Despite the fact that none of you care, I've decided to continue this for my own amusement. The first post was fairly realistic, but this is booking six months/a year in advance so there's a greater chance that the rosters will be very different and various injuries will occur. But I'm just gonna continue with the current roster and push new guys accordingly.
First, here are guys listed on the current roster that I don't anticipate being around after Wrestlemania: Goldberg, Nash, Steiner, Regal, Al Snow (though I'd keep him around as a manager of one of my new tag teams), Rock (he'll be around for that month after WM and then disappear again), Austin (keep him on TV if you must but he's obviously not going to be wrestling), Ric Flair (after his face turn I don't see much for him to do on-screen and I don't think his contract lasts all that much longer anyway), Bill DeMott, Nathan Jones (obvious reasons), Rikishi, Billy Gunn, and Faarooq (they're all old and not worth it).
The night after Wrestlemania, HHH comes out and makes no excuses; he lost the Title to Jericho fair and square. Orton comes out and confronts HHH (a la HHH's own anti-HBK "dropped the ball" promo after WM 14) and says that he got the job done last night by taking care of Flair. HHH was in the biggest match of the year and choked. Orton insinuates that maybe it's time that HHH step aside and let Orton become the new leader of their group. He calls HHH washed up. HHH starts to respond and they get in each other's faces. Batista plays peacekeeper... but as HHH backs away, Batista nails him, and he and Orton do a massive beatdown. To the surprise of everyone, HBK comes out and makes the save. The next week, when HBK is asked why he saved his former friend, Shawn is candid. He says that he can relate to Hunter now. There comes a time when you're not gonna be the #1 guy anymore. Maybe his best days are behind him and maybe they're not; but either way his career his far from over. Batista and Orton jump Shawn, as revenge for last week, and this time it's HHH that saves Shawn. After they clear the ring together, Shawn and HHH have a staredown and then shake hands as Raw goes off the air. A week later, Shawn & HHH vs. Orton & Batista is booked for Backlash.
Elsewhere on Raw, Jericho says it's about time he's the Champion. He knows how it feels to be shafted out of Title shots and says he'll take on all comers. This brings out a bitter, heelish Booker T, who is upset at not only never receiving Title shots, but insulted at being left off the Wrestlemania card. Jericho makes fun of him for being left off the card but offers him a Title shot as he said he would. This brings out Rob Van Dam, who claims no one has been shafted as much as he has. This all leads to a triple threat match for the Title at Backlash.
Meanwhile, Christian does an edition of the "Peep Show" and has The Rock on as a guest. Christian brags about how the Rock called him his favorite wrestler last year and the Rock of course takes it all back, leading Christian to lay him out with a steel chair. This would be a great feud promo-wise.
After Evolution imploded, Maven decided to form a team with his old Tough Enough buddy Chris Nowinski. They get off to a hot start as a tag team, winning their first several matches.
Backlash looks like this:
Tag Team Titles: Maven & Nowinski d. The Dudley Boys to win the Titles (11:31)
Kanyon d. Goldust (9:23)
Women's Title: I don't book the women's division but I will give them time (5:02)
Intercontinental Title: Lance Storm d. Hurricane to win the Title (16:37)
HHH & HBK d. Orton & Batista (17:17) (HHH pins Orton)
Christian d. The Rock (22:06)
World Title: Jericho d. RVD and Booker T in a Triple Threat match (22:55)
The night after the show, HHH & HBK mention talk about how they're pretty damn good as a team. HBK says there's more to life after losing the World Title; you have to find new things to accomplish... and one thing they have never done is win the Tag Titles together. Maven & Nowinski, feeling mighty good about themselves, are more than willing to put their new Titles on the line, and HHH & HBK end up beating them in the main event that night. The next week, Snow and Nowinski realize they're gonna need some help, and where better to turn than to their old mentor, Al Snow. They take on Al as their new manager.
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After Wrestlemania on Smackdown, Eddie Guerrero was the first one to congratulate Chris Benoit on winning the Title. One of them finally won the big one. But Eddie gets increasingly jealous of Benoit, and the two start feuding leading up to Judgment Day. The Angle/Cena feud continues. Edge makes his triumphant return and guns for Brock Lesnar, who he was supposed to face in tag action the day of his big injury. Taker and Rhyno continue their rivalry, and Rey Rey is set defend his US Title against Matt Hardy at the PPV. Zach Gowen decides he finally wants to gain some gold, and starts trying out different tag team partners, in hopes of challenging Haas and Benjamin. He finally clicks with another underdog of sorts in Jamie Noble. The Big Show and A-Train start to feud as well.
Here's Judgment Day:
Spanky, London & Kidman d. Tajiri, Chavo & Moore (9:59)
US Title: Matt Hardy d. Mysterio to win the Title (14:00)
Rhyno d. The Undertaker (11:25)
Cena d. Angle (16:06)
Tag Team Titles: Haas & Benjamin d. Gowen & Noble (12:44)
The Big Show d. A-Train (6:33)
Lesnar d. Edge (17:28)
World Title: Benoit d. Guerrero (23:11)
During the main event, Eddie shifts into full heel mode, but after Benoit's victory, they shake hands to end the show. The Tag Title match is largely blown by Gowen, who can't make the hot tag to Noble before submitting. Noble is pissed about the loss and turns on him (think similar to Bret & Owen at the '94 Rumble), thus turning him into a big heel right away. Cena has Angle's number and gets another win, and Rhyno gets his job from Wrestlemania back. Edge falls just short against Brock in his big return to PPV, and Matt Hardy becomes the new US Champion in a great match against Rey Rey.
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Meanwhile, on the Raw side of things, the long-brewing Jericho/Christian feud finally heats up, with Christian set to get his first ever World Title shot at Badd Blood. A lot of solid midcarders are elevated including Scott Taylor, Rico, Kanyon, Hurricane, Val Venis, Goldust, etc. The Dudleys start to have issues when instead of making another run for the Tag Titles, Bubba instead decides to go after singles glory. Over the course of several weeks, Bubba first finds singles success, but then loses several matches clean to IC Champion Lance Storm. D'Von turns to Spike, and the duo finds success of their own with several victories. Randy Orton, fresh off losing a big TV main event to World Champion Chris Jericho, is targeted by Shawn Morely, who feels Orton has a big ego, and he should be the one getting Title shots. So Jericho gives Morely a Title shot, and after Jericho wins, Orton jumps Morely for disrespecting him. This leads to a tag team main event the next week of Orton and Christian vs. Morely and Jericho, as well as an Orton/Morely match on PPV. RVD & Booker T blame each other for losing their match against Jericho at Backlash, but Christian is already booked for the Title match at Bad Blood. RVD and Booker don't like each other but they decide that if they're ever going to gain any respect, they have to make a name for themselves by taking out big names themselves... so they jump HHH & HBK leading to a tag team feud.
Bad Blood:
Rico d. Hurricane (9:31)
Intercontinental Title: Storm d. Goldust (15:12)
4 Team Elimination Match: D'Von & Spike d. Rosey & Henry (4:14)
Maven & Nowinski d. Cade & Jindrak (8:53)
Maven & Nowinski d. D'Von & Spike (11:35)
Scotty d. Kanyon (8:10)
Tag Team Title: RVD & Booker d. HHH & HBK to win the Titles (RVD pins Shawn) (19:32)
Orton d. Morely (13:26)
Women's Title: I don't book the women's division but I will give them time (2:58)
Kane d. Batista (9:40)
World Title: Jericho d. Christian (23:04)
The night after, HHH & HBK are given a rematch in the main event, in which they regain the Titles when Shawn pins Booker after a superkick. In the weeks that follow, Orton and Batista challenge for the Titles again and are defeated. Orton and HHH particularly get into a bitter feud stemming from their past, during which HHH constantly reminds Orton that he's never beaten him. RVD and Booker blame each other for their loss and start to feud. Christian keeps on antagonizing Chris Jericho, saying that he'll never quit until he's Champion. Christian receives a rematch at Summerslam. Competition heats up in the IC division, with lots of challengers including Val, Test, Bubba, Kanyon, Hurricane, Rico, and Scotty all gunning for Storm's Title.
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Over on Smackdown, John Cena brags about his many victories over Kurt Angle and decides it's his time to win the Championship. He's Benoit's next challenger. Angle is paired off in a feud with Rhyno. The Edge/Brock feud continues. Jamie Noble refuses to apologize for his actions at Judgment Day and assualts Gowen's good leg, putting him out of action for a few weeks. A-Train and Big Show decide to put aside their differences and beat Rey & Kidman in a tag match. Afterwards they beat down Rey Rey, and Undertaker makes the save.
Vengeance:
US Title: Matt Hardy d. Ultimo Dragon (13:57)
Eddie d. Chavo (14:34)
A-Train & Big Show d. Undertaker & Rey (10:25)
Gowen d. Noble (8:13)
Angle d. Rhyno (11:39)
Tag Team Titles: Haas & Benjamin d. Bashams (8:20)
Edge d. Brock (21:04)
World Title: Benoit d. Cena (22:21)
Now the build to Summerslam- the first duel-PPV since Wrestlemania- begins. After Wrestlemania, much was made of how two guys with similar histories- two former hated enemies and tag team partners- both won the two biggest matches at the event to become their show's new Champion. This was mentioned many times, and Jericho and Benoit began to take sporadic, subtle cheap shots at one another during their promos on their respective shows. As the weeks and months went on, the announcers emphasized more and more how their show's Champion was the real Champion, and made references to how their guy is "the best Canadian Champion there is in the WWE today". After Bad Blood, Jericho went one step further and made direct reference to how much more impressive his reign has been, unlike "the guy on the other show". Jericho says he takes nothing away from Benoit, but he feels he has more serious threats to his belt on Raw (ie Raw is a better show than Smackdown). On Smackdown, GM Paul Heyman is the one that takes offense to this, as Benoit takes the high road and more or less ignores the comments. But Heyman is livid and responds by going off on a pseudo-shoot interview about how all the guys on Raw are either washed up has-beens (HHH, HBK) or underacheiving never-weres (RVD, Christian, Orton). That bothers Bischoff, and he and Jericho continue the verbal wars. After Benoit retains against Cena at No Mercy, he talks about how he's always enjoyed competition. And one of the guys he's enjoyed competing against the most in his career is Chris Jericho. Benoit says that Jericho talks a good game; but now that they are both finally on top of their game- both World Champions- he's dying to find out who is truly better. Benoit talks about Summerslam and says that he'll be there and Jericho will be there. Why not have a straight-up wrestling match between the two Champions, so the world can find out who truly is the better wrestler. The next week on Raw, Chris Jericho accepts, and says that he'll put his Title on the line. Bischoff comes out and says he'd love to see the match but puts his foot down and absolutely does not allow the Title to be on the line. If Jericho loses the belt to the other show, Raw will be ruined. They'll never recover from that. Besides, Bischoff admits he doesn't have all the confidence in the world in Jericho. Heyman says the same thing on Smackdown, and Bischoff comes to Smackdown for one show to sign a contract with Heyman, sanctioning their two stars to wrestle in a non-Title match at Summerslam.
Lost in all this, is Christian, who was previously promised a Title shot at Summerslam, which Bischoff now postpones. He apologizes and says Christian will get a Title shot at the following PPV, but Christian has his heart set on Summerslam. He throws a tantrum and eventually decides to boycott Summerslam. He tries to get others to boycott it as well, to no avail, but is adamant about not going himself, as a protest to getting screwed over. Bischoff is more concerned with the Benoit/Jericho match, and tells all his guys in the locker room, that love him or hate him, they should have Jericho's back, because he is THEIR guy, and this is the most important match of the year because they are going up against their competition. If Jericho wins, everyone will see Raw as the better product, and they'll all benefit from that. Heyman gives a similar speech to his Smackdown guys.
Other Summerslam build up includes: RVD vs. Booker, HHH vs. Orton, a huge 6 man tag of Edge, Angle, and Eddie vs. Brock, Cena & Rhyno, Rey vs. Big Show, Scotty vs. Storm, and Gowen challenging Matt Hardy for the US Title.
Summerslam:
Rey d. Big Show (8:12) (Rey has the match won, when A-Train tries to interfere, but Undertaker prevents him, and Rey finishes off Show with the 619)
Tag Team Titles: Haas & Benjamin d. Chavo & Moore (10:30)
Intercontinental Title: Storm d. Scotty (10:05)
Edge, Angle & Eddie d. Brock, Cena & Rhyno (17:27) (Edge pins Rhyno)
Orton d. HHH (14:52) (Shawn and Batista both interfere)
US Title: Gowen d. Matt Hardy (11:46) (The underdog has finally done it, winning singles gold)
RVD d. Booker (13:39)
Champion vs. Champion: Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit (25:28)
A classic back and forth match is ruined when Christian, who is supposed to be boycotting the event, runs in out of nowhere and defies Bischoff by beating the crap out of Jericho while he has Benoit in the Walls. Christian, jealous that he is not in this match as he was originally promised, beats down Jericho, and gives Benoit a bunch of cheap shots as well for good measure. Security gets him out of there, and the ref declares a DQ win for Jericho. Bischoff and Heyman come out to protest, and Heyman demands the match be restarted; it's not his fault some idiot Raw guy ruined it. Bischoff argues that would be unfair because Jericho was brutally attacked, thus giving Benoit an advantage. But Jericho shows his guts, grabs the mic and tells them to restart the match. So they go at it for another five minutes, trading near falls, and Christian again runs in, having broken free from security, and does a number on Jericho AND Benoit. The ref rings the bell for a double DQ. Christian continues his assault, so a bunch of Raw guys including HHH, HBK and RVD come into take out Christian, but while there, also decide to lay a beatdown on their rival show's Champion, Benoit (Bischoff has put this idea in their heads). This brings out Edge, Angle, Cena, and Brock of all people (opponents just hours earlier) to jump the Raw guys. Jericho and Benoit are out cold, and Brock/Christian, Cena/RVD, HHH/Edge, and HBK/Angle all end up having a wild four-way brawl at ringside, as time runs out and the show goes off the air.
So now the bad blood is established. The top Raw guys and Raw Smackdown guys hate each other. Heyman is incensed, because in his mind Raw started the whole thing, though Bischoff points out it was Benoit who issued the challenge in the first place. The verbal war continues, but before the next joint-PPV, each show has their own. In mid-September, both GM's agree this must be settled. So the Survivor Series main event will be a 5 on 5 tag team match between Raw and Smackdown. By the first week of November, each GM must deicde on his team. So the wrestlers have until then to prove themselves as being worthy of the main event.
On Raw, Bischoff is pissed off at Christian for ruining Summerslam, but Christian blames him for screwing him out of the Title shot; he then reminds him that he said he could have the next PPV Title shot, so it's Jericho vs. Christian at Unforgiven. Jericho hates both of them, as Bischoff had little faith in him from the beginning and he's been feuding with Christian for months now (not to mention that Christian cost him what could have been the biggest win of his career).
D'Von & Spike challenge HHH & HBK for the Tag Titles. Orton sucks up to Bischoff for a spot on his Survivor Series team. RVD takes offense to this and takes the more passive approach. He does question where Orton was when he and Shawn and HHH went out there to fight for their show. Bischoff decides on an easy way to see who's more worthy of being on his team: they'll wrestle at Unforgiven with everyone barred from ringside. Whoever wins will earn a spot on the team. Test feuds with Booker. Veteran, Scott Taylor upsets Lance Storm for the IC Title on Raw. Kane and Batista continue their on-again, off-again feud.
Unforgiven:
Kanyon d. Morely (9:13)
Maven & Nowinski d. Cade & Jindrak (9:54)
Intercontinental Title: Scotty d. Storm (12:47)
Test d. Booker (9:25)
Women's Title: I don't book the women's division but I will give them time (3:36)
Batista d. Kane (10:51)
Tag Team Titles: HHH & HBK d. D'Von & Spike (14:19)
RVD d. Orton (15:01)
World Title: Christian d. Jericho to win the World Title (24:43)
So Christian finally becomes World Champion, thus angering everyone, and RVD wins a spot on the team.
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On the Smackdown side of things, Benoit wants to thank the Smackdown guys for coming out to his defense, but reminds them that he can still beat any of them. But to show his gratitude, he offers them all Title shots in consecutive weeks. Benoit says he'll run through them all. First up: John Cena, who Benoit edges out a win against. The next week: Kurt Angle. Back and forth match that ends up in a time limit draw, as Smackdown goes off the air. Angle is visibly disappointed, as he had the advantage late in the match. Edge gets his shot next week against a very fatigued Benoit, who has been defending the Title at an unheard of pace. Angle is asked who he thinks will win before the match, as the announcers note Benoit's fatigue (thanks in large part to Angle), and Kurt says he'd be disappointed if anyone won because of the damage he did to Benoit. He says, "I don't think Edge wants to be the World Champion because of a beating that Kurt Angle laid on Chris Benoit a week ago." Angle does guest commentary on the match, as Benoit and Edge wrestle a grueling contest. The ref gets bumped and Brock Lesnar comes out to soften up both men- one of which will be his opponent the next week. He F-5's both Benoit and Edge, and leaves. The ref starts to stir... Edge gets to his feet... and Angle runs in and turns heel, nailing Edge with a spear, then Angle Slams him. Benoit, unaware of the events that have transpired, hits the flying headbutt and pins Edge for the win. Heyman says Brock's blatant interference was wrong and suspends him next week- when he was supposed to get the Title shot. Edge is injured- out of action for a week- and Benoit is angry at Kurt because he doesn't need Angle to retain his Title for him. Angle wrestles Benoit the next week and finally gets the better of him, becoming the new World Champion. When Edge returns, he's furious at his buddy that betrayed him, and the two feud. Benoit feuds with Brock, who never got the Title shot he was promised.
In other action, Zach Gowen enjoys his US Title run for a month, surviving several close calls. The Big Show challenges him, figuring it will be a piece of cake, and Gowen outsmarts him, eventually leading to a countout victory. Show is pissed, and absolutely annihalates him after the match, severly injuring him. Heyman suspends him for a month. Gowen is too injured to defend the Title is stripped. A tournament is booked to determine a new Champion: First Ruond: Rey d. Matt, Benjamin d. Chavo, Haas d. Kidman, Dragon d. Tajiri; Second Round: Benjamin d. Rey, Dragon d. Haas... meaning the finals at No Mercy will be Ultimo Dragon vs. Shelton Benjamin. Of course, two weeks prior to the tournament, Haas & Benjamin lost the Tag Titles to upset kings, Spanky & Paul London. Haas and Benjamin are still buddies but decided to give the US Title Tourney a shot, and now it's Benjamin, and not Haas, that has reached the finals.
No Mercy:
Noble, Tajiri & Bashams d. Kidman, Orlando Jordan, Palumbo & Stamboli (7:19)
Rey d. Rhyno (8:24)
US Title Tournament Final: Shelton Benjamin d. Ultimo Dragon to win the US Title (12:48)
Cena d. O'Haire (5:55)
Matt Hardy d. Eddie Guerrero (15:08)
Tag Team Titles: Chavo & Shannon Moore d. Spanky & London to win the Tag Titles (11:27)
Brock d. Benoit (17:10)
Undertaker d. A-Train (13:41)
World Title: Angle d. Edge (21:19)
Angle barely edges out a win against Edge in a match with tons of false finishes. After the hard-fought Taker/Train match, A-Train took out Taker with the hammer from the ring bell, leaving Taker bloodied and unconscious. MFers Chavo and Moore (Chavo became an MFer right after Summerslam, when Matt decided he needed more support after losing to Gowen) win the Tag Titles. Matt gets back on track with a big win over Eddie. Brock finally gets his WM XX job back from Benoit. Cena, quickly becoming a babyface, picks up a win over O'Haire, and Rey Rey upsets Rhyno. Benjamin is the new US Champion.
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Survivor Series is finally right around the corner. Bischoff has picked his guys: HHH, HBK, RVD, Jericho, and his Champion, Christian. Heyman has selected his top stars: his Champion Angle, Edge, Brock, Benoit, and Cena. It's an interesting dynamic because each team hates the other team but hates a lot of people within itself. Jericho and Christian hate each other, and Jericho has had issues with everyone else. Pretty much everyone on the Smackdown team despises one another. Other matches include: Eddie, Spanky, London, Ultimo Dragon & Gowen vs. Benjamin, Haas, Chavo, Moore & Matt Hardy; Taker, Rey, Bradshaw, Kidman & O. Jordan vs. Show, A-Train, Rhyno, Noble & Tajiri; Bubba, Hurricane, Scotty, Test & Morely vs. Storm, Orton, Batista, Kanyon & Rico; Kane, D'Von, Spike, Cade & Jindrak vs. Booker, Goldust, Maven, Nowinski & Richards
Survivor Series:
Eddie, Spanky, London, Ultimo Dragon & Gowen vs. Benjamin, Haas, Chavo, Moore & Matt Hardy
Matt d. Spanky (6:02)
Chavo d. Gowen (8:16)
Eddie d. Matt (11:10)
London d. Moore (13:55)
Dragon d. Chavo (16:42)
Benjamin d. Dragon (17:23)
Haas d. London (21:40)
Eddie d. Benjamin (23:51)
Haas d. Eddie (25:11)
Survivor: Haas
Bubba, Hurricane, Scotty, Test & Morely vs. Storm, Orton, Batista, Kanyon & Rico
Batista d. Bubba (2:32)
Orton d. Scotty (4:25)
Hurricane d. Storm (7:03)
Morely d. Kanyon (9:00)
Batista d. Test (11:18)
Batista d. Hurricane (12:37)
Rico d. Morely (13:42)
Survivors: Batista, Orton, Rico
Undertaker, Rey, Bradshaw, Kidman & O. Jordan vs. Show, A-Train, Rhyno, Noble & Tajiri
Kidman d. Tajiri (4:04)
Rhyno d. Jordan (5:11)
Taker d. Show (7:50)
Rey d. Rhyno (11:16)
A-Train d. Bradshaw (12:35)
A-Train d. Kidman (13:33)
Taker & A-Train brawl to a double DQ (15:54)
Rey d. Noble (17:59)
Survivor: Rey
Kane, D'Von, Spike, Cade & Jindrak vs. Booker, Goldust, Maven, Nowinski & Richards
Spike d. Nowinski (0:49)
Maven d. Cade (2:50)
Kane d. Richards (3:38)
Jindrak d. Maven (5:21)
Goldust d. Jindrak (7:14)
Booker d. D'Von (12:02)
Goldust d. Spike (14:29)
Booker d. Kane (16:45)
Survivors: Booker & Goldust
Main Event (Raw vs. Smackdown): Angle, Benoit, Brock, Edge, Cena vs. Christian, Jericho, HHH, HBK, RVD
HHH d. Cena (11:09)
Brock d. RVD (16:36)
Edge d. HBK (22:57)
Christian d. Edge (29:00)
Angle d. Christian (34:35)
Jericho d. Angle (36:12)
Jericho & Benoit pin each other (german-suplex spot) (40:08)
HHH d. Brock (46:54)
Survivor: HHH
The build to WrestleMania XXI continues...
