411’s PPV Preview: Road to One Night Stand

Posted by Stuart James on 05.30.2008

Join me as I preview the one night when WWE goes Extreme, when I look forward to WWE's latest Pay-Per-View offering: One Night Stand 2008.

Welcome to 411's PPV Preview for WWE One Night Stand 2008, as WWE goes extreme for one night, providing a more unique wrestling card than usual. I'm Stuart James, filling in for Brad Borchardt this week, so join me as I look forward to One Night Stand, which is headlined by a feud coming full circle tonight, and a legend's career put at stake. Let's begin.


Batista vs. Shawn Michaels – Stretcher Match

By The Numbers:

Batista is 0-1 at One Night Stand. In 2007, he lost in a steel cage match to Edge, failing to win the World Heavyweight Championship in the process.

Shawn Michaels is making his One Night Stand debut.

Background: This feud began the night after Wrestlemania, after Shawn Michaels had retired Batista's former mentor, Ric Flair. Batista claimed that Michaels didn't do the right thing, and this led to an emotionally charged match at Backlash this year. Chris Jericho also got involved, stirring up trouble between the two, and inserting himself as special referee for the Backlash match. Shawn Michaels won that match after faking a knee injury, in order to catch Batista off guard. Soon after, Batista said "if you're not actually hurt, you will be", and HBK revealed to Jericho (prior to a Judgment Day match) that he was not hurt at all. Batista promised to injure Shawn Michaels, thus leading to the stretcher match at One Night Stand.

Matchup: A lot of people consider this one to be the sleeper match of the night, since Batista is on great form right now, Shawn Michaels always delivers, and these two generally work really well together. Look for Batista to try and injure the legs or possibly the back of Shawn Michaels, and for HBK to feign some more injuries, with Batista not buying any of it. It also wouldn't be too much of a surprise for Chris Jericho to make an appearance, or for one of the superstars to snap and take this too far, taking it into blood feud territory.

Outcome: Batista is very angry right now, and won't be put away in a hurry, whereas HBK should start praying again because the animal is out to hurt him. Logic should see Batista going over here, since HBK won the first match, but don't be surprised to see HBK go into the deep bag of tricks and use his own veteran skills to get around the monster. I'm going with Batista to take out HBK here, however.


John Cena vs. JBL – First Blood

By The Numbers:

John Cena is 1-1 for One Night Stand. In 2006, he lost the WWE Championship against Rob Van Dam in one of the most memorable matches of recent times. In 2007, he retained the WWE Championship, defeating The Great Khali in a Falls Count Anywhere match.

JBL is making his One Night Stand debut.

Background: This feud also began straight after Wrestlemania, as they both opted to enter the WWE Title race, competing at Backlash in a fatal-four way elimination match. Following this, the two began to engage in some heated arguments, which led to a match at Judgment Day, which was dominated by JBL, with Cena picking up an abrupt victory. Recently, Mickie James has gotten involved, as she has been interested in John Cena, so JBL has used this to manipulate Cena, even leading to some ambushes the past two weeks in a row.

Matchup: As with most First Blood matches, the psychology will see both men focusing on the head, and both men are brawlers, so expect a lot of punching. This one should be very different from Judgment Day (which is good), and is an environment which can mask both men's limitations and allow them to build a simple, effective story. Look for JBL trying to distract Cena's attention away long enough to hit some cheap shots to the face, in a match which will hopefully be not unlike their I Quit match at Judgment Day 2005.

Outcome: At this time, JBL doesn't need victories, whereas Cena is still at a critical point, as for the first time in three years he actually needs a few victories. JBL winning hurts Cena, whereas Cena winning hurts nobody. Even look for a Mickie James run in to help Cena, leading to Cena managing to bust JBL wide open. Either way, this should be a fun brawl, and a step up from their last pay-per-view effort.


Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga – Falls Count Anywhere

By The Numbers:

Jeff Hardy is 1-0 at One Night Stand. In 2007, he, along with his brother Matt, retained the World Tag Team Championships in a ladder match against the World's Greatest Tag Team, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas.

Umaga is making his One Night Stand debut.

Background: Just three weeks ago, Jeff Hardy returned to WWE television following a 60-day suspension, only to be confronted with William Regal. Regal said Hardy hadn't been punished enough, and put him into a match with Umaga, whom Hardy has had several problems with in the past. Hardy managed to win that match, but the rivalry would not end there as they would engage in another match the following week, ending via countout. That brings us to One Night Stand, where there will be no limits to where they go. As referred to earlier, these two have a huge history with one another, going way back to 2007, and no superstar has a better won-loss record against Umaga than Jeff Hardy has, pinning Umaga five times in his career.

Matchup: This one should be a typical encounter for them both, as they have tremendous chemistry together. Umaga will look like a beast, beating Jeff Hardy up viciously, while Hardy sells it brilliantly, making perfectly timed comebacks. The stipulations allow them to be as creative as they want, possibly with the match ending in some kind of big spot. Hardy will look to impress in order to win over any doubters (easier said that done) and Umaga will be looking to prove why he is a big player in WWE right now.

Outcome: Jeff Hardy is fresh off a suspension, and WWE seem to still want to push him highly, whereas Umaga has been treading water for a while, waiting for some kind of big storyline, so it makes sense for Hardy to go over here, leading him on to bigger and better things.


Big Show vs Tommy Dreamer vs CM Punk vs John Morrison vs Chavo Guerrero - Singapore Cane Match - Winner Becomes #1 Contender to the ECW Title

By The Numbers:

Big Show, John Morrison and Chavo Guerrero are all making their One Night Stand debut. However, John Morrison acted as a Lumberjack during the Kane vs. Mark Henry match from One Night Stand 2007.

Tommy Dreamer is 1-2 at One Night Stand. In 2005, he competed in the main event with The Sandman against the Dudleyz, but was pinned after being put through a flaming table. In 2006, Tommy Dreamer lost once again, as his team of himself, Terry Funk and Beulah McGillicutty was defeated in a hardcore match by the team of Edge, Mick Foley and Lita. In 2007, Tommy Dreamer was on the winning side, as he, CM Punk and The Sandman defeated the New Breed team of Elijah Burke, Matt Striker and Marcus Cor Von in a tables match. Assuming Dreamer competes at this year's One Night Stand, he'll be the only wrestler to have competed at all four so far.

CM Punk is 1-0 at One Night Stand. In 2007, he, Tommy Dreamer and the Sandman defeated Elijah Burke, Matt Striker and Marcus Cor Von in a tables match.

Background: This one all began just two weeks ago on ECW, when several people put their names forward to trying to become number one contender. CM Punk, Tommy Dreamer, Chavo Guerrero and John Morrison all put their names forward, and got rewarded with a tag team match. Following that match, the Big Show interfered, beating down his four already weakened opponents, declaring how he was going to become ECW Champion once again – thus leading to a Singapore Cane match this week. Following this week's ECW broadcast, current ECW Champion Kane had a staredown with the Big Show to close the show.

Matchup: This match should be a barrel of fun, with Chavo, Morrison and Punk bumping around the place like madmen, while Dreamer and Show go wild. Look for Dreamer to get the Cane first, and put it to good use, possibly before Show no-sells it and snaps it saying "I don't need no f'ng Cane", or something along those lines. Big Show should dominate, before the littler guys jump him to take him out, leaving the others to battle it out.

Outcome: The obvious choice would be Big Show to win, since he's bigger, the most over and Kane vs. Big Show would likely draw more money. However, there is any number of possibilities, as CM Punk has a history with Kane (becoming friends) while John Morrison and Chavo Guerrero both have history against Kane as enemies. In all likeliness, Big Show will probably take this match, however.


Melina vs Beth Phoenix - "I Quit" Match

By The Numbers:

Melina is 0-1 at One Night Stand. In 2007, she was defeated in a pudding match by Candice Michelle.

Beth Phoenix is making her One Night Stand debut.

Background: These two were once team-mates, heading into Wrestlemania XXIV, where they defeated the team of Ashley and Maria. However, dissention grew between them about a month ago, after Melina accidentally hit Beth with her boot, costing her the WWE Women's Championship. Beth would then go on to dismantle Melina after a match with Jillian Hall, seemingly completing the turn of Melina. This led to the first ever women's I Quit match in WWE history being signed for One Night Stand.

Matchup: This match should be a very interesting affair. The stipulations will likely favour Beth Phoenix, who can systematically destroy Melina with no chance of being disqualified. Meanwhile, Melina will likely wrestle looking for a way around the Glamazon, while probably using the No Disqualification rules to her advantage to level the playing field. This should be one of the better women's matches, given enough time, as both wrestlers are proven to be very efficient workers, and its certainly interesting to see how the stipulations play into things.

Outcome: It is commonplace that faces usually win I Quit matches, as I can't recall any, outside of The Rock vs. Mankind, where the face has lost. On the other hand, Beth saying I Quit could really hurt her credibility as a monster, and she's likely going to be moving on to face Mickie James for the women's title at Night of Champions, so look for her to win in a hard fought battle.


Triple H (c) vs Randy Orton - Last Man Standing - WWE Championship

By The Numbers:

Randy Orton is 0-2 at One Night Stand. In 2006, he was defeated by Kurt Angle via submission. In 2007, he was defeated by Rob Van Dam in a stretcher match, which is RVD's last PPV match to date.

Triple H is making his One Night Stand debut.

Background: This feud began, essentially, four years ago, and has been on and off since then, with brief feuds through 2006 with Rated RKO and D-X. However, this portion of the HHH/RKO saga began at No Mercy 2007, when Triple H defeated Randy Orton for the WWE Title, only for Randy Orton to win it back the exact same night in an epic Last Man Standing match. After being repeatedly deceived and outsmarted by Randy Orton, such as at Wrestlemania, Triple H finally defeated Orton at Backlash to become the WWE Champion. He then went on to successfully retain at Judgment Day three weeks ago, but Orton has gotten the best of HHH the past few weeks, leading to this Last Man Standing match: the feud fittingly coming full circle, surely ending at One Night Stand.

Matchup: Most WWE fans will tell you the exact same thing: that this match is as good as their No Mercy match, which was considered one of the best matches of 2007 from WWE. This one should be a brutal affair, and without either man wrestling previously in the night (unlike No Mercy), they could even take it a bit further. Look for some sick spots, as well as some great brawling throughout the match, and a lot of blood, as this feud almost certainly comes to a thrilling conclusion. Last Man Standing matches have generally been at a high standard the past year (with Umaga/Cena, Undertaker/Batista and HHH/Orton), so look for this one to follow that trend. Hopefully, it won't disappoint.

Outcome: Unless WWE really want to put Orton over, most people are expecting Triple H to walk out as champion, probably heading into summer feuds with the likes of John Cena. Three straight pay-per-view losses for Orton could really damage his credibility, but as long as he puts on an awesome performance at One Night Stand, he shouldn't hurt by the defeat, so look for Triple H to take the victory in this match.


Edge vs The Undertaker - TLC - World Heavyweight Championship - If Undertaker loses, he is fired

By The Numbers:

Edge is 2-0 at One Night Stand. In 2006, he teamed up with Mick Foley and Lita to defeat Terry Funk, Tommy Dreamer and Beulah McGillicutty in a hardcore match. In 2007, he successfully retained the World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Batista in a steel cage match.

The Undertaker is making his One Night Stand debut.

Background: This feud began prior to Wrestlemania, going as far back as last year when Edge cashed in Money in the Bank on Undertaker, and was built up as Edge knowing all of Undertaker's moves, thus leading to Undertaker needing to dig deep into his repertoire, pulling out new manoeuvres such as the gogoplata to defeat Edge. The Ultimate Opportunist has done everything in his power to take down the Undertaker in order to regain the World Heavyweight Championship from Undertaker, even going as far as to get General Manager Vickie Guerrero to strip ‘Taker of the title. Edge even recruited several superstars to his new stable, La Familia, in order to put more pressure on Undertaker, but thus far has failed to keep the Deadman down. Vickie Guerrero, however, announced a TLC match for One Night Stand – a match that Edge, undoubtedly, has more experience in – and put Undertaker's career on the line saying that if he doesn't win, he's fired.

Matchup: These two have awesome chemistry, as proven by their previous three matches. However, with the slow decline in quality, it was time to freshen it up, and making a TLC match is ideal. They will likely build a story based on Edge being more familiar in this environment, using all the tools around him to put himself at a greater advantage. The quality of this match will likely depend on how Undertaker adapts, and how much they're willing to risk – so look for Edge to mask this weakness by bumping a lot more than usual. Undertaker has been in a ladder match, with Jeff Hardy, where he did botch a few moves, so it will be interesting to see how it works out. If both men perform to their absolute best, this one should be their best match to date.

Outcome: Unless there's a swerve coming, its pretty obvious that Undertaker will be winning, and the only alternative is if Teddy Long comes out and re-hires ‘Taker straight after. However, this feud has been drawn out for a long time now, and while the matches have been great, I wouldn't be surprised for this one to end the feud, and we get new challengers from the Draft. In all likeliness though, Undertaker will probably win.

Match of the Night: It could really be one of several. The two obvious contenders are the main events, but that depends on whether: Randy Orton and Triple H can repeat the performance of No Mercy; how well Undertaker adapts to TLC. Having said that, the Falls Count Anywhere match and the Stretcher match could both be the sleeper matches for the night, and could sneak up and surprise us all. For me, I'm probably going to go with the TLC match, if we're given a good ending, and if not, the Last Man Standing match.

Trash of the Night: On paper, no matches really look bad, and the only trashes could be the Singapore Cane match, depending on how its booked, or the I Quit match, depending on how much time they get. But nothing really looks awful on this card, which makes me all the more optimistic.

Final Thoughts: WWE have been great on pay-per-view this year, with three awesome events to start the year with the Royal Rumble, No Way Out and Wrestlemania. From there, it's slowly dipped in quality, so look for them to bounce back. Some may say its gimmick overkill at One Night Stand, but it's not often that WWE do these matches, especially not on the same card, and makes for a welcome change instead of another pay-per-view of exact rematches. It looks to be a very solid card, with a few potentially great matches and no real filler. Look for this one to be much better than Judgment Day and probably Backlash, as several feuds come to a head at One Night Stand 2008.

Hope you all thoroughly enjoy WWE One Night Stand 2008, and make sure check out 411's Instant Access, with Scott Slimmer and co, straight after the event for immediate reactions and analysis to WWE's most extreme night of the year!