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SummerSlam (2007)
Encyclopedia
SummerSlam was the twentieth annual SummerSlam
professional wrestling
pay-per-view
(PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
(WWE). It took place on August 26, 2007 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey
and featured talent from each of WWE's three brands
: Raw
, SmackDown, and ECW. Tickets for SummerSlam went on sale December 30 and sold out in forty minutes.
The main feud
, a staged rivalry between wrestlers, heading into the event from the Raw brand was between John Cena
and Randy Orton
. On the July 23 edition of Raw, Jonathan Coachman
announced Orton as the number one contender to the WWE Championship
. Over the proceeding weeks, Orton provoked Cena by interfering and attacking him during his matches. From SmackDown, the predominant feud was between The Great Khali and Batista. After Khali defeated Batista and Kane
in a Triple Threat match, a match between three wrestlers contested under standard rules, Theodore Long
booked Khali to defend the World Heavyweight Championship
against Batista at SummerSlam. The primary feud from ECW was between John Morrison and CM Punk
. By defeating Morrison in a 15 Minutes of Fame match, Punk became the number one contender to the ECW Championship at SummerSlam.
The card
, or lineup of matches, featured a total of nine contests: six standard one-on-one matches, one Triple Threat match, one impromptu beer drinking contest, and one battle royal
involving twelve female wrestlers
. Each of the standard one-on-one matches could have been won by one of four ways (pinfall, submission, countout, or disqualification). Likewise, each one-on-one match could have ended in either a draw, where both men are declared the winner, or a no contest, where neither man is declared the winner. Four of WWE's nine championships were contested; none were lost as all four were retained. A championship could have been won only via pinfall or submission, but could have been retained via pinfall, submission, countout, disqualification, a draw or no-contest.
The main match on the Raw brand was John Cena versus Randy Orton for the WWE Championship, which Cena won by pinfall after performing an FU (fireman's carry takeover). The predominant match on the SmackDown brand was between The Great Khali and Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship. Khali retained the title after intentionally getting himself disqualified for hitting Batista with a steel chair
. The primary match on the ECW brand was John Morrison versus CM Punk for the ECW Championship, which Morrison won by pinning Punk while holding the ropes for extra leverage. Featured matches on the undercard included Rey Mysterio versus Chavo Guerrero
and Triple H
versus King Booker
.
Several of the existing feuds carried on after the event. Notably, CM Punk continued to face John Morrison, defeating him for the ECW Championship the following month on ECW on Sci Fi. The day after SummerSlam, Orton, as part of the scripted events, interfered in a match between Cena and King Booker and intensified the feud by attacking Cena's father. Khali and Batista faced each other at Unforgiven
, the following pay-per-view, as part of a Triple Threat match; Batista was victorious in this match and won the World Heavyweight Championship.
had originally planned a storyline between the cast of the Jackass
TV series and Umaga
, with the conclusion in a match at SummerSlam. It was scheduled to begin at the previous pay-per-view
event, The Great American Bash
, but was canceled after the Jackass cast dropped out due to the negative media attention surrounding the Chris Benoit double murder and suicide
.
The main staged rivalry
heading into SummerSlam on the Raw
brand
was between John Cena
and Randy Orton
over the WWE Championship
. At The Great American Bash, Cena defeated Bobby Lashley to retain the WWE Championship. The next night on Raw, one of three main television programs of WWE (along with WWE SmackDown and ECW on Sci Fi), after a Handicap match involving Cena, Orton came out and executed an RKO on Cena. Shortly thereafter, Executive Assistant Jonathan Coachman
announced Orton as the new number-one contender to the WWE Championship. Before that, Orton claimed that he had never faced Cena in a one-on-one WWE Championship match. On the July 30 edition of Raw, Carlito defeated Cena in a non-title match after Orton interfered and distracted Cena. Three weeks later, on the August 18 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event
, Cena faced off against Carlito in another non-title match, which Cena won. After the match, Orton came out and attacked Cena, which led to a RKO from Orton through a steel chair
.
The main storyline on the SmackDown brand was between The Great Khali and Batista over the World Heavyweight Championship
. On the July 6 edition of SmackDown, Khali issued an open challenge for a match at The Great American Bash, which was accepted by Batista later that night. On SmackDown the following week, the match between Khali and Batista was made official after a contract signing. That same night, then-World Heavyweight Champion Edge, who was scheduled to face Kane
for the title at The Great American Bash, suffered a real injury—a left pectoral muscle
tear—after Kane interrupted his Mardi Gras
style celebration. On the July 20 edition of SmackDown, Edge was forced to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship due to the severity of his injury. He later commented-
SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long
then announced that there would be a 20-man Battle Royal
later that night to determine a new World Heavyweight Champion. As part of the scripted events, Khali won the Battle Royal and became the new World Heavyweight Champion by last eliminating Kane and Batista. Khali defeated the two, as part of the storyline, and retained the title at The Great American Bash. Five days later, on SmackDown, Batista, as part of the scripted events, interrupted Khali's celebration and challenged him to a match at SummerSlam. The next week, on the August 3 edition of SmackDown, Long announced that Khali would defend his title against Batista at SummerSlam.
The predominant staged rivalry from the ECW brand was between John Morrison and CM Punk
over the ECW Championship. Morrison, as part of the storyline, won the title at Vengeance: Night of Champions
, the pay-per-view two months before SummerSlam, by defeating CM Punk. At the following pay-per-view, The Great American Bash, Morrison defeated Punk, as part of the scripted events, to retain the ECW Championship. On the July 31 edition of ECW on Sci Fi, Punk defeated Tommy Dreamer
and Elijah Burke
, as part of the scripted events, in a match between the three to earn a 15 Minutes of Fame match with Morrison. The following week, on ECW on Sci Fi, Punk defeated Morrison, as part of the storyline, by pinfall after executing a GTS (Go To Sleep). As a result of this victory, Punk earned himself a championship match against Morrison at SummerSlam.
One of the primary preliminary matches was a standard one-on-one match between Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero
. Their storyline first began in July 2006 at The Great American Bash
. Guerrero, as part of the scripted events, interfered in Mysterio's World Heavyweight Championship match with King Booker (Booker Huffman
) by hitting Mysterio with a steel chair. As part of the storyline, Guerrero defeated Mysterio the following month at SummerSlam
, winning the match after performing a frog splash At No Mercy
, the pay-per-view two months after SummerSlam 2006, Mysterio, as part of the scripted events, defeated Guerrero in a match where pinfalls could occur anywhere, pinning him after performing a crossbody off a guard rail. Two weeks later, Guerrero defeated Mysterio in an "I Quit" match as part of the storyline, forcing him to quit after hitting his left knee repeatedly with a steel chair. During the match, Mysterio suffered a real injury—an ACL
and patella tendon tear in his left knee. Ten months later, on the August 3 episode of SmackDown!, a match between Mysterio and Guerrero was booked for SummerSlam.
in a dark match.
. Kane controlled the opening minutes of the match, performing a variety of moves including a scoop slam and a big boot. After some back and forth action, Finlay was able to hit Kane with a shillelagh
in the ribs. Kane kicked out of the pin attempt and executed a chokeslam
, pinning him afterwards for the win.
Next was a Triple Threat match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
that involved Umaga, Carlito, and Mr. Kennedy. Kennedy attempted to form an alliance with Carlito in the beginning, but Umaga quickly turned the match in his favor. Kennedy and Carlito soon gained the upper hand after Carlito dropkick
ed Umaga to the outside. Shortly thereafter, Carlito turned on Kennedy and attempted to pin him with a roll-up. After a back and forth match between the three, Umaga regained control and performed a Samoan Spike on Kennedy, which led to Umaga pinning Kennedy for the win and successfully retaining the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
The third match was Rey Mysterio versus Chavo Guerrero, which was Mysterio's first match since Guerrero injured his knee in October 2006. Mysterio gained the early advantage when he was able to perform an arm drag and a plancha on Guerrero. Mysterio then performed a low dropkick to Guerrero's left knee, followed by a diving hurricanrana. Towards the end of the match, Guerrero was able to perform a Gory Bomb on Mysterio after Mysterio had missed a crossbody. Mysterio kicked out of the pin attempt and performed a 619 followed by a springboard splash for the pinfall victory.
Next was an Interpromotional
Divas
Battle Royal involving Beth Phoenix
, Melina
, Mickie James
, Jillian Hall
, and Maria
from Raw, Michelle McCool
, Torrie Wilson
, Kristal Marshall
, and Victoria
from SmackDown, and Kelly Kelly, Layla
, and Brooke
from ECW. Shortly after the match began, Phoenix threw Brooke over the top rope. Soon after, Hall eliminated Maria and Layla was thrown out by Melina. Kristal then eliminated Victoria, but was then thrown over the ropes by James and accidentally knocked off the apron by McCool. Shortly after, Phoenix and Hall eliminated Kelly, and Hall and James began pulling each other over the ropes. Wilson threw Hall out to the floor whilst Melina knocked James off the apron. McCool and Wilson then worked together to eliminate Melina. The two continued their alliance, but Phoenix was able to get the upper hand, first eliminating Wilson, followed by throwing McCool over the ropes to win the match and a future WWE Women's Championship
match.
Shortly after the match ended, WWE United States Champion
Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) came to the ring and challenged Matt Hardy
to a beer drinking contest. Hardy declined and named a replacement, Stone Cold Steve Austin
. Austin came out and mocked MVP by doing several warm-up exercises similar to those MVP does before a match. As the contest was set to start, Austin delivered a Stone Cold Stunner
to MVP and left the ring.
Next on the card was John Morrison versus CM Punk for the ECW Championship. Punk gained early control when he was able to perform a scoop slam as well as a springboard dropkick; however, Morrison was able to counter a shoulder block attempt into a neckbreaker
on the ring apron. After Morrison controlled the match for several minutes, Punk was able to put the match back in his favor after performing a diving crossbody followed by an enzuigiri. Morrison, however, countered a Frankensteiner attempt into a pin-cover while using the ropes for leverage. He got the win, thus retaining the ECW Championship.
and King Booker, who was accompanied by Queen Sharmell
. Triple H gained the early advantage as the match began; however, Booker was able to gain control after performing a low dropkick. Triple H regained control after countering Booker and performing a variety of moves, which included a corner clothesline and a spinebuster. Booker put the match back in his favor after reversing a clothesline attempt into a Book End, which was followed by a sidewalk slam. After Booker missed a diving somersault leg drop, Triple H was able to recover and perform a Pedigree. Triple H pinned Booker afterwards to gain the victory.
The World Heavyweight Championship match between champion The Great Khali and challenger Batista was next. Khali controlled most of the match and performed a variety of moves, which included a brain chop, a big boot, and multiple clotheslines. Batista won the match after Khali intentionally disqualified himself by hitting him with a steel chair. Since a championship cannot change hands via countout or disqualification, Khali retained the title.
Next was the main event, which saw John Cena defend the WWE Championship against Randy Orton. After back and forth action in the opening minutes, Orton gained the advantage over Cena after Cena missed a flying shoulder block attempt. Orton followed up by applying a reverse chinlock and attacking Cena's leg. After Orton controlled the match for several minutes, Cena gained the advantage and performed various maneuvers, which included a twisting belly to belly side slam and the Five Knuckle Shuffle; Orton, however, was able to counter an FU attempt into an inverted headlock backbreaker. Cena countered a running punt attempt into the STFU submission hold. Orton, however, got to the bottom rope, and performed an RKO. Cena kicked out of the pin attempt and performed an FU for the pinfall victory, thus retaining the WWE Championship.
for the WWE Championship. Cena was disqualified in the match for continuously punching Orton. Orton won the match but not the title. Afterwards, Cena's father kicked Orton in the head, in the same way Orton had kicked his one month prior.
On the August 31 episode of SmackDown, Rey Mysterio, Finlay, Kane, and Batista participated in a four-man Championship Competition tournament. Mysterio defeated Batista and Finlay and became the number-one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship at Unforgiven. On the September 7 edition of SmackDown, Mysterio defeated Chavo Guerrero in an "I Quit" match. After the match, The Great Khali attacked Mysterio until Batista came out and executed a spear on Khali. Batista was then included in the one-on-one title match at Unforgiven, making it a Triple Threat match. At the event, Batista won the championship for a third time.
The feud between Matt Hardy and Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) continued when they were forced to team up against Deuce 'n Domino
on the August 31 edition of SmackDown. They won the match and the WWE Tag Team Championship. The following month at Unforgiven
, MVP and Hardy defeated Deuce 'n Domino to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship. That October, at No Mercy
, Hardy defeated MVP in a pizza-eating contest
. On the November 16 edition of SmackDown, MVP and Hardy lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to the team
of The Miz and John Morrison.
Umaga lost the WWE Intercontinental Championship to Jeff Hardy
on the September 3 episode of Raw. Afterwards, Umaga started a feud with Triple H and faced off against him in a Street Fight two months later at Cyber Sunday
. At Unforgiven, Candice Michelle
defeated Beth Phoenix to retain the WWE Women's Championship. Phoenix, however, later defeated Candice at No Mercy to win the title. On the September 4 edition of ECW on Sci Fi, CM Punk defeated John Morrison to win the ECW Championship. At Cyber Sunday, Punk retained the title by defeating The Miz. The following month, at Survivor Series
, Punk defeated Morrison and The Miz in a Triple Threat match to retain the ECW Championship.
1 million in ticket sales from an attendance of 17,441 out of a 17,040 maximum capacity building. Due to the production of the event, however, the capacity of the arena was set at a lower standard, and as a result the arena reached its maximum capacity. This was confirmed by the ticket sales and by WWE's official website on August 28, 2007. According to a press release by WWE in late-2007, the event received 537,000 buys, which was higher than the previous year's SummerSlam
buys of 529,000. The buys from SummerSlam helped the promotion's revenue, which was $18.8 million, a sum lower than the prior year of $19.7 million. Canadian Online Explorer
and its professional wrestling section rated the entire event a 6.5 out of 10. The rating was higher than the previous year's SummerSlam rating, a 5.5 out of 10. The main event from the Raw brand was rated a 7.5 out of 10; while the main event from the SmackDown brand was rated a 1 out of 10. The event had 537,000 buys, up slightly on the SummerSlam 2006
figure of 529,000 buys.
The event was released on DVD
on September 25, 2007. The DVD was distributed by the lablel, Genius Products
. The DVD reached a peak position of first on Billboard
's Weekly Video Sales chart for the week of October 27, 2007. The DVD remained on the charts for twelve consecutive weeks; though, after the week of October 27, 2007, the DVD ranked lower. During its final week on the chart, January 18, 2008, it ranked 19th. The DVD also received reviews from customers, as the average customer rating from Amazon.com
was a 3.5 out of 5. The average customer rating however, from CD Universe was a 5 out of 5 stars.
SummerSlam
SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced annually in August by professional wrestling promotion WWE. The inaugural SummerSlam took place on August 29, 1988 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York and was broadcast via pay-per-view, unlike the Royal Rumble of that...
professional wrestling
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). It took place on August 26, 2007 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....
and featured talent from each of WWE's three 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...
: 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. Tickets for SummerSlam went on sale December 30 and sold out in forty minutes.
The main feud
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...
, a staged rivalry between wrestlers, heading into the event from the Raw brand was between 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 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...
. On the July 23 edition of Raw, Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan William Coachman , also known as "The Coach", is a former professional wrestling color commentator and authority figure. He is also a former college basketball player, and football play-by-play announcer...
announced Orton as the number one contender to 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...
. Over the proceeding weeks, Orton provoked Cena by interfering and attacking him during his matches. From SmackDown, the predominant feud was between The Great Khali and Batista. After Khali defeated Batista and 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....
in a Triple Threat match, a match between three wrestlers contested under standard rules, Theodore Long
Theodore Long
Theodore R. "Teddy" Long is an American professional wrestling manager and former referee who currently works for WWE on its SmackDown brand as its General Manager.-National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling:...
booked Khali to defend the 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...
against Batista at SummerSlam. The primary feud from ECW was between John Morrison 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....
. By defeating Morrison in a 15 Minutes of Fame match, Punk became the number one contender to the ECW Championship at SummerSlam.
The card
Card (sports)
In sports, a card comprises a listing of the matches taking place in a title-match combat-sport event. Organizers divide overall cards into a main-event match and the undercard, which encompasses the rest of the matches. One can also further subdivide the undercard into midcard and lower card,...
, or lineup of matches, featured a total of nine contests: six standard one-on-one matches, one Triple Threat match, one impromptu beer drinking contest, and one 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...
involving twelve female wrestlers
WWE Diva
Diva is a term used by World Wrestling Entertainment , an American professional wrestling promotion, to refer to its female talent. The term is applied to women who appear as wrestlers, managers or valets, backstage interviewers, or ring announcers....
. Each of the standard one-on-one matches could have been won by one of four ways (pinfall, submission, countout, or disqualification). Likewise, each one-on-one match could have ended in either a draw, where both men are declared the winner, or a no contest, where neither man is declared the winner. Four of WWE's nine championships were contested; none were lost as all four were retained. A championship could have been won only via pinfall or submission, but could have been retained via pinfall, submission, countout, disqualification, a draw or no-contest.
The main match on the Raw brand was John Cena versus Randy Orton for the WWE Championship, which Cena won by pinfall after performing an FU (fireman's carry takeover). The predominant match on the SmackDown brand was between The Great Khali and Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship. Khali retained the title after intentionally getting himself disqualified for hitting Batista with 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...
. The primary match on the ECW brand was John Morrison versus CM Punk for the ECW Championship, which Morrison won by pinning Punk while holding the ropes for extra leverage. Featured matches on the undercard included Rey Mysterio versus 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...
and 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...
versus King Booker
Booker Huffman
Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World...
.
Several of the existing feuds carried on after the event. Notably, CM Punk continued to face John Morrison, defeating him for the ECW Championship the following month on ECW on Sci Fi. The day after SummerSlam, Orton, as part of the scripted events, interfered in a match between Cena and King Booker and intensified the feud by attacking Cena's father. Khali and Batista faced each other at Unforgiven
Unforgiven (2007)
Unforgiven was the tenth annual Unforgiven pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on September 16, 2007 from the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands.The main match on the SmackDown brand was The...
, the following pay-per-view, as part of a Triple Threat match; Batista was victorious in this match and won the World Heavyweight Championship.
Background
World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld 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...
had originally planned a storyline between the cast of the Jackass
Jackass (TV series)
jackass is an American reality series, originally shown on MTV from 2000 to 2002, featuring people performing various dangerous, crude, ridiculous, self-injuring stunts and pranks...
TV series and Umaga
Eddie Fatu
Edward Smith "Eki" Fatu was a Samoan-American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Umaga...
, with the conclusion in a match at SummerSlam. It was scheduled to begin at the previous 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...
event, The Great American Bash
The Great American Bash (2007)
The Great American Bash was the fourth annual Great American Bash professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
, but was canceled after the Jackass cast dropped out due to the negative media attention surrounding the Chris Benoit double murder and suicide
Chris Benoit double murder and suicide
The Chris Benoit double murder suicide occurred over a three-day period ending on June 24, 2007. World Wrestling Entertainment professional wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife, Nancy Benoit, strangled his seven-year-old son, Daniel, and subsequently committed suicide by hanging. Autopsy results...
.
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...
heading into SummerSlam on 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...
brand
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...
was between 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 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...
over 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...
. At The Great American Bash, Cena defeated Bobby Lashley to retain the WWE Championship. The next night on Raw, one of three main television programs of WWE (along with WWE SmackDown and ECW on Sci Fi), after a Handicap match involving Cena, Orton came out and executed an RKO on Cena. Shortly thereafter, Executive Assistant Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan William Coachman , also known as "The Coach", is a former professional wrestling color commentator and authority figure. He is also a former college basketball player, and football play-by-play announcer...
announced Orton as the new number-one contender to the WWE Championship. Before that, Orton claimed that he had never faced Cena in a one-on-one WWE Championship match. On the July 30 edition of Raw, Carlito defeated Cena in a non-title match after Orton interfered and distracted Cena. Three weeks later, on the August 18 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event
WWE Saturday Night's Main Event
Saturday Night's Main Event is a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It aired occasionally from 1985 to 1992, under the World Wrestling Federation banner on NBC in place of Saturday Night Live. It returned to the air on March 18, 2006, in an 8 EST time slot...
, Cena faced off against Carlito in another non-title match, which Cena won. After the match, Orton came out and attacked Cena, which led to a RKO from Orton through 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...
.
The main storyline on the SmackDown brand was between The Great Khali and Batista over the 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...
. On the July 6 edition of SmackDown, Khali issued an open challenge for a match at The Great American Bash, which was accepted by Batista later that night. On SmackDown the following week, the match between Khali and Batista was made official after a contract signing. That same night, then-World Heavyweight Champion Edge, who was scheduled to face 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....
for the title at The Great American Bash, suffered a real injury—a left 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...
tear—after Kane interrupted his Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
style celebration. On the July 20 edition of SmackDown, Edge was forced to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship due to the severity of his injury. He later commented-
SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long
Theodore Long
Theodore R. "Teddy" Long is an American professional wrestling manager and former referee who currently works for WWE on its SmackDown brand as its General Manager.-National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling:...
then announced that there would be a 20-man 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...
later that night to determine a new World Heavyweight Champion. As part of the scripted events, Khali won the Battle Royal and became the new World Heavyweight Champion by last eliminating Kane and Batista. Khali defeated the two, as part of the storyline, and retained the title at The Great American Bash. Five days later, on SmackDown, Batista, as part of the scripted events, interrupted Khali's celebration and challenged him to a match at SummerSlam. The next week, on the August 3 edition of SmackDown, Long announced that Khali would defend his title against Batista at SummerSlam.
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....
over the ECW Championship. Morrison, as part of the storyline, won the title at Vengeance: Night of Champions
Vengeance: Night of Champions
Vengeance: Night of Champions was the seventh annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment within its Vengeance chronology, and the last to be promoted with the Vengeance name until 2011. It featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands. The...
, the pay-per-view two months before SummerSlam, by defeating CM Punk. At the following pay-per-view, The Great American Bash, Morrison defeated Punk, as part of the scripted events, to retain the ECW Championship. On the July 31 edition of ECW on Sci Fi, Punk defeated 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 Elijah Burke
Elijah Burke
Elijah Samuel Burke is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the name of "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero; a gimmick in which he portrays a Harlem street preacher...
, as part of the scripted events, in a match between the three to earn a 15 Minutes of Fame match with Morrison. The following week, on ECW on Sci Fi, Punk defeated Morrison, as part of the storyline, by pinfall after executing a GTS (Go To Sleep). As a result of this victory, Punk earned himself a championship match against Morrison at SummerSlam.
One of the primary preliminary matches was a standard one-on-one match between Rey Mysterio and 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...
. Their storyline first began in July 2006 at The Great American Bash
The Great American Bash (2006)
The Great American Bash was the third annual Great American Bash professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
. Guerrero, as part of the scripted events, interfered in Mysterio's World Heavyweight Championship match with King Booker (Booker Huffman
Booker Huffman
Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World...
) by hitting Mysterio with a steel chair. As part of the storyline, Guerrero defeated Mysterio the following month at SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2006)
SummerSlam was the nineteenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on August 20, 2006 at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, and featured performers from the Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brands...
, winning the match after performing a frog splash At No Mercy
No Mercy (2006)
No Mercy was the eighth annual No Mercy professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on October 8, 2006 from the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina and was a SmackDown! brand-exclusive event.The main event was a Fatal Four-Way match for...
, the pay-per-view two months after SummerSlam 2006, Mysterio, as part of the scripted events, defeated Guerrero in a match where pinfalls could occur anywhere, pinning him after performing a crossbody off a guard rail. Two weeks later, Guerrero defeated Mysterio in an "I Quit" match as part of the storyline, forcing him to quit after hitting his left knee repeatedly with a steel chair. During the match, Mysterio suffered a real injury—an ACL
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
and patella tendon tear in his left knee. Ten months later, on the August 3 episode of SmackDown!, a match between Mysterio and Guerrero was booked for SummerSlam.
Event
Before the event went live on pay-per-view, World Tag Team Champions Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch defeated Paul London and Brian KendrickPaul London and Brian Kendrick
Paul London and Brian Kendrick are a professional wrestling tag team best known for their time together in World Wrestling Entertainment . The team never had an official team name, but were just referred to as "the tag team of London and Kendrick." In 2006 London and Kendrick put the tag team name...
in a dark match.
Preliminary matches
The first match that aired was between Kane and FinlayDave Finlay
David John "Fit" Finlay Jr. is a Northern Irish professional wrestler and road agent. He is perhaps best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and WWE as an active wrestler and later as a road agent...
. Kane controlled the opening minutes of the match, performing a variety of moves including a scoop slam and a big boot. After some back and forth action, Finlay was able to hit Kane with a shillelagh
Shillelagh (club)
A shillelagh is a wooden walking stick and club or cudgel, typically made from a stout knotty stick with a large knob at the top, that is associated with Ireland and Irish folklore.- Construction :...
in the ribs. Kane kicked out of the pin attempt and executed a 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...
, pinning him afterwards for the win.
Next was a Triple Threat match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
that involved Umaga, Carlito, and Mr. Kennedy. Kennedy attempted to form an alliance with Carlito in the beginning, but Umaga quickly turned the match in his favor. Kennedy and Carlito soon gained the upper hand after Carlito dropkick
Dropkick
A dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as he or she jumps so that when the feet connect with the opponent one foot is raised higher than...
ed Umaga to the outside. Shortly thereafter, Carlito turned on Kennedy and attempted to pin him with a roll-up. After a back and forth match between the three, Umaga regained control and performed a Samoan Spike on Kennedy, which led to Umaga pinning Kennedy for the win and successfully retaining the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
The third match was Rey Mysterio versus Chavo Guerrero, which was Mysterio's first match since Guerrero injured his knee in October 2006. Mysterio gained the early advantage when he was able to perform an arm drag and a plancha on Guerrero. Mysterio then performed a low dropkick to Guerrero's left knee, followed by a diving hurricanrana. Towards the end of the match, Guerrero was able to perform a Gory Bomb on Mysterio after Mysterio had missed a crossbody. Mysterio kicked out of the pin attempt and performed a 619 followed by a springboard splash for the pinfall victory.
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Jim Ross Jim Ross James William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand... |
| Jerry "The King" Lawler Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional... |
|
| Michael Cole Michael Cole Michael Sean Coulthard , better known by his ring name Michael Cole, is an American professional wrestling commentator, currently signed to WWE on both its Rawand SmackDown brands. Coulthard is a former news journalist.... |
|
| 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... |
|
| Joey Styles Joey Styles Joseph Carmine Bonsignore better known by his ring name Joey Styles, is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator and former professional in the field of advertising sales... |
|
| Tazz Tazz Peter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz... |
|
| Carlos Cabrera Carlos Cabrera Carlos Rodrigo Cabrera is a former newsman and currently employed with WWE, where he is one half of the company's Spanish announce team in which he is the play-by-play announcer. His longtime broadcast partner was the former Ecuadorian professional wrestler Hugo Savinovich, who was the color... |
|
| Hugo Savinovich Hugo Savinovich Hugo Savinovich is a former Ecuadorian professional wrestler, formerly employed with WWE, where he was one half of the Spanish announce team for the company's TV shows and pay-per-view events. He was a color commentator and partner of Carlos Cabrera and occasionally Marcelo Rodríguez. When he... |
|
| Interviewer | Todd Grisham Todd Grisham Todd Grisham is an American presenter/announcer who is best known for his time in the WWE as a backstage interviewer, play-by-play commentator and occasional ring announcer... |
| Ring announcer | Lilian Garcia Lilian Garcia Lilian Annette García , is a Spanish-American singer. She is best known as the former ring announcer for WWE's Raw brand. During her time in WWE, she became the first Diva to remain with the promotion for ten years.-Early life and career:... |
| Justin Roberts Justin Roberts Justin Jason Roberts is an American professional wrestling ring announcer, currently working for WWE appearing on its Raw brand.-Career:... |
|
| Tony Chimel Tony Chimel Anthony "Tony" Chimel is an American professional wrestling ring announcer, currently employed by WWE working as the ring announcer for SmackDown brand.-WWE :... |
|
| Referee | Mike Chioda Mike Chioda Michael Joseph "Mike" Chioda, is a senior referee who is currently signed to WWE. While not refereeing, Chioda, as well as the other referees in WWE, help set up the arena before shows, constructing the ring and stage areas.-WWF:... |
| Jack Doan Jack Doan John Michael "Jack" Doan is a veteran professional wrestling referee currently signed with WWE.-Career:Doan joined WWE in October 1991 as a truck driver. From there, he took robes from Superstars at ringside, played music at shows, worked as part of the ring crew, and continued to drive the... |
|
| Marty Elias | |
| Chad Patton | |
| Mickie Henson | |
| Jim Korderas Jim Korderas __FORCETOC__Demetrius Korderas , better known by his referee name, Jim "Jimmy" Korderas is a Canadian professional wrestling referee who worked for World Wrestling Entertainment for over 22 years.-Early career:... |
|
| Charles Robinson | |
| Scott Armstrong | |
| John Cone |
Next was 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...
Divas
WWE Diva
Diva is a term used by World Wrestling Entertainment , an American professional wrestling promotion, to refer to its female talent. The term is applied to women who appear as wrestlers, managers or valets, backstage interviewers, or ring announcers....
Battle Royal involving 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....
, 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....
, 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...
, Jillian Hall
Jillian Hall
Jillian Faye Fletcher is an American professional wrestler who is currently signed to Women Superstars Uncensored. She is also known for her tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Jillian Hall or simply Jillian...
, and Maria
Maria Kanellis
Maria Louise Kanellis, , or simply Maria, is a singer-songwriter, actress, model, and professional wrestler, best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment. Kanellis's career began as a contestant on the reality show Outback Jack in 2004...
from Raw, Michelle McCool
Michelle McCool
Michelle Leigh McCool , is a retired American professional wrestler who is best known for her time in WWE.McCool originally worked as a middle school teacher in Palatka, Florida. She joined WWE in 2004 after participating in the 2004 WWE Diva Search. In her initial on-screen role, she acted...
, Torrie Wilson
Torrie Wilson
Torrie Anne Wilson is a retired American professional wrestler, fitness competitor and model. She is best known for her tenures in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment , where she worked on both their SmackDown and Raw brands throughout her eight-year run.As a fitness...
, Kristal Marshall
Kristal Marshall
Kristal Marshall is an American model, beauty queen, and former professional wrestler best known for her work in World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown! brand and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion working as Kristal Lashley the kayfabe wife of Bobby Lashley and his real life...
, and Victoria
Lisa Marie Varon
Lisa Marie Varon , is an American professional wrestler, bodybuilder and fitness competitor of Puerto Rican and Turkish descent...
from SmackDown, and Kelly Kelly, Layla
Layla El
Layla El is an English dancer, model and professional wrestler of Moroccan and Spanish descent. She is employed by WWE as a WWE Diva and appears on the SmackDown brand as Layla...
, and Brooke
Brooke Adams (model)
Brooke Nichole Adams is an American model, dancer, and professional wrestler, currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Brooke Tessmacher. She previously worked for World Wrestling Entertainment appearing with Kelly Kelly and Layla in the dance group Extreme Exposé...
from ECW. Shortly after the match began, Phoenix threw Brooke over the top rope. Soon after, Hall eliminated Maria and Layla was thrown out by Melina. Kristal then eliminated Victoria, but was then thrown over the ropes by James and accidentally knocked off the apron by McCool. Shortly after, Phoenix and Hall eliminated Kelly, and Hall and James began pulling each other over the ropes. Wilson threw Hall out to the floor whilst Melina knocked James off the apron. McCool and Wilson then worked together to eliminate Melina. The two continued their alliance, but Phoenix was able to get the upper hand, first eliminating Wilson, followed by throwing McCool over the ropes to win the match and a future 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...
match.
Shortly after the match ended, WWE United States Champion
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) came to the ring and challenged 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 ....
to a beer drinking contest. Hardy declined and named a replacement, Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
. Austin came out and mocked MVP by doing several warm-up exercises similar to those MVP does before a match. As the contest was set to start, Austin delivered a Stone Cold Stunner
Stunner (professional wrestling)
A stunner is a common term in professional wrestling referring to the seated three-quarter facelock jawbreaker maneuver, predominantly used by Stone Cold Steve Austin and named for his Stone Cold Stunner finisher...
to MVP and left the ring.
Next on the card was John Morrison versus CM Punk for the ECW Championship. Punk gained early control when he was able to perform a scoop slam as well as a springboard dropkick; however, Morrison was able to counter a shoulder block attempt into a neckbreaker
Neckbreaker
In professional wrestling a neckbreaker is any throw or slam that focuses its attack on the opponent’s neck. One type of neckbreaker involves the wrestler slamming an opponent's neck against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee, head or shoulder...
on the ring apron. After Morrison controlled the match for several minutes, Punk was able to put the match back in his favor after performing a diving crossbody followed by an enzuigiri. Morrison, however, countered a Frankensteiner attempt into a pin-cover while using the ropes for leverage. He got the win, thus retaining the ECW Championship.
Main event matches
The sixth match of the event was between the returning Triple HTriple 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...
and King Booker, who was accompanied by Queen Sharmell
Sharmell Sullivan
Sharmell Sullivan-Huffman is an American professional wrestling valet and occasional wrestler - the wife of Booker T. She is best known for her work as Queen Sharmell with WWE until her release in 2007. She first came to prominence in the wrestling world as Paisley, a member of the World...
. Triple H gained the early advantage as the match began; however, Booker was able to gain control after performing a low dropkick. Triple H regained control after countering Booker and performing a variety of moves, which included a corner clothesline and a spinebuster. Booker put the match back in his favor after reversing a clothesline attempt into a Book End, which was followed by a sidewalk slam. After Booker missed a diving somersault leg drop, Triple H was able to recover and perform a Pedigree. Triple H pinned Booker afterwards to gain the victory.
Next was the main event, which saw John Cena defend the WWE Championship against Randy Orton. After back and forth action in the opening minutes, Orton gained the advantage over Cena after Cena missed a flying shoulder block attempt. Orton followed up by applying a reverse chinlock and attacking Cena's leg. After Orton controlled the match for several minutes, Cena gained the advantage and performed various maneuvers, which included a twisting belly to belly side slam and the Five Knuckle Shuffle; Orton, however, was able to counter an FU attempt into an inverted headlock backbreaker. Cena countered a running punt attempt into the STFU submission hold. Orton, however, got to the bottom rope, and performed an RKO. Cena kicked out of the pin attempt and performed an FU for the pinfall victory, thus retaining the WWE Championship.
Aftermath
During the event, John Cena provoked his feud with Randy Orton. On the August 27 edition of Raw, Cena faced King Booker in a non-title match. When Cena appeared close to winning, Randy Orton interfered and attacked him, causing Booker to lose by disqualification. After the match ended, Orton attacked Cena's father, who was sitting at ringside, and kicked him in the head. The two faced each other in a rematch at UnforgivenUnforgiven (2007)
Unforgiven was the tenth annual Unforgiven pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on September 16, 2007 from the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands.The main match on the SmackDown brand was The...
for the WWE Championship. Cena was disqualified in the match for continuously punching Orton. Orton won the match but not the title. Afterwards, Cena's father kicked Orton in the head, in the same way Orton had kicked his one month prior.
On the August 31 episode of SmackDown, Rey Mysterio, Finlay, Kane, and Batista participated in a four-man Championship Competition tournament. Mysterio defeated Batista and Finlay and became the number-one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship at Unforgiven. On the September 7 edition of SmackDown, Mysterio defeated Chavo Guerrero in an "I Quit" match. After the match, The Great Khali attacked Mysterio until Batista came out and executed a spear on Khali. Batista was then included in the one-on-one title match at Unforgiven, making it a Triple Threat match. At the event, Batista won the championship for a third time.
The feud between Matt Hardy and Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) continued when they were forced to team up against Deuce 'n Domino
Deuce 'n Domino
Deuce 'n Domino was the name of a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Deuce Shade and Dice Domino, who were managed for the majority of their run by Cherry Pie and briefly by Maryse. The pair teamed together in World Wrestling Entertainment and Ohio Valley Wrestling from 2006 through 2008...
on the August 31 edition of SmackDown. They won the match and the WWE Tag Team Championship. The following month at Unforgiven
Unforgiven (2007)
Unforgiven was the tenth annual Unforgiven pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on September 16, 2007 from the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands.The main match on the SmackDown brand was The...
, MVP and Hardy defeated Deuce 'n Domino to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship. That October, at No Mercy
No Mercy (2007)
No Mercy was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on October 7, 2007 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois...
, Hardy defeated MVP in a pizza-eating contest
Competitive eating
Competitive eating, or speed eating, is a sport in which participants compete against each other to consume large quantities of food in a short time period. Contests are typically less than 15 minutes in length, with the person consuming the most food being declared the winner...
. On the November 16 edition of SmackDown, MVP and Hardy lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to the team
Tag 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...
of The Miz and John Morrison.
Umaga lost the WWE Intercontinental Championship to 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...
on the September 3 episode of Raw. Afterwards, Umaga started a feud with Triple H and faced off against him in a Street Fight two months later at Cyber Sunday
Cyber Sunday (2007)
Cyber Sunday was the fourth annual Cyber Sunday professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on October 28, 2007 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C...
. At Unforgiven, Candice Michelle
Candice Michelle
Candice Michelle Beckman-Ehrlich better known as Candice Michelle or just Candice, is an American model, actress, and professional wrestler best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment....
defeated Beth Phoenix to retain the WWE Women's Championship. Phoenix, however, later defeated Candice at No Mercy to win the title. On the September 4 edition of ECW on Sci Fi, CM Punk defeated John Morrison to win the ECW Championship. At Cyber Sunday, Punk retained the title by defeating The Miz. The following month, at Survivor Series
Survivor Series (2007)
Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on November 18, 2007 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida...
, Punk defeated Morrison and The Miz in a Triple Threat match to retain the ECW Championship.
Reception
The event grossed over $United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1 million in ticket sales from an attendance of 17,441 out of a 17,040 maximum capacity building. Due to the production of the event, however, the capacity of the arena was set at a lower standard, and as a result the arena reached its maximum capacity. This was confirmed by the ticket sales and by WWE's official website on August 28, 2007. According to a press release by WWE in late-2007, the event received 537,000 buys, which was higher than the previous year's SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2006)
SummerSlam was the nineteenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on August 20, 2006 at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, and featured performers from the Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brands...
buys of 529,000. The buys from SummerSlam helped the promotion's revenue, which was $18.8 million, a sum lower than the prior year of $19.7 million. 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...
and its professional wrestling section rated the entire event a 6.5 out of 10. The rating was higher than the previous year's SummerSlam rating, a 5.5 out of 10. The main event from the Raw brand was rated a 7.5 out of 10; while the main event from the SmackDown brand was rated a 1 out of 10. The event had 537,000 buys, up slightly on the SummerSlam 2006
SummerSlam (2006)
SummerSlam was the nineteenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on August 20, 2006 at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, and featured performers from the Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brands...
figure of 529,000 buys.
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 September 25, 2007. The DVD was distributed by the lablel, Genius Products
Genius Products
Genius Products was an entertainment company based in Santa Monica, California, United States.On December 5, 2005, Genius Products, Inc. announced a distribution joint venture with The Weinstein Company called Genius Products, LLC, with Weinstein holding a 70% stake...
. The DVD reached a peak position of first on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's Weekly Video Sales chart for the week of October 27, 2007. The DVD remained on the charts for twelve consecutive weeks; though, after the week of October 27, 2007, the DVD ranked lower. During its final week on the chart, January 18, 2008, it ranked 19th. The DVD also received reviews from customers, as the average customer rating from Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
was a 3.5 out of 5. The average customer rating however, from CD Universe was a 5 out of 5 stars.
Results
| # | Result | Stipulation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lance Cade Lance Cade Lance Kurtis McNaught was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment where he performed under the ring names Garrison Cade and Lance Cade.... and Trevor Murdoch defeated Paul London Paul London Paul Michael London is an American professional wrestler best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment .... and Paul London and Brian Kendrick Paul London and Brian Kendrick are a professional wrestling tag team best known for their time together in World Wrestling Entertainment . The team never had an official team name, but were just referred to as "the tag team of London and Kendrick." In 2006 London and Kendrick put the tag team name... Brian Kendrick Brian Kendrick Brian David Kendrick is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under his real name. Before joining TNA he spent several years wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment, where he wrestled under his name, as Spanky, and finally as "The" Brian Kendrick... |
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... |
||
| 1 | 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.... defeated Finlay Dave Finlay David John "Fit" Finlay Jr. is a Northern Irish professional wrestler and road agent. He is perhaps best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and WWE as an active wrestler and later as a road agent... |
Singles match | 08:48 |
| 2 | Umaga Eddie Fatu Edward Smith "Eki" Fatu was a Samoan-American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Umaga... (c) defeated Carlito and Mr. Kennedy |
Triple Threat match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand... |
07:22 |
| 3 | Rey Mysterio defeated 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... |
Singles match | 12:05 |
| 4 | 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.... defeated Michelle McCool Michelle McCool Michelle Leigh McCool , is a retired American professional wrestler who is best known for her time in WWE.McCool originally worked as a middle school teacher in Palatka, Florida. She joined WWE in 2004 after participating in the 2004 WWE Diva Search. In her initial on-screen role, she acted... , Torrie Wilson Torrie Wilson Torrie Anne Wilson is a retired American professional wrestler, fitness competitor and model. She is best known for her tenures in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment , where she worked on both their SmackDown and Raw brands throughout her eight-year run.As a fitness... , 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.... , 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... , Jillian Hall Jillian Hall Jillian Faye Fletcher is an American professional wrestler who is currently signed to Women Superstars Uncensored. She is also known for her tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Jillian Hall or simply Jillian... , Kelly Kelly, Kristal Marshall Kristal Marshall Kristal Marshall is an American model, beauty queen, and former professional wrestler best known for her work in World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown! brand and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion working as Kristal Lashley the kayfabe wife of Bobby Lashley and his real life... , Victoria Lisa Marie Varon Lisa Marie Varon , is an American professional wrestler, bodybuilder and fitness competitor of Puerto Rican and Turkish descent... , Layla Layla El Layla El is an English dancer, model and professional wrestler of Moroccan and Spanish descent. She is employed by WWE as a WWE Diva and appears on the SmackDown brand as Layla... , Maria Maria Kanellis Maria Louise Kanellis, , or simply Maria, is a singer-songwriter, actress, model, and professional wrestler, best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment. Kanellis's career began as a contestant on the reality show Outback Jack in 2004... , and Brooke Brooke Adams (model) Brooke Nichole Adams is an American model, dancer, and professional wrestler, currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Brooke Tessmacher. She previously worked for World Wrestling Entertainment appearing with Kelly Kelly and Layla in the dance group Extreme Exposé... by last eliminating McCool |
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... Divas WWE Diva Diva is a term used by World Wrestling Entertainment , an American professional wrestling promotion, to refer to its female talent. The term is applied to women who appear as wrestlers, managers or valets, backstage interviewers, or ring announcers.... 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... |
07:06 |
| 5 | John Morrison (c) defeated 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.... |
Singles match for the ECW Championship | 07:07 |
| 6 | 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 King Booker Booker Huffman Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World... (with Queen Sharmell Sharmell Sullivan Sharmell Sullivan-Huffman is an American professional wrestling valet and occasional wrestler - the wife of Booker T. She is best known for her work as Queen Sharmell with WWE until her release in 2007. She first came to prominence in the wrestling world as Paisley, a member of the World... ) |
Singles match | 07:56 |
| 7 | Batista defeated The Great Khali (c) (with Ranjin Singh) by disqualification | Singles match for the 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... |
06:57 |
| 8 | 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.... (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... |
Singles 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... |
21:19 |
Divas battle royal entrances and eliminations
| Announced | Diva | Brand | Order | Eliminated by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maria Maria Kanellis Maria Louise Kanellis, , or simply Maria, is a singer-songwriter, actress, model, and professional wrestler, best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment. Kanellis's career began as a contestant on the reality show Outback Jack in 2004... |
Raw | Hall | ||
| 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.... |
Raw | WINNER | ||
| 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.... |
Raw | McCool & Wilson | ||
| Jillian Hall Jillian Hall Jillian Faye Fletcher is an American professional wrestler who is currently signed to Women Superstars Uncensored. She is also known for her tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Jillian Hall or simply Jillian... |
Raw | Wilson | ||
| 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... |
Raw | Melina | ||
| Torrie Wilson Torrie Wilson Torrie Anne Wilson is a retired American professional wrestler, fitness competitor and model. She is best known for her tenures in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment , where she worked on both their SmackDown and Raw brands throughout her eight-year run.As a fitness... |
SmackDown | 10 | Phoenix | |
| Victoria Lisa Marie Varon Lisa Marie Varon , is an American professional wrestler, bodybuilder and fitness competitor of Puerto Rican and Turkish descent... |
SmackDown | Marshall | ||
| Kristal Marshall Kristal Marshall Kristal Marshall is an American model, beauty queen, and former professional wrestler best known for her work in World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown! brand and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion working as Kristal Lashley the kayfabe wife of Bobby Lashley and his real life... |
SmackDown | McCool | ||
| Michelle McCool Michelle McCool Michelle Leigh McCool , is a retired American professional wrestler who is best known for her time in WWE.McCool originally worked as a middle school teacher in Palatka, Florida. She joined WWE in 2004 after participating in the 2004 WWE Diva Search. In her initial on-screen role, she acted... |
SmackDown | 11 | Phoenix | |
| 10 | Layla Layla El Layla El is an English dancer, model and professional wrestler of Moroccan and Spanish descent. She is employed by WWE as a WWE Diva and appears on the SmackDown brand as Layla... |
ECW | Melina | |
| 11 | Kelly Kelly | ECW | Phoenix & Hall | |
| 12 | Brooke Brooke Adams (model) Brooke Nichole Adams is an American model, dancer, and professional wrestler, currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Brooke Tessmacher. She previously worked for World Wrestling Entertainment appearing with Kelly Kelly and Layla in the dance group Extreme Exposé... |
ECW | Phoenix |