the Paydirt, but Brian Kendrick broke things up. Kendrick then hit his finisher on Jeff Hardy and amazingly became interim WWE Champ! MVP was the next entrant to the Scramble followed by the Game, Triple H. Triple H was able to toss Shelton to the outside, then hit a Spinebuster on Kendrick and threw MVP out of the ring. After a Pedigree on Kendrick, Triple H became the current champ.

Jeff Hardy hit the Swanton Bomb off the top rope onto Kendrick and scored a pinfall to become the current WWE Champion. Triple H and Hardy then fought it out, with Hardy tossing HHH outside. Jeff followed with a high-risk move on HHH and the two were on the outside.

In the closing moments of the match, an Electric chair was done off the top rope involving Kendrick, MVP, and Benjamin. Jeff Hardy was able to hit Whisper in the Wind on MVP then a Swanton Bomb on Shelton. HHH managed to get back into the ring, hits a Pedigree on MVP and gets the cover for the three count while Hardy was pinning Benjamin.

Winner: Triple H wins the Championship Scramble to retain the WWE title.

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Maryse vs. Michelle McCool
WWE Divas Championship

This match began with Michelle and Maryse trying for quick roll-up pinfalls on each other, Michelle was then able to hit a bulldog on Maryse from the middle rope. The two divas spilled to the outside, and Maryse eventually gained the advantage. Back inside the ring, Maryse started to work on Michelle's knee.

Maryse attempted several chokeholds on Michelle, but it wasn't enough to defeat the champ as Michelle hit a spinning kick to pick up the pinfall victory.

Winner: Michelle McCool wins via pinfall over Maryse to retain the WWE Divas Championship.

After the divas matchup, Vickie Guerrero went to the ring to demand an apology from Undertaker. The Big Show came to the ring and an infuriated Vickie asked if he understood English, since on Smackdown she asked him not to cause disruptions, or he'd get suspended. Vickie called Show a "dumb giant" and Big Show stared her down. As Vickie demanded Show leave the ring, all of a sudden a casket was walked down to the ring by Undertaker's druids.

Undertaker appeared on the Titantron and told Vickie she could get into the coffin voluntarily or else he'd be forced to come get her himself. Since Vickie refused to get into the coffin, Undertaker's music came on with the Deadman arriving to the ring. Despite Undertaker arriving to the ring on a mission, Vickie Guerrero and Big Show ambushed him. The Big Show began to drop elbows on Taker, and punched him down to the mat, then held Undertaker for Vickie to slap and spit on.

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Prior to the World Heavyweight Scramble, CM Punk got into a backstage confrontation with Randy Orton. Orton continued to accuse Punk of being a "fluke" as champion. All of a sudden, Dibiase, Rhodes and the mystery wrestler from earlier (Afa) attacked Punk, leaving him layed out. Kofi Kingston ran in to assist Punk but ended up getting knocked down as well. Later on, William Regal petitioned to GM Mike Adamle to be inserted into the Scramble, but Adamle said there's a chance Punk could still compete.

World Heavyweight Championship Scramble

CM Punk's World Heavyweight title was on the line here but Punk wasn't even a participant in the Scramble. The match started off with Batista and JBL as first entrants, with Batista clearing JBL out of the ring and waiting for his next opponent. Kane was the third entrant to the match and was able to eventually hit a Chokeslam on JBL, to become interim World Heavyweight champ. Rey Mysterio was fourth to enter the match followed by Y2J. Chris Jericho ended up being the replacement for CM Punk who was attacked earlier in the night.

The close of the match saw Kane go to the top rope and right onto Batista with a huge clothesline. Kane went for the chokeslam to finish off Batista, but Batista was able to suddenly hit a Spear on Kane. With the clock down under a minute, Batista hit a Spinebuster on Kane, then a 3 count to become World Champion. Rey Mysterio came over to work on Batista, but with Kane still down, Chris Jericho took the opportunity to sneakily score the final pinfall of the Scramble, becoming new World Heavyweight champ!

Winner: Chris Jericho wins the World Heavyweight Championship Scramble to become the new World Heavyweight champ.

Congratulations to all of tonight's big winners, including new ECW champ Matt Hardy and new World Heavyweight champ, Chris Jericho. Be sure to tune in to Monday Night Raw on USA at 9PM EST for all the fallout from tonight's event!

2008 Unforgiven Predictions

The Unforgiven Pay-Per-View for 2008 features a trio of Championship Scramble matches in which the WWE title, World Heavyweight title and ECW title are all on the line! Triple H defends his WWE title against fellow Smackdown stars MVP, Shelton Benjamin, The Brian Kendrick and Jeff Hardy. World Heavyweight champ CM Punk defends his title against JBL, Batista, Kane and Rey Mysterio. And ECW title holder, Mark Henry defends against fellow ECW stars Finlay, Chavo Guerrero, The Miz and Matt Hardy. Throw in two more title matches and a Unsanctioned match between Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels and we have the makings of a great PPV!

Here's a look at predictions for the 2008 Unforgiven Pay-Per-View from WWE Characters the Blog...

Maryse vs. Michelle McCool
WWE Divas Championship

Michelle has worn the newest of WWE gold belts well since winning it against Natalya. To think Maryse can outdo Natalya is crazy. Michelle's worn the belt just briefly and should continue wearing it for at least another month or so. Otherwise the belt and Michelle lose credibility on Smackdown. Expect a clean win by Michelle here allowing her to retain.

Prediction: Michelle McCool gets a clean win to retain her Divas championship.

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Cryme Tyme vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted Dibiase
World Tag Team Title Match

Rhodes and Dibiase just got their titles back, that is stealing them back from Cryme Tyme, after winning them back from Batista/Cena. I don't see Cryme Tyme winning just yet, as it appears now Randy Orton will align himself with Dibiase and Rhodes to form a stable of 2nd generation WWE stars. Dibiase and Rhodes retain here to continue their 2nd title reign.

Prediction: Dibiase and Orton retain the World Tag Team titles.

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Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho

Shawn Michaels suffered a triceps injury on Raw this past week, but vowed to continue to fight in this Unsanctioned Match. At stake is the honor of HBK's wife Rebecca as well as his WWE legend status. Jericho has done a good job of infuriating Michaels and really destroyed HBK last time around. Despite the injury, it's tough to see Jericho winning this. However, this feud has been a good one and WWE may decide to keep it going. HBK should win to keep his WWE glory days ablaze.

Prediction: Shawn Michaels wins to defend his honor and pride that Jericho seems to have crushed.

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Finlay vs. The Miz vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry
ECW Championship Scramble

This seems to be the clear cut choice for a title change at Unforgiven. The other two champs seem to need to retain to keep things interesting on their shows, but Henry really doesn't need to. Another site has predicted Chavo will win the ECW title for his second run, but it seems like Matt Hardy should emerge victorious, then successfully defend against Henry. I can still see the possibility that none of the titles change hands, since commentators continue to tell us the "% of possibility" that they will. To make things interesting, Matt Hardy wins and becomes your new ECW champ.

Prediction: Matt Hardy wins the final pinfall to become the ECW champion.

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JBL vs. Batista vs. Kane vs. Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk
World Heavyweight Championship Scramble

After seeing events unfold on Raw, it seems we are being led to a CM Punk-Randy Orton title match series. Most likely, Orton will return from injury and take the title from Punk. So for now, Punk will come out looking good here, or even have Orton come to his aid. Orton may want a piece of Punk the most after what happened on Raw. Meanwhile, Kane and Mysterio have their own issues to contend with, Batista still comes up short, and JBL just doesn't seem ready to be the heel champ. Orton will be the next heel champ, so Punk retains.

Prediction: CM Punk wins, possibly with some help from Randy Orton?

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Jeff Hardy vs. MVP vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. The Brian Kendrick vs. Triple H
WWE Title Championship Scramble

Smackdown is perhaps the true epitome of Scramble, since Edge, Undertaker, Mr. Kennedy and Umaga all have injury problems that keep them out of this match. Triple H should be a clear winner, but I believe after what we saw on Smackdown, he will get into a new feud with Jeff Hardy. Somehow maybe Jeff sets up the win for Triple H but is knocked out of the way at the final moments so HHH can get the final pinfall. Or Jeff gets knocked out by someone's finisher and Triple H capitalizes to set up an argument over who can beat who.

Prediction: Triple H retains the WWE title, but a feud will be established with Jeff Hardy for a future singles title match.

So there you have it, 3 Scrambles, and 3 more matches for the Unforgiven Pay-Per-View. Again, it wouldn't be surprising if no titles move here, but you figure one has to, to make this a worthwhile event. With the way the Scramble format is set up, we could see Miz and Brian Kendrick in the record books as having short-yet-real title reigns. How strange is that?

Enjoy the Pay-Per-View Sunday night at 8PM and check out WWE Characters the Blog for full results after 11PM EST!

Smackdown Recap 09.05.08

Smackdown Recap from St. Louis, MO:,

Smackdown began with the WWE champion, Triple H coming to the ring to discuss the Unforgiven Pay Per View, and his Championship Scramble matchup. Shelton Benjamin came out to interrupt, discussing how he took the Game to the limits in their match a week ago. Triple H reminded him that he still won the match. Next, MVP came out and began to get in Shelton's face about hitting his finisher on him last week. Shelton said it was retaliation for the Drive By kick that MVP did to him. The two kept arguing and Triple H interrupted them, explaining how a PPV promo should be done.

Brian Kendrick came to the ring next along with his bodyguard, Ezekiel. Ezekiel got in the ring staring down HHH and looked ready to fight him. With the Game distracted, Kendrick took the opportunity to dropkick HHH down from behind. Ezekiel landed a punch on HHH's face, and then MVP, Shelton and Kendrick all began attacking HHH in the ring corner.

Jeff Hardy rushed down to Triple H's aid, helping him knock down the other opponents. Jeff climbed to the top rope for a Swanton on Shelton, but Kendrick's bodyguard Ezekiel knocked Jeff off balance. Jeff fell to the mat and Ezekiel got in the ring to further beat up Jeff. Triple H re-entered the ring with a chair and hit Ezekiel over the back, but it barely caused a reaction. Eventually, Kendrick pulled Ezekiel back and had him leave the ring before it got worse.

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MVP vs. Shelton Benjamin

A great matchup went down between the former US champ and the current title holder. Prior to the match, Shelton had a promo video shown up on the Titantron, saying there's no talent more precious than him, the "Gold Standard". Shelton had control of the match with MVP down to the mat. As Shelton jumped up to the corner ropes, he saw MVP rolling away, so Shelton hopped down. MVP got up fast and ran at Shelton with a serious boot to the face. MVP tried for the pinfall win, with Shelton escaping. MVP pulled Shelton up his feet and prepared for another move, but Shelton shoved him away. Shelton quickly caught MVP with the Paydirt finisher, slamming him face first to the mat.

Winner: Shelton Benjamin wins via pinfall over MVP.

Backstage, Maria was getting makeup done as Maria came up to her. Maryse insulted the outfit Maria had on saying it was poorly made. Maryse said she could get Maria the clothes she gets specially made in France but it might be too big for certain body parts. Maryse left and Maria seemed peeved by the remark prior to the match.

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Maria vs. Maryse

Maryse seemed to dominate most of the matchup. Maria eventually started to make a bit of a comeback. Maria got whipped to the corner, but was able to deliver a kick into Maryse as she charged at her. Maria then climbed the turnbuckle, but as she tried to jump at Maryse, Maryse ducked and avoided her, going to the corner. Maryse regained her composure then delivered a DDT finisher to win the match.

As Maryse was posing on top of the ramp, all of a sudden Michelle McCool came out from backstage. Michelle and Maryse stood face to face, with Michelle smiling as Maryse backed away and went backstage.

Winner: Maryse wins via pinfall over Maria.

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Jeff Hardy vs. The Brian Kendrick

In the matchup, Jeff began to gain serious momentum as he knocked Kendrick out of the ring. Kendrick stood up, but Jeff swung into him with a dropkick through the ropes. Jeff followed with a leap over the top rope landing on top of Kendrick. As Jeff threw Kendrick into the ring, bodyguard Ezekiel Jackson came over, grabbed Jeff and flung him back against the crowd barrier. Jeff fell against the side apron, half in the ring. Kendrick pulled Jeff into the ring, then did his running DDT move off the corner ropes to finish the match.

Winner: The Brian Kendrick wins via pinfall over Jeff Hardy.

A man was shown pushing a wheelchair backstage just as a black limo arrived. Smackdown GM Vickie Guerrero got out of the back of the limo and walked over the man. Vickie yelled at the man saying she didn't call for the wheelchair, because she doesn't need it. Vickie walked perfectly fine and screamed at the lim driver to get the cars out of there.

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Super Crazy vs. Bryan Braddock

Super Crazy whipped Braddock to the corner, causing the newcomer to hit hard, then fall to the mat. Crazy finished with his trademark Moonsault flip off the corner ropes.

As Super Crazy was celebrating his victory, all of a sudden, Vladimir Kozlov came marching down the ramp to the ring. Kozlov stared down Crazy with a mic in hand, yelled some Russian then kicked Crazy hard down to the mat. Crazy fell to the mat rolling out of the ring, as Kozlov said he wasn't competition. Kozlov got up on the corner ropes and began yelling "no more games, I demand better competition". After a moment's pause, Big Show's music hit with the Big Show coming down to the ring.

Show told Kozlov that Vickie made an oversight before, so they probably should just take it upon themselves to fight. Kozlov and Show dropped their mics and got into fighting stance. Before any punches were thrown, Vickie Guerrero came storming out from backstage, yelling for Kozlov and Show to get out of the ring. Vickie got into the ring and yelled for Kozlov to leave the ring. Vickie then turned her attention to Show and told him he better not cause any more distractions on her show. Vickie told Show to leave the ring and head home or she'd fine and suspend him. An angry show looked at Vickie then took off out of the ring and up the ramp.

Winner: Super Crazy wins via pinfall over Bryan Braddock.

In the ring, Vickie demanded that the crowd quiet down because she had an announcement for Undertaker. Vickie said she reinstated him and apologized to him for her prior actions, yet Undertaker threatened her life. Vickie declared that she's been to tough places before and she's not scared of him anymore. Vickie proclaimed that at Unforgiven she'll get what she wants, Undertaker to apologize to her.

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Brie Bella vs. Victoria

In a rematch from last week, new WWE diva Brie Bella faced off with Victoria. Last week Brie got a surprise victory when she rolled up Victoria into a small package, after crawling under the ring to recuperate. In tonight's match, Victoria started off dominating the new diva, using a headlock for a while until Brie escaped. Brie was able to pull Victoria's arms back down on the mat, causing Victoria to yell in pain. Brie delivered a kick to Victoria causing her to spill out of the ring. Outside the ring, Victoria regained control of things and brought Brie in to finish her. Victoria got Brie up on her shoulder using a backbreaker, then dropped her to the mat.

Brie tried to fight back against Victoria, but Victoria punched her out of the ring. Once outside the ring, Brie crawled under the ring. Victoria pulled up the apron cover looking for her, but it seemed Brie came out on another side of the ring. Victoria went after her, but Brie kicked Victoria in the gut, then tossed her in the ring. Brie scored a pinfall to finish off Victoria two weeks in a row.

Winner: Brie Bella wins via pinfall over Victoria.

Footage was shown from the Republican National Convention with Josh Matthews along with WWE superstars Mickie James and Mr. Kennedy.

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The Raw Rebound showed footage of the ongoing feud between Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels. Things got further incited at Summerslam, where Shawn Michaels came to the ring with his wife to tell fans his time was done wrestling. Michaels said he would follow doctor's advice and stop wrestling due to his injuries. Jericho came out and demanded that Michaels say the reason he was leaving was because of Jericho. Michaels told Jericho to go home and tell his family he'll never be Shawn Michaels. Jericho got infuriated and went to strike HBK, but missed, knocking down HBK's wife Rebecca.

Weeks later on Raw, Shawn Michaels came to the ring and demanded Jericho give him a match. Jericho came on the Titantron and agreed, and the two went to sign a contract for an unsanctioned match last week. In the end, Jericho's protege Lance Cade came down to the ring and tried to attack HBK. Jericho escaped up the ramp as Michaels beat up Cade in the ring and stared out at Y2J. The two meet Sunday at Unforgiven despite Michaels' suffering a recent injury.

Jim Ross and Tazz ran down the lineup for this Sunday's Unforgiven Pay-Per-View including all 3 Scramble matches, and the Shawn Michaels vs. Jericho Unsanctioned match.

Backstage, Eve interviewed Triple H about Sunday's Championship Scramble and tonight's Lumberjack match against Great Khali, defending his WWE title. As HHH spoke about overcoming challenges, Jeff Hardy came up to interrupt. Jeff told HHH he has a big problem this Sunday, him. Triple H reminded Jeff he has 2 strikes against him and "with 3 strikes, he's out of the Game".

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WWE Slam of the Week showed the Triple H vs. Shelton Benjamin match from last week. Great Khali came down the ramp trying to distract HHH, and as Shelton tried to blindside the Game, Triple H was able to deliver the Pedigree. As Triple H stared down Khali up the ramp, Shelton knocked HHH down from behind. Khali came into the ring and picked up HHH with a double-chokeslam move.

Triple H vs. Great Khali
Lumberjack Match

In this bout, the ring was surrounded by Triple H's Championship Scramble opponents: Jeff Hardy, MVP, Shelton Benjamin and The Brian Kendrick with bodyguard Ezekiel. Early in the match, Triple H tried to punch away at the giant Khali. Khali soon overcame Triple H with his power. After beating Triple H around the ring, Khali knocked Triple H to the outside. Kendrick & Ezekiel, MVP and Shelton all got in their shots and rolled Triple H back into the ring as Smackdown went to break.

Smackdown returned with Khali applying a vice grip on the shoulder muscle of HHH in the ring. Triple H fought to muster up strength to get to his feet and punch Khali in the gut. Khali hammered his forearm on HHH's back and took him to the corner. Triple H avoided Khali coming at him in the corner, but as HHH went off the ropes Khali was ready with a boot to the face. Khali clotheslined HHH out of the ring, and the heels went to attack.

Jeff Hardy ran over to assist Triple H, but he was soon grabbed by MVP and Shelton. The duo tossed Jeff shoulder first into the crowd security wall, causing him to crash down. Ezekiel rolled Triple H back into the ring for Khali to finish off. Khali did a double chokeslam and went for the pin, but HHH kicked out at 2 1/2. HHH was able to smash Khali's face into his knee, then jumped off the corner for a shoulder block. Triple H got pulled out of the ring by Shelton, MVP and Ezekiel and they all started beating on him. Jeff Hardy had recovered, got into the ring and ran across to jump over the rope, crashing down on the 3 heels. Brian Kendrick came over and grabbed Triple H to attack him.

As Kendrick tried to whip HHH into the steel steps, HHH reversed sending Kendrick crashing into the steps. Triple H got onto the side apron and yanked Khali down against the top rope. Once back in the ring, Triple H went for a Pedigree, but Khali flipped HHH over his back. Khali applied the Vice Grip squeezing HHH's skull for a while, but HHH managed to generate the power to get out. Khali headbutted the Game down to the mat, but Triple H recovered, then avoided Khali trying for another Vice Grip. HHH finally kicked Khali in the midsection and delivered a winning Pedigree. Jeff Hardy got into the ring and applauded Triple H's effort. HHH turned and patted Jeff, but out of nowhere Jeff hit a Twist of Fate, slamming HHH to the mat.

Winner: Triple H wins via pinfall over Great Khali.

Smackdown Preview 09.05.08

Tonight's Smackdown will come just two days ahead of Sunday's Unforgiven Pay Per View. The big event will of course feature 3 Championship Scramble matches, including one for Triple H's WWE title. In anticipation of the event, Smackdown will feature a trio of great matches putting each of the Scramble competitors into competition against each other! Jeff Hardy and The Brian Kendrick will be competing in the squared circle against each other for the first time ever. This will definitely be a matchup full of skill and aerial maneuvers by both men. Hardy will need to watch outside the ring as well, with Ezekiel, Kendrick's bodyguard lurking. Also in action Montell Vontavius Porter will face Shelton Benjamin in a non-title contest. The two stars definitely have supersized egos. How will Hardy, Kendrick, MVP and Shelton fare in their matchups prior to Unforgiven?

Also in action, current WWE champ, The Game, gets to go one-on-one with The Great Khali in a title match. The two met during last month's Pay-Per-View for the WWE title, with Triple H prevailing. Triple H will need to dig deep to beat the towering giant in the ring, as well as watch out for Khali's manager Singh outside the ring. Will Triple H be able to successfully defend the WWE title prior to Unforgiven? Or will Great Khali spoil Triple H's title reign?

Two other Smackdown stories of interest involve Divas champion Michelle McCool, Maryse and Big Show. Maryse informed Michelle that she would soon take away her Divas championship. The two get to meet at Unforgiven, with the newest of WWE gold on the line. Maryse further inflated the feud by attacking Michelle on Smackdown. What will be in store for these divas on Smackdown? Also, keep an eye on Big Show, who continues to unleash havoc on the Smackdown roster. In consecutive weeks, Show has destroyed a field of Battle Royal competitors and then tag teams, Hawkins and Ryder and Jesse & Festus. Will Show continue to unleash his fury on Smackdown, or will someone intervene?

Find out the answers to all the above questions on Smackdown, Friday night on CW Network at 8PM EST!

Read WWE.com's official Smackdown preview!

Unforgiven Theme: Rock Out by Motorhead Lyrics

The hard rock alternative band Motorhead provides this year's Unforgiven theme song, entitled "Rock Out". Currently the song can be found at Amazon.com for a low-priced download here: Rockout by Motorhead MP3. The song is also found on Motorhead's Album "Motorizer". Here's the lyrics for the theme song for the 2008 Unforgiven Pay-Per-View...

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Full Lyrics for Motorhead's "Rock Out":

Let the music comin'
and that how it sounds
and you never need to say that again

Let the beating to you,
Let it turn you around,
Let it be your best friend,
You are the future and thats your time
You and you and you....

Just stay together and thats in your mind,
What we gonna do?

ROCK OUT
ROCK OUT
Let it be your saviour!

ROCK OUT
ROCK OUT
ROCK OUT
and you can get it here!

Leave me on the base,
Don't let down the girls
Run into your hands and
Another gets and i speaks
Gonna down with nuts
The power is on your hand
You are the people and now you shine

You and you and you
Just stay together and talk to your minds
What you gonna do?

ROCK OUT
ROCK OUT
ROCK OUT
let it be your saviour....
ROCK OUT
ROCK OUT
ROCK OUT
you can get it here....
ROCK OUT
ROCK OUT
With your eye corrupt....
and your face letting friends....
ROCK OUT
ROCK OUT
ROCK OUT
tell me how does it ends
yo..

---

Motorhead also provides the well-known theme song for Smackdown superstar and WWE champ, Triple H, "The Game".

Download the Rockout by Motorhead MP3 at Amazon.com!

Order a copy of Motorhead's Album "Motorizer"!

Read more about Motorhead at Marketwatch.com!

Official Motorhead Site

Visit Motorhead's Myspace page here.

Motorhead Wikipedia page

ECW Recap 09.02.08

ECW Recap from Pittsburgh, PA:

ECW opened with WWE's brief memorial to Walter "Killer" Kowalski, 1926-2008. Miz and Morrison opened the night with "The Dirt Sheet" in-ring show. Miz discussed being part of ECW Championship Scramble, and vowed to win it. Morrison discussed how it's bogus he didn't even qualify. The duo introduced the ECW champ, Mark Henry, who arrived to the ring with Tony Atlas.

Atlas said he hopes they don't have a repeat of last time they were on Dirt Sheet. Chavo was introduced next minus his original theme music. Instead, Miz and Morrison had dubbed in their own joking version to mock Chavo's theme song. Next up, they cut to footage of "Finlay's brothers" who were Miz and Morrison dressed up in a pre-taped bar segment. The real Finlay made his way to the ring along with Hornswoggle, seeming to laugh it off. Finlay said "hello brothers" then told Hornswoggle to greet his uncles. Hornswoggle ran over and kicked Miz in the leg getting a roar out of the crowd.

Miz and Morrison went to intro Matt Hardy, but pretended to get him mixed up with Jeff. Finlay reminded Morrison it's Matt Hardy, the guy who beat Morrison to qualify. Hardy proceeded to insult Miz, Chavo and was about to remark about Henry. Mark Henry suggested he watch what he say, because after Unforgiven, he'll still be ECW champ. Hardy told Atlas he'll need a good deal of sleep, because he'll be busy breaking up pinfalls all night to save the ECW title. Miz got in between Hardy and Henry, saying they wouldn't have fighting on their show again.

All of a sudden, Morrison attacked Hardy from behind, hitting him with the mic. An all out brawl broke out in the ring between everyone, with Tommy Dreamer and Evan Bourne rushing down to assist.

---

ECW returned with the brawl still going on backstage with referees trying to intervene. ECW GM Teddy Long rushed into the middle of it and told everyone to stop. Teddy said they settle problems in the ring on ECW, so they'll be having an 8-Man tag team match. Finlay, Matt Hardy, Evan Bourne & Tommy Dreamer will face Miz, Morrison, Chavo and Mark Henry later on in the night.

Super Crazy vs. Gavin Spears

Spears had a promo shown prior to the match. Spears said he hasn't even begun to scratch the surface in ECW, and he's the crown jewel of the ECW superstar initiative.

Early on, Super Crazy was able to counter Spears and use an armbar take down, eventually getting him to the corner to punch away on him. Spears grabbed Super Crazy's legs and tossed him off the corner. Spears began to knee Super crazy in the head, then slammed him to the mat, stomping on his head. Spears tried to lock in a headlock but Super Crazy fought his way out near the ropes. Despite Crazy getting away, Spears tripped him down to the mat and elbowed him in the head.

At one point, Crazy charged at Spears in the corner, with Spears trying to toss him over the top rope. Crazy landed on the apron, then as Spears turned, delivered a kick to his head and shoved him to the mat. Super Crazy did a moonsault jump off the middle rope and splashed onto Spears to pick up the victory. Spears is now 0-2 in his ECW attempts.

Winner: Super Crazy wins via pinfall over Gavin Spears.

---

Ricky Ortiz vs. Ryan Braddock

Grisham said he tried to get some background info on Braddock earlier, but he just walked past him. Matt Striker said he spoke to Braddock and he said he likes to win ugly.

In the matchup, the undefeated Ortiz was kicking Braddock in the corner of the ring. Braddock fell to the corner, but then yanked Ortiz by the trunks causing him to hit the corner. Braddock climbed the top rope then grabbed Ortiz' head and jumped to slam him face first into the mat. Braddock continued to dominate Ortiz, and locked a chokehold on him down on the mat.

The fans began encouraging Ortiz with the rally towels, and Ortiz broke the hold then was able to come off the ropes and knock Braddock around. Ortiz lifted Braddock on his shoulder for a powerslam. Ortiz followed by going to the corner ropes and jumping for a shoulder block. Ortiz finished with "The Big O" splash from off the ropes.

Winner: Ricky Ortiz wins via pinfall over Ryan Braddock.

Raw Rebound showed the incidents that escalated the Shawn Michaels-Chris Jericho feud. At Summerslam HBK seemed to be announcing a decision to walk away from wrestling. Jericho told Michaels to admit he's the reason HBK is leaving WWE. HBK told Jericho to admit he'll never be Shawn Michaels. Jericho accidentally punched Michaels' wife Rebecca who came to the ring at Summerslam.

The incident incited Michaels to decide to return and beg Jericho for an unsanctioned match at Unforgiven. The two had an official contract signing last night, to absolve WWE of any liabilities. Lance Cade came to the ring to attack Michaels, but HBK fought him off and beat him down in the ring. Jericho escaped up the ramp, and the two stared each other down as Raw ended.

After the Raw Rebound, Todd Grisham informed fans that Michaels suffered a triceps injury at Raw, but has vowed he will still compete at Unforgiven.

---

Footage was shown of correspondent Josh Matthews with WWE's Smackdown Your Vote in Minneapolis. Mickie James and Mr. Kennedy appeared along with Josh Matthews to discuss the efforts and encourage fans to vote this election year.

Todd Grisham and Matt Striker ran down the lineup of matches for Unforgiven, including the 3 Championship Scrambles, and the unsanctioned match between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho.

Finlay, Evan Bourne, Tommy Dreamer & Matt Hardy vs. The Miz, John Morrison, Chavo Guerrero & Mark Henry
8 Man Tag Team Match

Matt Hardy and Morrison got things started, with Hardy taking control early and tagging in Dreamer. Outside the ring, Bam Neely, Tony Atlas and Hornswoggle looked on. Dreamer smashed Morrison face first to the ropes, then tagged in Finlay. Morrison countered and rammed Finlay all the way to the heels corner, where Chavo made the tag. As the ref became distracted, Miz and Mark Henry tried to choke Finlay. Finlay came back to clothesline down Chavo and took control.

Finlay went to the outside and Chavo tried to come at him. Finlay used the side apron cover to wrap up Chavo, pounding away at him. As Bam came over to try to help, Hornswoggle jumped on him from off the side apron. ECW headed to commercial as the action continued.

ECW returned with Chavo and Finlay in the ring. Finlay tagged in Evan Bourne who came off the ropes to dropkick Chavo. Chavo tried to counter Bourne in the corner, but Bourne avoided it. Chavo was able to grab Bourne and slam him down against his knee. Miz tagged in and went at Bourne, with Bourne gaining the advantage. Eventually Miz overcame Bourne and dragged him over to tag in Mark Henry. Henry tossed Bourne up into the air letting him fall flat onto the mat. Miz came back in to take control.

Chavo Guerreor tagged in, then Morrison, to continue beating on the new superstar, Evan Bourne. Another brawl broke out outside the ring, with the heels attacking Bourne outside the ring. Finlay, Hardy and Dreamer came over to intervene as Morrison tossed Bourne back into the ring. Bourne eventually escaped versus Chavo, by flipping him down with a headscissors then tagging in Dreamer. Dreamer went wild knocking Chavo down and opponents off the apron.

The match culminated with Mark Henry being knocked to the mat by Hardy. Hardy tagged Bourne who did the shooting starpress off the corner first onto Henry. Next, Tommy Dreamer splashed Henry off the corner, then Finlay tagged in to jump onto Henry. Finally, Matt Hardy came in, and as Henry stood up, Hardy hit the Twist of Fate to send the crowd into a frenzy.

Winners: Matt Hardy, Evan Bourne, Tommy Dreamer & Finlay win via pinfall over Chavo Guerrero, The Miz, John Morrison & Mark Henry.

---

Shawn Michaels Injured but Ready?

According to several mobile messages sent out by WWE to subscribers, WWE Superstar Shawn Michaels suffered an elbow injury during the latest Raw show in Missouri. The show was taped Sunday but aired Monday night on USA. The injury occurred during HBK's encounter with Chris Jericho's prodigy Lance Cade, but at the time doesn't seem to jeopardize HBK's status for Unforgiven.

From Prowrestling.net:

WWE sent out a pair of messages to their mobile subscribers regarding the injury that Shawn Michaels suffered at the Raw tapings on Sunday night. Dot Net reader Nathan Rice: "After Raw went off air WWE Mobile sent out a update on HBK and it read: 'After Raw tonight, HBK injured his left elbow thwarting an attack by Lance Cade just six days before Unforgiven. Despite the injury, HBK insists he'll compete.'"

"Ten minutes after (the first message) was sent, they sent out another one that read: 'Update on HBK's condition: Initial examination revealed that Shawn Micheals damaged his left tricep. For more details, check back with WWE.com on Tuesday.'"

If the injury is worse than originally thought, it will definitely be interesting to see what spin is put on the match he signed off on with Jericho. Obviously, Michaels doesn't want to look unable to compete after the story that has been presented, in honor of his wife and legendary WWE career. However, are we possibly creeping closer to that retirement Michaels almost had?

Do you feel Michaels should compete or stay away from the ring at Unforgiven?

WWE Poll: Title Changes at Unforgiven?

With the Unforgiven Pay-Per-View, fans will experience not 1, not 2, but 3 of the new "Championship Scramble" match. Each match will feature 5 superstars from the respective brand, ECW, Raw and Smackdown, including that show's major champion. In one match, Raw's World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk defends against JBL, Kane, Rey Mysterio and Batista. In Smackdown's version, it will be WWE champion Triple H defending against Shelton Benjamin, MVP, Jeff Hardy and The Brian Kendrick. And for ECW, the current champion Mark Henry defends against Finlay, Chavo Guerrero, Matt Hardy and The Miz.

So will all or any of the titles change hands at the upcoming Pay-Per-View? It's time to vote! Use the poll below or on the lower right-hand column to cast your vote regarding the title picture at Unforgiven!

---

Which title will change hands at Unforgiven?
	WWE Title
	World Heavyweight
	ECW Title
	2 of the above
	All of the above
	None
pollcode.com free polls

---

Recent Blog Entries:

Raw Preview 09.01.08

RIP Killer Kowalski, Age 81

WWE Diva Brie Bella

Smackdown Recap 08.29.08

Smackdown Preview 08.29.08

Last week Smackdown narrowed its field of competitors for the WWE title to 4 men. In a series of qualifying matches, Shelton Benjamin, MVP, Jeff Hardy and The Brian Kendrick all put themselves into title contention at Unforgiven. The match will be the brand new Championship Scramble, with Triple H entering as the champ. After 20 minutes it's possible someone new will hold the WWE title. Now on tonight's Smackdown each of the competitors looks to prepare and gain some sort of psychological edge. Which of these superstars will have the best performance on Smackdown?

Big Show was an obvious snub from last week's qualifying matches, but still made his presence felt. During the 10 man Battle Royal, Big Show got involved and basically eliminated most of the competition. The last man Show disposed of, or thought he did, was The Brian Kendrick. Kendrick was luckily caught mid-air by his nearby bodyguard Ezekiel. Kendrick won on the technicality that his feet never hit the floor, but Big Show really won the match for him by eliminating all other competitors. Now the question becomes, will Big Show have a bone to pick about not being a part of the Unforgiven match?

Another qualifier was Jeff Hardy, who was able to beat The Great Khali. Jeff had some help though, as Triple H watched their match from ringside. Triple H was able to smash a steel chair over Khali, allowing Jeff to pick up the eventual pinfall victory. Now Jeff heads towards Unforgiven with a chance to finally gain the WWE title he's been after. Will Triple H have words for Hardy since he assisted him with the win?

Last week also saw a diva attack, as Maria was facing Natalya, yet Maryse decided to interfere. How will Maria respond to the attack? Will Maria team with Michelle McCool to take on the two heel divas? Also, the Undertaker seems in search of souls. Who will his first victim be on tonight's Smackdown? What will Vickie have as a response to Undertaker's statement last week?

Find out all the answers on Smackdown at 8PM EST on CW Network!

Read WWE.com's official Smackdown Preview!

Triple the Scramble, Triple the Fun?

On Tuesday night, WWE fans learned that they will be treated to (or punished) with 3 of the new Championship Scramble matches at Unforgiven. Each match will determine the respective title for that brand of WWE. In the latest announcement, Teddy Long said Mark Henry will defend against 4 competitors from ECW. After a series of qualifying matches, Matt Hardy, The Miz, Finlay and Chavo Guerrero all qualified for the PPV matchup. The Miz may be a surprise for this one, even though he's competed for the ECW title before. John Morrison and Tommy Dreamer both seem like more worthy contenders, as they were past ECW champs. In essence, we now have a triple main event for Unforgiven with 3 major titles contested.

Heading into the PPV, and with the announcement of this 3rd of the same matches, fans may become bored at the concept. Is it triple the excitement and action, or triple the boredom? Even though it's new, it may have been smarter for WWE to have 3 different types of matches for Unforgiven. However, it seems this sets up one of the 3 titles to change hands by the end of the night. Besides the fact the title can and probably will change hands during the matches, you'd have to believe the biggest winner of the event will probably be Matt Hardy.

The ECW title has more likelihood to change hands in a shorter period of time. Unfortunately it may become like the Hardcore championship, if every man in this match wins it at one time. It's also hard to see Triple H or CM Punk losing their belts just yet, especially Punk who needs to keep with momentum. It seems as if Randy Orton will eventually return to contend for 1 of the two titles, and since he's on Raw, that makes Punk his target. As for Triple H, it seems likely he and Undertaker will resume their age-old feud, this time on Smackdown. Possibly we get those matches later this year, maybe as early as Survivor Series, depending on Orton's injury status.

The WWE definitely is reeling after John Cena's recent injury which keeps him out indefinitely. However, this time around they have some familiar faces around to keep things alive with fans. Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, Triple H, and The Undertaker are all injury-free, knock on wood, and can carry on the show.

And on a final ECW note, the show right now lacks divas, with the exception of Teddy Long's beautiful, blonde assistant, Tiffany. The WWE may be working on sending a diva in to feud with Tiffany and fans will probably be just fine with seeing her wrestle on Tuesday nights...

ECW Recap 08.26.08

ECW Recap from Wilkes Barre, PA:

Tuesday night's show began with ECW General Manager Teddy Long's beautiful assistant Tiffany coming out to the ramp. Tiffany introduced the GM and Teddy came out to the ramp dancing with his assistant. Teddy announced that ECW will also have a Championship Scramble match at Unforgiven. Mark Henry will defend his ECW title against 4 other competitors from the ECW roster. Teddy said ECW will have qualifying matches tonight for the Unforgiven ECW Championship Scramble.

John Morrison vs. Matt Hardy
ECW Championship Scramble Qualifying match

Morrison had control of the match for a bit until Matt countered to hit a Side Effect. Matt went for Twist of Fate, but Morrison tossed him up over the top rope to the apron. Morrison rushed across the ring and rammed into Matt knocking him to the outside as ECW went to commercial.

ECW returned with Morrison still in control, keeping Matt down to the mat with a chinlock. Morrison tried for a pin after a side Russian leg sweep, but Matt kicked out. Morrison continued to pummel Matt, eventually knocking him back to the outside with punches. Morrison went to the outside to continue his attack, hammering Matt on the back. Back in the ring, Morrison continued the beatdown and tried to keep Matt in another headlock on the mat. Matt got to his feet and dropped his weight down to escape from Morrison. Matt held the momentum as he jumped off the ropes, and went for Twist of Fate, but again Morrison countered.

Morrison shoved Matt to the ropes, but Matt held himself, then kicked Morrison. Again Matt went for Twist of Fate, but Morrison grabbed him and tried a pin with his feet on the ropes. The two continued trading moves and pinfall attempts, with Morrison landing his spinkick off the ropes. The two eventually caught each other with a double clothesline, crashing to the mat. Morrison got back to his feet with Matt. As Morrison went for his finisher, Matt smartly countered and finally hit a Twist of Fate to win!

Winner: Matt Hardy wins via pinfall to qualify for the ECW Championship Scramble.

Backstage, Teddy Long talked to Tiffany about how great the opening match was. Tiffany commented how Matt is one of her favorites. All of a sudden, Mark Henry and Tony Atlas showed up to complain about the Championship Scramble. Teddy Long said there could be 3 championships changing hands at Unforgiven and asked Henry "will one of them be yours?"

---

ECW returned with a Raw Rewind of highlights. The Summerslam match between Cena and Batista was highlighted with The Animal capturing a tough win. It was announced on last night's Raw by GM Mike Adamle that Cena suffered a herniated disc in his neck, leaving him out indefinitely. This forces Cena out of the Championship Scramble at Unforgiven. Adamle announced that a former World Heavyweight champ will replace Cena in the match, Rey Mysterio.

Todd Grisham discussed how Cena underwent surgery earlier today and according to his neurosurgeon, the surgery was a success. Grisham said the herniated disc was pushing into Cena's spine causing partial paralysis in his right arm.

Evan Bourne vs. The Miz
ECW Championship Scramble Qualifying Match

Todd Grisham remarked how Bourne's beat some impressive talent so far in ECW, and has never been pinned. At one point in the matchup, Miz took Bourne up and slammed him down with a face first suplex to the mat. On the mat, Miz squeezed a legscissors around the torso of Bourne. The two got to their feet wit hMiz trying another move, but Bourne countered and started to gain momentum. Bourne continued his roll, until Miz grabbed his tights and clipped his leg. As Miz came off the ropes, Bourne tripped him up then did a Moonsault flip onto him.

Bourne continued with momentum and charged at Miz in the corner, with Miz elbowing his way out. Miz sat on the corner turnbuckle and Bourne kicked him, then climbed up for a move. Miz ducked under Bourne as he leapt up on the corner, causing Bourne to crash down on the turnbuckle on his groin. Bourne bounced off the corner down to the mat, and as he got to his feet, Miz was quick to hit the Reality Check.

Winner: The Miz wins by pinfall over Evan Bourne to qualify for the ECW Championship Scramble.

Chavo was shown walking backstage with Bam Neely and Tommy Dreamer was also shown walking on the split screen, in anticipation of the next qualifying match.

---

Chavo Guerrero vs. Tommy Dreamer
ECW Championship Scramble Qualifying Match

Chavo used unique submission holds to wear down Dreamer like an Abdominal Stretch center ring. Dreamer escaped to start punching back, but Chavo caught him with a foot in the corner. Chavo went to jump off the corner, but Dreamer punched him in the midsection, then gained momentum. Dreamer whipped Chavo to one corner, then bulldogged him to the mat. Dreamer signaled for a finisher, but was holding his side. Dreamer did a running powerslam with Chavo on his shoulder, but Chavo kicked out at 2.

Chavo again elbowed his way out of the corner, but Dreamer was able to knock him off the corner, hanging him upside down. Dreamer ran and dropkicked Chavo, then pulled him down off the ropes. Dreamer hoisted Chavo up for another move, but Bam Neely got on the side apron to distract. Chavo was able to shove Dreamer into the ropes, causing Bam to fall off the apron. The distraction allowed Chavo to yank Dreamer down against the top rope, then hit a Frogsplash off the corner turnbuckle.

Winner: Cavo Guerrero wins via pinfall over Tommy Dreamer to qualify for the ECW Championship Scramble.

Josh Matthews was shown reporting from Denver, Colorado as they held the Democractic National Convention. Batista and Candice Michelle joined Josh at the event.

---

ECW returned and Matt Striker ran down the rules for the Championship Scramble at Unforgiven. The match has a time limit of 20 minutes. The match starts with 2 men in the ring and every 5 minutes another competitor arrives to the match. During the match, the title can change hands without the champion being pinned. Whoever scores the final pinfall before 20 minutes is up, will be the ECW champion.

Finlay vs. Mike Knox
ECW Championship Scramble Qualifying match

At one point in the match, Finlay was able to toss Knox out through the ropes, then exited to the side apron. Knox yanked Finlay's leg to pull him down, causing Finlay to hit the apron face first. The two continued the fight with Knox gaining the upperhand as they rolled back into the ring. ECW returned from a commercial with Finlay in control. Finlay grabbed Knox' arm behind his back on the mat. Finlay continued to knee Knox in the back then got just a 2 count. The two went to the outside yet again, with Finlay running at Knox. Knox grabbed Finlay for a quick Powerslam outside. Back in the ring, Knox took control, choking Finlay against the middle rope, then running and jumping onto his back.

With Knox in control, he kept Finlay in a chinlock. Finlay fought to his feet, but Knox rammed him back into the corner, dropping him to the mat. Knox turned his attention to Hornswoggle who was nearby outside the ring. Knox grabbed his coat, but Hornswoggle slipped out of it and ran part way up the ramp. Finlay was able to run and clothesline Knox out of the ring, then began a beatdown outside the ring. Back in the ring, Finlay had serious momentum. Knox eventually got back in control but couldn't score the pin, so he went over and started taking the turnbuckle cover off.

The ref came over to stop Knox from removing the cover. Finlay had grabbed a shilaleigh while he was down on the mat and went at Knox, with the ref still in the corner. Knox kicked Finlay causing the shilaleigh to fall to the mat. The ref turned to see it and took it away, thinking Knox brought it into play. Meanwhile, Hornswoggle slipped another shilaleigh into the ring to Finlay. Finlay clocked Knox over the head, then scored the winning pinfall.

Winner: Finlay wins via pinfall over Mike Knox to qualify for the ECW Championship Scramble.

ECW left the air with its Championship Scramble picture set. Mark Henry will defend the ECW title at Unforgiven against The Miz, Chavo Guerrero, Matt Hardy and Finlay.

---

Cena Sidelined for Unforgiven 08'

The Championship Scramble for the World Heavyweight title has been "scrambled" due to an unfortunate injury to one of the competitors. During Monday Night Raw, General Manager Mike Adamle delivered the news to fans that John Cena would require surgery due to a herniated disc. The injury was suffered during his match against Batista at Summerslam.

From WWE.com:

Three-time WWE Champion John Cena will be out of action indefinitely with a herniated disk in his neck. Requiring surgery, this injury is the result of several Batista Bombs delivered by The Animal at SummerSlam. According to WWE’s Dr. Chris Amann, who reviewed the MRI results with Cena, the injury sustained by the Chain Gang Commander was considerable with large disk herniation.

Adamle announced Cena's replacement for the Scramble as Rey Mysterio. Fans who've watched Raw in the past few weeks realize that Mysterio has been part of the mysterious story with Kane. Kane revealed he had Rey's mask inside a burlap sack he was carrying around. Kane claims he crushed Mysterio's spirit and soul somehow, prompting him to keep asking "Is he alive or is he dead?" It's be interesting to see how that plays into the title match.

Best wishes to John Cena as well, as he recovers from a devestating setback and surgery.

WWE Poll: Who Wins the 1st Scramble?

Unforgiven will see CM Punk's World Heavyweight title contested in a first of its kind match. The "Championship Scramble" concept match was first announced by Raw General Manager Mike Adamle. It will see a total of 5 wrestlers in the ring for 20 minutes. Whoever scores the final pinfall of the match before 20 minutes elapses, becomes the champ. So that gives Punk a tough task. He must outlast Batista, JBL, John Cena and Kane to retain his title.

With that said, it's time to weigh in on who you expect to take the match? Will it be John Cena finally regaining a major title? Will the Animal take back the title he lost to Edge and Undertaker? Will JBL finally prove himself as a wrestling God on Raw? Will the Big Red Machine be able to take the title? Or will the Straight-edge superstar and current champ, CM Punk retain?

Vote below or use the poll on the right sidebar to cast your vote!

Who will win the Championship Scramble at Unforgiven?
	CM Punk
	John Cena
	Batista
	JBL
	Kane
	Other
pollcode.com free polls

Raw Preview 08.25.08

Tonight's Raw comes a week after a Championship Scramble match was announced by Mike Adamle for Unforgiven. In the match, CM Punk will enter the ring as World Heavyweight Champ and face four competitors; John Cena, JBL, Kane and Batista. A 20 minute time limit will be set for the match, and whoever scores the last pinfall of the match, becomes champ! Tensions will be running high as each of competitors will look to gain the advantage heading into the event. Who will be standing tallest at the end of Raw? Will Cena and Batista continue to feud? What sorts of matches will the competitors be in to prepare for Unforgiven?

As for CM Punk, the current champ, he suffered a non-title loss to Chris Jericho last week. With Jericho having won, he may lay claim to be added to the Scramble match. At the same time, Jericho caused a serious incident when he accidentally knocked Michaels' wife Rebecca to the mat. This came after Shawn Michaels announced his decision to heed doctor's advice and walk away from wrestling. Jericho wanted Michaels to admit it was Y2J who caused HBK to make this decision. Now Michaels has a new decision to make: Follow his doctor's advice and stay out of WWE, or make a return in the honor of his family and career to face Chris Jericho?

Mike Adamle was also successful at confronting the Big Red Machine in the ring and had him reveal the contents of his mysterious burlap sack. Kane revealed a Rey Mysterio mask, and added he has crushed Mysterio's soul. Now the questions run as fans and other superstars wonder about Rey Mysterio's whereabouts and condition. Is Mysterio alive or dead as far as his WWE wrestling career? When will Mysterio next show up?

Special reminder that Raw will air on Sci-Fi Channel at 9 PM EST, and re-air on USA at 11 PM EST Monday night!

See official WWE.com Raw preview!

Kendrick is a Surprise Scrambler

Bleacher Report member Alevyn Shareef has a great write up to analyze the recent scramble for title matches set for Unforgiven. These of course are the 2 "Championship Scramble" concept matches which will see a total of 5 wrestlers in the ring for 20 minutes. Whoever scores the final pinfall of the match before 20 minutes elapses, becomes the champ. For Raw it's John Cena, JBL, Kane and Batista all vying for CM Punk's World Heavyweight title. On Smackdown's side, it's Triple H trying to outlast MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Jeff Hardy, and yes..... "The Brian Kendrick".

Alevyn Shareef on Bleacher Report writes:

The biggest surprise in this match however is The Brian Kendrick. A man who re-debuted on Smackdown a few weeks ago. Since then he's been in a squashing jobbers with the help of his bodyguard. The WWE seems to have wanted to split him up from Paul London and give him a push for a while, even including a small heel turn just before Wrestlemania.

Now it looks like they were able to do it with the draft. Unlike the other names in the scramble, he has never even made it to the upper-mid card. In fact he's the only guy in the match who has never held a singles title.

I agree with "The Brian Kendrick" as being the biggest surprise but don't consider him a lock for the match yet. As Alevyn also notes in his article, Mr. Kennedy and Umaga were both recently lost to injuries, keeping them out of the big main event with Triple H. However, after seeing Big Show not officially entered in Smackdown's Qualifying Battle Royal, but eliminating most of the competitors so Kendrick could win, I'm expecting we see Show vs. Kendrick on Smackdown. Big Show will likely lobby with Vickie Guerrero for a spot in the Unforgiven PPV match, leading to a contest with Kendrick to prove it. And possibly we see Big Show take over Kendrick's spot. It seems far too strange for Kendrick to enter the title picture like this over guys like Big Show, Undertaker and Vladimir Kozlov who are all far more capable title contenders.

And looking at the last two names, we might have the makings of yet another matchup for Unforgiven, as the Russian destroyer Kozlov faces the Deadman, the Undertaker.

Read Could We Really See A New Champion at WWE Unforgiven? at Bleacher Report here.

Smackdown Scrambles for WWE Title

Both Raw and Smackdown will see Championship Scrambles for their respective titles at Unforgiven. We've seen this before, with both shows having their own Elimination Chamber matchups last year to decide the title contenders. Now the titles themselves will be up for grabs in 20 minute matches involving the champions against 4 other competitors from their show. Smackdown held several qualifying matches to determine the competitors for Triple H's WWE title. In a surprising turn of events, "The Brian Kendrick" was the winner after Big Show cleared the ring. Show tossed every man outside, but Kendrick was caught by his bodyguard Ezekiel, so his feet never hit the floor. Vladimir Kozlov seemed like the likely winner when you saw the 10 men, but WWE is known for the surprises lately. Kozlov would have made a better contender with the win streak he's put together, because Kendrick just doesn't fit into this equation.

In other qualifying matches, Shelton Benjamin defeated Finlay when Mike Knox came down to distract. MVP defeated Festus, using some outside ring tricks to force a countout. MVP and Festus were both on the outside near a 10 count, but MVP kicked Jesse down, causing Festus to stay out to see if he was ok. MVP rolled in to beat the count, earning his spot in the match. The final spot was won by Jeff Hardy, who defeated Triple H's most recent title contender, Great Khali. Of course, Triple H was ringside and aided in the victory, bashing a chair over Khali's skull which allowed Hardy to hit a Swanton.

So now Triple H has The Brian Kendrick, Jeff Hardy, MVP and Shelton Benjamin at Unforgiven. Whoever has scored the last pinfall as the 20 minute time limit ends, is the WWE champ. Looking at that field, with no disrespect to Jeff Hardy, Triple H should be keeping the belt. As soon as Kendrick qualified, it became obvious this was a match to hold the title around HHH's waist. Shelton's got a title already, and MVP and Jeff have been feuding. They seem to effectively cancel each other out. It becomes more and more apparent that Triple H and Undertaker are headed towards a collision as Smackdown makes its October 3 debut on MyNetworkTV. The question will be who has the belt then. As for Undertaker, he made it apparent he's going for Vickie Guerrero's soul, so expect him to be occupied with La Familia for a few weeks before laying claim to the title.

And as for Edge, who was sent down to Hell, and is MIA from Smackdown, for now...does it seem like he's coming back as a Face or Heel? With the way La Familia was attacking Undertaker, it's starting to make it seem as if maybe Edge will make a triumphant return to go face. However, he's been an effective heel for some time now. He really needed to switch over to Raw, because he never had a real rematch with CM Punk for his World Heavyweight title. Don't expect Edge to just fade away, as he is definitely one of the top characters in the company.

World Heavyweight Title Picture Scrambled!

A new idea was hatched on this past Monday's Raw involving a Championship Scramble. It's a match never been done before in WWE, unless you count those Hardcore title matches where about 5-10 guys held the title during the match, and the title was contested 24/7. In this case, Unforgiven will see CM Punk enter the ring as the champ, but he'll be competing with John Cena, Kane, Batista, and JBL. Anyone can pin and win the title but the match lasts 20 minutes total. It's whoever has the belt when that time runs out that wins it.

Honestly the format already seems to favor either CM Punk or JBL. CM Punk for the reason he's got two opponents already at each other's throats in John Cena and Batista. To think that those two won't cancel each other out, is out of the question. As for Kane, he's been hellbent and maniacal on a whole other level lately. I don't expect him to leave with the title and perhaps Rey Mysterio makes a big return here. Early prediction would favor Punk outlasting the rest of the field, probably defeating JBL or Kane to do it. Cena will probably get the better of Batista leading to their next individual matchup. JBL has always been tough though and finds ways to cheat to win. Don't count him out for a moment.

An interesting side note is that Chris Jericho was able to defeat CM Punk on Raw. You'd think he'd have a bit more credibility as a contender right now than guys like Kane or Cena. In fact, Jericho has defeated Kane and Punk in back to back weeks. Cena won a 2 on 1 handicap match but has been in a slump overall, as has Kane to some degree. It wouldn't be surprising at all to see Jericho throw his name into the mix come Monday night on Raw.

Overall, WWE seems to be getting its act together in terms of rosters and commentary teams. Smackdown now has Tazz and JR, which makes for a great combo. Michael Cole isn't everyone's favorite, but along with Jerry Lawler they are able to bring excitement to the matches. Even ECW is showing some potential lately, with Matt Hardy in the title picture, and newcomers like Evan Bourne and Ricky Ortiz. If Teddy Long's assistant Tiffany becomes an official wrestling diva, I think ECW's got itself a show again.

Smackdown Preview 09.21.07

Friday's Smackdown comes on the heels of this past Sunday's Pay Per View, "Unforgiven" which saw a determined Batista regain the World Heavyweight title. With Batista tossing Rey Mysterio out of the ring and then making a statement to use a spinebuster and pin Great Khali, Batista starts his third title reign on Smackdown. However, there was another member of the Smackdown roster who would like that title back, the Undertaker. Taker returned to "Unforgiven" to defeat Mark Henry, the man who put him out of commission months ago. What will the fallout be from the Triple Threat match as Batista heads to No Mercy for a "Punjabi Prison" match against Khali? Will Undertaker make a statement to Batista?

Matt Hardy and MVP also retained their tag team titles, co-existing for yet another day. The question is when will MVP give Hardy a shot at the US Championship again? Be on the lookout for Hardy to continue to call out MVP for yet another title shot.

The big story of Smackdown is also the wedding of Teddy Long and WWE Diva Kristal. Last week the two had separate bashes, with dancers, strippers and friends all partying in seperate locker rooms/offices. Just when it seemed the couple was heading for a serious argument they started to celebrate and shrugged off their issues. Tune in to watch the big wedding and see how it goes down on Friday night!

Smackdown hits the air Friday night at 8PM on the CW Network. Check local listings for coverage in your area.