The Shimmy 2.18.08: The WWE Championship- The Cena Era (Part II) & The One Man Dynasty
Posted by Andy Clark on 02.18.2008
The Shimmy concludes it's look at the modern age of the WWE Championship by recapping the year-plus reign of John Cena and the reign of one Randy K. Orton!
I'm going to try and be short and sweet this week since technology has decided to be a bitch.
Last week we ended our WWE Championship look with John Cena defeating Edge in a TLC Match to reclaim his WWE Title. Little did we know that Cena's reign would last for over a year. At Unforgiven 2006 Camelot began.
Despite besting Edge in his own gimmick match, Cena was not done with the Rated R Superstar. Edge still had his rematch clause and much like Eddie Guerrero two years prior Edge chose to get his rematch inside of a Steel Cage. Cena and Edge had yet another classic match (if somewhat forgotten) but with some help from D-Generation X John Cena managed to retain.
Cena's next defense would be a rather unorthodox one to say the least as he would have to put him title up against Chris Masters in the Masterlock Challenge. Not only did Cena get out of the Masterlock (although not actually breaking it) but he managed to apply a full nelson of his own to Chris Masters and force him to submit. Cena would run afoul of Edge one more time as Edge won the "Biggest Battle Royal in Raw History" to earn a title shot at the champ. No surprise, they had a great match but Cena would retain his title.
Cena would then have to face the undefeated Samoan Bulldozer, Umaga. This was the old case of unstoppable force vs. immovable object and Umaga proved to be more than up to the task of brutalizing Cena. It would take a missed charge and a surprise rollup for Cena to hand Umaga his first loss in his nine months in WWE. The win was flukish enough that Armando Alejandro Estrada procured a rematch for Umaga at the Royal Rumble, but this time it was under Last Man Standing rules. To make matters worse Umaga damaged Cena's ribs just six days before their showdown. At the Rumble Cena and Umaga tore the house down, competing in the 411 Match of the Year. After various LMS nearfalls (including Umaga splashing the ECW announce table), Cena managed to choke the monster out with a ring rope assisted STFU. Cena would nearly have to kill the beast to keep him down.
With Umaga out of the way Cena could focus on competing in the main event of WrestleMania 23. His opponent would be no stranger to WrestleMania main events as he would be none other than the Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels. For the second year in a row Cena would battle a member of DX and for the second year in a row he would make that DX member tap out. Michaels and Cena had a fast and furious exchange in the closing moments of their match but even the Showstoppa was no match for the STFU. But WrestleMania wouldn't be the last Cena would see of Michaels. Thanks to the wishes of Mick Foley's Make-a-Wish child, Cena would have to defend his title against Michaels, Randy Orton, and Edge in a Fatal Four-Way Match at Backlash. I guess the kid hates Cena too. No matter though, as Cena would emerge victorious once again thanks to an unlikely assist from Shawn Michaels. HBK hit Cena with Sweet Chin Music and caused him to land right on top of a prone Edge (or Orton, I don't really remember) and get the 1-2-3. Michaels did everything he needed to win and still came up short.
The next night on Raw Cena would find out who his newest challenger was. Throughout the night Michaels, Orton, and Edge were laid out in the back, supposedly by someone that wanted to "make an impact." That someone would be none other than the Punjabi Nightmare, the Great Khali. Cena would find himself up against an even more unmovable object than Umaga. Khali would briefly dominate their match but just like everyone before him Khali found himself tapping to the STFU. Khali would earn a rematch though as his tree-like leg was actually under the ropes when he tapped. This set up a Falls Count Anywhere Match for One Night Stand. In my opinion this was the worst match of Cena's title reign, but Cena did manage to hoist the giant up on his shoulders and FU him off a scaffold for the win. The next night on Raw Cena would face his two monstrous enemies in a Triple Threat Match as he took on the "Worst Prom Date Ever" The Great Khali and Umaga. The match was surprisingly fun and once again Cena would deliver the FU to Khali for the win.
Coming off the WWE Draft the WWE Title picture would change dramatically. At Vengeance: Night of Champions Cena would defend his title against all former World Champions on the Raw brand (with the exception of The Sandman) in a Championship Challenge. Randy Orton, Bobby Lashley, Mick Foley, and Booker T all challenged the champ at one time. The match was actually pretty short but they packed a lot of action into a short period. Cena would pin Foley to retain but Lashley and Orton both made their presence felt in this match. Lashley would capitalize on his momentum by winning the Beat the Clock Challenge on Raw and earned a one-on-one match with John Cena at the Great American Bash. The match was built up to be a real clash of champions and came with such a big fight feel. Many people even predicted a championship victory for Lashley in this match. Lashley would come very close to winning, but a top rope FU would put the Soft-Spoken one away.
Many people wanted to see a rematch of Cena-Lashley at SummerSlam but Raw Executive Assistant Jonathan Coachman had other ideas. He gave Randy Orton the title opportunity at the Biggest Party of the Summer and Orton rode a huge wave of momentum into the match. In the weeks prior to SummerSlam Orton had taken out Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam, Dusty Rhodes, and Sgt. Slaughter. Much like Cena-Lashley this match had a big match feel to it and the crowd senses a title change. Orton even had his fair share of supporters in East Rutherford that night. Unfortunately for Orton he couldn't capitalize on his RKO on the champ and Cena surprised Orton with an out of nowhere FU for the win. Winning this match may have been the worst thing Cena could have done.
In order to show that he deserved a rematch for the title Orton decided to get personal. The next night on Raw he grabbed Cena's father who was sitting in the front row, pulled him over the railing, and punted his head into next Tuesday. With revenge in mind Cena readily agreed to a rematch but at Unforgiven it would be that rage that caused Cena to snap and get himself disqualified. Mr. Cena would even get a measure of retribution as well as his son held Orton down for Mr. Cena to kick him in the head. Coachman did not appreciate this vicious act of collusion and booked Cena to defend his title against Orton one more time in a Last Man Standing Match. Cena wouldn't make it to the Last Man Standing Match.
Six days before the No Mercy PPV Cena tore his pectoral muscle in a match with Mr. Kennedy, an injury that was exacerbated by a post-match attack by Randy Orton. Cena was said to be out of action for up to a year and as such Camelot was now over. At No Mercy Mr. McMahon announced that Randy Orton would be the new WWE Champion, a gift that Orton was more than happy to accept. Orton's victory celebration would be short lived, however, as Triple H would enter the fray to challenge Orton for the belt right then and there. After baiting McMahon into booking the match Triple H pinned Orton with a rollup to win the WWE Title just 20 minutes after Orton was awarded the belt. As payback Mr. McMahon made Triple H's previously scheduled match with Umaga a title match as well. Triple H had little problem defeating Umaga but he did manage to hurt his ribs in the process. Hurt ribs were the least of Triple H's worries though as McMahon had one more trick up his sleeve. The fans were promised a Last Man Standing Match and by God they were going to get one: Triple H vs. Randy Orton. In Triple H's third match of the night he put on a valiantly effort against Orton but a vicious RKO on the announce table (the same move that took out John Cena) would score the victory for Orton. The one man dynasty had begun.
The next night on Raw Orton came face to face with his first challenger as champion: a returning Shawn Michaels. For the better part of two months Michaels would constantly superkick Orton but it didn't seem to happen at the right time. At Cyber Sunday Michaels won a fan vote over Jeff Hardy and Mr. Kennedy to get a shot at Orton but Orton intentionally got himself disqualified to retain his title. At Survivor Series the two men would battle one more time but with a series of stipulations added. If Orton got disqualified or attempted to get himself disqualified he would lose the title. But it Michaels used the superkick or tried to use the superkick Michaels would lose the match and not receive another shot at Randy Orton's title. Michaels seemingly adapted well to the stipulations for most of the match but one slip up would ultimately cost him. One mistake is all Orton needed to capitalize on in order to retain his title.
With Michaels out of the way Orton felt that the time had come for the torch to be passed and he set himself up a literal passing of the torch ceremony. That ceremony would be interrupted by the returning Chris Jericho who claimed he was coming to "save us" from Orton's title reign. At Armageddon Jericho would get the chance, but he should know better than to rise the ire of one John Bradshaw Layfield. After being thrown into JBL at the SmackDown announce table and then shoving the Wrestling God aside to get back to the match, Jericho opened a can of worms he didn't need. Y2J very well may have won the WWE Title from Orton had JBL not interfered and booted Jericho in the head causing the disqualification. Orton's title was safe once again.
Orton's title defense wasn't the only major occurrence at Armageddon though. Jeff Hardy had upset Triple H to earn a WWE Title shot at the Royal Rumble. Many people were quick to dismiss Hardy as a legitimate title contender but in the weeks leading up to the Rumble Hardy would prove that he would do anything to win the WWE Title. He put his body on the line inside a Steel Cage against Umaga and he took Orton (and himself) out with an insane dive off the Raw set. At the Rumble, with the Madison Square Garden crowd behind him, Hardy had the biggest match of his career. Unfortunately that night would not be his. Orton retained his title and awaited WrestleMania to see who his next opponent would be.
Only his next title match would be at WrestleMania. At the Rumble John Cena shocked the world by not only returning to the ring but by winning the Royal Rumble Match. Instead of waiting until WrestleMania, though, Cena decided he'd cash in his title opportunity at No Way Out. And if you've seen the main page you know how that one turned out.
So what's next for the WWE Championship? Who will compete for the most prestigious title in the business in the future? I guess we'll just have to watch to find out.
Andy! Andy! At Last You Have Some Feedback!
Derek Abramson is very interesting:
Great Article. They knock Cena but Vinnie has still got to make money. For a Honest look at Cena check this out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg1DiEk7H4U
That's a great video, man, thanks for sharing. I wouldn't worry about WWE taking it down, I'd worry about WWE offering you a job!
Jadd Naamani has some WrestleMania booking suggestions:
Yo Andy...awesome column man. I dig it (kinda like the Macho Man, but not as roided up). I got some WM24 predictions (but more a wishlist) of what I'd like to see and might be a good idea, so I figured I'd run them by you.
WWE Title: HHH vs Cena (I'd honestly rather Orton vs Cena...it's the perfect atmosphere to blow off the feud, but I think this is the second best alternative)
World Title: Taker Vs Edge (Taker is the only believable winner in the Chamber, mainly bc Batista has been done to death. P.S. How does Big Titty V get in this match and no CM Punk?)
US Title: MVP vs Hardy (and if Hardy doesn't go over here, I quit wrestling)
Women's Title: Beth Phoenix Vs Mickie James Vs Maria Vs Melina (why NOT have a 4 woman match with girls that can actually go? Well, minus Maria, but she needs her Playboy rub...pun intended)
Career Threatening Match: Flair vs Kennedy w/HBK as special referee (I know the rumored opponent is HBK, which is a classic match. But I think Kennedy could really use the momentum and the boost -- this is going to be a HUGE rub. After 2 failed attempts at pushes (one because of injury, the other because of stupidity), Kennedy has earned his stripes. He needs to go over here, even if it's shenigans where Kennedy knocks HBK out or something. Kennedy gets the rub, Flair retires, and if need be you have more fuel to the HBK/Kennedy fire..or something to come back to later on. It gives HBK something to do, too, plus he has connections with both guys.
Money in the Bank Match: Jeff Hardy Vs CM Punk Vs Shelton Benjamin Vs Chris Jericho Vs JBL Vs Kane **if there's 8 people, add in Rey and Batista** (I want Hardy to go over here, and cash in his MitB at Summerslam and win the title. Only issue is the IC Title...they need to get it off of him by then. I say when he wins MitB, strip him of the IC Title since he has a guaranteed World Title shot. Hold a tourney for the IC Title which will bring prestige and meaning back to the belt, and also show Hardy as almost being above the IC Title in main event status since he can challenge for a world title).
World Tag Titles: Rhodes/Holly Vs The Dervish Vs Kendrick/London Vs Carlito/Santino (I only wish Kendrick and London could go over here since they OWNED Smackdown...but they've been way too buried and they're not believable now. But it'd make for a good underdog story, ya know? If they can't get it..I say Carlito/Santino since they're building up to them as champs anyway).
WWE Tag Titles: Miz/Morrison Vs Moore/Wang Vs Jesse/Festus Vs The Edgeheads (definitely have the Edgeheads go over here if they don't already have the titles. I'd say it makes the La Familia look more powerful, but that would mean Edge would have to go over Taker, and I don't think it's smart for Taker's streak to end....although it'd make a God out of Edge)
Annual McMahon Match: Vince/Big Show Vs Hornswaggle/Finlay (Big Show went out a heel, have him come back a heel in the blow off feud for the Hornswaggle/Vince angle. Once the angle is done and over with, have him head over to Smackdown and contend with Taker for the title)
So...what do you think dude?
Not a bad card. The only real beef is that I don't like the idea of Shawn Michaels not actually wrestling on the card. Other than that everything looks good, although I seriously doubt the World Tag Title Match would happen. The WWE Tag Team Title Match could though, although I wouldn't be surprised to see Big Daddy V & Mark Henry and Tommy Dreamer & Colin Delaney (and maybe Deuce'n'Domino just because even though they are jobbers) and make it a Tag Team Turmoil Match.
The Shimmy Likes It Raw!
What's on tap for tonight's show?
Steel Cage Match: Mr. McMahon vs. Hornswoggle; Hmm. Mr. McMahon. Steel Cage. February. I wonder if Mr. McMahon might have a BIG surprise in store for Horny.
Playboy vs. Santino, Which Will Maria Choose? It's a tough decision I know, but we'll get our answer tonight!
The Road to WrestleMania has no more pit stops! We've cleared the last PPV before WrestleMania, now the next six weeks are just build for the big show. Will we get some official matches this far out? We'll find out tonight!
There is a Tide in the Affairs of Men
One Tree Hill has seemingly hit it's stride this season as we had our third good episode in a row this week. Go read An Unkindness of Ravens to read all about it.
And that's it for this week. Happy President's Day, everybody! Until next week, don't die. Clark…out.
