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From The Network – WWE Unforgiven 2008

February 27, 2015 | Posted by Dylan Diot
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From The Network – WWE Unforgiven 2008  

WWE Unforgiven 2008
9-7-08
Cleveland, OH

Your hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross, Tazz, Todd Grisham, and Matt Striker.

Scramble Match for the ECW Championship-Mark Henry © w/Tony Atlas vs. Matt Hardy vs. The Miz vs. Chavo Guerrero w/Bam Neely vs. Finlay w/Hornswoggle
So two men start and every five minutes another man enters the ring. There is a twenty minute time limit and if you get a fall during that time, you are the holder of the championship. If you are the holder when time runs out, you officially win the title. Matt Hardy and Miz start. Hardy gains the early advantage to start and Miz catches Hardy with a hip toss for 1. Corner clothesline by Hardy but Miz blocks the follow up bulldog. Corner lariat misses and Hardy pulls Miz into a sit-out powerbomb for 2. Clothesline by Hardy gets 2. Miz pulls Hardy into the ropes and Miz works him over. Miz snaps Hardy’s neck off the ropes for 2 and Miz goes to the arm bar. Sunset flip by Hardy gets 2 and Miz hits a clothesline for 2. Miz goes up but Hardy stops him and goes for Splash Mountain. Miz escapes and hits the Reality Check. Hardy bails to avoid a cover and back in, Miz covers for 2. Chavo Guerrero is next and he low bridges Miz. Chavo goes up and hits the Frog Splash for 3!!! Chavo Guerrero is the champion.
Chavo sends Miz hard into the corner and he stomps away. Corner lariat by Miz gets 2. Capo kick by Chavo and Miz bails. Slingshot pescado by Chavo and Hardy catches him with a baseball slide. Back in, Hardy slams Chavo and he hits an elbow drop for 2. Miz goes up but Chavo stops him and follows up. Miz fights him off and hits a double crossbody on Hardy and Chavo for 2. Matt cleans house and he hits a clothesline/bulldog combo. Side Effect on Chavo by Hardy gets 3. Matt Hardy is the champion.
Back elbow to Miz and Hardy dumps Chavo. Snap mare and Matt grabs the rear chin lock on Miz. Miz fights out as Mark Henry is the next entrant. They all go after Henry but Henry fights them off. Henry presses Hardy and Miz hits some rights. He trucks Miz and hits the World’s Strongest Slam on Chavo for 3. Mark Henry is the champion.
World’s Strongest Slam to Miz and Hardy hits some rights. Hardy looks to springboard but Henry blocks, knocking Hardy to the floor. Henry presses Miz to the mat and Chavo attacks. Bear hug by Henry but Hardy goes up and leaps. Henry catches him in the Bear Hug and he rams Hardy into the corner. He goes back to the Bear Hug as Finlay is the last man to enter. Finlay fires away and hits a DDT for 2. A second DDT by Finlay gets 2. Finley fires away but Henry catches him in the bear hug. Hornswoggle comes in and distracts Henry, allowing Finlay to nail him with the Shillelagh. Hardy and Finley dump Henry and Finley hits the Celtic Cross for 3. Finlay is the champion.
Miz goes up and hits a missile dropkick. Hardy hits the Twist of Fate on Miz for 3!!! Matt Hardy is the champion.
Frog Splash by Chavo to Miz gets 2 as Hardy saves. Henry hammers away on everyone and hits the World’s Strongest Slam on Chavo for 2 as Hardy saves. O’Connor roll with the tights by Miz to Hardy gets 2 as Henry saves. Chavo leaps off the top but Henry catches him and hits another World’s Strongest Slam for 2 as Hardy saves. Roll-up by Finlay gets 2 and he goes for the Celtic Cross but Henry breaks it up. Big Splash to Miz gets 2 as Hardy saves. Hardy prevents any near fall and he dumps Miz and Chavo. They all scramble to get a cover but time runs out!!!!
Winner and NEW ECW Champion- Matt Hardy ***1/4 (I’m not a fan of the scramble concept or the idea of having the championship play hot potato with the champion not being able to control his whole destiny. However, they played to the match well and the final stretch being a hot mess was actually pretty clever. Match was fun but died for a bit when Henry went into bear hug city mode.)

Jeff Hardy congratulates Matt and Matt tells Jeff to make it a Hardy clean sweep tonight.

World Tag Team Championship- Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase © vs. Cryme Tyme (Shad Gaspard and JTG)
Rhodes and JTG start. Dropkicks by JTG and Shad clotheslines the champs to the floor. Shad presses JTG all the way to the floor onto the champs!!! Back in, JTG covers for 2. Rhodes pulls JTG into the corner and Dibiase tags in. Hip toss by JTG and Shad tags in. He presses JTG into a corner avalanche and covers Dibiase for 2. Jaw breaker by Dibiase and Shad comes back with a tilt-a-whirl slam. Elbow drop by Shad gets 2. Dibiase catches Shad with a knee and Rhodes tags in. JTG gets the bling tag and Cryme Tyme hit an assisted slingshot clothesline for 2. Rhodes slaps JTG and JTG chases him to the floor where Rhodes catches him with a clothesline. Back in, Rhodes covers for 2. Rhodes works the arm of JTG and he tags in Dibiase. The champs continue to work over the arm of JTG and Rhodes snaps JTG’s arm off the ropes for 2. Wrist lock by Rhodes but JTG fights out. Side Russian leg sweep by Rhodes and Dibiase tags in. Dropkick by Dibiase gets 2. Key lock by Dibiase but JTG fights out and hits a back suplex. Tag to Rhodes and he knocks Shad off the apron to prevent the tag. The champs double team JTG and Rhodes covers for 2. Rhodes goes back to the key lock but JTG fights out again. Slam by Rhodes and he goes up. Moonsault misses and Shad gets the tag. He cleans house and hits snake eyes on Dibiase. Running forearm by Shad gets 2 as Rhodes saves. Backdrop by Shad but Rhodes catches him with a DDT. Dibiase covers for 2 as Shad gets his foot on the ropes!!! Tag to Rhodes and Shad catches him with a clothesline. Tag to JTG and he gets the small package for 2 as Dibiase rolls Rhodes on top for 3!!! The champs mock Cryme Tyme after the match so Cryme Tyme attacks. A Samoan wrestler comes out and saves Rhodes and Dibiase. He raises the hands of Rhodes and Dibiase. That wrestler would be known as Manu. If you don’t remember Manu, don’t worry because he wouldn’t last long.
Winners and Still World Tag Team Champions- Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase **1/2 ( Very basic, by the numbers tag match. Dibiase and Rhodes worked like a solid heel tag team and started to show flashes of their chemistry as a team that would come in the later months. )

The doctor wraps up Shawn Michaels’ injured elbow and warns him about the potential injury in this match.

Video package for Jericho/Michaels airs.

Unsanctioned Street Fight- Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels
In a brilliant touch, Jericho comes out in tights while Shawn is dressed in street fight gear. Michaels hammers away to start and he nails Jericho with his cowboy boot a few times. He knocks Jericho to the floor and follows out where he tackles Jericho into the front row. Back at ringside, Michaels catapults Jericho into the post. Shawn swings a chair but Jericho moves and slams Shawn’s face off the announce table. He drops Shawn onto the barricade and hits a DDT onto the floor. Jericho drives a table into Shawn and sets it up at ringside. Jericho goes for the powerbomb but Shawn blocks so Jericho drops him onto the apron. Back in, Jericho nails Michaels a few times with a chair and he hits a back suplex. Jericho puts a chair into the corner and he works over Shawn in the corner. Shawn sends Jericho into the post shoulder first to come back and Jericho attempts to suplex Shawn through the table on the floor. Shawn blocks and he clotheslines Jericho back into the ring. Flying forearm by Shawn and he chokes away on Jericho. Shawn goes up and hits the flying elbow drop. Shawn goes for the Superkick but Jericho collapses to his knees before he lands it, so Shawn hammers away. Crossface by Shawn but Jericho pulls Shawn into the chair in the corner. Jericho throws some shots at the eye of Michaels and he hammers away. Jericho rakes the eyes of Michaels and throws some jabs at Shawn. Shawn catches Jericho with a hard right and he hits a Thesz press into some rights on Jericho. Clothesline by Michaels and he goes for the piledriver but Jericho blocks and locks in the Walls of Jericho. Shawn manages to grab a fire extinguisher and sprays it in Jericho’s face to break!!!!! Shawn nails Jericho with the fire extinguisher, knocking Jericho to the floor. Shawn sends Jericho into the barricades and he suplexes Jericho onto the entrance way. Lance Cade comes out and Shawn knocks him down. Cade clips the injured arm of Shawn and turns him inside out with a clothesline on the floor. Cade drives his boot into the arm of Shawn against the post, furthering injuring Shawn’s arm. Back in, Jericho and Cade toy with Shawn and Jericho throws a kick to the bad arm. Jericho nails the bad arm of Shawn with a chair a few times. They place Shawn’s arm in a chair and Jericho goes up. Shawn shoves Cade to the floor and the momentum crotches Jericho. Sweet Chin Music to Cade and Shawn nails Jericho with a chair KNOCKING HIM OFF THE TOP THROUGH THE TABLE ON THE FLOOR!!!!! Shawn nails Jericho a few times with the chair and he puts Cade on top of the announce table. Shawn goes up but has second thoughts. He puts Jericho on the table with Cade and Shawn goes up. FLYING ELBOW DROP THROUGH THE ANNOUNCE TABLE ONTO JERICHO AND CADE!!!!! Back in, Shawn takes off his belt and begins to whip Jericho with it. Shawn ties Jericho up and begins to hammer away at Jericho with the belt wrapped around his fist. The ref pulls Shawn off and Jericho seems to be out cold. Shawn goes back to hammering away and the ref stops the match as Jericho is out!!!!! After the match, Shawn is emotional distraught and he continues his assault on Jericho. The ref begs Shawn to stop so Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music on the ref!!!!! More officials come out to shield Jericho from Shawn.
Winner- Shawn Michaels ****1/4 ( This was a fantastic, emotion filled brawl. All the weapons shots and spots meant something. It wasn’t a stunt show, it was a legitimate fight between two men who absolutely hate each other. Shawn’s facial expressions and his portrayal of a man possessed was unreal and Jericho took one hell of a beating to get their storyline over. The finish is my main critique, since the idea of the match was Shawn was going to do something unthinkable to Jericho so just punching him with a belt until the ref pulled him off was underwhelming. )

Randy Orton appears in Rhodes, Dibiase, and Manu’s locker room. Rhodes says they made an impact tonight and Manu saw talent in them. Dibiase asks Randy if he’s impressed and Orton says congratulations for using dumb luck to steal a win. Randy tells them luck runs out but talent lives forever. Randy says he is not impressed.

WWE Championship Scramble Match- Triple H © vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. The Brian Kendrick w/Ezekiel Jackson vs. MVP
Hardy and Benjamin start. Roll-up by Benjamin gets 1 and Hardy returns the favor. Benjamin overpowers Hardy and Hardy comes back with the O’Connor roll for 2. Sunset flip by Hardy gets 2. Benjamin works the side head lock but Hardy fights out. Buckle bomb by Benjamin gets 2. Benjamin works over Hardy and he hits a suplex for 2. Chin lock by Benjamin and he releases for 2. He goes for a back suplex but Hardy blocks for 2 and they have an awkward clothesline spot. Slam by Hardy and he hits a leg drop for 2. Sleeper driver by Hardy as The Brian Kendrick is the next entrant. Hardy and Benjamin fight on the apron and Kendrick knocks Benjamin off. Flying forearm by Kendrick gets 2. Kendrick works over Hardy in the corner and he charges but misses. Ally-oop by Hardy gets 3. Jeff Hardy is the champion.
Benjamin attacks and Hardy begins to clean house on him. Suplex by Hardy gets 2. Forearms by Benjamin gets 2. Benjamin misses the Stinger Splash and Hardy rolls Benjamin up for 2. Benjamin blocks the Twist of Fate and he hits Pay Dirt for 2 as Kendrick saves. Kendrick dumps Benjamin and he hits Sliced Bread #2 for 3!!! The Brian Kendrick is the champion.
MVP is the next entrant. MVP attacks Kendrick and he presses Kendrick to the mat. MVP dropkicks the leg of Hardy and baseball slides him to the floor. He backdrops Kendrick to the floor and hits a facebuster on Benjamin. Northern lariat by MVP and Kendrick catches him with a leg lariat. Hardy knocks Kendrick down and he hits a spinning heel kick to Benjamin. Double slingshot dropkick in the corner by Hardy to Benjamin and MVP. Hardy covers Benjamin for 2 as Kendrick saves. Samoan drop by Benjamin to Kendrick and Kendrick hits a springboard crossbody to MVP. Basement dropkick to MVP and Benjamin catches Kendrick with a lariat. Kendrick counters the powerbomb with a hurricanrana and he slug it out with MVP. Leg lariat to MVP by Kendrick and HHH is the last entrant. HHH clotheslines Benjamin to the floor and he clotheslines Kendrick. Facebuster to MVP and Kendrick hits a flying forearm on MVP. Spinebuster to Kendrick and HHH dumps MVP to the floor. Pedigree to Kendrick gets 3. Triple H is the champion.
HHH goes after Benjamin on the floor but Benjamin sends HHH into the steps. Twist of Fate by Hardy to MVP gets 3!!! Jeff Hardy is the champion.
Hardy blocks Sliced Bread #2 and he hits a sit-out gord buster on Kendrick. Hardy goes up but HHH crotches him. Pedigree to Kendrick again gets 3. Triple H is the champion.
Swanton Bomb by Hardy to Kendrick gets 3!!! Jeff Hardy is the champion.
HHH goes for the Pedigree but Hardy backdrops him to the floor to block. Slingshot summersault pescado to the floor by Hardy to HHH. MVP puts Kendrick on top and he follows up. Kendrick fights him off and Benjmain springboards up top to go after Kendrick. MVP takes them down with the TOWER OF DOOM~!!! Whisper in the Wind by Hardy to MVP and he goes up. Swanton Bomb to Benjamin and HHH hits the Pedigree on MVP for 3 as time runs out!!!!!
Winner and Still WWE Champion- Triple H ***1/2 ( This was my favorite scramble match of the night. It was filled with solid wrestling and the final five minutes was filled with urgency and a game of back and forth between Hardy and HHH that played to the strengths of the gimmick and made you want to see Jeff Hardy finally get that championship. This accomplished what it needed to and it was solid stuff. )

Shawn Michaels says he is going home to see his wife and children who are going to see the look on his face which will explain what happened tonight. He says he is content with tonight but he does not have closure. He says he would do what he did to Jericho tonight every single night if he had the chance. He says the worst is yet to come.

CM Punk is about to cut a promo but Randy Orton interrupts him. Orton calls Punk a fluke and Punk calls Orton a bitter, ex-champion. Punk asks Orton if he is ready to compete but Orton claims to still be injured. Rhodes, Dibiase, and Manu attack Punk from behind and they attack Kofi Kingston who tries to save Punk. Orton lays out Punk with the punt. He tells Rhodes, Dibiase, and Manu that was impressive.

WWE Diva’s Championship- Michelle McCool © vs. Maryse
They battle for control to start and McCool hits a side Russian leg sweep for 2. Maryse works the arm of McCool but McCool hits a springboard arm drag to break. They go to the floor and Maryse sends McCool into the front row. McCool comes back with a big boot and she hits a clothesline off the barricade. Back in, McCool hits some uppercuts and Maryse comes back with a chop block. Maryse slams McCool’s leg off the mat and she works the heel of McCool. McCool takes Maryse down and she begins to work her leg. McCool rolls Maryse onto her back and grabs a grapevine but Maryse grabs the ropes to break. Maryse pulls McCool into the ropes and chokes her in the ropes. They trade forearms and McCool rolls through a sunset flip attempt into a basement dropkick for 2. Maryse blocks a suplex attempt and she throws some kicks to the leg of McCool. Big boot by McCool and she hits a sit-out gordbuster for 3.
Winner and Still Diva’s Champion- Michelle McCool ** ( They get points for solid leg work but this was very buffer Diva’s match that no one cared about that you have ever seen. )

Mike Adamle comes out and announces that CM Punk will be unable to compete. Adamle says he will find a suitable replacement for him.

Big Show comes out and offers to be the replacement for the Raw Championship Scramble. He says Adamle may not be all there but he wouldn’t have a huge oversight like Vickie Guerrero did. He polls the crowd to see if they would want Show to be in the scramble and they approve. Vickie Guerrero comes out and calls Vickie a big, dump giant. Vickie tells Show to get out of her ring but the Druids come out with a casket. Undertaker appears on the titantron and asks Vickie if she will go in the casket willingly or will he force her. The Undertaker comes out and Show holds Vickie Guerrero for Taker. Taker grabs Vickie by the throat but Show nails him with the KO Punch!!! Show attacks Taker but Taker begins to fight back. Show rams Taker into the post and he drops Taker onto the casket. Show sends Taker into the barricade and he continues to work over Taker on the floor. Back in, Show throws some head butts and he hits another KO punch. Show drops some elbows on Taker and he holds Taker up for Vickie to slap and spit on him.

William Regal makes his case for being in the scramble but Adamle says Punk still might compete.

World Heavyweight Championship Scramble Match- Batista vs. JBL vs. Kane vs. Rey Mysterio vs. ???
Batista and JBL start. Batista overpowers JBL to start and he works over JBL in the corner. Lariat by Batista gets 1. Sleeper by JBL but Batista breaks with a knee breaker. Chop block by Batista and he works over the leg of JBL. Figure-4 by Batista but JBL makes the ropes to break. Rights by Batista but JBL pulls him to the floor to catch a break. JBL works over Batista on the floor and Batista sends JBL into the steps. Kane is the next entrant and Batista catches him with a lariat. Big boot by Kane and he snap mares Batista into the basement dropkick for 1. Kane stomps away on Batista in the corner and Batista comes back with a corner clothesline. He chokes Kane with his boot and Kane catches Batista with a sidewalk slam. Kane goes up and misses the flying clothesline. Kane blocks a Spear and Batista blocks the Chokeslam. JBL breaks up the Batista Bomb with a big boot. Chokeslam by Kane to JBL gets 3. Kane is the champion.
Kane works over Batista in the corner and he sends Batista shoulder first in the post. Rey Mysterio is the next entrant and Rey dropkicks Kane in the leg a few times. High kick by Mysterio gets 1. Mysterio throws some kicks to the leg and he hits a springboard dropkick knocking Kane to the floor. JBL attacks and Rey catches him with a tilt-a-whirl head scissors. Wheelbarrow bulldog by Mysterio and Kane catches him with a clothesline from the apron. Back suplex by Batista to Kane and Rey hits a flying splash for the shoulders of Batista. Batista covers for 2 and Rey goes on Batists’s shoulders again. Rey then turns it into a sunset flip for 2!!! JBL attacks and he hits a fall-a-way slam sending Rey onto Batista for 2. CHRIS JERICHO IS THE LAST ENTRANT!!!!! Jericho walks down the ramp in a ton of pain from the Michaels match. Batista spears Rey and he spears Jericho as he comes in. Powerslam to Kane and Batista spears JBL for 2 as he gets his foot on the ropes. 619 by Rey to Kane and Batista hits a big boot for 2 as Rey saves. 619 to JBL and he tries to springboard but Batista knocks him to the floor. Clothesline from Hell by JBL to Kane. Spinebuster by Batista to JBL. Slam by Kane to Batista and he goes up. Flying clothesline by Kane gets 2. Spear by Batista to Kane. Spinebuster by Batista gets 3. Batista is the champion.
Rey goes for the springboard senton but Batista blocks and hits the Batista Bomb. Jericho sneaks in and covers Kane for 3!!! Time runs out!!!!
Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion- Chris Jericho *** ( This was physical and hard hitting but the match moved in a very slow pace, flipping between being very good and very dull at certain points. Jericho winning was a brilliant idea, with him taking the ass kicking of a lifetime and yet still got the last laugh on Shawn but making this HIS night, not Shawn’s. )

7.0
The final score: review Good
The 411
In terms of the Scramble Match, while the wrestlers did a good job working the gimmick, it didn't seem to work and I believe there has only been one Scramble Match since this show. This show is pretty good, with solid wrestling across the card. We got big moments for guys like Matt Hardy and Chris Jericho who finally got to taste major championship gold and we saw both the continuation of one of WWE's best feuds ever in Jericho/Michaels and Jeff Hardy's quest for the WWE Championship. The Big Show/Taker segment sucked and lasted forever and this show was the nail in the coffin for CM Punk's first poor title run, but these don't impact my overall enjoyment of what was a very good wrestling card. I saw this show is well worth the look if you have the time.
legend

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From The Network, WWE, Dylan Diot