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Judgment Day (2008)
Encyclopedia
Judgment Day was a professional wrestling
pay-per-view
(PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
(WWE), which took place on May 18, 2008 at the Qwest Center Omaha
in Omaha, Nebraska
. It was the tenth annual Judgment Day
event and starred wrestlers from the Raw
, SmackDown, and ECW brands
.
The show's seven matches showcased prominent WWE wrestlers, who acted out the franchise's stories in and out of the ring. The main event featured Raw wrestlers in a Steel Cage match, a match where the ring surrounded by four walls of mesh metal. In this match, WWE Champion
Triple H
defeated Randy Orton
to retain his title. In SmackDown's main match, The Undertaker defeated Edge by countout, but did not win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship
because in WWE, a championship cannot change hands via countout or disqualification. While in ECW's prime match, WWE Tag Team Champions John Morrison and The Miz
defeated Kane
and CM Punk
to retain the titles. From the six scheduled bouts on the undercard, two received less promotion than the others; these bouts included in two respective singles matches, Shawn Michaels
defeating Chris Jericho
and John Cena
defeating John "Bradshaw" Layfield
(JBL).
Judgment Day received 252,000 pay-per-view buys, and was instrumental in helping WWE increase its pay-per-view revenue by $21.9 million compared to the previous year. The professional wrestling section of the Canadian Online Explorer
website rated the entire event 6 out of 10, higher than the 2007 event, which was marked "as an average show".
. A month before the event, several professional wrestling
matches
and scripted
plots were played out on WWE programming (Raw
, Friday Night SmackDown!, and ECW on Sci Fi) to create feuds
between various wrestlers, casting them as villains
and heroes
. Raw, SmackDown, and ECW were also the names of WWE's televised brands – a storyline division
in which WWE assigned its employees to a specific program, thus each brand promoted distinct matches.
The main event scripted into Judgment Day on the Raw brand
featured WWE Champion
Triple H
defending the title against Randy Orton
in a match where the ring was surrounded by walls of steel, dubbed as a Steel cage match. The buildup to the match began after Backlash
, WWE's previous pay-per-view event, where Triple H last eliminated Orton in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match, also involving John Cena
and John "Bradshaw" Layfield
(JBL), to win the WWE Championship. The following night on an episode of Raw, one of WWE's primary television programs, authority figure William Regal, a portrayed match maker and rules enforcer, stopped a title match between Orton and Triple H, and booked the two in a Steel cage match at Judgment Day for the WWE Championship.
One of the featured preliminary matches on the SmackDown brand was between The Undertaker versus Edge for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship
. At Backlash, the Undertaker defeated Edge to retain the title by forcing him to submit to the gogoplata, a chokehold move that causes opponents to spit blood (scripted
) from their mouths. On the May 2 episode of SmackDown, authority figure Vickie Guerrero
stripped the title from the Undertaker, after claiming the gogoplata was an illegal submission hold and she did it to protect the other wrestlers. The following week, Guerrero booked Undertaker in a match for the vacant title at Judgment Day against Edge, who last eliminated Batista in a battle royal
, an elimination style match where the last person in the ring is the winner, to become the number one contender.
Another featured preliminary match involved Shawn Michaels
and Chris Jericho
in a singles match. At Backlash, Michaels defeated Batista (with Jericho as the special guest referee) in an Interpromotional
match. During the match, Michaels countered a Batista Bomb attempt, a powerbomb move in which the wrestler drops into a sitting position as they slam their opponent down to the mat, and appeared to have legitimately injured his left knee. On the April 28 episode of Raw, Jericho claimed that Michaels faked his knee injury to allow him to defeat Batista at Backlash, a claim that Michaels denied. The following week, it was announced that Jericho would face Michaels in a singles match at Judgment Day. On the May 12 episode of Raw, Jericho offered his apologies to Michaels for accusing him of feigning an injury, as well as giving Michaels the opportunity to back out of their match. Michaels revealed that he did indeed fake his knee injury. Four days later, on the May 16 episode of SmackDown, Batista commented that he would hurt Michaels, scripted into the storyline, for faking his injury.
One more rivalry from the Raw brand was between John Cena and JBL. In the Fatal Four-Way Elimination match at Backlash, Cena eliminated JBL by making him submit to the STFU, a move in which the wrestler wraps his arm around the neck of the opponent in a sleeper hold instead of pulling back on the head of the opponent. On the April 28 episode of Raw, JBL challenged Cena to a singles match at Judgment Day, which was made official on WWE's website.
, Hardcore Holly
and Cody Rhodes defeated Santino Marella and Carlito in a match that did not air on pay-per-view called a dark match to retain the World Tag Team Championship.
-repaired right pectoral muscle
. Mid-way in the match, it saw Cena try to lift JBL from the mat into the air for a powerbomb
, a move in which an opponent is lifted up and then slammed back-first down to the mat, but Cena collapsed and could not execute the move. JBL controlled most of the match, as Cena tried to avoid JBL's assaults. JBL also applied numerous submission maneuvers
on Cena. JBL performed the Clothesline from Hell on Cena. JBL went for another Clothesline from Hell, Cena avoided the move and lifted JBL onto his shoulders and slammed him down to the mat, a finishing move Cena calls the FU, to get the pinfall victory over JBL.
The next match was for the WWE Tag Team Championship
, in which the champions, John Morrison and The Miz
, defended the title against Kane
and CM Punk
. The match began with Kane and Punk in control for the majority of the match. Back and forth action took place between both teams. Punk was tagged in the match, which led to him performing a high knee on Morrison, as well as performing a bulldog. Outside the ring, Kane chokeslam
med the Miz, causing Punk to get distracted. Morrison took the advantage as he was able to perform the Moonlight Drive and pin Punk to retain the tag title.
The match that followed was between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho. The start of the match saw Michaels and Jericho exchange several near-falls attempts before Michaels applied a modified figure four leglock, which Jericho broke free. Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho
, a submission hold that typically starts with the opponent laying supine on the mat, with the wrestler standing and facing them, though Michaels grabbed the bottom rope, causing Jericho to break the hold. Jericho attempted to perform the submission move once more, but Michaels caught Jericho and countered it into a straddle pin to take the win. After the match, both men shook hands.
The fourth match was a standard match involving three wrestlers, dubbed as a triple threat match, for the WWE Women's Championship
, in which Mickie James
defended the title against Beth Phoenix
and Melina
. The match began with James attempting a roll-up on Melina for a near-fall, though Phoenix performed a clothesline on James. Mid-way in the match, James performed a splash, from the top rope, on Phoenix for a near-fall. A spot in the match saw Phoenix try to perform a backbreaker
, in which she placed both James and Melina on top of her shoulders, though Phoenix did not execute the move, as Melina managed to break free from the hold and throw Phoenix out of the ring. The match concluded when James performed the Mickie–DT on Melina, thus winning the match and retaining her title.
between The Undertaker and Edge. The match went in and out of the ring early on, with both competitors throwing each other out of the ring. The Undertaker instinctively tried to apply the triangle choke
hold on Edge, but the referee made him break the hold. Edge then tried to do one of the Undertaker's moves, Old school, but the Undertaker counter the move. Mid-way in the match, Edge's associates, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder
, distracted the Undertaker after performing an Old school on Edge. This distraction led Edge to remove the top turnbuckle padding. Back and forth action was seen between the two individuals. As the top turnbuckle was exposed, the Undertaker threw Edge face first onto the top turnbuckle. As the Undertaker ran off the ropes, Edge caught him with a shoulder block takedown for a close two count. Afterwards, the Undertaker clotheslined Edge to the outside of the ring, then he rolled to the floor to follow. Undertaker took Edge over the guardrail to the front row with a clothesline while the referee began the 10 count. Both men struggled back to the floor before the Undertaker grabbed Edge into the guardrail at the eight count. He then rolled into the ring and beat the 10 count to win the match by countout and the belt. Though, authority figure Vickie Guerrero said that a title could not change hands via countout, therefore the title was still vacant. The Undertaker responded by lifting Edge upside down and dropping his head down to the mat, a move called the Tombstone piledriver.
The sixth match was between Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) and Jeff Hardy
. MVP quickly beat down Hardy and dominated early in the match. Hardy tried to come back with a mule kick from the corner, but MVP moved out of the way, leading Hardy to crash the mat face first. MVP controlled most of the match, until Hardy finally had some offense with a double foot kick in the corner. With the upper hand, Hardy performed a Swanton bomb on MVP, but MVP moved out of the way. MVP tried to perform a running big boot, but Hardy countered into a drop toe hold. The match ended with Hardy winning the match, after performing the Whisper in the Wind, a move performed by executing a backflip from the top turnbuckle, then spinning 180°, landing on a fallen opponent back-first.
The main event was the Steel cage match for the WWE Championship, in which Triple H defended the title against Randy Orton. During the beginning of the match, Triple H gained the advantage over Orton, as he lifted his knee and hit Orton in the mouth, thus Orton coming up bleeding from the mouth. Orton came back with a kick to the gut before starting his prolonged attack and bolting for the cage door to be open, but Triple H prevented him from escaping. Triple H took control as he took out Orton's knee with a chop block, a shoulder block that targets the back of an opponent's knee, and applied on a figure four leglock. After Orton broke the hold, he crawled across to the cage door to escape, but Triple H grabbed him back inside. But, on the way back in, Orton managed to grab a steel chair
that was on the ring floor. Orton tried to hit Triple H with the chair, but Triple H managed to avoid being hit. Triple H grabbed the chair to hit Orton with it, but Orton hit him in the groaning area
. Orton followed this with a chair shot to Triple H's back and performed a DDT
, a move in which the wrestler falls down or backwards to drive a held opponent's head into the mat. Throughout the match, Orton tried escaping from the cage, but was not in successful in doing so, as Triple H dragged him back in each time. The match came to an end when Orton tried to hit a running punt
on Triple H's head, however, Triple H grabbed the chair and hit Orton face first. Triple H followed up by tucking Orton's head between his knees and jumping up to slam his head to the mat, a move that Triple H calls the Pedigree. Triple H covered Orton for the pinfall victory, and thus retaining his title.
match pitting Triple H and John Cena against Randy Orton and JBL, in which if Orton and JBL were to win, Regal stated that they could choose any kind of extreme singles rematches
against Triple H and Cena at WWE's next pay-per-view event, One Night Stand
, and creating the same stipulation that if Triple H and Cena were to win, they would face each other for the WWE Championship in an extreme match of Regal's choosing. Orton and JBL won the match. Orton chose a match in which the wrestler who was unable to respond to a ten count by the referee would lose, against Triple H. JBL picked a First Blood match, in which to win a wrestler has to make his opponent bleed
, against Cena. At One Night Stand, both men lost in their rematches. During the event, Orton legitimately broke his collarbone
in his match with Triple H. The storyline between Shawn Michaels and Batista continued, as Batista defeated Chris Jericho to earn the right to face Michaels in a Stretcher match, a match where the objective is to place the opponent on a stretcher at ringside and move it across a line located on the entrance ramp, at One Night Stand. At the event, Batista defeated Michaels in the match, thus ending their rivalry.
At One Night Stand, The Big Show
defeated CM Punk, Chavo Guerrero
, Tommy Dreamer
and John Morrison in a five-man Singapore Cane match to earn an ECW Championship match against Kane at Night of Champions
. During the supplemental draft, Mark Henry
was drafted to the ECW brand. It was announced on WWE's official website that Henry would be added to the title match, making it a Triple Threat match. At Night of Champions, Henry defeated Kane and Big Show to win the ECW Championship. Henry, however, was booked to lose the title to Matt Hardy
at Unforgiven
in September.
The Undertaker and Edge continued their feud over the next several weeks. Though, a predicament insured on the May 23 episode of SmackDown, when Vickie Guerrero announced that The Undertaker would face Edge once more for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
(TLC) at One Night Stand with the stipulation that if The Undertaker were to lose, he would be forced to leave the WWE. At the June event, Edge defeated The Undertaker with the help of his accomplices, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder
, in the TLC match to win the vacant World title and The Undertaker was forced to leave the company, written into the storyline. On the July 25 episode of SmackDown, Guerrero reinstated The Undertaker, after learning of Edge's infidelity with their wedding planner, Guerrero and Edge were in a scripted relationship, and in retaliation she scheduled The Undertaker and Edge in a Hell in a Cell match, a ring surrounded by a steel structure of metal, at SummerSlam
. At SummerSlam, The Undertaker defeated Edge.
had a maximum capacity of 17,000, but the capacity was reduced for the event. This event received 252,000 pay-per-view buys. Judgment Day helped WWE earn $39.8 million in revenue from pay-per-view events versus $17.9 million the previous year, which was later confirmed by Linda McMahon
, the CEO
of WWE, on August 5, 2008 in a quarterly result. Canadian Online Explorer
's professional wrestling section rated the event 6 out of 10. The rating was higher than the Judgment Day 2007 event
, which was marked as an average show that maintained the recent WWE philosophy of wrestling over ridiculousness. The standard match between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho was rated an 8 out of 10. Additionally, the matches of JBL versus John Cena and MVP versus Jeff Hardy were rated 5 out of 10.
The event was released on DVD
on June 17, 2008. The DVD was distributed by the label, Sony Music Entertainment
.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
(PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWE), which took place on May 18, 2008 at the Qwest Center Omaha
Qwest Center Omaha
CenturyLink Center is an arena and convention center facility in the North Downtown neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska. The 1.1 million ft² facility has an 18,300-seat arena, a 194,000-ft² exhibition hall and 62,000 ft² of meeting space....
in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. It was the tenth annual Judgment Day
WWE Judgment Day
Judgment Day was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every May by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was created in 1998, with its inaugural event produced as an In Your House event in October of that year. The event was then replaced in 1999...
event and starred wrestlers from the Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, SmackDown, and ECW brands
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
.
The show's seven matches showcased prominent WWE wrestlers, who acted out the franchise's stories in and out of the ring. The main event featured Raw wrestlers in a Steel Cage match, a match where the ring surrounded by four walls of mesh metal. In this match, WWE Champion
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
defeated Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
to retain his title. In SmackDown's main match, The Undertaker defeated Edge by countout, but did not win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
because in WWE, a championship cannot change hands via countout or disqualification. While in ECW's prime match, WWE Tag Team Champions John Morrison and The Miz
John Morrison and The Miz
John Morrison and The Miz were a professional wrestling tag team and former WWE Tough Enough contestants. The team worked for World Wrestling Entertainment on its ECW brand, but also appeared on the SmackDown and Raw brands due to ECW's talent exchanges with those brands during their tenure as a team...
defeated Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
and CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
to retain the titles. From the six scheduled bouts on the undercard, two received less promotion than the others; these bouts included in two respective singles matches, Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
defeating Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
and John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
defeating John "Bradshaw" Layfield
John Layfield
John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News...
(JBL).
Judgment Day received 252,000 pay-per-view buys, and was instrumental in helping WWE increase its pay-per-view revenue by $21.9 million compared to the previous year. The professional wrestling section of the Canadian Online Explorer
Canadian Online Explorer
Canadian Online Explorer is a bilingual online news and information site from Canada.A subsidiary of Quebecor Media, Canoe.ca is a leading local and national interactive media provider of news, entertainment and services, helping to inform and connect Canadians...
website rated the entire event 6 out of 10, higher than the 2007 event, which was marked "as an average show".
Background
Judgment Day provided the culmination of various scripted plots and storylinesNarrative thread
A narrative thread, or plot thread , refers to particular elements and techniques of writing to center the story in the action or experience of characters rather than to relate a matter in a dry 'All knowing' sort of narration...
. A month before the event, several professional wrestling
Mock combat
Mock combat involves the execution of combative actions without intent to harm. Participants can engage in such sparring for ritual, training, recreational or performance reasons...
matches
Professional wrestling match types
Many types of matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, can be found in the form of performing art that is professional wrestling....
and scripted
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
plots were played out on WWE programming (Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, Friday Night SmackDown!, and ECW on Sci Fi) to create feuds
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
between various wrestlers, casting them as villains
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
and heroes
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
. Raw, SmackDown, and ECW were also the names of WWE's televised brands – a storyline division
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
in which WWE assigned its employees to a specific program, thus each brand promoted distinct matches.
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
featured WWE Champion
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
defending the title against Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
in a match where the ring was surrounded by walls of steel, dubbed as a Steel cage match. The buildup to the match began after Backlash
Backlash (2008)
Backlash was the tenth annual Backlash professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on April 27, 2008 at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland...
, WWE's previous pay-per-view event, where Triple H last eliminated Orton in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match, also involving John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
and John "Bradshaw" Layfield
John Layfield
John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News...
(JBL), to win the WWE Championship. The following night on an episode of Raw, one of WWE's primary television programs, authority figure William Regal, a portrayed match maker and rules enforcer, stopped a title match between Orton and Triple H, and booked the two in a Steel cage match at Judgment Day for the WWE Championship.
One of the featured preliminary matches on the SmackDown brand was between The Undertaker versus Edge for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
. At Backlash, the Undertaker defeated Edge to retain the title by forcing him to submit to the gogoplata, a chokehold move that causes opponents to spit blood (scripted
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
) from their mouths. On the May 2 episode of SmackDown, authority figure Vickie Guerrero
Vickie Guerrero
Vickie Lynn Guerrero is an American professional wrestling personality, manager, shifting authority figure and occasional wrestler. She is the widow of professional wrestler Eddie Guerrero, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand...
stripped the title from the Undertaker, after claiming the gogoplata was an illegal submission hold and she did it to protect the other wrestlers. The following week, Guerrero booked Undertaker in a match for the vacant title at Judgment Day against Edge, who last eliminated Batista in a battle royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
, an elimination style match where the last person in the ring is the winner, to become the number one contender.
Another featured preliminary match involved Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
and Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
in a singles match. At Backlash, Michaels defeated Batista (with Jericho as the special guest referee) in an Interpromotional
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
match. During the match, Michaels countered a Batista Bomb attempt, a powerbomb move in which the wrestler drops into a sitting position as they slam their opponent down to the mat, and appeared to have legitimately injured his left knee. On the April 28 episode of Raw, Jericho claimed that Michaels faked his knee injury to allow him to defeat Batista at Backlash, a claim that Michaels denied. The following week, it was announced that Jericho would face Michaels in a singles match at Judgment Day. On the May 12 episode of Raw, Jericho offered his apologies to Michaels for accusing him of feigning an injury, as well as giving Michaels the opportunity to back out of their match. Michaels revealed that he did indeed fake his knee injury. Four days later, on the May 16 episode of SmackDown, Batista commented that he would hurt Michaels, scripted into the storyline, for faking his injury.
One more rivalry from the Raw brand was between John Cena and JBL. In the Fatal Four-Way Elimination match at Backlash, Cena eliminated JBL by making him submit to the STFU, a move in which the wrestler wraps his arm around the neck of the opponent in a sleeper hold instead of pulling back on the head of the opponent. On the April 28 episode of Raw, JBL challenged Cena to a singles match at Judgment Day, which was made official on WWE's website.
Event
Before Judgment Day aired live on pay-per-viewPay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
, Hardcore Holly
Bob Holly
Robert "Bob" Howard better known by his ring name Bob "Hardcore" Holly, is a American professional wrestler. He is best known for his 15-year stint with World Wrestling Entertainment ....
and Cody Rhodes defeated Santino Marella and Carlito in a match that did not air on pay-per-view called a dark match to retain the World Tag Team Championship.
Preliminary matches
The first televised match was between John Cena and John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL). JBL dominated most of the match, as he began to work on Cena's surgicallySurgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
-repaired right pectoral muscle
Pectoralis major muscle
The pectoralis major is a thick, fan-shaped muscle, situated at the chest of the body. It makes up the bulk of the chest muscles in the male and lies under the breast in the female...
. Mid-way in the match, it saw Cena try to lift JBL from the mat into the air for a powerbomb
Powerbomb
A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted up and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a standing headscissors position...
, a move in which an opponent is lifted up and then slammed back-first down to the mat, but Cena collapsed and could not execute the move. JBL controlled most of the match, as Cena tried to avoid JBL's assaults. JBL also applied numerous submission maneuvers
Professional wrestling holds
Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ring...
on Cena. JBL performed the Clothesline from Hell on Cena. JBL went for another Clothesline from Hell, Cena avoided the move and lifted JBL onto his shoulders and slammed him down to the mat, a finishing move Cena calls the FU, to get the pinfall victory over JBL.
WWE Tag Team Championship
The WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
, in which the champions, John Morrison and The Miz
John Morrison and The Miz
John Morrison and The Miz were a professional wrestling tag team and former WWE Tough Enough contestants. The team worked for World Wrestling Entertainment on its ECW brand, but also appeared on the SmackDown and Raw brands due to ECW's talent exchanges with those brands during their tenure as a team...
, defended the title against Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
and CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
. The match began with Kane and Punk in control for the majority of the match. Back and forth action took place between both teams. Punk was tagged in the match, which led to him performing a high knee on Morrison, as well as performing a bulldog. Outside the ring, Kane chokeslam
Chokeslam
A chokeslam refers to a type of body slam in professional wrestling in which the wrestler grasps their opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerful on camera...
med the Miz, causing Punk to get distracted. Morrison took the advantage as he was able to perform the Moonlight Drive and pin Punk to retain the tag title.
The match that followed was between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho. The start of the match saw Michaels and Jericho exchange several near-falls attempts before Michaels applied a modified figure four leglock, which Jericho broke free. Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho
Boston crab
The Boston crab is a professional wrestling hold that typically starts with the opponent lying supine on the mat, with the wrestler standing and facing them. It is a type of spinal lock where the wrestler hooks each of the opponent’s legs in one of his arms, and then turns the opponent face-down,...
, a submission hold that typically starts with the opponent laying supine on the mat, with the wrestler standing and facing them, though Michaels grabbed the bottom rope, causing Jericho to break the hold. Jericho attempted to perform the submission move once more, but Michaels caught Jericho and countered it into a straddle pin to take the win. After the match, both men shook hands.
The fourth match was a standard match involving three wrestlers, dubbed as a triple threat match, for the WWE Women's Championship
WWE Women's Championship
The WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification...
, in which Mickie James
Mickie James
Mickie Laree James , better known simply as Mickie James, is an American professional wrestler and singer of mixed Native American-Caucasian descent, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where she is a former two-time TNA Women's Knockout Champion.James began her professional...
defended the title against Beth Phoenix
Beth Phoenix
Elizabeth Kocianski is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE where she wrestles on the Raw brand under the ring name Beth Phoenix, where she is the reigning WWE Divas Champion....
and Melina
Melina Perez
Melina Nava Perez is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Women Superstars Uncensored. She is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring mononym Melina....
. The match began with James attempting a roll-up on Melina for a near-fall, though Phoenix performed a clothesline on James. Mid-way in the match, James performed a splash, from the top rope, on Phoenix for a near-fall. A spot in the match saw Phoenix try to perform a backbreaker
Backbreaker
A backbreaker refers to professional wrestling moves which see a wrestler dropping an opponent so that the opponent's back impacts or is bent backwards against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee...
, in which she placed both James and Melina on top of her shoulders, though Phoenix did not execute the move, as Melina managed to break free from the hold and throw Phoenix out of the ring. The match concluded when James performed the Mickie–DT on Melina, thus winning the match and retaining her title.
Main event matches
The next match was for the vacant World Heavyweight ChampionshipWorld Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
between The Undertaker and Edge. The match went in and out of the ring early on, with both competitors throwing each other out of the ring. The Undertaker instinctively tried to apply the triangle choke
Triangle choke
A triangle choke, or sankaku-jime in Judo, is a type of figure-four chokehold which strangles the opponent by encircling the opponent's neck and one arm with the legs in a configuration similar to the shape of a triangle...
hold on Edge, but the referee made him break the hold. Edge then tried to do one of the Undertaker's moves, Old school, but the Undertaker counter the move. Mid-way in the match, Edge's associates, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder
Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder
Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder were a American professional wrestling tag team who appeared on the independent circuit and WWE under a variety of evolving names....
, distracted the Undertaker after performing an Old school on Edge. This distraction led Edge to remove the top turnbuckle padding. Back and forth action was seen between the two individuals. As the top turnbuckle was exposed, the Undertaker threw Edge face first onto the top turnbuckle. As the Undertaker ran off the ropes, Edge caught him with a shoulder block takedown for a close two count. Afterwards, the Undertaker clotheslined Edge to the outside of the ring, then he rolled to the floor to follow. Undertaker took Edge over the guardrail to the front row with a clothesline while the referee began the 10 count. Both men struggled back to the floor before the Undertaker grabbed Edge into the guardrail at the eight count. He then rolled into the ring and beat the 10 count to win the match by countout and the belt. Though, authority figure Vickie Guerrero said that a title could not change hands via countout, therefore the title was still vacant. The Undertaker responded by lifting Edge upside down and dropping his head down to the mat, a move called the Tombstone piledriver.
Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is a former two–time TNA World Heavyweight Champion...
. MVP quickly beat down Hardy and dominated early in the match. Hardy tried to come back with a mule kick from the corner, but MVP moved out of the way, leading Hardy to crash the mat face first. MVP controlled most of the match, until Hardy finally had some offense with a double foot kick in the corner. With the upper hand, Hardy performed a Swanton bomb on MVP, but MVP moved out of the way. MVP tried to perform a running big boot, but Hardy countered into a drop toe hold. The match ended with Hardy winning the match, after performing the Whisper in the Wind, a move performed by executing a backflip from the top turnbuckle, then spinning 180°, landing on a fallen opponent back-first.
The main event was the Steel cage match for the WWE Championship, in which Triple H defended the title against Randy Orton. During the beginning of the match, Triple H gained the advantage over Orton, as he lifted his knee and hit Orton in the mouth, thus Orton coming up bleeding from the mouth. Orton came back with a kick to the gut before starting his prolonged attack and bolting for the cage door to be open, but Triple H prevented him from escaping. Triple H took control as he took out Orton's knee with a chop block, a shoulder block that targets the back of an opponent's knee, and applied on a figure four leglock. After Orton broke the hold, he crawled across to the cage door to escape, but Triple H grabbed him back inside. But, on the way back in, Orton managed to grab a steel chair
Folding chair
A folding chair is a light, portable chair that that folds flat, and can be stored in a stack, row, or on a cart.-Uses:Folding chairs are generally used for seating in areas where permanent seating is not possible or practical. This includes outdoor and indoor events such as funerals, college...
that was on the ring floor. Orton tried to hit Triple H with the chair, but Triple H managed to avoid being hit. Triple H grabbed the chair to hit Orton with it, but Orton hit him in the groaning area
Groin attack
A groin attack is an attempt to cause pain to the groin area of one's opponent. The technique can be quickly debilitating, due to the large number of sensitive nerve endings in the penis and testicles of males, as well as the highly innervated vulva of females. A sufficiently powerful blow may...
. Orton followed this with a chair shot to Triple H's back and performed a DDT
DDT (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling a DDT is any move in which the wrestler has the opponent in a front facelock, and falls down or backwards to drive the opponent's head into the mat...
, a move in which the wrestler falls down or backwards to drive a held opponent's head into the mat. Throughout the match, Orton tried escaping from the cage, but was not in successful in doing so, as Triple H dragged him back in each time. The match came to an end when Orton tried to hit a running punt
Punt (football)
In some codes of football, a punt is a play in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. A punt is in contrast to a drop kick, in which the ball touches the ground before being kicked....
on Triple H's head, however, Triple H grabbed the chair and hit Orton face first. Triple H followed up by tucking Orton's head between his knees and jumping up to slam his head to the mat, a move that Triple H calls the Pedigree. Triple H covered Orton for the pinfall victory, and thus retaining his title.
Aftermath
The next night on Raw, William Regal announced that the episode's main event would be a tag teamTag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
match pitting Triple H and John Cena against Randy Orton and JBL, in which if Orton and JBL were to win, Regal stated that they could choose any kind of extreme singles rematches
Hardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted...
against Triple H and Cena at WWE's next pay-per-view event, One Night Stand
One Night Stand (2008)
One Night Stand was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that took place on June 1, 2008 at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California. It was the fourth and final event promoted under the One Night Stand name...
, and creating the same stipulation that if Triple H and Cena were to win, they would face each other for the WWE Championship in an extreme match of Regal's choosing. Orton and JBL won the match. Orton chose a match in which the wrestler who was unable to respond to a ten count by the referee would lose, against Triple H. JBL picked a First Blood match, in which to win a wrestler has to make his opponent bleed
Bleeding
Bleeding, technically known as hemorrhaging or haemorrhaging is the loss of blood or blood escape from the circulatory system...
, against Cena. At One Night Stand, both men lost in their rematches. During the event, Orton legitimately broke his collarbone
Clavicle
In human anatomy, the clavicle or collar bone is a long bone of short length that serves as a strut between the scapula and the sternum. It is the only long bone in body that lies horizontally...
in his match with Triple H. The storyline between Shawn Michaels and Batista continued, as Batista defeated Chris Jericho to earn the right to face Michaels in a Stretcher match, a match where the objective is to place the opponent on a stretcher at ringside and move it across a line located on the entrance ramp, at One Night Stand. At the event, Batista defeated Michaels in the match, thus ending their rivalry.
At One Night Stand, The Big Show
Paul Wight
Paul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand....
defeated CM Punk, Chavo Guerrero
Chavo Guerrero, Jr.
Salvador "Chavo" Guerrero IV also known as Chavo Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero, Jr., is a third generation Mexican-American professional wrestler and member of the famed Guerrero wrestling family who was well known for working with World Wrestling Entertainment and World Championship Wrestling...
, Tommy Dreamer
Tommy Dreamer
Thomas James "Tom" Laughlin is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is currently working for various promotions on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time spent with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
and John Morrison in a five-man Singapore Cane match to earn an ECW Championship match against Kane at Night of Champions
Night of Champions (2008)
Night of Champions was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on June 29, 2008 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. It was the first annual event to be promoted solely under the Night of Champions name and the eighth...
. During the supplemental draft, Mark Henry
Mark Henry
Mark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic...
was drafted to the ECW brand. It was announced on WWE's official website that Henry would be added to the title match, making it a Triple Threat match. At Night of Champions, Henry defeated Kane and Big Show to win the ECW Championship. Henry, however, was booked to lose the title to Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
at Unforgiven
Unforgiven (2008)
Unforgiven was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on September 7, 2008 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio...
in September.
The Undertaker and Edge continued their feud over the next several weeks. Though, a predicament insured on the May 23 episode of SmackDown, when Vickie Guerrero announced that The Undertaker would face Edge once more for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
A Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, often abbreviated as a TLC, is a type of professional wrestling match originated within WWE, but can be seen under different variations in other wrestling promotions....
(TLC) at One Night Stand with the stipulation that if The Undertaker were to lose, he would be forced to leave the WWE. At the June event, Edge defeated The Undertaker with the help of his accomplices, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder
Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder
Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder were a American professional wrestling tag team who appeared on the independent circuit and WWE under a variety of evolving names....
, in the TLC match to win the vacant World title and The Undertaker was forced to leave the company, written into the storyline. On the July 25 episode of SmackDown, Guerrero reinstated The Undertaker, after learning of Edge's infidelity with their wedding planner, Guerrero and Edge were in a scripted relationship, and in retaliation she scheduled The Undertaker and Edge in a Hell in a Cell match, a ring surrounded by a steel structure of metal, at SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2008)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on August 17, 2008 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the 21st annual SummerSlam event and starred wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands.Seven...
. At SummerSlam, The Undertaker defeated Edge.
Reception
The Qwest Center OmahaQwest Center Omaha
CenturyLink Center is an arena and convention center facility in the North Downtown neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska. The 1.1 million ft² facility has an 18,300-seat arena, a 194,000-ft² exhibition hall and 62,000 ft² of meeting space....
had a maximum capacity of 17,000, but the capacity was reduced for the event. This event received 252,000 pay-per-view buys. Judgment Day helped WWE earn $39.8 million in revenue from pay-per-view events versus $17.9 million the previous year, which was later confirmed by Linda McMahon
Linda McMahon
Linda Marie McMahon is an American professional wrestling magnate and politician. She is notable for her career developing WWE with her husband Vince McMahon. She was in the company from 1980 to 2009. During this time, WWE grew from a small regional business in New York to a large multinational...
, the CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of WWE, on August 5, 2008 in a quarterly result. Canadian Online Explorer
Canadian Online Explorer
Canadian Online Explorer is a bilingual online news and information site from Canada.A subsidiary of Quebecor Media, Canoe.ca is a leading local and national interactive media provider of news, entertainment and services, helping to inform and connect Canadians...
's professional wrestling section rated the event 6 out of 10. The rating was higher than the Judgment Day 2007 event
Judgment Day (2007)
Judgment Day was the ninth annual Judgment Day professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on May 20, 2007 from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri...
, which was marked as an average show that maintained the recent WWE philosophy of wrestling over ridiculousness. The standard match between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho was rated an 8 out of 10. Additionally, the matches of JBL versus John Cena and MVP versus Jeff Hardy were rated 5 out of 10.
The event was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on June 17, 2008. The DVD was distributed by the label, Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
.
Results
| # | Result | Stipulation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcore Holly Bob Holly Robert "Bob" Howard better known by his ring name Bob "Hardcore" Holly, is a American professional wrestler. He is best known for his 15-year stint with World Wrestling Entertainment .... and Cody Rhodes (c) defeated Santino Marella and Carlito. |
Tag team match Professional wrestling tag team match types Much like singles matches, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace... for the World Tag Team Championship |
||
| 1 | John Cena John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand.... defeated John "Bradshaw" Layfield John Layfield John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News... . |
Singles match | 15:03 |
| 2 | John Morrison and The Miz John Morrison and The Miz John Morrison and The Miz were a professional wrestling tag team and former WWE Tough Enough contestants. The team worked for World Wrestling Entertainment on its ECW brand, but also appeared on the SmackDown and Raw brands due to ECW's talent exchanges with those brands during their tenure as a team... (c) defeated Kane Kane (wrestler) Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury.... and CM Punk CM Punk Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion.... . |
Tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship WWE Tag Team Championship The WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship... |
07:12 |
| 3 | Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December... defeated Chris Jericho Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer... . |
Singles match | 15:56 |
| 4 | Mickie James Mickie James Mickie Laree James , better known simply as Mickie James, is an American professional wrestler and singer of mixed Native American-Caucasian descent, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where she is a former two-time TNA Women's Knockout Champion.James began her professional... (c) defeated Beth Phoenix Beth Phoenix Elizabeth Kocianski is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE where she wrestles on the Raw brand under the ring name Beth Phoenix, where she is the reigning WWE Divas Champion.... and Melina Melina Perez Melina Nava Perez is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Women Superstars Uncensored. She is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring mononym Melina.... . |
Triple Threat match for the WWE Women's Championship WWE Women's Championship The WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification... |
04:41 |
| 5 | The Undertaker defeated Edge by countout. | Singles match for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship World Heavyweight Championship (WWE) The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand... |
16:15 |
| 6 | Jeff Hardy Jeff Hardy Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is a former two–time TNA World Heavyweight Champion... defeated Montel Vontavious Porter. |
Singles match | 09:42 |
| 7 | Triple H Triple H Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley... (c) defeated Randy Orton Randy Orton Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand... . |
Steel Cage match for the WWE Championship WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963... |
21:11 |