Bragging Rights - October 25, 2009 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Throughout the course of the year, for reasons I can not fathom, WWE has decided to change certain pay-per-views to make them either more theme-oriented (i.e. Extreme Rules, Hell in a Cell) or something the superstars could utilize in their promos (i.e. Breaking Point, Bragging Rights). In the haunting month of October we were truly unlucky to have two of them; Hell in a Cell in the beginning of the month and now Bragging Rights. I know you guys have been waiting a long time to see what I have to say so let’s get started on this bad boy shall we. :)

Miz vs. John Morrison:

Wow. I honestly thought this day would never come, but, thankfully, it has. We finally have one of the greatest tag teams in history facing off against each other. Now you guys know I’m not exactly a huge Miz fan and that he doesn’t deserve a shot at the United States Championship (or, in this case, being US Champion), however, Miz and Morrison did make up a pretty darn good team, which was proven with their two Slammy Awards in 2008.

This entire storyline started back in November of 2007 when Miz and Morrison first teamed up to attack Punk on the Nov. 13 edition of ECW and then three days later on Smackdown to go against Matt Hardy and MVP to win the WWE Tag Team Titles. They were able to hold on to the titles until July 20, 2008 when they lost them to Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder at the Great American Bash. About three weeks later (Aug. 5) on ECW Miz and Morrison debuted the soon to be Internet sensation “The Dirt Sheet” making fun of Matt Hardy and Mark Henry.

But they did continue to team up going against Cryme Tyme, Jesse and Festus, and even DX. On the Dec. 8 episode of Raw, Miz and Morrison left with two Slammy Awards in their hands; one for Best Tag Team and one for Best WWE.com show. Then a couple of days later (Dec. 13) at a house show they won the World Tag Team Titles from CM Punk and Kofi Kingston. From there they would go on to have a somewhat impressive feud with Carlito and Primo that would culminate at the show of shows, WrestleMania 25. Whoever won the match would become the first Unified Tag Team Champions. Unfortunately, they lost and the next week on Raw (April 13) Miz attacked Morrison as a sign of their partnership ending since he was drafted onto Raw while Morrison stayed on Smackdown.

Now, let’s jump to a year and six months later where on Raw (Oct. 12) Miz comes out to announce that at Bragging Rights he will be facing Morrison to see which champion is better. He continued saying that they were the greatest tag team of the 21st Century, however, Miz was the talent of the team. All Morrison was was a hair-do with abs (Excuse me, he has a beautiful hair-do, amazing abs and amazing talent. Geez Miz). He’s essentially the new Richard Simmons. He goes on saying that in ten years while Morrison is bedazzling his abs, wearing tank tops and hanging out with 400 pound women he will become the face of the No.1 show, Raw, because HE IS THE MIZ AND HE IS AWESOME. Yeah, right.

Then on WWE Superstars that Thursday, Morrison was going against CM Punk with Miz doing commentary. By the way…I think having Morrison vs. Punk part 2 or 3 or whatever number we are up to with these guys would be amazing since they are both young and very talented superstars who have great chemistry together. That’s one feud I wouldn’t mind seeing over and over again. Anyway, towards the end of the match, Miz ran in and attacked Punk to disqualify Morrison. So then on Smackdown the next night they did a special live edition of the “Dirt Sheet” to promote their match. I must say this sketch was amazing! It was so funny, but at the same time so emotional. They truly did a great job with it.

Morrison was the first one to “throw a punch” when he said that he’s going to prove that being Intercontinental Champion is far more superior than being the Miz. As he looks at him he sees that he has a title and wonders if he brought it at WWE Shop. Ouch! Miz says that everyone knows he was the star of their team, and says, “Throughout history pairs have broken up, with one going on to fame and fortune, while the other one fizzles into obscurity,” giving examples like Mork and Mindy, Bill and Ted and the Rockers. He’s Shawn while Morrison is Marty. Yeah, in your dreams there Mizzy!

Morrison says he’s disagrees because Marty didn’t have sweet merchandise like he does. Also there’s only two Marty’s: Marty Jannetty and The Miz. Poor Marty getting compared to likes of Miz. Then Morrison points at Miz and says, “This is what happens when you don’t have a girlfriend.” Double ouch!

He continues to say that Miz had the courage to dress like himself and look like a loser (he shows an old photo of him) but “now he’s a strange mixture of Michael Phelps, Mr. Ed, Pink and Big Dick Johnson. When you put them all together you get…the Miz” (shows a picture of the new Miz). He retorts with the fact that he has great hair, girls love his teeth and he looks good in trunks. Morrison says, “You look husky.” Damn, hit after hit after hit! I don’t think Miz really got a punch in yet.

So Miz says he will prove to everyone that he’s better at Bragging Rights. However, Morrison doesn’t want to wait till Sunday and wants to go now. Miz doesn’t want to, though, because they’re in a second-rate city, state, and show. Morrison responds saying the Miz thinks Raw is the A show, but it’s a rip off of Saturday Night Live. Then he asks if Big Bird is going to be next weeks guest host. That one had me on the floor laughing. Then he says, “If you want entertainment you watch Smackdown.” HELLZ YEAH!! Sorry I like Smackdown more than Raw. :)

He calls Miz boring, but Miz comes back saying he’s the most entertaining superstar in the WWE and that he carried Morrison for two years because he’s awesome. Wow…I think Miz just got a punch in. Morrison replies that he’s the Miz and all he does is run his mouth. He’s sick and tired of listening and wants to see what Miz will do. That’s when he gets up and knocks Miz out of his seat and gets in his face, but all Miz does is walk away. Winner of this “match”: John Morrison.

The taunting continued the next week on Smackdown (Oct. 23) after Morrison beat Mike Knox. He grabbed a mic and said that he will be facing his former tag team partner at Bragging Rights, but while Miz is on Raw proving he’s Shawn and not Marty (the Oct. 19 episode of Raw showcased Miz going against the Marty Jannetty. Even though Marty lost he put up a great effort and hopefully we’ll get to see him in the ring again soon), he’s on Smackdown knowing he’s the Friday Night Delight and Intercontinental Champion.

I think Morrison is going to win this one because he’s just…let’s admit everybody…better. I mean think about it. How many chances has Miz gotten against either the WWE or World Heavyweight Champion? If my memory serves me correctly, he’s gotten none. Morrison, on the other hand, has gotten a couple against both CM Punk and Jeff Hardy. He had GREAT matches against them, but, unfortunately, always came out a little short of winning the title. Morrison, since being a single competitor, has been ECW Champion and Intercontinental Champion. Miz has only been the US Champion. You guys do the math.

In the end, Miz wins. WHAT?!? How? Why? What? Well Miz just proved me wrong and I tip my hat off to him. Maybe he is as talented as Morrison; just on the wrong show.

Smackdown Divas vs. Raw Divas:

Oh boy! Of course, how could we go through a pay-per-view; especially one about which show is better than the other, without having a Diva squash match. Well I guess they figured it was a perfect time for a bathroom break. This match was announced a week before the PPV so, obviously, there was no build to it at all. It was just made to showcase which show has the better Divas. It was Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix and Natalya (Smackdown) vs. Melina, Gail Kim, and Kelly Kelly (Raw). The only good thing coming out of this match was the fact that Natalya was in it.

Smackdown is definitely going to win this one because they have the brute force of Beth Phoenix, the technical wrestling of Natalya and the…the…well…Michelle has nothing, but two out of three isn’t bad. Raw really has nothing. I mean Gail Kim does have an amazing ability, but she’s not being used properly (just like poor Natalya) so they’re not going to win this one.

In the end, the Smackdown Divas won. oh…ah…yeah. Moving on.

Undertaker vs. CM Punk vs. Batista vs. Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship:

This match was first announced on the October 9 edition of Smackdown (I was actually there! You might’ve seen me…I was the one holding the “John Morrison Rocks!” sign. Lol!). We know the feud between Undertaker and CM Punk, but why add Batista and Rey to the mix I will never understand. I think Punk should’ve gotten his one-on-one rematch, but I guess whatever is best for entertainment purposes. Anyway, that same night Punk faced off against one of the men he will be going against in three weeks, Batista. He won via count-out, but after the match Batista attacked him giving him the Batista Bomb.

Now for you guys who don’t know, the dark match that night was CM Punk vs. Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship. What happened was after Batista gave him his finisher and left the ring, Punk got a mic and talked about how he just won the match and he wants to prove that he can win again and get back his title so he invited ‘Taker to come out and face him. Well he got his wish. ‘Taker came out, gave him a choke slam, and covered him for the win. It lasted maybe five seconds, but it was an awesome five seconds.

Also, that night, ‘Taker came out and gave a great promo (as usual) stating that Rey has a great heart and courage, but it won’t help him at Bragging Rights. Batista is very strong and rabid, but it’s his Achilles heel that will hinder him at the PPV. However, with Punk, he pretty much said he was going to take his soul at Bragging Rights.

The next week on Smackdown (Oct. 16) Punk approached Vince. He said to him that it’s unfair he’s in the Fatal-4-Way and wants a one-on-one match with ‘Taker for the title. McMahon agrees. He makes a Submission match for next week with Scott Armstrong as referee and having Teddy Long be at ringside. That same night ‘Taker did a vignette where he says that at Bragging Rights he will take Punk’s soul, but next week on Smackdown he will read him his rites when they tempt fate again.

However, everybody was tuning in for Batista vs. Rey that night. Best friends/brothers/family will be facing each other in a match. Oh my gosh this is something that has never been done before…NOT! Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart. Undertaker vs. Kane. Yeah, one wanted to face the other while the other was hesitant, but still the same concept. Isn’t this business all about every man for himself? So before their match we see Rey and Batista talking backstage going back and forth on how they love each other like family and want to help each other out at the PPV, but also want to win the titles. Blah, blah, blah…just have Batista turn on Rey already and end this sappiness. I mean I love seeing friends helping each other and a romantic storyline, but when they shove it down your throats like they’ve been doing with Batista and Rey you know something bad is going to happen eventually. Just, with them, please let it happen sooner rather than later.

Later on they faced off. At first they started off wrestling playfully, laughing off how the one got over the other, but then it started getting serious. In the end, Rey hit a hurricarana on Batista and pinned him for the win. However, Batista did have his shoulder up before the three count, but the referee didn’t see it. He talked to the referee about it, but the decision was already made so Batista hugged Rey, congratulated him, and left to let him celebrate. Then CM Punk comes out of the crowd and gives Rey the GTS. Batista runs back down to help Rey, but Punk already ran out back into the crowd. So Batista helps him up and gives him another hug. Please God just end it!

The next week, all there really was to build this match was the Undertaker vs. Punk Submission Match for the title with 'Taker winning after Punk tapped to his Hell's Gate submission finisher.

I believe that ‘Taker will retain because this is probably his last reign as World Heavyweight Champion so they’re going to make it a long and memorable one.

In the end, ‘Taker did win, but what happened afterwards totally overshadowed the entire match. Batista FINALLY attacked Rey, blaming him for losing the match. Their feud is only beginning and I have a funny feeling it’s going to last for some time. I’m very excited about this.

Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown:

The match of all matches for this PPV. We get to see which show is truly better; Raw or Smackdown. In my opinion, Smackdown is. Some will agree. Some will disagree. But as soon as this match is over we’ll know which is truly the best.

We have Team Raw being led by DX featuring Kofi Kingston, Big Show, Jack Swagger, Cody Rhodes, and Mark Henry. Then there’s Team Smackdown being led by Chris Jericho and Kane featuring…well…at first it was Cryme Tyme, Drew McIntyre, Eric Escobar, and Dolph Ziggler, but three days before the PPV it was changed to the Hart Dynasty, Matt Hardy, R-Truth, and Finlay. Trust me, this will all be explained.

It all started on Oct. 12 on Raw when Triple H (without Shawn since he was home taking care of his sick daughter) came out followed by JeriShow. Hunter actually said that Jericho was better and deserves to be on top. Of course. Let the sexual innuendos begin. Show steps in saying no, he’s better and they go back and forth on who’s the superior one in the team. Show noted that Jericho was knocked out by Mickey Rourke at WrestleMania 25 while Jericho noted that Big Show was knocked out by Floyd Mayweather at WrestleMania 24. At least Jericho was knocked out by a guy who’s about the same size as him while Show was knocked out by a little pipsqueak who’s about two or three times smaller than him. Who’s the one who should be embarrassed Show?

So after their little fight Show decided he wanted to be on the Raw team. Hunter said that the team was pretty much filled, but if he wins his qualifying match he can be in it. His opponent was Jericho and the match was next. Show did qualify when he won via count-out. Throughout the rest of the night everybody else on the team would qualify except for Mark Henry who qualified on WWE Superstars. Cody qualified after defeating his tag team partner Ted DiBiase and John Cena. Swagger qualified after defeating MVP. Kofi qualified after defeating Evan Bourne. Finally, Henry qualified after defeating Chris Masters.

On Smackdown that week, Long came out to introduce everybody to the captain of Team Smackdown…Chris Jericho. Good choice! He comes out and says that he’s going to put together a team that will listen to him and allow him to lead them to victory over the two delinquents and their team. That’s when Kane comes out to tell Jericho he’s the co-captain of the team. Jericho immediately agrees saying that with the combination of Kane’s strength and his intelligence the Raw team has no chance. I agree! That night Ziggler qualified after defeating Finlay and Knox. Cryme Tyme qualified after defeating Hart Dynasty. Escobar qualified after defeating Matt Hardy. Finally, McIntyre qualified after defeating R-Truth.

Then on the Oct.19 edition of Raw, DX came out to make fun of Team Smackdown. Wow…so surprising…NOT! They made fun of Jericho for losing to them at different WrestleManias. They talked about the storyline between Kane, Triple H, and Kane’s “ex-girlfriend” Katie Vick, which was absolutely terrible. I beg you guys don’t go to Youtube or any other video Web site and look up the videos from that. You will have nightmares! It’s not worth it. Triple H actually said when they were talking about that, “Yeah she was boring. A real stiff.” Wow! They continued by making fun of Cryme Tyme for selling all of the left over Smackdown tickets that no one buys. With Dolph Ziggler, Hunter said he’s the one who always introduces himself, but he still doesn’t know his name. With the last two guys he said Teddy must’ve played guess how many jellybeans are in the jar or sold the spots on E-bay because he definitely doesn’t know them. How typical. Triple H putting down the rookies.

That’s when Shawn steps in and says he knows Drew McIntyre. He says he’s a great kid with great talent. Thank you Shawn! However he doesn’t know the other guy, but then remembers he’s the one who sleeps with Vickie. Hunter said, “He’s the guy who boffs Vickie Guerrero.” Boffs? Never heard it described like that, but OK. They both say, “He’s a really tough guy.”

Hunter says, “If you want to make your way to the top, sleep with someone who weighs less than you.”

HAHA!! Oh my gosh that’s great! Shawn replies, “You would know about that.”

Wow! That was great! After they make fun of Smackdown’s team they introduce their team one by one. However, when they came to Cody they didn’t say anything about him. Cody says he won’t listen to DX because he’s the one who should be the captain of the team since he has the talent. After that pretty much everybody attacks each other verbally. DX steps in and tells them that they want to make sure there’s no weak link in the team so they put them in a match where if anyone on their team is pinned they would be replaced by the person who pinned them. They faced off against MVP, Chavo Guerrero, Evan Bourne, Primo, and Chris Masters and won, but after the match they attacked each other. Great team you got there Raw…NOT!

Now after all of that, later in the night Shawn would face off against Jericho, but the match never got started because the Smackdown team came out from the crowd to corner Shawn. It wasn’t long, though, when the Raw team came out to help him. They stared each other down and did some trash talking when the cow…I mean Vickie Guerrero came out saying there will be no fighting. Triple H said he doesn’t work for Vickie and an all out brawl occurred between the two teams.

Finally, on Smackdown that week (Oct. 23) Jericho came out saying that after winning this Sunday he will further cement his legendary status as one half of the Unified Tag Team Champions, the face of Smackdown and the man who led Smackdown to victory over Team Raw. However, he needs to know if the guys on his team are worthy to be with him, which they will prove at Bragging Rights. That’s when his teammates came out one-by-one saying they’re the corner stone of the team and will be the one who leads them to victory. The last one to come out is Kane and says that none of them are worthy of being in the same ring as him (Jericho chimes in “or me.”). He wants to know if they really want to be on the team so he makes a 10-man tag match where if the other team wins they will replace them (since Shad was out with the flu it was four on five instead of five on five).

They faced the Hart Dynasty, Finlay, Matt Hardy, and R-Truth and, unbelievably, lost. So three days before the freakin’ PPV we have a totally new team. You know, if they didn’t want to have the five original superstars on the team then why have them win in the first place. Now those five rookies have been thrown to the side and their hopes of being on a great team have been thrown out. Great job with that one, jerk offs!

As the new Team Smackdown celebrated backstage they were approached by Jericho and Kane. Jericho said they were all truly worthy to fight with them at Bragging Rights and was about to give a speech when R-Truth stops him. All of them say that they will be on the same page and are ready to beat and embarrass Team Raw on Sunday. Awesome!

I believe Team Smackdown is going to win, but with help from Big Show. I don’t know I just have this funny feeling that Show is going to betray his team and help Smackdown; especially since his tag team partner is leading Team Smackdown.

In the end, Team Smackdown did win after Show attacked Kofi and knocked out Triple H. Nice! I’m just happy that Smackdown can now “brag” that they are the better show instead of Raw. About freakin’ time.

Lastly, we have…

Randy Orton vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship in a Anything Goes Iron Man Match:

Once again, ladies and gents, we have these two against each other, but thankfully this is the LAST MATCH! My prayers have been answered! This final match came together when Cena came out on Raw the night after Hell in a Cell (Oct. 5) to congratulate Orton on beating him. He continued saying that Orton-Cena is a rivalry…no…THE rivalry. WHAT?!? Are you serious? What about Hogan vs. Andre? What about Shawn vs. Bret? What about The Rock vs. Triple H? What about The Rock vs. Stone Cold? Are those great rivalries crap compared to Orton-Cena? Hell no, but I guess WWE thinks so. Cena then says that their rivalry needs to end (Yay! Somebody who’s smart!) so he makes the match for Bragging Rights.

Honestly, there was no real build for this match. The only build was on the Oct. 12 edition of Raw when Cena went against Cody and Ted for a spot on Team Raw (Yes, you read that right. Even though Cena already had a match for Bragging Rights they still put him in a qualifying match to be on Team Raw. Idiots!) with Orton being at ringside distracting Cena. As he had Ted in the STF, Orton made his presence known by jumping onto the ring apron then backing away so Cena attacked him. After Cody won the match by pinning Ted they were fighting verbally with each other as Orton tried to play peace maker between them. Nancy O’ Dell (one of the guest hosts of Raw that night) came out to annouce she would save this with a match. O boy. It would be Legacy, to get over their little spat, going against the team of Orton and Cena.

When Orton and Legacy came out, Orton made an announcement that next week Cena will be in “the biggest match of his career” when he faced Triple H since it might be his last match on Raw. Legacy did beat them, but after the match Cena gave Orton the Attitude Adjustment and that was it. They did nothing together on Raw the next week so that’s that.

I truly think that Orton is going to win and Cena is going to go to Smackdown because they need people right now. I mean, like I said earlier, Smackdown is a great show, but with Jeff out, Edge still recovering, and ‘Taker on his way towards retirement they are in desperate need of some stars so Smackdown fans…get ready to welcome Johnny to the show.

In the end, CENA WON winning his seventh title. Wow…I can’t believe they had him win. But, as my bro, Mike, said, “Why would they have him win the title, lose it three weeks later, and then win it again three weeks after losing it? It makes no sense. Either have him win it and keep it or not win it at all.”

I totally agree with you bro, but that’s how WWE is working right now. They don’t know what to do anymore so they just make us (the fans) go crazy wondering what the hell is going on.

Thanks everybody for reading. If you have any questions, comments, or just want to talk about wrestling, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at wrestlingchick19@gmail.com. I hope you guys enjoyed and I’ll be seeing you again in two weeks for Survivor Series; I promise. :)

Much love and “Have a nice day!”.