wrestling / Columns
The Shimmy 12.01.08: The 2008 Big Four PPV Players
Greetings, all, and happy belated Thanksgiving. If you’re a Canadian reader I suppose it’s a quite belated happy Thanksgiving. I’ve always thought of Thanksgiving as the Royal Rumble to Christmas’ WrestleMania; a great, fun event in its own right that kickstarts the season doesn’t come with as much pressure to deliver. Speaking of WrestleMania, I’d like to thank all of those that read and commented on my last column, even those that were less than complimentary. That’s the great thing about fantasy booking, there are always those lined up to support you and always those lined up to tell you that you’re an idiot. I even managed to get a few e-mails in this comment section world, which I’ll share later on in the column.
But as for the task at hand, this is the second annual look at WWE’s Big Four PPV Players. Only a select few wrestlers/superstars/entertainers have the ability, durability, and political support to find themselves on the card of all four of WWE’s premiere shows. Last year we had nine men that fit the bill: Batista, Randy Orton, The Great Khali, MVP, Finlay, Umaga, Kane, and CM Punk. Did any of those men repeat in 2008? Who joined their ranks? And which superstar has the most impressive Big Four resume? Let’s take a look.
Mark Henry*
Matches: 2008 Royal Rumble Match; No. 1 Contender’s 24 Man Battle Royal; ECW Title Match: defending vs. Matt Hardy; Survivor Series Elimination Match: w/ Team Orton vs. Team Batista
Mark Henry is one of two men that will be included in this list with an asterisk. Henry actually had a pretty good run in the Royal Rumble Match, making it to the final six men in the ring before ultimately being eliminated by John Cena. Despite the good showing in the Rumble Henry got screwed out of an opportunity in the SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match in favor of his partner Big Daddy V. Henry would have to settle for getting into the ECW Championship picture, which he did by having another good showing at WrestleMania in the 24 Man Battle Royal. He was actually the last man eliminated as Kane would go on to win the match. Now I am going to include this match in the Big Four inventory despite it not actually occurring on the PPV portion of the show. I figure that it was billed as a WrestleMania match, they showed highlights on the main show, it had a WrestleMania graphic, and for about a week we were under the assumption that it would indeed take place on PPV. Therefore I’m counting the match, but giving Mr. Henry an asterisk on his accomplishment. Henry should also probably take some flak for his “big” SummerSlam match as he would defend the ECW Championship against Matt Hardy. The match last maybe 20 seconds before Henry’s manager Tony Atlas ran in the ring and ended the contest in a disqualification. At Survivor Series the World’s Strongest Man would be enlisted to join Team Orton in the Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match against Team Batista. He would flex his muscle a bit in the match, even eliminating rival Matt Hardy, but eventually would fall prey to a spear by Batista. Mark Henry should be commended for making his presence felt on all of WWE’s Big Four PPVs but not all of his work was the most notable of contributions.
MVP
Matches: Career Threatening Match: Ric Flair vs. MVP; Money in the Bank Ladder Match; vs. Jeff Hardy; Survivor Series Elimination Match: w/ Team JBL vs. Team HBK
A bit surprising, no? The man that has been on a losing streak for the last two months has actually be on all four of WWE’s premier events. At the Royal Rumble MVP was one of the first men to get a shot at ending Ric Flair’s career, and he would go on to be the only man to get TWO shots. He’d find himself in a match seemingly custom made for his character, Money in the Bank, at WrestleMania, although his admittance to the match was done with relatively little fanfare as he qualified on a house show. Then again MVP looked like he may have won the Money in the Bank briefcase had it not been for the returning Matt Hardy. Later in the year MVP feuded with a different Hardy, Matt’s brother Jeff. After getting very personal in a VIP Lounge segment the two men fought one another at SummerSlam, a match that saw a soon-to-be-rare victory for SmackDown’s highest paid superstar. Things would get pretty hairy for MVP though as he’d engage in a long losing streak that is still ongoing. Despite this, MVP was still picked for Team JBL at Survivor Series (lead by a man that MVP talked all kinds of trash about when he left SmackDown), and while MVP did manage to eliminate JTG in the match his team was not victorious, keeping the losing streak in tact. While the Royal Rumble, Money in the Bank Ladder Match, and Survivor Series Elimination Match all provide viable multiman matches to secure MVP a spot on at least three major shows next year, given MVP’s recent booking I would not be surprised if MVP does not repeat this performance in 2009.
The Great Khali*
Matches: 2008 Royal Rumble Match, No. 1 Contender’s 24 Man Battle Royal; WWE Title Match: vs. Triple H©; Survivor Series Elimination Match: w/ Team HBK vs. Team JBL
Like Mark Henry, Khali gets an asterisk. Despite having some good buildup prior to the Rumble, Khali was dumped from the ring rather unceremoniously by Undertaker during the Royal Rumble Match. At WrestleMania he was in the 24 Man Battle Royal, but unlike Mark Henry he did not have quite the impact on this match. He’d be redeemed at SummerSlam, though, as he’d participate in one of the main events as he challenged Triple H for the WWE Title in a surprisingly fun match. Shortly after SummerSlam Khali would begin to become more of a fan favorite, hosting the Khali Kiss Cam and by the time Survivor Series rolled around he was the muscle for Team HBK, teaming up with his new little buddy Rey Mysterio. Khali has the size to always be booked on any show, and given his new face turn there are more matchup opportunities out there for him (WWE Title Match against Edge at the Royal Rumble perhaps?).
JBL
Matches: vs. Chris Jericho; Belfast Brawl: vs. Finlay; World Heavyweight Title Match: vs. CM Punk©; Survivor Series Elimination Match: w/ Team JBL vs. Team HBK
JBL returned to PPV at the Royal Rumble and he has found himself on every other Big Four PPV as well. In fact JBL has been booked on every PPV this year except two (Night of Champions and Cyber Sunday) and even then he had an impact on the Cyber Sunday main event. His feud with Chris Jericho early in the year seemed like it could have been big, but unfortunately it never really panned out to being the epic feud it seemed like it could have been. JBL would move onto bigger things at WrestleMania, competing in arguably the fifth biggest match on the card, against Finlay in a brutal Belfast Brawl. JBL presumably took the spot of Mr. McMahon in this match which is an indication of the match’s importance (although I suppose the fact that McMahon dropped out might be an indictment against it). He’d spend most of the spring and summer feuding with John Cena, even picking up some wins here and there. Those few wins would help set him up for a World Heavyweight Championship Match against CM Punk at SummerSlam. JBL was instrumental in helping get Punk over as World Champion, and while his success is certainly arguable, it was not for lack of trying. Since then JBL has hovered around the title picture, now entering into a feud (or possible partnership based off last week’s Raw) with Shawn Michaels. While JBL probably won’t be winning any World Titles any time soon I definitely foresee him finding a spot on all upcoming Big Four shows so long as he decides to continue wrestling.
CM Punk
Matches: 2008 Royal Rumble Match; Money in the Bank Ladder Match; World Heavyweight Title Match: defending vs. JBL; Survivor Series Elimination Match: w/ Team Batista vs. Team Orton
After being a surprising addition to last year’s list, CM Punk is a more stable addition this year. Last year I stated that Punk being the top face on ECW provided him the means to be on all the big shows, but this year he only had that distinction for half of the Big Four shows. At the Rumble Punk was just days removed from having lost the ECW Title to Chavo Guerrero and while he did get put over a bit on commentary, insult was added to injury as Chavo eliminated Punk from the match. He’d have a much better night at WrestleMania as he shocked the world by winning a great Money in the Bank Ladder Match. It is that Money in the Bank opportunity that allowed him to win the World Heavyweight Title and defend it in the aforementioned match with JBL at SummerSlam. Punk may have dropped off the radar a bit after that by losing the World Title without actually competing in a match and being off of the next three PPVs, but he’d recover by winning the World Tag Team Titles with Kofi Kingston and enter contention for William Regal’s Intercontinental Title. That IC Title contention would be jumpstarted by Punk’s rapid fire elimination of Regal during the Survivor Series Elimination Match. As it stands now Punk has a very interesting role in the company. He’s the kind of guy that could often be left off of the smaller shows but still find a way to make it onto the bigger ones. I think Punk will continue to find good placement on major shows even if the Backlashes and Unforgivens go Punkless.
Undertaker
Matches: 2008 Royal Rumble Match; World Heavyweight Title Match: vs. Edge©; Hell in a Cell Match: vs. Edge; Casket Match: vs. Big Show
Undertaker is an interesting subject as he often takes rather lengthy sabbaticals and that can sometimes limit which shows he is on, often allowing him to just make appearances. Taker did take one of those sabbaticals this year but it did not impact his Big Four schedule. The Deadman had a great run in the Royal Rumble Match, being one of the most notable entrants that did not make it to the final group. After winning the SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match at No Way Out, Undertaker found himself in his second consecutive World Heavyweight Championship Match at WrestleMania, this time getting top billing as he took on Edge. In a match that was almost a year in the making Undertaker captured the World Title for the second year in a row, and he’d go feud with Edge over the title for the rest of the spring. In the summer he’d take the aforementioned sabbatical but he’d be sure to come back in time for SummerSlam to compete in a Match of the Year Candidate inside Hell in a Cell against Edge. After sending Edge to Hell at the conclusion of that match, Taker would move on to Vickie Guerrero’s next obstacle, Big Show. Unfortunately Undertaker’s next Big Four PPV match would not be of the same quality as his other matches as he’d host Big Show in his specialty Casket Match at Survivor Series. Despite having two very good match with Big Show at No Mercy and Cyber Sunday, the Casket Match just was not a good match. Still, Taker managed to be one of the better big game performers this year, despite the egg laid in Boston.
Edge
Matches: World Heavyweight Title Match: defending vs. Rey Mysterio; World Heavyweight Title Match: defending vs. Undertaker; Hell in a Cell Match: vs. Undertaker; WWE Title, Triple Threat Match: vs. Triple H© vs. Vladimir Kozlov
Edge is one of the more shocking men to have on this list. At the Royal Rumble Edge defended the World Heavyweight Title against his former tag team partner Rey Mysterio. Thanks to the sacrifice of the love of his life Vickie Guerrero Edge escaped with his title. This set him up for the WrestleMania showdown with Undertaker, and that feud would ultimately lead to the brutal Hell in a Cell Match at SummerSlam. We all assumed that being sent to the fiery depths of Hell would have prevented Edge from competing at Survivor Series, but due to an unfortunate injury to Jeff Hardy, the Rated R Superstar performed sub duty and came away with the WWE Title. It certainly looks like Edge will be finishing the year the same way he began it, and that is as a World Champion. The question will be who will challenge Edge for the championship at the first Big Four event of 2009, and will Edge be able to enter WrestleMania as champion yet again?
Batista
Matches: 2008 Royal Rumble Match; vs. Umaga; vs. John Cena; Survivor Series Elimination Match: w/ Team Batista vs. Team Orton
Last year I dubbed Batista “Mr. Dependable” because no matter what happened in the company, no matter who was supposed to be carrying the ball or who went down with an injury, Batista was there to plug holes and save the day. While Batista was not needed to do save the day this year, he was certainly the backbone to the company this year. While most people will give credit to the likes of Chris Jericho or Shawn Michaels or Edge or maybe even Randy Orton, Batista has been the man that has been the focal point of both major brands for the majority of the year. Batista was in the Final Three during the Royal Rumble Match, having a great moment with Triple H and John Cena in the final minutes of that match. After just coming up short in the Elimination Chamber Match at No Way Out, Batista was briefly out of the title picture, but instead defended the honor of SmackDown against Raw’s Umaga. While the match was pretty disappointing, Batista got the win for SmackDown. By the time SummerSlam rolled around Umaga would actually be a SmackDown superstar while Batista was calling Raw home. This would lead to a mega showdown with John Cena at SummerSlam. These two titans tore into one another, with Batista scoring somewhat of an upset over Cena and giving him the neck injury that would take him out of action for three months. After finally getting his hands on Cena at SummerSlam, at Survivor Series Batista looked to finally get his hands on Randy Orton. The two former Evolution teammates captained Survivor Series teams with Orton getting the surprising win. This has been a big year for Batista, as not only did he compete on all of the Big Four PPVs, but he has competed on all but one non-Big Four show (Judgment Day). After having some injury plagued years Batista has had two great, injury free years as he has established himself as one of the backbones of WWE.
Triple H
Matches: 2008 Royal Rumble Match; WWE Title, Triple Threat Match: vs. Randy Orton© vs. John Cena; WWE Title Match: defending vs. The Great Khali; WWE Title, Triple Threat Match: defending vs. Vladimir Kozlov vs. Edge
When Triple H returned from his injury at SummerSlam last year you knew that this would be a big year for The Game if he could stay healthy. This year certainly was a big year for him as he was the only WWE superstar to have a match on every PPV, Big Four or not. And if you include the major non-televised events the only one he did not compete on was Saturday Night’s Main Event (WrestleMania Rewind Night, King of the Ring, WWE Draft, All Star Kickoff, and the Record Breaking 800th Episode Celebration). One would imagine that he would also have a match at the Slammy Awards episode of Raw as well as at Tribute to the Troops. As for his Big Four Matches, he is probably in contention for having the best collection of matches from a high profile perspective, with only our next entry on this list possibly challenging him. Triple H was this close to winning the Royal Rumble, but he still made it into the championship match at WrestleMania anyhow. Despite coming up short yet again Triple H would have his day as he’d walk away from Backlash as the WWE Champion. It is that title that he would defend against The Great Khali at SummerSlam and then again in a fluid Triple Threat Match at Survivor Series. All of Triple H’s Big Four Matches have been of good quality with the notable exception of the bulk of the Survivor Series match, but that was at least combated with some late excitement. Given Triple H’s high profile stature and invested stake in the company I would not be surprised to see Triple H find himself on every PPV card in 2009 as well.
John Cena
Matches: 2008 Royal Rumble Match; WWE Title, Triple Threat Match: vs. Randy Orton© vs. Triple H; vs. Batista; World Heavyweight Title Match: vs. Chris Jericho©
And here we have the most unlikely addition to this list. No one expected John Cena to return at the 2008 Royal Rumble (and if you say you did you are a damn liar) let alone win the thing. That win would pave the way for his championship match at WrestleMania, but it is at WrestleMania that he would start the rather disconcerting trend of losing matches. His luck did not get much better at SummerSlam as he’d lose in the dream match against Batista and compound a neck injury in the process. For most people that neck injury would have prevented them from competing at Survivor Series, but not John Cena. In fact Cena returned and reclaimed his winning ways, winning the World Heavyweight Title from Chris Jericho in the main event. With a championship title around his waist once again it would seem as if Cena was poised to dominate like he did for most of 2007, but after suffering a major injury twice in the last two years Cena’s durability may be a question heading into 2009.
Well there you have it. Last year we had nine Big Four PPV Players, this year we had ten. Oddly enough the four repeats we had were Batista, CM Punk, The Great Khali, and MVP. A motley crew if ever there was one. With the new year looming it will be very interesting to see who makes this list a year from now. Next year will have the added prestige for superstars of including the epic 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania on their resumes. It all starts in January with the Royal Rumble. I can’t wait.
Andy! Andy! At Last You Have Some Feedback!
Wow, with Christian’s possible WWE return that section title might actually become relevant again. Nah, I’d rather we get the return of that badass Waterproof Blonde song instead. Still, e-mail is back this week, huzzah!
Reichou Shinsake (which would be a great puro name) has a fantasy booking for me to look over.
Nice article. Rather than post on the message board, I thought I’d send my ideas – tell me what you think.
HHH vs. Big Show (I know, I know. But his pairing with Vickie almost has to result in him getting a title match as his “reward” for protecting her against The Undertaker).
Batista vs. Randy Orton (In this version, super-Cena beats Jericho for the title at Survivor Series, and Batista wins the Rumble to theoretically set up Batista-Cena II. However, between the Rumble and ‘Mania, the Priceless 2nd Generation guys help Orton screw Cena over for the title. Acting Raw GMs, the McMahon siblings, say that Batista keeps his title shot and Cena is screwed. It comes out that Shane and Stephanie are in cahoots with Orton and the others, as they are 3rd generation rich bastards. And then, it’s revealed that Shane and Stephanie put Vince out, as another attempt to take the company over. This leads to:
Cena/Cryme Tyme/JBL/Vince McMahon vs. DiBiase/Rhodes/Manu/Deuce Snuka/Shane McMahon in some sort of brawling gimmick match. Cena’s mad at these guys anyway, so he’s okay with Vince as a partner (especially since Vince financed his movies and album – Cena publicly defending Vince could even help if he ever does become a full-fledged heel down the road, unlike Austin’s heel turn when he aligned with Vince). So Cena recruits Cryme Tyme to help against the heels, as they already dislike each other and Cena’s used them in the past as his little helpers. Deuce and JBL are not necessary to this match, but I figured they’d give Deuce one more chance, repackaged as Deuce Snuka, and maybe let him get tag gold with Manu as some more contemporary Polynesian team. JBL would balance the teams out, as Vince would recruit someone he could count on; and former mercenary APA member JBL would comply because he’s all about the same money that Vince and Cryme Tyme all crave.
Christian vs. Kane vs. Edge vs. Undertaker This gets all 4 of these guys on the card, and draws from prior history without flatly rehashing things too much. I see this happening as a result of a Christian-Kane feud which starts on Raw over something stupid while Edge and Undertaker are still a little pissy with each other on Smackdown. This leads to either a Saturday Night’s Main Event/PPV/random Supershow interpromotional event where all 4 end up entangled, and then further aggravated by skirmishes as part of the Royal Rumble. Everyone’s guessing whether or not E&C or the Brothers of Destruction will reunite. Could be a cool 4-way with no one knowing who is going to help each other out or hurt each other. How does it end? Who cares? Christian’s coming back, dammit, and that’s all that matters!
Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho I don’t know who else these 2 could feud with on the Raw roster besides each other, unless a major player turns. These two can make a shitty story by creative still work out, so I’m sure a long-term angle could build to this match at ‘Mania.
Mr. Kennedy vs. Vladimir Kozlov for the US Title Kozlov needs some type of title run, and it’s been convenient historically to put the US Title around a foreigner’s waist.
Finlay vs. Regal for the I-C title That idea of yours for this match is too damn good to overlook!
Matt Hardy vs. The Miz vs. John Morrison Who is the top contender for the ECW title after Finlay? Miz and Morrison are both legit in the fans’ eyes. A 3-way title match here drives a wedge between Morrison and Miz which could lead to their eventual break-up, but also would provide a good match.
Bunnymania with Santino involved somehow in a gimmick match that no one will care about the next day
Money In The Bank with:
HBK, The Brian Kendrick, The Great Khali, Shelton Benjamin, CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, and Jeff Hardy.
HBK and TBK could plant seeds for a future program together, Khali’s size could lead to some cool spots tossing climbers off the ladder, and the others are just too athletic to leave out of this match.
Umaga, MVP, Mark Henry, and R-Truth have all been left off the card; but they could be used as replacements in the other matches.
Any feedback?
Some good ideas here, some I’m a bit iffy on. The idea of Triple H vs. Big Show at WrestleMania doesn’t really thrill me. I agree that Show needs to get a title shot out of this allegiance with Vickie (or at least get in the title picture now that Edge is champ), but that matchup doesn’t scream WrestleMania. That would almost be the perfect kind of match if you wanted to have someone win Money in the Bank and cash it in after a lame DQ finish or something, but I don’t think that’s an optimum situation. I like the premise of the Batista-Orton-Cena issues, although I’m not so sure about turning JBL face. It COULD happen, but I doubt it. I’d rather see someone like HBK in that role because it seems like waste for him to be in MITB (although he would do well in that environment), and even still I don’t think that’s the best use for Mr. WrestleMania. You make a good case for your Four-Way Match, but having a multiman match without anything on the line is a total TNA move and not something that would fit at WrestleMania. Your undercard looks solid, and I especially dig Jericho vs. Rey, good idea. The ECW Title Triple Threat Match was even what I called for in my August booking plans. All in all, there were definitely some things I liked but I’m not sure your card maximizes a lot of people or matchups to their fullest extent. Thanks for e-mailing!
My lovely girlfriend Dani even got in on the feedback frenzy:
Congrats on all the feedback! Even though some of it is mean. I love you even though you want Evan Bourne to win. (Crazy!)
The point of my inclusion of Dani’s e-mail was not to show off that I do in fact have a girlfriend (which I will no doubt be accused of), but to prove that even SHE thought I was insane for booking Evan Bourne to win the WWE Title at WrestleMania. Those of you that took me to task in the last column should feel vindicated. If it makes you feel any better I’m seeing Evan Bourne competing against Vladimir Kozlov for the ECW Title instead now. Thanks for reading, baby!
The Shimmy Likes It Raw
What’s on tap for tonight’s show?
Well that does it for this week. I’ll see you all back here next Monday. Until then, don’t die. Clark…out.
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