World Wrestling Entertainment

I think I've been a fan since '87.

The narrator welcomed to the 2008 Slammy Awards as footage over the last year was shown. The opening video aired and fireworks lit up the stage. There were large Slammy statues on the stage. Michael Cole so solemnly welcomed us to the show. Jerry Lawler plugged Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho. Jim Ross and Tazz promoted Triple H vs. Batista. Cole and King then put over the John Cena vs. Edge match.

Lillian introduced Maria and Festus to present the first award. There was a podium on the stage as well. Festus was wearing a pair of overalls with a tie while Maria handled the talking. The category was Tag Team of the Year. Carlito and Primo, Priceless, Miz and Morrison, and Cryme Tyme were the nominees.

Tag Team of the Year: The Miz and John Morrison

Miz and Morrison came out and overdid the celebration. Miz mocked Festus and sent him to the back. Morrison gave his acceptance speech and mocked crying. Both men thanked a bunch of random people, like Mr. T and Chuck Norris. Miz called them the best tag team of the 21st century. Morrison then made his entrance for his match.

1. C.M. Punk defeated John Morrison (with The Miz) in an Intercontinental Championship Tournament semifinal match in 8:17. William Regal was shown watching the show with Layla. Looks like The Miz is not in Morrison's corner. Kofi is nowhere to be found either. The show went to commercial when Punk hit a springboard high crossbody onto Morrison, causing both men to crash to the floor.

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Punk hurt his ankle during the break. Back from commercial, Punk hit a hurricarana from the top rope. After first look, it seemed like Punk landed on his head, but the replay showed him landing hard on the ankle. Morrison took advantage and in a sweet spot, hit a reverse roundhouse kick as Punk missed a roundhouse kick of his own.

Punk hit the springboard forearm for a two count as Regal looked on. Morrison countered a GTS with a victory roll for a very nearfall. Punk then hit a huge kick to Morrison's face and followed up with the GTS for the win.

Footage was shown of John Cena defeating Kane last week, followed by the extended beatdown of Cena by Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes, Manu, and Randy Orton.

John Cena cut a promo mocking Jericho's promo from last week, saying his dog was a Jericho fan and he banned him from watching Raw. He turned his tone to serious and told Jericho he was coming after him tonight. He said he would teach him the meaning of the word respect.

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Candice Michelle and Cryme Tyme came out to present "Best Finishing Maneuver." Cryme Tyme put over the Stunner, Rock Bottom, Figure Four, and Sharpshooter. Undertaker's Hell's Gate, Orton's RKO, Evan Bourne's Shooting Star, and Big Show's Knockout Punch were the nominees. Cryme Tyme tried to steal the award and Candice was left alone to present it.

Finishing Move of the Year: Evan Bourne's Shooting Star Press

Candice informed us that Evan was not in attendance due to his injury. Mike Knox came out and abducted the award from Candice.

Randy Orton came out and said he was WWE Champion for four months and won the main event at Wrestlemania, but he is not a nominee for Superstar of the Year. Orton cut a promo on Triple H and Batista. He challenged H and Batista to a handicapped match vs. him, Rhodes, and Manu. "Tonight, The Legacy is born.".

MVP stood in the middle of the ring and said he was a real MVP. He called out MVP and World Series champion Jimmy Rollins at ringside. MVP said he was better than Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and all of Philadelphia.

MVP's music hit again and Charlie Haas came out as "MVC." He actually had "MVC" on the back of his wrestling gear.

2. MVC (Most Valuable Charlie) defeated MVP in 3:11. MVP dominated the match but missed the Driveby. Haas rolled up Porter for the win.

The award for Extreme Moment of the Year is coming up next. A commercial for the Kane three DVD set was shown.

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Tiffany and Matt Hardy came out to present the award. Hardy said it was great to be in the birthplace of extreme. JBL vs. Cena in a Parking Lot Brawl, Undertaker crashing through the tables in a ladder match vs. Edge, Jericho putting HBK through the Jeritron, and Jeff Hardy's Swanton from the scaffolding onto Randy Orton were the nominees.

Extreme Moment of the Year: Jeff Hardy's Swanton onto Randy Orton

Hardy said it all started on a trampoline in North Carolina and he then gave Matt a high five. He said whether he walks or crawls, he is leaving Armageddon the WWE Champion. He then made his ring entrance and Jericho did the same.

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3. Chris Jericho defeated Jeff Hardy in approximately 5:51. The match was already in progress coming back from commercial. Jericho knocked Hardy to the floor early and Hardy struggled to get back into the ring before the ten count. As Jericho had Hardy grounded, JR put over Jericho beating Stone Cold and The Rock in the same night and was not sure Cena could beat Jericho. Never mind that Cena has beaten Jericho about a hundred times in a row.

Hardy hit a couple of moves for a nearfall and Cole announced that Todd Grisham and Matt Striker won "Announce Team of the Year." Hardy went to the top and missed a Swanton Bomb. Jericho immediately hit the lionsault for a two count. He then went for the Walls of Jericho but Hardy powered out using his leg strength.

Hardy hit the delayed corner dropkick on Jericho. Hardy hit an awkward Whisper in the Wind as if he hurt his leg. Hardy went for the Twist of Fate, but Jericho countered with the Codebreaker for the win. After the match, Jericho retreated to the back and looked over his shoulder for Cena.

Kelly Kelly and Kane came out to present "Couple of the Year." Kelly said love was a wonderful thing. "The last time I was involved in a relationship, I tombstoned a priest," said Kane. Glamorella, Edge and Vickie Guerrero, William Regal and Layla, and Finlay and Hornswoggle are the nominees.

Couple of the Year: Edge and Vickie Guerrero

Vickie walked out to accept the award. Her "excuse me" line garnered a lot of heat from the live crowd. She gave her acceptance speech and on her way out, Santino's music hit and Glamorella came out. Santino stopped at the podium and called Vickie "Cougar of the Year." He said his "special someone" did not "love him, hate him, or have The Undertaker try to send him to hell." He said they challenged any of the other couples to a match.

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4. Finlay and Hornswoggle defeated Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix in 1:16. Before the opening bell, Finlay placed his hat on Beth. She took it off, stomped it, and slapped Finlay in the face. Finlay retaliated by slapping Santino. Horny tagged in, hit a tornado DDT and a tadpole splash on Santino for the clean win.

As Beth checked on Santino, Melina and Teddy Long were introduced to present the Diva of the Year. Beth Phoenix, Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, and Michelle McCool are the nominees. After Beth was announced, she threw Santino to the mat and ran to the stage to accept her award. She slapped Melina and the two fought. Beth accidentally headbutted Santino in the balls. Santino acted like he was going to throw up.

Diva of the Year: Beth Phoenix

Cole and King informed us the Triple H vs. Batista match is now Triple H and Batista vs. Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Manu.

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Footage aired of the interaction between JBL and Shawn Michaels last week.

Joey Styles and Alicia came out to present the "Oh My God Moment of the Year." Styles dropped his signature phrase. C.M. Punk cashing in Money in the Bank, Undertaker sends Edge to hell, Floyd Mayweather breaks Big Show's nose, and John Cena wins the Royal Rumble are the nominees.

Oh My God Moment of the Year: C.M. Punk cashes in MITB and wins the World Heavyweight Champion

Punk said he wanted to win the world title, the tag titles, and the IC title in the same year. Punk took out a list and thanked a bunch of random people, and concluded with Rocky Balboa. He brought out Styles to say, "Oh My God!!!" again. Joey hesitated at first but complied.

5. Rey Mysterio defeated Kofi Kingston in an Intercontinental Championship tournament semi-final match in 3:12. An impressive early sequence include Rey trying a hurricarana but Kofi countering it into a handstand. Kofi worked on the injured left arm of Rey. Kofi hit a dropkick for a two count as Rey was trying to hit the 619. Kofi missed a high crossbody and Rey rolled him for the surprise three count.

Kofi shook Rey's hand after the match as King filled in the tournament bracket. Cole plugged Punk vs. Rey at Armageddon. He then said the Match of the Year Slammy would be presented after the break.

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Mr. Kennedy and Eve Torres came out to present the Match of the Year Slammy. Kennedy did his microphone spot and Eve provided the repeat. Money in the Bank, the Royal Rumble, Undertaker vs. Edge HIAC from Summerslam, and Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair are the nominees.

Match of the Year: Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at Wrestlemania XXIV

Michaels came out to accept the award. Michaels put over Flair as his friend and his inspiration. JBL came out and accepted the Slammy Award on behalf of Shawn Michaels. He said his victory over John Cena at the Great American Bash was the match of the year. JBL walked away as Michaels stood behind and listened to chants of "You sold out."

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6. Cody Rhodes, Manu, and Randy Orton defeated Triple H and Batista in a handicapped match in 10:09. H and Batista worked well together as a team early on in the match. They threw Manu into Rhodes and both men tumbled to the floor. Orton tried to sneak up on them but thought otherwise and slithered out to the floor as well.

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Orton was dominating Triple H coming back from commercial. The heel trio worked over Triple H before Batista tagged in and took over the match. Orton tagged himself in tried to RKO Batista, but he countered it. Batista attempted a Batista Bomb, but Rhodes hit him from behind, allowing Orton to hit the RKO on Batista for the win.

Cole and King plugged the main event and the rest of the Slammy Awards.

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Ron Simmons and Mickie James came out to present the award for "Damn! Moment of the Year." The Khali Kiss Cam, Punk surprises Chavo Guerrero, Sailor JR, and Santino messing up Melina's entrance are the nominees.

Damn! Moment of the Year: The Khali Kiss Cam

Khali and Ranjin Singh came out in suits. Khali cut a promo about how material possessions don't matter and how we need to save our national resources for our children. He was about to kiss Mickie when Jillian came out and sang that song from Titanic. Kung Fu Naki, Howard Finkel, Sgt. Slaughter, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan came out and swayed to the beat. Mickie and Khali made out.

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Footage aired once again of the attack on John Cena last week. Cole and King ran down those who have already won Slammy Awards.

R-Truth made his entrance through the crowd.

7. Dolph Ziggler defeated R-Truth in 3:55. Ziggler tried to introduce himself to Truth but Truth was not having it. The announcers did a nice job of putting over Ziggler's debut vs. Batista last week. With Truth on the apron and Ziggler on the floor, Ziggler used the apron as a springboard to kick Truth to the floor. He slid into the ring for the countout win.

After the match, Ziggler introduced himself to the crowd.

King told us the Superstar of the Year would be announced next.

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Stephanie McMahon stood alone to present the Superstar of the Year. Jeff Hardy, Chris Jericho, Batista, Edge, Triple H, and John Cena are the nominees. Stephanie smugly announced Jericho as the winner.

Superstar of the Year: Chris Jericho

Jericho came out and kept his head on a swivel looking for Cena. "First of all," Jericho said at the podium before taking off toward the ring. Jericho said he was ecstatic that the fans did not cast votes for any of the awards. He told the fans they would sit there and listen to his accolades. He called himself a three time world champion for the year, the third time coming this Sunday at Armageddon.

Jericho said he lost something this year too, and that was his Y2J persona. He said he lost it when he threw Michaels through the Jeritron and he could not be happier. He said he used to be what John Cena currently is: someone who panders to the crowd and cares about what they think and want. John Cena's music hit and he ran Jericho off. Edge immediately made his entrance soon after.

8. Edge vs. John Cena in a champion vs. champion match ended in a no contest in just under eight minutes. Cena came out like a house of fire and quickly knocked Edge to the floor.

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Edge hit a neckbreaker during the break and continued to work on the neck. Edge scored a two count after a flapjack. Cena came back and hit the flipping neck breaker, but Edge followed it up with a big boot. He went for a spear but Cena hit a series of shoulder blocks. He hit the five knuckle shuffle and both men traded nearly hitting their finishers. Cena locked in the STFU but took off when Jericho appeared.

Cena and Jericho fought to the back. With Edge in the ring, Triple H and then Jeff Hardy came out and the three attacked each other. Triple H cleared the ring of his PPV opponents and looked on as Hardy attacked Edge. Edge took off, Hardy stayed for awhile in the aisle, and Triple H's music hit as he stood tall in the ring.

A replay of what just went down with all five men was shown as the show went off the air.

A highlight package recapped the Mark Henry vs. Finlay feud and hyped the main event.

The opening montage aired.

Todd Grisham and Matt Striker introduced the show from ringside after fireworks exploded on the stage.

Tommy Dreamer stood in the ring wearing street clothes. Dreamer said ECW has been part of his life for 15 years. He said he saw it from the rise. Suddenly, Vladimir Kozlov entered the ring from behind and attacked Dreamer. Kozlov said Matt Hardy is a coward. "I'm here to challenge you for the belt," he said.

Kozlov kicked Dreamer a couple of times and then picked up the mic again. He pointed to Dreamer and stated, "Matt Hardy, this is your future." Kozlov left the ring. Jack Swagger's entrance music played and he walked to the ring wearing street clothes. Swagger nudged Dreamer with his foot and then smiled. Swagger picked up Dreamer and delivered his finishing move and then went back to smiling at the crowd.

A video package recapped John Morrison and The Miz winning best tag team during Monday's Slammy Awards.

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1. John Morrison and The Miz defeated Kung Fu Naki and Jimmy Wang Yang in 12:40. Before the match, Grisham and Striker showed off their best announce team Slammy. They also noted that Miz and Morrison were the only wrestlers to win two Slammy Awards this year. Miz and Morrison also brought their Slammys to the ring with them and held them up before the match.

Miz and Morrison were cockier than usual following their Slammy wins. Miz mocked Fu Naki's karate and the babyfaces controlled the offense early on. Morrison reached up from ringside and clotheslined Fu Naki over the top rope just before the show cut to commercial.

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After the break, the heels were in control of the match with Miz working over Fu Naki. Miz slingshotted Funaki into Morrison, who drilled him with a forearm. Late in the match, Yang tagged into the match and performed some flashy offense. He flipped from the top rope and landed on his feet only to be greeted by a kick from Morrison, who pinned him moments later.

Backstage, Tony Atlas showed off his red, white, and blue outfit from his younger days and sought Henry's approval. Henry scolded him and said he doesn't care about his outfit. He also demanded to know why his bag wasn't by his locker. Atlas apologized.

A Slammy Award recap focussed on Shawn Michaels's acceptance speech and JBL coming out and taking the award from him.

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Striker thanked Guns N' Roses for letting them use Chinese Democracy as the official theme song of Armageddon.

The announcers recapped the Vladimir Kozlov angle from earlier in the night and then announced that the two will face off at the pay-per-view.

The announcers interviewed Matt Hardy, who was standing backstage. Hardy said Kozlov calls him a coward because of their beat the clock match on Smackdown. "Let's see what he says when he can't beat me at Armageddon," concluded Hardy.

2. The Boogeyman beat Scott Reed in 0:55. Total squash match. Striker described eating worms is like having spaghetti and dirt in your mouth.

Backstage, Hornswoggled grunted and handed Finlay a plastic shillelagh and a green hat. Finlay looked concerned as he told Horny to listen to everything he said to him when they were in the ring. Horny yelled, "Come on, come on," and raced out of the locker room. The announcers hyped that the tag match main event was coming up next.

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A video recapped Chris Jericho being named the Superstar of the Year.

3. Mark Henry and Tony Atlas defeated Finlay and Hornswoggle in 14:00. Grisham and Striker noted that Finlay's strategy as "the great protector" was to make sure that Horny never entered the ring. Striker recalled Atlas pressing Hulk Hogan above his head at Madison Square Garden. Before the break, Henry went for a splash on Horny, but Finlay reached in and pulled his storyline son to ringside.

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After the break, the heels took turns working over Finlay while Horny waited for the hot tag in the corner. Horny flashed good facials while reacting to Henry's attack on Finlay. The announcers did a nice job of selling the storyline that Finlay would normally work for a tag, but he essentially had to fight the match on his own or put Horny at risk.

At 13:30, Henry dumped Finlay to ringside and then pulled Horny inside the ring. Henry bodyslammed Horny and went for a splash, but Finlay moved Horny out of the way and took the splash. Henry picked up Finlay and hit the World's Strongest Slam and scored the clean pin to end the match.

End of show...

WWE’s “World is Watching” video package is shown.

Triple H is immediately shown making his way down to the ring when all of a sudden, Jeff Hardy attacks him from behind and the two begin a huge brawl. Chavo Guerrero and several referees try to pull the two guys apart, but get knocked down. Vickie then comes and tries to separate them, but gets knocked down when Triple H pushes referee Charles Robinson into her. Finally, after several minutes, the referee pull them apart.

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We get replays of what just occurred.

MVP is shown in the middle of the ring as JR and Tazz mention his terrible losing streak.

R-Truth makes his way through the crowd (with his Slammy Trophy) to a great ovation.

Match 1: MVP v. R-Truth
Bell rings and Truth boasts in front of MVP. The two attempt a lockup, but MVP takes a cheap shot and strikes with a knee to the gut of Truth. Truth fights back, but soon gets taken down with a nice overhead throw. MVP delivers several elbow shots and drops a knee to the spine of Truth and covers, but gets a 2 count. MVP applies a headlock, but he refuses to tap. Truth tries getting back up, but gets slammed down back into the mat. MVP then Irish Whip’s Truth into the ropes and connects with a back drop. MVP proceeds to lock in a Camel Clutch which Truth manages to get out of. Truth punches MVP a few times, but MVP grabs Truth and connects with an Oklahoma Slam. MVP then sends Truth to the corner and picks him up on top of his shoulders, but Truth reverses it and picks up the win with a victory roll.

Truth leaves the ring and MVP is irate. He then gets on the microphone. MVP says that this is his life and career he is talking about. He went from being the highest paid entertainer on SmackDown, the longest reigning US Champion in WWE history to almost nothing. And though this is supposed to be the happiest time of the year, it isn’t, but he has pride and more money than the people. KENNEDY—

Mr. Kennedy music hits and he talks from the stage. MVP tries talking, but they turn off his microphone. Kennedy says he is disappointed in MVP and tells him that he wishes he could help MVP put a smile on his face. Kennedy promotes his new movie, Behind Enemy Lines Columbia, and tells MVP to see the movie to cheer up.

(Match/Segment Rating: 3/5. A short, but good opening match indeed. To be honest, I think it is utterly ridiculous for the WWE management to give MVP such a lack of push. The guy certainly has the credentials that shouldn’t be overlooked.)

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RAW Rebound is shown.

They show a video promoting the arrival a new superstar coming to SmackDown! Sorry, but I couldn’t catch his name.

The Bella twins are shown backstage when The Brian Kendrick approaches them and begins to flirt. Primo and Carlito come in and ask if there is a problem. Kendrick is about to back away when Ezekiel comes in and he asks if there is a problem. Kendrick boasts and Primo tells him, “if you’re feeling froggy, jump!” Once the heels leave, Carlito teases Primo about that line.

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We are shown some clips of the WWE Slammy Awards.

Primo and Carlito are shown in the ring. Primo is set to be in one-on-one action against The Brian Kendrick. Ezekiel will be in Kendrick’s corner as usual.

Match 2: The Brian Kendrick v. Primo Colon
As the match starts, Primo takes Kendrick’s leg down. They back off and Primo once again gets the advantage with a nice armdrag. Kendrick gets back up and charges at Primo, but is tripped. Crowd laughs and Primo mocks Kendrick. Speed picks up here as Primo begins to dominate Kendrick with some quick executed offense. Finally, Kendrick goes to the ropes and when Primo approaches, Kendrick slaps Primo in the face and runs outside the ring and hides behind Ezekiel. Slowly, both competitors get back into the ring and Kendrick connects with a nice kick to the face on Primo. Kendrick continues to punish Primo by choking him using the ropes. Kendrick applies a modified headlock, but Primo fights out of it. Primo charges at Kendrick, but Kendrick sweeps him onto the ropes and once again chokes him. After about a minute or so, Primo finally fights back with punches and a roll over suplex. Primo then strikes with a headbutt and delivers a nice dropkick. Primo continues to build his momentum by connecting with a springboard high cross body and goes for the cover, but gets a 2. Primo decides to get on the top ropes, but Ezekiel distracts him. Carlito tries stopping Ezekiel, but Ezekiel rams Carlito into the steel steps. Off this distraction, Kendrick gets back up and kicks Primo in the face and wins with a roll up.

(Match Rating: 3/5. Another good match. I was about to rate this match higher, because of the pace of this match, but it did get rather slow at times. Nonetheless, it was a good match and I can see a future tag team match between the two opposing teams).

We see another replay of what occurred between Triple H and Jeff Hardy at the start of the show.

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Hurricane Helms is in the ring preparing for a match. His opponent is the Gold Standard, Shelton Benjamin.

Match 3: Hurricane Helms v. Shelton Benjamin
Bell rings and Benjamin immediately takes Helms down with a fireman’s carry. Benjamin begins to pound on Helms in the corner, but Helms elbows Benjamin and goes up top. As Helms comes down, Benjamin drop kicks him which sends Helms to the outside. Benjamin brings Helms back into the ring and applies pressure to the surgically repaired neck of Helms. Helms tries to fight back, but Benjamin takes him back down with a swinging neck breaker. Benjamin then applies an armlock , but Helms kicks Benjamin in the back of the head to break the hold. Helms now begins to build momentum as he takes down Benjamin with a nice back slam and signals for the Shining Wizard. As Helms tries to kick Benjamin, Benjamin reverses it and gets Helms up in the electric chair like position, but Helms falls off as Benjamin connects with an inverted back breaker. Benjamin covers, but gets a nearfall. Benjamin Irish Whips Helms into the corner and charges at him, but Helms puts his feet up and knocks Benjamin down. Helms goes up top and Benjamin leaps up there, but trips on the ropes and falls back down. Helms connects with a botched cross body for the win.

Post-Match: Tazz interviews Helms and asks him how he feels to be back on SmackDown! Helms responds by saying that he wants the US Title…He’s just sayin…

(Match Rating: 3/5. Seems to be the story of the night thus far, a solid night with a few errors in between. Welcome back Helms!)

The Cutting Edge with Matt Hardy is up next.

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WWE Did You Know? WWE offers all U.S Military personnel free tickets to its live events in the U.S.

Edge is shown already in the middle of the ring. Edge states that with 2 days left until Armageddon, his 2 opponents in the triple threat match are ready to tear each other’s heads off, because of their violent past. Edge adds that Triple H was also the one that attacked Jeff Hardy on that Sunday morning prior to Survivor Series. Matt Hardy is then introduced.

Matt comes out and says that no matter what kind of excuses or spinning he is trying to make, he knows that Edge was the one that attacked Jeff Hardy.

Edge responds by saying that he was trying step up to the plate when Jeff couldn’t.

Matt knows Edge will do whatever it takes to get ahead; after all, he is the Ultimate Opportunist. Matt adds that he knows more than anyone that Edge is the scummiest person on the face of this planet.

Edge tells Matt that it could have been people like Randy Orton, The Miz, John Morrison, because they all want Jeff out of the company. But Better yet, it could have the man who had the most to lose, Triple H.

Matt says that all the facts points towards Edge and that he finally wants the truth from Edge.

Edge says he has some cold hard truths for Matt. First, the only reason Matt is getting involved in Jeff’s business is because nobody cares about Matt. Secondly, Jeff’s problems thrust him into the spotlight while Matt is overlooked. BUT the biggest truth is that people actually care about Jeff Hardy as they don’t give a damn about Matt Hardy.

Matt looks upset as the crowd chants “Hardy!”

Matt punches Edge down, but Vladimir Koslov makes his way down to the ring. Edge takes a cheap shot at Matt, and Koslov enters the ring drills Matt with numerous head shots, battering ram, and a modified spinebuster.

(Segment Rating: 4/5. Excellent segment. The Matt/Koslov rivalry actually has the potential of being something special.)

Still to Come: Triple H v. Jeff Hardy!

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We see some more clips from the Slammy Awards.

Match 4: Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins v. The Great Khali (Handicap Match)
Basically what you would expect. Khali dominates the two former Edge-heads with big boots, chops, and chokeslams. The finish came when Khali hits the Khali bomb on Ryder.

(Match Rating: 1/5. Nothing really need be said.)

Backstage, Eve interviews Triple H. Eve asks Triple H what is his response to Edge’s theory that he was responsible for attacking Jeff Hardy the day of Survivor Series. Triple H says that apparently Edge isn’t the only one that believes that theory as Jeff does as well. Triple H then asks Jeff does he seriously think he needs to attack Jeff to get an advantage, because he was never a big enough blimp on his radar to warrant an attack and rest assured that if it would have been him, Jeff wouldn’t be here tonight. Triple H then says that he doesn’t care who attacked him, but since Jeff has put himself in Triple H’s path, he will take him down and become WWE Champion at Armageddon.

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The Bella twins make their way down to the ring. Their opponents are Natalya and Maryse.

Match 5: The Bella Twins v. Natalya & Maryse
I believe it was Nikki and Maryse to start things off. Maryse slaps Nikki in the face and Nikki responds with a Lou Thez Press much to the audiences delight. Nikkie then tosses Maryse across the ring by pulling her hair. Maryse gets back up and tags in Natalya. Natalya charges at Nikki, but is tripped. Nikki proceeds to tag in her sister, Brie. The twins double team Natalya and eventually, Brie connects with a jumping snapmare. Brie then tries a judo flip, but Natalya flips Brie over which sent her crashing into the mat. Several minutes later, the finish came when Natalya caught Brie in a fall-a-way like slam position and Nikki came in to drop kick Brie on top of Natalya for the win.

(Match Rating: 2.5/5. Good divas bout. The Bella’s are pretty impressive.)

Backstage, Eve interviews Vladimir Koslov. She asks him what are his thoughts as he prepares to fight Matt Hardy at Armaggedon. Koslov says Matt is not a worthy competitor and will destroy him. Once he does, he is coming for championship gold. Everyone must fall…

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Tazz and JR go over the Armageddon card.

We get another replay of the Jeff Hardy/Triple H incident that occurred at the beginning of the show.

Triple H’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring.

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Jeff Hardy’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring to a rock-star like ovation.

Main Event: Triple H v. Jeff Hardy
The bell rings and both men strike each other with right hands, but Jeff gets the upper hand. They then take it to the outside early as Jeff rams Triple H into the barricade. Jeff gets in the ring and connects with a baseball slide. Jeff then flies from the apron and takes down The Game. Further damage is done as Jeff sends the King of Kings into the steel steps. Jeff then throws his entire body at Triple H that takes down both men for about a minute. As both men slowly roll into the ring, Triple H takes down Jeff with a clothesline. Who’s going to survive? We will find out…

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Back, we see Triple H Irish Whip Jeff into the corner, thus knocking him down. Triple H repeats this and gets a near fall. Triple H then whips Jeff into the ropes, but Jeff kicks The Game across the chest and clotheslines him over the ropes. Jeff then splashes onto Triple H to the outside. Jeff throws Triple H back into the ring and attempts a Stinger Splash, but misses it as The Game dodges it. Triple H begins to strike Jeff in the face in what JR described as “piston like right hands.” Triple H then connects with a long balanced vertical suplex. Triple H gives Jeff the DX crotch chops and connects with the Harley Race knee drop. At this point, Triple applies a sleeper hold which grounds Jeff for quite some time. Crowd begins to chant “Hardy!” Jeff punches Triple H a few times, but receives a facebuster for his hasty actions. The Game covers, but receives only a 2 count. Triple H lifts Jeff up and takes him down with a powerful right hand. The Game continues the beatdown as he throws Jeff to the outside and slams his head twice on the announcer’s table. The Cerebral Assassin brings Jeff back into the ring, but it is Jeff who takes Triple H down with forearm shots. Jeff tries building momentum, but is cut short as Triple H grabs Jeff and connects with a spinebuster that practically came out of nowhere. The Game cover, 1…2…No! Jeff kicks out. Over the next 30 or so seconds, we see at least 5 different reversals between both men, but Jeff winds up connecting with a Whisper in the Wind. After a 2 count, Jeff connects with a facebuster, throws his t-shirt to the crowd, but misses a Swanton Bomb! At this point, Edge makes his way down to the ring and spears both Triple H and Jeff Hardy. Referee Wes Adams calls for the bell.

Post-Match: Edge holds the WWE Champion high above with the crowd booing him as the show comes to an end…

The show opened with a video previewing the two World Title matches.

Fireworks exploded on the cool castle stage. Jim Ross and Tazz introduced the show from ringside.

1. Vladimir Kozlov pinned Matt Hardy in a non-title match in 9:05. Todd Grisham and Matt Striker on commentary. They have their Best Announce Team Slammy sitting on the announce table. Grisham pointed out that Kozlov is unbeaten in eight months. Hardy and Kozlov faced off in striking pose to start the match. Hardy used his quickness to score a couple of quick nearfalls.

Kozlov used his power to make a quick comeback. He worked over Hardy's left arm and demanded that the ref ask Matt if he wanted to submit. He held onto the hold and used his head to batter Hardy's chest. After several minutes of Kozlov working over the arm, Hardy finally reached the ropes to break the hold.

Hardy made his comeback at 6:30. He dove off the ring apron onto Kozlov at ringside, but Vladimir caught him. Kozlov tried to ram Hardy into the ring post, but Matt slipped out and sent Kozlov crashing into the post. Back inside the ring, Hardy scored his first nearfall of the match. Later, Kozlov hit a move that Striker described as a chokeslam combined with a spinebuster and scored the clean pin over Hardy.

Backstage, Edge and Vickie Guerrero laughed over Hardy losing the match. Edge left the room and Chavo asked Vickie whether they attacked Jeff Hardy the night before Survivor Series. She denied any involvement. She sent Chavo to fetch her coffee.

At ringside, Ross and Tazz announced a mobile poll that asked viewers who attacked Hardy last month. The options were Edge, Triple H, Kozlov, and other.

2. C.M. Punk defeated Rey Mysterio in the Intercontinental Title tournament final. William Regal and Layla sat at ringside with the Intercontinental Title belt 13:45. Lillian mistakenly introduced Punk as one-half of the tag team champions. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler quickly corrected her and aired still shot photos of The Miz and John Morrison beating Punk and Kofi Kingston on Saturday night in Hamilton, Ont. to win the tag titles.

The announcers noted from the start that Mysterio suffered torn ligaments in his wrist when he was attacked by Mike Knox. Early in the match, Punk backdropped Mysterio to ringside right in front of Regal, who was sitting on a cheesy throne. Punk dove over the top rope onto Rey at ringside.

Back inside the ring, Punk remained on offense and worked over Punk's sore wrist. At 7:30, Mysterio caught Punk in an arm bar. Punk sold it well before reaching the ropes to break the hold. At 11:00, Rey went for the 619, but Punk avoided it and hoisted up Rey for the GTS. Rey slipped out of the move and ended up hitting the 619 in a really good spot. Rey went for a big splash off the ropes, but Punk moved. "Nearfall after nearfall for Punk and Mysterio," Cole said. Moments later, Punk hit the GTS on Punk and scored the clean pin. Regal clapped at ringside. Mysterio came up bleeding heavily from the nose.

A Royal Rumble commercial aired.

A shot aired of Jeff Hardy sitting in a dark room with makeup on his face. He said people have tried to change him his entire life. "Everyone has tried to break me, but I broke my own walls down," he said. He said tonight is a new chapter in the career of Jeff Hardy. "Tonight I will answer all the questions," he said. "Does Jeff Hardy have what it takes? Is Jeff Hardy willing to change? I am who I am. Jeff Hardy, WWE Champion".

Cole and Lawler introduced a video that recapped the JBL and Shawn Michaels storyline.

JBL's limo pulled into the building. JBL made the slow walk to the ring and called out his "new employee" Shawn Michaels. HBK's music played and he walked to the ring in street clothes. Shawn took the mic and said he was going to "get right to it." He said the economy has hit everyone hard and "unfortunately I'm not immune to it." He said he's in a tough spot right now.

Shawn said he's heard people say he's a WWE Superstar and that he's rich and there's no way this could happen to him. "Believe me, I wish that was the case," he said. He said he spent a lot of money when he was in his twenties. He said he was injured in his thirties and paid for all his knee and back surgeries. Shawn said he met his wife and turned his life around. He found a financial planner and did what he thought was right.

"And then the roof caved in," Michaels said. He said he wasn't going to lie to the fans and that he doesn't know how much time he has left. He paused and looked at the ground. "I don't know how many years I have left," he reiterated. He said he has a family and relatives that depend on him. He said that's why he accepted JBL's offer. "I don't like JBL any more than you do," said Michaels. He said he finds him to be a smug bully, but he's solid financially and "that's what I need right now."

Shawn said he will put his children through college and won't let his brothers and sisters lose their home. He said he won't become a wrestling tragedy who limps into a high school gym or is spotted bagging groceries. "You can judge me if you want," Shawn said. "If being booed by you or being called a sellout by you is the price I have to pay, then I'll pay it," he said. A small "You sold out" chant started.

"This is not something I want to do," Michaels said. "This is something I have to do." JBL took the mic from Shawn and glared at him. JBL stuck out his hand in front of Michaels. Shawn shook reluctantly shook his hands as the fans booed. JBL left the ring, leaving Michaels to stand there with a sad look on his face.

Backstage, Eve tried to interview Randy Orton, but Cody Rhodes and Manu entered the picture. Cody handled the bulk of the talking, then Manu took over. Manu said Orton would expose Batista for the fraud that he is. "Tonight, Randy Orton cements his legacy." Orton walked off without saying a word.

At ringside, members of the Buffalo Bills clowned around and pretended to beat up one another. There were some boos from the crowd.

3. Finlay defeated Mark Henry (w/Tony Atlas) in a Belfast Brawl in 9:40. Hornswoggle didn't come out with Finlay. Henry and Finlay fought at ringside early as the announcers (Grisham and Striker) explained that there were no countouts in a Belfast Brawl. At 2:45, Finlay grabbed a variety of weapons from underneath the ring. Atlas hit him with a trash can lid, but Finlay no-sold it and kicked Atlas. Henry took advantage of the distraction and struck Henry with another lid.

At 7:15, Henry picked up the shillelagh and broke it over his knee. Finlay tried to hit him with a kendo stick, but Henry stopped him and broke that over his knee. At 8:00, Hornswoggle appeared at ringside and climbed onto the ring apron. Henry threw Finlay into the ropes and Finlay's elbow caught Horny and knocked him to the floor at ringside.

Henry continued to dominate the match and threw the ring steps inside the ring at 9:15. He picked up the steps and walked toward Finlay, who caught him with a dropkick to the knee. Hornswoggle slid a second shillelagh to Finlay, who struck Henry with it and scored the pin. After the match, Finlay and Hornswoggle hugged.

An ad aired for the Tribute to the Troops show, which airs Saturday night on NBC.

Backstage, Santa Haas handed out gifts to the WWE Divas. Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix entered the room. Santino showed off the Slammy that Beth won. Santino reached inside the big gift box. Boogeyman popped his head out of the box and delivered his catchphrase. Santino delivered a classic high pitched scream. He tried to leave through a door, but Goldust was waiting for him under the mistletoe. After Santino ran off, Goldust wished Boogey a Merry Christmas. They exchanged gifts. Jesse, Festus, and other wrestlers entered the room and they all sang, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".

Mr. Kennedy appeared on screen and pimped his Behind the Enemy Lines Columbia video.

A video recapped Evolution and hyped the Batista vs. Randy Orton match.

4. Batista pinned Randy Orton (w/Cody Rhodes, Manu) in 16:45. At 2:20, Orton threw Batista to ringside. Cody and Manu ganged up on Batista, but the referee saw them and sent them to the back. At 5:00, Batista set up Orton for the Batista Bomb, but Orton slid out and hit a neckbreaker.

At 6:30, Batista tossed Orton over the top rope to ringside. Cole and Lawler made a good call by talking about how it reminded them of Orton injuring his shoulder while performing the same spot against Triple H. Later, Orton applied the chin lock of death for the next few minutes. Batista broke free, but went right back to the hold. Batista powered up to his feet with Orton holding on. Batista backed into the ropes to break the hold.

At 12:55, Orton superplexed Batista for a nearfall. Moments later, Batista hit the spinebuster for his own nearfall. Batista set up for the Batista Bomb, but Orton slipped out. Orton went for the RKO, but Batista shoved him off and hit a sidewalk slam for another nearfall. At 15:00, Orton was looking for the RKO again, but Batista used a side slam for a good nearfall. Later, Orton was going for a flapjack, but Batista held onto the ropes and transitioned into the Batista Bomb for the win.

A Raw Slammy recap segment aired.

A video recapped the brawl that ended Raw between Triple H, Jeff Hardy, and Edge.

5. Mickie James, Maria, Kelly Kelly, and Michelle McCool defeated Mayrse, Victoria, Natalya, and Jillian Hall in 4:30. In the end, McCool hit the Styles Clash on Jillian and scored the pin.

After the match, the heels carried Jillian backstage. Great Khali and Runjin Singh came out to new bhangra entrance music. They were setting up McCool for a kiss with Khali, but she refused and then rolled of the ring. Runjin said the only thing better than kissing one diva is kissing three divas. After some back and forth delay, Singh brought out Mae Young to kiss Khali instead. Eventually, Mae jumped into Khali's arms and forced a big kiss on him. He acted like he was sick afterward.

A highlight video previewed the John Cena vs. Chris Jericho match.

6. John Cena beat Chris Jericho via submission to retain the World Hvt. Championship in 12:45. Lillian Garcia handled the in-ring introductions. Cena and Jericho had a good staredown before the bell. At 3:15, Cena went for the FU, but Jericho turned it into a DDT. Moments later, Cena went for the FU on the ring apron again, but Jericho broke free and rammed him face first into the ring steps. At 6:30, Cena did the "You can't see me" bit and went for the FU, but Jericho slid out again. At 9:40, Cena came back with another FU attempt. He flipped Jericho over, but Jericho landed on his feet and hit the Codebreaker for a really good nearfall. Jericho argued with the referee over the count and walked into the FU. Cena sold the Codebreaker and was slow to make a cover, so Jericho kicked out. The announcers did nothing to put over Jericho kicking out of Cena's finisher.

At 11:15, Jericho avoided the STFU and got to the ropes. He locked Cena in the Walls of Jericho. Cena powered toward the ropes, but Jericho pulled him back to the center of the ring. Cena held up his hand and teased tapping, but he eventually powered out and locked in the STFU for the win. After the match, Cena celebrated in front of the Bills players at ringside.

Another Royal Rumble commercial aired.

Ross and Tazz announced that 65 percent of the WWE voters believed that Edge attacked Jeff Hardy on the morning of the Survivor Series.

A video hyped Triple Threat match.

7. Jeff Hardy defeated Edge and Triple H in a Triple Threat match to win the WWE Title in 17:20. Ross ran through the rules of the match. He said there are no DQ and no countouts. He added that the champion doesn't have to be involved in the pin or submission to lose his title. At 7:30, Edge went for a spear on Hardy, who moved, causing Edge to spear Hunter in the corner. Hardy followed up with a Swanton Bomb on Hunter and went for the cover, but Edge reached in and pulled Hardy to ringside to break up the pin. With the wrestlers at ringside, Striker once again reached out to protect his precious Slammy.

At 10:00, Hardy prepped the Smackdown announcers' table for a spot, but Hunter attacked him from behind. Hunter tossed Hardy over the ECW table. Grisham split and Striker was close behind with a death grip on his Slammy. Hunter ripped the top of the Raw announcers' table off and set Hardy on top of it. Hunter went for the Pedigree, but Jeff fought out and went for the Twist of Fate, but Hunter dodged it. Hunter jumped out of the way as Edge ran from the ECW table and speared Hardy through the Smackdown table at the other end of the row of announcers' tables.

Back inside the ring, Edge DDT'd Hunter at 13:00. Edge tried to spear Hunter, but Hunter caught him with the spinebuster. Hunter hit the hit the Pedigree on Edge and went for a cover, but Vladimir Kozlov ran out and pulled him off. Matt Hardy ran out and fought with Kozlov. Jeff Hardy went up top for the Swanton on Edge, but Kozlov pushed Jeff to the floor. Kozlov and Matt fought their way to the back at 15:00.

At 16:15, Edge set up Hunter for the Conchairto, but Hardy recovered and stopped him from swinging the chair. Hardy grabbed the chair and struck Edge with it. Hardy went to the top for his finisher, but Hunter recovered and pushed him down. Hunter hit the Pedigree on Edge. Hunter covered Edge, but Hardy came off the top with the Swanton Bomb on both men. Hardy covered Edge and got the 1-2-3 to become the new WWE Champion.

The announcers laid out while Hardy celebrated in the ring and put the WWE Title around his waist for the first time. Hardy danced and continued to celebrate. Fans are generally racing for the exits at this point, but it looked like most stayed to celebrate Hardy finally winning the big one. He shook hands with the fans in the aisle and took off one of his nylon arm bands and handed them to a kid who asked for one.

The announcers checked back in and recapped the match as Hardy continued to celebrate with the fans. They replayed footage of the match, including the footage of the finish. Ross said the WWE Universe will be saying, "Let the Hardy party begin." A shot aired of Hardy standing on top of the castle set with the WWE Title.

The Wicked One wrote:Other than Jeff Hardy it doesn't read like a very good PPV.

IA...but I think that's partially b/c the chicks all suck @ wrestling. I mean, it sounded like it was a decent PPV, but not one that has you sayin' OMG, in Good Ol' JR's voice. Ya know what I mean? & I'm so tired of these ultra crappy female POA pretending like they can wrestle & beating the female wrestlers who're actually talented. Stupid mofos! Makes me glad I don't pay for PPVs each month anymore, it's totally not worth it.

We see a photo of Jeff Hardy with the WWE Title belt. We also see a photo of Shawn Michaels shaking the hand of JBL. We are also reminded that John Morrison and The Miz won the Tag Titles over the weekend.

Match Number One: Kelly Kelly and Melina versus Jillian Hall and Beth Phoenix with Santino Marella
Beth’s fan is strategically placed where Beth can see her. She wants a photo with Beth and Santino takes it for her.

Jillian and Kelly start things off and Jillian works on the arm but Kelly escapes and has Jillian in a side head lock. Kelly with a tilt-a-whirl head scissors. Kelly is pulled down by Beth from behind and Jillian gets a near fall. Jillian slams Kelly’s head into the mat and then chokes her in the ropes. Jillian with a punch to the ribs followed by knees. Kelly tries to make the tag but Jillian knocks Melina off the apron and Kelly gets the three count with a rollup.
Winners: Kelly Kelly and Melina

After the match, Jillian attacks Kelly and Beth joins in after knocking Melina off the apron.

Kane’s pyro goes off and Kane comes to the ring and he stands between Kelly, Beth and Jillian. Kane stands over Kelly and Kelly tries to crawl away. Kelly backs into the corner and Kane offers his hand, but Kelly gets out of the ring. Kane follows Kelly to the back. We go to commercial.

We are back and we take a look back at the budding romance between Kane and Kelly Kelly but Kelly is not sure of Kane’s advances.

Kelly continues to walk away from Kane during commercial and she bumps into Jamie Noble. Kane walks past and pushes Noble out of the way. Kane finds Kelly and tells her that they need to talk.

We see that Cody Rhodes and Manu are at ringside watching the next match.

Match Number Two: Rey Mysterio versus Deuce
Before the match starts, Deuce gets on the mic and he says that he would like to be introduced by his real name. He says that he is the son of Jimmy Snuka. He wants to be known as Sim Snuka.

They lock up and Sim takes Rey down while in the collar and elbow tie up. Rey with a kick but Sim with a knee. Sim with a side slam for a near fall. Snuka kicks Rey in the back followed by a hard Irish whip. Snuka with a knee to the back and then he puts Rey in a rear chin lock with his knee in Rey’s back.

We see Cody and Manu commenting on Sim’s performance. Snuka misses a knee drop and Rey hits a drop kick. Rey with a kick to the leg followed by forearms and a tilt-a-whirl head scissors. Sim tosses Rey into the air and then hits a running knee for a near fall. Sim argues with the referee for making a slow count. Rey kicks Snuka in the face and then he goes to the second turnbuckle but Sim catches him. Rey sends Sim into the ropes in the 619 position. Sim goes to the floor and Rey hits a seated splash onto Sim. Cody and Manu attack Rey and the referee calls for the bell.

Winner: Rey Mysterio by disqualification

After the match Manu and Cody send Rey into the ring and Rey escapes. Rey turns around into Mike Knox and he attacks Rey from behind. Knox hits the corkscrew flatline on Rey and stands over Rey while Manu and Cody leave.

We go to commercial.

We are back with the latest DX Christmas ad. This one is the sweatshirt and t-shirt ad that aired on Smackdown. Shawn brings out the Triple H bear and Hunter pulls out a Shawn bear.

Lawler points out that the DX ads were taped a few weeks ago and he points out that Shawn is broke. We will see the moment when Shawn joined Bradshaw.

Kane has Kelly in an interrogation setting. Kane says that Kelly was trying to tell her something last week. Kelly points out that they were presenting an award. Kane wants to know if she was taking advantage of him. Kane tells Kelly that if she is taking advantage of him, she can get up and leave. Kelly gets up, but Kane shuts the door before she could leave. Kane says that he knew she felt something.

Todd Grisham is with Randy Orton in the interview area. Todd says that Randy demanded this time to speak. Randy says that he challenged Batista to a rematch and he has not received a reply from Batista. Randy says that Batista is a coward because he knows exactly what would happen.

When Batista shows up. Batista says that he has an answer, but Orton slaps Batista before he can respond. Orton goes into the arena and Batista follows. From out of nowhere, Cody Rhodes and Manu attack Batista. They hold Batista for Orton but John Cena comes out to make the save for Batista. We see Orton standing at the top of the ramp as he stares at Cena. We go to commercial.

We are back and Batista and John Cena are in the back. Cena says that he has plenty of beef with the Legacy. Batista asks if Cena is done with Jericho. They are interrupted by Todd Grisham who says that Stephanie made a handicap match with Cena and Batista facing the Legacy.

Match Number Three: Jim Duggan versus Chris Jericho
Chris is not dressed to wrestle but he still comes to the ring. Chris takes the mic from Lillian and Chris says that he will tell us what he is doing. Chris says that he is refusing to wrestle tonight. Chris Jericho says that he is the 2008 Superstar of the Year and he has been carrying this show for the last twelve months. He says that it is a slap in the face to face someone like Jim Duggan. If Lebron James misses the game winning shot, he is not banished to the end of the bench. Chris says that he is the best in the business today. He will not face a bottom of the barrel talent like Jim. He calls it an insult and tragedy. Jericho says that he will not return to the ring until he gets a title match.

Chris leaves the ring and Duggan sulks in the ring.

We are back to the False Imprisonment Scene with Kane and Kelly. Kane asks Kelly if she wants to know him better and she says no. Kane wants to know if there is someone else. Kane tells Kelly that she will tell him whether she wants to or not. We go to commercial.

We are back and nobody has found out where Kane and Kelly are. Kane says that Kelly did the right thing by telling her. Kane says that he has to go now. Kelly asks Kane not to hurt him. Kane says that she is right. Love is a wonderful thing.

William Regal and Layla come out to the stage to sit in the Regal Throne.

We see photos of the match between Rey and Punk from Armageddon. Then we see footage of Punk and Kingston losing the title on Saturday.

Match Number Four: CM Punk and Kofi Kingston versus John Morrison and The Miz for the World Tag Titles
Kofi and Miz start things off and they lock up and Kofi with a side head lock. Miz backs Kofi into the corner and he kicks Kofi on the break. Miz with a side head lock and he locks it in as Kofi tries to escape. Miz pulls Kofi down by the hair and then Kofi hits a leaping back elbow for a near fall. Kofi works on the arm and he tags in Punk. Kofi with a suplex and Punk with a slingshot senton for a near fall. Punk with a spinning heel kick for a near fall. Kofi tags in and Punk sends Miz into Kofi’s knees. Punk with a jawbreaker and Kofi with a flying forearm for a near fall. Kofi with a wrist lock and he tags Punk back in. Punk kicks Miz in the back and then he Irish whips Miz but Miz gets his foot up. Miz with a slap to Punk and then Punk goes after Miz and Miz leaves the ring. Punk goes after Miz and Morrison grabs the leg but Punk sends Morrison into the ringside barrier. Punk with a swinging neck breaker for a near fall. Morrison interferes but Kofi with a drop kick. Kofi sets for the suicide dive but he bounces off the ropes. Kofi back body drops Punk onto Miz and Morrison as we go to commercial.

We are back and Morrison with a reverse chin lock on Kofi. Kofi with a jawbreaker and Miz and Punk tag in. Punk with a series of kicks followed by a rollup for a two count. Punk with an Irish whip but Punk is sent to the apron. Punk kicks Miz then Morrison. Punk tries for the springboard clothesline, but Miz pulls Punk off the ropes and gets a near fall. Miz pulls Punk into the corner and then he catapults Punk into a punch from the apron followed by a slingshot elbow onto Punk and Morrison gets a two count. Morrison kicks Punk in the ribs. Morrison with a body scissors to Punk. Miz tags back in and Morrison gets Punk on his shoulders but Punk gets off Morrison and he superplexes Miz and both men are down. Punk tries to crawl to his corner to tag in Kofi.

Morrison and Kofi tag in and Kofi with a forearm and then he hits a cross body. Kofi with a chop and drop kick followed by a leaping clothesline. Kofi does laps around Morrison and then drops the boop boop leg drop for a near fall. Kofi with a modified Code Red on Morrison. Punk sends Miz out of the ring and then Punk with a pescado. Kofi with a body scissors rollup for a two count. Kofi misses a cross body when Morrison moves out of the way. Morrison with the springboard spin kick but Punk breaks up the cover. Kofi knocks Miz out of the ring but Morrison hits Moonlight Drive for the three count.
Winners: John Morrison and The Miz

After the match, Kane comes out and he goes to the ring to get revenge on Kelly’s suitor. Kane stares down everyone in the ring and he grabs Miz by the throat and hits a choke slam. Kane gives Miz a tombstone.

The lights go down and back up as Kane leaves the ring.

We go to commercial.

John Bradshaw Layfield comes out and he has something to say unless he shares Chris Jericho’s fashion choice for wrestling. Bradshaw says it is time to hear Shawn Michaels’s comments about being the newest employee of Bradshaw’s.

Shawn says that he is going to get right to it. He says that the economy has hit everyone hard and he is not immune to it. Shawn says that he is in a rough spot. Shawn says that he heard it from everyone that it cannot happen to him. He wishes it was not the case. Like a lot of twenty year olds, when he came into money, he lived the high life. He bought things and gave things to all of his buddies. Shawn says that he was not going to ask anyone for help when he got hurt. He was not going to be beholden to any person or company. Shawn mentions that he met his wife and had kids. Shawn said that he thought he was doing the ‘adult’ thing and he hired people to make investments for him. Shawn says that he gave to the church and charities. Since they didn’t have, he gave. Then the roof gave in. If it was twenty years ago, it would be different. Shawn says that he does not know how much time he has left. He still has a family that needs him and he has relatives who depend on him. Shawn says that is why he took JBL up on his offer. Shawn says that he does not like Bradshaw. He is smug, a bully, and reprehensible. He says that Bradshaw is very good financially and that is what he needs right now. Shawn says that he will put his children through college and he will not let his brothers and sisters lose their homes. He will not be one of those guys who are bagging groceries or limping into a gym to wrestle. Shawn says that he will not become a wrestling tragedy. Shawn says that if being booed and called a sellout is the price that he has to pay, he will pay that price. The crowd chants that Shawn sold out. Shawn says that this is not something he wants to do, it is something that he has to do. Bradshaw takes the mic and then he offers his hand to Shawn and Shawn shakes it.

Bradshaw comes back out for a second.

Kelly is in the locker room and Candice and Mickie wonder if Kelly is okay. They say that they never knew about Kelly and The Miz. Kelly is shocked at this revelation and she leaves.

We are back with the Slam of the Week: Dolph Ziggler versus R Truth.

Dolph Ziggler is in the ring and he wants the mic to introduce himself.

Match Number Five: Dolph Ziggler versus Santa Claas
Santa gives Dolph a gift but he is not a happy camper. Ziggler with a forearm to the back and a punch in the corner. Santa punches Ziggler and Irish whips Ziggler and hits a splash. Ziggler with a drop kick and then he punches Santa. Ziggler with elbow drops and then he hits a leaping elbow drop. Ziggler with a reverse chin lock. Ziggler pulls Santa down by his jacket. Dolph reminds Santa who he is and then he kicks him again. Ziggler chokes Claas in the ropes and then he puts Claas in a reverse chin lock and he cinches it in. Santa’s face gets bright red as he tries to avoid being choked out. Ziggler misses a leaping elbow drop because he took too much time to remind Santa who he is. Santa with punches and a drop kick followed by a running shoulder into the corner. Santa misses a charge into the corner and then he hits a leaping inverted DDT for the three count.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler

After the match, he strips Santa out of his suit.

It is time for a video package about Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia.

We are back and Cryme Tyme sees Jim Duggan and they tell Jim that it is time.

Chris Jericho is with Stephanie McMahon and she wants to know what the stunt was that he pulled. If she tells him to wrestle, he will wrestle. Stephanie says that if she tells Chris to dance, he will dance. Jericho says that Batista’s rematch clause has expired. Stephanie tells Chris that she knows about all of her superstars. There will be four matches next week with former champions. The four winners will meet the following week in a Fatal Four Way match to see who will face John Cena for the title. Stephanie tells Chris that she better not embarrass her again or he will never have a match for a superstar of the year.

Cody and Manu talk about the plan. Randy interrupts and he says that last night was a failure and the attack on Batista failed tonight. Orton says that if they are not perfect, the legacy is over.

We see footage from earlier tonight when this match was set up.

Match Number Six: Batista and John Cena versus The Legacy of Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Manu
Batista and Manu start things off and they lock up. Manu backs Batista into the corner and he gives a clean break. Manu with a knee and punch followed by a head butt. Batista with a back elbow and then he slams Manu’s head into the turnbuckles. Cena tags in and he punches Manu. Cena slams Manu and hits an elbow drop for a near fall. Cody tags in and they lock up with Rhodes applying a side head lock. Rhodes with a shoulder tackle but Cena with a side head lock take down. Rhodes backs Cena into the corner and he kicks Cena. Cena with a kick and fisherman’s suplex for a near fall.

Batista tags in and he hits a leaping shoulder tackle followed by a delayed vertical suplex for a near fall. Batista slams Rhodes’s head into the turnbuckle and then he tags in Cena who punches Rhodes and sends him into the turnbuckles. Cena with a bulldog for a near fall. Batista tags back in and he punches Rhodes and works on the arm and shoulder. Batista with an Irish whip and running clothesline into the corner. Rhodes with an elbow to Batista when he charges into the corner. Rhodes with a double sledge and then Orton tags in.

Batista with a clothesline to Orton followed by an Irish whip and running clothesline. Batista with a snap mare and a running boot to the head. Batista misses a clothesline in the corner and Orton attacks Batista from behind and kicks Batista. Orton with a boot to the solar plexus. We go to commercial.

We are back and Randy Orton chokes Batista in the corner. Rhodes tags in and he kicks Batista. Manu tags in for more kicks and punches. Batista fights out of the corner but he runs into a clothesline from Manu. Orton tags in and he hits the Garvin Stomp. Manu tags in and he kicks Batista. Manu with a head butt to Batista and he follows it with a thrust to the throat for a near fall. Rhodes tags in and he punches Batista. Orton tags in and he kicks Batista in the back and then Orton applies the side head lock but Batista with a belly-to-back suplex to escape the hold.

Cena and Manu tag in. Cena with flying shoulder tackles followed by the Blue Thunder Bomb. Can you see what is coming next? Cena with the Five Knuckle Shuffle and then he gets Manu up for the FU and Rhodes with a drop kick to the back. Rhodes tags in and he punches Cena and gets a near fall. Orton tags back in and he waits for Cena to return to his feet. Orton with a European uppercut followed by kicks. Orton tries to pull Cena out of the ring and then he hits a European uppercut with Cena on the apron. Orton with the hanging DDT using the ropes. Manu tags back in and he kicks Cena followed by a head butt. Manu with an Irish whip and a splash into the corner and a clothesline to the back. Manu with a diving head butt and then Rhodes is tagged back in. Rhodes comes off the turnbuckles and then he punches Cena. Cena misses a charge into the corner and then Rhodes goes up and hits an Asai Moonsault for a near fall. Rhodes with a knee drop and punches. Rhodes with a side Russian leg sweep to Cena and then he hits a Ric Flair knee drop for a near fall. Rhodes with a clothesline. Rhodes misses a knee drop and Batista tags in and clotheslines Rhodes a few times followed by a power slam. Batista with a clothesline to Manu and Orton goes to the floor. Batista with a spinebuster to Rhodes and it is time to shake the ropes and set for the Batista Bomb. Batista gets Rhodes up and Orton sends Manu into Batista. Orton hits the RKO on Batista and then he sends Manu and Rhodes after Cena. The referee calls for the bell before Orton can go for the field goal using Batista’s head.
Winners: John Cena and Batista by disqualification

That does not stop Orton from kicking Batista in the head. Cena gets into the ring to protect Batista from any further attack.

We see the Legacy celebrate on the ramp.

Randy Orton watches the medical staff check on Batista as we go to credits.

SmackDown! video package plays and in the ring Justin Roberts tells everyone to please welcome the NEW WWE CHAMPION, JEFF HARDY!!! Crowd goes absolutely crazy!

“No More Words!” by EndeverafteR plays and out comes Jeff Hardy to another rock star like ovation. Pyro’s go off and confetti begins to fill the arena as everyone in the audience can be seen on their feet clapping. As Jeff gets inside the ring, he poses on top of the turnbuckle where some more pyro go off. Jeff pauses a moment and takes in all the crowd has to give him. He then looks up, smiles, and holds the WWE Championship high above his head as he finally grabs a microphone to speak.

Jeff says, “Wow! You know I heard you guys screaming for a decade now and I want to apologize for taking so long, but yes it finally happened! You know the thought of Jeff Hardy being this, the WWE Champion, in the past kind of put reality in danger. But now the reality is the WWE, oh it’s about to CHANGE! This title just doesn’t represent me, it represents all the worlds rejects, all the screw ups, and from now on, I am the WWE Champion! And for those of you that know me, I feel like I do represent crazy. So, I’m going to ask you all to do something right now to go a little crazy. And not just you (the people in the audience) here, but everyone sitting at home watching this right now. Stand up out of your couches, get a little crazy and scream right now!”

Jeff Hardy screams and goes to the turnbuckle to pose some more.

“Oh, Oh, that’s heartwarming,” says a familiar voice.

Jeff Hardy turns around and sees Edge. The excitement immediately shifted to a chord of boos towards the Rated R Superstar.

Edge gets in the ring and says that nothing has changed. He adds that Jeff Hardy simply got lucky. “One good day out of 365 does not make a champion…it takes a lifetime of dedication. Representing this company, the WWE, it’s not about fate or destiny, it’s about sacrifice. Fate is what spoiled kids use whenever things don’t go their way. Destiny, well that’s just a copout. But then again Jeff, you know all about that kind of stuff don’t cha? I, I was the WWE Champion for one reason and one reason only! And that was hard work, period!”

Jeff responds by calling Edge a liar multiple times and the crowds follows along.

Edge tells the crowd to shut up and explains to Jeff that he had nothing to do with Jeff Hardy prior to Survivor Series in the Boston hotel room, because he didn’t need to…because he was better than Jeff. Edge then starts to bring in some past history as he states that, “For past decade, with everything that we have been through, I have always out performed you…ALWAYS!” Edge then informs Jeff that since he always wants to get attention, SmackDown! GM Vickie Guerrero has made two matches in particular. First, Jeff’s older brother, the ECW Champion, Matt Hardy will face Edge himself. Secondly, its going to be the WWE Champion, Jeff Hardy taking on the undefeated Vladimir Koslov. Edge then tells Jeff that he will always be a screw up.

Jeff smiles and then gives Edge a Twist of Fate in the middle of the ring as we go to our first break of the evening.

-Commercial-

Back, we MVP and Shelton Benjamin in the ring. Hurricane Helms and R-Truth are their opponent.

Match 1: MVP & Shelton Benjamin v. Hurricane Helms & R-Truth
As the bell rings, MVP was still talking to Benjamin regarding who should start the match for their team. This allows Truth to get a quick unsuccessful school boy attempt and take advantage of MVP. Truth then makes the quick tag to Helms, but Helms gets face planted. MVP tries an Irish Whip, but Benjamin blind tags himself into the match. Unfortunately for Benjamin, he receives an armdrag from Helms, who then tags in Truth. Truth gives Benjamin a suplex and boasts, but Benjamin quickly connects with a Samoan Drop to Truth. Benjamin begins to kick Truth several times and follows it up with a powerful snapmare to the ropes. Benjamin then applies a sleeper hold and after a few minutes, Truth fights out of hit with an uppercut. Truth continues to build his momentum by connecting with a spike DDT. Not long after, Truth tags in Helms, but Benjamin refuses to tag in MVP. This allows Helms to elbow Benjamin in the face and take him down with a forearm strike. Helms then goes up top and connects with a high flying cross body. As Helms covers, MVP comes in to break the pinfall, but then is taken to the outside thanks to Truth. With MVP and Truth on the outside, Helms tries to pull off a backslide on Benjamin, but MVP runs back into the ring and tries to kick Helms. Instead Helms dodges it and MVP accidentally kicks Benjamin in the back of the head. MVP turns around and receives a corkscrew forearm shot from R-Truth. Both MVP and Truth continue their battle back on the outside. Inside the ring, Helms connects with an inverted back slam on Benjamin and picks up the win for their team.

Post-Match: Tazz and JR say that this is the second week in a row that Helms has pinned Benjamin as Helms and Truth celebrate. MVP approaches Benjamin and starts yelling at him.

Backstage, we see Chavo and Vickie Guerrero. Vickie is drinking coffee, but it is not hot and as a result, she throws the coffee in Chavo’s face and orders him to get some hot coffee. Edge comes barging in and Vickie politely asks him to calm down. Edge says that he is sick of Jeff Hardy and he will hurt him tonight. Vickie tells him, Jeff Hardy will get his soon, but tonight, he should focus on the big brother. Edge calms down…

-Commercial-

“Biscuits and Gravy!” hits and out comes Jesse and Festus. It looks like Festus will be in one on one action against John Morrison, who is accompanied to the ring by the Miz.

Prior to the match, Miz runs to try to get the ring bell, but Jesse takes Miz down and retrieves the bell. Jesse rings the bell to start the match.

Match 2: Festus v. John Morrison
Festus charges at Morrison and pounds him in the corner. Festus then gives Morrison a body slam and strikes at him with an uppercut. Morrison slides out of the ring and as Festus tries to attack him, Morrison chokes Festus on the ropes. Morrison then punches a downed Festus numerous times before kicking him in the face. Morrison then applies a Full Nelson submission hold, but not long after, Festus simply strikes Morrison and takes him down. Festus Irish Whips Morrison, but Morrison tries a springboard moonsault. Unfortunately, Festus catches him and connects with fall-a-way slam. At this point, the Miz gets up on the apron, but Jesse trips him. Morrison charges at Festus, but Festus reverses it into a lifted face buster. Back outside of the ring, Jesse charges at Miz with the ring bell in hand, but Miz dodges it and mistakenly hits the ring bell with the steel post, causing the bell to ring. That means Festus is no longer a threat anymore. So, Morrison makes it back to his feet as Miz takes out Jesse on the outside and connects with the Moonlight Drive for the win.

Post-Match: Miz and Morrison begin to celebrate with their Slammy’s and Tag Titles. They then each take turns to mock Festus.

Still to Come: Jeff Hardy vs. Vladimir Koslov

-Commercial-

Back, we see another DX Holiday Shopping skit. They basically promote their basketball jersey, sweatshirt, SmackDown! vs. RAW 2009 video game, the elimination chamber toy set, this history of the Intercontinental Championship DVD, and the complete SummerSlam anthology set. The ending of the skit saw these two chop each other comically that turned out to be “serious.” Eventually, they started brawling as an attention message that read, “DX is currently experiencing technical difficulties,” popped up. It was a good laugh.

Backstage, Eve interviewed Matt Hardy. She asked him what it was like seeing Jeff Hardy win the WWE Championship. Matt says that through his entire childhood, he heard the numerous critics on Jeff, but he was able to make it through hell and back. But finally, all the critics will now have to shut up. Eve then asks Matt about Edge and Matt responds that Edge will get his next…

-Commercial-

Matt Hardy’s music played and he made his way out to another Hardy-like reception. Edge soon followed to another chord of boos.

Match 3: Matt Hardy v. Edge
Once the match got underway, the two locked up and Edge cornered Matt. Edge tried taking a cheap shot, but Matt dodged it and smiled back as Edge showed off his frustration. The two lock up again, but this time, Matt found a way to get in a wrist lock. Edge reversed this, but Matt reversed it again into an armbar. Edge made it to the ropes. The two separate. We get yet another lockup with Matt punching Edge down. Matt then applies a headlock which after some time, Edge was able to fight out of. Eventually, Matt trips Edge on the apron that sends Edge crashing into the barricade, leaving him even more frustrated.

-Commercial-

Back, we see Matt get an armdrag on Edge and then apply a modified armlock. Edge however gets up and Irish Whips Matt and finds a way to knee Matt in the guts. Edge then throws Matt to the outside and receives some more “boos” from the audience. Edge then connects with a baseball slide and proceeds to ram Matt into the steel steps. Edge slides back into the ring and allows the referee to begin the 10 count. Matt makes it back, but is punished as Edge ties Matt’s arm around the ropes. Matt tries fighting back, but Edge whiplashes Matt’s head onto the mat. Edge then applies another armbar and counters Matt when he tries a Side Affect. Edge kicks Matt a couple of times and connects with a nice armdrag. For the next several minutes, Edge continues working of Matt’s arm until finally Matt counters it into a back drop. Matt then builds some momentum as he delivers a swinging neckbreaker to the Rated R Superstar. Matt now goes to the top rope for a moonsault, but gets tripped by Edge. Edge goes up where Matt is and tries taking Matt down. Unfortunately for Edge, Matt elbows Edge right in the jaw, which sends Edge to the mat. Matt connects with the moonsault, but receives only a 2 count. Matt then tries for a Side Affect, but Edge counters it and tries a neckbreaker, but Matt counters this and tries a Twist of Fate. BUT! Edge reverses this into a full nelson slam. Edge cover, 1…2..No, Matt kicks out. Edge goes up top and as he comes down, Matt kicks him and succeeds in hitting the Side Affect. Matt covers, but Edge puts his feet on the rope. At this point, Matt goes up top and tries a forearm shot, but Edge moves out of the way and rolls Matt up holding his tights. Matt reverses the roll into a roll of his own, but Edge kicks out. As both men make it to their feet, they take each other down with a double clothesline. When both men make it back to their feet, Edge tries for a spear, but Matt trips Edge as Edge’s head crashes into the turnbuckle. When Edge turns around, Matt attempts the Twist of Fate, but Edge throws Matt into the steel post shoulder first. Edge backs off and when Matt turns around, Edge delivers a devastating spear that gives him the victory.

Post-Match: A wounded Edge barely slides out of the ring and celebrates up the ramp way as we get replays.

Still to Come: Jeff Hardy v. Vladimir Koslov

-Commercial-

We see the beautiful city of Baltimore.

Inside the ring, we see the Colon brothers. Apparently, only Carlito will fight. His opponent is none other than Ezekiel Jackson, accompanied to the ring by The Brian Kendrick.

Prior to the match, Carlito throws an apple at Ezekiel which only angers the man.

Match 4: Carlito v. Ezekiel
Bell rings and Carlito strike Ezekiel with numerous right hands. Not long after, Ezekiel tackles Carlito to the corner and pounds on him. Carlito tries using his speed to escape, but Ezekiel applies a bear hug. Several minutes later, Carlito was able to break out of the hold and slapped the big man. Furious, Ezekiel takes Carlito down to the outside with a powerful clothesline. At this point, behind the referee’s back, Brian Kendrick attempts The Kendrick, but fails and is punched down by Primo. Ezekiel grabs Carlito by the head, but Carlito chokes him on the ropes. Carlito goes up top and connects with a cross body, but only gets a 2 count. Carlito then tries a springboard maneuver, but is clobbered on the back. Ezekiel then hits his Sambo plex for the win.

Post-Match: Ezekiel raises his hands up in celebration as Kendrick dances.

-Commercial-

Justin Roberts introduces us to the Divas Champion, Michelle McCool. McCool takes a seat at ringside.

Justin Roberts then informs everyone that the winner of the next match will receive a future divas championship match.

Maria is introduced first, followed by Maryse.

Match 5: Maryse v. Maria
Match begins with Maryse showing off her body. Maria responds with a slap that knocks Maryse off her feet. Maria then gets on top of Maryse and begins to pound her down to the mat. Maryse manages to slide out of the ring as the referee pulls Maria away. Maria leaves the ring as well in pursuit of Maryse, but Maryse charges at Maria with a clothesline. Maryse then slides Maria back into the ring and slaps her around a couple of times. Maryse continues the pressure by hitting a front face slam. She goes for the pinfall, but gets a 2 count. Maryse lifts Maria up and connects with a nice swinging backbreaker which is soon followed by a bunch of head slams into the mat. Finally, after a few minutes later, Maria rams Maryse into the corner and takes Maryse down with multiple clotheslines. Maria then goes to the middle rope and leaps off to attack Maryse, but lands awkwardly on her ankle. Maryse is able to capitalize off this by connecting with a spike DDT for the win.

Post-Match: Maryse gets out of the ring and gets in McCool’s face. She says the Divas Championship will be hers and backs off.

Backstage, MVP looks down on himself when Mr. Kennedy tells him to keep his chin up and smile so he can maybe finally win a match. They plug Kennedy’s movie here as well.

-Commercial-

RAW Rebound is shown with Randy Orton ultimately punt kicking Batista in the head.

JR and Tazz inform us that Batista had suffered a concussion at the hands of Randy Orton and as a result, will not be able to compete at this Monday’s RAW where a number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship will be made.

Backstage, Eve interviewed The Great Khali and Ranjin Singh. Eve asked how it was like to kiss Hall of Famer, Mae Young at Armageddon. Singh says that it sent tingles down Khali’s spine as he has found his true soul mate.

Vladimir Koslov’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring.

-Commercial-

The New WWE Champion, Jeff Hardy makes his way down to the ring next to another huge ovation.

Main Event: Vladimir Koslov v. Jeff Hardy
Bell rings and Koslov takes Jeff down immediately. Not long after, Jeff breaks out of it and the two separate. They lock up once more and again Koslov takes Jeff down. Jeff elbows Koslov numerous times to break free from the clutches of Koslov. Jeff tries staying on the offensive, but Koslov tackles Jeff down. Koslov proceeds to toss Jeff out of the ring. As Koslov leaves the ring to attack Jeff, Jeff quickly slides back into the ring and baseball slides Koslov down.

-Commercial-

Back, we see Koslov hammering away at the WWE Champion. Koslov then rams Jeff’s shoulder into the steel post and proceeds to work on the leg of Jeff. Moments later, Koslov applies a modified arm lock which Jeff breaks free of by strike Koslov with numerous punches. Jeff bounces off the ropes to attack Koslov, but Koslov catches Jeff and turns it into an Oklahoma Slam. Koslov then attacks the AC Joint on Jeff’s arm as he could be heard screaming in pain. Crowd chants “Hardy” but Koslov simply takes Jeff down with a belly to belly slam. Finally, about a minute later, Jeff is able to connect with the Whisper in the Wind! And he goes back up for another Whisper in the Wind. At this point, Edge interrupts the match and attacks Jeff as the referee calls for the bell.

Post-Match: Edge and Koslov ambush Jeff. Koslov then holds Jeff as Edge punches away. Triple H is then shown on the TitanTron making his way down to the ring. Edge sees this and quickly goes outside of the ring and grabs a chair. Koslov continues to choke Jeff in the corner. Triple H’s music hits and he comes out to a good ovation. Triple H runs into the ring as Edge swings the chair. Triple H moves out of the way and Pedigree’s Edge. Koslov then tries to attack Triple H and the two battle on the outside. Finally, Triple H throws Koslov back into the ring and grabs a sledgehammer from beneath the ring. As Triple H goes to attack Koslov, the Moscow Mauler backs up the ramp with Triple in pursuit. Triple H stops at the stage area and turns around to see Jeff Hardy connect with a Swanton Bomb on the already downed Edge. Jeff and Triple H have a brief staredown until Jeff gets on the top rope and shows off his newly crowned championship!

End of show…

Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix appeared on screen. Santino said that people have been laughing at him all year and now he was going to have the last laugh. He had a secret to tell the children about Santa Claus. Beth asked Santino if he was sure he wanted to do this. Santino said he wanted her to "shutta her face."

John Cena
entered and stopped Santino dead in his tracks. Cena said Santino was upset at Santa because he did not get the Barbie Dream House he asked for as a kid. Santino challenged Cena and a partner to face him and Beth. Cena looked over at Goldust. Santino specified, "Someone with ovaries." Cena agreed. Santino said he would win and then tell the secret.

The opening video aired and fireworks lit up the stage. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler welcomed us to the show.

Kane and Kelly Kelly came out to the ring. Kane said Stephanie McMahon told him to apologize, so he did. He then told Kelly she owed him an apology because she lied to him about The Miz.

Shawn Michaels came out to the ring. He was booed heavily by the crowd.

1. Shawn Michaels defeated Kane in a Race to the Rumble match in 5:31. Luckily, Kane held the title for one day in 1998, because if he had not, he would not be able to participate in this tournament. King said he always wished for Kelly to show him some affection, but not now after what Kane has done to those she likes. Cole said he was checking her out on the internet and looking over his shoulder. Whether he was looking out for Kane or his wife, nobody knows.

The match went back and forth for the first few minutes. Kane went for a chokeslam and Michaels countered it into the Crippler Crossface. Kane fought out and tried another chokeslam. Michaels slithered out and hit Sweet Chin Music for the win.

JBL watched on the backstage monitor and the announcers ran down the rest of the Race to the Rumble.

-commercial-

Footage aired of the past few weeks of history between Batista and Randy Orton. Batista's status tonight was questioned after Orton punted him last week.

Kofi Kingston came out to the ring and they ran an 80s style split screen promo. Kofi basically wished everyone a Merry Christmas.

2. Kofi Kingston defeated Manu (with Cody Rhodes) in 3:21. King said he wanted to ask Dusty Rhodes if he was proud of Cody. Manu used his power early, but Kofi was impressive utilizing his quickness. The finish came when Manu held Kofi up for a Samoan Drop, but Kofi countered it into a slam and modified crucifix pin for the win.

Backstage, John Cena apparently asked Kelly Kelly to be his partner tonight and she accepted.

-commercial-

Backstage, Sim Snuka told Randy Orton he should consider him to be a member of his new group. Manu and Rhodes approached. Orton stared down Manu and said maybe they did need a new member.

Another DX commercial aired, but King prefaced it by reminding us it was filmed "weeks ago." When Triple H brought up the Elimination Chamber, Michaels cringed. H made fun of spending time with in-laws. They traded playful slaps and even made fun of their 2002 SummerSlam match. They "fought" before plugging the site.

CM Punk was talking to Shawn Michaels backstage. Triple H approached Michaels and told him they needed to talk. H said Michaels was not accepting his calls so he had to come to Raw to see him face to face. Michaels told Triple H he knew H would help him, but he had to handle this his own way. He said he knew what he was doing. H said he hoped so.

-commercial-

3. Melina and Mickie James defeated Layla and Jillian Hall in 3:55. Jillian was singing during the break. William Regal joined the announce team. After a solid match with one botched move, Melina hit her finisher on Jillian for the win.

The announcers plugged the rest of the card again.

-commercial-

Footage was shown of Mike Knox obliterating Rey Mysterio last week.

4. JBL defeated Rey Mysterio by disqualification in a Race to the Rumble match in 12:32. Mysterio had the 619 set up early in the match. JBL retreated to the outside and Rey hit a springboard move from the apron.

-commercial-

JBL was in control coming back from commercial. He hit a fallaway slam when Rey tried a high crossbody for a nearfall. JBL threw Rey to the floor and Rey injured his knee. He barely beat the count back in.

JBL toyed with Rey back in the ring. He hit a series of short closelines for a long two count. He applied a torture rack and although Rey fought out, JBL locked in a sleeper. Rey fought out and hit a seated senton, hurricarana, and a bulldog for a nearfall.

JBL attempted a fallaway slam that would have deposited Rey to the floor, but Rey countered with a tornado DDT. He set up JBL for the 619 and right before he hit it, Shawn Michaels pulled JBL from the ring. He then slapped JBL, so the referee called for the bell and awarded JBL the match.

Footage of Kennedy's new movie was shown.

-commercial-

The footage of Orton punting Batista was shown once again. Randy Orton made his way out to the ring.

5. Randy Orton defeated Batista by forfeit in a Race to the Rumble match in :00. The announcer announced Orton the winner because Batista could not compete.

Orton took the microphone and listed the impressive accomplishments on his resume, but said kicking Batista in the head was the greatest moment of his career. He said he won the World Heavyweight Championship in this exact arena and the crowd popped. The next night, Batista turned on Orton. Orton has been dreaming of this for four years. He said Batista came full circle and is still taking a back seat to Orton. He said when Batista returns, Orton will be the World Heavyweight Champion once again.

-commercial-

Backstage, Dolph Ziggler introduced himself to Kelly Kelly. He walked away and another finger tapped her shoulder. "I get it! Your name is Dolph Ziggler." She turned around to find The Miz and John Morrison. Miz "thanked" Kelly for Kane's attack last week. Morrison informed her that someone burglarized her hotel room. "Happy holidays Kel," Miz said as the pair walked away.

6. Chris Jericho defeated CM Punk in a Race to the Rumble match in 14:44. Jericho was predictably very over with the Canadian crowd. Jericho grounded Punk with a headlock takeover. Punk countered out and hit the same move. The speed picked up and Punk scored a couple of nearfalls.

Jericho turned the tides and hit a nice vertical suplex for a two count. Punk hit Jericho with a sick kick to the face. The referee checked on Jericho.

-commercial-

Back from commercial, Jericho hit a series of kicks to Punk's head and a gutwrench suplex for a nearfall. When Punk came back, the crowd booed. When Jericho was on top, the crowd cheered. Jericho set up a superplex but Punk pushed him to the mat. Punk hit a high crossbody for a long two count.

Punk hit a snap powerslam that Cole thinks is called a scoop slam. Jericho tried a Lionsault, but Punk caught him and tried the GTS. Jericho flipped out of it and locked in a half crab, which he turned into the Walls. Punk struggled but Jericho was able to get the second leg.

Punk powered out of the move after about a minute. He then hit a knee lift for a very nearfall. Punk hit his corner high knee. He went for the springboard closeline but Jericho countered it midair with the Codebreaker for the win.

Cole and King showed a graphic of the four winners tonight. Michaels, JBL, Orton, and Jericho will participate in the fatal fourway next week. Jericho held his head as he walked to the back and the crowd chanted his name.

Kelly Kelly was fully dressed and on her way out of the building. Todd Grisham asked about her tag team match. She said she talked to John Cena and he understood.

-commercial-

Cole and King wondered who was going to take Kelly's place in tonight's match. They shifted gears to talk about the Tribute to the Troops show they broadcast. Footage was shown of comments from President Bush and various moments of the trip.

An outside shot of the city of Toronto was shown. John Cena walked through the backstage area with a confident smile on his face.

-commercial-

7. John Cena and Trish Stratus defeated Glamorella in 4:24. The fans chanted for Santino and he said he appreciated it. He introduced Rosa Mendez, the weird fan that has been following around Beth. He said Rosa was the second biggest Santino Marella fan, but second place wasn't so bad. He said Canada was second to the United States in everything, but both of them were behind Italy.

Santino went back on his word and said he was going to tell the secret about Santa Claus right now. Cena told the music guy to hit his music as soon as Santino was about to say it. Cena said he found out the secret. Cena said the secret was that Santa was in the building tonight. Cena pointed to him in the front row. He said before he took his seat, he gave Cena an early Christmas present in the form of a new tag team partner.

Trish Stratus's music hit and she came out to a huge pop. Cena and Santino started the match but Trish and Beth were quickly in the ring together. Trish hit her spots and looked fantastic in doing so with little to no ring rust. Santino went to the top, but Trish crotched him and hit her handstand hurricarana. Beth took over at that point. When Trish tagged in Cena, the crowd was pissed.

Cena went to work on Santino but Beth interfered. Trish came in and hit the Chick Kick on Beth. Cena hit the FU for the win. After the match, Cena paraded Trish around the ring so she could take in the cheers.

So was I.
I knew it'd be her,even when Cena chose Kelly,I knew it'd be Trish.

Triple H's music hit to open the show. He came out with the sledgehammer and did his full intro as Jim Ross and Tazz welcomed us to Smackdown. They hyped the main event as Jeff Hardy vs Big Show in a non-title match. Hunter soaked in the cheers for a moment and then said, “There are certain things in life you just don't do. You don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you pull the mask off the Lone Ranger, and you don't do this.” He pointed to the TitanTron and a video recapped Vladimir Kozlov pulling Triple H out of the ring at Armageddon. He said Kozlov had to pay and he would collect with the sledgehammer. Another video aired of the end of last weeks show when Hunter wrecked Kozlov and then chased him up the ramp with the sledgehammer. He called out Kozlov.

Chavo Guerrero's music hit and he came out. He said Vickie sent him out to say she was upset about his interference in the Hardy/Kozlov match last week. He said Vickie said if he laid one finger on Kozlov again, he would forfeit his spot in the Royal Rumble and would never fight for the WWE Title again. Hunter said he wished Vickie had come out herself, but she couldn't fit through the big door. Chavo said she was on a diet. Hunter said the door wasn't still that big. Hunter pointed out that Chavo was a real Guerrero, but was now a message boy for Vickie. He said every Guerrero he knew would have delivered the message to his face. Chavo acted like he was going to the ring but shook his finger and head and turned around. Vickie came out on the ramp.

Vickie did her excuse me line and the crowd booed heavily. Hunter told the crowd to calm down, she didn't “...waddle down here to be harassed.” She said she would not allow Hunter to smear the Guerrero name. She called for a referee and made a Chavo vs Triple H match for right now.

1. Triple H defeated Chavo Guerrero at 2:06. Hunter nailed Chavo to start and sent him ringside for continued offense. Chavo got a couple of kicks in and then took the padding off of one turnbuckle. Referee Charles Robinson saw it and chased Chavo off and started putting the padding back on. Chavo went outside and grabbed a chair. He tossed it to Hunter who was now standing and then laid down. Hunter stood there for a moment and then looked at the ref who still had his back turned. He tossed the chair out of the ring and Charles Robinson turned around. Chavo said he was hit with a chair but Robinson shrugged. He charged at Hunter who spun it into a spinebuster. A pedigree followed for the win. Post match, Hunter got his sledgehammer and hit Chavo in the chest and then posed and stared at Vickie.

The announce team plugged the two title matches for later.

-commercial-

A Kizarny video aired.

2. Shelton Benjamin defeated Hurricane Helms to retain the US Title at 11:02. Benjamin came to the ring first and took the mic. He said he was the US champion and had been the champ since he beat Matt Hardy at the Great American Bash. Helms's music interrupted him. A ton of high flying, fast paced offense from these two early, including a cross body off the top rope to the floor for Helms. Helms tossed Benjamin back in the ring and scored a couple of two counts. Helms came off the second rope for a hurricanrana, but Benjamin caught him and tossed out back into the corner. Benjamin covered for two.

-commercial-

Back from commercial at the 5:30 mark, a replay showed Benjamin dropping Helms on his back on the security railing, ringside. In the ring, Benjamin used some rest moves on Helms's neck. Helms fought out and tried a suplex, but Benjamin flipped through into a reverse neckbreaker. Cool move. After a two count, Benjamin locked in another rest hold. Helms fought out again and there looked to be a missed move, but Helms recovered and took Benjamin down and stomped on his stomach. Helms went for the Shining Wizard but missed. He rolled up Benjamin instead for two quick two counts before hitting the Nightmare on Helms Street for another two count.

Benjamin fought back and missed a sunset flip off the top rope. Helms nailed the Shining Wizard for two. He tried to hit the Underdog, but Shelton kit a spinning heel kick out of nowhere followed by Pay Dirt for the win.

The announce team reminded us that Jeff Hardy won the title at Armageddon. A video package recapped the win at Armageddon. Jeff Hardy said tonight the Big Show drowns in the screams of Jeff hardy, the WWE Champion.

-commercial-

The Brian Kendrick and Zeke were in the ring. Backstage, the Colons and the Bellas were shown heading towards the ring. Primo asked Carlito if he was going to win tonight. Carlito shushed him.

3. Carlito w/Primo and the Bella Twins defeated The Brian Kendrick w/Ezekiel Jackson at 2:16. TBK started off with a flurry of offense. Carlito fought back and had a flurry of offense all his own. Carlito tossed TBK ringside and Zeke covered him. Primo pushed Zeke and Zeke laid him out. Carlito checked on him and as he crawled back in the ring, TBK hit him. He set him up for The Kendrick, but Carlito pushed him into the corner and hit the backstabber off the bounce for the win. Post match, the Colons and Bellas celebrated.

A video recapped the Tribute to the Troops show.

-commercial-

Back from commercial and Edge and Vickie were shown backstage. The crowed cheered Edge. Homers. Edge was bitching about Hardy being champion. Big Show came in and told Edge that he was protecting Vickie while Edge was gone. He said the relationship between he and Vickie was purely business. Edge said Show better take care of business tonight. He said when he destroyed Hardy, he wanted a shot at the title. Vickie said OK and Edge protested.

Maria was shown in stripper referee clothing. Michelle McCool walked up and started talking about how they've been friends for a long time. She said nobody wants to see Maryse as the Diva's champion. Maria said she would call the match fairly. McCool said Maria had screwed up a lot recently, she better not screw this up for her (McCool). Maria watched her walk away and JR hyped the Diva's match for next.

4. Maryse defeated Michelle McCool to win the Diva's Championship at 4:36. McCool started off in charge and scored a quick one-count. Maryse locked in an arm bar that McCool used the second turnbuckle to back flip out of. At one point, Maryse had McCool pinned in the corner and Maria broke it up. She chastised Maryse for not breaking when she called for it and Maryse stuck her hand in Maria's face. The two traded moves until McCool hit a neckbreaker for a two count. She complained to Maria and Maryse hit a kick to the back of McCool's head for the win. We have a new champion.

Post match, Maryse celebrated on the ramp. Maria helped up McCool. They hugged like everything was OK, but McCool hit a single leg drop kick on Maria's back as she tried to exit the ring. She assaulted Maria with punches and kicks before standing on her face and pulling her hair. She picked Maria up and tossed her out of the ring. She continued her beating outside the ring. The crowd booed a little, but was mostly silent. McCool finished the assault by throwing Maria into the ring post. She walked away saying, “You cost me the title...”

A vignette aired hyping the return of Umaga.

The announce team hyped the main event.

MVP was in the ring looking dejected. Next out was Khali.

5. The Great Khali w/Runjin Singh defeated MVP at 2:37. MVP ran at first. He got back in the ring and started talking to Khali and then surprise attacked him. The Khali killed him. MVP got one little spurt of offense buy pulling Khali's head down over the top rope. Khali clubbed him a few times and nailed the Punjabi Plunge (Khali Bomb) for the win. Khali covered MVP with his foot.

Post match, Mr. Kennedy (Kennedy) came out to the ramp and his mic dropped from the ceiling. He asked Justin Roberts to slide MVP a mic. MVP was knocked out in the ring. Kennedy (Kennedy) hyped his DVD while mocking MVP. He said his name and MVP fell out again from the sitting position he had gained.

Backstage, Kozlov was shown heading to the ring.

-commercial-

Another Kizarny vignette aired and closed with the announcement he would debut next week.

6. Jimmy Wang Yang vs Vladimir Kozlov at 0:59. Prematch, a video showed Kozlov interfering in the Armageddon title match. Yang hit a kick, went to the top rope and got headbutted out of the air. Kozlov hit a modified chokeslam for the win. Post match, Kozlov mumbled something into the mic and then pointed to Yang and said, “This will happen at Royal Rumble.” He went on to say that he would win the title at Wrestlemania. JR said it was a “definitive statement” from Kozlov.

Backstage, Edge came into Big Show's locker room and wished him luck. Show said Edge was full of “Canadian crap” which caused a few boos. He said Edge wasn't there to wish him luck. He said he still wanted Edge to watch his match tonight so Edge could see him do what Edge couldn't. He closed by asking Edge how his marriage was.

-commercial-

Back from commercial, a video package recapped the four qualifying matches on Raw for the Fatal Four Way next week.

JR and Tazz hyped the Fatal Four Way match.

Big Show made his entrance.

-commercial-

7. Jeff Hardy defeated The Big Show by countout at 10:56. As Jeff Hardy made his entrance, they showed Edge and Vickie backstage. Edge asked if Show would be the Number One Contender if he won. Vickie said no, if Show won, he would face Edge next week and that winner would be the number on contender. Edge seemed upset but Vickie told him it was just business and to calm down. The match started with the obligatory beat down from Show. He tossed Jeff Hardy down and Hardy rolled outside the ring.

-commercial-

Back from commercial at the 5:17 mark and Show had Hardy in a shoulder grip. Hardy got to his feet but was headbutted down and then stepped on. Show continued to work on the left arm of Hardy, eventually locking in the nerve pinch again. At 8:45, Show locked in a bear hug that Hardy fought out of and then hit back to back Whisper in the Winds followed by the swanton but Big Show kicked out, sending Hardy over the ropes. Hardy came back in and countered a Chokeslamm attempt into a DDT. Hardy kicked Show out of the ring and followed. He seemed to land funny on Show. The ref started to count. Hardy popped up at seven, kicked Show and dove back in the ring. The ref reached ten and called for the bell. Hardy grabbed his belt and went to the top of the ramp. Matt Hardy came out and celebrated with his brother.

Backstage, Edge said, “I guess I don't have to face Big Show next week,” to Vickie. Vickie said, “Well you don't have to face him.” Edge asked what she meant and she said that since the Hardy's were obviously reuniting, she thought Big Show and Edge could face them next week. The show ended with Edge looking confused.

Should be fun watching The Hardy Boys back together!

Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler introduced the show and hyped that the final Raw of 2008 could turn out to be the biggest. They hyped the Shawn Michaels vs. JBL vs. Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho four-way match.

Rey Mysterio was already standing in the ring with a mic in his hand. He said he was seconds away from hitting the 619 on JBL and advancing to the four-way match, but Shawn Michaels took that away from him. Highlights aired from the match that aired on last week's Raw. Mysterio called out Michaels, who joined him in the ring.

Mysterio said he knows that Shawn is a great person despite his affiliation with JBL. He said he wasn't there to ask for Shawn's spot in the Race to the Rumble match. Rather, he wants Michaels to be honorable and face him in a singles match during the show. "I just want my opportunity back," Mysterio said. He said the winner would advance to the four-way at the end of the show. Shawn accepted.

JBL walked onto the stage and interrupted. "Actually, Rey, Shawn's answer is no," he said. JBL said Shawn is his employee and therefore any decision regarding Michaels goes through him. JBL said the only match that HBK would compete in is the Road to the Rumble match. "Shawn, I would appreciate if you leave the ring... now," JBL said. Shawn complied to a chorus of boos. JBL thanked him.

Rey pleaded with Shawn as he walked up the entrance ramp. "Shawn, you know all the money in the world can't make up for selling your soul," Rey said. Suddenly, Mike Knox attacked Mysterio from behind. Michaels watched on briefly and expressed some subtle frustration before walking backstage with JBL. John Cena ran out without entrance music and cleared Knox from the ring.

-commercial-

Backstage, Randy Orton addressed Manu, Cody Rhodes, and Sim Snuka. He said The Legacy will be bigger than the Four Horsemen, bigger than DX, and bigger than Evolution. He said he will not tolerate losing. He said they all have singles matches. If they win, they complete phase one. If they lose, they're out. Cody headed out for his match.

1. Cody Rhodes defeated C.M. Punk via countout in 4:10. Just as the ref was about to call for the bell, William Regal and Layla came out and walked to ringside. The announcers noted that Regal would face Punk for the Intercontinental Title on next week's Raw. The bell rang and the live crowd was slow to get into the match. Rhodes took control of the action briefly and the crowd came to life by clapping for Punk to break from a hold.

At 2:55, Punk went for a cross body block, but Cody rolled through for a good nearfall. Later, Punk was distracted by Regal at ringside and lost track of the count for the finish. Afterward, Punk bulldogged Cody. Regal ran in and caught Punk with a knee to the head that left him lying.

Backstage, Stephanie McMahon told John Cena that she assigned him to sit in on commentary during the four-way. Cena feigned enthusiasm and then said the idea was as lame as Mike Adamle as general manager. He implored her to do something crazy since it was the final show of 2008. He asked her to put a match together with him, Mike Knox, Rey Mysterio, and whomever else she wanted to put in there. He listened for the crowd to cheer and they obliged. He left the room while she pondered the suggestion.

Lawler hyped the Divas battle royal to determine the No. 1 contender for the WWE Women's Title at Royal Rumble.

-commercial-

A Goldust Christmas carol aired. At one point, he noted that Jeff Hardy has more charisma in one finger than Bam Neely has in his entire body.

The announcers narrated video footage from two weeks ago of Randy Orton delivering the big kick to Batista's head. At ringside, Cole said Batista had two teeth removed because of the Orton kick. They also stated that he had surgery done on his hamstring.

A video aired of Batista selling his injuries from a hospital bed before the surgery on his hamstring. The footage included footage of the surgery and of his surgeon discussing it afterward.

Three babyface divas were introduced for the Diva's battle royal.

-commercial-

After the break, Santino Marella introduced Beth Phoenix, who joined the announcers. On their way to the desk, they waved to "super fan" Rosa Mendez.

2. Melina won a Six-Diva Battle Royal to earn a WWE Women's Title match at the Royal Rumble in 2:50. The entrants were Kelly Kelly, Melina, Mickie James, Jillian Hall, Katie Lea Burchill, Jillian Hall, and Candice Michelle. Candice was eliminated roughly 30 seconds into the match. Kelly was eliminated about 30 seconds later. The heels teamed up Melina, but Mickie snuck up from behind and dumped Jillian and Katie over the top rope.

The match came down to Mickie and Melina at 1:40. At 2:40, Mickie skinned the cat, but Melina caught her with a kick that knocked her off the ring apron moments later to win the match. Afterward, Beth entered the ring and tossed Melina to ringside. She chased after, but Melina fired back with a flurry of punches until Rosa Mendez jumped the rail and attacked her from behind. She was dragged away kicking and screaming by security.

Backstage, Todd Grisham interviewed Chris Jericho, who complained about being named Jerk of the Year by WWE Magazine. He assumed that jerk of the year was awarded to someone who told the truth. This led to Jericho saying he would win the four-way to earn the shot against John Cena at the Rumble.

-commercial-

3. Sim Snuka defeated "Super Haas" Charlie Snuka in 4:10. Yes, Haas wore the Snuka garb. Sim wasn't happy. Lawler said on commentary that Charlie was a huge fan of Jimmy Snuka. Haas got the fans to wake up when he motioned for the Superfly, but Sim lifted his knees and followed up with a big kicked to the side of Haas's head before the scoring the pin.

A shot aired of Cena and Mysterio walking backstage together. Lawler announced that Steph heeded Cena's advice by setting up a 10-man tag match. "We'll find out the details next," Lawler said.

-commercial-

John Cena made his ring intro and brought the dead crowd to life.

4. John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, and Cryme Tyme defeated Kane, Mike Knox, John Morrison, The Miz, and Dolph Ziggler. Cole noted that Kofi was named the WWE Magazine breakout star of the year. Apparently, the Slammy voters and WWE Magazine voters are not the same people since Evan Bourne won something similar a few weeks ago. Cole also noted that Kane roughed up Miz two weeks ago when he was led to believe that he was Kelly Kelly's love interest. Kane also flashed Miz a sadistic smile.

JTG hit a sloppy legdrop on the back of Dolph's head just seconds into the match. There was a good exchange with Kofi and Morrison, and then all 10 participants entered the ring for a staredown as the show cut to commercial.

-commercial-

After the break, Cole actually said that he's heard the beard Mike Knox wears is over a year old. The heels took turns working over Mysterio until he hit a reverse huracanrana on Morrison off the second rope. Cena and Kofi entered the match and cleaned house on Knox and Ziggler. Cena hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle on Knox, while Kofi did the boom, boom, boom bit on Ziggler. Cena hit the FU on Knox. He tagged in Mysterio, who hit a top rope splash on Knox for the clean pin.

Backstage, Grisham interviewed Shawn Michaels, who said he's Mr. WrestleMania. "When it comes to WrestleMania, I'm only concerned about one thing and that's stealing the show".

-commercial-

Backstage, Kelly Kelly told a mystery man that she tried to save him from Kane, but now he won't return her calls. Randy Orton said the night they spent together wasn't memorable. He said he used her and doesn't need a distraction like her.

5. Matt Hardy defeated Manu in a non-title match in 7:50. Manu showed some flash at 4:45 when he missed a moonsault off the second rope. Later, Manu hit a dropkick. Later, Hardy hit the Twist of Fate out of nowhere for the win. The announcers pondered whether this meant Manu was out of The Legacy.

-commercial-

A video hyped Mr. Kennedy in "Behind Enemy Lines Columbia".

Lillian Garcia introduced the participants of the four-way match.

6. JBL defeated Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho in a four-way match in 24:45 to earn a shot at the World Hvt. Championshp at the Royal Rumble. Cole explained that two men started the match while two men stood on the apron. The last man eliminated from the match faces John Cena at the Rumble. HBK listened as JBL talked to him before the bell. HBK and Jericho started the match. A good opening exchange was followed by a commercial break a little over a minute into the match.

-commercial-

After the break, there was another good exchange with Orton and Jericho. Orton tagged HBK into the match and he worked over Jericho with a series of chops in the corner. Jericho came back by whipping Michaels into the corner, where HBK performed a Flair-like flip over the ropes.

Michaels came back moments later with a top rope elbow drop on Jericho and then tuned up the band, but JBL tagged himself into the match. JBL went for the Clothesline from Hell, but Jericho avoided it and hit the Codebreaker. Jericho went for a cover, but HBK broke it up. HBK tagged himself in and hit Sweet Chin Music on Jericho, just as he was locking JBL in the Walls of Jericho. HBK made the cover and eliminated Jericho from the match at 9:00.

-commercial-

After the break, JBL and Orton fought. JBl stomped on Orton's hand a couple times and then struck him with a flurry of punches. JBL demanded that the referee count Orton down when he didn't stand up.

Later, Orton fired back with a dropkick that drew cheers from the crowd. Orton delivered his version of the Garvin Stomp on JBL. Orton struck the viper pose, but JBL crawled to the corner and tagged in Michaels. HBK fought back and forth with Orton and eventually dropped a top rope elbow. Michaels caught Orton with Sweet Chin Music and scored the clean pin at 20:15.

JBL entered the ring. Michaels struck the Sweet Chin Music pose. JBL ducked in fear, but Michaels never threw the kick. They stared at each other. HBK made the puppy dog face. JBL pointed to the ground. Michaels shook his head and made an even bigger puppy dog face, as Cole asked, "Does he mean?..." Lawler added, "Come on, don't do this to Shawn."

Shawn dropped to one knee briefly, but he popped up again to cheers from the crowd. "You can't do it, Shawn," Lawler said on commentary. The crowd chanted HBK. JBL spoke to Shawn in the ring and appeared to say, "I paid you to do this, Shawn," among other things. He continued to point to the ground. Shawn looked at the ground and mouthed the words, "Okay." He slowly sat down the mat to a chorus of boos and eventually lied down on his back.

Just as JBL was about to go for the cover, Shawn stood up again and mouthed the words, "I can't." They had another staredown in the ring. JBL pointed to the mat. HBK stood in the center of the ring, closed his eyes, and yelled "Do it, come on," repeatedly. JBL clobbered Shawn with the Clothesline From Hell and scored the clean pin. The announcers noted that JBL will challenge John Cena at the Royal Rumble.

After JBL left the ring, Michaels sat up. JBL stopped at the top of the ramp and looked back at the ring as Shawn stared down at the mat to close the show.

I wish they would put Triple H and the Undertaker back on RAW

harleysgal62 wrote:I wish they would put Triple H and the Undertaker back on RAW

You and me both!

WWE’s “World is Watching” video package is shown followed by the SmackDown! opening montage.

Fireworks go off as JR and Tazz welcome us to another edition of SmackDown! They inform us that tonight’s main event will be the Hardys teaming up to take on the tag team of Big Show and Edge.

We then cut to the ring where Justin Roberts tells everyone to please welcome SmackDown! general manager Vickie Guerrero. Vickie makes her way down to the ring (without any music) with a huge smile on her face as the crowd boos!

Vickie wishes everyone a happy new year. She says that 2008 was great, but 2009 will be really fine. She then turns her attention to the Road to WrestleMania, saying that the WWE Champion during the time will main event the Granddaddy of them All. But before that, we have the Royal Rumble where Jeff Hardy will take on The Rated R superstar, Edge for the title. Vickie then informs everyone that she will also announce the SmackDown! superstars that will participate in the Royal Rumble later on in the show. She begins to leave the ring when suddenly, Triple H’s music hits!

The Game makes his way down to the ring to a great ovation and grabs a microphone.

Triple H wishes Vickie a Happy New Year and then tells her that he needs to hear her say that Triple H will participate in the Royal Rumble. He then says that he is a very impatient person, just like the crowd and if they don’t hear that Triple H is in the Rumble match, then they might just have two words for Vickie. Crowd chants “Suck It!”

Vickie says that if Triple H keeps this up, then he won’t participate in the Rumble match.

Triple H says that if he is not entered in the Rumble match, then the chances are that a SmackDown! star won’t win the Rumble match which won’t reflect well on Vickie as she could get fired and fall onto obscurity…and nobody will buy Vickie Guerrero’s action figure. Triple H actually takes one out. He begins to insult Vickie’s size again which leads Vickie to saying that Triple H is apart of the Royal Rumble. Triple H then was about to leave when, but stops and says that he has one more thing to say. Triple H takes off Vickie’s shirt from the action figure and says that he noticed that while some things on that toy got smaller, other things got bigger. Triple H adds that he found the toy very hot and decided to search up some information on the internet. He saw some nude photos of Vickie on the Internet.

Vickie stumbles on her words a bit.

Triple H says that there on eBay and that he put down a lot of money on them, but he keeps on being out-bidded by someone named ChavoG2009.

Vickie rushes to the back while Triple H mocks her.


Backstage we see The Great Khali, Ranjin Singh, Finlay, and Hornswoggle in a photo op. They will make their ways to the ring next.

-Commercial-

We see Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins in the ring. Finlay and Hornswoggle then make their way down to the ring followed by Great Khali and Ranjin Singh.

Match 1: Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins v. Finlay & Great Khali
Hawkins and Khali start things off. Early in the match, Hawkins tries to punch the Punjabi giant down, but Khali simply flips him over like a sack of potatoes. Ryder enters the ring and tries a cheap shot, but receives the same fate. Finlay tries to enter the ring, but the referee stops him. During this distraction Hornswoggle runs inside the ring and gives both Hawkins and Ryder a headbutt. Finlay is then tagged in and bodyslams an injured Hawkins. Not long after Hawkins is able to throw Finlay to the outside and attempts a baseball slide. However like the veteran he is, Finlay uses the ring apron to tie up Hawkins and begins to pound on the former tag champion. Finlay throws Hawkins back into the ring and as Finlay tries to go in, Ryder takes a cheap shot at Finlay, but only to get knocked down. From behind, Hawkins attempts another baseball slide and successfully connects with it. After they get back in the ring, Hawkins tags in Ryder and he applies a headlock on Finlay. Not long after, Finlay gets out of the hold. In a nice sequence of action, we then see Finlay and Ryder crack skulls in the corner. Finlay tags in Khali and Khali begins to dominate with massive clotheslines. Hawkins comes in and he receives an elbow to the face. Khali then connects with the Khali Bomb on Ryder for the win.

Post-Match: Finlay hits the Celtic Cross on Hawkins which leads to Hornswoggle hitting the Tadpole Splash. Ranjin Singh then gets in the ring and they all dance and celebrate.


-Commercial-

Backstage, we see Eve interviewing Michelle McCool. Eve asks McCool what were her reasons behind the assault she gave Maria last week and basically McCool said Maria intentionally cost her the Divas Championship. Eve then says maybe an apology would settle the dispute, but McCool insults Eve and walks away.

Further backstage, Edge, Vickie, and Big Show were in the GM’s office. Edge said it was embarrassing for nude photos of Vickie to be on eBay. It becomes a bit funny then as Big Show states that he has seen those photos and states that they weren’t as bad as he thought they would be. Vickie looks disgusted and leaves the room. Show and Edge then argue back and forth with Edge walking away.

“Biscuits and Gravy!” hits and out comes the team of Jesse & Festus.

-Commercial-

Out comes The Brian Kendrick & Ezekiel Jackson.

Match 2: Jesse & Festus v. The Brian Kendrick & Ezekiel
Bell rings and Festus dominates both Kendrick and Ezekiel. Apparently Kendrick is the legal man for their team. Festus then tags in Kendrick and he applies a modified armbar. Kendrick tries fighting back, but gets elbowed in the face. Festus is then tagged in and he uppercuts Kendrick. Festus proceeds to sit on Kendrick’s chest. Moments later Festus tries lifting Kendrick, but his leg gives out. Kendrick kicks the injured leg multiple times and tags in Ezekiel. Ezekiel takes down Festus’s leg and works on that leg for quite some time as he continues to slam that leg onto the mat. Ezekiel then tags in Kendrick and he goes to the top rope and comes right down on Festus’s hurt leg. Kendrick further kicks that leg until Festus shoves Kendrick away and tags in Jesse. Jesse takes Kendrick down with multiple forearm shots and clothesline. Jesse then connects with a spinning Fisherman Suplex and goes for the cover, but Ezekiel breaks the count at 2. Festus comes in and fights Ezekiel, but Ezekiel throws Festus to the outside. Ezekiel then gets the blind tag on Kendrick and proceeds to hit the Standing Side Slam for the win.

Post-Match: We get replays of what just occurred as Kendrick and Jackson celebrate.


Still to Come: Jeff & Matt v. Edge & Big Show

-Commercial-

Vladimir Koslov’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring. His opponent is Hurricane Helms.

Match 3: Vladimir Koslov v. Hurricane Helms
“Hurricane” chants start and Koslov doesn’t look impressed. Koslov strikes Helm’s abdomen and immediately takes him down. Koslov applies what Tazz called a Key Lock to the arm. Koslov then hurls Helms into the corner and charges at him, but Helms puts his feet up. Helms tries to build of that, but gets caught and headbutted in the chest multiple times. Koslov then gets a judo throw on Helms. Moments later, Koslov slams Helms onto the turnbuckle and connects with a fall-a-way slam. Koslov lifts Helms, but Helms punches and kicks back. Helms goes for the Shining Wizard, but gets the battering ram head instead and is knocked out. Koslov then hits the sit down spinebuster like maneuver for the win. Still undefeated: Vladimir Koslov

Post-Match: Tazz and JR show us some replays of Koslov dominating the jobbing Helms.

JR and Tazz inform everyone that some of the Royal Rumble participants representing SmackDown! will be announced next.

-Commercial-

JR is in the ring and gives us the rules for the Royal Rumble Match and concludes that the winner of that match will get a championship opportunity at WrestleMania 25! JR then shows us the participants on the titantron: Triple H, Big Show, Vladimir Koslov, and Shelton Benjamin.

At this point Benjamin’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring. He has a microphone and gets in JR’s face. He tells JR that he should be introduced as the Odds on Favorite to win the 2009 Royal Rumble Match. Benjamin then suggests JR leave the ring. Benjamin then proceeds by saying he has been US Champion for six months and intends on achieving his dream by main eventing WrestleMania and becoming the WWE Champion. Benjamin says that not one person has the credentials to beat him, including Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Finlay, or even R-Truth, because when it comes to comparison, there is no one close enough to him. Benjamin continues, but is interrupted by a strange voice that said, “I think you forgot someone…”

GONG! Light’s out.

GONG! Light’s back on and Undertaker is right behinds Benjamin. Benjamin tries to throw a punch, but is grabbed by the throat and is struck with a devastating Chokeslam.

Undertaker poses for the crowd with JR saying that it goes without question that the Dead Man will be in the Royal Rumble Match only intending on being in the main event of WrestleMania 25!


-Commercial-

A Kizarny Promo aired saying that it will be Showtime Tonight!

Michelle McCool then made her way down to the ring and grabbed a microphone. McCool said she thought about it and owed an apology to both Maria and Eve (for the insults). McCool calls out Eve and so Eve comes out. McCool asks Eve for her forgiveness and Eve accepts.

They hug and Eve attempts to leave when McCool strike Eve in the back of the head with the microphone. McCool then hurls Eve into the barricade and rams her head into the outside floor several times. Crowd boos!

Backstage, Chavo and Vickie were talking when Triple H interrupted. Vickie said she demanded an apology. Triple H says he’s not the one with naked pictures all over the internet. Vickie then since he didn’t apologize, she will make him compete in 3 matches next week. It’s going to be Triple Jeopardy for the Game next week.

-Commercial-

Back, we see MVP already in the ring with a microphone. He simply wants to get the match started.

His opponent is none other than newcomer, Kizarny! He looks like WCW Chris Jericho and Shannon Moore mixed into one. (Lol)

Match 4: MVP v. Kizarny
As soon as the bell rings, Kizarny gets a backslide on MVP followed by modified arm drags. Kizarny then dropkicks MVP out of the ring and dives onto the Ballin Star. Kizarny throws MVP in the ring and goes up top successfully connecting with a flying cross body. Kizarny pauses for a moment and pays for it as MVP strikes Kizarny in the abdomen and hurls him to the outside. Here, MVP slams Kizarny onto the barricade and sends him back into the ring for the cover. After a 2 count, MVP applies a gutwrench and continues to punish Kizarny. MVP then Irish Whips Kizarny and connects with a flapjack. MVP applies another gutwrench submission hold. After some time, Kizarny fights out of it, but gets knocked back down via a belly to belly. MVP then charges at Kizarny, but the strange one gets a dropkick onto the knee of MVP. Kizarny begins to pound MVP’s head into each of the turnbuckles in the corner. Kizarny then attempts a unique cover, but MVP kicks out at 2. Kizarny lifts MVP, but MVP strikes Kizarny’s throat area at connects with a face smash. MVP goes for PlayMaker, but Kizarny reverses into a flipping Double Arm DDT for the win.

Post-Match: Kizarny pulls his hair as we get replays.

Mr. Kennedy comes out and says that MVP just got whizzed. Kennedy then tells MVP to chill, relax, try to smile, and most importantly watch his new movie, Behind Enemies Lines: Columbia.

-Commercial-

JR and Tazz go over next week’s card saying that Triple H will face 3 different opponents in a Tables match, a Handicap Match, and a Last Man Standing’s match. In addition to this, the WWE Tag Team Championships will be on the line as Carlito and Primo will team up to take on The Brian Kendrick and Ezekiel.

Edge then makes his way down to the ring and he looks frustrated. He gets on the microphone and says that everyone better respect he and Vickie, because it’s not right when people blame him for things that he didn’t do such as attacking Jeff Hardy the night of Survivor series. Edge then says that the one thing these people can blame him for is when he defeats Jeff Hardy and reclaims the WWE Championship.

-Commercial-

The Worlds Largest Athlete in the World, The Big Show then makes his way down to the ring.

Matt and Jeff (with crimson red paint) are introduced separately as their respective brands champion.

Main Event: Edge & Big Show v. The Hardys
Matt and Edge start things off. The two lockup with Matt taking Edge down with a quick armdrag. They lockup again and once again, Matt is able to take Edge down with an armdrag. “Hardy!” chants emerge. Another lockup, but this time Edge gets a headlock on Matt. Matt lifts Edge up for a back suplex and tags in Jeff Hardy. The brother’s double team Edge and then double dropkick Big Show off the apron. Edge from behind charges at the Hardys, but they throw Edge overboard. However Big Show catches Edge and they discuss their game plan…

-Commercial-

Edge is in control of Jeff as he chokes Jeff on the rope. Edge tries to slam Jeff’s head on the turnbuckle, but Jeff counters out of it and connects with the Whisper in the Wind. Crowd is going crazy. Jeff tags in Matt and Matt bodyslams Edge and proceeds to go up top for a moonsault attempt. As Matt comes down, Edge moves out the way and tags in Big Show. Show throws Matt to the corner and slaps Matt across the chest. Show then connects with a suplex followed by an elbow drop. Show throws Matt back into the corner and tags in Edge. Edge boasts as the crowd boos. Edge punches Matt down and chokes him on the ropes. Edge drags Matt over and gets a near fall. The Rated R Superstar applies an armlock as Jeff gets the crowd chanting “Hardy!” Matt tries fighting back, but gets a knee in the gut. Edge tags in Big Show and he wraps Matt’s arm around the ropes and whacks it. Show continues to add pressure to Matt’s injured arm by slapping it. Show then begins a few body shots onto Matt. Show gives Matt a headbutt and tags in Edge. The Ultimate Opportunist now applies a bodyscissors, but Matt breaks out of it. As Matt tries to tag in Jeff, Edge comes from behind and rolls Matt up for a 2 count. Edge then applies a hammerlock onto Matt. “Hardy!” chant emerges again. Matt punches Edge in the mouth, but Edge retaliates with a big boot. At this point, Big Show gets off the apron and walks backstage. Edge looks confused. Matt comes up from behind and tries a Twist of Fate, but Edge reverses it into a head slam. Edge signals for the spear. As Edge nears Matt, Matt kicks Edge in the sternum and connects with the Side Affect. Matt gets the hot tag to Jeff who strikes Edge down with numerous forearm shots. Jeff dropkicks Edge in the face and covers, but gets a 2. Matt is tagged in and they do their classic Hardy Boyz tag team maneuver on Edge in the corner. Matt then signals for the Twist of Fate and he tags in Jeff who hits the Swanton Bomb for the 1-2-3!

Post-Match: Crowd is absolutely crazy as the brothers celebrate with their respective titles. We get replays of the match as JR wishes everyone a Happy New Year to end the show…