411 PPV Preview: The Road To Armageddon 2005
Posted by Leonard Hayhurst on 12.17.2005
The End is Near!
JBL VS. MATT HARDY
Background. On the last Smackdown Matt Hardy was being interviewed by Kristal on his match with Booker T. JBL walked in out of nowhere and began yapping about his recent injuries and how he refused to retire. Hardy took offense. JBL bopped him in the face with a crutch, stemming from his leg ‘injury’ from the week before. Hardy then speared Bradshaw into a nearby pile of junk and beat on him. JBL later sat in on commentary as Hardy took on Booker T. Hardy had the match in hand when Booker’s wife Sharmell Sullivan distracted the referee. JBL pulled Matt to the floor and nailed the Clothesline from Hell. He throw Hardy back in the ring and Booker T finished with the scissors kick on him.
Match Up: On the surface this appears to be a clash of styles, but Matt Hardy has the advantage of being more able and willing to go to JBL’s level of brawling and power wrestling. Layfield isn’t going to be flying around the ring like a cruiserweight. Both men are seasoned ring veterans, even though it’s not the first thing you think about with them, and this bout could become a classic chess match. Hardy will want to use his speed and agility to get JBL flustered and off his feet early. However, the high strung Hardy will most likely try to take it to Bradshaw on his level with a slug fest. Bradshaw should win that and control early. It will then be up to Hardy to use his agility and speed to counter JBL’s power moves and fight back. Yet, it all boils down to a simple question. Can Hardy duck the Clothesline from Hell? That’s what it will all come down to.
Outcome: This is just a tack on match to get two of Smackdown’s more over wrestlers onto a weak pay per view. Hardy looked poised for a push after his good showing in the Taboo Tuesday voting, but has been jobbed out and marginalized since. JBL has just been treading water since dropping out of the World Title picture. He needs a new direction and feud. He and Hardy do not match up well, so that’s probably out. With faces looking to go over later in the night and Hardy lower on the food chain, JBL should go over.
JUVENTUD VS. KID KASH FOR THE WWE CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE
Background: On the December 9th Smackdown Cruiserweight Champion Juventud Guerruera came to the ring with his stablemates in the Mexicools Super Crazy and Psychosis. Crazy was booked to wrestle Joey Mercury of MNM. Crazy picked up the win and everyone fought. The three on two affair was evened when Kid Kash ran into the ring and jumped Juvi. He laid him out and screamed in his face who he was. Kash had been wrestling on Velocity for several weeks, but had made little progress up the Smackdown ladder. Attacking the Cruiserweight Champion seemed to be his idea to make a name for himself. Kid Kash displayed his wares on Smackdown last Friday against Super Crazy. The referee sent Juvi and Psychosis to the back when they tried to get at Kash before the bell. Kash won with the brainbuster. However, he couldn’t leave well enough alone and attacked Super Crazy post match. He sat up a brainbuster on a chair, but Juvi and Psychosis returned to make the save.
Match Up: This should be a high flying, classic cruiserweight affair. Kash and Juvi match up fairly well in most categories. Kash has a chip on his shoulder and a lot to prove. He’s also been under the radar and not as readily known as Juvi. Kash could surprise, but he has to keep his anger in check. This is a statement match for him and a win would be huge. Juvi needs to wrestle a smart, tight match. Let Kash come to him, learn his game plan and then counteract it.
Outcome: WWE has no problem putting the Cruiserweight title on a perceived jobber, since they pretty much look at all cruisers as jobbers. Kash even getting the belt doesn’t guarantee a push or long reign. What the cruiserweight division has needed is a big time feud to spark interest. While the match promises to be good if they’re just allowed to go out there, their personalities will be hard to drive a feud. Kash getting the belt to drum up some false hype is very likely.
MNM (JOHNNY NITRO AND JOEY MERCURY WITH MELINA) VS. THE MEXICOOLS (PSYCOSIS AND SUPER CRAZY)
Background: A tag team battle royal was held on the December 2nd Smackdown to find opponents for tag team champions MNM for Armageddon. Joey Mercury, Johnny Nitro and Melina sat in on commentary. Teams in the match were The Dicks, The Mexicools, Paul London and Brian Kendrick, LOD, Nunzio and Big Vito and Scotty 2 Hotty and Funaki. The final two pairs were Super Crazy and Psychosis and the Dicks. The Dicks tried to throw Pyschosis to the floor, but he landed on the apron and used his legs to whip the Dicks over the ropes and to the floor.
The December 9th Smackdown had Joey Mercury taking on Super Crazy. Nitro tried to prevent Crazy from hitting the moonsault, but he was stopped from interfering by Pyschosis. Crazy scored the win. Everyone brawled until MNM hightailed it. On the last Smackdown MNM was booked to put the titles on the line against Batista and Rey Mysterio. Melina went to Batista and played a little tonsil hockey with him to get him to call off the match. It didn’t work. Meanwhile, Super Crazy faced his buddy Juvi’s new enemy, Kid Kash. Kash won with the brainbuster and the rest of the Mexicools saves him from a further thrashing. In the tag title match, Batista and Mysterio won to humiliate and destroy MNM.
Match Up: The teams match up very well. MNM is bigger and stronger, but not without speed and agility. The Mexicools are faster and trained luchadores, but can brawl and wrestle in the American style. Both teams show good chemistry with each other. Mercury and Nitro will use the classic tag formula of isolating one team member and beating them down. It will then be up to that Mexicool to use his inventive move set and resilience to land a counter and make the hot tag. Melina is always a weapon for MNM and her interference could be what turns the tables.
Outcome: MNM losing the tag belts changes the makeup of the match. While MNM probably would not have dropped the belts to the Mexicools, they are now not on the line. Of course, since they did drop the belts it may mean that they’re owed to be put over here. The two teams match up well and a feud between them could be serviceable. MNM are the default tag champs and will certainly get the belts back at some point. While the Mexicools have more of a chance to win now, MNM still are the favorites.
BOOKER T VS. CHRIS BENOIT IN MATCH FOUR OF THE BEST OF SEVEN SERIES FOR THE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE
Background: At No Mercy Chris Benoit retained the US Title over Orlando Jordan, Christian and Booker T in a four way match. Booker clotheslined OJ to the floor and brawled while Christian tapped out to the sharpshooter in the ring. Post match, Booker’s wife Sharmell Sullivan chewed Booker out for losing the match and claimed that his friend Benoit stole his thunder yet again. Later in the back, Ken Kennedy made fun of Booker T while Sullivan yelled at him some more. On the following Smackdown Orlando Jordan said that he would retire if he tapped out to the crossface again and received another title shot. This time he tapped out to the sharpshooter. Sharmell went to Teddy Long to plead for a title match for her husband. Instead he booked a fatal fourway for that night that pitted Booker T vs. Rey Mysterio vs. JBL vs. Christian. Rey had the match won, but Sharmell tripped him up and he walked right into the axe kick for the loss. Benoit confronted Booker T backstage about Sharmell’s interference, but he was still turning a blind eye to it.
The US Title match opened the October 21st show. Booker had Benoit on the ropes from punched and the referee backed him off. This allowed Sharmell to low blow Benoit without anyone seeing. Not knowing any different, Booker landed the axe kick and claimed the US Title. After the match backstage, Benoit confronted his friend Booker T about Sharmell hitting him, but he once refuted the statement and refused to reconsider it. Teddy Long confronted Booker T with irrefutable video evidence to what his wife did on the October 28th show. Booker T said he would apologize to Benoit in the ring and so would Sharmell. Booker T invited Benoit out to the ring. He offered him a rematch, but first Sharmell had to apologize for her actions. Sharmell apologized…for marrying a man with no respect for her. She slapped Booker T and walked off. She then added that she was sorry to Benoit for this…Booker T nailed Chris from behind with the US title. He beat him down and then threw him out of the ring to hit the announce table. It was revealed that Booker T and Sullivan were in cahoots the whole time. The pair would revel in their evil on the November 4th show. They were stopped by Teddy Long who announced that rematch Booker T was offering Benoit…next. Benoit went for the crossface, but Booker rolled out of it to the floor and took a powder. He lost by count out. On November 11th Booker T and Sharmell sat in on commentary as Benoit faced JBL for a slot on the Smackdown Survivor Series team. As Bradshaw was about to tap out, Booker T entered the ring. Benoit broke his hold and went after Booker. He slid to the floor and Benoit fell prey to the Clothesline from Hell.
The next Smackdown opened with Chris Benoit vs. Booker T for the US title in a rematch. One referee took a bump and a second came out. A double pin lead to one referee giving the match to Booker, the other to Benoit. Long decided to make the belt vacant and have the two men compete for it in a best of seven series. Something these two were not unfamiliar with having had two very famous ‘best of’ series in the past. The first match was slated for Survivor Series. Benoit would miss the swandive headbutt letting Booker T get the pin, with help from his wife and aide of the ropes. Match number two took place on the November 29th Tuesday Smackdown special. Booker T would take a German suplex, but a weakened Benoit fell to the scissors kick to go down 2-0 in the series. Smackdown on December 2nd saw a break from the series. Benoit took on William Regal while Booker T and Sharmell did commentary. Benoit scored the win and immediately jumped Booker T. He put him in the Cripple Crossface. Sharmell tried to save with a chair, but a stern look from Benoit scared her away. Kristal interviewed Booker T on the December 9th show where he used a dry erase board to show some simple math. He was up 2-0, he would be up 3-0 at the end of the night and then he would sweep the series. The ref would be bumped in the match and Booker T would get help from his wife and a steel chair to steal the win. The next show Booker T went against Matt Hardy with JBL on special commentary. Bradshaw and Hardy had tussled in the back earlier. Sharmell carried a broom to the ring to signify the ‘sweep’ on Benoit. JBL interfered while Sharmell distracted the referee so her man could get the win.
Match Up: Benoit has his back against the wall. The character he has shown in the past demonstrates that he will fight to win rather than not to lose. Booker T could be lulled into a false sense of confidence. Thinking he has the series in hand look for Booker to play to the crowd and make arrogant covers. That’s where Benoit will nick him. As Benoit proves himself hard to put away, Booker will get his head in the match more and try to end it, but it might be too late. Benoit just needs to be focused with a tight game plan that he sticks with. Sharmell has been a main asset for Booker T and Benoit needs someway to counteract her. Chris’ own wife, Nancy, has experience as a wrestling valet and manager and it might be time for Benoit to pull out that ace in the hole. He can’t panic, but he can’t be complacent that he can make the comeback alone.
Outcome: Booker T has little chance of a sweep. It does little to put him over more than he is and buries Benoit. Although, Benoit’s contract is said to be up this spring and he could be leaving the company. So, they may want to really demote him before that time. Bringing in Benoit’s wife Nancy, formerly Woman, would be an interesting and logical angle turn given the participation of Booker T’s real life wife Sharmell. Look for Benoit to score the win either way.
BATISTA AND REY MYSTERIO VS. BIG SHOW AND KANE
Background: Ever since RAW and Smackdown were split off into separate entities some animosity between the two brands existed. Some inter-brand matches and verbal sparring had occurred, but nothing major. At WWE Homecoming Smackdown was granted a match by Vince McMahon. Earlier in the night, Randy and Bob Orton jumped Mick Foley and Roddy Piper in the ring for Piper’s Pit. Bischoff was not happy, but Long swore he had nothing to do with it. Vince McMahon was taken out by Stone Cold Steve Austin, so Bischoff was able to call off the six man tag match between Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit and Batista vs. JBL, Christian and Eddie Guerrero. At the end of the night Long got retribution for Smackdown by ordering his men to jump John Cena and Kurt Angle after their match. Everybody brawled to end the show.
On the following Smackdown Teddy Long invited RAW to make some noise at No Mercy. At the pay per view JBL dared Edge and any other members of RAW to try to interfere in his match. Edge took offense to his comments on the next RAW. On RAW of October 17th Edge faced Big Show for a shot to be in the voting for the Taboo Tuesday WWE title match. JBL’s music played, distracting Edge and allowing Big Show to get the choke slam for the win. Edge complained to Bischoff after the match. He encouraged Edge to take matters into his own hands. On the October 21st Smackdown Bradshaw was booked to face Rey Mysterio. Edge ran in from the crowd during the match and speared Mysterio to give him the DQ win. JBL chased Edge back out through the crowd. Chris Masters then appeared from the other side of the arena and entered the ring. He put Rey in the Masterlock and tortured him until Hardcore Holly broke it up. On the October 24th RAW JBL’s limo was seen pulling into the arena. Bradshaw stepped out, but Eric Bischoff with security prevented him entering the building. It had been announced that the fans would be able to vote for two of five Smackdown superstars to face Edge and Masters at Taboo Tuesday. Edge and Masters in the ring made of JBL on the Titatron and the other Smackdown choices. Bradshaw retorts and dares Masters to meet him in the parking lot. He takes off. JBL reveals it was a misdirection play. Rey Mysterio springboarded into the ring from behind to surprise Edge and Lita. Lita took the 619.
At Taboo Tuesday the fans were allowed to vote between Rey Mysterio, Matt Hardy, JBL, Hardcore Holly and Christian in who would face the RAW representatives of Chris Masters and Edge. Hardy and Rey won the vote with 31% and 29% respectively. Before the match Edge came out with Lita and announced that he didn’t give a damn for Smackdown or RAW. He only cared about himself. Beating Matt again or Mysterio did nothing for him, so he was bowing out in favor of Gene Snitsky. Mysterio Dropped the Dime on Masters after a Twist of Fate from Hardy to give Smackdown the win. Later on, Vince McMahon chewed Eric Bischoff out for losing. He told Bischoff to find his aggressive streak and take the fight to Smackdown, but don’t expect him to help out. In another Smackdown vs. RAW match later that night Batista beat Coach, Golddust and Vader in a 3-1 match. Handed two huge losses, Eric Bischoff of RAW went to Smackdown that Friday and challenged Long to an old school Survivor Series match at the upcoming show. Five of his best men, versus five of his.
The November 7th RAW opened with the entire roster on the ring apron. Bischoff was in the center of the ring. He announced that Shawn Michaels would captain Team RAW for Survivor Series with new tag team champions Kane and Big Show as his chief enforcers. To fill the fourth slot he booked Shelton Benjamin vs. Carlito Caribbean Cool. Carlito won that match by use of the ropes. Bischoff also took offense to Edge’s actions at Taboo Tuesday. As punishment he ordered Edge to go to Smackdown that week and face their champion Batista in a street fight. Later that week via WWE.com Bischoff announced that Chris Masters would round out his squad.
Teddy Long kicked off the November 11th Smackdown by addressing his roster in the locker room. He announced that a series of matches would determine the Smackdown team that night. In the first, Bob Orton tripped Rey Mysterio to prevent him from Dropping the Dime on his son Randy, but it drew the DQ and Rey got the spot. Bobby Lashley defeated Orlando Jordan. Eddie Guerrero got by Ken Kennedy. JBL was helped by Booker T interference to defeat Chris Benoit. Batista was named captain and given the last spot. During the evening, Edge and Lita went to see Teddy Long and tried to back out of the street fight with Batista. Long said it was fine with him, if Batista said it was ok. Edge wanted Long to ask him, but Long that up to him. Batista told Edge that when he signs a match he delivers on it, opposite of what Edge did at Taboo Tuesday. Edge and Lita entered the arena for the match and pointed to the Titantron. Teddy Long was shown arguing with Eric Bischoff in the parking area. Chris Masters attacked to take out security and then put Long in the Master Lock. The Smackdown roster came to his aide. Masters and Bischoff sped away in his car, while the other wrestlers gave chase in JBL’s limo. This left Batista alone to be jumped by Kane and Big Show. The few remaining Smackdown wrestlers left came to his aide, but they were unfortunately cruiserweights and quickly squashed by the monsters from RAW. The show ended with Batista taking a double choke slam.
On Sunday, November 13th Eddie Guerrero passed away due to heart failure. He was replaced on the Smackdown Survivor Series team by Randy Orton. That week’s Smackdown and RAW featured several inter-brand matches but it was clear that these were in tribute to Eddie and not part of the ongoing feud. Business would pick up again on November 21st when Bischoff led Team RAW to the ring. They ran down Team Smackdown until Todd Grisham in the parking lot announced that they had arrived. Bischoff forbade his men to go meet them, but they did anyway. A huge brawl erupted that ended when Kane and Big Show choke slammed Batista onto a car hood. Batista was rushed to a medical facility. JBL then stopped a match between Tajiri and Rob Conway by attacking them. He then challenged Chris Masters to a match that night. Bischoff came out and said that if JBL wanted to challenge RAW, go for the brass ring. So he booked him against Shawn Michaels. It was later announced that it would be a lumberjack match. Team RAW on one side of the ring and Team Smackdown on the other. In the match Michaels would hit the Sweet Chin Music, but then take the RKO from Orton. Everyone brawled until Batista cleared the ring, bandaged up and carrying a lead pipe. On the following Smackdown JBL and Rey Mysterio put their past differences aside to face William Regal and Paul Burchill. This match was stopped via interference from Team RAW. Wrestlers from the locker room came in to make the save. In order to safeguard the main event between Batista and Randy Orton Teddy Long had the entire Smackdown roster policing the ring area. However, this led to a massive brawl among all parties and the match was declared a no contest.
At Survivor Series Batista would eliminate Kane with spinebuster, but he would hang out long enough to help Big Show with a double choke slam to eliminate the Smackdown Champion. Show would then take the finisher of everyone left on Team Smackdown with Mysterio Dropping the Dime as the topper for the elimination. Mysterio would later take the super kick from Shawn Michaels to go out. Mysterio and Show would meet up in a classic David vs. Goliath match on the Smackdown Tuesday special of November 29th. The referee would get bumped. Mysterio hit the frog splash in a tribute to Eddie Guerrero, but then Show’s tag team partner Kane came out. They put the double choke slam on him. The house lights then went out and when they came back up Undertaker was standing in the ring. Kane wanted no part of his brother and hit the floor. Undertaker took out Big Show. Kane returned and was laid out to. The match was a wash.
On the December 2nd Smackdown JBL cut a promo on how he had to defend his show and to do that he would team with a man he didn’t like in Rey Mysterio to face the RAW tag champions. JBL would take a thumb to the eye and walk out. This left Rey two on one. He lost. Show and Kane sat up a double choke slam on a chair, but Batista ran out to make the save. He bashed both big men with the chair to drive them off. On December 9th, JBL started Smackdown to say he didn’t let Mysterio down, Rey let himself down by not winning the match. The two then squared off. Orlando Jordan ran in to interfere and give Rey the DQ win. Batista saved again. Before the heels could clear out, Teddy Long appeared and booked a tag match to end the night. The faces went over when JBL took off faking a leg injury and Jordan was left to face the Batista Bomb.
On the last Smackdown, Melina went to see Batista while he was readying for his match teamed with Rey against Mercury and Nitro. She wanted Batista to call the match off so MNM could ready for their match on Sunday. To convince him to do so, she sat on his lap and started kissing him. The show cut back later to find Melina putting her top back on. Melina asked if they had a deal and Batista snickered. He didn’t say anything about a deal, but he did thank Melina for the ‘warm up.’ Rey would make the hot tag to Batista and he cleaned house. Melina tried to revive Mercury laid out on the ropes, but Mysterio hit the 619 on both of them. The Batista Bomb finished to give Smackdown new tag team champions. They celebrated in the locker room post match. Mysterio express doubts about the match on Sunday. Batista said he might not have the size and strength of Kane and Big Show, but he had heart and he had a tag team title.
Match Up: You have two classic tag team combinations here. You have the team where both partners have similar styles and attributes and one where they are different. Kane and Big Show will want to use their power and size by focusing attention on Rey Mysterio. While Mysterio proved tenacious against the Big Show during the Smackdown special, Show had little problem handling him. This could backfire as it leaves Batista, who can match up in power, fresh on the apron. If Rey makes the hot tag, it could be all over. The RAW champs just need to do everything in their power to prevent that. Putting away Rey early and decisively will be what they want to do, but he probably won’t let them.
Outcome: Putting the Smackdown tag titles on Batista and Mysterio makes things a little more interesting. They certainly didn’t need the belts to hype the match and this probably won’t be turned into a unification bout. Batista has been working light thanks to a lat injury, so making he and Rey a more permanent team will allow him to still be visible, but have a limited workload per match. Creative just thought it would probably look better to have this be a champion vs. champion match. Since RAW has lost nearly all the interbrand matches they are due to go over.
RANDY ORTON VS. UNDERTAKER IN A HELL IN A CELL MATCH
Background: On February 28th "Superstar" Billy Graham was hanging out backstage at RAW. Randy Orton came up to pay his respects. Graham said that he was impressed with the young man, but with Wrestlemania coming up he needed to do something big to make himself a superstar. Orton said he had some thoughts and laid the magazine he was looking at on a table before walking off. The cover had the Undertaker on it. The following RAW Randy entered the ring and said that as the Legend Killer he was going to take on the Wrestlemania Legend, the Phenom, the Dead Man, the Undertaker. He awaited his reply and so did Smackdown GM Teddy Long. Carlito Caribbean Cool had been acting as a toady for Long after his petition to have him removed from office failed. Long sent Carlito to find the Undertaker and get his answer. Cool prowled the bowels of the arena and found nothing. He got fed up and went to the ring to call 'Taker out. He appeared. He said that at Wrestlemania 21 that Randy Orton would rest in peace and tonight Crlito would too as he fell to the Tombstone Piledriver.
On the March 14th RAW, the Highlight Reel opened the program. Chris Jericho's guest was Randy Orton. Y2J had a surprise for him. There to give him some tips on facing the Undertaker was the man who lost to him at Wrestlemania 8, Jake "the Snake" Roberts. Orton scoffed at Roberts as a has been who couldn't get the job done against UT. Roberts didn't like that disrespect and went for his nearby bag with a snake in it. Orton attacked and RKO'ed him. That Thursday, Orton was on Smackdown to sign the contract to face the Undertaker. He said that he had nothing but respect for UT, but was not afraid of him. In contradiction, Orton then slapped him in the face and ran off when UT brought down lightening from the sky and pyro from the ringposts.
On the March 21st RAW, Orton and Stacy Keibler were talking in the back. He asked his new girlfriend if she thought he could beat the Undertaker at the ppv. She hesitated, then said yes. Orton asked her to go to the ring with him. He had a surprise for the Undertaker, that being a Legend Killer T-shirt with the names of all the legends he had taken out on it. He took the liberty of already adding 'Taker's name. He once again said that he wasn't afraid of Undertaker. He had a simple message for him and it was this...Randy then nailed the RKO on Stacy. She was hauled off by paramedics. Hardcore Holly and Charlie Haas headed to the ring on the Smackdown for March 24th and were interrupted by the Undertaker on the Titantron. He said that Orton had awaken a beast and that night it must be appeased with a sacrifice. The Undertaker continued to interrupt the show's transmission and mess with the lights intermittently. Finally in a match between Booker T and Rene Dupree, 'Taker appeared in the ring out of a cloud of smoke. Dupree felt the brunt of his wrath.
Orton explained his actions on the next edition of RAW from the week before. Stacy didn't truly believe in him and that made her a distraction he didn't need. He ran down the Undertaker until the gong sounded and the arena went dark. A video aired displaying Undertaker's twelve Wrestlemania wins with Orton's name marked at the end. A wall of flame shot up from the stage, pyro exploded from the ringposts. The place was going nuts and so was Orton. He took off for the back and met up with Kane. Kane warned him on facing his brother. Orton said he was prepared to do what he had to do and Kane just laughed.
Teddy Long was dealing with production personnel at the next Smackdown and then reentered his office to find Randy’s father, Cowboy Bob Orton. He was heading out to California for the Hall of Fame induction ceremony and thought he should stop in Texas. His son was scaring him about the Undertaker match and he wanted to talk to the Dead Man personally about matters. Long was unsure, but couldn’t say no to the legend. He told him to head to the ring and say his peace. Orton called out ‘Taker and he appeared. Cowboy Bob said that he felt that Randy had gone too far in the build up for the match. He thought Randy showed him great respect by challenging him, but has disrespected everyone since then. He knew that the slap Orton delivered woke up a beast and Bob wanted that beast put back to sleep. He wanted them to have a great match, but begged UT not to destroy his son. Undertaker said all it took was that one slap to guarantee that Randy would rest in peace on Sunday. Running out of options, Bob dropped to his knees and begged for mercy. While ‘Taker was distracted Randy ran in for the RKO. Father and son revealed to be on the same page and backed up the ramp. Undertaker attempted to raise up…and fell flat on his face. At Wrestlemania Orton would flip out of the choke slam to get the RKO. Undertaker kicked out. Orton then went for the Tombstone Piledriver himself. ‘Taker reversed and got the win. The next night on RAW Orton would claim that he heard something pop in his shoulder when he went for the Tombstone and that cost him the match. He then wrestled Batista in the main event. Batista worked on the shoulder big time and Orton disappeared from television. He popped up briefly on one RAW to proclaim that he could not be drafted in the upcoming lottery because he on the disabled list. Vince McMahon disputed this as all employees were subject to the draft.
The Undertaker faced John Bradshaw Layfield on the June 16th Smackdown. UT hit the Last Ride, but Orton would run in out of nowhere to hit the RKO. Orton revealed himself to be the newest lottery pick for Smackdown. However, Orton’s shoulder was still not 100% and he disappeared from television yet again. The Undertaker would claim the right to fact Batista for the World Heavyweight Title by defeating Muhammad Hassan at the Great American Bash. JBL disputed this on the July 28th Smackdown since he won his match against Batista at GAB due to DQ. GM Teddy Long booked JBL vs. UT for the main event that night. Once again Orton would interfere to give JBL the win. This, though, he was back for good. He gave an interview with Josh Mathews on the August 4th where he promised to make his intentions clear if his actions last week didn’t do the job. He then took the ring to recap the history between him and ‘Taker along with running down his own list of accomplishments. He challenged the Dead Man to a match at SummerSlam. In answer, the letters RKO appeared on the Titantron and morphed into RIP. Randy Orton caught up to Teddy Long on August 11th. He demanded to know who is mystery opponent for the night was. Long said that he was a legend and a former opponent of the Undertaker. Orton entered the ring and out came Kamala the Ugandan Giant with his handler Kim Chee. Orton hit the RKO and made the cover. The lights then went out, smoke filled the ring and RIP was seen on the Titantron again. The match was declared a no contest.
On the last Smackdown before SummerSlam, Randy Orton gave an interview talking about how he beat Chris Benoit at SummerSlam last year and he would beat him in their match tonight. He would make history again at SummerSlam by defeating the Undertaker. Orton faced Christ Benoit in an exciting main event. He scored the win thanks to help from Orlando Jordan. He posed post match, then the gong sounded and the lights went out. They flickered back on to find UT standing behind the legend killer. He took a chokeslam. Undertaker slowly walked off. Orton recovered and held the back of his neck, but he had a smile on his face. He pointed to his cranium to state that he was getting into the Undertaker’s head. On the ppv UT had the match won with a Tombstone when a fan entered the ring. By the time security had them under control Randy was able to recover and nailed the RKO for the win. The fan then removed his makeup to reveal himself to be Cowboy Bob Orton.
On the following Smackdown Bob would introduce his boy for a match with Hardcore Holly and then help out for the win. Bob and Randy took the ring on September 1st with no Undertaker in sight. Randy and Bob hyped that they had autographed a copy of the new Undertaker DVD set and were going to auction it off as part of UT’s retirement fund. He told Undertaker to be there next week to collect. Orton then defeated Rey Mysterio in the main event with a super RKO. On September 9th the Undertaker hit the ring and called out Randy Orton. He appeared with a giant cardboard check for $1416.00 from the sell of the DVD. He dared Undertaker to come collect. Instead he summoned lightening from the ceiling to set the check on fire. September 19th saw Bob Orton commanding a U-Haul truck with something special inside for UT. The main event had ‘Taker and Orton battling again. Bob had the U-Haul truck come out and its contents were a casket. UT and Randy fought on the floor, he opened the lid of the casket to reveal a dummy of himself inside. Despite the momentary distraction, ‘Taker still won the match. Bob Orton and a casket were in the ring for the September 24th show. Randy Orton then came out. He opened the casket to reveal the ‘Taker dummy inside. He said that he scored a mental victory over the ‘Taker no matter the actual outcome of the match. As Randy blabbered on, the dummy sat up to reveal itself to be the real Undertaker. He attacked. Bob pulled Randy out of the ring and they ran.
Smackdown of October 1st had Bob Orton challenging Undertaker to a match. Randy ran in for an RKO, but ‘Taker throws him off and Tombstoned Bob for the victory. Teddy Long opened the next Smackdown talking about how he and the Smackdown wrestlers interrupted the RAW Homecoming. Randy and Bob Orton then entered to correct Long. They were the ones who went out there first and attacked Mick Foley and Roddy Piper during Piper’s Pit. Tonight they would face Piper in a handicap match. Cowboy Bob was looking forward to getting revenge on Piper for being his stooge for so many years. Piper then came out and entered the ring. He jumped father and son with a lead pipe to clear the ring. In the match the heels would lay Piper out easily. The Undertaker’s music sounded and the lights flickered. This gave the Ortons momentary pause, then it was back to work. It happened again and they were startled again. Bob went to pick Piper up and was suckered into a pin for the loss. The lights then went completely out and chanting druids brought a huge two person casket down to the ring. UT appeared on the Titantron. He understood that the Ortons weren’t afraid of caskets, so he took the liberty of building a special casket. He dared them to look inside. Two dummies dressed in black laid inside looking like Randy and Bob. They were stunned. The lights went all the way out, the gong sounded and Undertaker stood behind them. Father and son ran off looking more than a little nervous.
At Survivor Series the duo would use a fire extinguisher and a chair to knock UT out and lock him in the casket. Randy then used an axe to chop holes in the coffin and poured in gasoline. He lit it on fire and posed as ‘Taker burned. Personal from the back put out the flames. Orton thought he was finely done with Undertaker, but vignettes aired for weeks following promising his return. At Survivor Series, Randy Orton was the ultimate survivor in the classic Survivor Series style match pitting Smackdown vs. RAW. The locker room emptied to cheer their conquering hero. Suddenly the lights went out. Druids wheeled a casket out on the entrance stage, set it up right and lit it on fire. Undertaker burst through the flames and down to the ring. Orton fled and UT waded into the mass of wrestlers and systematically destroyed everyone. On the Smackdown Tuesday special of November 29th Undertaker put an appearance to help Rey Mysterio against Big Show and his brother Kane. He conquered both behemoths, but was then RKO’ed out of nowhere by Orton. Orton went to the lowrider Rey Mysterio had driven to the ring in tribute to Eddie Guerrero and found a tire iron in the trunk. At that moment UT sat up in the ring and chased after Orton. Randy knocked him out with the tire iron. Undertaker laid slumped on the trunk of the car, hanging halfway into the back seat. Orton started the car and gunned it in reverse. It crashed through the Smackdown glass dome at the back of the entrance stage and collided with some electrical equipment. They sparked and a fire blazed. Orton tripped out of the car dazed as it burned.
Randy along with his father kicked off the December 2nd Smackdown in the ring. Randy bragged that he had finally killed the Undertaker and deserved a title match against Batista at Armageddon. Later in the night Orton beat Matt Hardy. After the match the light went out and lightening bolts chased Orton around the arena. Undertaker’s voice boomed out of the blackness that Orton would have to face him in a Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon. Orton complained to GM Teddy Long to no avail. On December 9th Orton went to the ring and told Undertaker he didn’t want him in the Hell in the Cell, he wanted him now. UT screwed with Orton’s theme music and Titantron video then showed footage of his own featuring some classic quotes on hell and segments from other Hell in the Cell matches. Orton ran off. In the back he splashed some water on his face in the bathroom. He catches Undertaker peering at him in the mirror. He turns around to find no one there. Later he almost took a swing at his father. Randy looked away and then looked back to see Bob quivering and covered in blood. Randy freaks out, but then sees his father just fine. He ran for the parking lot. Randy and Bob throw their bags in the trunk of their car, then it drove off with no one at the wheel. Josh Matthews catches up with them to ask them about the Undertaker mind games. Mathews then appears momentarily in pain, his eyes roll back and the Undertaker’s voice came out of his mouth. He talks trash on Randy and then relinquished his hold on Josh.
On the last Smackdown, Bob Orton convinced his son to talk to the number one sports psychologist in the country that he had specially flown in. Randy confesses that he sees the Undertaker everywhere he goes. He then explained to the doctor what the Hell in the Cell match is. The big thing for Randy is that it takes his ability to control a match away. The doctor told Randy that he had two roads in front of him and he had to make the choice on which one to take, now. After the session, Randy told his dad that he felt better and knew what decision he had to make. He was going to take the ring and tell the world what he decided to do. Later, GM Teddy Long met up with the doctor and asked him what went down in the session with Orton. The doctor says he couldn’t reveal that due to doctor/patient privilege. He then told Long the Hell in the Cell match was barbaric and wished him a good day. Following that, Randy visited Batista and Rey Mysterio celebrating in their locker room. Orton gave his congratulations. He said that many people think Batista is the best, but he thinks he is. Orton then wistfully stated that he guessed they would never know who was the best and extended his hand to big Dave. He shook it and Orton left. Later he headed to the ring with Bob in tow. He asked his son if he was sure on what he was going to do. Randy said he was and he had to do it alone. He told his father to stay in the back. Orton said that he now realized that no one can kill the Undertaker. He didn’t want to have to be an old man in a wheel chair and have to tell his grandchildren how he got there. He was then going to do something no one ever does, go out on top. At 25 years of age he was retiring from WWE. His destiny was to kill one more legend while he still could, his own. Teddy Long then came out to confront Orton. Long reminded him that he had an ironclad contract. If he didn’t show for the match on Sunday, Long would sue him for breech of contract. Randy said that sitting in a courtroom with him was better than face UT in a Hell in the Cell. Orton took a powder but the Undertaker’s entrance blocked his way out. Druids appeared out of the darkness and waded through the smoke. Undertaker appeared and chased him back to the ring. Orton backed off and begged for Undertaker to let him go in peace. He was done. Undertaker than noticed one of the druids still at ringside. He pulled ‘Taker’s sacred urn out of his robe and held it aloft. He removed his hood to reveal himself as Cowboy Bob Orton. Randy attacked Undertaker. UT did the zombie sit up, so Orton grabbed a steel chair and went nuts on Undertaker with it. He cut him open and dented the chair. Orton got in his foe’s face and said he would succeed. Undertaker then sat up again and tried to make his feet. Orton took the urn from his dad and nailed UT with it. He struggled to stand, bloody and dazed. He couldn’t make his feet. Orton left the ring and vowed that he would be victorious on Sunday.
Match Up: This has been a complicated, long, winding feud. Both men know each other very well in and outside of the ring. Undertaker’s recent mind games with Orton looked to have been taking their toll, but he regained his composure and took out UT on the last Smackdown. Undertaker has a lot of experience in Hell in a Cell matches and that will serve him well. Orton does not and that could be intimidating to him. Undertaker will take the early advantage by manhandling and busting Orton open. Orton just has to hang tough. He’s ultra-cocky, but he will have to back up all that talk if he wants to win here. Orton is painted in a corner and may not even realize it.
Outcome: One would hope this would finally be the blow off to this very long feud. It’s just silly and self mocking now. Randy Orton has ‘killed’ the Undertaker like five times. Orton as the young, breakout superstar should be the one to go over. ‘Taker has shown in the past that he will put such talent over when he lost to Brock Lesnar. However, he has also shown in the past a tendency to hold people down or lose only with mass interference and going over post match in some way. Orton has been made to look like a fool lately, but he did get the upper hand on the last Smackdown. This might be more evidence that UT will go over here. With Batista injured there was talking of giving Undertaker increased exposure.
