Rowe's WWF Diary, WWF in 2006

Some of you may have read my WWF Diary over at TSM forums. I am going to gradually repost the entire thing here :D Along the way, I'll likely change subtle things in it and improve it as it goes along.

What you need to know.

I started playing this game in 2003, so the very last real life WWE event before my diary took over was Summerslam 2003. Forget everything that has happened in the real WWE since then.

In 2005, WWE won a suit over the World Wildlife Fund and was allowed to become the World Wrestling Federation.

You will notice that many top indy stars have been hired. This was not a case of me firing every WWE star I don't like and hiring every indy star that I mark out for. This was a gradual change. You will also notice that among the WWE stars no longer working for me are Eddie Guerrero, Booker T, The Rock, Steve Austin, Undertaker, Batista, Kurt Angle, and Brock Lesnar. Most of them left due to morale problems.

As of July 2006, my Raw and Smackdown rosters are:

Raw:

World Heaveyweight Champion: Chris Benoit (h) (From CM Punk)

IC Champion: Tommy Dreamer (f) (From Batista)

Tag Team Champions: Shane Helms and Shannon Moore (f) (From Test and Christian)

Hardcore Champion: Frank Shamrock (f) (Previously vacated)

Womens Champion: Trish Stratus (f) (From Taylor Matheny)

Main Eventers:

CM Punk (t)
Raven (t)
Triple H (h)
Steve Corino (h) (bought out a smaller fed, Corino is still touring with a Japanese promotion, so he isn't a main part of the show)

Upper Mid-carders:

Christian (h)
Lance Storm (f)
Lodi (h)
Masato Tanaka (f) (Also touring in Japan)


Mid-carders:

Austin Lee (h)
Billy Kidman (f) (Just barely traded from Smackdown, hasn't debuted on Raw yet)
Brian Kendrick (f) (see Kidman)
Bubba Ray Dudley (f)
Julio Dinero (t)
Justin Credible (f)
Ken Shamrock (h)
Mark Jindrak (f)
Simon Diamond (h)
Test (h)

Lower Mid-carders:

Derrick King (hasn't debuted yet)

Openers:

Anarchy (no debut yet)
Bad John (formerly Johnny C.)
Louay Piero
Shashka Corbett
Ozzy Benton

Women:

Alexis Laree (t)
Erica Porter (f)
Gail Kim (h)
Ivory (f)
Jazz (h)
Lita (f)
Lucy Carter (f)
Lucy Furr (f)
Molly Holly (h)
Sherry Bop (f)
Taylor Matheny (f)
Trish Stratus (f)
Victoria (h)

Injured:

Eric Bischoff (h)
Garrison Cade (f)
Kid Romeo (h)
Rico (h)
Seven (t)

Managers:

Goldust
Konnan
Stevie Richards (h)


Smackdown:

WWF Champion: Rhyno (h) (from Chad Collyer)

U.S. Champion: Rodney Mack (h) (from Paul London)

WWF Tag Champions: The Basham Brothers (f) (from Haas and Benjamin)

Cruiserweight Champion: Frankie Kazarian (f) (from Kid Kash)

Side Note: I can imagine smarks finding some of these champions to be very offensive, but I have booked all of this with intentions in mind. Bear with me

Main Eventers:

AJ Styles (h)
Chad Collyer (f)
Matt Hardy (h)
Rob Van Dam (f)

Upper Mid-carders:

Chuck Palumbo (h)
Johnny Stamboli (f)
Low Ki (h)
Paul London (f)
Pepper Parks (f)
Randy Orton (f)
Taka Michinoku (f)

Mid-carders:

Charlie Haas (h)
Chris Kanyon (h)
Funaki (f)
Jamie Noble (h)
Jimmy Rave (f)
Jody Fleisch (h)
Kid Kash (h)
Men's Teioh (h)
Nova (f)
Orlando Jordan (f)
Psychosis (t)
Scoot Andrews (h)
Sean O'Haire (h)
Shelton Benjamin (h)
Sonjay Dutt (f)
Tracy Smothers (h)
Ultimo Dragon (f)

Lower Mid-carders:

Jay Brisco (f)
JC Ice (h)
Reno (h)

Openers:

Alex Arion
Pure Talent

Managers:

Bill DeMott (t)
Don Callis (h)
Mike Sanders (h)
Paul Heyman (h)
Alicia
Stacy Keibler

Injured:

J.R. Ryder (f)
Matt Stryker (h)
Rey Mysterio (f)

No Kane makes CBF a not so happy person.... but I'll still check from time to time.

Kane isn't very good in the version of EWR I was using... I could probably hire him back if I wanted to do some bizarre storylines.

The only problem I see with reposting this is that new readers might request some different directions from what actually happened, and the TSM diary has about five months of shows in it.

Thanks for response!

OH! It's EWR... I thought it was fantasy thinking... my bad. No wonder the WWF/E Main Eventers are gone. Boy do I feel sheepish (baaaaaaaah!)

History of The WWF Championship!

As you know, the current story takes place in 2006, but when I started the EWR game, it was in September 2003. So I shall start with the history of Smackdown's WWF Championship belt!

When my game began, Kurt Angle was the WWE Champion, winning the belt at Vengeance 2003, in the triple-threat with Brock Lesnar and Big Show. The last WWE PPV from real life that counts in my game was Summerslam 2003, so forget everything that happened since.

Here is a list of every WWF Championship title change since the beginning of my game, and included are some significant title defenses along the way.

October 19th 2003: WWE Champion Kurt Angle defeat John Cena at No Mercy.

Notes: Basically imagine the actual No Mercy match these two had, but imagine the belt had been on the line. That would be this match.

November 30th 2003: Eddie Guerrero defeat WWE Champion Kurt Angle, and Brock Lesnar in a Triple-Threat match at Survivor Series 2003.

Notes: This was Brock Lesnar’s final main event. After this, he was demoted to the upper-mid-card where he became angry at no longer carrying the Smackdown brand.

December 18th 2003: WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero defeat Spanky on Smackdown!

Notes: This was an absolutely huge match for Spanky. Eddie sold like a pro for Spanky, and even made it look like Spanky was on his way to a title win for a while. However, in the end, Latino Heat cheated his way to yet another victory.

March 21st 2004: Kurt Angle defeat WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero in the main event of Wrestlemania XX.

Notes: By this point, Angle’s morale was at an all-time low, and main-eventing WrestleMania did not help. The match was a big disappointment, only garnering about ***1/2.

May 16th 2004: Shelton Benjamin defeat WWE Champion Kurt Angle at Judgment Day.

Notes: When this match was made, it was planned that Angle would be a long-term champion and reign for several months. Benjamin was just going to be Angle’s first successful title defense, and though he was a mid-carder, head booker Ernie Rowe had enough faith in Angle’s drawing abilities that this would be a successful main event. However, Angle continued to be difficult backstage and pissed everyone off. As a result, on the day of the Pay-Per-View, Rowe changed the outcome of the match, and Shelton Benjamin became the most unexpected WWE Champion in history!

July 18th 2004: Rob Van Dam defeat WWE Champion Shelton Benjamin at Vengeance.

Notes: Just two weeks after his title win, RVD went to WWE officials and admitted that he was addicted to painkillers and needed to spend some time in rehab. Not wanting to strip RVD of the title, Rowe gave him a maximum of two months off to rehab, before he would be stripped. During this time, United States Champion AJ Styles was promoted as the top guy on Smackdown, and carried the show in RVD’s absence. RVD returned after only a month and a half and was able to resume his duties in September.

October 31st 2004: WWE Champion Rob Van Dam defeat Shelton Benjamin at No Mercy.

Notes: This match came about as a result of Benjamin’s anger that RVD could disappear for over a month and then come back and still be champion. The rematch didn’t quite live up to the first encounter, but it briefly established Shelton Benjamin as a main-eventer.

February 27th 2005: WWE Champion Rob Van Dam defeat Chuck Palumbo in a ladder match at No Way Out.

Notes: In what the internet fans stated was “atrocious booking” RVD feuded with Chuck Palumbo, as a way of getting him ready for WrestleMania. The No Way Out match was surprisingly good, and it did it’s job of putting RVD over. A month later, Rob Van Dam walked into WrestleMania as the WWE Champion, and Chuck Palumbo was nowhere to be seen on the card.

March 27th 2005: AJ Styles defeat WWE Champion Rob Van Dam at WrestleMania XXI.

Notes: The match was a ***** classic, yet wasn’t the main event of the show. Raw’s World title match was given the main event spot, with Eddie Guerrero defending the World Heavyweight title against CM Punk, Randy Orton, and John Cena.

May 29th 2005: WWE Champion AJ Styles defeat Rob Van Dam at Judgment Day.

Notes: This rematch from WrestleMania only achieved a ****1/2 rating, but many thought it was due to the interference of Rodney Mack. Mack had just been traded to Smackdown and was looking to start a fight with the brand’s big shot.

July 24th 2005: WWF Champion AJ Styles defeat Rey Mysterio at Vengeance.

Notes: This match came as a response to overwhelming fan support for Rey Mysterio. Much to the dismay of many, Styles retained his title once again, but gave a ****1/2 performance in the process.

August 29th 2005: WWF Champion AJ Styles defeat Rob Van Dam at Summerslam.

Notes: This was the third match between the two, and the third loss for RVD. This was the first clean loss out of the three however, as this match ultimately put over AJ Styles as champion. Not only that, but another ***** classic had been delivered.

November 20th 2005: WWF Champion AJ Styles defeat J.R. Ryder in a Last Man Standing match at Survivor Series.

Notes: Styles and Ryder had been feuding for about three months at this point. They had a match at No Mercy, which ended with a dusty finish DQ, allowing AJ Styles to remain champion. This time, Styles was able to hold on to his title, when Ryder could no longer make it to his feet. This was the third ***** match of Styles’ reign.

March 29th 2006: Chad Collyer defeat WWF Champion AJ Styles in the main event of WrestleMania XXII.

Notes: During Styles’ reign as champ, World Wrestling Entertainment was allowed to become the World Wrestling Federation once again. Styles also became the first man to reign as champion for an entire year since Diesel.

May 4th 2006: WWF Champion Chad Collyer defeat Matt Stryker on Smackdown!

Notes: This is one of the few successful title defenses Collyer has to his credit. Collyer and Stryker tore the house down and were able to spike the ratings in a time where the business was going down.

May 16th 2006: Matt Hardy defeat WWF Champion Chad Collyer at Judgment Day.

Notes: After Styles had reigned for an entire year, there were several Smackdown superstars who had been denied a chance with the title. Matt Hardy’s match with Collyer was a huge disappointment, however, as Hardy had flourished as a mid-carder throughout the past couple of years.

June 8th 2006: Chad Collyer defeat WWF Champion Matt Hardy on Smackdown!

Notes: With the overwhelming negative reaction to Hardy’s title win, the belt was immediately given back to Collyer. Hardy’s morale now resembling the past problems with Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero, Rowe had no other choice. This was also Hardy’s first title defense on television, Rowe had been disgusted with Hardy’s performances on house shows.

July 16th 2006: Rhyno defeat WWF Champion Chad Collyer at Fully Loaded.

Notes: Rhyno had recently been traded back to Smackdown, after three years on Raw. Rhyno shocked the world by pinning Chad Collyer in the main event, but what was even more shocking was the attack on Rhyno by Paul London after the match.

It's okay, I don't think I made it clear enough that it was an EWR diary. Sorry about that :lol:

Interesting title history... glad to see that punk Brock demoted and whiny bitch Angle punished for being... well, a bitch. Shelton Benjamin for Champion in 2006!

History of the World Heavyweight Championship

When my game started, Triple H was the champion, and had just defended it in the Elimination Chamber match against Goldberg, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, and Randy Orton. Starting in September of 2003, everything changed…

October 30th 2003: Goldberg defeat World Champion Triple H on Raw.

Notes: They first met at Unforgiven, but Triple H was able to sneak out the victory against “Da Man.” The rematch took place on Raw and Goldberg was able to win the big one.

November 17th 2003: World Champion Goldberg defeat Booker T on Raw.

Notes: This was one of Booker T’s last WWE matches and his final shot at the World title. Booker T retired from his back problems shortly after. In a match that was unusual for Goldberg, he let Booker have a lot of offense and took a good sized beating himself. After the match, Goldberg raised Booker T’s arm.

November 30th 2003: Rhyno defeat World Champion Goldberg at Survivor Series.

Notes: The main reason why Goldberg won the title in the first place was because it was in his contract. New booker, Ernie Rowe, felt that with the new stars he was creating, Goldberg was no longer needed. Goldberg lost the title to Rhyno in a surprisingly short match, as Goldberg had been losing overness with live crowds since before he won the title.

December 14th 2003: World Champion Rhyno defeat Raven in a Hardcore match at Armageddon.

Notes: On this infamous pay-per-view (it only had two weeks to build after Survivor Series) Rhyno and Raven had the match of their lives. This turned out to be a hardcore classic as they bloodied each other during the match. Scott Keith named this match to be the best of Raven’s career and it cemented Rhyno as a main-eventer.

December 22nd 2003: World Champion Rhyno defeat CM Punk on Raw.

Notes: This was a taped Raw that aired on Christmas Eve. It was also CM Punk’s first ever shot at the World title. The two ended the year on a high note, but receiving a **** rating.

March 21st 2004: Chris Jericho defeat World Champion Rhyno and CM Punk in a triple-threat match at WrestleMania XX.

Notes: CM Punk had been a surprise contender for the match, and added quite a lot to the bout. In the end, Jericho was given the World title as a way of capitalizing on Jericho while they still could, as Jericho had made it clear that he was not going to resign with WWE after his contract expired.

April 11th 2004: World Champion Chris Jericho defeat Rob Van Dam at Unforgiven.

Notes: This was RVD’s last night with Raw, before leaving for Smackdown. Y2J pulled out every heel trick in the book, and it paid off as he was able to retain his title in a ****1/2 match.

August 29th 2004: World Champion Chris Jericho defeat Ric Flair at Summerslam.

Notes: Ric Flair had everything on the line. A previously announced stipulation said that if Ric Flair failed to win the World Heavyweight title in the main event, he would have to retire. The end result was a match full of brilliant cheating techniques from both Jericho and Flair, but in the end it was Jericho who was just a tad craftier.

August 30th 2004: CM Punk defeat World Champion Chris Jericho on Raw.

Notes: This was the night after Summerslam. After Punk won the belt, the retiring Ric Flair came out for one last appearance and raised Punk’s arm in victory.

September 28th 2004: World Champion CM Punk defeat Chris Jericho at Unforgiven.

Notes: Y2J was furious over losing his title to Punk on the Raw after Summerslam. Jericho was quite proud of being the one to retire Ric Flair and felt that Punk took away his moment of glory. Punk also had to prove to the fans that he was capable of being the champ, and he tore down the house with Jericho, delivering a classic performance and retaining the belt in the process.

December 5th 2004: World Champion CM Punk defeat Triple H at Armageddon.

Notes: It was only a matter of time before The Game went after Punk. Most were predicting that Triple H was going to soundly beat Punk and send him back to the mid-card, but quite the opposite happened. Punk retained his championship, and it was Triple H who ended up spending the majority of 2005 in mid-card feuds against members of the Gathering and others.

January 25th 2005: Eddie Guerrero defeat World Champion CM Punk at the Royal Rumble.

Notes: Eddie Guerrero had been traded to Raw as a way to try and boost Eddie’s morale, which had been lacking on Smackdown. It worked for a little while, as Eddie was happy to hold a World title again.

March 27th 2005: CM Punk defeat World Champion Eddie Guerrero, Randy Orton, and John Cena in a fatal four-way elimination match at WrestleMania XXI.

Notes: This match was a huge disappointment and pretty much ended John Cena’s shot at being a main-eventer in WWE. The match was about **1/2 and was totally overshadowed by Smackdown’s AJ Styles vs Rob Van Dam title match from earlier. Eddie Guerrero left WWE shortly afterwards, Cena toiled in the mid-card for months afterwards and eventually left, and Randy Orton wouldn’t get another shot at a main event for about ten months.

April 17th 2005: World Champion CM Punk defeat Triple H and Lance Storm in a triple threat match at Backlash.

Notes: Triple H and Lance Storm had been feuding for months, and while trading victories had found themselves as contenders for the World title. Punk was able to capitalize on the two enemies being distracted by each other and pulled off another huge victory.

June 27th 2005: World Champion CM Punk defeat Rico at Bad Blood.

Notes: The team of Rico and Lodi (the New Rainbow Express) had set out to take out Punk and Julio Dinero. Quite a lot of build-up went into this match as the Rainbow Express picked up a tag victory over Punk and Dinero, but Punk was able to pin Lodi a week later. Rico had the momentum going into this match, but Punk once again proved why he was the champion and decisively pinned Rico in the main event of Bad Blood.

August 29th 2005: Raven defeat World Champion CM Punk at Summerslam.

Notes: This match came during a time where the Gathering was splitting apart. Raven and CM Punk both wanted to be World Champion, and this lead to Julio Dinero and Alexis Laree siding with CM Punk while Seven (who we haven’t seen in this diary due to injury) sided with Raven. It all boiled down to this match, where Raven won the title with some help from Seven.

September 25th 2005: Triple H defeat World Champion Raven, CM Punk, and Stevie Richards in a Fatal Four-way match at Unforgiven.

Notes: This four-way was special because it featured two Evolution members and two Gathering members. At this point, Raven and CM Punk were mending their differences and Triple H didn’t consider Richards to be a viable threat to the title, so there was little tension. In the end, Triple H used his trusty sledgehammer to win himself his final World title.

December 18th 2005: World Champion Triple H defeat Shawn Michaels at Armageddon.

Notes: Sort like in real life, Triple H and HBK had been feuding off and on. Unlike in real life, they were hardly ever one on one encounters. Triple H usually had Evolution with him, while Michaels would team up with other top baby-faces. This was their first singles match since 2003. In a good main event, Triple H would go on and pin Michaels once and for all, and the two never competed in another singles match again.

January 25th 2006: CM Punk defeat World Champion Triple H at the Royal Rumble.

Notes: The match was lackluster as Triple H’s ring skills were winding down. It was still a big night for CM Punk, who celebrated with Raven after his win.

March 29th 2006: World Champion CM Punk defeat Rhyno in a Hell in the Cell match at WrestleMania XXII.

Notes: Rhyno left for Smackdown shortly after this bout, but it was a brutal blood-bath of a match. Punk was considered the underdog going into this match due to the sheer aggressiveness that Rhyno had displayed in the weeks going into this match. Rhyno had spent most of 2005 as half of the tag team champions with John Cena, so when Rhyno won the Royal Rumble two months earlier, a fire was re-lit inside him. It still wasn’t enough, as Punk retained the title.

April 30th 2006: World Champion CM Punk defeat Austin Lee at Backlash.

Notes: Raw was going through a stage of starting over around this time. Top players were starting to wind down and not enough young stars had been elevated. So at Backlash, CM Punk put his title on the line against the winner of a tournament, Austin Lee. It was a good competitive match (about ***3/4) and Punk made a decisive win, though it was anti-climatic since no one really expected Austin Lee to win.

June 27th 2006: Chris Benoit defeat World Champion CM Punk at Bad Blood.

Notes: Chris Benoit made a long-awaited return to the WWF just a few months earlier, and started his comeback by attacking random superstars on both Raw and Smackdown. Eventually, Benoit settled down on Raw and earned a shot at the World title and made the most of the situation.

Yeah, losing Brock and Angle was sort of a blessing in disguise, as I was able to elevate a lot of younger talent. I don't expect to ever bring Brock back in, but I hear Kurt Angle's ROH contract is expiring soon :ph43r:

Since it's been awhile since I read the beginning of the original, I guess I should start over here. Great stuff, I look forward to rereading everything.

Thanks for the response :) It will benefit me to repost the entire thing gradually as well, it should refresh my memory on all sort of minor happenings in the diary and will hopefully make my future shows have more coherent.

I will probably take out the copy and pasted EWR matches and put in match descriptions too. The only problem is that usually leads to me writing out the entire match whether I mean to or not.

Just a hit small points.

If anyone recalls (yeah right), I did a 1988 EWR Fantasy Booking where I wrote out PBP for every match... and after one month, it just got so repetitive that I gave up on it.

Yeah, I do have trouble with that. I'm working on just hitting the small points and when I do, the shows will start popping up here pretty frequently for a bit

Basically, I want to get into the habit of television matches being just small points, tv main events being PBP, and every PPV match being PBP.

WWF Raw
July 17, 2006

The pyro goes off and commentators Jim Ross and Al Snow welcome everyone to another exciting edition of Raw. There is change in the air and Ross and Snow are excited about the possibilities. JR mentions that a new General Manager is coming to Raw tonight, to replace the injured Eric Bischoff. Neither JR or Snow have any idea who it is.

Background check: It is worth pointing out that up to this point, Evolution has consisted of Triple H, Ken Shamrock, Simon Diamond, and Stevie Richards.

Hardcore Championship: Frank Shamrock © vs Test

Match Background: This will be a hardcore bout. This match is for the WWF Hardcore title. Frank Shamrock has been WWF Hardcore champion since 27 June 2006. Shamrock has been a bit of a loner on Raw lately, but Test has been involved with a group known as "The Beautiful People" along with Christian and Kid Romeo.

The Match: Test and Shamrock rip into each other with the usual chair and street sign shots. Shamrock has good ring psychology, so this is a bit more interesting than the usual hardcore fare. Shamrock wins with a guillotine choke.

My Opinion: I'll give this a ***1\4 rating. If I left it up to you, you'd probably think it was the greatest match ever! Keep trying...

Winner at 7:11 and STILL Hardcore Champion: Frank Shamrock

Interview with Austin Lee

Jonothan Coachman is with Austin Lee. Coach asks Lee if he is likely to join Evolution. Lee spits on the floor and states that neither Triple H or Stevie Richards has approached him, but if they do, he's going to make them his bitch.

Lita vs Victoria

Match background: None, the women's division has been pretty dead for a while.

The Match: This is a sloppy women's match (mostly thanks to Lita). Lita botches a Lita-canrana, but Victoria covers for it by selling it anyway. After some decent action, Lita is ready for a Lita-sault off the top rope, but Stevie Richards pushes her off! Victoria takes advantage and puts Lita away with the Widow's Peak!

My Opinion: Ohh, looky. A **3/4 match!

Ross: Bah Gawd! Richards has reunited with Victoria!

Snow: I take it this means Victoria is in Evolution?

Winner at 5:15: Victoria

Victoria and Stevie Richards Celebrate

Richards and Victoria are embracing in the locker room. Richards is thrilled to have Victoria become the first female of Evolution. Victoria screams something about wanting a Women's title shot next week, but she doesn't know who to ask. Victoria asks Richards if he knows who the new authority is, but Richard just shrugs.

The Impact Players vs Ken Shamrock and Simon Diamond

Match Background: Impact Players are one of the most experienced teams in the promotion. Shamrock and Diamond are usually put over by the announcers as being "the greatest team in Raw's history" even though they are heels.

The Match: This is a fast-paced, hard hitting match. Shamrock and Diamond tag in and out to their convenience, while keeping Credible from making a tag. Storm finally gets a tag and cleans house. This is until Credible reenters the ring illegally and goes for a superkick to Diamond. He misses and hits Storm, and Diamond covers him for the 1...2....3!

My Opinion: A ***3/4 rating! Yay!

Snow: Credible seems to have cost the Impact Players yet another match.

Ross: This team has been successful in the past, don't count them out just yet.

Winners at 10:21: Ken Shamrock and Simon Diamond

Al Snow makes an announcement.

Al Snow heads down the ramp into the ring and grabs a microphone. J.R. just sits at his desk and claims he has no idea what is going on. Al Snow tells the audience that he has just been informed that the new authority of Raw is on his way to the arena and will reveal himself at the end of the show.

Intercontinental Championship: Tommy Dreamer © vs Steve Corino

Match Background: This match is for the WWF Intercontinental title. Tommy Dreamer has been WWF Intercontinental champion since 20 February 2006. Corino first arrived on Raw in the early spring, shortly after Wrestlemania and immediatly started picking fights with other ECW alumni.

The Match: Dreamer and Corino put on a good old fashioned brawl for several minutes, until things get too violent for the referee and tries to seperate the two. Corino and Dreamer both push the ref out of the way so he calls for the bell, disqualifying both competitors. This just gives the two enemies an excuse to use chairs, and they disappear into the backstage area, still brawling it out.

My Opinion: Slightly above average match. Only gets a **3\4 rating from me.

No contest at 8:01

A Sneak Attack

Raven comes to the ring for an interview. Before he can even say a word, he is jumped by Christian! Raven and Christian have been feuding since Wrestlemania and even had a barbed wire match against eachother. Christian beats on Raven and then dishes out and Unprettier! Then Christian looks on in horror as Raven stands right back up, completely no-selling the move! Christian just backs off but threats are exchanged.

CM Punk and Julio Dinero vs Chris Benoit and ???

Punk and Dinero make their entrance and await in the ring. Chris Benoit comes out and announces that he has made a serious business decision to protect his championship. Triple H's music plays.

Snow: WHAT? Did Chris Benoit join Evolution?

Ross: It would appear so. You have to wonder though, if Benoit wants to protect his title reign, is teaming up with Triple H such a good idea?

Snow: Triple H is an awesome competitor.

Ross: Yes, but you know just as well as me that Triple H wants that World's Heavyweight championship!

Match Background: Benoit and Punk have been feuding for quite some time now. Chris Benoit is the reigning World Heavyweight champion, and has been since 27 June 2006. Benoit won the World Championship from CM Punk about a month earlier at Bad Blood.

The Match: Benoit and Triple H work well together and keep the Gathering members on their toes. Evolution dominates, but Punk and Dinero mount a comeback. Punk manages to hit the Pepsi Plunge on Triple H and covers him. The ref is then suddenly pulled out of the ring by Simon Diamond (who has surprisingly appeared at ringside). While the ref argues with Simon, Ken Shamrock enters the ring and dishes out an awful looking belly to belly suplex on CM Punk. The ref sees this and disqualifies Evolution.

My Opinion: Nothing offensive, but nothing too special either. **1\2 rating.

Snow: What the hell? Shamrock and Diamond are back in Evolution?

Ross: They must have worked things out in the past week! That son of a bitch, Triple H has just made himself stronger than ever!

Snow: Hopefully our new general manager will not stand for outside interference, as the inmates ran the asylum tonight!

Winners by DQ at 12:43: CM Punk and Julio Dinero

The New Authority of Raw is Unveiled

The announces continue to ponder who the new authority is, when Shane McMahon's music plays.

Snow: SHANE? Shane is the new authority?

Ross: It would appear so, you mentioned earlier that the new authority was on his way, and I guess this would be him.

Shane grabs a mic.

Shane: Now I know all think I am the new authority around here.. but you would be wrong. My father came to me with the idea, but I turned it down. You see, with Evolution regrouping in such a dramatic way, I need someone in charge here who is experienced with handling them. That is why the new General Manager of Raw is none other than: SHAWN MICHAELS!

HBK's music plays and he comes out and does his little dance.

Snow: We haven't seen Shawn Michaels since Benoit defeated him at Wrestlemania XXII!

HBK: That's right, I am the new law around here. My first order of business is my old friend Chris Benoit and his new buddies. Next week, in this very ring, Chris Benoit will defend his World Championship belt... against CM Punk. Only this time, I will be the special guest referee. We are not going to see a repeat of Bad Blood, Benoit. You will not render CM Punk unconscious again while the referee is not looking, because I promise that I am going to keep my eyes on you for the entire damn match. And Evolution? You might as well just break up again right now, because if you think you're going to get your way all the time like you did with Eric Bischoff, then you don't know who you're dealing with.

Snow: HBK is back and he's not playing games this time.

Ross: It's about time we had a breath of fresh air around here. And bah gawd, I do believe HBK just made a subtle war cry towards the newly formed Evolution.

Show Ends