WWE Unforgiven (September 2008)

Original Airdate: September 7, 2008

From Cleveland, Ohio; Your Hosts are Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler (RAW); Jim Ross and Tazz (Smackdown); Todd Grisham and Matt Striker (ECW)

Opening ECW Title Championship Scramble Match: Mark Henry v Chavo Guerrero v Matt Hardy v Finlay v Miz: This is a new match type, and the idea is that two guys start, and every five minutes another guy enters. Any pinfalls or submissions along the way make you interim champion (though aren't officially counted as title reigns), and whoever is the current holder at the end of the time limit becomes the official champion. So, basically, it's like a big game of tag for the title. Hardy and Miz start, and I genuinely wonder how Miz was able to score a woman like Maryse while wearing those shorts, and that hairstyle. Maybe there's more to this Miz than meets the eye. They feel each other out for a while to start, until Miz misses a charge in the corner, and Matt drops him with a sitout powerbomb for two. Clothesline gets two, so Miz dumps him into the ropes to buy time, and capitalizes with the most overblown ropechoke spot of all time for two. Yeah, it's better that that move didn't become a fixture of his move set. Miz works a chinlock, but a trip to the top nearly ends badly when Matt pulls him off for a crucifix powerbomb, only for Miz to counter with a neckbreaker. Matt bails before a cover can be made, so Miz drags him in, but it only gets two by then, and here comes Chavo. He rushes in and hits Matt with a flying frogsplash right away to become interim champion at 5:33. I think actually stopping to award/announce each 'change' is stupid. Miz goes after him, but Chavo sends him to the outside with a koppou kick, and then dives after with a plancha. That allows Matt time to recover, and he hits Chavo with a bodyslam and an elbowdrop for two. Matt starts throwing clotheslines at everyone like he's Lex Luger in 1988, and the Side Effect finishes Chavo at 8:55. He then dumps Chavo over the top so he can focus his attention on Miz, and promptly goes to a chinlock to hold the line until Mark Henry (the official champion going into this) enters. Shouldn't he at least get last draw? All three guys gang up on Mark as he enters the ring, but Henry fights them all off, and starts throwing guys around like bags of garbage. Slam finishes Chavo at 11:52. Poor Chavo is everyone's bitch so far. Ric Flair is lucky Hulk Hogan didn't think of this gimmick back in WCW, or else Flair would have been jobbing six times in the same match. Henry dumps everyone so he can hold Chavo in a bearhug, but Matt dives off the top, so Mark simply lets Chavo off... so he can catch Matt in a bearhug instead! Ha! That goes on for literally the rest of the period, and here's Finlay to get things into gear. He goes after Mark with right hands, and a DDT is worth two. Another DDT gets two, but he gets trapped in that patented bearhug. Hardy saves, but Finlay thanks him with a backdrop driver at 16:16. Sadly for Finlay, Miz is ready and waiting with a flying dropkick as soon as he's back to his feet. He goes after Matt, but Hardy is ready with a Twist of Fate at 16:45. Hardy holds his ground with Henry, but as he's busy doing that, Chavo tries to sneak a fall on Miz with the frogsplash, and Matt is forced to dive for the save. That allows Henry to attack, and everyone gets slammed around, with Matt diving for last second saves to prevent a pinfall. Hardy fighting tooth and nail to prevent anyone from scoring a fall as time runs down is pretty great stuff. He manages to hold his ground that way, and runs the clock down at 20:06 to become the official champion! This wasn't a particularly good match, but the concept was interesting, and Hardy holding on for dear life at the end was some good stuff. * ¾

World Tag Team Title Match: Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase v Cryme Tyme: Cody and JTG start, but it quickly breaks down when DiBiase comes in without a tag, and the challengers clean house. Shad Gaspard then launches JTG over the top onto both champions, and they bring Ted in for another combo in the corner for two. Shad adds a bodyslam and an elbowdrop for two, but telegraphs a backdrop, and gets nailed. That allows the tag to Cody, but he misses a blind tag to JTG, and gets nailed with a slingshot clothesline for two. Cody responds by slapping him, but that doesn't settle well, and we've got a foot chase on the outside! That, of course, sends JTG right into a trap from the champions, and they go to work on him. Cody's got some really weird boots at this point in his career, like something leftover from the late 80s. The match drags a bit as the heat segment overstays its welcome, until Cody misses a flying moonsault to allow the hot tag to Shad, and Roseanne Barr the door! Shad goes for the kill on DiBiase, but Rhodes sneaks in with a DDT, and Ted hooks the leg - only for Shad to get into the ropes at two! Cody tries to keep it going, but Shad is ready with a clothesline, and the challengers go for a combo, but Ted saves. That allows Cody to hook JTG in a small package, and the champs retain at 11:35. Cryme Tyme lacked finesse, and Rhodes/DiBiase didn't really have the experience to help overcome those faults, but the match was energetic, and generally worked. And then afterwards, Manu debuts to help the champs beat Cryme Tyme down. I've never even heard of this dude, so I'm guessing he wasn't around for very long. The debut felt really poorly handled, like something off of Nitro in the mid-90s, where they act like the whole audience is supposed to know who this dude is. * ½

Unsanctioned Match: Shawn Michaels v Chris Jericho: Shawn charges in and tackles Chris to get us going right away, and he pulls her boot off to bash Jericho with. Michaels unloads with the boot until Jericho falls out of the ring, but Shawn chases after him, and they spill over the barricade. Shawn keeps pounding him out in the crowd, and uses a catapult to send Chris into the post as they head back to ringside. Shawn grabs a chair, but a wild swing misses, allowing Jericho to bash his face into an announce table. Chris then drops HBK face-first across the barricade, and adds a DDT on the floor for good measure. Chris pulls out a table next, and whacks Shawn with it as he's recovering, then uses the extra time that affords him to set it up. He tries a powerbomb through the table, but Michaels starts to counter, so Chris simply drops him onto the apron instead. Boy, he's a moody fuck tonight, ain't he? Back inside, Jericho goes to work with the chair, and uses a side suplex before wedging the weapon between two turnbuckles in the corner. Chris tries a cross corner whip into the chair, but Shawn turns it around, and sends Jericho into the opposite corner, shoulder-first. Chris responds by trying to suplex Shawn out of the ring and through the table, but Michaels hangs on, and sends him back in with a clothesline from the apron. Shawn follows with a jumping forearm, but instead of doing his usual routine, he instead elects to simply choke the life out of Jericho on the mat next! Love the intensity! I hate it when guys are supposed to be in the middle of a blood feud, but still run through their pre-programmed stuff like robots. With Jericho adequately lifeless, Shawn goes up for the flying elbowdrop, and it's Superkick time, but he decides not to do it. No... Chris hasn't suffered enough yet. I get what they're going for, but you could still do the kick, bro. Doesn't mean you have to cover. Shawn keeps hammering him, then latches on with a crippler crossface, but Chris manages to power to a vertical base, and send Shawn into that corner mounted chair from earlier to escape! Shawn is wobbly now, and Jericho takes full advantage as he hammers him with closed fists. Chris corner whips him into the chair, but Michaels rebounds with a Thesz-press, and adds a clothesline. Piledriver, but Jericho counters to the Walls, leaving Shawn angling for the ropes. He makes them, but Chris doesn't have to let him out of the hold since it's unsanctioned, so he just keeps wrenching it on! Shawn responds by pulling a fire extinguisher from underneath the ring while still in the hold, and a blast with that shakes Jericho off. Michaels blasts him with the container itself next, and they spill to the outside, where HBK tosses him into the barricade a few times as they brawl up the aisle. Shawn gives him a vertical suplex on the ramp out there, so Lance Cade runs out to give Jericho as assist, and though Michaels initially fights him off, he gets overwhelmed before long. They bash Shawn's taped up arm into the post on the way back inside, and add insult to injury when Cade holds him for Jericho to slap around. Chris abuses the arm as Lance brings another chair in, and he holds Shawn's arm out for Jericho to whack with the weapon! Chris unloads a few, then decides to wedge Shawn's arm between the seat for some pillmanization! Cade holds him as Jericho climbs to the top to dive, but Shawn shoves Lance into the ropes, which crotches Chris on the top! Shawn dispatches Cade, and grabs the chair to whack Jericho - sending Chris crashing off the top, and through the table at ringside! Shawn's left arm is useless, so he grabs the chair with his right, and goes to the outside to whip Jericho with it in brutal fashion. Shawn preps an announce table, and places Cade on it, then stacks Jericho on top. He then climbs to the top rope, and a flying elbowdrop drives both guys through the table! Shawn is all fired up, and he drags a bloody Jericho out of the rubble to finish off. Michaels pulls off his belt as they head in, and starts lashing Chris until poor Jericho is bleeding from the back as well. STILL not satisfied, Michaels wraps the belt around his fist and starts unloading with shot after shot (after shot, after shot) until the referee just stops the damn thing because Jericho is fucking dead at 26:56! The sound of the bell does nothing to slow Shawn down though, and he just keeps unloading until he runs out of gas, and the referee can pull him off. DAMN! Okay, note to self, don't piss Shawn Michaels off. This was great stuff here, loaded with the kind of realistic intensity that's too often missing from these types of matches. Like I said earlier, I hate when they present what's supposed to be a blood feud, and then the guys just work the same kind of match they're preprogrammed to work every other night, only with a weapon mixed in here or there. This was not that. Great stuff all around - the half-hour+ segment just flew by! **** ¼

WWE Title Championship Scramble Match: Triple H v Shelton Benjamin v Jeff Hardy v Montel Vontavious Porter v Brian Kendrick: Benjamin's WWE United States Title is not on the line here. Shelton and Jeff start, and they feel each other out. They trade a variety of cradles, and Benjamin manages to get control when he grounds Jeff in a side-headlock. Hardy fights free, but Benjamin counters a kick with a bucklebomb for two, and a vertical suplex gets two. Shelton uses a chinlock to wear Jeff down for two, but Hardy topples him for two during a slam attempt, and he throws a clothesline for two. Legdrop gets two, and a sling blade is worth two, as Brian Kendrick joins us. I'd love to see the look on 1988 Vince's face if he time traveled ahead twenty years and saw what little guys are competing for his world title on pay per view. Brian hangs out on the floor as Benjamin and Hardy keep trading off, waiting for the opportune moment to sneak attack - dumping Benjamin to the outside, and going to work on Hardy. He can't put him away, however, and ends up missing a charge in the corner to allow Jeff a powerbomb flapjack at 7:17. Well, honestly, Kendrick has no place in there anyway. I'm not a size guy, but come on, even Jeff is stretching it at this level. Benjamin charges back in, but Jeff fights him off with a suplex for two, so Benjamin starts punching him in the brain instead. Stinger splash misses, allowing Jeff a cradle for two, but Benjamin counters the Twist of Fate with the Paydirt for two - only for Kendrick to break up the count, and hit Jeff with the sliced bread at 9:31. So, yep, Brian Kendrick was once WWE world champion. I mean, not officially, but still. His celebration goes on until MVP enters, and immediately destroys him with a pop-up flapjack. He dumps both Jeff and Brian over the top, and a kneeling facebuster welcomes Benjamin back into the game. He goes for the kill on Benjamin, but Brian cuts him off with a leg lariat out of nowhere - only to get drilled by Hardy as he showboats! That allows Jeff to stack Benjamin and Porter in the corner for a double slingshot dropkick, but Brian breaks up the resulting cover at two. Kendrick does his best to hold the line through a few boring sequences with the others, as the match starts to noticeably drag. HHH's (the official champion going in) entrance perks things up, and he immediately starts killing everyone like he's clearing deadwood out of a battle royal. Pedigree on Kendrick makes him interim champion at 16:03, with less than four minutes remaining. Benjamin tries a sneak attack, and manages to whip the Game into the steps on the outside - but it doesn't matter, as Jeff is hitting MVP with the Twist of Fate at 17:11! Brian rushes in the slice bread, but Hardy manages a block, and he hits Kendrick with a gourdbuster. Jeff goes up for the Swanton Bomb, but HHH crotches him on the top to stop the effort, and he kills Kendrick with another Pedigree at 18:13. HHH doesn't notice Jeff coming off the top with the Swanton on Kendrick as he's awarded the fall, however, allowing Hardy to take the title again at 18:30! Hunter's 'really, bro?!?' expression is great here. He tries for the Pedigree, but Jeff dumps him over the top, and dives after him. That leaves both men down on the outside, allowing MVP to go after Kendrick with a superplex, but he gets blocked. That leads to a tower of doom spot in the corner, and Jeff hustles back in with a Whisper in the Wind on MVP. Swanton on Benjamin, but Hardy’s too battered to cover, and HHH sneaks a Pedigree on Porter at 20:14 - just ahead of time expiring at 20:15! There was a major dead space in the middle, but once HHH came in, it was pretty great - particularly his game of tag with Hardy. ** ½

WWE Diva's Title Match: Michelle McCool v Maryse: Feeling out process to start, with Michelle dominating. The champ his a Russian legsweep for two, so Maryse goes after the arm, but gets dumped to the outside. McCool chases after her, so Maryse dumps her into the crowd, but Michelle dives back at her with a flying clothesline off of the barricade. Back in, Maryse manages to duck a clothesline to allow her to clip the leg, and she cranks on a toehold. She shifts to a step-over version when Michelle starts throwing elbows, then wraps the leg around the bottom rope to crank on that some. Another toehold, but McCool escapes, and goes after Maryse's knee to turn the tide. She gets a grapevine on, but Maryse has the ropes, so McCool kicks her in the face for two. Reversal sequence ends in Michelle hitting a seated dropkick for two, but the leg acts up as she tries a suplex, and Maryse goes after it. McCool quickly fights her off with a big boot, and a gourdbuster is enough to retain at 5:44. ½*

Main Event: World Heavyweight Title Championship Scramble Match: Batista v John Bradshaw Layfield v Rey Mysterio v Kane v Chris Jericho: CM Punk is actually the champion going in, but he gets taken out by Randy Orton and his pals in the backstage area, and can't compete. Big Show tries to grab the spot, but ends up getting chased off by Undertaker, and so Jericho gets it instead (though they don't announce it, leaving it as a mystery going into the bout). Also, I'm glossing over it, but the whole segment with Big Show/Undertaker was super long, and dragged terribly. Batista and JBL start, and it's a whole lot of nothing, really. Bradshaw tries a sleeper, but Batista uses a kneebreaker to fight him off, and he clips the leg as a follow-up. Figure four is applied, but Bradshaw makes the ropes, so Batista starts slugging. John manages to dump him to the outside to buy time, but a whip into the steps gets reversed on him, just as Kane joins the party. He tries to corner whip Batista, but it backfires when Batista rebounds at him with a clothesline. Kane fires back with a big boot, and a snapmare sets up a seated dropkick for two. Sidewalk slam sets up a flying clothesline, but Batista dodges, so Kane tries a chokeslam instead, but Batista blocks. Batista Bomb, but Bradshaw pops in with a big boot to stop it. Kane thanks him with a chokeslam, however, and that's three at 7:22. Just in time for Rey Mysterio (and his weird mohawk mask) to come in, and he blitzes Kane with strikes to put the interim champion down. Springboard dropkick sends Kane to the outside, but Bradshaw attacks Rey before he can follow up. Rey fights JBL off with a headscissors takedown, and a wheelbarrow bulldog follows. Kane is recovering in the meantime, so Rey turns his attention back to the big red threat, but misses the tiger feint kick, and gets clobbered. Batista saves by side suplexing Kane, and Rey wants to work with him to hit Kane with a combo. Batista obliges, and Rey dives off the Animal's shoulders with a flying splash - but then Batista steals the pin on Kane. Well, alls fair in love and war, I suppose. Though it only got two, Rey ain't happy, but still wants to try another combo - only to turn on Batista with a sunset cradle for two. That was a lame effort anyway. As they argue, Bradshaw is able to attack, and he throws Rey onto Batista with a fallaway slam for two. John keeps going after them all, but can't manage to steal a pin, and here comes surprise replacement Jericho! He limps his way down the aisle, still wearing his stripes from earlier, and he walks into a spear from Batista. JBL gets one too for two, as Rey hits Kane with a 619 for Batista to cover for two. Poor Rey is getting ripped off left and right here. Batista Bomb on Rey, but Mysterio slips free, and hits JBL with a 619 before ultimately getting clobbered by Batista. Everyone trades off with signature moves as we wind down to the final minute, and it looks like Kane may be able to hang on, but Batista catches him with a spinebuster at 16:41. If you're looking at that time and thinking, 'wait, I thought you said 'final minute?'' then you're clearly not a WWE approved timekeeper. So there's less than thirty seconds left on (their) clock, and it looks like Batista all but as this won. Rey dives at him, but Batista easily shrugs that off - only for Jericho to sneak in and cover the still downed Kane to steal the ball at 17:06! Batista flips out, but there's no time left, and we're out at 17:17! A still bloody and beaten but defiant Jericho holding up the belt at the end is a terrific image. Not a great match, but the booking made up for what it lacked in workrate. ** ½

BUExperience: Michaels/Jericho is pretty much a must-see, and while there are no standout great matches otherwise, the Championship Scramble concept is unique enough to carry its share of the load.

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