411 PPV Preview: WWE Unforgiven 2008

WWE UNFORGIVEN 2008

EVENT HISTORY: This is the eleventh annual installment of Unforgiven, beginning April 26, 1998 as “In Your House: Unforgiven”. Each following installment of Unforgiven has been held in September. There have been six world title changes at Unforgiven pay per views. They were:

*1999: HHH def. The Rock, Mankind, Kane, The Big Show, and The British Bulldog
*2001: Kurt Angle def. Steve Austin
*2003: Goldberg def. HHH
*2004: HHH def. Randy Orton
*2006: John Cena def. Edge
*2007: Dave Batista def. Rey Misterio, Jr. and The Great Khali

There will be six matches on this year’s Unforgiven, the fewest of any of the 11 annual pay per views. The pay per view will be broadcast live on pay per view from The Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH. It will be a tri-branded pay per view featuring RAW, Smackdown!, and ECW, with the respective titles from each brand being defended in “scramble matches.” There will be two other title matches; a Diva’s Title match as well as a RAW World Tag Team Title match. An “unsanctioned” match is the sixth match on the card.

WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: CODY RHODES and TED DiBIASE, JR. (c) vs. CRYME TYME
Background: Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, Jr. are two-time World Tag Team Champions. Their current reign began on August 11, 2008, defeating the team of John Cena and Dave Batista. Cryme Tyme were released from WWE on September 2, 2007. They returned to the promotion on March 31, 2008. On the August 18, 2008 episode of RAW, Cryme Tyme stole the tag team title belts from Rhodes and DiBiase, Jr.

Match up: Rhodes and DiBiase have shown that their unique position of being the sons of legitimate pro wrestling superstars gives them experience beyond their years. Rhodes and DiBiase have gelled very well in their short time together, both in the ring and in promos. They work effectively as heels, utilizing the basic, effective offense that their fathers used in the ring to set up their own highly efficient finishers. Cryme Tyme’s offense tends to be more power based and crowd pleasing, but Shad and JTG work together very well. They are a throwback to teams of the past in the sense that they always know where each other are in the ring and can rally the fans behind them with offense or simple cheerleading from the corner. Expect to see Rhodes and DiBiase to use their teamwork and low-risk offense to attempt to cut off the ring and negate the power advantage held by Cryme Tyme, particularly Shad Gaspard. Cryme Tyme, on the other hand will be attempting to force a quicker pace and draw the champions into trying to keep up with them.

Outcome: Rhodes and DiBiase, Jr. will be highly motivated to retrieve their title belts from Cryme Tyme. Cryme Tyme’s experience in high profile matches is somewhat limited, while Rhodes and DiBiase, Jr. are familiar with the spotlight via watching their fathers and a previous short tag team title reign. Expect Cryme Tyme’s tendency to play to the crowd a little too much to cost them the match here, as the champions will retain and regain possession of their titles.

DIVAS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: MICHELLE McCOOL (c) vs. MARYSE

Background: Michelle McCool is the first and current WWE Divas Champion, winning the belt at Great American Bash 2008 against Natalya on July 20, 2008. Michelle McCool defeated Maryse by submission on the July 25, 2008 Smackdown!. Maryse, Victoria, and Natalya defeated Michelle McCool, Cherry, and Maria on the August 8, 2008 Smackdown!. Natalya and Maryse defeated Michelle McCool and Maria in a tag team match on the August 15, 2008 Smackdown!. Michelle McCool saved Maria from an attack by Maryse and Natalya on the August 22, 2008 Smackdown!. Maryse and Natalya defeated McCool and Maria on the August 29, 2008 Smackdown! when Maryse pinned Maria. Michelle McCool and Maryse had a stare down following Maryse’s victory over Maria on the September 5, 2008 Smackdown!.

Match up: Michelle McCool has proven to be a competent wrestler, separating herself from most of the Divas on the Smackdown! roster in terms of in-ring talent. She will attempt to wear down Maryse in an effort to utilize her Heel Hook finisher. Maryse will attempt to embarrass McCool as much as hurt her during the course of the match and work towards finishing the match with her DDT finisher.

Outcome: McCool is on the way to establishing herself as the top Diva on Smackdown, and a sufficient counterpart to Mickie James and Beth Phoenix on RAW. Maryse has been a nuisance for her for the last six weeks or so, but expect Michelle McCool to retain her title on pay per view and move on to her next challenger.

UNSANCTIONED MATCH: CHRIS JERICHO vs. SHAWN MICHAELS

Background: Chris Jericho eliminated Shawn Michaels from the 2003 Royal Rumble. Shawn Michaels and Jeff Hardy defeated Christian and Chris Jericho on the February 17, 2003 RAW. Shawn Michaels defeated Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 19, but Jericho low-blowed Michaels after the match. Booker T and Shawn Michaels defeated Chris Jericho and Triple H on the April 7, 2003 RAW. Triple H, Ric Flair, and Chris Jericho defeated Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, and Booker T at Backlash 2003. Chris Jericho defeated Shawn Michaels on the July 21, 2003 RAW after repeated interference from Evolution. Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho defeated Dave Batista and Ric Flair on the November 24, 2003 RAW when Jericho superkicked Michaels who fell onto Batista for the pin. Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho defeated Christian and Tyson Tomko on the September 13, 2004 RAW. Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels wrestled to a no contest on the September 20, 2004 RAW. Christian and Tyson Tomko defeated Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels on the September 27, 2004 RAW. Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, and Chris Benoit defeated Edge, Christian, and Tyson Tomko on the January 24, 2005 RAW. John Cena, Hulk Hogan, and Shawn Michaels defeated Christian, Chris Jericho, and Tyson Tomko on the June 27, 2005 RAW. Jeff Hardy, Shawn Michaels, and Chris Jericho defeated JBL, Umaga, and Snitsky on the February 4, 2008 RAW. Shawn Michaels superkicked Chris Jericho during the Highlight Reel on the April 14, 2008 RAW. Chris Jericho accused Shawn Michaels of faking his knee injury suffered against Batista at Backlash 2008 on the April 28, 2008 RAW. Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho defeated John Morrison and The Miz on the May 5, 2008 RAW. Jericho admitted he believed Michaels on the May 12, 2008 RAW, only to be superkicked by Michaels. Shawn Michaels defeated Chris Jericho at Judgment Day 2008. Shawn Michaels defeated Chris Jericho wrestled to a double disqualification on the May 26, 2008 RAW. Chris Jericho dedicated his Intercontinental title reign to Shawn Michaels on the June 2, 2008 RAW. Chris Jericho attacked Shawn Michaels on the June 9, 2008 RAW during the Highlight Reel. Chris Jericho taunted Shawn Michaels on the June 23, 2008 RAW, causing Michaels to come out and confront Jericho, but fell on the table and hit his eye. Shawn Michaels distracted Chris Jericho at Night of Champions 2008 to cost him the Intercontinental title against Kofi Kingston. Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels had confrontations on the June 30, July 7, and July 14, 2008 episodes of RAW leading to a grudge match at Great American Bash. Chris Jericho defeated Shawn Michaels in a bloody grudge match at Great American Bash 2008. Chris Jericho declared Shawn Michaels to be retired due to an eye injury suffered during their match on the July 21, 2008 RAW. Shawn Michaels brought his wife, Rebecca, to the ring to announce his retirement on the August 17, 2008 RAW, but she was accidentally punched by Shawn Michaels. Shawn Michaels begged Chris Jericho for a match at Unforgiven on the August 24, 2008 RAW, with Jericho eventually agreeing. Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho brawled at their contract signing on the September 1, 2008 RAW.

Match up: Jericho and Michaels have consistently been two of the top in ring performers in professional wrestling for a very long time. They have an excellent chemistry with each other that has been developed through several lengthy feuds, including their current six-month program. They know each other’s style, their pacing, and their mindset in the ring. Given that this is an unsanctioned brawl as opposed to a true match, expect much of the fluid chain wrestling and acrobatics that each man can be identified for to be left behind in favor of an even more intense brawl than we saw from them at this summer’s Great American Bash. Jericho’s accidental punch of Michaels’ wife has dialed up the intensity very quickly. Shawn’s triceps injury suffered in the brawl at the contract signing gives Jericho another weak spot to attack during the match, but Michaels will be a man possessed in trying to fulfill his promise of “an eye for an eye”.

Outcome: This feud has become legendary over the last few months, as we have seen an evolution of Chris Jericho’s character and possibly the final significant chapter of Shawn Michaels’ career being written. Jericho’s unyielding desire to equal and surpass Shawn Michaels will allow him to be more brutal than ever in a no holds barred environment. He’ll do everything in his power to put HBK out for good. Unfortunately for him, it won’t be enough. Don’t bet against a man defending his family, and expect to see Michaels be the only man walking away from this encounter.

ECW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP SCRAMBLE MATCH: MARK HENRY (c) vs. CHAVO GUERRERO, JR. vs. MATT HARDY vs. FINLAY vs. THE MIZ

History: Mark Henry is the reigning ECW Heavyweight Champion, winning the title on June 29, 2008 at Night of Champions in a three way match against Kane and The Big Show. Mark Henry has feuded with Matt Hardy in recent weeks, defending the ECW Heavyweight Championship successfully against him at Summerslam and on the following edition of ECW. Chavo Guerrero, Jr. is a former ECW Heavyweight Champion. Finlay, The Miz, and Matt Hardy will each be attempting to win their first Heavyweight Championship-level title, ECW or otherwise. Matt Hardy qualified for the match by defeating John Morrison. Chavo Guerrero, Jr. qualified for the match by defeating Tommy Dreamer. The Miz qualified for the match by defeating Evan Bourne. Finlay qualified for the match by defeating Mike Knox.

Match up: The rules to the scramble matches at Unforgiven have been explained, changed, re-explained, and re-re-explained. The match itself will be twenty minutes long. A new participant will join the Scramble every five minutes. During this time, any participant in the match that scores a pinfall or submission (even if it is not against champion Mark Henry), he will become the “interim” champion, but will not be officially recognized in ECW title history. He will hold the title of “interim” champion until another pinfall or submission is scored on any participant of the match. The final participant to score a pinfall or submissions will be the ECW Heavyweight Champion. The number of pinfalls and submissions scored by a superstar are irrelevant – only the final pinfall or submission counts. The chaotic nature of the match certainly plays to the favor of the arguable number one contender, Matt Hardy, whose WWE career has been defined by defying odds and chaotic situations such as TLC matches. Finlay and Chavo Guerrero, Jr. have the most experience in professional wrestling, and will look for opportunities towards the end of the match to reduce the odds of someone scoring a pin or submission after them and gaining the title. The Miz stands to have the most to gain from this match and will, along with Matt Hardy, probably be the most reckless and borderline desperate, attempting to score as many pinfalls as possible. The champion, Mark Henry, will put to use his significant power advantage to wear down as many of his challengers as possible before his own stamina becomes an issue. He will also have Tony Atlas at ringside to help protect his championship as much as possible in this situation.

Outcome: The match seems to come down to two legitimate possibilities for winners. Either Matt Hardy will finally break through and grab the brass ring that has eluded him for years, or Mark Henry will put an emphatic stamp on his ECW title reign by surviving four challengers at once. As has been the case in recent history, expect Tony Atlas to be the difference as Mark Henry retains.

WWE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP SCRAMBLE MATCH: TRIPLE H (c) vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN vs. JEFF HARDY vs. MVP vs. “THE” BRIAN KENDRICK

History: Triple H is the reigning WWE Heavyweight Champion, winning the title on April 27, 2008 at Backlash in a 4-way match against champion Randy Orton, John Cena, and John Bradshaw Layfield. Triple H was drafted to Smackdown! on June 23, 2008. Shelton Benjamin is the current United States Champion, winning the title on July 20, 2008 at the Great American Bash against Matt Hardy. Shelton Benjamin qualified for the match by defeating Fit Finlay. Jeff Hardy qualified for the match by defeating The Great Khali. MVP qualified for the match by defeating Festus. Brian Kendrick qualified for the match by winning a 10 man Battle Royal.

Match up: The defending champion, Triple H, is likely the best suited of any of the three heavyweight champions to the scramble match. His experience, along with his ability to adapt and excel in any given match type (Hell In A Cell, Three Way, Fatal 4-Way, Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, Ironman Match) will give him an advantage. Also working in his favor is the fact that he is the only world champion, past or present, involved in this match up. Shelton Benjamin, Jeff Hardy, and MVP have all held either Intercontinental or United States gold, and Brian Kendrick was half of one of the longest reigning tag team champions of all time with Paul London. However, none of them have competed as often and with as much success on a main event stage as Triple H. In order to combat Triple H’s experience and mental advantages, look for Shelton Benjamin to assert his pure athleticism, a strategy that worked for him in defeating Triple H on RAW in 2004. MVP is overflowing with confidence and, like Benjamin, has the athleticism to excel in this environment. Jeff Hardy, like his brother Matt in the ECW Scramble, has made a career out of succeeding in chaotic environments with reckless behavior. The dark horse in this match will be Brian Kendrick. Vastly undersized by WWE standards and getting his very first exposure to anything similar to a main event, Kendrick possesses the one thing that no other man in any of the scramble matches possesses: experience in scramble matches. While the rules in the Ring of Honor cage and tag team scrambles were somewhat different, the chaotic environment remains constant.

Outcome: It will be difficult for all involved to overcome the experience of…Brian Kendrick. Brian Kendrick has been able to excel in this very match type before and should turn in a superb showing on his way to…being the last man pinned by Triple H. All five men in this match are gifted performers, but it has yet to be proven that any of them are ready to ascend to the level of Triple H. Expect Triple H to be the second champion to retain his title in the scramble matches.

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE SCRAMBLE MATCH: CM PUNK (c) vs. REY MISTERIO, JR. vs. JOHN BRADSHAW LAYFIELD vs. DAVE BATISTA vs. KANE

History: CM Punk is the reigning World Heavyweight Champion, on the June 30, 2008 edition of RAW, defeating Edge after cashing in his Money in the Bank title shot. All five participants in this match have held either the World Heavyweight Title, WWE Heavyweight Title, or ECW Heavyweight title. CM Punk has successfully defended his title against John Bradshaw Layfield, Batista, and Kane. Rey Misterio, Jr. is returning from injury at this pay per view. John Cena was originally scheduled to be the fifth man in the Scramble, but a neck injury forced him to be replaced by Misterio. There were no qualifying matches for this scramble, as all participants were announced by Mike Adamle on the August 18, 2008 edition of RAW. Rey Misterio was added as Cena’s replacement on the August 25, 2008 edition of RAW.

Match up: Boasting five participants with a total of 8 heavyweight title reigns between them, this is arguably the most talented group of any of the three scramble matches. CM Punk is a primarily technical wrestler, JBL is a classic brawler, Kane and Batista employ astounding power attacks, and Rey Misterio, Jr. uses speed and aerial attacks to make up for his lack of size. The diversity of styles in this match should provide an opportunity for each man to shine at various moments of the match. Having the odds stacked against him in a match that doesn’t require him actually losing to lose his title won’t rattle CM Punk, as he has been scraping by with wins in his title reign and is accustomed to being perceived as an underdog. Likewise, Rey Misterio, Jr. has made a career out of defeating much larger men and beating the perception of being too small to compete in a heavyweight landscape. Kane’s mental instability has cost him several key main event matches and title opportunities throughout his career, and this could well be his last shot at a major championship. For John Bradshaw Layfield, he will be looking to overcome his recent frustrations of being unable to defeat CM Punk and walk out with his second World Heavyweight Championship. Like Kane, this could well be his last true main event run. Batista will be looking to power his way to a fourth World Heavyweight Championship, proving that the seasoning he received from Ric Flair and Triple H while in Evolution was indeed valuable. CM Punk will be targeted early and often once he is in the match, and will need all of his skill and survival tactics to escape with his title.

Outcome: While CM Punk has been able to survive his title defenses thus far, it will be extraordinarily difficult for him to retain under these conditions against a group as talented as the one he will be facing. The best bet to walk out with the title will be Batista, further frustrating John Bradshaw Layfield at his own inability to succeed in main events and leaving Kane and Rey Misterio, Jr. to feud while Punk attempts to regain his title.

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