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After Mr. McMahon's blockbuster announcement that the WWE & NWA brands will sharing Raw and Smackdown for the next four weeks, Smackdown will feel first hand the impact of historic move by the owner. WWE's Christian will make his first Smackdown appearance against NWA World Heavyweight champion Booker T in a Steel Cage match. Will the cage be able to keep the New Nation and Edge out long enough for Christian to get a measure of revenge on Booker?

Also, the first round of the King of the Ring continues as the legendary Bret "The Hitman" Hart makes his in-ring return against Charlie Haas. And in a battle of former Degeneration X team mates, Triple H battles BG James. Who will advance to the second round of the King of Kings tournament?

BREAKING NEWS: WWE:TNA Releases 21 Superstars

The following superstars have been released from the company. WWE:TNA wishes them luck on all their future endeavors:

Wrestlers

A-Train

Billy Kidman

Glenn Gilberti

Jeff Hardy

Jerry Lynn

Johnny Stamboli

Konnan

Little Guido

Luther Reigns

Maven

Rene Dupree

Rico

Shawn Daivari

Spanky

Divas

Ivory

Jackie Gayda

Madusa

OVW

Bobcat

Desire

Matrix

Taylor Matheny

Report by:Connor MacManus

The recent releases by WWE:TNA are due to the sudden return of the nWo, the debut of new faces like Ken Kennedy, Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, and a few more set to debut on Smackdown. Word going around is that two people that narrowly escaped the roster cuts were Jamie Noble and Stacy Keibler. No word on how Stacy managed to escape the cut, but as for Noble he is set to feud with CM Punk. Our backstage source told us that there is internal talk about a planned Punk/Noble feud that in their eyes would elevate both men to a new level. It is being said that Ricky Steamboat, Ric Flair, Dean Malenko, and Triple H are all high on CM Punk's in-ring work and have all been pushing for him to be called up to the main roster for months now. Noble has also been praised by Flair, Steamboat, and Triple H in the past, explaining his program with Triple H last year. It's still early to guarantee that the feud will come to pass, as it was said that it was only talked about as a scenario, but do look for CM Punk to make a debut soon. One rumor killer here to end all the rumors, CM Punk will NOT be involved with The Saints tag team. Punk has been known to tag with Ace Steele and/or Colt Cabana in the past under the Second City Saints name, but WWE:TNA has no plans for that. The Saints are a completely different tag team altogether.

BREAKING NEWS: WWE TITLE VACATED BY MR. MCMAHON!

For the second time in a two day span, the WWE title has been made vacant yet again. Shane McMahon was going to announce that Edge had been declared WWE champion by the championship committee, but following Raw and the evidence revealed of a mass conspiracy. Mr. McMahon had this to say on a video here on WWE:TNA.com:

"After video footage revealed that my son, Edge, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jeff Jarrett, head trainer Jim Henderson, and some local EMT's had worked together to keep Christian out of his scheduled WWE title match at Wrestlemania, I, and I alone have come to a decision. I am going to go over the head of the championship committee and declaring that Edge is NOT the WWE champion, and will not go on record as being so. Edge will get a chance to become WWE champion at the King of the Ring. He will go one one one with Christian in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the WWE championship."

Mr. McMahon then moved on to this Thursday's Smackdown and what changes he has in store:

"After last night's events on Raw, I have made another decision. For the remainder of the month, the WWE & NWA brands will be null and void. This means that until the conclusion of the King of the Ring tournament, both brands will share Raw and Smackdown. I came to this decision after Booker T broke the brand rules and showed up on Raw. So this is how it's going to remain for the next four weeks."

Mr. McMahon finished up by delivering a message to NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Booker T:

"Booker, I'm going to slightly alter Eric Bischoff's plans for you. You will still be facing all three nWo members in championship matches in the coming weeks. But as opposed to you facing the first this week and then facing the rest two weeks after that, then possibly getting the Smackdown just days before King of the Ring off, it's going to happen somewhat differently. You see you will be facing Scott Hall next week on Smackdown. If you leave with the championship, you will then face Hulk Hogan. If you still have the championship around your waist by then, Kevin Nash will challenge you just days before King of the Ring. But this week you will be facing the same man you attacked on Raw, Christian, one on one in a steel cage."

Monday, March 28, 2005 Results

Dark Matches

Briscoe Brothers d. Matt Cross & Jerrelle Clark

Gene Snitsky d. Josh Prohibition

Heat Tapings

Lance Cade d. Danny Basham

Alexis Laree d. Veronica Stevens

Donovan Morgan d. Rene Dupree

Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak d. Johnny Stamboli & Little Guido

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:::[iNTRO VIDEO AND PYRO EXPLOSIONS]:::

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After the pyro explosions stop and the smoke clears, a video plays. The video highlights events from Wrestlemania that involved Raw superstars. Most of the highlights are focused on Christian, Edge, and Chris Benoit. We are also shown the announcement of the return of the King of the Ring and the opening bout scheduled for tonight. When the video comes to an end, we are taken to a shot of the ring. The lights are off and a single spotlight shines on the middle of the ring. A man stands in that very spotlight and slowly raises his arm up to the air. A mic is lowered from the top of the arena and he grasps it.

Kennedy: You all may be wondering just who I am and I'm about to introduce myself. Ladies and gentlemen I am Raw's newest ring announcer, Ken Kennedy! I weigh in at an astonishing two hundred and forty three pounds. And I hail from Green Bay, Wisconsiiiiiiiiiiiiin!

There's a pause and the crowd is silent as they don't know how to react to the ring announcer.

Kennedy: But seeing as how I'm a professional and demand respect, you can all refer to me as, Misterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Kennedy...............Kennedy!

The crowd breaks out into a chorus of boos as he finishes saying his name. Some fans are cheering, but about eighty five percent of the fans are booing him instead. Kennedy clears his throat and continues on.

Kennedy: The following contest is scheduled for one fall, with a fifteen minute time limit. Introducing first, currently in the ring, hailing from Aberdeen, Washington. He weighs in at one hundred and ninety pounds. This is Bryan Danielson!

There is a pop from the crowd, but only the "smart" fans know who he is and most of the rest have no clue as to who the man is.

Kennedy: Sorry kid, it appears that they don't know you. Moving on. And now, his opponent hails from San Turce, Puerto Rico. Weighing in at two hundred and ten pounds, Carlito!!

Carlito vs Bryan Danielson

Danielson extends his hand to Carlito after the bell rings and Carlito looks around to see what the crowd says. The fans cheer and tell him to do it, so Carlito shakes Danielson's hand. The two start off by locking up, with Danielson getting the better of the grapple. Danielson goes behind and then trips up Carlito. He then quickly leaps over and applies a headlock, but Carlito rolls over and pins his shoulders down to the mat. Danielson releases the hold, fearing getting counted down for the three. Carlito gets up first, but Danielson trips him up again and this time covers him. Carlito escapes the cover and quickly gets up and tries to drop an elbow, but Danielson rolls out of the way. Danielson gets up and tries to drop a leg drop, but Carlito moves out of the way this time. The two get up and have a stand off, which draws huge cheers from the fans. Both men shake there head in approval and the two slap hands before continuing. Carlito charges at Danielson and ends up getting hip tossed. Carlito lands on his feet and runs to the ropes. Danielson leaps up and catches Carlito coming with a high leg lariat. Carlito rolls on the mat and then checks his lips to see if he isn't busted open. Danielson picks Carlito up, but ends up taking an elbow to the gut. Carlito grabs Danielson's head and then drops to the mat onto his back. He lifts both knees as he's falling, so Danielson smacks his face on them after falling. Carlito gets a huge pop from the crowd for the innovative variation of the face buster. Carlito picks Danielson up, but is surprised by a quick go behind by the young upstart. The surprise Carlito is lifted up and slammed to the mat by a bridging German suplex. Carlito manages to kick out at two. Danielson signals that it's time to end it. Danielson grabs Carlito from behind and attempts to hit his finishing move, the Dragon Suplex, but Carlito flips over. Carlito lands on his feet and quickly leaps up and grabs Danielson's neck. Carlito falls back and brings Danielson down into the Back Cracker. Danielson holds his back and Carlito covers him, 1.........2.........3!

Winner: Carlito

After ring announcer Ken Kennedy makes the announcement of Carlito's win, he stands up and slides into the ring. Carlito doesn't know Kennedy has entered the ring and gets blasted from behind with a clothesline. Kennedy picks Carlito up and drives him down to the mat with a DDT. Kennedy stands over Carlito and talks some smack before pulling him up again. Kennedy whips Carlito to the corner and follows with a charging shoulder to the gut. Kennedy picks Carlito up and sits him on the top buckle. Kennedy climbs up and mounts Carlito onto his shoulders. Kennedy dives off the ropes with a forward flip Samoan Drop. Kennedy stands up and rips off his shirt and tosses it on Carlito. Kennedy climbs up a corner and hols his amrs up in the air. The fans now lay into Kennedy with loud boos. Kennedy simply smiles and takes it in. Kennedy gets down and leaves the ring. As he is walking away, he stops and turns back to look at the ring. Kennedy looks of for a bit and then cracks a huge smile. Carlito rolls over and continues to hold on to his ribs. We cut to the back where General Manager Shane McMahon is talking with Doug Basham.

McMahon: So it's like this, you do this and your Raw career will sky-rocket. The fans want it. It's a proven fact. Ever since the death of ECW, the fans have craved hardcore wrestling more than before. So tonight when you wrestle Nick Dinsmore, the advocate for technical wrestling, it will be a hardcore match. I don't think Nick will be too happy about it, but I'm doing this in the interest of business.

Doug Basham nods his head and looks pleased. He turns and leaves the office. As Shane is about to sit down, there is a knock at the door and he tells the person to enter. Brent Albright enters the room with both Raw tag team titles over his shoulders.

Albright: Look Shane, before my match at Wrestlemania, your father told me that I would not be stripped of the tag team championship and that you had something planned to fix the situation. So what's the plan if I may ask?

McMahon: Listen, it's really simple. I can't have Raw's tag team championship vacant, as it will loose value. Now I thought you and Chris made great tag champions, but the draft spoiled that. I don't think that I should punish you because of the draft by taking away what you've earned, so this is what I propose. Next week we will have two matches, with the two winners of those matches facing each other at the King of the Ring. The winner of that match would then go on to become your new tag team partner and co-holder of the tag team championship. And in the interest of fairness, I'm going to allow you the opportunity to select the four men yourself. Think of it as your way of auditioning potential tag team partners.

As Albright is about to say something, the door opens up and in walks Edge with Lita at his side. Albright stares down Edge, but Shane quickly asks him to leave in peace. Edge watches Albright walk off with a smug look on his face and then turns to Shane.

Edge: Shane-O, we need to talk.............in private!

Edge turns and grabs the camera and shoves it to the side. The camera man falls down to the ground and the feed goes to static. We quickly cut back to the arena, where Maven makes his way down to the ring. As he is about to climb a corner and pose, Heath Cameron slides into the ring and clobbers him from behind with an elbow to the head.

Heath Cameron vs Maven

The referee rings the bell and the match gets under way. Heath assaults Maven viciously, as last week on Raw, Maven shoved Tracy off the ring apron during the Heath Cameron/Nick Dinsmore vs Maven/Mark Jindrak match. It appears Heath is trying to beat and apology out of Maven and by the look sof the beating, it looks like he might get it. Maven takes advantage a split second pause by Heath to roll out of the ring. The safety is short lived for Maven, as Heath runs and dives out of the ring, landing on Maven with a crossbody. Heath jerks Maven up and sends him head first into the steel steps then tosses him into the ring. Heath looks at Tracy on the outside and yells to her, "This is for you!". Heath picks Maven up and positions him. He then leaps forward and nails the Flipping Hybrid Piledriver. The referee drops to his knees and checks on Maven as the crowd continues to cheer on wildly. Heath rolls Maven over and hooks a leg, 1.........2.........3!

Winner: Heath Cameron

Heath stands up and the referee raises his arm up in the air. Tracy on the outside of the ring celebrates by jumping around and screaming. She slides into the ring and hugs Heath, followed by a kiss to the cheeck. Heath looks at her and nods his head saying no. Tracy's expression changes and looks to be confused and quite possibly a little worried given their past. Heath grabs her and jerks her close to him. He proceeds to plant a big kiss on the lips and the crowd goes wild. The cheering comes to an end suddenly when the lights dim. Some music plays and a woman comes out to the stage. She is wearing a long pink gown, with matching hat. As the camera gets closer, it is revealed that it's Lana Star.

Lana: Awww, how sweet. Two lovebirds, with somewhat of a violent past, but love birds none the less. Let me ask you something Tracy, just how do you deal with his temper? I mean he's violent and he proved it tonight. Maven didn't even stand a chance. He completely destroyed him and didn't even think twice about how he did it. He did it all for you, but is that love or is that infatuation? Think about it Tracy, if he ever catches you looking at another guy, will he blow it off or will he do to you what he just did to poor little Maven over there? You have to ask all these questions to truly know your man. But let me tell you one thing. I know my man. I know he has a bad temper and a mean streak a mile long. I've learned to control him, so we get along real well. I think you would really like him. As a matter of fact, let me introduce you to him.

As she says that, Heath is blasted from behind by a huge man. Tracy gets shoved down to the mat and then the huge man picks Heath up. The man tosses Heath into a corner and then charges. He leaps up and hits Heath with a high knee to the chest area. The camera gets a good shot of the man and he appears to be of Samoan descent. The Samoan pulls Heath up and shoots him to the ropes and then leaps up and kicks him right in the face. The Samoan picks Heath up again and sends him to the corner again and this time goes over and plants him on the top turnbuckle. The Samoan then lifts him off the turnbuckle, onto his shoulder. He turns and gets a running start before dropping back with a devastating Muscle Buster! The Samoan gets up and doesn't look to be satisfied yet. He sits Heath up and then applies a body scissors, followed by a choke. The Samoan tightens the choke and Heath goes limp. Officials rush down the ramp and enter the ring. Tracy looks on horrified from the outside. Lana on the stage laughs on and then brings the mic up.

Lana: Joe, that's enough! It's time to go.

At the sound of her voice, the Samoan, who apparently is called Joe, releases the choke. He stands over Heath and cracks a demented smile as Heath spits out blood. The officials check on Heath, as he could very well have internal bleeding. Joe exits the ring and walks up the ramp to join Lana. The two stay on the stage as we cut to a commercial break.

Abyss vs Mike Mizanin

As we return from the commercial break, Abyss is in the ring assaulting The Miz. Miz tries to fight back, but Abyss tosses him over the top rope. Abyss goes to the outside and stalks Miz. As he bends down to grab Miz, a chair connects with Abyss' head. Miz gets up and whacks him on the back with the chair. Mitchell screams to the ref about the use of the chair. Miz nails Abyss with the chair one more time on the back. Abyss rolls into the ring and Miz follows. Once both men are in the ring, the referee calls for the bell. Miz stomps away on the monster Abyss and then pulls him up. Miz tries to whip him to the ropes, but Abyss reverses it. Miz rebounds from the ropes and ends up in the grasp of Abyss and feels the Black Hole Slam! Abyss sits up and looks to Mitchell, who gives him a signal. Abyss gets up to his feet and picks Miz up. He lifts him up onto his shoulders and then drops down with the Shock Therapy. Abyss covers Miz, 1.........2........Abyss pulls Miz's head up. Abyss jerks Miz up and then gives a double thumbs down signal, which draws the boos from the crowd. Abyss picks Miz up and drops him down with his version of the Batista Bomb. Abyss covers Miz one more time, 1........2.......3!

Winner: Abyss

Abyss stands up and grabs Miz by the throat. He doesn't look to be done just yet. As he's about to lift Miz up again for another powerbomb, Mitchell starts to scream to Abyss to turn around. He turns and is face to face with Batista. The two big men trade blows, with Batista getting the better of the exchange. Batista shoots Abyss to the ropes and look s to hit his spine buster, but Abyss hooks the rope and then rolls out of the ring. Batista screams to Abyss to get back into the ring, but the monster backs up the ramp. Batista turns and helps up Miz as we fade to the back. We see Raw's newest backstage interviewer, Maria Kanellis standing by with Sting.

Maria:Ladies and gentlemen, I'm standing here with the man that is making his return to the ring tonight, Sting. So tell us your thoughts on your match tonight with Edge and where've you been?

Sting: Well Maria, as most people know, I suffered a neck injury prior to last year's Wrestlemania that didn't require surgery. The injury did one thing and that was remind me that this is a young man's sport. But it wasn't until a few months ago that I got a call from Shelton Benjamin, who talked me into a return. I figured the Stinger needed to come back and go out on a high note. If I indeed am at my final days in this business, then what better way than to go out as a king.

Before Sting can continue, Shane McMahon comes over and cuts him off.

Shane: Look Sting, with all due respect, let me interrupt you for just a second. There has been a slight change to your match tonight against Edge. Due to the announcement I must make later tonight about the WWE title, Edge has been removed from the match, and the tournament as well. Taking his place will be another man making his long awaited return to the ring. Tonight, it will be Sting vs Kane in the main event. And just as an FYI, this is the only King of the Ring match tonight, as I asked my father to move the scheduled John Cena versus Kip James match to Smackdown due to the WWE title situation. Good luck out there tonight.

Sting looks on as the General Manager walks away and then continues on.

Sting: Like I was saying, there's no better way to end my career than as king of the ring. All I have to do is get through tonight's match against kane and.....

As he is talking, a hand reaches over and pulls the mic away. The camera pans to the side and we see Shelton Benjamin. Sting grabs the mic and brings it back towards himself.

Sting: Shelton, good to see you.

Shelton: Look Sting, it's good to have you back and all, but we have other business to discuss. In this business there comes a time for an established star to pass the torch to a younger up-and-coming superstar. Stinger, I believe that time is now. I've done all I can up to this point. I'm the United States champion. I'm one step away from challenging for the WWE title. The one thing that I need to do is defeat somebody established enough to earn that credibility of a main event superstar. Sting, I'm here to lay down the challenge. Shelton Benjamin versus Sting at King of the Ring. WHat do you say?

Sting: What do I say? here's what I say.

Sting quickly reels back and slaps Shelton across the face hard.

Sting: You called me to come back and then you come here and tell me that it's your time and want to face me in that ring! I've never been one to back down from a challenge and I'm not about to start now. I will say one thing to you Shelton, you're not ready. You may think this it your time, but it's not. I'll see you at King of the Ring, where it will be Showtime!

As Sting finishes, Shane McMahon comes back into the scene.

Shane: I couldn't help but overhear you guys talk about a match at King of the Ring. Shelton, Sting, you to have your match........only if Sting is eliminated from the tournament. If Sting makes it to the finals, your match is off Shelton, I'm sorry.

Shelton stares at Shane with a disappointed look on his face. Shane McMahon walks away and we cut to the arena where Doug Basham is coming down the ramp. Doug is pushing a shopping cart full of weapons. When he gets to ring side, he starts to take weapons out of the cart and tosses them into the ring. Doug slides into the ring and then lets out a loud yell as he poses on the ropes. The music of "Mr. Wrestling" Nick Dinsmore plays.

Nick Dinsmore vs Doug Basham

Basham waits in the ring as the music continues to play. Basham starts to get frustrated and begins to walk towards the ropes to leave the ring. As he reaches the ropes, the titantron comes on and we see Nick Dinsmore laying on the ground. We get a shot of Basham back in the ring and he look surprised. We go back to the shot of Dinsmore and the camera man zooms out. We see two Singapore canes laying on Dinsmore crossed together in the form of an X. We go back to the ring and see Basham watching the tron, looking worried. Before he can do anything, he is blasted from behind by a shot from a Singapore cane. He gets struck by another shot to the head. We get a shot of his attckers and they are none other than Justin Credible & The Sandman. The two assault Basham with multiple shots from the Singapore canes. Sandman picks Basham up and hits him with the White Russian Legsweep. Sandman covers and Credible goes down to count the three.

Winner: No Contest

Credible and Sandman prepare to attack again, but stop when "Perfect Strangers" by Deep Purple plays. The crowd quickly recognises the music and let out a mixed reaction. The reaction gets louder when Shane Douglas steps out through the entry way onto the stage. Douglas looks around with a big smile on his face. Douglas pulls out a mic out of his back pocket and brings it up to his mouth to speak.

Douglas: Your eyes are not playing tricks on you. Indeed, The Franchise is back!

The crowd lets out a loud pop for Shane Douglas. Douglas continues to look on with a huge smile while a "Franchise" chant starts up.

Douglas: It appears to me that hardcore has become a way to simply draw ratings. I was sitting at home watching Raw with a couple of friends, when I heard Shane McMahon say that he was going to draw ratings by having two guys that know nothing about the craft wrestle a hardcore match. We watched in disgust and decided it was time to show McMahon what hardcore is all about. We left the house and got in the car. We rode for thirty minutes and then layed out Nick Dinsmore upon arriving. This is not about WWE:TNA trying to bring hardcore back. No, this is about the history of hardcore in this business. You see, I don't like watching somebody rape the legacy of hardcore!

Most of the fans cheer, while the rest boo Douglas.

Douglas: ECW is dead and buried, and the so called "hardcore" style should stay that way. Hardcore is not something you can recreate. Hardcore was a lifestyle. All the guys in ECW left blood, sweat, and tears in the ring because they loved and respected the hardcore life. So for Shane McMahon to try and spit in the face of all the guys that loved doing what they did in ECW and all those fans that respected what they did, by trying to have non-hardcore wrestlers take part in hardcore matches makes me sick! So I'm gonna tell you what is going to happen. Sandman, Justin Credible, myself, and any other wrestler that built the legacy of hardcore in the past, will be watching closely. We will fight......no, no, no! We will DIE to protect the legacy of hardcore and ECW that we built on our shoulders. But we will not show disrespect by claiming to be ECW, because like I said, ECW has been dead and buried since Satan himself, Vince McMahon bought the rights of ownership. From now on you can simply call us The Extremists.

Shane Douglas drops the mic down and raises his arms up into the air. He then walks down the ramp and joins Credible and Sandman down at ringside. The three men jump the guard rail and leave through the crowd. As the three are making their way through the see of fans, we fade out to a video. The video starts up with some thunder claps. Then a bright light begins to slowly shine in the background. An object stands in front of the light, thus causing a silhouette to appear. It's in the shape of a Celtic cross. A voice over comes on.

The video fades out and we return to the arena where a large fire explosion goes off at the top of the ramp. This brings out the returning Kane to the stage. Kane walks down the ramp and receives a great ovation from the pumped up fans. Kane does his in-ring pyro spot and then "Seek and Destroy" by Metallica plays. The fans go wild when Sting comes out from behind the curtain. Sting looks to be extremely pumped up for his first round King of the Ring match. He makes his way to ringside and then enters the ring. As Sting removes his coat, "Aint No Stoppin' Me" plays and Shelton comes out to the stage. Shelton stays put at the top of the ramp and appears to just be out there to watch the match.

Sting vs Kane

The momentary distraction that Shelton causes is enough for Kane to take early control of the match. Kane lands heavy blows to the back of Sting's neck. Kane wraps his hands around the neck of Sting and then lifts him up. He then tosses him into the corner. Kane charges and goes for a clothesline, but Sting moves out of the way. Sting chops Kane and then kicks him in the gut. He whips him to the ropes and nails a clothesline of his own. Sting pounds his chest and lets out a scream. He picks kane up, but takes a open palm thrust to the throat. Sting staggers back and Kane then picks him up and drives him down with a sidewalk slam. Kane covers, but only keeps Sting down for a two count. Kane pulls Sting up and shoots him to the ropes. As Sting comes back, Kane wraps his hand around Sting's neck and looks for a chokeslam. Sting breaks free and nails a dropkick on the big red monster. Sting tries to cover Kane, but is grabbed by the throat again by Kane. Kane sits up and gets to his feet.Kane lifts Sting up, but the chokeslam gets countered into an armdrag. Kane rolls out of the ring dur to the arm drag. This allows Kane a chance to take a breather. Sting runs to the ropes and leaps onto the middle rope and springs over onto Kane on the outside. Kane catches the incoming Sting and then drives him back first onto the ring post. He then throws Sting back into the ring. Kane rolls in and then as Sting stands up, catches him with a boot to the face. Kane lifts Sting up and appears to be trying to finish him off with the Tombstone, but Sting slides off Kane's shoulders and lands behind him. Sting grabs Kane's head and pulls him back into the Scorpion Death Drop! He quickly covers Kane, 1.........2.........3!

Winner: Sting

Shelton Benjamin claps after the announcement is made that Sting has advanced to the second round of the King of the Ring tournament. Sting looks towards the stage and sees Benjamin clapping and isn't to happy about the gesture. Sting points to Benjamin and tells him that he'll worry about him later. Shelton smiles and then turns to leave. As he is about to go through the curtain, "Here Comes the Money" plays and Shane McMahon comes out with the WWE title over his shoulder. Shane looks at Shelton and points for him to go to the back. He then motions to everybody in the ring, including Sting to leave and do the same as Shelton. Shane doesn't look to be playing around and has a very serious look on his face. He asks for a mic and is handed one by the ring announcer.

Shane: I believe it's time to get this over with. All day I have been in and out of the WWE:TNA championship committee's office, trying to come up with a final verdict as to just who should be the WWE champion. Well for the last fourty minutes I was in there back and forth with Ricky Steamboat, Jim Cornette, Dusty Rhodes, and my father, Vince McMahon himself trying to end this nonsense and we came up with one solution. Since Christian had been deemed injured by the trainer and EMT's, the official match was indeed Chris Benoit versus Edge. Now normally the championship would be given back to Chris and have him and Edge go at it one more time to decided who the champion really is. Unfortunately, due to Chris Benoit's injury, that won't be happening. Therefore, ladies and gentlemen let me introduce to you your NEW WWE champion.......

Before he can finish his statement, "Just Close Your Eyes" comes on and an angry Christian comes power walking down the ramp. Christian slides into the ring and quickly snatches the mic away from Shane McMahon.

Christian: What?! That's your answer to the problem! You're going to declare Edge as the WWE champion, when he never even pinned Chris Benoit?! He'll, he's never even beaten me! You know damn well that I wasn't injured at Wrestlemania. You were there when they checked me. That trainer was paid off and so were the EMT's. You want to know why it took me so long to come back to the arena! It was because they were holding me hostage. I'm positive that it was Edge who paid them off to keep me out of the arena until after the match was over. But lets not forget the attack prior to that. I'm not exactly sure just who it was, but I'm sure they were working with the same person that tried to keep me away from my championship match.

Shane McMahon gets handed another mic and then brings it up to speak.

Shane:Look Christian, I understand you're upset, but you're talking crazy now. Paid off medical staff, hired mercenaries, it's all just paranoia to me. The trauma that was cause when I stripped you of the title is making you crazy. I'm sorry Christian, but face the facts that you are not the WWE champion. You'll get another shot at the title down the road, I guarantee it.

Christian: No Shane! Another title shot down the road is not what I want! It's real simple, give me a shot to prove just who the champion is. How about me and Edge go one on one next week, with the winner becoming the undisputed WWE champion?

Shane: I'm sorry Christian, no deal. Edge has already been declared the WWE champion by the championship committee.

As he says that, the titantron comes on and some heavy guitar riffs can be heard. The tron goes into static for a few second and then the word G-TV comes one. The static fades out to footage from a security camera placed overhead in the direction of a door that reads "Raw General Manager". We see Edge come out of the door and then just stands there for a few seconds. He then burst into the office that the door lead to. About thirty seconds after Edge goes in, we see Christian come into the shot. As he is about to approach the door, he is blindsided from behind by none other than Jeff Jarrett & JBL. The two assault Christian and pound him to the ground. they pick him up and he's a bloody mess. The two whip him towards the door, which is opening up. Christian crashes into the door and the impact sends him back, landing hard on the floor. We then see Edge peek out and go back into the office. the footage turns out to be security camera footage from Wrestlemania 21. We see a shot of Shane McMahon in the ring watching the tron and looks shocked by what he's watching. The footage goes back to static. We see Shane McMahon about to bring the mic up to speak, but is cut off when the static goes back to some more footage. This time the camera is position over head in what appears to be Shane McMahon's office. We see him at his desk going over some paperwork, when Edge bursts into the office. Shane pops up off his chair and then Edge goes over to him.

Edge: Damn it Shane, you told me it was done, I didn't have to worry about Matt anymore. Especially tonight when the entire masterplan comes to an end. not only will I have the girl, but I'll have the gold. I assume you took care of the issue with the trainer and Jeff and John are in on it as well?

Shane: Don't worry about it, it's all taken care of. Jeff and John agree to it, just as long as you grant both me title shots down the road. By the end of the night, you will finally be standing in the rightful spot you should have been years ago.......champ.

The video fades out to static and we are taken to a shot of Christian's reaction to all of this. He is about to explode, as the entire conspiracy he was talking about has been proven to be true. Shane McMahon is angry at the fact that he has been exposed, but his expression quickly changes when he sees Christian. Shane starts to beg off, but Christian won't have any of it. Christian grabs Shane by the coat and demands to know why Shane has done all this to him. Why did he take everything he had worked so hard for. Shane doesn't answer and is still trying to talk his way out of it. Before Christian can do anything, Edge slides into the ring and tries to attack him. Christian ducks the attempt and then lands some heavy punches. Christian rips off his shirt and mounts Edge. The rights and lefts rain down onto the face of Edge. Christian slides out and grabs a chair. He returns to the ring, but Shane McMahon pulls Edge out of the ring. Christian swings the chair wildly and strikes the ropes just as Edge makes it to the outside. Christian tosses the chair out of the ring towards Edge and Shane, but the two are too far up the ramp. Christian screams out to the two to come back, but neither of them makes a move. As Christian continues to challenge them, the crowd lets out a chorus of boos. We quickly find out why when Christian turns around and is met by a jumping crescent kick from Booker T. Booker slaps Christian while on the ground, but Christian brings Booker down with a double leg takedown. Before Christian can do any damage, Orlando Jordan, Bobby Lashley, Monty Brown, and apparently the newest memeber of the New Nation, Mark Henry slide into the ring and pull Christian off Booker. Booker looks to Shane McMahon, who raises his arm up and gives a thumbs down gesture. The four men beat down Christian and then pull him up for Booker to take some shots himself. Booker pulls Christian in and delivers a Book End on him. The New Nation stands over Christian and they raise their arms up in the air. As the copyright logo comes one the screen, we see Edge and Shane McMahon smiling. The show then fades to black.

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WRITER'S NOTE: Before any stones are cast towards me, the "spoken" text that is part of the hype promo for The Saints tag team set to debut soon, was not written by me. It was in fact taken directly from the movie The Boondock Saints. I'm not claiming to have written any part of it myself. Thank you.

Christian earned the right to face Chris Benoit by defeating 29 other superstars at the 2005 Royal Rumble. He went on to defeat Chris Benoit at Wrestlemania 21 last night, but the title reign would not last long. Hours later, Shane McMahon forced Christian to vacate the title due to changes made to the match that removed any rights Christian had to challenge for the title. The board of directors have reviewed the situation and have come up with a solution. Shane McMahon will make that announcement tonight on Raw. Will Christian be given back what he rightfully earned? Or will Edge sneak his way to championship gold? What about the injured, former champion Chris Benoit? Could the title be given back to him instead? Only Shane McMahon has those answer and he will deliver the announcement tonigh, live on Raw.

BREAKING NEWS: Christian stripped of WWE title!

In a shocking turn of events, WWE champion Christian has been stripped of the title and his win is being removed from the record books. General Manager Shane McMahon stated that the reason for the vacancy of the title is due to the fact that Christian was not officially involved in the bout at match time. The match was officially changed to Edge vs Chris Benoit because everybody thought Christian was going to be unable to compete after being assaulted earlier on in the night. The WWE:TNA board of directors will be looking over the matter and will come to a conclusion. They will then allow Shane McMahon to make an official statement about the title situation at Raw tonight.

Report by: Dee Wallace Stone

New Nation vs New World Order

In what is being called the most shocking moment of Wrestlemania, Eric Bischoff brought the nWo (Hogan, Hall, & Nash) in to WWE:TNA to aid him with Booker T and his New Nation.The aid couldn't have come any sooner, as the New Nation has secured just about every title there is on Smackdown. Who better to battle a dominant group, than the group that defined dominant back in the WCW days. Now it doesn't appear like the nWo will be around for a long time and by the sound of Bischoff's speech, we may be right. Bischoff stated that for the "next three weeks" Booker T would defend his title against all three members of the nWo. It is known that Hogan is working on a per appearance contract only, so he could be gone at any moment. Hall and Nash are both under contract, so they could be around for a while. It is possible that we could see Lashley & Jordan vs The Outsiders and Hollywood Hogan vs Monty Brown at King of the Ring, but things could change.

The King of Kings

Vince McMahon made the announcement last night at Wrestlemania that the King of the Ring ppv and tournament was returning to WWE:TNA. The matches were announced and the participants. What is different about this years tournament is the fact that half of the wrestlers involved are former kings. McMahon spared no expence and pulled out the check book to get some of the former kings to take part. Steve Austin and Bret Hart are two men who had for the most part taken a break from the business and are now returning for the tournament. If past tournaments are any indication, this tournament will be all about the fresh, new talent. Yes the tournament is being called the "king of kings tournament", but the company knows that they have a better chance at creating and pushing a new superstar through this tournament than resparking the flame of a past one. The two that stand out most in the tournament as candidates to benefit most from this tournament are Charlie Haas and Chris Masters. Haas has being receiving a slow built push for the last year, but minor injuries have slowed that down. Masters on the other hand looks to be headed to a big push now as a singles wrestler. After his run-in with Angle and Styles at Wrestlemania, the chances of seeing Masters face those two men during the tournament are good.

Women's Super 8 Tournament?

The Women's Super 8 tournament is something WWE:TNA management has talked about for months. Sources tell us that the women's division may soon get some fresh new faces and the tournament could very well become a reality. Christy Hemme and Jenny Lane are the two newest divas to be signed by WWE:TNA. Veronica Stevens (Simply Luscious), Jenny Taylor, Bobcat, Lana Kinnear, and Desire are just about ready to be called up to the main roster. With the current roster of women and the newly singned and called up divas, the tournament could be the women's version of the King of the Ring tournament.

Chris Benoit Injured "4 Real"

The injury that Chris Benoit received at Wrestlemania was not scripted in anyway as an excuse to take the title off him. Sources tell us that the match was set to run for a good twenty five to thirty minutes before Christian was to make his way to the ring and win the title. The match ending had to be rushed due to Benoit landing hard on his shoulder while falling from the ring to the outside. After the show went off the air, trainers and EMT's checked him completely, but it wasn't until he was taken to the hospital and look at by a doctor that he knew the extent of his injury. We have gotten word that Chris Benoit suffered a seperated shoulder. It's an AC Type 3 separated shoulder to be exact. Doctors told Benoit to get a lot of rest and to take it easy for the next few weeks. He is scheduled to be checked up on in about two weeks. At that time the doctor will let him know if he will require surgery or not. Chris Benoit is expected to be out of action for about 4 to 6 weeks (longer if he needs to have surgery).

Pre-Show Match

Christopher Daniels d. Frankie Kazarian

Val Venis d. Doug Basham

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:::[PPV INTRO VIDEO AND PYRO EXPLOSIONS]:::

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After the pyro stops going off and the smoke clears, we get a wide shot of the arena. Not a single seat is empty and all the fans are on their feet. We get a glimpse of many of the signs that the fans brought to the show and then are taken to a shot of the Wrestlemania 21 set. After a few seconds of showing the set, we are taken to a tight shot of the announcers, who welcome us to Wrestlemania. They do a rundown of the card for tonight and then discuss some of the events leading up to the matches. As the duo of Jerry Lawler and Joey Styles wrap up their opening comments, the bell is rung and "Ain't No Stoppin' Me" plays. Shelton Benjamin steps out for the opening bout. He has his United States title hanging over his shoulder and he walks down the ramp to tremendous ovation from the crowd.

Shelton Benjamin vs Edge

United States Championship

Shelton Benjamin is the first to make his entrance and the crowd pops loudly for him. The United States champion looks to be extremely excited and he shares his excitement with the crowd. The cheering quickly turns to boos as "Metalingus" by Alter Bridge comes on and out comes Edge with Lita. The challenger looks to be extra cocky tonight as he is walking and motioning that the title will soon go around his waist. Edge slides into the ring and then does his usual posing on the corner, which draws more booing from the crowd. Edge and Shelton go face to face and then the ref raises the title up in the air. The bell is then rung and before Edge and Shelton can lock up, "Live For the Moment" by Monster Magnet plays and Matt Hardy comes sprinting down to the ring. Edge's eyes widen when he sees his former friend slide into the ring. Edge ducks a punch attempt and then jumps out of the ring. Matt follows and the two go up the ramp. The referee begins to count as Edge runs away from Matt. As Edge is about to go through the entry way, he realizes he left Lita behind. Matt turns around and sees Lita trying to sneak towards the railing to jump over. Matt walks towards a scared Lita, but is blindsides by Edge from behind. Edge and Lita then go up the ramp and Matt gets back up and gives chase. By this time the referee has already counted to ten and called for the bell.

Lawler: I can't believe this Joey! Matt Hardy has just screwed Edge out of his shot at the United States title!

Styles: Well King, there's a thing called karma, and Edge found out first hand just how things come back to bite you on the backside. But what I can't believe is that this will go down in history as the fastest title defense at a Wrestlemania.

Edge is shown backstage stopping infront of a monitor and realizing that he just lost the match. He looks back and Matt Hardy is no longer chasing after him. It appears that Matt Hardy simply wanted to screw Edge out of the title and succeeded in doing so.

Winner: Shelton Benjamin

Edge knocks the monitor over and then storms off cursing at the top of his lungs. As we see him walking into the background, we fade into a video package for the following match between New Nation members Orlando Jordan & Bobby Lashley taking on champions Rico & Spanky.

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Rico & Spanky vs Orlando Jordan & Bobby Lashley

Smackdown Tag Team Championship

The music of Rico and Spanky hits as soon as the video comes to a end. As the two flamboyant champions step out of the entry way the crowd gives them a loud pop. The reaction quickly changes as OJ and Lashley comes from behind and blindside the champions. Lashley grabs Spanky and hits a sick looking german suplex onto the floor. OJ kicks and shoves Rico all the way towards the ringside area. Lashley comes over and joins OJ. Lashley grabs Rico and presses him over his head. He then tosses him over the top rope. The referee calls for the bell and the match is under way. OJ goes in and continues the assault on Rico and goes for the cover. Rico manages to kick out right before the third count from the referee. OJ signals for the Blackout, but Rico counters into a DDT. As OJ lays on the mat holding his head, Rico crawls to the corner, but Spanky is nowhere to be seen. He is still layed out on the ramp and isn't moving. Rico sees his partner down and then begins to pull himself up and the crowd gets behind him. They cheer and scream for him and Rico starts to scream at OJ to get up. OJ stands up and Rico hits a spinning side kick to the gut. OJ staggers back and Lashley slaps him on the back when Rico isn't looking. Rico grabs OJ and prepares to hit another kick, but Lashley comes in and blasts Rico with a vicious forearm to the side of the head. Lashley picks Rico up into a torture rack and the referee starts to ask Rico if he gives up. Before the referee can get an answer from Rico, Lashley flips Rico off his shoulders into a variation of the Dominator. Lashley makes the cover and drives his forearm into Rico's face, 1.......2.......3!

Winners: The New Nation

In a not so surprising manner, the New Nation captures the Smackdown tag team titles. The match was a complete squash and the crowd isn't too happy with the outcome. Lashley and Jordan snatch the titles away from the referee and hold them up in the air. Jordan looks into the camera and says that this is just the first of three titles that the New Nation is capturing tonight. We go to a shot of Joey Styles and Jerry Lawler and the two are speechless. Stylesthen informs us that he is being told that something is going on in the back.

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As we go to the back, we see Edge burst into Shane McMahon's office and pulls Shane up.

Edge: SHANE! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!! I THOUGHT YOU HAD ALL THIS UNDER CONTROL!!!! WHAT HAPPENED DAMN IT!!

Shane: Calm down Edge. Bischoff told me that he was going to keep Matt under control, but I guess he just couldn't. It's not my fault Edge, besides you did steal away the love of his life and turned your back on him. What did you expect, that he would just turn the other cheek and go about his life.

Edge: Well you gotta go out there and restart my match. Give me the match I was signed to compete in tonight so I can win the United States title as I promised.

Shane: I can't just do that Edge, you know that. There's contracts and paperwork involved with title matches and this match is officially over. You were counted out and that is a definite end to the match and can't be restarted. You're just going to have to sit out the rest of Wrestlemania and wait for another title shot to present itself at a later time.

Edge: Sit out Wrestlemania? You seriously expect me to sit this show out because Matt screwed me out of my title! Mark my words Shane, this night isn't over for me. I'll find a place to pop up even if I have to take somebody out of the picture to do it!

Edge gives Shane a cold look and then turns away. Edge walks to the door and shoves it open. As the door swings out, a loud thud is heard and the door shoots back at Edge. Edge managed to take a step back and avoided the returning door. Edge opens the door and peaks out. Edge gets back in the room and has a huge smile on his face.

Edge: Shane, I think that title shot just presented itself.

Edge turns around and begins to laugh as he opens the door and walks out. The camera man follows and as the door is fully opened, we see Christian laying on the ground. He is severely busted open from his forehead and there's lots of blood on the floor near him. There is a trail of bloody foot prints leading away from him, so it appears that it wasn't just Edge shoving the door open that did the damage, but someone else attacked Christian at just about the exact same time. We see some officials rushing towards Christian in the distance and then we cut to a shot of the arena where we are set for the following match. The music of the challenger hits and out comes Trish Stratus, with Victoria following behind.

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Angel Williams vs Trish Stratus

Women's Championship

After what we've seen so far, this match was looked at as a "bathroom" break for some of the fans. Those that remained in their seats saw a hell of a match. The two women put on a great showing with holds and counter holds that are normally seen in matches involving the likes of Benoit or Angle. The match didn't go long, but for the most part it was fast and furious. Angel dominated the match near the end, but a mistake by Nidia shifted the momentum in the challenger's way. Trish collects herself and waits for Angel to get up to her feet. As Trish is poised to hit Stratusfaction on Angel, Victoria is attacked from behind by somebody. Trish turns her full attention towards the action on the outside and we see Alexis Laree attacking Victoria. Trish goes over to the ropes to try to exit the ring, but Nidia comes over and kicks Trish in the head as she's got her head between the ropes. Trish staggers back and Angel catches her and hits the Angel Driver. As Angel covers and hooks the leg, the referee comes to and starts the slow count, 1.........2.........3!

Winner: Angel Williams

Angel picks up the victory thanks to outside distraction from Alexis Laree and outside help from Nidia. Security rushes down to ringside and stop any further attacks from Laree on Victoria. Laree turns to the ring and stares down the champion. Laree begins to walk backwards up the ramp, never taking her eyes off the champion. As she is walking, she points towards the ring and then motions that the title will be around her waist soon. Laree goes through the curtain and we then get a shot of Angel holding her title up in the air. From that image we fade out to a shot of Booker T warming up backstage. The shot turns into a split screen shot and see see the champ, John Cena getting ready as well. After we see the two men that will be involved in the Smackdown brand's main event tonight warm up, we are shown a video package showcasing highlights from the first two Ultimate X matches in WWE:TNA history. The involvement of Chris Sabin in both previous matches is pushed hard.

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Chris Sabin vs Petey Williams vs Mysterio

Cruiser-X Championship

The action got under way quickly after all three men made their entrances. High flying antics and insane bumps were shown off by these three athletes, and they didn't hold anything back. At one point in the match, a bump off the X cable structure by Sabin had everybody wondering if he had broken his neck, but he was alright. The closing moments of this match had the crowd on their feet for every single move thrown their way. Sabin and Mysterio throw kicks at each other while on the cables. Mysterio manages to knock Sabin off, but then falls off himself. Mysterio lands on his feet, but appears to have hurt his knee. He bends over and grabs at his knee. Out of nowhere, Williams comes in and in a split second hits the Canadian Destroyer on Mysterio. The crowd pops for the devestating move and then begin to stomp away to pump up all the men in the ring, who are all laying on the mat. Sabin and Williams begin to move first and the crowd starts a mixed chant for both men with half cheering on Sabin and the other half for Williams. Williams gets up first and attempts to hit the Destroyer again, but Sabin suddenly counters it into the Cradle Shock. Sabin gets to his feet and climbs up a corner, then leaps up and grabs on to the cable. Sabin makes his way to the center of the cable structure and grabs his belt. Sabin unhooks the title and drops down to the mat.

Winner: Chris Sabin

Sabin grabs his belt and holds it up. The crowd pops for that and then begin to go silent when the lights dim. Sabin looks around as if confused by what's going on. Everybody else in the arena seems to be just as confused by what is happening. The Titantron comes on and we are treated to few shots of action from a masked man. The crowd quickly recognizes who it is and let out a mixed reaction. As the video wraps up with these words, "Unmasked & Unleashed! The Juice is coming!" Sabin looks on and nods his head as if to say that he acknowledges the fact that he now has a new contender for his title and he welcomes the challenge. As Sabin continues to celebrate his victory by jumping into the crowd and huging fans, a video plays highlighting the events leading up to the match between Ric Flair and Raven.

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Raven vs Ric Flair

Raven's Rules Match

As the video comes to a close, the music of Ric Flair hits and he struts his way down to the ring. Flair removes his robe and awaits Raven. The crowd cheers on while Flair does his trademark strut in the ring. The crowd pops when "Scream" plays, signaling the entrance of Raven. The crowd seems to be torn between cheering Raven and cheering for Flair. The music keeps playing, but Raven is nowhere to be seen. The music plays for another forty or so seconds and still no Raven. The music stops and the crowd boos. The boos get louder when out of nowhere, Shannon Moore slides into the ring and attacks Flair from behind. Moore attempts a ddt, but Flair escapes it and delivers a series of chops. As Moore clutches at his chest, Flair drops down to his knees and nails a low blow. Moore falls to the mat in pain and then Flair grabs his leg and applies the Figure Four Leglock. A referee comes running down and slides into the ring. For some reason the referee questions Moore and he taps out. It appeared that the match was changed on the fly from Flair vs Raven to Flair vs Moore, but it was never officially mentioned.

Winner: Ric Flair

Flair picks up a win, but where was Raven. Styles and Lawler ask the very same question to each other at the announcers table. Flair leaves the ring and doesn't look to happy. We then cut to the back where we see Chavo Guerrero sitting down reading a magazine. He has his head bandaged up and his right eye is swollen. Chavo tosses the magazine aside and quickly stands up. We see Monty Brown come up, with Lashley and Jordan behind him.

Brown: Whoa, whoa! Calm down little man, we're not here to fight. As a matter of fact, we're here simply to have a few words with you.

Chavo: Yeah, what about?!

Brown: Well it's just that we feel like it's pointless beating on you like we've been doing lately. Our target is Eddie, not you. You've simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time during all of this.

Chavo: Wrong place? Wrong time? You think me being there for my uncle, my blood, mi familia is being in the wrong place at the wrong time!

Brown: I don't think we're getting through to you, so I'll just leave you with this, your loyalty is gonna get you hurt worse than anything you've received from us recently. So ask yourself, when is the last time Eddie came to your rescue lately.

The New Nation members walk off, leaving Chavo with an angry expression on his face. We cut back to the arena where the Troubleshooters Brent Albright and Chris Masters are making their way down to the ring for the last time as a tag team. The two men are proudly wearing their tag team titles around their waist and cockily flaunt them to the fans as they walk down the ramp. This draws huge boos from the fans. The reaction quickly changes when "Live for the Moment" by Monster Magnet plays and out comes the former WWE champion, Matt Hardy. Hardy is wearing a "Death to Edge" shirt on as he runs down to the ring. He slides into the ring and throws up the V1 sign, to a loud pop from the crowd. The fans let out a loud ovation when "I Walk Alone" by Saliva plays and out comes the Raw number one draft pick, Batista. Before he can make it all the way down the ramp, Batista is stopped dead in his tracks when "No Chance" plays and Mr. McMahon comes out to the stage area.

McMahon: I apologise for the interuption, but I have something to say. I just got off the phone with a few superstars that haven't been seen in this company for a while now and they've all agreed to return. The idea I presented to them that got them to finally agree to come to terms with us is something the fans have been asking for since we stopped running it. You see, at the start of the roster split one thing that we got rid of was the anual King of the Ring tournament. The very tournament that produced many world champions after they won the crown. Well I am proud to announce that next month's Backlash pay-per-view is now cancelled and will be replaced by the return of the King of the Ring!

The fans go wild at the sound of the announcement of the return of the King of the Ring tournament. McMahon raises his hand up and motions for the crowd to calm down, as it appears he has more to say.

McMahon: Because of the return of the tournament, past kings have decided to make a return for the tournament. The idea behind this years version of the tournament is eight kings returning to claim their rightful place as the undisputed King of the Ring, while eight up and coming superstars try to become king by defeating their peers and dethroning past kings. The tournament will be dubbed, the "King of Kings" tournament. At the end of this tournament we will have a king that reigns over everybody past and present. And as an added bonus, the winner of the tournament will earn a guaranteed title shot at either the WWE or NWA champion whenever they choose to challenge for the title. The tournament brackets will be as follows:

Bracket A

Kip James vs John Cena

Viscera vs AJ Styles

Brock Lesnar vs Randy Orton

Triple H vs BG James

Bracket B

Sting vs Edge

Chris Masters vs Stone Cold

Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit

Charlie Haas vs Bret Hart

McMahon There you have it folks. Viscera, Stone Cold, & Bret Hart make their return to the active roster to take part of this tournament and defend their crowns. Also, Sting makes his long awaited return to action. The King of the Ring: King of Kings Tournament will kick off tomorrow night on Raw with the first match, NWA World Heavyweight champion John Cena taking on Kip James and the second tournament match of the night will be Edge taking on the man called Sting! So for now, good evening and enjoy the rest of the show!

Mr. McMahon turns around and walks through the curtain to the back. Batista finishes making his entrance and slides into the ring. Hardy and Batista talk some strategy before Batista heads for the apron. Hardy and Albright look to be the ones that will start the match.

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The Troubleshooters vs Batista & Matt Hardy

Raw vs Smackdown Match

As Albright and Matt are about to lock up, "Down in the Catacombs" plays and out comes Abyss with James Mitchell not far behind. Abyss appears to be going after Batista and Mitchell confirms that when he starts to scream threats out to him. Batista turns around and starts to call Abyss closer to the ring, as Abyss has stopped half way down the ramp. As Batista is focused on Abyss, Masters comes into the ring and clotheslines him from behind. The shot sends Batista flying off the apron and the big man hits the floor hard. Masters then turns his attention to Hardy, who has Albright in the corner. Masters clubs Hardy from behind and the two start to double team him. Abyss rushes down and picks BatistaThe tag team champions assault Hardy for a while and get a few near falls. Masters calls Albright over to the corner and tags himself in. Albright looks at him oddly, but ignores it quickly and goes to the apron. Masters picks Hardy up and drives him down hard into the mat with a high vertical suplex. Masters goes over to cover him, but before the one count he picks Matt up by the hair. Masters picks Hardy up and locks in his finishing hold the Full Nelson, otherwise known as the Master Lock. The referee goes over and asks Matt if he wants to quit, but Hardy is trying hard to escape the hold. The crowd starts to rally behind Matt and he starts to make his way to the ropes. Masters looks shocked that Hardy is fighting the hold. Masters applies the hold tighter and Hardy starts to show signs of fading. The referee checks on Matt and raises his arm up and lets go. His arms drops. The referee does it again and Hardy's arm drops for a second time. One more time and the match will be over. The referee raises the arm up and lets it go. The arm is coming down, but Masters releases the hold and slams Hardy down to the mat. Masters grabs Hardy and drags him closer to his corner. Masters extends his arm and gets the tag from Albright. Masters picks Hardy up and holds him for Albright to hit. Albright charges in with a clothesline, but Hardy dives out of the way and Masters takes the blow. Hardy then dives towards his corner and manages to tag his partner, Batista, who just made it to the apron. The crowd explodes and Batista comes in like a blaze of hell. Albright is blasted by a series of clotheslines and then takes a huge spinde buster. Batista lets out a scream and then slaps his chest a few times. He then calls for Albright to get up. As he is doing this, Masters slides back into the ring to try to blind side Batista, but is caught. Masters stares right into the eyes of Batista and then looks down at Albright. He shrugs his shoulders and then throws his arms into the air as if saying, "Forget this". Masters leaves the ring and walks up the ramp. Batista turns back to Albright and catches him standing up. Batista lifts him up and drives him down with the Batista Bomb. Batista makes the cover and the referee drops down to make the uncontested three count.

Winners: Batista & Matt Hardy

As we see Batista standing over the fallen ALbright, we are then taken to a shot of Masters going through the curtain. Masters has basically walked out on his parter, but more importantly, his friend. We cut to the back where Masters is walking down the hall. Some of the wrestlers watch him as he is passing by and then they whisper to each other. Masters stops and takes notice of what's going on. Most of the wrestlers scatter, but only Paul London and Johnny Jeter stay. Masters walks over and tries to intimidate both, but neither one moves a muscle.

Masters: If you've got something to say, say it to my face!

London: Relax Chris, what you do is your business. We simply were discussing our opinion about it.

Masters: Well let me tell you something little man, your opinion don't matter much. And by the look of my new contract, I'll be seeing you a whole lot more, so I'll show you just how very little it matters.

Jeter: You know Chris, no matter what you do, no matter what gimmick you may use, you've always been an asshole. I don't know how Brent even put up with you for so long. He should have seen it coming, but I guess he trusted you more than any of us ever would. No matter what gimmick I play or have played, I've always stood by my parters......better yet, my friends. It didn't matter if I was playing a comedy role or a serious role, I always did what was right by my FRIEND. Now if I was to be told to play a male cheerleader, then maybe we would have a problem. But I'm getting off my point. Chris, you may think you are this big gift to the wrestling business, but you lack one single thing that will never allow you to make a huge impact. You lack the ability to think about anybody other than yourself.

Masters: Is that so, huh?

Masters cracks a smug smile and then blasts both London and Jeter with a double clothesline. He picks up London and then tosses him through a nearby window. Masters goes over and pulls Jeter up and locks him in the Master Lock. Jeter rapidly tries to fight the hold, but is way overpowered and ends up limp. Masters releases the hold and shoves Jeter down to the floor.

Masters: We'll see if I don't have what it takes to make an impact!

Masters gives Jeter a kick for good measure before walking off. As he is leaving the area, we go to the arena where Eddie Guerrero is making his entrance. The Intercontinental champion is walking with a purpose and the crowd is going nuts. Eddie slides into the ring and hands the belt to the referee. He climbs a corner and poses for his fans. Eddie climbs down and then turns to the entry way and awaits his challenger. The music of the New Nation hits and Monty Brown comes out. Eddie leaves the ring and runs up the ramp.

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Eddie Guerrero vs Monty Brown

Intercontinental Championship

Eddie meets Brown on the ramp and they trade punches. Eddie starts winning the war and Brown nails Eddie with a thrust to the throat. Knockdown and Brown stomps on Eddie on the ramp. He picks him up only to get rights and a kick. Brown kicks Eddie and throws him off the ramp into the guard rail. Eddie takes an axehandle and then Brown rams him into the rail and chokes him with it. The ref tries to restore order but Brown backs him up and then steps on Eddie's throat. Brown tosses Eddie back on the ramp and follows with a knee drop to the chest and then picks him up. Brown lifts Eddie up and applies a bear hug and walks to the ring apron. Brown looks around and drops Eddie to the floor and then hits another knee drop to the chest of Eddie. Brown finally rolls him inside. Brown slides into the ring and cover for a two. Brown begins to choke Eddie, but breaks at the referees four count and reapplies the choke. Brow releases and gets up to his feet. He bends over to pick Eddie up but gets a right hand to the face. Another right hand in the gut. Uppercut and Eddie is standing on his feet. Rights, lefts and a whip to the ropes but Brown nails Eddie with a powerful clothesline. Brown attempts to drop and elbow but misses. Eddie gets up and delivers more rights and another whip. Eddie ducks Brown's clothesline and kicks him in the gut. Eddie grabs Brown and takes him over with a suplex. Eddie pops his hips and gets up again with Brown still in his grasp. He hits another suplex and repeates the motion. Eddie finally snaps him over with the third suplex, finishing off the hat trick. Eddie motions that it's time to go up to the top rope. As he is about to go up, Orlando Jordan and Bobby Lashley come running down to ringside. Eddie decks Lashley and then Jordan slides into the ring. He charges Eddie, but gets tossed over the top rope. Eddie does his shoulder shimmy and brings the crowd to their feet. He then rushes to the corner and climbes up quickly. Lashley leaps up to the apron and draws the referee's attention. Eddie pauses for a second, but this allows Jordan to come up and push him off the top. Eddie comes crashing down and takes the referee with him at the same time. The ref is down, Eddie is down, Brown is down, and Jordan and Lashley enter the ring. The two stalk the Intercontinental champion, drawing a chorus of boos. As they are about to make a move, the crowd pops and we see Chavo Guerrero sprinting to the ring with a steel chair in hand. Lashley and Jordan back up as Chavo slides into the ring. The two don't know what to do. Chavo stands over his uncle and then kneels down to check on him. Lashley and Jordan slowly exit the ring, but keep an eye on Chavo. Chavo walks over to the rope and raises the chair up, causing Jordan and Lashley to back up further from the apron. Brown and Eddie start to get up to their feet. Chavo turns and readies the chair. Brown turns and sees Chavo charging with the chair and braces for impact. Chavo stops right before making impact with Brown's skull and then turns and blasts Eddie over the head with the steel chair. Chavo tosses the chair down hard to the mat. Chavo starts to tremble a little and his right eye starts to twitch. He leaps out of the ring and walks up the ramp with a deranged look on his face. Brown looks around and can't believe it. He rolls Eddie over and makes the cover, but the ref is still down. Jordan goes around and tries to wake the ref up. After a few tugs at him, he comes to. The ref slowly crawls towards the middle and starts the count, 1................2................KICK OUT! Eddie somehow managed to kick out. Brown, Lashley, and Jordan can't believe the match isn't over. Brown gets up and begins to scream at Eddie to get up. Eddie grabs on to the bottom rope and uses it to get up. He grabs the second rope and attempts to balance himself. He grabs the top rope and gets to his feet. The crowd is going wild at this moment, as a bloody Eddie is attempting to make a comeback. Brown charges at Eddie with a clothesline, but Eddie ducks it and runs to the ropes. Brown turns and runs to the adjacent rope. With the blood in his eyes, Eddie doesn't realise that Brown has run to the ropes, so out of nowhere Eddie is hit with the Pounce! Brown viciously jerks Eddie towards the middle of the ring and covers, 1..........2..........3!

Winner: Monty Brown

The Smackdown tag team champions slide in and present Monty Brown with his newly won Intercontinental championship. The three members of the New Nation pose with their titles in the middle of the ring. A bloody Eddie Guerrero lies under them as they celebrate Brown's victory. As the celebration continues, we are taken to a shot of the backstage area where Chavo is walking towards his car in the parking lot. Chavo tosses his bag into the trunk and then enters the car. Chavo doesn't waste much time and simply turns the car on and bolts out of the arena. From that we are taken to a shot of Chris Benoit warming up for his match later on tonight. We still aren't sure if Christian will be able to wrestle after the attack suffered earlier on in the night. Shortly after that we are taken right into a video package recapping events leading up to the steel cage match that is up next.

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Jeff Jarrett & JBL vs Shawn Michaels & Triple H

Steel Cage Match

Both teams make their entrances and the cage is lowered. After some jawing between the two teams in the ring the ref calls for the bell to signal the official start of the bout. Jarrett begins by running to Hbk, but takes a chop that knocks him on his ass. JBL is backed into the corner of the twosome and as Triple H charges, JBL quickly gets himself out of the corner before they can double team him. JBL and Triple H lock up in the center of the ring and JBL shoots HHH into the ropes. On the recoil HHH is back body dropped to the canvas by JBL. HBK on the other side of the ring has Jarrett in a corner and is laying in with hard punches to the forehead. JBL reaches over to Jarrett and they slam HBK down into the mat with a double team powerbomb. They again try to double team HBK but he rolls out of the way just as they attempt to drop double elbows down on him. JBL and Jarrett hit nothing but the mat of the ring as HBK stands up. HBK goes over to the cage to attempt to climb but as he does, he is distracted by Jim Ross, which allows Jarrett to blind side him from behind. Jarrett works HBK back into a corner and JBL comes charging in with a shoulder block. Jarrett and JBL begin to stomp away on HBK but HHH comes over and pulls Jarrett away. HHH shoots Jarrett to the ropes and nails him with a high knee to the face. JBL brings a hurting HBK to his feet and whips him into the corner turnbuckle across the ring. JBL charges at HBK with a knee lift and then tosses him out of the corner. JBL is about to climb up on to the top ring ropes when HHH distracts him, this allows HBK to get to his feet pull all his strenght into a last ditch effort. HBK catches JBL on the top rope and body slams him down to the mat. HBK then quickly slumps in a corner to recollect himself. HHH goes over and brings JBL to his feet and shoot him into the ring ropes and blast him with a face buster. HHH drops an elbow on to JBL and covers him, but the ref is to busy arguing with James Storm, who is now at ringside, to count the pin attempt. HHH picks JBL up and locks in a sleeper hold. HBK sees this and pulls himself up to his feet. HBK attempts to hit Sweet Chin Music on JBL, but he ducks and Triple H ends up taking the kick. JBL hits the ropes and attempts to catch HBK with the Clothesline from Hell from behind. HBK quickly turns around and hits a super quick Sweet Chin Music on JBL. With the other three down, HBK decides it's best to just win the match and starts to climb the cage. As he is half way up, Chris Harris comes running down to the ring and leaps onto the cage. He rushes up and tosses powder in the eyes of HBK. HBK climbs a little off the cage and places his feet on the ropes to try and wipe the powder from his eyes. As he is doing this, Jeff Jarrett climbs up and grabs HBK. Jarrett leaps off with HBK and nails a top rope Stroke. Jarrett rolls HBK over and covers, 1........2........3!

Winners: Jeff Jarrett & JBL

The cage begins to be lifted and this prompts AMW to enter the ring. Harris and Storm lay into HBK as Jarrett and JBL look on. HHH looks on and realised that he has lost the match. HHH rolls out of the ring and lifts up the apron cover. He looks for something under the ring and as he comes out, he has a sledgehammer in hand. The crowd goes wild as Triple H gets up to his feet and slides into the ring. Harris is the first to turn and takes a shot to the face. JBL charges at H, but takes a shot to the gut. Storm turns right into a sledgehammer shot to the forehead. Jarrett stands in a corner looking scared out of his mind as Triple H slowly walks over to him. H brings the sledgehammer over his head and then swings it down. Jarrett manages to leap out of the ring before any impact is made. The hammer strikes the top turnbuckle and it is torn clean off thanks to the impact of the blow. Jarrett's eyes wide as he pictures that being his head, had he not left the ring. Triple H has snapped and he strikes a referee that enters the ring. Another one enteres to try and calm things down, but he takes a shot to the gut as well. HBK gets to his feet and he still can't see a thing due to the powder in his eyes. He bumps into Triple H from behind and then turns and elbows him in the back. Triple Hgets even more angry and turns around and blasts HBK without even checking to see who it was that hit him from behind. H looks down and realises that it was HBK he just struck, but doesn't seem to care much for his mistake. Triple H drops the sledgehammer and walks out of the ring. He goes up the ramp to a loud pop from the crowd. As he's about to make it to the stage, "Medal" hits and out comes Kurt Angle. The two go face to face, but Angle turns his attention towards the ring and walks down the ramp. Angle enters the ring and we see officials removing all the bodies from the ring. As Angle warms up in the ring, we are taken to a video package recapping the long feud between Kurt Angle and AJ Styles. The highlight of the video is the beginning of the feud which came at Wrestlemania 20. The video wraps up with the two going nose to nose. With the video coming to an end, we go back to the arena where "I Am" plays and the crowd goes nuts for the arrival of the Phenomenal One, AJ Styles. Every single person in the arena is standing and cheering Styles as he walks down the ramp and then slides into the ring.

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Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles

No Holds Barred Match

Angle and Styles go face to face before the bell rings. Angle has Styles in a bad way early in the match after a blatant thumb to the eyes. JBL on the outside finally comes to and starts to cause a scene and this draws the refs attention. With the ref now distracted Angle pulls a pair of brass knuckles from out of his right boot. He puts them on his hand and is about to use them, but Styles does all he can do to avoid the loaded punch and kicks Angle low. The ref turns and sees this, but there is nothing he can do, as it's no holds barred. Styles takes the knuckles from Angle and puts them on his own fist. As he closes in on Angle, he is surprised by a low bridge trunks pull by Angle. This sends Styles flying to outside of the ring. As Styles crashes in to the guard rail on the outside, JBL attempts to come over, but Angle slides out and gets between him and Styles. Angle shakes his head and starts to threaten JBL. JBL leaves the ring and Angle turns his attention back to Styles, who is slumped guard rail dazed. Angle is coming towards Styles but the ref is trying to hold him back so that Styles has a chance to get up to his feet. Angle grabs Styles' hand and is able to get the knuckles off and now has them in his possession. Angle looks at the knuckles and thinks about putting them on, but instead tosses them into the crowd. Styles is up to his feet now and Angle moves in, shoving the ref to the side as he attempts to drill Styles with a clothesline. Styles sees him coming and back body drops him over the rail. Styles goes over and the two start to brawl through the crowd. Styles rams Angle's head into one of the safety rails near the seats and then shoots him towards some electrical equipment, but Angle puts the brakes on quick. The two keep battling and make it to the backstage area. The two crash throgh some nearby tables with computers and such, probably the WWE:TNA.com interview area. Some wrestlers are standing back there and watch the action from a distance. One of them decides to get a closer look and goes over and grabs Styles. It's Rob Conway who tries to join the action. Before he can do anything, Carlito comes from behind and grabs him. Carlito leaps up and pulls Conway back onto his knees. Conway rolls around in pain after taking Carlito's back cracker. Angle and Styles take the batle back towards the arena and battle up towards the stage. Angle hits a release belly to belly suplex on Styles, sending him hard onto the ramp. Angle pulls him up again and attempts a release German suplex, but Styles flips over and drop kicks him, sending him towards ringside. Styles runs at Angle, but is caught and then sent through the second rope via another release belly to belly suplex. Angle waits for Styles to get to his feet and grabs him from behind. Angle attempts an Angle Slam and Styles escapes it, but as he lands he bumps into the referee. Styles turns to check on the ref and Angle tries to come from behind again. Styles feels ANgle is behind so he flips and lands the backflip kick on Angle. Styles gets up to his feet, but as he is about to go after Angle he is struck from behind. The camera gets a look at the attacker and it's none other than Chris Masters. Masters pulls Styles up and locks him into the Master Lock. Styles battles and tries to get out of the hold, but Masters lock shis hands tighter and jerks him around. Styles continues the struggle, but starts to fade. Angle gets to his feet and sees this and starts to scream at Masters.

Angle: What the hell are you doing!

Masters releases the hold and holds his arms up in the air as if to say, "alright, I'm done". Angle looks at him and still doesn't look pleased.

Angle: Don't you ever involve yourself in my matches again kid or I will be forced to break your ankle!

Angle motions for Masters to get out of the ring and then turns around to pick Styles up. As Angle is bent down, Masters comes from behind and blubs him in the back of the neck and then applies the Master Lock. Angle tries his hardest to not get locked in, but Masters over powers him. Angle manages to roll over, but Masters grip doesn't break. Angle tries to escape the hold a few more times but the end result is the same as before with Styles, Angle goes limp. Masters cracks the hold tighter and tighter, but Angle isn't moving. Masters then goes further and lifts him up into the air and slams him down with what can only be called Master Lock Slam. Masters drops down and starts to talk smack at Angle and he then gets up to leave. Masters stops as he is going through the second rope and comes back. Masters pulls Styles up and tosses him onto Angle. Masters then goes over and tosses the referee closer to Angle and Styles. The drop causes the referee to come to and he sees the cover. Masters leaves the ring and makes his way to the back. The referee starts to make the count, 1...............2...............3!

Winner: AJ Styles

The announcement is made that AJ Styles is the winner, but I don't think it's the way Styles would have wanted to win. Masters is then shown on the ramp screaming at the top of his lungs about making an impact. From the looks of things, he has just made an impact. We cut to a video package promoting the return of the King of the Ring tournament and the pay-per-view itself. As it comes to an end, we are taken to another video package, this time showcasing highlights of the last three matches between Booker T and John Cena and events that lead up to this fourth match between the two. As the video comes to a close, John Cena makes his way down to the ring. The fans love this guy and they show it big time. Cena feeds off the energy of the crowd. The music of the New Nation hits and the challenger, Booker T comes out to the stage.

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John Cena vs Booker T

NWA World Heavyweight Championship

Booker T walks to the ring and slides in. Booker rushes to Cena, but gets caught and Cena executes a pumphandle suplex on Booker. Cena nails Booker T with a belly to back suplex. Cena gets up and drives an elbow smash on Booker T. Cena climbs to his feet and leaps onto Booker, connecting with a knee to the chest. Booker T gets up holding his chest and the referee checks on him. Cena watches on and then Booker T leg lariats him while he is not expecting it. The kick sends Cena to the mat. Booker covers John Cena and the ref makes the count, 1...2... John Cena kicks out. Booker T sends Cena to the outside of the ring. The referee starts the count. Cena with a spinning side slam on Booker T, sending him hard to the floor. Cena and Bookergo back into the ring at about the five count. Cena measures Booker up and drops a closed fist to the forehead. Now Cena standing, he waits on his challenger. Booker T gets up and Cena gets thrown into the turnbuckle by Booker who was expecting him. Booker comes over and smashes Cena's head into the top turnbuckle. Booker T chops Cena repeatedly in the corner. Cena slaps Booker which enrages the challenger. Booker picks Cena up and drives him down with a high body slam. Booker then hits Cena with an elbow drop from the second turnbuckle. Booker T gets up and pulls Cena up. He grabs the champ and nails him with a DDT. Booker gets to his feet and throws his arms in the air to taunt the crowd. Cena stands up and Booker is unaware of this. Booker hits Cena with the back of his elbow, so it appeared Booker was aware the champ had gotten up. Cena gets back to his feet and Booker can't believe he can't keep him down. booker whips Cena to the ropes and prepares to catch the champ on the rebound. Booker gets hit with a diving elbow smash from Cena. Cena gets back to his feet and throws his arms up, drawing a loud pop from his fans. Booker gets pulled up again, but he catches Cena with an inverted atomic drop. Cena chops Booker, but then gets taken down with a armdrag. Cena gets up and gets knifehand chops from Booker T. Booker nails Cena with a belly to belly sideslam. Booker T is up again and in full control of the match. Booker fist drops Cena on the mat. Booker lifts his arm up and places it a few inches in front of his face and then starts to shake his head. It appears he is about to do the Spinaroonie, but instead looks down at Cena and tells him that he can't see him and steals Cena's hand gesture. Booker pulls Cena up and goes for the Book End, but Cena elbows his way out of the hold. Booker staggers a bit and then walks into the grasp of Cena. He lifts Booker up and then flips him off his shoulders with the F-U! Cena and Booker both lay in the middle of the ring and the referee starts the mandatory ten count. As the ref gets to five, Monty Brown, Bobby Lashley, and Orlando Jordan come running down to ringside. The referee turns his attention to the other members of the New Nation and orders them to go to the back. He goes as far as to leave the ring and get in their face. The referee has the men backing up, as they didn't expect him to confront them. Cena in the ring is back up and waits for Booker to get up. As he is waiting, the crowd starts to boo and we then see Cena get leveled from behind. The attacker is none other than Mark Henry. Henry picks Cena up and drives him down with a massive power slam. Henry rolls out of the ring and leaps over the guard rail. Booker gets to his feet and pulls Cena up. The ref turns back to the action in the ring and slides in. Booker grabs Cena and then lifts him up with the Book End. Booker rolls Cena over and hooks both legs, 1..........2..........KICK OUT!! Booker can't believe that Cena has kicked out. Booker pulls Cena up and tries to get him in the Book End again, but Cena lifts him up onto his shoulders again for the F-U. Booker thumbs Cena in the eye and gets off the shoulders of the champ. Cena takes a kick to the gut and then Booker hits the rope and leaps up to the air and comes down with the Scissors Kick to the back of Cena's head. Booker rolls Cena over again and hooks both legs again, 1..........2..........3!

Winner: Booker T

Booker T slides out of the ring and snatches the title from the time keeper and walks around the ring. booker doesn't stay in the ring to celebrate. Instead he walks up the ramp with the rest of his group. The four men stand at the top of the ramp and hold up their titles in the air. We fade out to a WWE:TNAShop.com advertisement, followed by a replay from earlier on. The replay is from when Christian was found laying in a pool of his own blood. We are then informed by the announcers that Christian will be replaced since he can't compete. "Whatever" by Our Lady Peace plays and out comes WWE champion Chris Benoit. The champion gets a mixed reaction from the crowd, but it begins to get more and more positive as he gets closer to the ring. The crowd is full blown cheering Benoit once he enters the ring and holds his title up. Benoit hands the title to the referee and awaits his challenger. "Metalingus" by Alter Bridge plays and out comes Edge.

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Chris Benoit vs Christian

WWE Championship

Edge walks to the ring and the ref looks confused. Edge tells the referee that it's official because Christian is injured and can't compete. Chris Benoit walks around the ring. Edge attempts to kick Benoit, but his foot is caught and he receives a dragon screw leg whip. Edge gets up and Benoit clotheslines him down. Edge gets up again, but this time he catches Benoit coming and hits a high vertical suplex out of nowhere. Edge gets back to his feet and measures Benoit. Edge charges at Benoit, but Benoit goes behind and nails Edge with a German suplex. Benoit pulls Edge up and shoots him to the ropes then clotheslines him down. Edge gets back to his feet and is knocked down by a forearm shot to the chest. Edge gets back to his feet again and Benoit tries to lock on the Crossface. Edge fights the hold and manages to roll over and send Benoit through the ropes to the outside. Benoit clutches at his shoulde ron the outside. It appears Benoit could be injured. Edge goes to the outside and picks Benoit up, then tosses him into the ring. The ref checks on Benoit and then signals to the back, so it appears to be a legit injury. Benoit says something to the referee and then tries to pull himself up. Edge slides into the ring and goes to a corner. He looks to be setting up for the spear. Before Edge can do anything, "Just Close Your Eyes" by Waterproof Blondes plays and Christian comes out. He is bandaged up and has dried up blood all over his face and chest. Christian sprints down to the ring and Edge is ready for him. As Christian slides in Edge rushes for the Spear, but Christian kicks him in the face. Christian grabs Edge by the hair and drives him down with a diving reverse DDT. Christian stands up, but is grabbed from behind by Chris Benoit. Christian breaks Benoit's grasp and goes behind. Christian grabs Benoit's arms and then turns him over. He drops down and drives Benoit's face into the mat with the Unprettier. Christian covers and the referee makes the count, 1..........2..........3!

Winner: Christian

Officials and the trainer comes rushing to the ring and check on Chris Benoit. They carefully get him out of the ring and tend to him on the floor. Before Christian can even begin to celebrate his victory, the music of the New Nation hits and out comes the group. All four men come out with their titles around their waists and they make their way down the ramp. The four enter the ring and surround the new WWE champion. As Lashley is about to attack, "I'm Back" plays and Eric Bischoff comes out to the stage.

Bischoff: That's enough! Booker, you and your men better not lay a hand on Christian. If you do, you and all your buddies there will be stripped of your titles!

The crowd goes nuts at the sound of Bischoff's threat. Back in the ring, Booker is visibly pissed off. Christian gets his belt and leaves the ring.

Bischoff: Now Booker, you have been a thorn at my side since you came to Smackdown. Last year you and your goons took it upon yourselves to attack me, and I let it slide. Then at the Royal Rumble three months ago you did it again and how did I reward you? A title shot! I gave you a title shot, but I didn't expect you to win the championship. I figured that if I made it so that if you lost this match, you'd never have another shot, thus making you want to leave. It didn't work. But Booker don't get too cocky just yet, because I have a backup plan as always. Part one of that backup plan will be revealed in just a little bit, but let me tell you about part two. In about a month will be the King of the Ring pay-per-view and there will be a World Heavyweight title match at the event. You Booker will defend that newly won title against the number one contender, Ron "The Truth" Killings. Well you'll be defending it if you still are champion by that time, because for the next three weeks you will be defending your title against a few friends of mine. Let me put it to you like this, at the Royal Rumble was the last time you will ever put your hands on me. Booker, you want a war..........then you've got one!

As he says that, some familiar music plays and the fans come to their feet. Booker's eyes widen as he hears the music himself. The rest of the New Nation members recognize the music as well. The crowd breaks out into a chant and then they cheer out of control when, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, & Hollywood Hogan step out through the entry way. The three men stand at the side of Bischoff and just stare down the New Nation. The pay-per-view comes to an end with a shot of Booker T throwing a fit in the ring.

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Rico & Spanky © vs The New Nation

Shelton Benjamin © vs Edge

Angel Williams © vs Trish Stratus

Chris Sabin © vs Petey Williams vs Mysterio

Raven vs Ric Flair

The Troubleshooters vs Batista & Matt Hardy

JBL & Jeff Jarrett vs Shawn Michaels & Triple H

Eddie Guerrero © vs Monty Brown

Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles

Chris Benoit © vs Christian

John Cena © vs Booker T

Bonus Questions

Will Eric Bischoff's stalker reveal him/herself? If yes, who will it be?

Will Christy Hemme, Mike Mizanin, or Shannon Moore show up for the PPV?

If signed to a WWE:TNA contract, will Bret Hart make an appearance during in the WWE title match?

** The person with the most corrent predictions earns the choice of picking the main event for the last Raw or Smackdown before the next PPV or the match type for an undercard match at the PPV itself. **

Just finished reading what you have up so far and I believe that this is a great diary, I like the idea of having the 2 top feds becoming one as you have done and the results are just great to read...

is thier any change of getting a copy of this as a scenario?

WWE:TNA.com's Instant Access Interview with Triple H

WWE:TNA.com: How does it feel to be the the number one pick by Smackdown?

HHH: I could careless at this time! My focus is on Jarrett and Layfield between now and Wrestlemania. But it's good to see that Bischoff has been paying attention to just who draws the crowds.

WWE:TNA.com: What do you mean by that?

HHH: Well lets just say that Smackdown has been missing something in the ratings and ticket sales department.

WWE:TNA.com: Well that could be debatable, but lets move on. Do you have anybody in mind that you would like to face now that you're headed to Smackdown?

HHH: Well I would have said Batista, but he's now moving over to Raw. Of the top of my head I'll say Booker T or Brock Lesnar.

WWE:TNA.com: You wouldn't like to face the current champion, John Cena?

HHH: I'll consider him for a match when he becomes a serious player in this business. For now he's a minor leaguer posing as a mega star champion. It's pathetic!

WWE:TNA.com: Those are some harsh comments Game, can you elaborate some more?

HHH: The fact that this guy is the champion of Smackdown shows you the state that the brand is in. In a brand where Booker T, Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, and Eddie Guerrero are part of the roster, yet this guy can keep the title for well over a year, lets me know that there is a serious problem that needs fixing.

WWE:TNA.com: Speaking of Kurt Angle, your thoughts on him being drafted to Raw?

HHH: Good riddance.

WWE:TNA.com: Well Game, thank you for stopping by and good luck on Smackdown.

HHH: The pleasure was all yours and don't wish me luck, I don't need it.

Dark Matches

"Kamikaze" Ken Anderson d. Nick Dinsmore

Rene Dupree d. Trent Acid

Chris Masters d. Mark Copani

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:::[iNTRO VIDEO AND PYRO EXPLOSIONS]:::

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Once all the smoke clears "The Propaganda" by Limp Bizkit plays and out come both General Managers. They walk up to the two desks that have been placed at each side of the stage area. As both Bischoff and McMahon take a seat, the crowd cheer wildly. The cheers quickly turn to boos as "Explode" by Damageplan plays and out comes Heath Cameron with Tracy at his side. Heath walks up to McMahon and gets in his face. Before anything can go down, "No Chance" kicks on and the owner steps out from the back. Mr. McMahon steps between Shane and Heath and tells Heath to go over to the other side of the stage and cool off. Mr. McMahon gets a mic handed to him and then Shane takes a seat. Mr. McMahon brings the mic up and speaks.

McMahon: Before we get the show started and the first draft picks are revealed, let me address this issue right now. Heath Cameron, you seem to have a problem with your current General Manager over a pety issue. Well here's your chance to speak, but it's going to be a long night so make it quick.

A member of the stage crew runs up and hands Heath a mic.

Cameron: Look Mr. McMahon, with all due respect don't rush me! I've been waiting for your son to give me my rightful shot at the United States title for the last three months, but he keeps finding ways to screw me over. The last three challengers to the belt weren't even deserving of the shot to begin with. So right here, right now I am demanding that I be given my shot!

As he says that, "Metalingus" by Alter Bridge plays and out comes the recently signed superstar by the Raw brand, Edge. Edge walks over to Heath and snatches the mic away. Heath snatches it back and a crew member comes over and hands another mic to Edge.

Edge: So let me get this straight "phatman", you deserve a shot at the United States title?

Heath: You know damn right I deserve that shot! And just what the hell is it to you!?

Edge: Well I just find it funny that you're here bitching and moaning about a shot that is not even up for grabs. You see you're standing face to face with the man that at Wrestlemania will become the NEW United States champion. Yeah that's right, "Mr. Raw" himself, Edge!

The crowd begins to boo loudly at that announcement and Heath throws a huge fit.

Edge: Whoa, whoa, calm down Heath. We wouldn't want you to strike your girlfriend there some more since that's the only way you know how to deal with your anger problems.

Heath's eye's widen and he clenches his fist in anger. Before he can do anything to Edge, security comes over and steps in his way as he charges towards Edge. The four security officers use force to drag Heath to the back while Edge waves goodbye to him in a mocking manner. Mr. McMahon comes over and takes Edge's mic away and then motions for him to go to the back. Edge doesn't question the boss and simply walks through the curtain. McMahon shakes his head in disgust, but then gets back to business.

McMahon: We've wasted just about enough time, so I believe that it's time to just skip directly to the first two picks in this, the 2005 WWE:TNA draft! Mr. Bischoff, if you'd do us the honor and announce Smackdown's first choice in this draft.

Bischoff: Well Mr. McMahon, after a long thought process and an even longer scan of the Raw roster I've come to a decision. It gives me great pleasure to announce Smackdown's number one pick..........TRIPLE H!

The crowd explodes at the sound of Triple H's name being called out. HHH comes out and is handed a Smackdown t-shirt and shakes hands with his new General Manager. Shane McMahon looks on and a smirk comes on his face.

Shane: Ok Eric, you want to go after the big guns early. I can do that, no problem. Now you might think that I don't hear everything you say, but trust me, I do. So you want to take shots at Raw during your shows and claim that you are the better show, well guess what Bischoff, you're about to lose one of your main weapons in this war you want to start. Ladies and gentlemen, Raw's number one choice in this draft is none other than.......BATISTA!

"Animal Unleashed" plays and out comes Batista with Paul Heyman at his side.

Shane: I'm sorry, there must have been an audio problem backstage, but I don't recall saying that Raw's pick was Batista WITH Paul Heyman. Hit the bricks Heyman!

The crowd goes wild as Shane sends Heyman to the back. Heyman starts to scream at the top of his lungs at Batista to do something about what just happened. Batista shrugs his shoulders and walks over to Shane and shakes his hand. Batista points to the entry way and tells Heyman to take a walk. Mr. McMahon walks up to the middle of the stage and brings up his mic once again.

McMahon: We've just seen the beginning of this draft and it looks like it's going to be an interesting night as the draft will continue throughout the rest of the show. Now before we get the opening bout underway, let me remind you all and the wrestlers and G.M.s themselves, these draft picks won't become official until Monday morning, so no Wrestlemania match will be changed or altered if a superstar is drafted from his current brand to the other brand. The Wrestlemania card is locked as is and we will deliver what we have promised to the fans. The whole Wrestlemania card will be revealed later on in the show as well. So without any more delay, it's time for the opening contest which will be a Raw vs Smackdown contest between Raw's Val Venis and Smackdown's Carlito!

Vince McMahon tosses the mic to one of the stage crew guys and then walks off to the back. Carlito and Val Venis both make their respective entrances and the match is under way.

Val Venis vs Carlito

(O:68%, C:66%, M:70%)

Even match up to start off, but Carlito takes control of the match early. Val mounts a comeback and gets a few near falls on Carlito. Venis misses a clothesline and takes a kick to the gut, followed by an attempt by Carlito to hit a DDT, but it's countered into a bridging Northern Lights suplex pin. The referee drops down to make the count and Carlito kicks out at two. The crowd starts to cheer loudly in an attempt to boost up Venis. Carlito gets to his feet at the same time as Venis and attempts a low blow, but Venis deflects the kick attempt with a kick of his own. Carlito tries with a high swinging punch, but Venis ducks it and goes behind. Venis lifts Carlito up and drives him down with a Blue Thunder Driver. Venis doesn't go for the cover, but instead climbs up the nearest corner and then flyies off it with a Money Shot! The referee dives to the mat as Venis makes impact and starts the count, 1......2......3!

Winner: Val Venis

If there truly is a war starting between the two brands, Raw has taken the first battle and Smackdown general manager Eric Bischoff must not be to happy about this. Venis walks around ringside slapping hands with the fans and stopping to take a picture or two with his fans. As Venis continues to celebrate his victory, we fade out to a commercial break, but get a brief shot of Eric Bischoff watching a monitor backstage before the first commercial spot plays.

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:::[COMMERCIAL BREAK]:::

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Don't Cross Bischoff!

(O:92%)

As we return from the break, we are taken into Bischoff's office where he is sitting back in his chair and Petey Williams, Sylvain, and Bobby Roode are standing across from him. Bischoff looks at the three and doesn't look to be happy to see them. Bischoff gets up from his chair and then walks up to Petey.

Bischoff: So I do you a favor and grant you a chance to earn yourself a shot at the Cruiser-X title after you promise to give me a great match between yourself, Juvi, Kazarian, and Daniels. Yet you repay me by turning that match into nothing more than a set up, with your friends over here doing all the dirty work and leaving you the scraps to pick up a Wrestlemania title shot. Well I'm going to tell you right now what's going to happen.

Petey: Listen Eric....

Bischoff: It's Mr. Bischoff to you! Now here's how it's going to go down. Yes you do have your title shot at Wrestlemania against Chris Sabin, but it won't be just you challenging for the title, oh no. You see there will be a second challenger in that Ultimate X match and it will be none other than Smackdown's second draft pick, MYSTERIO!

Petey drops his head in disappointment and then begins to beg Bischoff to change the match. Bischoff slaps Petey's hands off his arms and tells him not to touch him again. Roode steps between Bischoff and Petey and looks like he's ready to do something.

Bischoff: Don't even think about it Roode. I'll fire you so quickly and I'll do it without a single regret. But since you feel like letting out some anger I'll tell you what. Seeing as how I've been looking to book an opponent against Brock Lesnar tonight in his in ring return, I think I'll put you in that match with him. But don't feel bad about it, because your pal Sylvain over there will also be in the match. Tonight, Roode and Sylvain take on Brock Lesnar in a handicap match.

A smiles comes on the face of Sylvain and he tells Roode to back off and just leave the room. Petey walks away with his head down as he is still thinking about what he just brought upon himself. We then cut to the arena where Paul London is sprinting down the ring for his match against the Cruiser-X champion, Chris Sabin.

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Chris Sabin vs Paul London

(O:90%)

Once both men are set and the bell rings, Petey Williams comes running down and slides into the ring. He levels Sabin from behind and then grabs him by the neck and drives him back onto his knee back first. Williams drops two quick knee drops to the head of the champion and then stomps away on him.

Winner: Chris Sabin via DQ

Williams continues to stomp away on Sabin and then London comes over and pulls him away. London tells him to get the hell out of the ring, but takes a hard elbow to the side of the head. Petey sets up for the Canadian Destroyer, but London drops to a knee and then trips Petey down. London mounts him and begins to drop punches on Petey. As he is attacking him, Mysterio slides into the ring and hits the ropes. Mysterio bounces off the opposite ropes and nails a low dropkick on London. Mysterio pulls London up and bends him over. Mysterio leaps onto London's back and then snaps him over with a flipping sunset bomb. Petey gets to his feet and starts to talk trash to London. Mysterio slides out of the ring and picks up a steel chair. He slides back into the ring and Petey sees the chair. He starts to beg off, but Mysterio picks the chair up and swings. Petey braces for impact and closes his eyes. There's a loud smashing sound, but it's Sabin who takes the shot to the face as he was getting to his feet. Petey opens up one eye and sees that the champ is down. He cracks a smile and goes over and pats Mysterio on the back. The two look at each other and then nod at themselves. Petey throws his arms into the air, but is caught off guard by a surprise chair shot from Mysterio. With Sabin and Williams both layed out, Mysterio picks up the Cruiser-X title and holds it up in the air as if saying that he will be the new champ at Wrestlemania.

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:::[COMMERCIAL BREAK]:::

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Brock Lesnar vs Bobby Roode & Sylvan

(O:74%, C:76%, M:70%)

Lesnar charged into the ring and Roode and Sylvan quickly stompped him while on the mat. Brock made his way up to his feet and shoved both men away. As the two came back towards him, Brock leveled them with a double clothesline. Brock picked Sylvan up and drove him shoulder first into the ring post. As Sylvan staggered back, Brock wrapped his arms around his waist and tossed him back with a release German suplex. Brock popped up to his feet and waited on Roode to get up. Not knowing that Brock was behind him, Roode turns around and walks right into the F5! Brock covers and the referee makes the count, 1.......2.......3!

Winner: Brock Lesnar

Brock stands up and looks on at the carnage he's left in the ring and smiles. The crowd goes wild when Brock goes over to a corner and climbs up. The camera flashes start to shine when Brock throws his arms into the air. As he keeps playing to the crowd, we cut to the back where we see Shelton Benjamin standing with Shane McMahon.

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United States Champion

(O:88%)

Shelton: You need to explain this to me Shane. How does somebody who just came over from Smackdown, never having competed in a match for that brand, get a shot at my United States title?

Shane sighs and then pats Shelton on the shoulder. Shelton glances at Shane's hand on his shoulder and it is quickly removed by Shane as he takes notice that Shelton is bothered by the pat.

Shane: Look Shelton, this is a business. In order for Raw to bring in a talent like Edge over from Smackdown, I had to throw everything I could on the table to get him to sign. He requested a WWE title shot in order to sign with us, but I told him that the title was overflowing with contenders at the moment and that the only shot I could offer him was a guaranteed US title shot within the first month of him officially joining the Raw roster. Don't think that it's favoritism Shelton, this is business plain and simple.

Shelton: It sure looks like favoritism to me Shane! Where's Charlie's title shot, huh?! We gave you four of the best non-title matches ever put together on a Raw show, with ratings going through the roof as proof, yet he doesn't get a shot. Were's Cameron's title shot? I don't see eye to eye with the guy, but he has at least worked his way up the ladder for a shot. I just don't see why Edge automatically gets this shot, I really don't Shane.

Shane: Well what can I say Shelton, I'm sorry but this is how it's going to happen. You're facing Edge and that's the end of it. But tell me something, wouldn't me taking away Edge's shot because you requested somebody else as a challenger be actual favoritism? I mean I think I showed a little too much favoritism when I first granted you a shot at the title and then a few more chances after that when you couldn't win it on your first try.

Shelton: Oh, so you're gonna throw that in my face now? I see how you want to deal with this, ok Shane, fine! But for the record, I never asked for all the shots you gave me. You seem to have your facts twisted, because I recall you coming up to me and informing me that I was facing the champ week after week before I finally won it. Don't you ever forget that!!

An angry Benjamin storms out of the office, leaving Shane pondering just what happened in there. As he's about to turn around to go to his chair, Vince McMahon comes into the office.

Vince: So, do you have your next pick ready?

Shane: Yes, I do Vince! I'm a little busy right now, so I don't think I'd like to drag this. Raw's second pick is Big Show! There, now please leave me alone cause I have pressing matters to deal with.

Shane takes a seat and looks to be somewhat frustrated. Vince walks out of the office and as the sound of the door closing is heard, Shane lets out a loud yell as we fade out to a commercial break.

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:::[COMMERCIAL BREAK]:::

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Triple H vs Edge

(O:85%, C:86%, M:83%)

We come back from the break and see Triple H and Edge fighting on the ramp. The two battle down to the ringside area and then Triple H shoots Edge into the ring steps. H goes over to him, but Lita jumps on his back. H tries to get her off, but can't get a hold of her. He finally grabs her by the hair, but before he pull her off, Edge kicks him in the gut. Edge rams him shoulder first into the ring post. Edge then picks him up and tosses him into the ring and the match officially begins. Edge measures H and hits him with a vicious Spear. He covers, but only keeps him down for a one count. Edge picks H up and sends him into the corner. He follows up with a series of shoulders and then shoots him into the opposite corner. Edge takes off for another Spear, but H moves and Edge hits nothing but turnbuckle. H pulls him out of the corner and lifts him up and drives him down with a side suplex. H picks Edge up and then drives him face first into his knee. H pulls Edge up and lifts him up into a stalling vertical suplex and then drives him down hard. H gets to his feet and the crowd starts to cheer him on. He pulls Edge up one more time and shoots him to the ropes. As Edge is coming back he attempts a clothesline, but Edge ducks. Edge stops and then runs at H with another Spear attempt. H side steps and Edge takes out the referee. Edge gets to his feet and then turns right into a Spinebuster. With the referee down, Triple H pulls Edge up and puts him into position for the Pedigree. H tosses him back down to the mat when he sees JBL coming down the ramp. JBL leaps up onto the apron, but Triple H knocks him down with a huge right hand. H leaves the ring and goes after JBL. As he picks him up, we see Jarrett coming down to ringside as well. H tosses JBL into the ring and then decks Jarrett with a clothesline. H picks up Jarrett's guitar and slides into the ring. H sends JBL into the ropes and hits a thunderous spinebuster. H grabs the guitar and measures JBL. As he is positioning himself and waiting for JBL to get to his feet, we see Jim Ross come out and start to wave someone out of the entry way. Two men run out and it's none other than America's Most Wanted. The pair slides into the ring and blindside Triple H from behind. the two stomp away on Triple H, who is attempting to get to his feet. Harris picks H up and gives him a low blow kick. Storm comes over and picks him up and puts him in position for the Death Sentence. Harris climbs up to the top rope and comes off with the legdrop. Storm and Harris exit the ring and pull JBL out as well. Edge crawls over to Triple H and places an arm over him. The referee is thrown in by Harris and then sees the cover. He slowly starts to make the count, 1.........2.........3!

Winner: Edge

Harris, Storm, Jarrett, and JBL get back into the ring and continue the assault on Triple H. Edge gets up to his feet via help of Lita and the ropes. As he sees the attack on his opponent, he looks on with a smile and then looks like he is about to join in but backs off and leaves the ring when Shelton Benjamin slides in and goes after him. Shelton turns around and sees Jarrett coming towards him, so he backbody drops him over the top. Shelton hits a dropkick on Harris and then hits a back elbow on Storm. He shoots Harris into a corner and Storm into the opposite one. Shelton runs and hits a Stinger Splash on Harris and then takes off to attempt one on Storm, but gets blasted out of nowhere by a Clothesline from Hell from JBL. JBL picks Shelton up and hits a powerbomb on the already hurt superstar. Harris and Storm shake off the damage done to them and then go join JBL. The crowd goes wild as "Sexy Boy" plays and out comes Shawn Michaels! HBK slides into the ring and clotheslines both Harris and Storm. HBK then goes toe to to with JBL, exchanging punches. JBL gets the better of the exchange and shoots HBK to the ropes. HBK bounces off the ropes and then dives at JBL with a flying forearm that sends him flying through the second rope. HBK kips up, but only to get struck by a guitar shot from Jarrett. Jarrett screams at HBK for getting in their business, but does nothing after that and simply leaves the ring. Jarrett, Ross, JBL, and America's Most Wanted walk up the ramp and get driven to the back by a thunderous chorus of boos. HBK, Triple H, and Shelton Banjamin all are layed out in the ring. As officials and the trainer survey the carnage in the ring, we cut to the backstage area.

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Payback

(O:86%)

We see Edge and Lita walking through the halls backstage laughing and celebrating his first win since returning after a year off due to neck surgery. The two stroll through poking fun at bystanders and other crew members. As the two approach the parking area, somebody jumps Edge from behind. The man starts to lay punches to the back of Edge's head and then drives elbows to the back of his neck. The person removes the sweaters hood from his head and we see it's Matt Hardy! Road agents and other superstars that were around the area come over and pull Matt off of Edge. Edge turns around and sees that it's Hardy and his eyes widen.

Hardy: I'M GONNA KILL YOU ADAM!!! YOU'RE DEAD YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!

Edge stands up and starts to back off. He calls out to Lita to hurry up and the two sprint into the parking area. We see Hardy trying to break free and does, but as he heads towards the parking area we can hear a car speeding out the arena. Hardy runs towards a jeep that is close by and starts it up. he takes off, apparently going after the two. We then cut back to the arena, where Shane McMahon and Eric Bischoff are back on the stage.

Bischoff: It's time now for us to announceour third picks in this draft, so here we go. Smackdown's next choice will no doubt cause an impact once he is officially inside a Smackdown ring, but will put a huge dent in Raw's championship circle. Ladies and gentlemen, Smackdown's third pick is the former Raw tag team champion, Chris Masters!

Bischoff is seen flashing a huge grin as we cut to the back and see Masters and Albright watching the monitor. ALbright turns to Masters and looks disappointed.

Albright: I guess this is it man. We finally made it to the company and win the top prize. We take on all comers and still remain champions. This is what it took to get the titles away from us. Well Chris, we have one last match together and it's at the greatest show of the year. I say we go out in style. I say that on the last night that the Troubleshooters team up, we defeat Matt Hardy and Batista as we planned to do before this happened. What do you say?

The whole time Albright as talking, Masters was staring up, thinking. Masters flashes a sly grin and then looks at his partner.

Masters: What do I say? I say that this Sunday, Batista and Matt Hardy won't be the only ones that feel an impact, but the entire company will feel the impact I........I mean, WE will cause.

Masters continues to smile as we return to the stage area. Shane is standing there, still looking a bit frustrated.

McMahon: Raw selects Carlito, now can we please speed this up, I'm in no mood to keep with the single selections every....

Shane's mic is cut off for some reason and then the music of Doug Basham plays. He comes walking down the ramp and then enters the ring. Basham is scheduled to face the number one contender to the WWE championship, Christian. The lights dim once Basham is in the ring and "Just Close Your Eyes" plays. The crowd goes nuts at the sound of the music and then a spot light shines on the stand and there is Christian standing on the stage. Christian walks down the ramp and makes his way to the ring as we fade out to a quick commercial break.

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Christian vs Doug Basham

(O:89%, C:88%, M:89%)

As we return to a shot of the arena, we see Chris Benoit making his way to the announcers table. Benoit takes a seat and Christian watches him from inside the ring. With his attention on Benoit, Christian is attacked from behind by Basham. Christian was getting a pounding in the corner, but he ducked a clothesline and then came up with a series of punches of his own. He dodged a shoulder block and went to the outside and taunted Benoit. Christian slid in and back out and brought Basham down face first into the side of the ring. Christian picks Basham up, but takes a thumb to the eyes. Basham grabs Christian and then Benoit gets up from the announce position. Benoit charges, but Christian breaks free and Basham is leveled by a clothesline from the WWE champion. Christian grabs Benoit and tosses him head first into the side of the announcers table. Christian then picks Basham up and tosses him back into the ring Basham tries to get up, but Christian pulls him up quickly and grabs Basham's arms and nails the Unprettier. The referee drops to the mat and counts, 1.....2.....3!

Winner: Christian

Christian gets up to his feet and the victory brings the fans up to their feet. Christian walks over to the ropes and starts to mock the champion. Benoit sits up and looks up at Christian while holding on to his head. Benoit grabs his title and starts to tell Christian that he has no chance of taking the title from him. The two continue to exchange words as we fade out to the last commercial break of the night.

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:::[COMMERCIAL BREAK]:::

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Dirtiest Player In The Game?

(O:77%)

Upon returning from the break, we see Ric Flair talking to a couple of women backstage. They are laughing and having a good time, but it's all cut short when Raven comes walking by. Raven goes over and gets in Flair's face. Flair tilts his head over and look sover Raven's shoulder. He motions to the girls to go ahead and take a walk. Raven shoves Flair into the wall.

Raven: What's the matter "Nature Boy"?! Not enough courage to do anything without "horsemen" or "evolving" superstars?

There's no response from Flair and this angers Raven some more.

Raven: Come on Flair! Show me what the you're all about! Show me what the dirtiest player in the game is made of!!

Raven shoves Flair once more, but still Flair doesn't do a single thing. Raven is clearly getting more and more angry by the second.

Raven: COME ON FLAIR!!! DO SOMETHING!!!!!

Raven waits for Flair to do something, but still no reaction. Raven turns his head to a side and pauses for a bit. Raven turns back to Flair and slaps him across the face. Flair's eyes widen after the slap, but he doesn't say a word. The slap obviously angered Flair but he's still not taking any action against Raven.

Raven: I believe we're making progress now. Come on Flair, let it out. Give in to the hate!

Flair flashes a quick smirk and then finally speaks.

Flair: I've got nothing to say to you Raven. You have some kind of problem with how I built up my career in this business and I just don't understand it. You want me to answer you with violence, I don't think so. I won't play your games Raven, but I'll tell you something. At Wrestlemania this Sunday I will play your games. I'm gonna walk down that aisle and I'm gonna step into the ring for your Raven's Rules match. It will be in the ring that I show you just why they call me the dirtiest player in the game.

Ric Flair says his peace and walks off into the direction that the ladies went, leaving an angry Raven just standing there. Raven runs his hand through his hair and then a "Whooooo" is heard in the distance. This causes Raven to get worked up some more and he pulls out a chunk of hair. Raven then picks up a chair and tosses it into a nearby wall before walking away screaming in anger. A video shortly follows, in which we are given the entire Wrestlemania card. The song that plays during the video is "Remedy" by Seether and it is the official theme song of Wrestlemania 21.

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As we return from the video to a shot of the arena, "Medal" hits and out comes Kurt Angle, Booker T, Orlando Jordan, and Monty Brown. The four men walk down the ramp and appear to be all business. They all waste little time with the crowd's antics and simply ignore them as they enter the ring. Once all four men enter the ring, "Beware" plays and The Truth comes out dancing. He dances his way down the ramp, but stops just a few feet away from the ring itself. Booker T walks towards the ropes and appears to be heading to the outside, but stops dead in his tracks when "The Time Is Now" blasts on and the crowd comes to their feet. Cena runs down the ramp and waves to the Truth to follow him. The two slide into the ring and start to brawl with their opponents. The numbers quickly catch up to them, but the odds are evened when "I Am" comes on and AJ Styles and Eddie Guerrero comes running down to the ring and join the fight. The referee calls for the bell and the match starts with an open brawl going on.

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AJ Styles, Eddie Guerrero, John Cena, & The Truth vs Booker T, Kurt Angle, Monty Brown, & Orlando Jordan

(O:93%, C:95%, M:92%)

The time keeper rings the bell numerous times, but the fight just rages on. The referee just gives in and lets them fight. Out of nowhere, some Raw superstars comes running down and start attacking people at random. Chris Master, Brent Albright, and Rob Conway are the Raw superstars in the ring. Not long after they arrive, Matt Hardy, Batista, and Abyss hit the ring. The six men not involved in the match officially, take the fight to the outside. Batista rams Albright into the ring post, while Masters locks Hardy into the Masterlock. Abyss and Conway exchange blows before going into the crowd. Officials comes down to the ring and seperate the Raw and Smackdown guys and take them to the back, leaving only the legal competitors in the bout. The four men are all still brawling with no signs of stopping. OJ takes a back body drop to the outside from Killings, which is then followed by a running suicide dive from him as well. Cena and Booker exchange blows and then Cena clotheslines Booker over the top rope and goes with him. Eddie knocks Brown over the top rope with a standing drop kick. He then turns his attention to Angle, who has just been whipped to the corner by Styles. Eddie goes over and places him on the top rope. Eddie climbs up and looks to be going for a top rope hurracanrana. As Eddie leaps and snaps Angle over, Styles is standing below, waiting to catch Angle. Styles catches Angle in mid-air and sets him into the Styles Clash. Before he can hit the move, Brown comes from out of nowhere and nails him from the side with a Pounce! OJ comes in and tosses Eddie through the second rope to the outside. Booker whips Killings right into the Cena. Brown on the inside rolls Styles over and makes the cover, 1.......2......NO! Styles kicks out!! Brown can't believe it and tells OJ to pick him up. Brown runs to the ropes and attempts another Pounce, but Styles dives out of the way and OJ ends up taking the impact. Brown gets to his feet and turns around quickly, but takes a kick to the gut and then is hit by a sudden Styles Clash! Styles rolls over for the cover, but Booker breaks it up and jerks Styles up. Booker gets his arms around Styles and nails him with the Book End. As Booker is getting up, Killings rushes in and catches him unaware and hits the Truth Conviction! Killings tries to roll Booker over, but Angle comes in and pulls him up, right into an Angle Slam! Cena comes in and spins Angle around and onto his shoulders. Cena tries to flip him over into the F-U, but Angle counters and takes Cena down. Angle quickly locks on the Ankle Lock and the referee drops down to check on the champ. Cena tries his best to fight out of the hold, but in the end is forced to tap out.

Winners: Booker T, Kurt Angle, Monty Brown, & Orlando Jordan

Angle releases the hold and then stands tall over the fallen champion. Angle looks around the ring and sees nothing but bodies laying and simply smirks. Angle leaps out of the ring and then jumps into the crowd. He goes through the crowd as if looking for something. He then gets a look on his face like he knows he just found what he was looking for. He goes over to a fan and snatches away his sign. Angle shoves the fan away and then stands on his seat. Angle gets a good hold of the sign and lifts it up into the air. The camera gets a clear shot of the sign, which reads "Raw > Smackdown!". Following that image, we fade out to a graphic that informs us of the final two picks that each brand selected. Smackdown selected Rob Conway & Raven, while Raw selected Abyss & KURT ANGLE! We return to a live shot of Angle still holding up that sign and we then see a shot of Styles in the ring getting up to his feet and pointing in the direction of Angle. The copyright logo comes on the screen and the show fades to black.

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Overall Rating: 84%

TV Rating: 6.12

People in Attendance: 16,002

Ticket Sales: $720,130

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Report by: John Sterm

Batista Injured?

It appears that Batista might be missing this Wrestlemania due to injury. Sources tell us that Batista injured his right ankle during his brawl with Brock Lesnar after Smackdown went off the air. It is unknown at this time is Batista will tough it out and perform with an injury or if they'll give him some time to heal up and save the planned Batista vs Lesnar match for sometime down the road. We'll surely find out at Road to Wrestlemania as to whether or not the match is on or not.

Draft Lottery Time

Last year we were surprised by a draft just days before Wrestlemania and it appears that this year it won't be any different. We've heard rumors that the roster switches this year will be in an attempt to establish the new stars for the following year. So needless to say, look for the people who are the top picks in the draft to be the ones who will will be receiving pushes throughout the year.

Changing of the Guard

Since the Royal Rumble we've been treated to multiple backstage encounters between Ric Flair and Raven. The writers have been teasing a feud between the two, but have yet to fully commit. Well sources tell us that the feud may be closer to happening than we expect. From what we have gathered from the last few run-ins the two have had on Raw, the writers may be working the feud around Raven's lack of respect for what the Ric Flair of old built his reputation on. This could be a gem if the writers handle it very well, as the two men are gold on the mic.

The Best Year For Conway

Since his debut in WWE:TNA almost two years ago, Rob Conway has been a recurring on air character with a meaningful role up until his last high profile role alongside Steve Austin. As a part of a stable with Austin, Chris Jericho, and Johnny Nitro he was on Raw almost every Monday night, but when the group was broken up and Austin took some time off, Conway got lost in the shuffle. Conway had been simply wrestling matches on house shows and the internet webcast of X-TV until six months ago when the writers started booking him on under card matches on Raw. For the last six months Conway has has a spotless record of 43-0 and they are milking that streak for all that it's worth. It is expected that Conway will soon be challenged by some high profile names, maybe as early as Wrestlemania 21.

The Hitman to WWE:TNA?

The lastest rumor making rounds around the net and industry is that Bret Hart could soon be returning to WWE:TNA. The Hitman was part of the company during the early months of the merger. Hart left the company after he had a disagreement with Vince McMahon over the planned finish for his match against Test at Backlash '03 and was then written out of storylines as being "injured" prior to the match. FYI note, it was this that caused the face turn of Christian, as he was the replacement that took on Test. The rumor states that Hart has talked with McMahon and worked things out, leaving the door open for the return. At the moment there is no place in storylines where Hart would fit in, but in the likelyhood that he was to return, the writers would find a place for him or create one for him. We'll keep you posted on this story if more information surfaces.

The stage is set and the superstars can't wait to go out and perform to the best of their abilities. The only problem is that there is one last stop before the greatest show of this industry. Raw and Smackdown have both lined up two great main events and it appears the rivalry between the two brands is nowhere near at a cool down. Raw will showcase their newest member to the roster, Edge, as he will face Triple H. Smackdown will on the other hand give the fans a huge preview of their Mania matches when Kurt Angle, Booker T, Monty Brown, and Orlando Jordan do battle with AJ Styles, John Cena, Eddie Guerrero, and Ron Killings in a Wargames match.

Along with those two huge main events, Eric Bischoff and Shane McMahon will reveal the final card for Wrestlemania 21. What matches will be added? Who will show up? Only the two general managers know. Plus they will be on hand to witness a Raw vs Smackdown match in which Carlito from Smackdown takes on Raw's Val Venis.

Dark Matches

Chase Stevens d. Elix Skipper

Bobby Lashley d. Lex Lovette

Joey Matthews d. Sonjay Dutt

As the show comes on the air, "Medal" is playing as Kurt Angle is entering the ring. The crowd boos as Angle snatches the mic away from the ring announcer.

Phenomenal Challenge

O:89%

Angle: So let me get this straight, AJ Styles has been doing nothing but sit and wait for the last eleven months. After he was traded over to Smackdown as a loser coming off a huge loss at the hands of Raw's Chris Benoit, he did nothing but sit back and wait for the right moment. Well AJ, that moment is now! You want to step into this ring with the only gold medalist this company has ever had? Well it's just too bad that I don't waste my time with second rate hacks like yourself. So I'm not gonna stretch this out for long, so the answer is no AJ, I won't take you up on your challenge.

The crowd fills the entire arena with an echoing sound of boos after Angle rejects the challenge layed out by Styles.

Angle: It's real simple, I have a bigger match in mind with a completely deserving opponent. You see, for too long I've been without gold around my waist and since it's too late to completely destroy Cena and take the Heavyweight title, I guess I'll have to settle for the.....

"Alpha Male" hits and out comes an angry Monty Brown. Brown walks down to the ring and slides in, followed by getting right in Angle"s face. Brown walks away and towards the ropes to get a mic.

Brown: Tell me I didn't just hear that you are gonna try and bust in on my Wrestlemania match against Guerrero! Angle, I've got no beef with you, but when you try to take what's mine, I'm forced to fight for that which is being stolen. So a word of advice, it'd be best if you took AJ's challenge because you can at least walk away from that match!

Before Angle can say a word, "I Am" plays and the crowd comes to their feet as the "Phenomenal One" steps out to the stage. Styles raises his mic up to speak.

Styles: Angle, I've been waiting to get my hands on you for almost an entire year. We could have settled this back then, but you had to put a restraining order out on me. That's no big deal because I'm a very patient man, but that is wearing very thin these days. Now I do believe that you have been backed into a corner and there is no way out Kurt. You either face me and we finish this, or you try your luck trying to screw over the Alpha Male. It's really all on you Kurt. The ball is your court now.

Angle gets an extremely angry expression on his face right before he speaks again.

Angle: If this is how it's going to be, then I guess we'll have to settle it once and for all! Styles, I accept, but not because I'm afraid of Monty over here, but because I want you off my back. I'll face you, but it has to be on my terms!

Styles: Well then, what are they?

Angle: I was just getting to that, don't you interrupt me! The only condition that I demand is that the match be a No Holds Barred match. If I have to face you, I want to be able to do just about anything that it takes to put you out for good. I just want you to know AJ, what I'm gonna do to you is far worse than anything I've done to anybody else. While I've only broken people's ankles in the past, I'm going to snap yours and make sure that it's completely shattered and you can never wrestle again. Just remember, you brought this upon yourself.

As Angle says that, "I'm Back" hits and out comes the General Manager Eric Bischoff. He walks over to Aj and shakes his hand and then asks for the mic. AJ hands it over to Bischoff and then the GM speaks.

Bischoff: Kurt, I know AJ over here has no problem facing you in that kind of a match, so I will make it official. Kurt Angle versus AJ Styles at Wrestlemania will be a No Holds Barred match. But now lets talk about next week. Seeing how next week will be the last show before Wrestlemania, I figured that I'd give the fans a treat before the biggest show of the year. It's a match that not even Raw can match when it comes to entertainment. Next week's main event at Road to Wrestlemania will be Kurt Angle, Monty Brown, Booker T, and Orlando Jordan taking on AJ Styles, Eddie Guerrero, John Cena, and "The Truth" Ron Killings in a Wargames match!

The crowd goes wild at the sound of announcement made my Bischoff. Brown and Angle throws fits in the ring as we fade out to the intro video.

As the explosions come to an end and smoke clears, the titantron lights up and "Live For the Moment" by Monster Magnet hits. The crowd comes to their feet as the newest member of the Smackdown roster, Matt Hardy, steps out onto the stage. Matt then walks down the ramp to a huge ovation. He slides into the ring and clibs up a corner, throwing up the V1 sign to the approval of the crowd.

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-[COMMERCIAL BREAK]-

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Matt Hardy vs Shawn Daivari

O:75% C:71% M:80%

Hardy dominated the match from the start, Daivari managed to take control of the match for a short while, but Hardy caught him coming off the top rope and nailed the Side Effect. Hardy made short work of Daivari by hitting the Twist of Fate for the easy three count on his first match as a Smackdown superstar.

Winner: Matt Hardy

Hardy celebrated his victory by climbing up a corner and posing for the crowd. As he is on the ropes, somebody slides into the ring. Once Hardy drops down and turns around, he is blasted by a vicious Spear. We see that it is Edge and he stomps away on Hardy. Edge, who has been out of action for almost an entire year after reinjuring his neck, continues to assault Matt. He picks him up and delivers a sick looking Edgecution.

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Bitter Enemies

O:90%

Edge goes over to the ropes and demands a mic be given to him. The announcer quickly rushes over and hands him a mic. Edge looks around as the whole arena is filled with echoing boos directed at him.

Edge: Well look at how this played out! I come out here to make my triumphant return from injury and what do I come to, a bunch of idiots booing me. Typical, very typical of you fickle fans. But most of you may be wondering just why I did what I did. Plain and simple, I did it because of each and every one of you. I did it because my so called friends aren't even that. You see, when Austin injured his neckall you idiots sent him cards and letters wishing him a speedy recovery. When Benoit got hurt you did the same. I can go on and on about when it happened to Lita, Rhyno, and Angle but I'm not. When it happened to me, I also got the cards and the letters. My "friends" called to check up on me and some even visited me. Guess what happed the second time around......nothing!! No cards! No letters! Not even a phone call from my "friends"!! This beating I just gave young Matthew here is a symbol for my hatred towards all of you and all those that I once called "friends". Which now brings me to the second thing I came out here for.

Edge turns and kicks Matt once more and then turns and stares directly towards the camera. He motions for the cameraman to get a good shot of his chest. Edge unzips his jacket and reveals a RAW t-shirt under it. We get a shot of Edge's face and he has a huge smile on it. He brings the mic up once more to speak.

Edge: That's right, I'm going back home to where I'm really appreciated. I'm going to the brand that actually gave a damn about me. You see about a year ago when I was traded over to Smackdown while I was on the injured list, Shane McMahon still visited me, while my new General Manager didn't even call me once to see how I was doing or even to congratulate me on coming over to his brand. So when contracts arrived last week to my home I had to make a decision. Do I sign my contract with Smackdown and remain here or do I sign with Raw and go where I'll actually be welcomed with open arms by the man running the place. Well it was a simple choice to make. So this is the first time and the last time you see me on Smackdown, because come Monday night, Edge is Raw!

Edge walks over the unconscious Matt Hardy and exits the ring. Edge walks up the ramp but pauses for a second on the stage. Edge turns around and brings the mic up to speak.

Edge: Oh and before I go, Matt I have one more thing to tell you. There was one person who came to visit me at the hospital, at therapy, and even at my home while I was out of action. I think you know her very well. Sorry you won't be seeing much of her anymore, as she too is coming over to Raw with me. And Matt, Lita is leaving you for a real man!

Edge begins to laugh and the crowd breaks out into a chorus of boos. We fade out to a commercial break as Edge walks through the curtain.

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-[COMMERCIAL BREAK]-

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The Animal Unleashed

O:86%

We return from commercial only to find Batista wrecking the backstage area. Paul Heyman comes over and tries to calm him down.

Batista: No Paul, I'm not calming down! This is complete bull crap!

Heyman: Listen, I told you that I would work this out!

Batista: No Paul, I told you that there was no working this out! Last year I dominated and destroyed the man most people thought could never be treated like that, Goldberg. Where's Goldberg these days now I ask you! So what do I get for that? Nothing! I'm not even booked for a match at Wrestlemania!

Batista flips over a table and then tosses a couple monitors towards a group of people, who quickly run away from the scene. Heyman continues to try and calm Batista down, but just can't do it. We cut back to the arena where "Wave of the Future" hits and Frankie Kazarian makes his way to the ring for his match against Christopher Daniels and Juventud Guerrera.

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Christopher Daniels vs Frankie Kazarian vs Juventud Guerrera

O:83%

All three men make their entrances and the referee is about to call for the bell when the Canadian national anthem hits. Petey Williams, with Sylvain and Bobby Roode comes out to the stage.

Williams: Whoa, whoa, whoa!! What the hell is this?! You guys think that you can have a match and then go on and face the Cruiser-X champ like that! Well I don't think so. You see, earlier I went to General Manager Eric Bischoff's office and I layed out a proposition. I told him that it would be a much more entertaining match if I, a former Cruiser-X champion was involved in the match. So just a short while ago he made it official and now this match is a fatal four way match, with the winner, that being me, advancing to Wrestlemania to face Chris Sabin.

Christopher Daniels vs Frankie Kazarian vs Juventud Guerrera vs Petey Williams [Cruiser-X #1 Contenders Match]

O:83% C:70% M:100%

Before the bell can even ring, Sylvain and Roode enter the ring and assault Kazarian and Daniels. Juvi gets tossed to the outside, where Petey begins his attack. The referee finally gets order restored and rings the bell, but Kazarian and Daniels are in bad shape. Petey tosses Juvi into the ring and the two battle it out. Juvi begins to mount an offensive, but is quickly shot down by distraction from Sylvain. The distraction allows Petey to hit a low blow on The Juice while the referee gets Sylvain off the apron. Daniels tries to attack Petey, but Roode trips him up. Kazarian grabs Petey from behind, but takes an elbow to the ribs. Kazarian staggers back and clutches at his ribs which Roode damaged with a vicious gut buster. Petey kicks Kazarian in the gut and hits the Canadian Destroyer. Petey goes back to The Juice and pulls him up to his feet. Petey bends him down and then nails him with the Canadian Destroyer as well. Petey makes the cover and gets the uncontested three count.

Winner: Petey Williams

We cut to the back where Bischoff is watching what just happened on a monitor in his office. Bischoff watches on with a look of disgust on his face. He turns the monitor off and then exits his office. We see Bischoff walking the backstage area and he appears to be headed to the ring. As he goes up the steps that lead up to the stage we fade out to a commercial break.

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-[COMMERCIAL BREAK]-

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GM's Announcement

O:83%

As we return from the break, Eric Bischoff is already standing inside the ring with a mic in hand.

Bischoff: Now before I get to the issue with this mystery person that has been stalking me, I must get some business out of the way. You see, since regaining their tag team titles, Rico and Spanky have been without a real challenge when it comes to their opponents. Now due to the loss of America's Most Wanted to Raw, I've been looking for deserving opponents, or otherwise opponents who the champions have not yet defeated. I had two choices, create a team from within the company or look to the outside and sign a new tag team. Well I searched high and low and I found that tag team. There's just one problem and that is that the team is scheduled to work one last match for another promotion on the night of Wrestlemania. I've signed the tag team, but it on't be them facing Rico and Spanky at Wrestlemania. The team I am talking about is none other than Steve Corino and CW Anderson. They will be here on Smackdown in two weeks. So that now leads me to the opponents for the champions. I took the time to look it over and the only team that has yet to challenge the champions are the New Nation combination of Orlando Jordan and Bobby Lashley.

The crowd boos after Bischoff announces who will challenge the champions, but they then quickly quiet down, as Bischoff prepares to speak again.

Bischoff: Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I must now move on to this stalker of mine. For the last few months I've been harassed and haunted by letters, gifts, and weird videos but I now have video proof of just who the person behind all that really is. Now I haven't seen the footage myself, so we're all going to find out just who it is. Guys in the truck please play the video tape.

The titantron comes on and a surveillance video plays. It's a shot of the backstage area and we see a figure wearing a coat walk by. The person stops and then walks out of the camera's range of vision. We then see a hand come from under the camera sprays it with something, completely blocking anything from being seen. The video then cuts to static and then turns to footage that appears to be live. We see Bischoff in the ring through what appears to be a camcorder filming from within the arena. Bischoff starts to look around at the crowd trying to spot the person who is filming. Bischoff spots someone and yells to security to get the person. Security jumps the rail and goes after the person. As they tackle down the person filming, we see that it is nothing more than a mannequin holding the camcorder. The titantron then goes back to static and then an altered voice can be heard throughout the arena.

???: On no Bischoff, the game's not over yet. It's not over by a long shot and it will continue for as long as I want it to go on. You will find out who I am when I feel you are ready to know. For now all you can do is ponder and try to figure out the game. I will leave you with one last thought, Simon says the next stage of this game starts at Wrestlemania.

The altered voice breaks into a sinister laughter as we get a close up shot of an angry Eric Bischoff. The general manager leaves the ring in a hurry and looks to be in an extremely foul mood now. As he goes through the curtain, " Chavito Ardiente" hits and out comes Chavo Guerrero. Chavo comes out and looks to be as confused as everybody else in the arena is about what just happened. He shakes it off and focuses back on the match that awaits him next.

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Chavo Guerrero vs Monty Brown

O:81% C:76% M:87%

Once Chavo got into the ring, the lights dimmed and then pyro went off. "Alpha Male" plays but Brown is nowhere to be seen. Chavo watches the entry way and waits for Brown to come out, but still nothing. the crowd begins to stir and then we see Brown slide into the ring from behind Chavo. He came through the crowd and now waits for Chavo to turn around. As Chavo turns, he is blasted by a thunderous Pounce! Brown pops up to his feet and jerks Chavo up. Brown lifts Chavo up and drives him down with the Alpha Bomb! Brown covers Chavo and gets the easy 1, 2, 3.

Winner: Monty Brown

Brown stands over Chavo and slaps his chest a few times. Brown then jerks Chavo up again but this time throws him over his shoulder and then exits the ring. He appears to be taking the fallen Chavo to the backstage area. As Brown is walking up the ramp we are forced to take the last commercial break of the night.

[Monty Brown +2 Overness]

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-[COMMERCIAL BREAK]-

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A Simple Message

O:80%

As we return, we see Brown assaulting Chavo while Booker T, Orlando Jordan, and Bobby Lashley watch on in approval. Brown whips Chavo into the New Nations black hummer and then presses him over his head. Brown then slams Chavo down onto the concrete floor. Brown stands over Chavo and starts screaming for him to tell his uncle just how bad this beating was. The rest of the New Nation just laughs about what's going and then they all get in the hummer and leave the area. Help finally comes over and they check to see how Chavo is doing. We cut back to the arena and "Burn In My Light" hits bringing out Randy Orton. The Legend Killer makes his way down to the ring and then poses for the fans once inside. "Animal Unleashed" plays and Paul Heyman comes out leading Batista to the ring. Heyman climbs up to the apron and starts yelling at Orton.

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Batista vs Randy Orton

O:84% C:86% M:81%

Orton knocks Heyman off the apron and Batista tries to attack Orton as he's coming in, but can't do it in time. Orton takes it to Batista and knocks him through the ropes. Batista lands right next to Heyman and they try to help each other up. Orton slides back outside and grabs Heyman and Batista. The crowd screams for it, so Orton drives Batista and Heyman's heads together. The referee tells Orton to take the action back into the ring, so he shoves Batista into the ring. Orton slides in and the match officially begins. Orton got the early advantage, but after a long period of stalling from Batista, Orton loses that advantage. Batista applied some submission holds on Orton, in an attempt to ground him. Orton came back and hit a desperation inverted backbreaker, but didn't have enough to cover in time. When he did cover, he only got a two count. The fans begin to get behind Orton, as both men try to get to their feet. Both men are up and go after each other. Orton gets the better end of it and sends Batista to the ropes. Orton hit Batista with a dropkick and then gets up to his feet. Batista got back up, but Orton doubled him over with a boot to the gut and kicked him in the back of the head with a running kick. Orton covered, but only got a two count. Orton went up to the top rope and went for a diving splash, but Batista moved out of the way. Batista kicked Orton in the face and then sent him into the ropes. As he's going to the ropes, Orton leaps onto the middle rope and springs off backwards with back elbow on Batista. Orton gets to his feet and waits for Batista to get to his feet. As Batista is getting up, Orton is waiting on him to hit an RKO. Heyman circles around ringside and sneaks closer to where Orton is standing. Orton walks around the ring and tries to get Batista with the RKO, but Heyman pulls his foot from the outside. Orton staggers a bit, but turns towards Heyman and tries to pull him up to the apron. Heyman manages to escape the grasp of Orton and runs away. Orton turns his attention back to Batista, but ends up taking a devestating Leviathan Spinebuster. Batista lets out a yell and then signals that the match is about to end. Batista pulls Orton up and takes him up into the air and then drives him down to the mat with the Demon Bomb. He covers, 1......2......3!

Winner: Batista

Batista gets up to his feet and prepares to attack Orton once again. Before he can do it, a returning Brock Lesnar slides into the ring and attacks Batista. The two exchange blows, but Lesnar gets the better of the exchange and sends Batista out of the ring. Batista backs up the ramp and looks towards the ring. Batista looks to be surprised that Lesnar is in the ring. Heyman tells Batista to not go back to the ring and Batista ignores him, but stays put on the ramp staring eye to eye with Lesnar. As the show goes off the air we see Lesnar calling Batista into the ring and Batista starting to walk down the ramp.

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Overall Rating: 82%

TV Rating: 6.30

People in Attendance: 10,014

Ticket Sales: $400,560

WWE King of the Ring Quarterfinals

Charlie Haas vs John Bradshaw Layfield

Edge vs Aaron Summers

Randy Orton vs Maven

Chris Jericho vs Magnus

WWE United States Heavyweight Championship vs WWE Intercontinental Title

Rico vs Val Venis

WWE King of the Ring Semi Finals

Magnus vs Maven

Charlie Haas vs Edge

WWE Tag Team Championship vs WWE World Tag Team Titles

The Undertaker & The Big Show vs Chris Benoit & Raven

Smackdown! vs RAW Grudge Match

Rob Van Dam vs Ric Flair

WWE King of the Ring Final

Magnus vs. Edge

WWE Championship vs WWE World Heavyweight Title

John Cena vs Triple H

With just one week remaining in his "no physicality" restraining order set against AJ Styles a year ago, Kurt Angle must now make a huge decision. He can either accept or decline AJ's challenge to any kind of match of Angle's choosing at Wrestlemania 21. Will Angle step up or will he continue to run and hide from The Phenomenal One.

Also on the show, Eric Bischoff will reveal who will face Rico and Spanky at Wrestlemania and will also make an official announcement as to just who has been stalking him. The general manager has said that he now has video footage that will show just who the person is.

Chris Benoit WWE Champion - After defeating AJ Styles at Wrestlemania 20, thanks to help from Kurt Angle, Benoit went on to feud with the first Raw draft pick, Kane. Benoit and Kane had two PPV matches where they first went at it in regular rules, while their second meeting came in a steel cage. Benoit managed to keep the title and moved on to face the newly named number one contender, Christian. The two feuded for four months, until Benoit injured Christian and put him on the shelf. Benoit then took on all comers in the months leading up to the Royal Rumble. It was at the Rumble when Benoit faced his toughest challenge yet, Triple H. The Game had the title won, but it was thanks to Jim Ross' "Good Ol' Boys" Jeff Jarrett and John Layfield's assault that allowed Benoit to pick up the victory. Benoit would go on to be shocked later that night, as the last person he would have wanted to do so, won the Royal Rumble and the right to face him at Wrestlemania 21.

Shelton Benjamin United States Champion - In what critics called one of the greatest matches of the year, Shelton Benjamin defeated the longest reigning US champion in WWE:TNA history, Jamie Noble, at Armageddon. Benjamin and Noble had a couple of matches following his win, but Noble was unable to regain the title. As we approached Wrestlemania 21, Benjamin had a series of matches with former tag team partner, Charlie Haas that were hailed as 4 & 5 star classics.

Angel Williams Women's Champion - At No Way Out, Angel Williams squared off with Alexis Laree, who had recently won the Women's title tournament that was set up after then champion Victoria got sidelined by an injury at the start of the year. The two went to a time limit draw, but Alexis demanded five more minutes. Angel received some help from Mysterio during those five minutes and she stole the title. The next night on Raw, Trish Stratus came out and challenged the new champion to a match at Wrestlemania.

The Trobleshooters (Brent Albright & Chris Masters) WWE Tag Team Champions - It was on the last Raw before the Royal Rumble that Masters and Albright made their debut. They were instantly placed into a title match at the PPV after they took out the number one contenders, Donovan Morgan and Nick Dinsmore. The duo were officially called "The Troubleshooters" on screen at the PPV itself, where they then went on to pick up the titles from the then champions, Chuck Palumbo & Johnny Stamboli of the FBI.

John Cena NWA Heavyweight Champion - Following his win against Rob Van Dam at Wrestlemania 20, Cena was challenged by Matt Morgan at Backlash. Cena defeated the big man and was then challenged by Mark Jindrak. Cena got another victory over the Dangerous Alliance by taking down the IC champion. in what was a weird move, Paul Heyman did not send his last Alliance member after the champion, instead sending the monster Batista after a different target. Cena went on to defend and retain his title against all challengers. He then went what is being called the longest feud in this companies history. John Cena and Booker T entered a seven month feud that saw many matches between the two. Cena, with help from the 3 Live Kru, managed to fend off any ambush attacks and ringside distractions by the New Nation. General Manager Eric Bischoff has stated that this feud will end at Wrestlemania 21, where John Cena and Booker T will face off for the last time in the Ultimate Jeopardy match

Eddie Guerrero Intercontinental Champion - After floating around the scene, feuding with the Dangerous Alliance and the New Nation here and there, Eddie was named the number one contender to the IC title and received his shot at the title at the Royal Rumble. After winning the title, Eddie issued an open invitaion to anybody that thought they deserved a shot at the title. The invitation was answered rather quickly, as the "Alpha Male" Monty Brown came out to claim his title shot.

Chris Sabin Cruiser-X Champion - After breaking away from Triple X, Chris Sabin made a serious attempt at becoming the top of the Cruiser-X division. After Carlito Colon lost the Cruiser-X title to Petey Williams at SummerSlam, many men made the jump to challenge the champion at every chance they got. Sabin won a Cruiser-X invitational tournament and then faced Carlito and Paul London in the first ever Ultimate X match at the Royal Rumble, earning a shot at the new Cruiser-X champion crowned at the Royal Rumble, Christopher Daniels.

Rico & Spanky NWA Tag Team Champions - The reigning tag team champions haven't been without some setbacks in their reigns. The two lost the titles to S.S.A.T. at SummerSlam. S.S.A.T. then was defeated by America's Most Wanted at Unforgiven in a tag team bullrope match. After two months as champions, AMW lost the titles to Rico and Spanky at Capital Punishment. The tag team champions now await the announcement of their Wrestlemania 21 opponents, as General Manager Eric Bischoff is said to be in some secret negotiations to bring in a new tag team to challenge the champions.

March 18th, the final Smackdown show before Wrestlemania. On the show, we saw it open up with Rob Van Dam and Paul Heyman laying into the NWA Heavyweight champion, John Cena. After a few minutes of ranting, the champ came down to the ring. Matt Morgan joined them and an assault got under way. Cena was saved from a serious beat down by Ron "The Truth" Killings. Before Heyman, Morgan, and RVD could leave ringside, Eric Bischoff came out and booked the four men into a tag team match later on in the show. The team of Cena and Killings would go on to lose the match to Morgan and RVD after Morgan put Killings through a table and then he and RVD double teamed Cena until he couldn't stand. RVD took a second to pose over Cena with the NWA Heavyweight title.

- Emad Yehia d. Spanky through outside interference from Scott Steiner, A-Train, and the debuting Shawn Daivari

- Mark Jindrak d. Rhyno followed by a brawl with the IC title #1 contender Sonny Siaki

- Chase Stevens, Petey Williams, & Psicosis d. Paul London, Christopher Daniels, & Chris Sabin

- Angle Challenge: Kurt Angle d. Steven Richards, afterwards Richards challenges Angle to another "Angle Challenge" match at Road to Wrestlemania

- Main Event: Goldberg d. Mike Bucci

Goldberg goes on to defeat Mike Bucci (aka Nova) in under a minute, but Kurt Angle comes down to ring to help his team mate. Goldberggoes toe to toe with the Olympic gold medalist, but ends up being blind sided by Batista from behind. The show goes off the air after Batista hits the Demon Bomb in the center of the ring and then taunts Goldberg to get up.

March 24th, the final Road to Wrestlemania show before Wrestlemania. Vince McMahon comes out and makes a huge announcement that on this very night, the night before Wrestlemania 20, a surprise draft would take place. The draft ended up sending Chris Benoit, Shelton Benjamin, Randy Orton, Frankie Kazarian, and Chris Jericho to Smackdown, while Mike Bucci, Danny Basham, AMW, and Kane were sent to Raw. The changes would not affect the matches already booked for Wrestlemania, except Benoit's move. Unless he was to be traded back to Raw before the trade deadline, AJ Styles or Christian would not be facing Benoit at all.

- Emad Yehia, S.S.A.T., & Shawn Daivari d. Rico, Spanky, BG James, & Konnan

- The Undertaker d. Mysterio, afterwards Seven makes his way down to the ring, but walks back up the ramp when Taker sees him.

- Chase Stevens d. Carly Colon & Mike Mizanin

- During Val Venis' "Money Shot Theater" segment he debuts his first Venis Envy Productions "contract girl" Miss Melina. After the announcement, Emad and crew come down and assault Venis. Emad tells his guys to hold Venis and he then pulls out a pair of scissors and proceeds to cut Venis' hair.

- Angle Challenge: Kurt Angle d. Steven Richards, afterwards Richards challenges Angle to another "Angle Challenge" match again, only this time he wants it at Wrestlemania!

- Main Event: AJ Styles d. Christian, thus finally cementing the main event for Wrestlemania, AJ Styles vs Chris Benoit for the WWE championship.....that is if Benoit is traded back to Raw before the trade deadline is over.

March 28th, WRESTLEMANIA:

- Onyx & Orlando Jordan of the New Nation d. John Walters & Jorge Estrada [Pre-Show Match]

- Heath Cameron d. Danny Dominion [Pre-Show Match]

- Val Venis, Shane Helms, Eddie Guerrero, & Chavo Guerrero d. Emad Yehia, Shawn Daivari, & S.S.A.T.

- Ric Flair w/Maven d. Randy Orton w/DDP after DDP turns on Orton

- Matt Morgan d. Ron Killings and earns a shot at the NWA Heavyweight title

- Victoria d. Nidia, Melina, Tracy Brooks, Angel Williams, Trinity, Gail Kim, Madusa, & Sable in an Women's Gauntlet match

- Trish Stratus d. Molly & Lita

- Carly Colon (demanding after the match to be called Carly Cool) d. 19 other superstars in the Cruiser-X Gauntlet for the Gold match to capture the Cruiser-X title

- Seven d. Undertaker, afterwards Seven crucifies Taker and then burns him on the cross.........it appears The Undertaker is finally dead.

- Sonny Siaki d. Mark Jindrak via DQ, Jindrak keeps the IC title

- New Nation members Booker T & Monty Brown d. Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas after Bobby Lashley assaults both men. Booker announces Lashley as the New Nation's "insurance policy". The New Nation picks up the win and a dual contract that allows them to show up on either brand as the please.

- Steven Richards d. Kurt Angle

- Jeff Jarrett d. Triple H in the Six Sides of Hell in a Cell match after Jim Ross makes a shocking return to the company and leads John Layfield down to the ring and they enter the cell to help Jarrett beat down on The Game. The three leave the ring together after the match is over.

- Batista d. Goldberg

- Shawn Michaels d. The Rock, afterwards the New Nation comes out and lays both men out

- John Cena d. Rob Van Dam to retain the NWA Heavyweight championship

- We aren't sure if the show is over or not, so Vince McMahon comes out to let everybody know if the WWE title match will happen or not. After a long and stretched entrance, McMahon announces that Chris Benoit has indeed been traded back to Raw. The person that he was traded for............AJ STYLES!

- Chris Benoit d. AJ Styles after Kurt Angle intreference

EntertainmentNonStop.com

News and Rumors

By: Edward Lesley

We have quite a bit of news to report today, as it is pouring out due to Wrestlemania being so close.

Our source within WWE:TNA has told us that there is something huge planned for the Road to Wrestlemania show before Wrestlemania. He told us that he overheard Vince McMahon talking with Jerry Jarrett about a "plan" he has for RtWM and that it has the potential to shock everybody. He didn't get a chance to hear the plan itself, as Vince took Jarrett into his office before any details were spilled. We'll keep you posted on this story as it develops.

To update a previous report about talent that had left LPW due to the management shake-up. WWE:TNA has apparently met with Joey Matthews, Michael Modest, and Ken Shamrock about possibly coming into the company. Modest and Matthews are likely to think about it, but Shamrock is doubtful, as he is scheduled to compete for the UFC next week and then he goes to Japan to work a tour over there with New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

Here's an updated card for Wrestlemania 20:

Chris Benoit vs Christian or AJ Styles for the WWE title

John Cena vs Rob Van Dam for the NWA Heavyweight title

Shawn Michaels vs The Rock

Batista vs Goldberg

Triple H vs Jeff Jarrett in a Six Sides of Hell in a Cell match

Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas vs Booker T & Monty Brown

The Undertaker vs Seven

Victoria defends her Women's title in a gauntlet match

Randy Orton w/DDP vs Ric Flair w/Maven

Trish Stratus vs Molly Holly vs Lita

Most of the card was announced on Raw, and a few more matches are expected to be announced on Smackdown as well.

With Triple H moving more into the creative area of the company, as opposed to the actual in-ring action, there is internal feelings that there has to be a new "Triple H". The feeling is that they need to build up a new star to the level that Triple H reached at his peek. They've looked at OVW and at the Raw and Smackdown rosters. It appears that they could begin the building process soon, but it is unknown who they will select, if they even go with it at all. It is possible that this is just a rumor and could have no facts behind it.

Speaking of backstage news, it appears that during the next few months, Christian, AJ Styles, Rob Van Dam, Batista, and even Ron Killings will be main eventing shows all across the country very soon. The company sees these men, as well as a few others, as the future of the company and look to build around them. Just look at the Wrestlemania main events for further proof of this.

Liking the diary so far. The show format is great, as it doesn't drag. It's quick and to the point. Moving on to the show itself, the Shocker turn on Paul London has me intrigued. I'm also looking forward to seeing who trashed Daniels' locker room. And here's hoping that Jordan gets a good push, as he is a very under-rated wrestler.

After accidently disrespecting Mr. McMahon last week, Mike Bucci must now pay the price. Bucci must step up to face one of the most feared superstars on the roster, Goldberg. Goldberg's record alone is enough to make people fear him, but with everything going on between him and Batista he is twice as dangerous. Will Bucci be able to prove that he is more deserving than Goldberg by actually pinning the man or making him submit? Better yet, will he survive?

Bucci's partner in crime, Kurt Angle has told anybody that will listen that this Thursday he will begin his "Olympic Challenge". He will take on any and all comers who think they can beat him in the squared circle. Who will be the first to step up to face the Olympic champion?

Tune in for all that and more, live this Thursday night!

Monday, March 15, 2004 Results

Dark Matches

Nick Dinsmore d. Rob Conway

Mark Magnus d. Shawn Daivari

Chris Masters d. Mark Briscoe

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:::[iNTRO VIDEO AND PYRO EXPLOSIONS]:::

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After the pyro explosions stop and the smoke clears, a video plays. the video recaps the last two weeks. We see footage of the contraversial ending of the number one contenders match, the surprise debut of The Miz against Chris Benoit, and the heel turn by the champ before this surprise. The shocking turn by Evolution on Randy Orton is also shown, followed by the return of Shane Helms. The video then switches to events from Road to Wrestlemania and we see the attack from Jeff Jarrett on Triple H. As the video wraps up, we see a shot of the arena and then the titantron comes on. The crowd goes wild when they see Triple H on screen. He is standing by with Mark Lloyd for an interview.

Game Time

(O:85%)

Lloyd: Ladies and gentlemen welcome to Raw, where here tonight I have the pleasure of interviewing The Game, Triple H. Well Game, you asked for this time, enlighten us.

Triple H looks down at Lloyd and doesn not appear to be in a good mood, especially not after that last comment from Lloyd.

Lloyd: I'm sorry if that came off a bit sarcastic, but I swear it wasn't. What I meant was why don't you fill us in on your thoughts about your upcoming match with Jeff Jarrett at Wrestlemania 20?

Triple H reaches down and grabs the mic away from Lloyd. He then motions for him to hit the road. Lloyd doesn't waste any time and starts walking. Triple H turns directly to the camera and brings the mic up to speak.

HHH: In this business I've done it all! I've held every major championship that the company has to offer multiple times. I've been King of the Ring! I've been in Hell in a Cell matches and walked out on my own power. I've ended careers! But the one thing that I've never done, is stepped into that ring with someone who reminds me a lot of myself. Jarrett, at one point I thought of you as a friend. Obviously I was wrong in thinking that way, but we live and make mistakes. But you see, you didn't just cost me a match and betray my trust, but you made it personal when you involved a close friend of mine in your plot to get to me. I'm also disappointed in Sean for going along with it, but that's his problem and he dug his own grave, as I will set my sights on him once I'm through with you Jarrett.

Triple H looks to his side and notices the materials of an unconstructed Hell in a Cell structure. A smile appears on the face of Triple H as he turns back towards the camera.

HHH: You know Jarrett, like I said before I've been in Hell in a Cell matches, but I just got a great idea. I spoke with Nash two weeks ago and he mentioned that at Wrestlemania he and Eric Bischoff were going to bring in an inovation to this business, never seen in the U.S. He told me that for the first time ever, a six sided ring would be introduced at Wrestlemania! Well here is what I am picturing Jarrett. Six sided ring, plus Hell in a Cell don't really match too well.......but what if? What if a new structure was created to fit around the six sided ring? What if at Wrestlemania, Jeff Jarrett stepped into the ring with The Game in the very first Six Sides of Hell in a Cell match!

Triple H lowers the mic from his mouth and drops it to the floor. He stares into the camera intently and we then fade out to the arena, where Heath Cameron is making his way down to the ring as "Explode" by Damageplan plays. Heath has Tracy by the wrist and he jerks at it every time that she slows down while they are walking down the ramp. They walk around the ringside area and Heath points to a specific spot where he wants Tracy to stand and stay. Once he does that, he rolls into the ring and the bell rings. His opponent, Jorge Estrada is already in the ring waiting for him.

Heath Cameron vs Jorge Estrada

(O:70%, C:65%, M:75%)

Heath catches the unsuspecting Estrada with a back elbow to the face. Heath picks Estrada up and delivers a series of knees to the ribs, followed by a gut buster. Heath pulls Estrada up and takes him to the corner. Heath grabs him by the neck and then climbs up to the second rope. Heath places his knee behind the neck of Estrada and leaps off. Heath drives the knee to the back of his neck. The referee tells him to back off and let him check of Estrada. Heath back s off and the referee picks his hand up and releases it. He does it again and the hand drops a second time. As he is about to release it a third time, Heath comes over and jerks Estrada up to his feet. Heath kicks him in the gut and then puts him into position. He leaps forward and nails the Flipping Hybrid Piledriver. The referee drops to his knees and checks on Estrada. After getting no response from him, he calls for the bell.

Winner: Heath Cameron via KO

Heath screams to the referee that he wasn't done and shoves him out of the way. Before he can do any more damage to Estrada, Tracy slides into the ring and pulls Heath back. Heath turns and looks at her with a furious look on his face. She begs him to stop, but he replies with a slap to he face. Tracy falls to the mat and then Heath's expression quickly changes. He appears to be worried. He kneels down to Tracy, but she rolls out of the ring and runs up the ramp. Heath looks around and then he himself rolls out of the ring and walks up the ramp slowly. We fade out to an advertising video for Road to Wrestlemania.

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Mania News

(O:85%)

As we come back from the video we see AJ Styles, Christian, and Randy Orton just hanging out backstage. Kevin Nash comes into the picture and walks toward the three men.

Styles: Hey Nash, what's going on?

Christian: Yeah Big Kev, what up?

Orton: Look Nash, if it's not the news I want to hear, just don't say anything!

Nash: No, no Randy, what I have to say is something that you really want to hear. You see, not only do you have your match that you requested, but I also have news for these two men.

Styles: Yeah, what's that?

Nash: Well AJ, seeing as how either you or Christian will be going to main event Wrestlemania against Chris Benoit, I thought it be a good idea to have you guys in the ring with the champion before that match. Since I also have other people who want to step into the ring, I decided that tonights main event is going to be a six man tornado tag match. It will be you two teaming with Triple H to take on WWE champion Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Jeff Jarrett.

Christian: No sweat! Tonight will mark the night that Christian takes the first battle against Chris Benoit, then win the war when I take the WWE title at Wrestlemania. The Christian Coalition will love it!

Styles: Christian Coalition?

Christian: Yeah, Christian Coalition. You like? It's catchy isn't it?

Orton: That's all well and good Christian, but what I want to know Nash, is if I've got my match one hundred percent for sure?

Nash: Yes Randy, I took your request word for word and it's signed, sealed, and delivered. All you have to do now is make it public whenever you feel like it.

Orton: Oh don't worry, I'll be making it public tonight!

A sly grin comes over the face of Orton. Kevin Nash walks off, leaving the three to talk. As the three chat, we fade out to a commercial break.

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:::[COMMERCIAL BREAK]:::

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Victoria vs Nidia

(O:80%, C:82%, M:73%)

As we return from the commercial break, Victoria, the Women's champion, is making her way down to the ring. After taking her belt off and holding it up, she hands it to the ref and the bell rings. Nidia attacks her from behind, but Victoria quickly takes care of her. Nidia rolls out of the ring and collects herself. Nidia slides back into the ring and rushes the champ, but is knocked down by a huge clothesline. Victoria waits for her to get up again and nails another clothesline. The champ measures Nidia and lifts her up onto her shoulders. Victoria spins her off and drives her down into a side slam. She covers, but only gets a two count. Nidia is lifted up and shot to the ropes. Victoria ducks, but Nidia leaps over her and lands on Victoria's back. Nidia appears to be about to attempt a snap sunset flip, but Victoria holds her ground. Victoria lifts herself up and reaches back. As soon as she has a hold of Nidia's neck, she drops down into the Widows Peak. Victoria rolls Nidia over and makes the cover for the uncontested three count.

Winner: Victoria

Victoria holds her title up and looks into the camera and asks who's next. She rolls out of the ring and walks up the ramp. As she is about to go through the curtain, we fade out to a video hyping up Road to Wrestlemania. We are reminded that the main event will be AJ Styles vs Christian, with the winner going to Wrestlemania to face Chris Benoit for the WWE title in the main event.

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More Questions

(O:82%)

As the video ends, we see Victoria walking in the backstage area. As she turns the corner, Tracy Brooks bumps into her. Victoria looks at her and simply shakes her head. We get a clear shot of Tracy's face and the bruise on her face is still there, but this time the black sunglasses can't hide it, as it appears to be much worse. Victoria reaches over and takes the glasses off Tracy.

Victoria: So you fell again?

Tracy looks down and avoids any eye contact with Victoria.

Victoria: Listen Tracy, you may not admit it, but I know that you didn't get that black eye from a fall. If I had to take a guess, I would say that Heath has been the one doing this to you.

Tracy: Look Victoria, I told you before, and I'm gonna tell you again. Let it go! This is my business, so stay out of it!

Tracy storms off and Victoria turns to see her leave. As Victoria is about to go after her, a hand grabs Victoria by the shoulder and jerks her back. Victoria drops her title and spins around. She ends up face to face with one half of the tag team champions, Heath Cameron. Heath has a grimace on his face upon seeing Victoria. Heath gets a little closer to Victoria and then violently grabs both of the womens champion's arms. Victoria tries to get free of his grip, but can't.

Heath: Stay out of this, or else you'll be sorry!

Heath shoves her into the nearby wall and then walks off in the direction that Tracy went. Victoria holds on to her back and then her arms. A couple officials come over to check on her when they notice she's down on the floor. We take another commercial break as they check on her.

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:::[COMMERCIAL BREAK]:::

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Mysterio & Damian Jeter vs James Maritato & Johnny Stamboli

(O:81%, C:75%, M:88%)

Upon returning, we are shown The Apocalypse making their way to the ring. Mysterio, Jeter, Reigns, and Abyss are walking down the ramp, with Angel Williams leading the pack. In the ring, James Maritato and Johnny Stamboli await their opponents. Before the referee has a chance to ring the bell, all four men go on the attack. Stamboli and Maritato don't stand a chance against those odds and are dealt with rather quickly. Abyss lifts Stamboli up and gives him the Black Hole Slam. Reigns grabs Maritato and locks him into position, while Jeter and Mysterio go out to the apron. Each one is on opposite sides of the ring. Reigns spins and drives Maritato into the mat with the Inverted Spinning Neckbreaker, which is now being called the Reign Drop. As Maritato makes contact with the mat, Jeter and Mysterio leap up to the top rope and spring off. They hit a tandem splash/leg drop combination on Maritato. Jeter gets to his feet, but Mysterio stays on top of Maritato. Abyss shoves the referee to the mat and Angel screams at him to call for the bell. The bell rings and the match is now officially started. She then demands that he start the count. Feeling pressured, the ref makes a quick three count.

Winners: Mysterio & Damian Jeter

Before any form of celebration can begin, the lights begin to flicker and then the ring starts to shake. The Apocalypse in the ring don't know what to do and Angel on the outside looks on with fear in her eyes. A bolt of lightning strikes on of the ring posts, then another. The ring stops shaking and then a bolt of lightning hits an object that is hovering over the titantron. We get a good shot of it and it's the cross that is known to be The Undertaker's symbol. The cross begins to burn and the Apocalypse looks on. As their attention is on the cross, the crowd goes wild when they see Randy Orton leap out of the crowd with a chair. Orton slides into the ring and catches then off guard with chair shots. Reigns takes the first, followed by Abyss. Mysterio leaps out of the ring without taking any damage, but Jeter turns right into an RKO. Abyss tries to sit up, but takes a chair shot to the face. Reigns takes a shot to the gut and is then clotheslined over the top rope. Abyss rolls out of the ring and is holding his head.

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Drawing A Line In The Sand

(O:85%)

Orton picks Jeter up and tosses him over the top rope. He then goes over to the other side and asks for a mic. The crowd is going wild as Orton walks to the center of the ring to speak.

Orton: If you don't mind, I have something I'd like to say.

Before he can go on, "Line In The Sand" by Motorhead plays and out come Michael Shane, Frankie Kazarian, Torrie Wilson, Maven, and Ric Flair. They all stand at the top of the stage and watch on as The Apocalypse leaves the ringside area and exit through the side of the stage. Maven asks for a mic, but as the crew guy goes to get him one, Orton speaks.

Orton: Whoa, whoa Maven! This is my time and I think it's in your best interest to just listen. you see, earlier Kevin Nash informed me that the match I had requested of him has been granted. The match I asked for is now locked and will happen at Wrestlemania! Maven, it will be you in the corner of that man right there, the Nature Boy. Yes, at Wrestlemania you will see Randy Orton take down one more legend. Ric, this match will be another Legend Killer Challenge.

Flair begins to loose it on the stage, going as far as taking his coat off and trying to take his shirt off. Maven and Kazarian hold him back from walking down to the ring.

Orton: But it doesn't end there Ric, not yet. You see, after you guys jumped me and kicked me out of Evolution, I went home and called my father. He told me to let it slide and go on my own way. I was about to do just that, when the phone rang. I picked it up and it was a man who was calling to congratulate me on picking up a victory against Taker, no matter how tainted it was. This man told me he admired the fact that I went after the Deadman on my own. He then talked about how he had once tried to take down Taker, but only came close to doing so. He expressed interest in coming in to the company once again and help me get a measure of revenge on those that turned on me. Well I put in the word and Nash thought it be a good idea. So just like you will have Maven in your corner, I will have someone watching my back.....

Orton drops the mic and raises his arm into the air. He opens up the fist and then raises his other arm. After opening his other fist and putting his hands together, the crowd goes nuts. The camera zooms in on what Orton is doing with his hands and we see just why the fans are cheering like crazy. Orton is giving the sign for the Diamond Cutter! Flair's eyes widen and goes ballistic. Shane, Kazarian, Maven, and Flair sprint down to the ring. Orton waits on, ready for a fight. As Kazarian slides in, Orton quickly picks him off and drops him with an RKO. Maven tries to attack Orton from behind, but gets caught and tossed over the top rope. Flair wisely drops down and rolls out of the ring. Shane tries to hit Orton with Sweet Shane Music, but gets caught. Orton pushes his leg away and tries to hit and RKO, but Shane shoves him off. Shane leaps out of the ring and then security rushes to the ring. Flair gets a smile on his face and laughs at Orton. The expression quickly changes, as the security grabs Flair, Maven, and Kazarian. Orton begins to laugh and then leaps out of the ring. Orton walks over to Flair, who is being held by security, and gives him the Diamond Cutter sign right in his face. Orton walks up the ramp and disappears through the curtain. As security is dragging Evolution to the back, "Sexy Boy" hits and out comes Shawn Michaels. HBK walks down the ramp and taunts Evolution as they are being taken away. Shane in the ring looks worried, as the only person being allowed to stay at ringside is Torrie. We cut to a commercial as Michaels enters the ring.

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:::[COMMERCIAL BREAK]:::

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Shawn Michaels vs Michael Shane

(O:85%, C:86%, M:85%)

The two went at it hard and fast. Shane tried his best to take control of the match, but HBK's experience edge lets him take an early advantage. HBK gets a few near falls and then goes for the quick finish, but Torrie grabs his leg as he prepares for some Sweet Chin Music. As HBK tries to shake her off his leg, Shane comes over and hits him with a splash in the corner. Shane started to put the boots to HBK and then drives his elbow into his face. Shane made a few covers, but all only reach the two count mark. Shane lands a snap suplex on HBK and then goes up to the top rope for the Picture Perfect elbow drop, but drops down when he sees HBK getting to his feet. Shane motions to Torrie and then pulls HBK up to his feet. Torrie climbs up to the apron as Shane shoots HBK to the ropes. HBK puts on the brakes as he sees Torrie. HBK takes a step to the side when he feels Shane coming. Shane stops just as he's about to make contact with Torrie and turns around. BAM! He turns right into Sweet Chin Music and then HBK makes the cover. 1......2......3!

Winner: Shawn Michaels

As HBK picks up the victory, the lights dim and the titantron lights up. There is a huge ovation as the fans look up to the tron and see:

We are shown a shot of HBK looking at the tron and he has a huge smile on his face. HBK nods his head in approval and then goes to the outside of the ring. HBK leaps the guard rail and celebrates with the fans. As he is making his way through the sea of people, the screen fades to black.

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The Apocalypse's Promise

(O:82%)

As the screen is completely black, we see a spark flare up and a candle is lit. A few more are lit and we see James Mitchell is the one

Mitchell: Earlier tonight we saw how pathetic The Undertaker can be. He had to resort to childish parlor tricks in order to get our attention. Undertaker, you have our attention, but you must ask yourself is that what you really wanted. Is that really what you were expecting? Or were you just trying to intimidate and frighten The Apocalypse in hopes that we would just up and leave? Taker, that's just not happening!

As he says that, Seven emerges from the darkness behind Mitchell. The Minister lets out an evil laugh before continuing.

Mitchell: Taker, for the last year I've been looking for the right person to put an end to you. I've made many mistakes down the road. People I thought could get the job done failed me. Sean O'Haire, Vampiro, Christopher Daniels, the list goes on and on. It wasn't until this man right here that I knew I had the foundation for a perfect weapon against you. Seven alone is all I need to finish you off once and for all, but I'm not about to put all my eggs into one basket. I searched high and low for the right souls to mesh together to create a single unit of destruction. We have Damian Jeter and Mysterio, who both posses the speed and lightning fast offense. Then we have Abyss and Luther, who bring uncanny power and vicious instincts. Those four men do as Angel tells them, as she is the object of all men's obsessions. She uses that to her advantage. Then finally we have this man, who without any instructions, destroys anything at will. Taker, your days are numbered. The days of the Apocalypse are drawing near by the second. So if you think that simple tricks will make us turn away and run, think again!

As Mitchell is about to say something else, Seven covers his mouth and then steps infront of him. Seven looks directly into the camera and puts his hood down.

Seven: This is the final straw! Your reign has gone on for too long Undertaker. You've talked about dragons coming down to try to lay siege to your kingdom. Well this dragon will not be coming to try. I will lay claim to your so called kingdom and when it's all said and done, I will set it ablaze. At Wrestlemania, the world will bare witness to the final resting place of The Undertaker. At Wrestlemania, The Undertaker will.....REST.....IN......PEACE!!

Seven rolls his eyes in an obvious attempt to mimic Undertaker. The feed goes into static, shortly followed by a fade our to the last commercial break of the night.

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:::[COMMERCIAL BREAK]:::

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Another Match For Mania

(O:75%)

Upon returning from the last commercial break, we see Charlie Haas and Val Venis talking. Venis is surrounded by some ladies, some extremely friendly with Haas.

Venis: I can see that you are enjoying the company of these ladies. Tell you what Charlie, my next movie premiere is coming up in a few weeks and I'd like you to attend.

Haas: I would love to Val, but I don't know.

Haas looks at the ladies and appears to be changing his mind, as a smile comes over his face. As he is about to say something, Shelton Benjamin walks into the locker room.

Shelton: What's going on.

Venis: Well I was just inviting Charlie to my next movie premiere. What's going on with you, you look a little hyped up.

Haas: Yeah Shelton, you look too upbeat and not like the Shelton I saw last week after being attacked again by Booker T.

Shelton: Well Charlie, let me fill you in on a thing or two. You see, I just left the office of Kevin Nash and he let me know two things. The first is that in two weeks, the night after Wrestlemania, there will be a tournament to determine a number one contender to the WWE title. Kevin Nash told me that joining the loser of the AJ Styles versus Christian match next week in that tournament will be Val Venis, Chris Jericho, myself, and you Charlie.

Haas: I'm in the tournament?! So you're telling me that I am finally getting a chance to earn a WWE title shot?

Shelton: That's exactly right Charlie, you could very well be the next in line to face either Chris Beoit, AJ Styles, or Christian. But that's not all, you see Nash asked me what I would like to do about the whole Booker T situation. Since he isn't officially in the company, I am legally capable of pressing charges for the attacks. I told Nash that I'd rather handle it myself. So Nash has sent out a contract to Booker T and his crew. The contract is to allow them to wrestle, one night only, at Wrestlemania. Booker T and one of his boys will get the chance to get into the WWE:TNA ring and face me and my tag partner of choice........you! The catch is that were they to beat us, then they get a dual contract to work both Raw and Smackdown as they please.

Haas: Shelton, it would be my pleasure to team with you once again if it means getting a matter of revenge on Booker T and his guys.

Haas extends his hand to Shelton and they shake. Val comes over and puts his arms on both Shelton and Haas' shoulders.

Venis: That's all great guys, but right now why don't we go celebrate our god fortunes. I mean guys come on, these ladies are dying to party and you're just the right guys for the job.

Venis gives both me a smile and then walks off, leaving two of the ladies behind. Haas and Shelton ponder the situation and then both shrug their shoulders and go over to the ladies. The four walk off and join Venis, who is already outside of the locker room. As the group walks off towards the parking lot, we switch to a shot of the arena, where "Whatever" by Our Lady Peace plays. Chris Benoit, with the WWE title around his waist walks out. He is followed by Jeff Jarret, Chris Jericho, and Steve Austin. The bell rings and the three men in the match are introduced by the ring announcer. The three men enter the ring, while Austin walks around and goes to take a seat at the announcers table. After a round of boos, the crowd reaction changes when "At Last" plays and out comes Christian. The peeps in the arena all stand to their feet and give Christian a great ovation. Christian comes out and is all business. He walks down the ramp, but stops right at the bottom. Christian stands there and waits for "I Am" to play and then AJ Styles comes out to a great ovation as well. The crowd is going nuts ans the two men that will face off at Road to Wrestlemania stand side by side at the bottom of the ramp. The lights then dim a little and "The Game" by Drowning Pool plays. Triple H steps out and the strobe lights begin to flicker. H pours water over his head and then takes a chug of water. He spits the water into the air and then sprints down the ramp. AJ< Christian, and Triple H slide into the ring, causing Benoit, Jericho, and Jarrett to exit the ring. The referee calls for the bell and the match is officially under way.

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AJ Styles, Christian, & Triple H vs Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, & Jeff Jarrett

(O:89%, C:87%, M:91%)

Triple H slides out of the ring and goes after Jarrett. Benoit and Jericho jump him as he grabs Jarrett. Styles and Christian comes out to help H. The brawl spills out all around the ring side area. Jarrett and H trade blows, followed by Jarrett being clotheslined over the guard rail. H follows him and the two fight it out in the crowd. We lose sight of them and are shown the battle in the ring. Benoit and Styles are going at it in the middle of the ring. Jericho has Christian down on the outside and is driving hard punches to the side of the face. Benoit ducks under an attempted clothesline from Styles and locks his arms around his waist. Benoit lifts Styles over and tosses him with a release German suplex. Styles lands on his feet and then jumps up to the middle rope. Benoit turns right as Styles springs off the ropes backwards and catches him with a reverse ddt. Styles covers, but only gets a two count. Jericho rolls into the ring and goes after Styles, but is caught. Styles shoots him to the ropes and then back body drops him. Styles picks Jericho up and goes for the Styles Clash, but takes a forearm shot to the back and then Benoit takes him over with a German suplex. He follows through with three more suplexes. Benoit tells Jericho to lock Styles into the Walls of Jericho. As he is locking him in, Benoit drops and puts the crossface on Styles. Christian comes into the ring and nails a kick to the head of Benoit. Christian shoves Jericho off and he goes through the middle ropes all the way to the floor. Christian picks Benoit up and hits a suplex. Styles rolls out of the ring and lands besides Jericho. Christian locks on a chin lock on the WWE champ. Benoit fights out of the hold and nails Christian with a snap suplex out of nowhere. Benoit picks Christian up and drives him down hard with a stalling backdrop. Benoit climbs up to the top rope and dives off with a flying headbutt. He covers, but pulls Christian's head up at two. Styles begins to move, but Jericho kicks him, as he has already got up. Jericho picks Styles up into a powerbomb, but Styles rolls over and takes Jericho down with a sunset flip. Styles gets to his feet with Jericho still in his grasp and pulls him up. Styles drops down and hits a Styles Clash! Back in the ring, Benoit pulls Christian up to his feet and tries to lock on the Crippler Crossface, but Christian surprises the champion by countering the hold into the an Unprettier. Christian rolls Benoit over and makes the cover, 1........2........3!

Winners: AJ Styles, Christian, & Triple H

The crowd goes wild as Christian has just pinned Chris Benoit in the middle of the ring. Styles looks on from the outside of the ring, as he just saw a picture that we may possibly see at the conclusion of Wrestlemania. Styles must get through Christian next week to advance to Wrestlemania to get his shot against Benoit. Christian looks towards Styles and tells him that he'll be going to face Benoit at Mania to do what he just did tonight. Styles slides into the ring and the two go nose to nose. Before they can trade blows, Jericho comes in and draws their attention. The two lay Jericho out and then stare each other down. As the two walk towards each other, the copyright logo comes on the screen and the show fades to black.

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Overall Rating: 82%

TV Rating: 5.98

People in Attendance: 10,030

Ticket Sales: $401,200

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Great Smackdown! Loved the E&C move from Raw and the fact that Moore beat Angle. Judgment Day is looking really good with this build up.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs Paul London

Carlito vs Aaron Summers

Shannon Moore © vs Akio

Rey Mysterio vs Mike Sanders

Charlie Haas © vs Rico

Eddie Guerrero vs Billy Kidman

Mark Jindrak & Luther Reigns © vs The Big Show & The Undertaker

Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar

John Cena © vs Rob Van Dam

Tiebreaker Questions

1. Will anybody new show up and debut at Judgment Day and if so, who? I have no idea......Chris Masters?

2. How will the WWE Championship match end? No Contest

3. Who will get the pinfall in the WWE Tag Team Championship Match? Reigns