Tonight, In This Very Ring: A Collection of Wrestling Timelines
- Thread starter Megafighter3
- Start date
Holy crap, it's been too long. Anyway, they don't have to be, no. While I will be covering a lot of WWE ground, I'm open to ideas that allow me to stretch out into parts unknown (heh) and go to stuff outside Vince's sports entertainment bubble, which is why I put Brody living on my list as well.
The Reign of Punk: WrestleMania XXVIII
WrestleMania XXVIII
Venue: Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida
Attendance: 80,363 (Record)
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler
Venue: Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida
Attendance: 80,363 (Record)
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler
Pre-Show Match: The Empire (Wade Barrett/Drew McIntyre) (c) d. The Usos and The Colons (Primo/Epico) (w/Rosa Mendes) in a Triple Threat Tag Team Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
We're keeping the match order mostly the same, so we start with the tag titles on the pre-show. Spinebuster/Claymore combo to Jimmy sees them keep the straps to start things off.
AJ Lee (w/Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres) d. Beth Phoenix (c) (w/Natalya and Tamina Snuka) for the WWE Women's Championship
We start the show with an underdog victory as AJ fights from underneath, managing to fight off interference from Tamina and Nattie with help from the babyface Divas, kicking out of not one, but two Glam Slams. Shiranui wins it for AJ as she is overwhelmed with joy at winning the Women's championship at WrestleMania.
Sheamus d. Mark Henry
Next up we have a hoss fight to end the Hall of Pain. This really is the best spot to end it. I'm cutting any extracurricular on this show to give the matches some more time, maybe shave time off Rock/Cena to add some extra time. Sheamus sends Henry to retirement with the Brogue Kick. Don't worry, the World's Strongest Man will be back, but for tonight he feeds the Celtic Warrior.
Randy Orton d. Kane
There's no need for this to go long and especially no need for Kane to win, so Orton wins this with the RKO. Just get them on the card, ya know.
Zack Ryder (c) d. The Miz in a Lumberjack Match for the WWE United States Championship
Lumberjacks: Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd, The Big Show, Jinder Mahal, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston, The Great Khali, Ezekiel Jackson, Santino Marella, David Otunga, R-Truth
We gotta us those Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny match guys somehow, so we have this match. Miz, formerly in the main event of last year's 'Mania, has been getting more and more annoyed at Ryder's rise to stardom and his subsequent US title run. He's gonna shut down the Long Island Iced Z by taking the United States title. We get some lumberjack spots in this before Zack hits the Rough Ryder to keep the United States title. Woo woo woo!
The Undertaker d. Triple H in a Hell in a Cell Match (Special Ref: Shawn Michaels)
And as if Triple H's run as COO couldn't get any worse, he has to take an emergency step down because Undertaker won't leave him the fuck alone. He even stacks the deck against him with his buddy Shawn officiating, but this match goes the same as OTL. End of an Era and all that.
Daniel Bryan d. Cody Rhodes (c) for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Give these two fifteen minutes to work. The story is of course that Daniel Bryan's reign as World Champ was so short while Cody has continued to get better as IC champ. He taunts D-Bry to WrestleMania, with Bryan promising to take the belt from him when they get to Miami. Match ends with the Yes Lock to Cody, Rhodes tapping out as Daniel Bryan claims the now #2 belt of the WWE. Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! ...Yes.
CM Punk (c) (w/Brodus Clay) d. Chris Jericho for the WWE World Championship
We get this match from OTL, but now there's a hell of a lot more going on with it. Jericho's the Rumble winner and Punk is the unified champion, which is something Jericho brags about doing first in promos leading up. We got Brodus in the corner to do some spots, but otherwise, the outcome is the same with Punk winning in what should've been the main event of tonight's show... but...
John Cena d. The Rock
So we flip the result here because I am only doing this match once. Once. You hear me, goddamit? I am not having this match twice, not thrice, not five times, five times, five times, five times, five times. Just here and now, once at WrestleMania in Miami and Cena is going over with the Attitude Adjustment. The two can shake hands and pass the torch, but otherwise, this match is never happening again and staying that way. That was WrestleMania, hope you all enjoyed.
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I must have missed that as I was going to suggest Bruiser Brody surviving.
Or the Von Erich's catch a break after watching that episode of Dark Side of the Ring last night.
I hated the OTL Hell in a Cell match IRL, but the rest of the card looks good (especially since you shortened Orton vs Kane).
Really feel like you're stretching your creative muscles here, good job.
Really feel like you're stretching your creative muscles here, good job.
The Reign of Punk: Extreme Rules 2012
Extreme Rules 2012
Venue: Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois
Attendance: 15,017
Announce Team: Matt Striker/Jerry Lawler
Venue: Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois
Attendance: 15,017
Announce Team: Matt Striker/Jerry Lawler
Pre-Show: Cody Rhodes d. Santino Marella
Cody takes out his frustration over losing the IC title on the goofy comedy guy. Beats him in five minutes to start things off. Crossrhodes win and after the match, he tears up the Cobra for some added heat.
The Empire (Wade Barrett/Drew McIntyre) d. The Big Show/Kane in a Tables Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
Kane, losing momentum since his return, tags up with the Big Show but then decides to throw his partner to the wolves, giving him the Chokeslam before walking out. Big Show takes a Wasteland through the table and the Empire keep once again.
Ryback d. Aaron Relic/Jay Hutton in a Handicap Match
The PPV debut of Ryback goes the same as OTL. Just destroying dudes. Feed him.
AJ Lee (c) d. Beth Phoenix (w/Natalya and Tamina) for the WWE Women's Championship
A rematch from WrestleMania, AJ shows more fire here, taking more control of the match over time until she gets Beth in the Octopus. Beth taps, but AJ is too fired up and doesn't let go of the hold. Officials soon pull her off, but the damage is done. Beth has a broken arm and has to be stretchered out. AJ insists it was an accident, but maybe there's some room for doubt. Natalya and Tamina try to double team her, but Layla returns to make the save, helping her fight them off and escape.
Zack Ryder (c) d The Miz in a Falls Count Anywhere Match for the WWE United States Championship
The feud keeps going between these two. Maybe get their dads involved. Have them beat up each other's dads because that sounds like a lot of sports entertainment fun. This is a wild brawl, ending with a Rough Ryder on the stage.
Randy Orton d. Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero and Jack Swagger)
A solid little match up. Exchanging holds and doing the usual really, the important moment is at the end where a misplaced heel shot from Vickie leads Dolph to stagger into the RKO. After the match, Dolph chews out Vickie, gives Swagger a superkick and storms off. Dolph's going solo now.
Daniel Bryan (c) d. Sheamus for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Given that Sheamus just retired Mark Henry (and I probably won't do much different from the Hall of Pain other than giving him the belt at around the time he got it in OTL, don't expect that as a TL) Sheamus feels he's earned this shot. Bryan, wanting to be a fighting champion, agrees to the match. It's a face vs. face, but the crowd is more likely to side with the smaller D-Bry in this case. No two-out-of-three falls, but I did consider it just for the joke of Sheamus getting the first fall in 18 seconds. But, I'll be merciful to you guys and make it one fall. It's a good match, technical vs. power, and D-Bry wins it by just kicking Sheamus' head right off. Yes!
CM Punk (w/Brodus Clay) (c) d. Chris Jericho in a Chicago Street Fight for the WWE World Championship
Since this is mostly the OTL match (minus the liberal use of Brodus) I think I'll explain a thought I had: Why does Punk need Brodus? He's pretty much a tweener with heavy fan support and he's made claims of being the best in the world, isn't having a bodyguard more a cowardly heel thing? Well, yes, but in Punk's mind, he needs Brodus because he's a man with a target on his back. Even after Vince has left, Punk is sure Vince is after him. Triple is still running the show and can send anyone after Punk if he wants and CM Punk has the top prize in professional wrestling, so anyone with half a brain is gonna want to take the belt from him. So Punk needed someone he could trust, someone the system was going to fail, he took in Brodus and promised him that as long as he protected Punk, that Clay would never be the Funkasaurus. They're men fighting against the system that wants to hold them back.
Oh yeah, the match ends as it did in OTL. Really not much else to say on that front. Shame it wasn't the main event, but...
Brock Lesnar d. John Cena in an Extreme Rules Match
Cena, by contrast, got a little cocky after WrestleMania, saying that he could beat anyone who wanted to step up to him, that brought out the Beast and to this match where John Cena gets murdered. That's the Brock Lesnar of this TL and probably any TL where I gotta use him. He murders people. He gets in that ring and thrashes Cena. F5 after F5 after F5. He ends it by putting Cena in a Kimura and rather than tapping out, Cena lets his arm get snapped, forcing Lesnar to pin him after another F5. Cena does a stretcher job and he's gone until SummerSlam. You fucking heard me. No Cena until SummerSlam. Brock Lesnar put Cena on the shelf for three months. That's Brock Lesnar, get used to him, he's gonna be here a while.
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I'm good with this. I soured on Brock after the first part time reign as world champ.
The Reign of Punk: Over the Limit 2012
Over the Limit 2012
Venue: PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina
Attendance: 12,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/Jerry Lawler
Venue: PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina
Attendance: 12,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/Jerry Lawler
Pre-Show: Zack Ryder (c) (w/Eve Torres) d. Curt Hawkins for the WWE United States Championship
We get a simple story of Hawkins getting jealous at Zack's success as US champion, trying to take his belt but being beaten with the Rough Ryder as Zack continues his run.
The Sisterhood (Natalya/Tamina) d. The Bella Twins
We extend the Bellas' run to one more month to get this moment of destruction. Even with Beth out on the shelf with a bad arm, the Sisterhood continues strong by wrecking the Bellas, Brie taking the Sharpshooter and getting stretchered out. Nikki gets a two-on-one after the match, getting put in the Sharpshooter and stretchered out. That's two. Competition is thinning out, AJ. You'll soon have nowhere to run.
Battle Royal Winner: Sheamus
Entrants: Heath Slater, Michael McGillicutty, JTG, Yoshi Tatsu, Ezekiel Jackson, Kofi Kingston, Sheamus, Kane, Tyler Reks, Jinder Mahal, The Great Khali, Titus O'Neil, R-Truth, Cody Rhodes, Darren Young, Alex Riley, Tyson Kidd, David Otunga, The Miz, Christian
The winner gets a shot for the Intercontinental Title tonight. Notable, Christian eliminates himself immediately, walking out in anger. Big Zeke goes for Khali on Jinder's orders, and any eliminations Jinder gets goes to Zeke's payday, of course. Sheamus gets the monster eliminations, sending out Kane and Jackson and Brogue Kicks the Miz out of the ring to win a shot against Daniel Bryan later in the evening.
The Empire (Wade Barrett/Drew McIntyre) (c) (w/William Regal) d. The Usos for the WWE Tag Team Championship
We add Regal to the Empire package, giving them an additional mouthpiece and giving Regal some screentime, which I can dig so much. Regal directs them quite nicely as they keep over the Uso with a Spinebuster/Claymore combo.
Ryback d. Camacho/Hunico in a Handicap Match
Ryback destroys the barrio brothers, hitting Camacho and Hunico with a Shell Shocked at the same time. Feed him.
AJ Lee (c) (w/Layla) d. Alicia Fox for the WWE Women's Championship
AJ Lee records another successful defense, this time using the Shiranui out of fear of breaking Fox's arm with the Octopus. Layla's there as moral support and in case of an attack by the Sisterhood. We play up the age difference a bit, make Layla into a big sister and mentor to AJ to help her with her nerves at being Women's champion. It's a big thing and AJ's become more nervous about holding it now that everyone is chasing to get it from her. Stuff like that.
Dolph Ziggler d. Jack Swagger (w/Vickie Guerrero)
We start the risky experiment of babyface Ziggler by pitting him against his former tag partner and manager. These two can put on a good match, given they both come from amateur backgrounds. Ziggler wins with the Zig Zag, and here's hoping the crowd gets behind him, but there's just as likely a chance he'll get indifference. You can never tell with wrestling audiences.
Sheamus d. Daniel Bryan (c) for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
The second match between the two and sadly, D-Bry's reign as IC champion gets cut short. To lessen the blow, it's thanks to shenanigans. The ref goes down and then suddenly, William Regal appears on the ramp and calls out Barrett and McIntyre. The Empire's storming the ring! They're beating down on Daniel Bryan! They hold D-Bry up and Sheamus calls for it... no, he wouldn't. He can't
Brogue Kick. He pins the American Dragon as McIntyre wakes the ref. 1-2-3! Sheamus is the new Intercontinental Champion! Sheamus has joined the Empire! The three continue to beat on D-Bry as Regal watches with manic glee.
Randy Orton d. Chris Jericho
I like having Jericho. He's a dude who you can have put over other guys and he'll still be over with the fans. He can go so well and get over as a character no matter how many times he loses We give them around fifteen minutes, Orton winning with the RKO as we get to the main event.
CM Punk (c) (w/Brodus Clay) d. Alberto del Rio (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) for the WWE World Championship
Finally, Punk main events again. Cena's out of the way and Laurinaitis ain't getting this spot, so we do Punk/del Rio, which isn't too bad. And hey, we got del Rio's former bodyguard Brodus here to do some Brodus spots, maybe have him toss Rodriguez at Alberto for fun. We give them 25 mintues to do some good wrestling action, ending with an Anaconda Vice to del Rio. Punk retains, continuing to be the best in the world.
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The Reign of Punk: Slammiversary 10
Slammiversary 10
7000 fill the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas to capacity in celebration of the tenth anniversary of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. The card remains unchanged from OTL, with one exception. In exchange for an appearance from Ric Flair for WWE's Hall of Fame ceremony, TNA was able to secure current WWE superstar and former two-time NWA World Champion, Christian Cage. As part of the deal, they were able to have him wrestle at the event, under the condition that he did not lose clean. However, in a surprising turn of events, Christian would step into the ring in place of Sting for a match against current TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode. And in a result that no one expected, Christian Cage hit the Unprettier and successfully pinned Roode, becoming TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
The result sent the internet into a frenzy, divided into two camps; One side saw this as a brilliant, unexpected moment on par with last year's CM Punk Pipebomb. Others saw it as an intensely idiotic move that killed Roode's momentum and would potentially open to a WWE vs. TNA lawsuit. A third camp noted that "It's almost a fitting conclusion to the ten year anniversary of TNA that they have one of their homegrown talents lose clean to a one-off appearing WWE guy, without any consideration for the intense legal ramifications or how badly the whole company would look. Truly, ten years of TNA in a nutshell."
On a side note, part of the reason Paul Heyman (Brock Lesnar's onscreen manager) does such good promos is his background: his father was a personal injury attorney (and World War II veteran), and Paul has admitted that he'd go to court to watch his dad's arguments (note that he uses the term "my client" for Brock Lesnar; he also acts like an attorney)…
In another interesting note, his mother was a Holocaust survivor (and he's battled anti-Semitism in pro wrestling himself) who survived the Lodz Ghetto and was at the Auschwitz and Bergen Belsen camps...
In another TL, Paul Heyman is an attorney...
In another interesting note, his mother was a Holocaust survivor (and he's battled anti-Semitism in pro wrestling himself) who survived the Lodz Ghetto and was at the Auschwitz and Bergen Belsen camps...
In another TL, Paul Heyman is an attorney...
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In another TL, Paul Heyman was the attorney overseeing the steroid trials. : P
The Reign of Punk: No Way Out 2012
No Way Out 2012
Venue: Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 10,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/Jerry Lawler
Venue: Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 10,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/Jerry Lawler
Pre-Show Match: Sin Cara d. Hunico
Because honestly, who wants this match on the main show?
The Prime Time Players (Darren Young/Titus O'Neil) (w/A.W.) d. The Usos in a #1 Contenders Match
We get the PPV debut of the Prime Time Players! Hell yeah! I love these guys! Never should've broken up! They win a future shot the tag titles.
AJ Lee (c) (w/Layla) d. Tamina Snuka (w/Beth Phoenix) for the WWE Women's Championship
Beth's back, but she's playing up the broken arm, sticking to a sling and cast for a while and sends the powerhouse of the Sisterhood to reclaim her women's title. AJ, backed by Layla, is able to underdog her way through, pinning Tamina off a Shiranui and making a break for it as Beth fails to land a cast shot on the champ (should've learned how to do it from Cowboy Bob)
Brodus Clay d. Santino Marella
Brodus gets a singles match tonight as Punk wanted to prove he didn't need Brodus' help to win matches, so instead of a Tuxedo Match with Ricardo (urk...), we get Santino wrecked by Clay, which is much better. Fall of Humanity gives Brodus the duke.
Zack Ryder (w/Eve Torres) d. Cody Rhodes for the WWE United States Championship
Cody's the next one to want the Long Island Loser to stop shaming the US title by wearing it, but Zack manages to hold out against the second-generation star, hitting the Rough Ryder to retain once again.
Ryback d. Dan Delaney/Rob Grymes
Feed him!
The Empire (Wade Barrett/Drew McIntyre) (c) (w/William Regal) d. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel for the WWE Tag Team Championship
The Empire continues to rule strong, wiping out Kidd and Gabriel. Spinebuster/Claymore combo finishes them off.
Kane d. The Big Show
Sure, why not? Big on big is fine and it ends with a Chokeslam and Tombstone to Big Show as we need to give some momentum to Kane, I guess.
Sheamus (c) (w/William Regal) d. Dolph Ziggler in a Steel Cage Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
We use our contractually-obligated steel cage match here, with new babyface Ziggler going up against new heel Sheamus. Dolph bumps like nobody's business, so he's perfect to get over Sheamus' new heel persona (not unlike what they were doing with him in 2015 before they had the Kiss Me Arse match that derailed things again) and Dolph plays the underdog throughout. A last-ditch Zig Zag seems to give Dolph the opening to climb the cage, but then the outside ref gets suddenly jumped by the other members of the Empire. They beat down the ref, take the cage key and open their way into the door to pull Ziggler off the mesh and pummel him, aiding Sheamus out of the door before security can stop them and allow Sheamus to retain. Sheamus then keeps stomping Dolph out, giving him the Brogue Kick for good measure.
CM Punk (c) d. Daniel Bryan for the WWE World Championship
It's CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan for 25 minutes. Do you need anything else? D-Bry is the former IC Champion, so we give him this shot. Punk wins again and hey, he's in the main event! We're on the up and up for Punk on main events!
I like how Wade Barrett isn't completely sidelined. Are they making use of his charisma?
THey have been as he does most of the talking for him and McIntyre, but there's also a lot Regal mic time and Sheamus is given a small chunk himself.
The Reign of Punk: Total Nonstop Auction
July 1, 2012
Within weeks of the Slammiversary debacle, Vince McMahon has every intention of suing Panda Energy and Total Nonstop Action for breach of contract among other charges, but Bob Carter makes an offer for settlement: TNA is sold off to the WWE, including their lease to the Impact Zone, tape library and contracted wrestlers. Not all wrestlers would make the jump over; Angelina Love had opted not to renew her TNA contract that day and had no intentions of joining Vince, Hulk Hogan chose not to rejoin Vince and his daughter Brooke left with him, Eric Bischoff was picked up, but not his son Garrett and finally, Vince Russo wasn't even considered for rejoining the WWE fold. WWE has agreed to allow the planned Destination X PPV to be broadcast as their last event.
- Abyss
- AJ Styles
- Alex Silva
- Al Snow
- Austin Aries (X-Division Champion, to be Vacated at Destination X)
- Bobby Roode
- Brooke Tessmacher (Knockouts Champion)
- Bubba Ray Dudley
- Chris Sabin
- Christopher Daniels (Tag Team Champion)
- Crimson
- Dakota Darsow
- Doug Williams
- D-Von Dudley (Television Champion)
- Elijah Burke
- Eric Bischoff
- Eric Young (Knockouts Tag Team Champion)
- Frankie Kazarian (Tag Team Champion)
- Gail Kim
- Gunner
- Hannah Blossom
- Hernandez
- Holly Blossom
- James Storm
- Jigsaw
- Jeff Hardy
- Jeremy Borash
- Jesse Sorensen
- Jessie Godderz
- Joey Ryan
- Kenny King
- Kid Kash
- Kurt Angle
- Luke Gallows
- Madison Rayne
- Magnus
- Mark Haskins
- Marty Scurll
- Matt Morgan
- Mickie James
- Mike Knox
- Mr. Kennedy
- ODB (Knockouts Tag Team Champion)
- Robbie E
- Rob Terry
- Rob Van Dam
- Rockstar Spud
- Rosita
- Sabian
- Samoa Joe
- Sam Shaw
- Sarita
- Scorpio Sky
- Sonjay Dutt
- Sting
- Taeler Hendrix
- Tony Nese
- Velvet Sky
- Victoria
- Zema Ion