The Shimmy 5.14.07: Interpromotional Matches (Part Five)

Hello, my students. It is I, your teacher, Andy Clark. After a week off I’m back and ready to get back to the Interpromotional series. Considering the lack of feedback I’ve been receiving in recent weeks I’m guessing this isn’t that popular of a feature. Fair enough. I’ll make an attempt at finishing up this week, but given the rash of Interpromotional Matches we’ve seen in recent times I may need another week. Let’s start now and see where we end up, eh?

When last we left the brands had attained some stability. Raw had reclaimed the WWE Title from Rob Van Dam, and RVD had also lost the ECW World Title to Big Show. Big Show would serve as the primary Interpromotional participant, taking on all comers from all brands. One week after Big Show bested RVD for the title, he put his strap on the line against Raw’s Ric Flair in an Extreme Rules Match. This match was quite the surprise as it was one of the better free TV matches all year.

From the gruesomeness of an Extreme Rules Match, the Interpromotional competition would go to the beauty of the Divas. At Saturday Night’s Main Event Raw’s Torrie Wilson, Maria, Mickie James, Candice Michelle, and Victoria competed against SmackDown’s Kristal Marshall, Michelle McCool, Ashley Massaro, and Jillian Hall, as well as ECW’s Kelly Kelly in a Bull Riding Contest. Michelle McCool, one of the lesser known Divas, shocked the world by winning, besting Victoria in the finals.

Saturday Night’s Main Event would also see Big Show lay out a challenge to SmackDown’s Phenom, Undertaker for that week’s ECW main event. Thanks to interference from The Great Khali, Big Show-Undertaker was ruled a no contest. Taker would get one more shot at Big Show just a few days later at Great American Bash as Show would be substituted for Khali in the scheduled Punjabi Prison Match. Undertaker would gain a measure of revenge against the ECW Champion by coming out on the winning end of the non-title bout.

Big Show would go on to defend his ECW World Title in two more Interpromotional Matches. Big Show defeated Raw’s Kane in an Extreme Rules Match and lost to Batista by disqualification in a Match of the Year Candidate in the Hammerstein Ballroom. The Hammerstein Ballroom was not only the site of the epic Show-Batista match, but it was also the ECW debut of Brooklyn Brawler. While he would lose on this night to Kurt Angle, Brawler would go on to defend the honor of ECW three days later on SmackDown as he took on the dress-wearing Vito. Unfortunately for Brawler his match with Vito didn’t go much differently then his encounter with the Olympic Gold Medalist.

ECW would host not one, but two Interpromotional Matches on the August 22, 2006 edition. It started out simple enough as Torrie Wilson would come from Raw to challenge the resident Extreme Exhibitionist Kelly Kelly to an Extreme Bikini Contest. That would not last long, however, as Kelly’s jealous boyfriend Mike Knox and his tag team partner Test would get involved. Tommy Dreamer & The Sandman would arrive to the aid of Torrie and we would have ourselves a Six Person Intergender Tag Team Match. In the end the ECW Originals would help the former Playboy covergirl score the win.
D-Generation X would be the focus of the next few Interpromotional Matches. Embroiled in their feud with the McMahons, DX would find themselves facing as many “resources” as money could buy. On the special Sci-Fi Channel edition of Raw Shane McMahon brought in three of SmackDown’s finest, Mr. Kennedy, Finlay, & William Regal. DX had made a habit of defeating five men during the summer; three men was nothing. The McMahons had one more ace up their sleeve: the ECW World Champion Big Show. DX would take on Big Show in a Handicap Match on his own turf in ECW in a match that ended when Big Show got himself disqualified. The true battle would take place at Unforgiven. DX would take on Big Show one more time, but this time Show would be teaming with Vince & Shane McMahon within the deadly confines of Hell in a Cell. Yet again DX would emerge victorious and the war would finally be over.

As the fall commenced there would be quite a bit of brand fraternization. The World Heavyweight Champion King Booker would take a tour of Paul Heyman’s ECW domain and would stop off to defeat Rob Van Dam in an Extreme Rules Match. John Cena would pay back a favor to SmackDown GM Teddy Long by teaming up with Batista and Bobby Lashley to defeat King Booker, Finlay, & William Regal in a Six Man Tag Team Match. Things would really heat up during the Raw Family Reunion as all three World Champions would take on wrestlers from opposing brands. King Booker would once again find himself beating Rob Van Dam, Big Show would dismantle Raw’s Jeff Hardy, and WWE Champion John Cena would go to a no contest with SmackDown’s Undertaker. Not only that, but SmackDown superstar Chris Benoit would answer Raw superstar Shelton Benjamin’s open challenge and force the former Golden Gopher to tap out.

The next night on ECW things would really heat up as ECW divas Kelly Kelly and Trinity hosted Raw divas Maria and Candice Michelle and SmackDown divas Kristal Marshall and Ashley Massaro in a game of Extreme Strip Poker. There was no official winner in this match other than the lucky screen blurs that got to cover up Candice and Maria’s finer areas.

The battle between the brands would escalate on the way to Cyber Sunday. John Cena & Batista would team on SmackDown to beat the team of King Booker & Big Show a week before the big event. At the interactive PPV WWE fans selected SmackDown’s newest superstar Kane to resolve his unfinished business with Raw superstar Umaga. Of course by resolve I mean getting beaten senseless. Of course the main event was the historical Champion of Champions Match pitting WWE Champion John Cena vs. World Heavyweight Champion King Booker vs. ECW World Champion Big Show. The fans put King Booker’s World Heavyweight Title on the line, and fortunately for all the loyal subjects the King walked away with his gold in tact.

Even after the Champion of Champions Match brand fraternization was high. Bobby Lashley jumped from SmackDown to ECW and just like Kurt Angle before him was given a farewell match. Lashley teamed with Batista to defeat King Booker & Finlay in Lashley’s last match on SmackDown.

The 2006 Survivor Series was also a reason that the brands intertwined so much. This year there were teams consisting of members of all three rosters. Leading up to the event Umaga tried to set the tone for his team by defeating ECW’s Sabu on Raw. All of the Survivor Series team captains would compete in a match as well, pitting John Cena, Ric Flair, & DX vs. Big Show, Kenny Dykstra, & Rated RKO. The faces would emerge victorious, a sign of things to come. The next night on ECW the Raw-SmackDown combination of Jeff and Matt Hardy, The Hardys, defeated the ECW tag team The FBI. At Survivor Series The Hardys would successfully team with DX and ECW’s CM Punk to take out Raw’s Rated RKO and Johnny Nitro, SmackDown’s Gregory Helms, and ECW’s Mike Knox. Team Cena (Raw’s John Cena, SmackDown’s Kane, and ECW’s Bobby Lashley, Rob Van Dam, & Sabu) bested Team Big Show (ECW’s Big Show & Test, SmackDown’s Finlay & MVP, and Raw’s Umaga) with Cena and Lashley being the sole survivors.

There would be a lot of Interpromotional tag team action following Survivor Series. The night after the PPV The Hardys would challenge Rated RKO for the World Tag Team Titles in a losing effort. The night after that they would defeat ECW’s Elijah Burke & Sylvester Terkay. The Hardys’ December to Dismember opponents, the fellow SmackDown-Raw combination of MNM, defeated Paul London & Brian Kendrick on SmackDown in a non-title match. The two teams would meet up at the ECW PPV with The Hardys coming out on top. The next night MNM would get some retribution as they teamed up with Rated RKO to defeat The Hardys & DX in an Eight Man Tag Team Match. The Hardys and MNM would hook up one more time in 2006 as late editions to a Four-Way Ladder Match for the WWE Tag Team Titles at Armageddon, a match that also included the champions Paul London & Brian Kendrick as well as William Regal & Dave Taylor. London & Kendrick would walk away from the classic match with this title belts.

That was not the only Interpromotional tag team match on tap at Armageddon. For the first time ever the WWE Champion and World Heavyweight Champion would team together as John Cena & Batista joined forces to take on King Booker & Finlay. Two nights earlier on SmackDown John Cena had defeated Finlay. At Armageddon it was Batista that pinned King Booker to win the match for his team.

The Hardys would experience some immediate fallout from Armageddon. Joey Mercury’s face had been shattered during the Ladder Match and Johnny Nitro vowed vengeance as his partner was out. The night after Armageddon Nitro teamed with World’s Greatest Tag Team to defeat the battered Hardys. On SmackDown Nitro would go one-on-one with Matt Hardy, scoring the victory once again.

2006 would close out with a very special Tribute to the Troops show. There was not one, not two, but three Interpromotional Matches booked for the excited troops in Baghdad. The first match saw ECW’s CM Punk best Raw’s Shelton Benjamin. The next match saw SmackDown’s Undertaker tombstone himself into a victory over Raw’s Johnny Nitro. The main event of the evening would be a special Masterlock Challenge applied by Raw’s Chris Masters. Who would step up to the challenge but the man that created the Tribute for the Troops show, SmackDown’s color commentator JBL. Just like everyone before him, though, JBL would succumb to the Masterlock.

I’ll leave us there this week. Next week really will be the final installment of this series as I chronicle the Interpromotional Matches of 2007. Who knows how many more WWE can fit into the next week’s worth of programming?

Andy! Andy! At Last You Have Some Feedback!

Angelo Velotta has some booking ideas for WWE:

So Cena continues this little mini-feud with Khali and their first affair ends in a DQ at Judegment Day. The rematch at One Night Stand gives Khali the victory, but Cena wins it back at the Great American Bash. This is where Michaels comes back into the picture and demands a shot at Cena one more time at Summerslam. Cena accepts the challenge, but is wondering if The Game will stay out of it since he is returning then. Michaels says he doesn’t need anyone to back him up. HHH comes out and says he’s got Michaels back because they’ve always been boys.

So the match is set for Summerslam at Michaels defeats Cena in an amazing ladder match with no HHH-ferance. The next night on Raw HHH calls out Michaels into the ring. He congratulates Michaels on the win but tells him it’s time to bring in the new for DX. He says the newest member of DX is…..John Cena. Cena comes into the ring and HHH raises both of their hands. HHH turns around and fakes that he is going to kick Michaels and then hit him with the pedigree but instead lowblows Cena with a back kick, ducks out of the way and Michaels drills Cena with Sweet Chin Music! HHH said no one saw that one coming, and bragged proving everyone wrong that they thought he’d turn on Michaels. DX is stronger then ever now. The next week on Raw Cena comes out and says he got screwed by Dx, but he damn won’t suck it. He says he’s going to need some back up against DX cause this is a war. He introduces the newest Chain Gang Soldier….Bobby Lashley! A match is set later that night for tag team action.

Later that night Cena/Lashley take on DX. The match ends in a Double DQ when Lashley hits Michaels with a chair and HHH hits Cena with the sledgehammer. The next week on Raw we get Lashley vs. Michaels and HHH vs. Cena. Both Lashley and Cena win their matches. The last week of Raw before unforgiven we see find out Lashley and Cena will take on Michaels and HHH No Holds Barred. At Unforgiven, DX defeats Cena and Lashley, after HHH pedigrees Lashley through a table. The next week on Raw Cena and Lashley come out looking for revenge but DX isn’t there. The next week they are surprise attacked by DX. The week after that Cena/Lashley look for DX again but they again aren’t there. The next week DX jumps them again, but this time it turns into a pull-apart brawl all over the arena. Another match is made for No Mercy, Cena and Lashley vs. DX, with the stipulation being if DX loses, whoever gets the pinfall on them gets a title shot, and if DX wins then Cena and Lashley can’t face Michaels again for the title. So the match takes place and Cena/Lashley win after Cena gets Micheals to tap out in the STFU simultaneously as Lashley spears HHH for the pin.

So at Cyber Sunday the fans get to pick who gets the title shot Cena, or Michaels. Cena wins the ballot and we get Cena-Michaels IV. This is a classic, with Lashely and HHH fighting on the outside. Cena has Michaels in the STFU and he taps. At Survivor Series we get DX vs. Cena/Lashley, with whatever team losing having to disband for good. Another surprising clean ending without a twist and hard fought battle, with DX reigning supreme. This takes us to Armageddon where we get a Fatal Four Way for the title, and HHH walking away with it after pinning Cena. This leads to New Year’s Revolution in the elimination Chamber, with Edge, Michaels and HHH left. Edge hits the spear and edgecution on Michaels and HHH watches as Edge pins him. Edge goes to high five HHH but HHH pedigrees him for the win.

I was with you for a while there Angelo, but in the end it sounds way too TNA. Plus I don’t want any distraction during the future Cena-Michaels matches. And of course Edge would now factor out of that story since he is now World Champ on SmackDown.

500 Good Words w/ Matt Adamson

Champion vs. Champion – Part 6

Well, now that I had a week off from this rather long series, it’s nice to get back. Last time I covered that period where the IWGP champion Tatsumi Fujinami wrestled WCW/NWA Champion Ric Flair and all of that controversy surrounding the NWA title. I have really fond memories of WCW this period as I had been watching wrestling for a long time, but spent most of my time watching the AWA, Portland and World Class. So when all three of those companies went off the air, I ended up watching a lot more WCW, WWF and USWA. When Ric Flair left WCW for the greener pastures of Stamford, CT, he vacated the NWA title, but WCW wasn’t in the mood to renew their relationship. Lex Luger was crown the new WCW Champion and things moved on from there.

By the time 1992 rolled around, former owner of Mid-South Wrestling and UWF Cowboy Bill Watts was running the show for WCW. He had positive feelings about the NWA so he re-established WCW’s relationship with them. New champions were crowned as a result and the first new NWA Champ was Masahiro Chono. He would later lose the title to The Great Muta who would lose it to Windham. In the summer of 1993, Eric Bischoff was running WCW and put the NWA title on Flair. Flair was fine as champion for the NWA, but when WCW decided the next champ was going to be Rick Rude, the NWA balked and the relationship ended. The title was then called the “big gold belt” but still defended just like a title. Around the end of the year, WCW decided to make the “big gold belt” into a title calling it the WCW International Title. I imagine I’m in the minority as I feel that this title was a legitimate title as it derived from the NWA title.

It didn’t take long for WCW to realize it didn’t need a second Main Event level title, so they decided to do away with it and unify it to the WCW World Title. Ric Flair had won the WCW title in December at Starrcade and Sting had won the International title not too long before the unification match was set to happen. Sting vs. Ric Flair happened at the Clash of the Champions XXVII. WCW had a lot riding on who won this match as they would go on to feud with their newest acquisition, Hulk Hogan. WCW saw that the money at the time was in Ric Flair as a heel against babyface Hogan so Ric Flair got the win and unified the two championships in his match against Sting. Hogan and Flair would feud for a few month after this with Hogan winning the title, but it would be a long time before another real champion vs. champion match would take place.

To be continued…

Next week I’m going to skip past the remainder of the 90’s as it was the Monday Night Wars and the last thing any company was doing was running cross promotional matches. ECW had effectively killed the NWA for a few years and rendered them nearly useless and pointless for even more years. It would be until WCW went out of business before two major champions faced each other again. So, next week I’ll talk about the WCW/ECW Invasion and the major champion vs. champion match from that period.

Thanks again for reading. Thanks to Andy for giving me The Shimmy last week (though it was a surprise to find out it was happening), I hope you all enjoyed it. Make sure to send me email at [email protected]. Until next time.

The Shimmy Likes It Raw!

What’s on tap for tonight’s show?

I’ll be live in attendance for tonight’s Raw! I’ll be joined by my Dad and my half-brother-in-law as we make the last two-hour live stop on the Road to Judgment Day. Sounds creepy doesn’t it?

Will The Great Khali give John Cena his title belt back? I wonder what kind of spinner bling Khali would want on his World Title? By the way, I’m saying it now. If Cena-Khali at Judgment Day is just the first match in a series of them it will more than likely suck. However, if this is the blowoff of a short feud I think it will be quite good.

Will Edge make one last appearance on Raw? I was kind of hoping they’d wait to announce the Edge-Batista match until after Raw so we could see a Batista-Randy Orton No. 1 Contender’s Match this Monday. Maybe we can get Cena & Batista vs. Edge & Khali? Throw in HBK and Orton and make it a Six Man Tag? Or as Da Meltz would call it a Trios (I will say I’m growing partial to the term; what do you call an Eight Man Tag, a quatros?)?

Well that does it for me, kiddies. Happy belated Mother’s Days to all the Moms out there. My Mom won’t read this, but a special Happy Mother’s Day to her anyhow. Beth may read this so Happy Mother’s Day to you! Don’t worry Dads, Father’s Day is just around the corner. Until next time, don’t die. Clark…out.