WWE Night of Champions (June 2008)

Original Airdate: June 29, 2008

From Dallas, Texas; Your Hosts are Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler (RAW), Jim Ross and Mick Foley (Smackdown), Mike Adamle and Tazz (ECW)

Opening WWE Tag Team Title Match: John Morrison and Miz v Finlay and Hornswoggle: Morrison starts with Finlay, and Finlay starts teeing off on him early. Short-clothesline gets two, and a bodyslam sets up an elbowdrop, but John reverses a turnbuckle smash, and Finlay ends up on the outside. Morrison dives after him with a plancha, but ends up crotching himself on the ring skirt somehow, so Miz comes over to help double team Finlay. That leaves Hornswoggle open to gang up on, but Finlay saves, and uses Hornswoggle as a bowling ball to clean house on the champions. The dust settles on Miz and Finlay, with the champs hitting a tandem stomachbreaker for two, and starting to cut the ring in half from there. Hornswoggle gets the tag and blitzes Miz with offense, even managing a wheelbarrow bulldog for two before getting clobbered by Morrison. They cut the ring in half on Hornswoggle, but Morrison gets cocky, and loses control of the little guy. That allows Finlay to get the hot tag, and a 2^nd rope flying dropkick is worth two. Rolling fireman's carry slam follows, and a Celtic Cross sets up the Tadpole Splash from Hornswoggle, but John manages to slam him off the top to retain at 8:48. Moving right along then. ½*

WWE United States Title Match: Matt Hardy v Chavo Guerrero: It's a weird day when Matt Hardy is the big guy in a match. Feeling out process to start, with Matt able to hit a bodyslam to set up a fistdrop for one. Backdrop follows, and a corner clothesline sets up a bulldog, but Guerrero manages to slip free, and he clips the knee. Chavo goes to work on it, but Matt manages to fight him off long enough to hit a bulldog for two, so Guerrero sweeps the leg. He keeps working the knee on the mat before going up with a flying somersault senton splash, but Matt moves, and blasts him with a clothesline to buy time. Hardy starts mounting a comeback, but the bad wheel is slowing him down, and messing up his timing (kayfabe). Chavo tries a backslide, but Matt counters with a Side Effect for two, and he manages a 2^nd rope flying elbowsmash for two. Back up to the middle, but this time Chavo yanks him down, and slaps on a half-crab. Hardy is able to make the ropes to save himself, but Chavo blocks the Twist of Fate, so Matt shifts to a DDT for two instead. Twist, but Chavo blocks again, and takes him downtown for another half-crab. Matt makes the ropes, so Chavo grabs the leg again, but Hardy pops off a leg-feed enzuigiri to buy time. Unfortunately for him, he can't follow up, and Guerrero grabs him for a rolling vertical suplex - Chavo getting two alarms, but the third countered with the Twist at 9:23. This was okay, with Guerrero dutifully working the leg, and Hardy doing a solid job of selling it throughout. **

ECW Title Triple Threat Match: Kane v Big Show v Mark Henry: First fall wins. The way the refs keep holding the belts up off center tonight is really annoying me. Show gets sandwiched in the corner early on, allowing Kane to dropkick Henry's knee, and Mark takes a spill to the outside. Kane turns his attention back to Show, but Show has recovered enough to clothesline him, and he unloads in the corner. Kane manages a DDT for two, but Show tosses him over the top, where Henry... doesn't do anything. It's kind of weird to think that all three of these guys were active ten years before this, and all three are still active ten years later. Show and Henry measure each other in the ring for a bit, as suddenly trainers run down to check on Kane. Did I miss him getting hurt in there? I didn't see him taking any especially notable bumps. Show works Mark over in really slow, dull fashion, but Henry manages to block the Chokeslam, and then end up knocking each other out on a double clothesline spot. That allows Kane to dive in with a flying clothesline on Henry, and he whips Mark into a big boot from Show. Kane and Show work together to hit a tandem chokeslam, but then can't decide who should get the pin, and end up fighting. Kane uses a leg-feed enzuigiri to set up a flying clothesline, but Show catches him in the Chokeslam for two. Show with an ugly suplex for two, but a trip to the top rope takes too long, and Kane suplexes him down - only for Henry to rush over with a splash on the champion for three at 8:19. This was so forgettable that I'm already having a tough time remembering anything about it. ½*

World Tag Team Title Handicap Match: Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes v Ted DiBiase: The idea here is that DiBiase is supposed to bring a mystery partner, but the guy doesn't show up, so they decide to make it a Handicap match instead. So, if Ted wins, I guess his partner gets a free ride to the belt. You know, if he ever bothers to show up. Bell sounds, but Cody immediately turns on his partner with a DDT, and DiBiase pins Holly at 1:34 - forming a new team with Rhodes instead. I think Cody may be the only person in history to beat himself for a title, which may give new meaning to the term 'masturbatory booking.' This was just an angle, but it was great. That's how you turn on a guy! So much better and more logical than doing a fifteen minute match before doing that same finish. DUD

WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Chris Jericho v Kofi Kingston: That oval belt worked in the context of the Attitude Era, but looks wrong outside of that bubble. Jericho's another one that's been active forever. Kofi tries to go all Karate Kid on Jericho at the bell, but Chris responds by slapping him across the face. He tries tossing Kingston out of the ring, but Kofi literally bounces back, and sends Jericho out. Kingston blasts him with a baseball slide to set up a plancha, and a flying bodypress gets him two on the way back in. Kingston keeps on him in the corner, but Chris manages to dump him over the top, and he follows to ram his challenger into the apron a few times. Back in, Jericho rattles the ring with a cross corner whip, and a vertical suplex gets him two. Chris with a backbreaker into a backbreaker submission, but Kofi escapes, so Jericho dropkicks him instead, then hits a straddling ropechoke. Abdominal stretch is applied, but Kofi manages to hiptoss free, so Chris uses a drop-toehold to get him down for some choking. To the top for a side superplex, but Kofi topples him on the way down for two, and starts making a comeback - which makes some dude in the crowd who looks like Travis Bickle unbelievably happy. Jericho tries for the Walls, but Kingston counters with a cradle for two, and a senton splash gets two. Rana for two, so Jericho throws a clothesline to shake him off, and he adds a bodyslam to set up the Lionsault. Liontamer, but Shawn Michaels runs out of the crowd, and Jericho gets distracted - allowing Kingston to hit the Trouble in Paradise at 11:01! A little sleepy, but solid work here. **

WWE Women's Title Match: Mickie James v Katie Lea Burchill: Burchill quickly hooks a rollup for two, followed by a backslide for two, and a schoolgirl for two. Mickie responds by taking her down and holding a waistlock, then shifting into her own rollup for two when Katie tries to escape. Mickie goes up, so Burchill bails to the outside to distance herself, and she sweeps James off of her feet when Mickie goes after her. James fights her off and hits a seated dropkick for two, so Burchill bails to the outside again, and manages to rip at Mickie's arm when she goes after her. Katie is able to follow up with a hammerlock suplex this time, and she keeps after the part by throwing Mickie into the corner shoulder-first. Kick to the arm gets two, and she works an armbar, but Mickie uses a Thesz-press for two, so Burchill single-arm DDTs her for two. Katie with a corner whip, but a charge hits boot, and Mickie flings her with a headscissors takedown. The champ makes a comeback, so Katie desperately latches on with a fujiwara armbar, but Mickie armdrags her way out. Burchill is able to turn the tide by keeping the hurt on the arm/shoulder, but James back flips out of a side suplex, and plants her with a jumping DDT to retain at 7:18. It took a while to find its footing, but once it settled into Burchill working the arm it was fine. *

World Heavyweight Title Match: Edge v Batista: Batista knocks the smaller champion around in the early going, so Edge forces him into a chase to snag the high ground - only to miss a baseball slide, and get his face smashed into the apron. Batista with a backelbow for two on the way back in, and a corner whip gets two. Snapmare sets up a seated running boot, and a jackhammer is worth two. Batista has got some energy tonight! Clothesline knocks Edge over the top, but he manages to send Batista into the post out there, and he lands that baseball slide this time - knocking Batista all the way into the laps of the announcers. That was a quality sell. Batista beats the count, so Edge puts the boots to him, and hits a straddling ropechoke, then dumps him back to the outside, but Batista beats the count again anyway. Edge hits him with a swinging neckbreaker for two, and he grounds his challenger in a chinlock, but Batista manages to power out - only to take a drop-toehold into the middle turnbuckle when he charges. Edge unloads in the corner, and hits another neckbreaker for two, then works another chinlock. Batista powers out and goes for the front-powerslam, but Edge escapes, and hooks a sunset flip for two. Clothesline follows, but Batista knocks him off the top rope as the champ goes up, and he whacks him with a clothesline. There's three middle aged women in dresses standing together in the crowd who look so out of place, like they were looking for a Color Me Mine, and accidentally walked in here. They look to be enjoying themselves, though. Batista starts making a comeback, and hits a spear for two, but Edge escapes the Batista Bomb, so the challenger front-powerslams him instead. Bomb, but Edge counters with the Impaler for two. Spear, but Batista blocks with a well placed big boot, and he goes up for a dive, but Edge blocks with a dropkick! That leaves both guys down, and Vickie Guerrero joins us at ringside as they fight to beat the count. Edge charges with another spear, but Batista sidesteps, and hits a spinebuster for two - count broken when Vickie pulls the referee out! That allows Edge to try another spear, but Batista dodges him yet again, so Edge blatantly hits the referee to try and cause a DQ. Vickie instead summons another referee out, with Chavo Guerrero filling that role. Batista responds to that by press-slamming Vickie, but all of these distractions allow Edge to blast him with the title belt, and Chavo counts the pin at 16:49. This had its moments, but the middle was really dull, and I didn't especially care for that as a finish in a pay per view world title match - though it was creative and entertaining as a finish in general. * ¾

Main Event: WWE Title Match: Triple H v John Cena: It's ten years later, and these two are still wrestling each other on pay per views. Feeling out process to start, with HHH initially dominating, but Cena turning it around. He whips Hunter into the corner to set up a vertical suplex for two, but misses the second of two jumping shoulderblocks, and ends up on the outside. HHH follows to ram him into the apron before taking it back inside with his own vertical suplex, followed by a pair of elbowdrops. Pair of corner whips get two, but a dive off the middle rope is blocked when John lifts his boot, and he hits a pair of jumping shoulderblocks to set up the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but HHH fights him off. Game with a high knee and a kneeling facebuster, but Cena blocks the Pedigree, and hits a sloppy Throwback to set up a flying rocker dropper. Not even a cover after that? STFU, but Hunter blocks, so Cena goes to a side slam to set up Shuffle, but HHH blocks with another high knee, and hits a spinebuster. Pedigree, but Cena whips him into the corner to get out of it, and the champ takes a bump to the outside. He hurts his knee in the process, but Cena doesn't want to wait for him to the beat the count, jumping out and clipping the leg before dropping Hunter knee-first onto the steps. He bashes HHH's leg into the post on the way back in, but Hunter hides out in the ropes to avoid the STFU. Cena responds by clipping the leg again, and he quite nearly gets the hold on this time, but Hunter again makes the ropes before he can apply it. Nice sequence there, with HHH fighting tooth and nail to avoid it. Cena decides to go to the FU instead, but Hunter manages to counter to the Pedigree! He aggravates the knee on the landing though, and that delays the cover, only getting two out of it. Both guys stagger up, and Cena hits the FU for two as they do. That leads to a staggering slugfest, with Cena able to slam him to set up the Shuffle, and finally hitting it. FU, but HHH holds the ropes to block, and tries for the Pedigree, but John counters to the STFU! HHH nears the ropes as he fights through the pain, so Cena releases and drags him back to center ring - only to have the hold countered with a crippler crossface as he does! Cena powers to a vertical base in the hold to try turning it into an FU, but Hunter counters to the Pedigree to retain at 19:38. This was good stuff, with lots of drama, and strong selling by both. I actually liked this better than the WrestleMania 22 match. ***

BUExperience: Nothing over three-stars and no especially important title changes make this one a loser. Pass.

DUD