Ruthless Aggression | A WWE Universe

[Xixak]

WWE Resets Back to 2007 Post-Wrestlemania; Launches Draft and Brand Split

Following Xixak being crowned WWE Champion at Wrestlemania 23, he mysteriously walked out of the company with the Undisputed WWE Championship. This left WWE in a holding pattern for a few months with no top championship and no show as a result. In May the company is finally looking to make a return with a split brand format and solution to shake things up going forwards. Eric Bischoff is set to take over operations on Monday Night RAW while Paul Heyman has been given authority over Friday Night Smackdown! with Vince McMahon continuing to oversee the company as Vice Chairman and Chief Executive. The former Undisputed WWE Championship has been lost but its lineage will be continued with the reintroduction of the Winged Eagle WWE Championship on Smackdown! as the top belt. The World Heavyweight Championship will make its return on Monday Night RAW. Cody Rhodes' is the current holder of the Intercontinental Championship and as a result he will take that title wherever he is drafted, and similarly The Usos would carry the World Tag Team Championships with them to their new show.

The WWE 2007 talent draft was carried out off of TV, and the top selections and final rosters were made available on WWE.com. Monday Night RAW selected Triple H with the #1 Overall Selection while Friday Night Smackdown! selected The Rock. These top picks came with the stipulation that they would be awarded the top belts on their respective brands. Another key selection was Smackdown! picking up Cody Rhodes, bringing the Intercontinental Championship to Smackdown! and by default the US belt to Monday Night RAW. RAW also drafted the Usos with their 5th pick, locking the World Tag Team Championships to RAW and the vacant WWE Tag Team Championships to Smackdown!. Following the conclusion of the draft, below are the final rosters for RAW and Smackdown!:

[Xixak]

May 2007 | RAW | Week 1


Booker T readies an attack on HHH.

Match #1: Kane vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins | United States Championship Semi-Finals
Prior to this match, Eric Bischoff opened the show and announced that a short tournament would take place to crown a new United States Champion with the belt currently vacant. This week and next week a pair of triple threat matches would take place to determine which two superstars from RAW's mid-card would face off at Backlash in a one on one match for the belt. The first featured Kane against two newcomers to the WWE in Roman Reigns, a member of the prestigious Anoa'i family and Seth Rollins, a young star from the independent scene looking for his big break in the company. With all three superstars being heels, weapons and trickery immediately got involved in the match and all three men ended up bloodied by the end. Near the end of the match, Seth Rollins hit a Pedigree on Kane and went for the cover but Roman Reigns broke it up before the three count. He then blasted Seth with a baseball bat before tossing him out of the ring. By this time Kane had gotten to his feet and rushed blindly at Reigns but Roman countered it into a Guillotine Choke and squeezed the life out of Kane incredibly forcing the Big Red Machine to tap out. Reigns will be in the final at Backlash.

► Show Spoiler

Winner: Roman Reigns by submission.

Match #2: Latino World Order vs. New World Order | Tag Team | World Tag Team Championship #1 Contender's Match
The lWo and nWo faced off in an all WCW alumni matchup after RAW General Manager and former WCW Commissioner, Eric Bischoff hand-picked them for this #1 contender's match. It ended up being the younger, quicker Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio who came out on top after Eddie hit a Frog Splash on Scott Hall to pick up the victory. After their match, The World Tag Team Champions, The Usos came out and got into a war of words with the new #1 contenders, but no blows were exchanged.

► Show Spoiler

Winner: Latino World Order by pinfall.

Main Event: Triple H vs. Batista
Eric Bischoff wanted to showcase his handpicked WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Triple H, by having him face off against another one of his top picks in a non-title match in the main event. Batista looked a step slow against his old mentor though and was hit with a Pedigree early. He managed to kick out but was weakened for the rest of the match. When HHH reversed a Spinebuster attempt later on, Batista was immediately met with a second Pedigree of the match and this time he would not kick out as HHH picked up the victory in his first match as champion. The celebration was short-lived though as Booker T came running out and attacked HHH from behind. He then picked up the World Heavyweight Title and waited for HHH to get up before blasting him across the face with it. Booker then grabbed a mic, standing over HHH and said, "Back when WWE bought WCW, you prevented me from rising up, you prevented me from becoming great with your hatred and your racism. Well now... I'm bringing that all back on you, and I'm coming for that belt. Now can you dig THAT? Sucka!"

► Show Spoiler

Winner: Triple H by pinfall.

[Xixak]

May 2007 | Smackdown! | Week 1


Cody Rhodes visibly frustrated after his match with Kofi Kingston

Match #1: Cody Rhodes vs. Kofi Kingston | One on One
The intercontinental champion Cody Rhodes took on Kofi Kingston in non-title action. Rhodes continually tried to use nefarious methods to win throughout what was still a very good and compelling matchup between two skilled light heavyweights. He tried to bash Kofi with his mask at one point but missed and Kofi hit him with a Trouble in Paradise out of nowhere before rolling him up for the victory. A statement win for Kingston over the champ but also frustrating for Cody, who took out those frustrations on the referee after the match with a vicious Cross Rhodes.

► Show Spoiler

Winner: Kofi Kingston by pinfall.

Match #2: Dudley Boyz vs. Steiner Brothers | Tag Team | WWE Tag Team Championship Qualifying Match
With the WWE Tag Team Championships vacant, Paul Heyman set up a 6 team mini-tournament to determine his first Smackdown tag team champions. Three tag team matches would take place with the winners qualifying for a Triple Threat Ladder Match for the WWE Tag Team Championships as Backlash. First up were the Dudley Boyz and the Steiner Brothers, the latter who attacked the former before the match even got started. The Dudleyz ended up winning that brawl though and winning the match as well after hitting a 3-D followed up by a Saving Grace from D-Von to Rick Steiner to become the first team to qualify, fittingly, for the championship ladder match.

► Show Spoiler

Winner: Dudley Boyz by pinfall.

Main Event: Rob Van Dam vs. Kurt Angle | One on One.| WWE Championship #1 Contender's Match
Rob Van Dam took control of this matchup early, out-speeding Angle. He got a bit too ambitious though going for the Five Star Frog Splash as Angle was still healthy enough to roll out of the way. Kurt then started to target the leg of RVD to ground him and set up for an eventual Ankle Lock. He hit the Angle Slam and covered RVD but only got a two count. The two continued to brawl with RVD going for a Rolling Thunder but Kurt ducking out of the way again at the last minute. He locked in the Ankle Lock, but RVD was able to reverse it into a school-boy pin and nearly steal the victory. A frustrated Angle charged at RVD after getting up but went flying into the ring post. RVD then capitalized with a Five Star Frog Splash, connecting this time to win the match and become the #1 contender for The Rock's WWE Championship.

► Show Spoiler

Winner: RVD by pinfall.

[Xixak]

May 2007 | RAW | Week 2


The Usos come out together ahead of Jey's match with Rey Mysterio.

Match #1: CM Punk vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Shinsuke Nakamura | United States Championship Semi-Finals
After Roman Reigns qualified for the first spot in the United States Championship finals at Backlash, three new faces were set to compete for the second spot with CM Punk, Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Lashley facing off. The match started off hot with no superstar really being able to gain momentum as after they hit a move on someone, the third man would always take them out. The match went on for a very long time with all the superstars coming very close to winning with their finishers, but having pinfalls repeatedly broken up by the other competitor. These three put on an absolute show, but it eventually had to come to an end. Bobby Lashley slipped out of a GTS from Punk and came bouncing off the ropes to nearly split Punk in half with a Spear. He was about to go for the cover but Nakamura came flying in out of nowhere with a Kinshasa kick to the head to knock him unconscious. Shinsuke knocked Punk out of the ring and then rolled up Lashley for the 1-2-3 to qualify for the United States Championship match at Backlash against Roman Reigns.

► Show Spoiler

Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura by pinfall.

Match #2: Rey Mysterio w/ Eddie Guerrero vs. Jey Uso w/ Jimmy Uso | One on One
After qualifying for a shot at the Usos' World Tag Team Championship at Backlash with an impressive win over the nWo; one half of the lWo, Rey Mysterio took on one half of the Usos in Jey. Mid-way through the match, both competitors' tag partners got involved and rushed the ring, getting into a brawl before the referee eventually tossed them both from ringside. From there it was just Jey one on one with Rey. Rey's speed was a lot for the tag champ to deal with and he nearly won the matchup after hitting a pair of Frog Splashes but Uso somehow kicked out twice. Rey kept up the pressure but eventually Jey started to turn things back in his favor. He hit an Uso Splash on Mysterio but that was also only good neough for a two count. Jey went for another one but similarly to Rey, got the same result. These two continued to battle, showcasing their high flying ability when Rey hit a Springboard Frog Splash seemingly out of nowhere to grab the victory and make a massive statement for the lWo.

► Show Spoiler

Winner: Rey Mysterio by pinfall.

Main Event: Faarooq vs. Booker T
Booker T was scheduled for a match against Faarooq to close out the show but HHH came out during Faarooq's entrance with the APA member in a choke hold before tossing him to the side. He spoke to Booker, "You wanna attack me? You want to come after The Game, the champion? Ok Book, I'm gonna teach you a lesson." HHH rushed the ring and the two got into a brawl. HHH caught Booker by surprise and started with the upper-hand, but Booker eventually recovered and got back into things. His momentum was stopped with a Spinebuster though and HHH started to line things up for the Pedigree. Booker reversed it though and then hit an Axe Kick which stunned HHH. As The Game stumbled back to his feet, Booker lay in waiting and then delivered a Book End to the champ leaving him sprawled out in the center of the mat as the show faded to black.

► Show Spoiler

Winner: No contest.

[Xixak]

May 2007 | Smackdown! | Week 2


The Rock berates RVD after their main event match

Match #1: Kofi Kingston vs. Drew McIntyre | One on One
Kofi had a hard-fought match with Drew McIntyre looking to pick up a second victory in as many weeks. The two got into a great battle, and Kofi nearly had it won with a pair of Trouble in Paradises but neither were enough to keep McIntyre down for too long. Drew would eventually catch Kofi with a Future Shock DDT out of nowhere knocking him out cold to pick up the victory. After the match, Cody Rhodes added insult to injury by blasting Kofi across the face with the Intercontinental Championship and standing tall over him, seemingly avenging his loss to Kingston last week.

► Show Spoiler

Winner: Drew McIntyre by pinfall.

Match #2: Hart Foundation vs. O.C. | Tag Team | WWE Tag Team Championship Qualifying Match
The O.C. came out with AJ Styles during Hart Foundations's entrance and attacked Bret and Jim from behind before the match even got started. When things finally did start they continued to use nefarious tactics as AJ Styles ran interference from the outside whenever the referee wasn't looking. It all came to a head when the fighting spilled to the outside and Anderson and Gallows brawled with Bret and Jim as the referee began the count. It nearly reached a count of 10 when Gallows, the legal man for the O.C., slid back into the ring. But AJ Styles held Bret Hart while out of the referee's view, preventing him from re-entering the ring and allowing the O.C. to win by count out and advance to the WWE Tag Team Championship Triple Threat match at Backlash.

► Show Spoiler

Winner: O.C. by count out.

Main Event: The Rock vs. Rob Van Dam | One on One.
Rob Van Dam qualified to be #1 contender last week with a win over Kurt Angle, but The Rock wanted to go one on one without the title on the line with RVD to see if he was truly worthy of a title shot. RVD came out of the gates hot, looking to use his agility to overwhelm The Rock, but that momentum was suddenly halted with a Spinebuster. Rock then connected with the People's Elbow, but RVD kicked out at 2.5 causing a shocked Rocky to raise an eyebrow. They continued to fight and RVD started to build up a head of steam, taking down the Rock with a vicious kick to the head. He then went for the Five Star Frog Splash but Rock rolled out of the way, popping back up to his feet as RVD clutched his stomach. The Rock then hit him with the Rock Bottom and there would be no kicking out of that as he pinned the #1 contender 1, 2, 3. RVD in a show of sportsmanship offered handshake after the match, but The Rock slapped his hand away and told him to get to the back of the line.

► Show Spoiler

Winner: The Rock by pinfall.

[Xixak]

Going to incorporate a time skip.

[Xixak]

Bump.

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Bump..

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Bump...

[Xixak]

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