The Shimmy 09.01.08: Scrambled Analysis

Posted by Andy Clark on 09.01.2008

In the tradition of the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank previews, The Shimmy features a kayfabulous breakdown of the Unforgiven Championship Scramble Matches!

In less than a week at Unforgiven, WWE will unveil a new concept match and put it to the test in not one, not two, but THREE major championship matches. The three main World Championships will be defended in Championship Scramble Matches, an innovative, and admittedly initially confusing concept. This week The Shimmy aims to breakdown these matches, by both their participants and the rules.

The Rules

Five superstars will compete in total.

There is a 20 minute time limit.

Two randomly selected superstars will start the match against one another. Every five minutes a new superstar will enter the match, similar to the Elimination Chamber.

A pinfall or submission may be obtained at any point during the match no matter how many participants have entered. A fall may be scored on any other superstar in the match. Whoever scores the decision will be the "interim champion." It does not appear that there are disqualifications or count outs in these matches.

The superstar that is the "interim champion" when the 20 minute time limit has been reached will be recognized as the official champion.

ECW Championship Scramble

Mark Henry©: Mark Henry has proven over the past few months that he can be the dominating force that WWE always claimed he could be. No longer is he being squashed by the likes of Undertaker and Batista, now Mark Henry is definitely the "World's Strongest Champion." Henry has exerted his dominance over the likes of two of his opponents, Matt Hardy and The Miz, over the past few weeks. He will also have the decided size advantage over Chavo Guerrero. Finlay may be the one man who can stop Henry, especially if his shillelagh is legal.

Even with a size and strength advantage, a match such as this requires speed, something that Henry does not possess much of. Henry should fare very easily if he is one of the first competitors in the match and only has one or two other challengers to deal with, but once the bodies start accumulating he may be in trouble. Fortunately for Henry he has Tony Atlas out there to watch his back, making sure that Henry really doesn't have to be at too many places at once, and to keep an eye on the clock and provide the big man with some strategy.

Matt Hardy: Defeated John Morrison to qualify. Matt Hardy has come very close to winning his first World Title over the past month, seemingly having Mark Henry put away in seconds at SummerSlam, and being just short of defeating the champion on ECW a few days later. Many people might say that Hardy does not deserve another shot at the title, but he did win probably the hardest match on the ECW slate to qualify. He also defeated two of his fellow challengers (Miz and Finlay) to earn his title shot at SummerSlam, and he defeated Chavo Guerrero a few times earlier in the summer in defense of his United States Title.

Matt Hardy has proven that he can hang in multiman matches during his history of TLC Matches, but this time he will not have a tag team partner to watch his back. Still, he was in a similar situation in the aforementioned Fatal Four-Way Match from before SummerSlam and cam out victorious in what was a very chaotic match. Over the last month Hardy has really stepped his game up and he seems poised to snag his first World Championship. Of all five participants in the ECW Championship Scramble Matt Hardy has to be considered the favorite.

The Miz: Defeated Evan Bourne to qualify. The Miz very well may be the dark horse in this match. Normally Miz's tag team partner John Morrison is the one that gets these types of title opportunities, now The Miz receives his first ECW Title Match since Survivor Series. Over the past few months we have mainly seen The Miz in tag team matches, and much like Matt Hardy it will be interesting to see how he fares without someone watching his back. Given his lack of major singles success and the fact that he has been overshadowed by John Morrison, The Miz may actually benefit by being overlooked by his opponents. The Miz had a very impressive victory over the exciting Evan Bourne, and one should not forget that The Miz scored a clean pinfall victory over current World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk just a few months ago. Nobody is likely to pick The Miz in this contest, but don't be surprised if the "Chick Magnet" pulls off the biggest victory of his career.

Finlay: Defeated Mike Knox to qualify. JBL used to go on all the time about how Finlay has quested for a World Championship his entire career. Now he has his shot. This is Finlay's first World Championship opportunity since the Battle Royal on SmackDown a year ago that saw The Great Khali win the World Heavyweight Title. Finlay has both experience and toughness on his side in this match, but does he bring focus? Finlay has been criticized by Mike Knox for no longer being the tough nosed bastard that we all remember, and instead being the happy go lucky father of a leprechaun. There may be some truth to those rumors. When Finlay finally got his hands on Knox last week on ECW, he was not the brawling Irishman we've seen against the likes of William Regal and Bobby Lashley, but instead he was a rather, well, boring competitor that only defeated Knox thanks to the help of Hornswoggle. While Hornswoggle and his shillelagh will both be available during the Championship Scramble, one has to wonder if Finlay has lost some of that toughness that made him famous. You have to also wonder whether or not Mike Knox will be lurking while Finlay is competing in the ring.

Still, even a Finlay at 50% toughness is a hard person to beat. Finlay has been in the wrestling business for many years and those years have made him a very crafty person. We have seen in the past how Finlay has used every part of the ring as a weapon. Finlay is no doubt seen as a valuable part of the roster and perhaps a potential champion considering he was granted qualifying matches for both the ECW and the SmackDown Scrambles. Finlay actually came surprisingly close to winning the SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match back at No Way Out, a match that shares a similar type of tempo as this one. Perhaps that experience might help the Irishman finally secure his first World Championship victory.

Chavo Guerrero: Defeated Tommy Dreamer to qualify. The benefit for Chavo Guerrero is that he is, as JBL and Tazz would point out, a Guerrero. They are inherently bred for winning. That being said, that's pretty much all Chavo has in his favor. He wrestled arguably the easiest match of all the qualifiers and even Vickie Guerrero didn't think he was important enough to give him a shot to qualify for the SmackDown Scramble. He has been beaten numerous times by Matt Hardy and it is quite evident that he'd be killed by Mark Henry. The only reason Chavo Guerrero was ECW Championship was thanks to Edge, and he lost the title in nine seconds at WrestleMania. Even Bam Neely, who theoretically should be a help, has proven to be a terrible bodyguard. I suppose Chavo does possess multiman experience from his SmackDown Six days, but that won't be enough for the "Mexican Warrior" in this match. Chavo Guerrero will NOT join the likes of Bruno Sammartino, Bill Goldberg, or Mr. McMahon as two time World Champions.

World Heavyweight Championship Scramble

CM Punk©: Ever since winning the World Heavyweight Championship CM Punk has been on a quest for respect. He could gain that by winning the more star studded on the three Championship Scrambles. Despite being World Heavyweight Champion Punk is still kind of an unknown factor as we haven't seen as much of him as we have previous champions. He has victories over Batista, but none by pin or submission. He has fought Kane before but never beaten him. His last encounters with Rey Mysterio were way back in his independent wrestling days. JBL is the only one of his challengers that he has had any real success with, going 3-0 against him in singles action. JBL did defeat Punk, however, in a chaotic Handicap Match, one that had a time limit and may have a similar pace to this Scramble Match.

Punk has been shown to be a very vulnerable champion and he will be no more vulnerable than this Sunday. The only match that Punk has been in that can be comparable to this one was the Extreme Elimination Chamber Match, and in that match he was the first person eliminated. One thing that may benefit Punk is his time spent in Ring of Honor, a promotion that actually sticks to their time limits. For that reason Punk may be able to manage the clock a bit better than his other opponents, but that is a small consolation on what could be a very bad night for the "Straight Edge Superstar."

JBL: Since JBL's return to the ring at the end of last year he has not exactly had the best winning percentage, particularly in championship matches. It is questionable why JBL would even receive a title opportunity at Unforgiven as he was pretty decisively beaten by CM Punk in his previous two title matches. JBL will undoubtedly take advantage of this opportunity, though, or at least he will try to. JBL has proven to be a tremendous brawler, something that may be a strength in a match such as this, and he has also proven to be a true strategist. JBL did participate in a similar match to this when he was in the Raw Elimination Chamber Match at No Way Out, but he was the first person eliminated in that match. One thing that really does give JBL an edge that no one else has is his participation in another similar style match, the Hardcore Battle Royal from WrestleMania 2000. That match was arguably even more chaotic than the Championship Scramble promises to be as there were 13 competitors in that match and there were no staggered entrances. While JBL did not win that match he did get a few second Hardcore Title reign out of the deal. Might JBL get a World Heavyweight Title reign out of this one?

Batista: Over the past few months Batista has almost been the uncrowned World Heavyweight Champion. He has been screwed out of his past three title opportunities, he did most of the damage to Edge to resulted in CM Punk winning the World Title, and he scored what was arguably a bigger victory over John Cena at SummerSlam than CM Punk did against JBL. Batista has had experiences in the Elimination Chamber, making it to the final three in 2006 and to the final two back in February, so he has some experience with this staggered entrance type of match. Batista is far and away the most consistent superstar in this match, and he has physically dominated CM Punk, JBL, and Kane at every turn. The real test for Batista is whether his head will be fully into winning the World Heavyweight Title. He has been engaged in a personal rivalry with Kane after the "Big Red Machine" attacked Batista's friend Rey Mysterio, and Kane made sure to damage Batista's leg during their match last week on Raw. And then there is Mysterio himself. Batista has been reluctant to fight with Mysterio in the past, what about now that he is supposedly mentally damaged thanks to Kane? If Batista can keep his emotions in check he should be the solid favorite in this match but that could be a very big if.

Kane: Kane has been on a tear ever since being drafted to Raw and losing his ECW Title, the question this Sunday is whether or not that will work in his favor. In some cases Kane's aggressiveness has caused him to be disqualified, something that will apparently not be a factor during the Championship Scramble. In other cases that aggressiveness and lack of focus has caused him to be defeated such as in the No. 1 Contender's Fatal Four-Way from before the Great American Bash and his match with Chris Jericho a few weeks ago. When Kane is both focused and unleashed he could dominate this match, but the current circumstances around his apparent abduction of Rey Mysterio make him a bit of a target. In fact, pretty much all of his opponents have some sort of issue with Kane, notably Batista and Rey Mysterio. Will Kane be able to keep his eyes on the World Heavyweight Championship? Perhaps a better question is whether or not a championship victory will return Kane back to the more sane status he was at while ECW Champion. This Raw Championship Scramble is full of question marks and Kane may be the biggest, at least in terms of size.

Rey Mysterio: Rey Mysterio will not be the biggest question mark size wise, but he is certainly an unknown factor in this match. We have only seen Rey Mysterio in one match since his return from injury and subsequent drafting to Raw back in June. Since then he has been missing in action, supposedly due to Kane. Kane has said that Mysterio has been "metaphorically eviscerated" and that his spirit is dead. What in the world did Kane do to Rey Mysterio? What shape or frame of mind will Mysterio be in come Unforgiven? And shouldn't Mike Adamle have done a better job of finding out what the deal was with Rey before booking him into a championship match? The Rey Myserio we see on Sunday may be a very different Rey Mysterio from the one we have all known.

WWE Championship Scramble

Triple H©: Triple H has been a very dominant champion, not just during this title reign but over the course of his 12 World Title reigns. Triple H has been victorious in any number of stipulation matches: Hell in a Cell, Last Man Standing, Street Fights, Steel Cage Matches, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, and even the Elimination Chamber, a match that I have frequently compared to these Scrambles. In fact, Triple H has the best Elimination Chamber record of anybody, having won three of them. Triple H has also scored victories over Jeff Hardy and Shelton Benjamin, and he has beaten Brian Kendrick pretty decisively over on Raw. All things considered Triple H should be the favorite in this match.

That being said there are certainly some factors working against Triple H as well. First of all is that despite having beaten Hardy and Benjamin in the past, both men have beaten him as well. Triple H does not lose often so throwing in two men that have scored victories over him in the past is a bit of a curve ball. Triple H has never even faced MVP before which adds to the uncertain factor. Even Brian Kendrick, a guy that Triple H pretty much brushed off over on Raw, has a bit of a mental edge, coming out of Shawn Michaels' wrestling school. You think he didn't learn a thing or two about "The Game?" Triple H also has a very large adversary that is not in this match to worry about. Despite not competing in the Championship Scramble The Great Khali has made it known that he still intends to be WWE Champion, making his point by attacking Triple H last week on SmackDown. Is Triple H going to have to keep his eye on yet another superstar come Unforgiven?

MVP: Defeated Festus to qualify. This is MVP's chance to shine and earn that highest salary in SmackDown history. MVP had nearly a year long run with the United States Title and he has made the WWE Title his new goal. MVP is coming off a great series of matches with Jeff Hardy and he will be facing Triple H for the very first time. MVP has been a very consistent upper midcarder throughout his WWE career but now it is time for him to step up to the main events. MVP has proven in the past that he has the tools to do just that, it is only a matter of applying them. Aside from the proven winner in Triple H MVP should be the favorite in this match. The only thing that may get in MVP's way is his current rivalry with Jeff Hardy and Shelton Benjamin, but MVP proved during his feud with Jeff's brother Matt that he does not let personal animosity sway his professional goals.

Jeff Hardy: Defeated The Great Khali to qualify. There is no question that even with Jeff Hardy's 60-day suspension this spring that 2008 has been the breakout year for the "Charismatic Enigma." Hardy had a huge match for the WWE Title against Randy Orton in Madison Square Garden at the Royal Rumble and while he came up short in that match he managed to put the rest of WWE on notice. Since coming back from his suspension Hardy has been on fire and he has been particularly motivated since coming to SmackDown in the draft in June. There is no question that the biggest victory of Hardy's career was against Triple H at Armageddon last year, might he score another such victory during the Championship Scramble? At No Way Out Hardy almost scored another monumental victory in the Elimination Chamber, really standing out in that match even in a loss. I've compared the Chamber to the Scramble multiple times this column and for good reason. The pacing is similar with the staggered entrances, the only key difference (aside from lack of a chamber) is the time limit. If Hardy can strike quickly this may be his match. MVP has been right in his criticism of Hardy's recklessness costing him matches, however, as his high flying antics have cost him many times in the past, including the title match against Orton and in a match with MVP at SummerSlam. Jeff is going to have to balance his carefree nature just enough to win but not even to crash and burn if he is going to win his first WWE Title.

Shelton Benjamin: Defeated Finlay to qualify. For years Shelton Benjamin has been hailed for having great physical gifts but also criticized for not capitalizing on those gifts and making it into the main event. There was a time a few years ago where Shelton Benjamin defeated Triple H in three consecutive matches and had one of the longest Intercontinental Title reigns in recent memory. After that he sort of fell off the map and only popped up in relevant matches from time to time. It was his stint in ECW earlier this year that really seemed to recharge his batteries and his run on SmackDown has been great so far. The "Gold Standard" already lived up to his nickname by winning the United States Title and he has become one of the most consistently entertaining performers in WWE today, having great matches with the likes of both Hardys, Finlay, and even Triple H.

Though Benjamin has been on his game as an in ring performer as of late, there are still signs of the old Shelton. Last week when wrestling Triple H, Benjamin was hanging right in there with the WWE Champion, but one moment off the ball cost him. In a match as fast and furious as the Championship Scramble promises to be Benjamin cannot afford a slip of mind like that. Much like Jeff Hardy Benjamin has also shown that he likes to steal the show and sometimes those daredevil like antics can cost him big. Benjamin has made a name for himself in the multiman Money in the Bank Ladder Matches and yet he has never actually won one. During the Championship Scramble Shelton is going to have to keep his high risk maneuvers to a minimum if he finally wants to break that glass ceiling and add even more gold to his resume.

The Brian Kendrick: Outlasted Vladmir Kozlov, Curt Hawkins, Zach Ryder, Jimmy Wang Yang, Armando Estrada, Super Crazy, Funaki, Scotty Goldman, and Ryan Braddock in a Battle Royal to qualify. And now we come to the surprise of all the Championship Scramble Matches. For most of his career Brian Kendrick has been a midcarder or a tag team wrestler. When he was drafted from Raw back in June there was no reason to suspect that things would change. But things did change. Regular old Brian Kendrick became THE Brian Kendrick, enlisting the aid of his advisor Ezekiel Jackson and adopting a much more aggressive style. Kendrick escaped his qualifying Battle Royal unscathed thanks to the aid of Big Zeke and you better believe that that will be the plan come Unforgiven as well. Kendrick is so new to the main event scene that he may be able to surprise his four opponents. He is probably the quickest individual in this match which is saying a lot considering the talent involved, and speed may be one's greatest asset in this match. And just like CM Punk, Kendrick has experience in ROH and even participated in the Four-Way Iron Man Match to crown the first ever ROH Champion, a match that is in some ways comparable to this Scramble. On the outset Kendrick looks like an underdog, but it's entirely possible that come Sunday night The Brian Kendrick may be The WWE Champion.

There are many different variables to take into account when it comes to the Championship Scramble. As has been stated by the announcers on WWE's programming, the nature of these rules almost guarantees that we should see at least one new champion. Who will hold on to their gold? More importantly, who will win gold? In six days we will find out.

The Shimmy Likes It Raw!

What's on tap for tonight's show?

Lucas Scott is at the Tree Hill airport with two tickets to Las Vegas and he asked someone to marry him. Is it Peyton? Is it Brooke? Is it Lindsey? My money is on Lindsey which means it probably won't be.

What is the status of Dan? Is he alive or is he dead?

Mark Schwan has promised that someone will die this season, but who?

Oh yeah, there is wrestling on too. But a Raw without John Cena on a night where One Tree Hill returns and there is college football on and they better put on a damn good show.

Well that does it for this week's Shimmy. I'll be back next week, hopefully you will too. Until then, don't die. Clark…out.