Tonight, In This Very Ring: A Collection of Wrestling Timelines

[Megafighter3]

Armageddon 2004

Venue: Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Georgia
Attendance: 10,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/Tazz​

Heat: Akio/Kenzo Suzuki (w/Hiroko) d. Billy Kidman/Paul London

We do some jiggering, put Kidman and London together and team Yang with Suzuki (who finally shows up in the TL which should tell you how much I care about him) and the "Japanese" stars (you don't have to tell me that Yang's father is Korean. You think Vince cares?) take the duke.

Rey Mysterio/Rob Van Dam d. The Dudley Boyz (c) for the WWE Tag Team Championship

And the Dudleyz finally drop the titles as we wrap up 2004. Five-Star Frog Splash to D-Von gives them the belts.

Kurt Angle d. Santa Claus

Yes. Seriously. Kurt Angle wrestled Santa. And he tapped him out. What, he couldn't even get to wrestle Jesus? Was God still salty about his tag match against the McMahons with Shawn? Not Shawn's fault that God never tagged in! ...What the fuck am I talking about?

Daniel Puder d. Mike Mizanin

So, instead of a Dixie Dog Fight (Holy shit, Ruthless Aggression) we just have them wrestle a match and Puder taps Mizanin out with the keylock. Unlike the Mordecai experiment, I think we can run with Puder for a lot longer. You just gotta protect him by selling him as a legit dude who doesn't play around. At least for now until he can start getting it together in the ring. Quick submission squashes are what you do with Puder while you teach him on off TV.

The Basham Brothers d. Charlie Haas/Hardcore Holly

Keep this match from OTL.

John "Bradshaw" Layfield (c) d. Carlito for the WWE United States Championship

We keep up JBL's anti-"Mexican" (he doesn't care that Carlito's Peurto Rican) by having him beat down on the young Colon, getting him with the Clothesline From Hell to retain.

Dawn Marie d. Miss Jackie (Guest Ref: Charlie Haas)

Same match from OTL.

John Cena/Big Show d. Team Angle (Kurt Angle/Luther Reigns/Mark Jindrak)

Cena teams up with Big Show to take on Team Angle. Cena wins the match with an FU to Jindrak.

Chavo Guerrero d. Funaki and Spike Dudley (c) for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship

Chavo wins the Cruiserweight title, hitting the Three Amigos, one to Funaki, then one to Spike and then a third to Funaki to get the pin. Oooh~ Chavo~

Triple H (c) d. Booker T, Eddie Guerrero and the Undertaker for the WWE Championship

And Hunter continues his reign on top, taking on the Sole Survivor of Team Guerrero, the Deadman and the guy here to eat the pin. Sorry again, Book. Guys, I love Booker T, but I'd be slipping into ASB territory if Triple H wasn't fucking going over at this point. Pedigree to Booker ends it after Eddie wipes him and Undertaker out (Oh God, no. Don't book that, Mega. Do not book that!) as Triple H stands tall still.

 

[Megafighter3]

New Year's Revolution 2005

Venue: Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Attendance: 16,000
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Jonathan Coachman​

Dark Match: The Hurricane (w/Rosey) d. Maven

Unlike Puder, I don't really have much use for Maven. Frankly, I'm surprised he's still here. Guess it's that really nice dropkick of his.

Rob Conway/Nick Dinsmore (c) d. Christian/Tyson Tomko for the World Tag Team Championship

Conway and Dinsmore continue their run as underdog tag champs, with Tomko falling to the combination Whiplash and Elbow Drop.

Trish Stratus d. Lita (c) for the WWE Women's Championship

Same match from OTL.

Shelton Benjamin (c) d. William Regal for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

A nice upgrade from Maven. We give them a solid ten minutes for this and have them work a good match for the crowd with Shelton hitting the T-Bone Suplex for the win.

Muhammad Hassan (w/Daivari) d. Jerry Lawler

So, we have this midcard feud classic (because someone said Jerry Lawler needed to be a face. If it were me, he'd be on the table talking up how Hassan is right) but here's the wrinkle; Sylvain Grenier comes for the assist. Been a long time since we've seen Sylvain, but now seems like a good time to play into both the anti-Muslim and anti-French sentiment WWE's got going on. It's a two-for-one special of Vince's political high horse. So yeah, Sylvain comes out to interfere, costing Lawler the match and helps in the beatdown after the match. Viva la Resistance!

Kane d. Snitsky

Yeah, Kane's kind of sick of this boy Snitsky. Sure, he didn't cause a miscarriage and he hasn't sniffed the inside of Kane's boots like a weirdo (though who knows? Maybe that's why they're feuding now) but Kane's just not gonna have any of Snitsky and beats him like he did IOTL.

Brock Lesnar (c) d. Batista (w/Ric Flair), Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Edge and Randy Orton in an Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Championship

Instead of vacating the title like they did IOTL, let's have Brock be champ heading into the Chamber. The match starts with Benoit and Jericho, followed by Brock coming out and going Beast Mode on them. Edge comes in next and he gets tossed around a bit too. Orton comes in and he gets thrown too while the Canadians go at each other. Finally, Batista charges out, taking over beating on Orton as the feud between the two continues.

The first to go out is Edge, taken out by Jericho as he was in OTL with a Lionsault. Then goes Benoit, being given a triple powerbomb out by Lesnar. Lesnar finishes off the Canadian presence in the match with an F5 to Jericho. Orton gets his bearings against Batista and snaps off an RKO to eliminate the Animal, Batista. However, Batista gets off a Batista Bomb, leaving him prone to an F5 for Lesnar to retain. Lesnar dominated 2004 and looks to do the same in 2005. Can anyone stop this Beast?

 

[Megafighter3]

Royal Rumble 2005

Venue: Save Mart Center at Fresno State in Fresno, California
Attendance: 15,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/Jerry Lawler (Pre-Rumble) Jim Ross/Tazz (Royal Rumble)​

Heat: Rhyno d. Maven

Seriously, why the fuck is Maven still here? And who is telling him that he's going over Rhyno? To hell with that! GORE!

Edge d. Shawn Michaels

Sure, keep this match from OTL. Nothing wrong with this.

The Undertaker d. Mordecai in a Casket Match

You know what? Instead of doing Heidenreich, we'll bring Mordecai back to give him a proper burial. We even got him a casket to ship him back to OVW in.

Triple H (c) d. Big Show and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship

Yup. Have Angle take the Pedigree here. It's the OTL match but with the Game in it.

Brock Lesnar (c) d. Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship

And you get this match but with more Brock. Orton's the babyface fighting underneath and just as he manages to counter the F5 into an RKO, Batista charges in and batters him while the referee is suddenly distracted by Ric Flair. Batista Bomb. Batista Bomb. Batista Bomb. One after another before the Animal rolls Brock onto Orton's lifeless body. The ref sees none of this and counts the three. Brock keeps and Batista just screwed Orton out of the title. But, that's the non-Rumble matches cleared. Let's see what happens in Part 2. The ROYAL RUMBLE~

 

[Megafighter3]

The 2005 Royal Rumble Match​

#1: Eddie Guerrero
#2: Chris Benoit

Not much will change from the OTL Rumble, but because we're doing a brand split-era Rumble, let's have some colored text for the entrants! Oooh, pretty!

#3: Daniel Puder
#4: Hardcore Holly

Poor Puder takes his licks here. Chops away at young Tough Enough winner before he gets tossed out (30, Puder) followed by Holly getting tossed out by Benoit and Guerrero (29, Holly)

#5: The Hurricane

And he doesn't last long, though he does manage an elimination, thanks to...

#6: Kenzo Suzuki

Suzuki comes in and goes right out (28, Suzuki) followed by Helms (27, Hurricane) leaving Guerrero and Benoit to keep up their one-on-one.

#7: Edge

Edge comes in next and begins helping Benoit briefly to double-team Eddie.

#8: Rey Mysterio

And Rey comes in to even things as we get Canada vs. Mexico in the Rumble.

#9: Shelton Benjamin

The IC Champion comes in with suplexes for everyone. It's not a Suplex City. More like a Suplex Town.

#10: Booker T

Booker teams up with Shelton because WWE would have Canadians vs. Mexicans vs. African Americans.

#11: Chris Jericho

Jericho comes in to join the Canadians, putting things at 3 vs. 2 vs. 2.

#12: Luther Reigns

Luther takes on Shelton, splitting him from his team with Booker and leaving Booker and Edge to resume their feud over a shampoo commercial. Benoit and Jericho team up to fight Guerrero and Mysterio in the most WCW Rumble ever. Shelton manages to send out Luther Reigns (26. Luther Reigns)

#13: Muhammad Hassan

And here comes everyone's favorite spot: ALL THE FINISHERS ON ONE GUY! T-Bone Suplex from Shelton, followed by Triple Germans from Benoit and Three Amigos from Eddie. That's a lot of suplexes. Then Jericho hits the prone Hassan with a Lionsault while Booker does a warm-up Spinaroonie. Hassan gets up to take an Axe Kick. Edge gets in the corner and spears Hassan then tosses him to Rey who gives him the 619 out of the match (25, Hasan)

#14: Orlando Jordan

The Cabinet never really started off, so Jordan's just a dude on SmackDown! He joins up with Booker and Shelton to fight the Canadians. Rey and Eddie sit back and do some good lucha thing while that six-man is going on.

#15: Scotty 2 Hotty

Haha! Nope! Hassan comes back and brutalizes him with Sylvain and Daivari, so poor Scotty never makes it in. However, Heyman has a back-up.

#15: Rhyno

Why? Because it's fuckin' RHYNO! There is never a time where Rhyno isn't a good thing. And he and Edge team up to eliminate Orlando Jordan (24, Jordan) before turning their attention to Booker and Shelton. This leaves Benoit and Jericho to go after Rey and Eddie. So, our fights going on are Edge/Rhyno vs. Booker/Benjamin and Benoit/Jericho vs. Guerrero Mysterio. We've made it to the halfway point. Who's coming up next?

#16: Charlie Haas

Hass and Benjamin reunite to take on Rhyno together while Edge is left with Booker. Together, the two toss out Rhyno (23, Rhyno) and wait for the next guy to come out.

#17: Rene Dupree

And here comes Rene Dupree! He gets double-teamed by the World's Greatest Tag Team and sent out (22, Dupree) waiting for the next guy.

#18: Simon Dean

And Simon's the next one to get eliminated by Haas and Benjamin. (21, Dean) as the two are unstoppable.

#19: Shawn Michaels

And here comes HBK! Haas and Benjamin make the smart move to attack Edge and Booker, leaving Shawn alone for the time being.

#20: Kurt Angle

He's just a sexy Kurt! And he'll make your ankle hurt! Kurt goes after Michaels, putting the ring at ten. Fights are Benoit/Jericho vs. Guerrero/Mysterio, World's Greatest Tag Team vs. Edge/Booker and Angle vs. Michaels. However, the numbers thing out Edge eliminates Charlie Haas (20, Haas) and in a surprise, Shelton manages to send Booker out with a superkick. (19, Booker)

#21: Jonathan Coachman

No. No no no! We're not having the Coach in this match! Fuck that and fuck you! Coachman walks down the ramp, only to eat an RKO.

#21: Randy Orton

Much better. Here comes Orton and he gives RKOs to all the RAW guys. RKO to Michaels (which he sells beautifully), RKO to Shelton, RKO to Edge and RKO to Benoit. Orton is on fire right now. However, Edge comes to and goes right after Orton, fighting him while Shelton makes his way to his feet. Shelton looks at the fight between Michaels and Angle and wonders which one to pick...

#22: Mark Jindrak

And Jindrak comes in, making the choice easier as we have Benoit/Jericho vs. Guerrero/Mysterio, Edge vs. Orton and Angle/Jindrak vs. Michaels/Benjamin.

#23: Viscera

And here comes the World's Largest Love Machine. He starts bowling everyone over to make his big presence felt early on. Everyone starts working together to eliminate the big bastard and it's twelve-on-one, so they succeed. (18, Viscera)

#24: Paul London

The young high-flyer London makes his way in as things begin to finally thing out a little. Eddie tosses out Benoit (17, Benoit) while Jericho sends out Mysterio (16, Mysterio) Orton, meanwhile, gets Edge out (15, Edge) and Benjamin tosses out Jindrak (14, Jindrak) only for Angle to send him out (13, Benjamin)

With this, fights switch to Eddie/Jericho, Angle/Michaels, and London putting on a brave face against Orton... getting an RKO for his troubles.

#25: John Cena

And Cena rushes in to fight Orton while London is left prone.

#26: Gene Snitsky

We get gotta get in that really brutal Gene Snitsky/Paul London clothesline elimination. It was fucking sick, dude. (12, London)

#27: Kane

That's gotta be Kane! He goes right for Snitsky, the two throwing hands before Kane tosses him out (11, Snitsky) Three more to go!

#28: Batista

Batista goes right after Orton, of course. So now Cena goes right for Kane to fight him.

#29: Christian

Christian doesn't really have a dog in this fight, so he decides to he may as well help Batista with Orton.

#30: Ric Flair

And as if Orton's problems couldn't get any worse. The three-on-one starts and Orton manages to overcome, tossing out Christian (10, Christian) before Batista tosses him out (9, Orton) while Michaels finally sends Angle (8, Angle) and Cena sends out Kane (7, Kane)

So, we got six men left. Batista/Cena, Michaels/Flair, and Guerrero/Jericho.

Jericho is the first to go (6, Jericho) while Michaels and Flair put on a clinic and Batista and Cena attempt to outmuscle each other. However, Orton rolls back in and hits Batista with an RKO to leave him prone for elimination by Cena (5, Batista) and infuriating Flair. Flair jaws at Orton as he leaves, turning around into Sweet Chin Music and going out next (4, Flair) while Cena gets tossed out from behind by Guerrero (3, Cena)

And now this is a final two right here. Shawn Michaels and Eddie Guerrero. Two of the greatest wrestlers to ever lace up making it to the finals of this Rumble and this time... the winner is Eddie. He gets Michaels out (2, Michaels)

Eddie Guerrero has won the 2005 Royal Rumble from the #1 position! Eddie Guerrero is going to main event WrestleMania!

 

[Megafighter3]

No Way Out 2005

Venue: Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 13,250
Announce Team: Michael Cole/Tazz​

Heat: Charlie Haas/Hardcore Holly d. Kenzo Suzuki/Rene Dupree (w/Hiroko)

Yeah, keep this match from OTL, why not?

Billy Kidman/Rey Mysterio d. The Basham Brothers (c) for the WWE Tag Team Championship

Switch the tag titles over to the Filthy Animalz! Yeah! Kidman and Mysterio got gold! Life is good!

Booker T d. Big Show

Fuck it, why not? Give Booker a win here.

Chavo Guerrero (c) d. Funaki, Akio, Paul London, Shannon Moore, Spike Dudley in a Cruiserweight Open for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship

Keep this match from OTL too.

The Undertaker d. John Cena

The match is a tournament final to see who will go on to face Triple H for the WWE Championship. Surprise, boys! Eddie's fighting Brock at 'Mania! Yeah, see, Eddie was undecided until Brock made the choice for him by utterly thrashing Benoit on RAW one Monday night, so he signed the contract to face Lesnar. This left the question of who's gonna fight Triple H and while I was tempted to have Cena the Second Reign of Terror, I also have plans for Cena and so it's a Tombstone victory for the Deadman. Undertaker's going to WrestleMania to finish off the Game.

Triple H (c) d. Kurt Angle (w/Luther Reigns) in a Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship

And one more successful defense logged for the Game as he escapes the cage after taking out Angle with a Pedigree, giving a Pedigree to Luther Reigns on the way out before Undertaker comes out to brawl with him.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania XXI

Venue: Staples Center in Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 20,193
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler (RAW) Michael Cole/Tazz (SmackDown!)​

Pre-Show Match: Booker T wins a 30-Man Interpromotional Battle Royal by eliminating Chris Masters

Rey Mysterio/Billy Kidman (c) d. Christian/Rhyno for the WWE Tag Team Championship

We pull Christian and Rhyno from their matches to have this match against Kidman and Mysterio. This might be the last we see of the two in WWE for a while, so let's make it count. 619 into a Shooting Star puts away Christian as the Show of Shows kicks off.

Chris Benoit d. Chris Jericho, Edge, Matt Hardy, Kane, and Shelton Benjamin in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match

As you can see, taking Christian out of the Money in the Bank match left a spot open for Matt and this turns out to be crucial as he pretty much takes himself and Edge out of the match toward the end. He just won't get off of Edge. Jim Ross speculates that it isn't about winning for Matt, just making sure Edge doesn't. This allows Benoit to unhook the briefcase and win the match.

Randy Orton d. Batista

And after all the fighting between them, after months of attacks and bad blood between both men, we finally get a one-on-one confrontation. The two go all out, Orton playing the cool underdog while Batista is the animal looking to wreck the Viper. RKO wins it for Orton as he stands tall at WrestleMania.

Trish Stratus (c) d. Christy Hemme (w/Lita) for the WWE Women's Championship

Keep this match from OTL.

Kurt Angle d. Shawn Michaels

Another OTL match, but it loses about twelve minutes. Why? Well...

John Cena d. John "Bradshaw" Layfield (c) for the WWE United States Championship

And Cena reclaims his US title. Give them twelve minutes before the FU. Cena's not yet a main eventer, but this is a good step in that direction.

The Undertaker d. Triple H (c) for the WWE Championship

And we got one for the Deadman as the Streak continues and the Reign of Terror comes to an end (for now) Tombstone finishes, of course.

Eddie Guerrero d. Brock Lesnar (c) for the World Heavyweight Championship

And Eddie wins the title once more, overcoming the Beast with speed and all sorts of tricks. Brock gets him for the F5 and Eddie reverses into a DDT, followed with a Frog Splash to win the WWE title. Eddie wins at WrestleMania! Benoit comes out afterward, holding his Money in the Bank briefcase. The two wrestlers stare each other down, then Benoit offers a hand. The two shake and hug it out, but you know that at some point, they'll meet for that title.

And Brock? Well, he'll have his rematch and Heyman has the power on RAW, so he can stack the deck in his favor whenever he needs. Who knows how long this run in WWE will last?

All we can say for certain is that the Beast Remains...

And that's another TL done.

 

[Megafighter3]

The Streak​

Ah yes, the Undertaker's Streak. A legendary record in professional wrestling, clocking in at 24-2 at WrestleMania and spanning three decades. It's a wonderful thing. Now, in the book, Adam only covers the breaking of the Streak, but that's boring and in a vacuum, Brock Lesnar breaking it was fine, so let's go a little further. Let's do the whole shebang. Going from 1-0 to 21-1, let's rebook the Streak and see how this also affects the card around it.

WrestleMania VII

The Undertaker d. Jimmy Snuka

WrestleMania VIII

The Undertaker d. Jake Roberts​

These two can stay. They're good starts to the Streak and it's how Undertaker became the Phenom, so nothing wrong with that. Oh no, what you guys want is how we deal with the first stinker of the Streak. Oh, don't you worry. That's coming right up.

WrestleMania IX

Venue: Caesar's Palace in Paradise, Nevada
Attendance: 17,000
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Bobby Heenan​

Dark Match: Crush d. Giant Gonzales (w/Harvey Whippleman) (DQ)

There, no one who watched the show on PPV had to see the finish. Sorry, Crush.

Tito Santana/Tatanka d. Doink the Clown/Papa Shango

Kick off the show (which is also getting a complete booking overhaul because it's WrestleMania IX) with a tag match. We bring Tito onto the main card and have him tag up with fellow POC babyface Tatanka to take on the Men of Questionable Facepaint (there's a nice little Dios Mio reference for the no other people who get that) Doink and Shango. End of the Trail to Shango wins it for them so we can keep Doink protected. Maybe have a misthrown cream pie blind the Voodoo priest. That might be a bit too goofy... maybe a water lapel squirt went wrong? Something clowny that screws over the heel team.

Shawn Michaels (c) (w/Luna Vachon) d. Mr. Perfect for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

Nothing wrong with 15 minutes of Perfect/Michaels, even if Hennig's gotta be carried by Shawn since he's nowhere near where he was now. But Michaels can absolutely make this a classic, keeping with the Sweet Chin Music.

The Headshrinkers (w/Afa) d. The Nasty Boys (w/Jimmy Hart)

Let's just have them get destroyed by the Samoans. Send them packing like the rest of the old generation.

Razor Ramon d. Bob Backlund

Our first match from OTL. And I think our only one.

The Steiner Brothers d. Money Inc (Ted DiBiase/Irwin R. Schyster) (c) for the WWF Tag Team Championship

And in continuing our kill the past theme, we have the Steiners suplexing Money Inc into oblivion with a Steiner Lin to Schyster to win the tag belts.

Lex Luger d. Hulk Hogan (w/Brutus Beefcake)

It'll take a lot of money to get Hogan to agree, but we use him to get over the Total Package. He puts on a good match or as good as he can, but he gets put in the Torture Rack and passes out rather than give up. But Hulkamania has fallen here at WrestleMania IX. Have fun down south, Hulk!

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) d. Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji)

That's better. Sure, Yoko wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire, but he's still in relative shape (especially compared to his later years) and 'Taker can drag a decent contest out of him. The story to sell is if Undertaker can get Yoko up for the Tombstone and in the end he does, continuing the Streak.

Bret Hart (c) d. Randy Savage (w/Elizabeth) for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship

And we have the match Bret should've had. He and Savage tear the palace down to finally solidify the Hitman's position as a main eventer. We can cut time from the tag match and shave a little off the IC title match to make sure these get enough time. Savage soon gets Bret down, goes for the elbow, but Bret rolls away and while Savage is prone, locks in the Sharpshooter. Randy gives and Bret retains at WrestleMania. The two shake hands as Randy and Elizabeth walk through the curtain together, Bret standing tall as the WrestleMania comes to a close.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania XI

Venue: Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut
Attendance: 16,500
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler​

The Million Dollar Corporation (Yokozuna/King Kong Bundy) (w/Ted Dibiase) d. The Blu Brothers (w/Uncle Zebekiah)

We start with the big mountain men getting destroyed by DiBiase's massive mountains of men. Gotta get these two on the card somewhere. They demolish the Blu Brothers to start WrestleMania XI.

Razor Ramon (w/the 1-2-3 Kid) d. Jeff Jarrett (c) (w/the Roadie) for the WWF Intercontinental Championship by disqualification

There's always one OTL match. And this is XI's.

The British Bulldog d. Lex Luger

Luger never got the American hero push, so there was no Allied Powers. No, here it's just the Total Package looking to beat the British Bulldog in a match, maybe get revenge on losing to Hart at SummerSlam. But he doesn't get it and is given the Running Powerslam.

Owen Hart/Chris Benoit (w/Jim Cornette) d. The Smoking Gunns (c) for the WWF Tag Team Championship

And here's a real crazy ripple for you guys! See, in case you haven't figured it out, Bret Hart's victory at WrestleMania IX changed some things. One of which was that Vince starts to slowly get over his obsession with big dudes on top and started wanting to bring in more lean, athletic dudes. So, the Harts talked up Benoit and he signed him as Owen's mystery partner (a planned signing in OTL along with Neidhart being the mystery partner) and they take the tag titles here. So we have Benoit signing to WWF five years earlier than OTL and who knows? Maybe WWF will start making moves for others before Uncle Eric whips out the checkbook.

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) d. Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Ted DiBiase)

Much better! Bam Bam's a crazy athletic monster so he's a perfect opponent for 'Taker here. Cartwheels all day! But 'Taker beats him with the Tombstone. The Streak continues to build.

Diesel d. Bob Backlund

Over in a move. This is that house show match, just without the world title. Kill Mr. Backlund right here.

Bret Hart (c) d. Shawn Michaels (w/Pamela Anderson) for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship (Guest Ref: Roddy Piper) (Guest Enforcer: Lawrence Taylor)

We drop Larry Young and Jenny McCarthy from the show and merge a few elements together, having Hot Rod ref the match, bringing LT in to guard ringside (have Shawn bump for an LT punch. Crowd will go wild.) More importantly, let these two have a great match, ending it with a Sharpshooter to Michaels as Bret keeps for over two years now, setting the standard for the New Generation.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania XII

Venue: Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California
Attendance: 19,000
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler​

The Triple Threat (Shane Douglas/Chris Benoit/Dean Malenko) d. The Hart Foundation (British Bulldog/Owen Hart/Chris Jericho) in a Six-Man Tag Team Match

Well, look at this. Benoit definitely made an impact last year and it shows in Vince's decision. Not only was he impressed by his performance in the tag title match, but rumors and murmurs of a prime-time WCW TV show (and Bischoff's habit of grabbing any talent not nailed down) spurred him into seeking out partnerships with not just ECW, but continuing his talent trade with USWA and bringing Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling into the fold. The four promotions would exchange talent regularly, allowing for various crossovers and matchups and helped to give lower card guys struggling on the WWF to find an audience whether it be in the southern wrasslin' styles of USWA and SMW or in the grittier, adult ECW.

Vince, flush with cash since going full bore on the New Generation (and not suffering major financial losses as he did in the early run) was happy to put that money towards producing and advertising the events (though the companies were fine with putting their share of the dollars into production as well.) The resulting alliance also created what many had called the "WWF Think Tank" a collection of bookers who all had input on the WWF's creative direction. The Think Tank was obviously headed by Vince McMahon but also featured Paul Heyman, Jim Cornette, Jerry Jarrett, Gerald Brisco, Pat Patterson, JJ Dillon and two up-and-coming minds by the names of Vince Russo and Gabe Sapolsky. Russo and Sapolsky were declared to be Heyman's "Creative Understudies" (Read: coffee boys) but both had shown some promise as bookers (Russo as an ideas man and Sapolsky having a keen eye for talent.) So they were allowed to get a word in during booking meetings.

Oh right, the match. Well, as you can see, Shane Douglas isn't a shitty college dean as he was OTL, but has his Triple Threat with him. They're the current Tag and IC champions. Jericho's been brought in as well to aid the Harts against the Triple Threat. A Pittsburgh Plunge to Jericho ends our opening bout.

Roddy Piper d. Goldust (w/Marlena) in a Hollywood Backlot Brawl

Keep this match from OTL.

Stone Cold Steve Austin (w/Ted DiBiase) d. Savio Vega

In truth, I was just gonna leave this to the Undertaker match because of how little changes to the card. But I found a few small tweaks.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/Sable) d. Jake Roberts

In place of Ultimate Warrior, we have a quick and dirty squash of the poor Snake. Helmsley hits the Pedigree and puts him away in no time.

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) d. Diesel

Yep. Nothing wrong with him sending Diesel out with a Tombstone.

Shawn Michaels (w/Jose Lothario) d. Bret Hart (c) for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in a 60-Minute Iron Man Match 1-0 in sudden-death overtime

Of course, the OTL match stays, but it's a helluva lot bigger because 1.) it's a rematch from WrestleMania XI and 2.) Bret's been champion since 1992 so he's got over three years reigning and now it's all come to an end. Boyhood dream and all that.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania 13

Venue: Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois
Attendance: 18,197
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler​

Free-For-All Match: 2 Cold Scorpio d. Billy Gunn

Yep. He's Scorpio here. And he gets a win.

Doug Furnas/Phil LaFon d. The Headbangers

This was a tag elimination match, but the Godwinns and the Blackjacks were traded out to USWA and SMW. That's the kind of stuff going in the TitanSports Alliance, people that have little value in WWF can head to a market that will love them. This has helped them in testing the water for new wrestlers and gimmicks.

And with that, we give Furnas and LaFon the win here, getting a future shot at the tag titles.

Shane Douglas (c) d. Cactus Jack for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

Mick's the babyface here and has been feuding with Shane both in the WWF and ECW, culminating in this match. Pittsburgh Plunge to win here. No Mankind gimmick, he's just Cactus Jack.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/Chyna) d. Goldust (w/Marlena)

Keep this match from OTL.

Owen Hart/Chris Jericho d. The Triple Threat (Chris Benoit/Dean Malenko) (c) for the WWF Tag Team Championship

Owen and Jericho win the tag titles, dethroning Triple Threat as tag champions.

The Undertaker d. Vader in No Disqualification Match

I could've kept Sycho Sid, but why not have Undertaker vs. Vader? Sid's working down in Memphis, doing work as a heel against Lawler and his son. Here, we just have the Deadman and the Mastodon hard hands and toss each other around. Tombstone victory.

Ahmed Johnson/Legion of Doom (Animal/Hawk) d. The Nation of Domination (Ron Simmons/Rocky Maivia/D'Lo Brown) (w/Clarence Mason) in a Chicago Street Fight

As you can see, the Nation has a new member a little early. Rocky was getting boos everywhere he went as the Blue Chipper, be it in the WWF, Smoky Mountain, USWA and especially ECW, so Vince decided to pull the plug on the character and bring him into the Nation early (which, like any timeline with the Nation, is a black power stable and never does the awkward run where Simmons recruited Savio Vega and Crush) and keep up the feud with Ahmed and the Road Warriors. Rocky, being the rookie here, takes the Doomsday Device (that injury he suffers will stall out his heel run for a bit until he comes back.)

Bret Hart (c) d. Steve Austin in a Submission Match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship (Guest Ref: Ken Shamrock)

Yep. OTL match but now we make it for the belt, which is also his second title reign ITTL and now he's a solidified heel and Austin is a babyface. It's a big moment, huge with Bret now going to his fifth WrestleMania main event.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania XIV

Venue: FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 19,206
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler​

The Legion of Doom win a Tag Team Battle Royal by eliminating the Rock 'n' Roll Express

Teams: The Legion of Doom, Los Boricuas I (Savio Vega/Miguel Perez Jr.), Lost Boricuas II (Jose Estrada Jr./Jesus Castillo), The Truth Commission (Recon/Sniper), The Disciples of Apocalypse I (Crush/Chainz), The Disciples of Apocalypse II (8-Ball/Skull), The Nation of Domination I (Mark Henry/D'Lo Brown), The Nation of Domination II (Ron Simmons/Kama Mustafa), The Quebecers (Jacques Rougeau/Pierre Ouellet), The Rock 'n' Roll Express, The Headbangers, Too Much, The Smoking Gunns, The Godwinns, Bradshaw/Bob Holly.

Yeah, it's the OTL match, but you can see there are a few changes to the teams. Legion of Doom wins a shot at the tag titles. Man, they really liked have #1 contender matches at WrestleMania, don't they?

Taka Michinoku (c) d. Dean Malenko for the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship

Ooh, fun! I dunno how likely it is that we can get Mysterio or Guerrero, but we still got Malenko and Taka. That's worthy of a WrestleMania title match.

Chris Jericho (c) d. Owen Hart for the WWF European Championship

You know, it seems like Owen has a real problem with his partners turning on him, huh? Well, now we have European Champion Jericho instead of Triple H. Funny that... wonder what's up?

Dustin Rhodes d. Marc Mero (w/Sable)

Cornette agreed to the Goldust run for a bit, but Russo's TAFKA Goldust pitch was slapped down and it was eventually decided that he should go back to being Dustin Rhodes, running the anti-gimmick gimmick I love so much. He wins with the Final Cut to Mero, a reversal of OTL's match. This was also a mixed tag match, but that involves Sable wrestling. Not happening.

The Rock (c) (w/D'Lo Brown, 2 Cold Scorpio and Mark Henry) d. Ken Shamrock for the WWF Intercontinental Championship by disqualification

Yeah, a bit short, but we can keep this match from OTL.

The Dudley Boyz d. Cactus Jack/Terry Funk (c) in a Tables Match for the WWF Tag Team Championship

We bring in the Dudleyz from ECW to feud with Cactus and Funk. It's good hardcore fun. 3D to Terry gets him through the table as the Dudleyz with the tag titles a few years ahead of OTL.

The Undertaker d. Kane (w/Paul Bearer)

Yep. OTL match again. Kane, after touring through the country and wrecking anyone in his path, getting him over as a monster and hyping up his confrontation with the Deadman so this has a lot of hype behind it.

Steve Austin d. Bret Hart (c) for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship (Guest Enforcer: Mike Tyson)

So, as you can see, something's changed. Something big.

At Survivor Series '97, Shawn was being Shawn and throwing a fit about having to lose to Bret, but Bret wasn't leaving. Vince was in a better financial spot and didn't give Bret an unpayable contract and with Bret's loyalty assured, everything was turning against Shawn. However, everyone was certain that Shawn was gonna try and sabotage the match, but then Bret quickly got Shawn in a Sharpshooter.

Then came the bell.

Shawn was furious, attacking Bret, attacking Vince and giving the hand sign of the Kliq before air signing WCW. Shawn would get fired and jump to WCW, joining up with his buddies Hall and Nash and kickstarting the Wolfpac as a full Kliq group. Triple H would join them as well, leaving with Chyna and Syxx not getting fired (Shawn warned Bischoff if any left, they'd all leave.)

Meanwhile, we have this match. Bret's far more happy to drop to Austin after their last match at 'Mania and the match goes without a hitch. Austin's the champion and the WWF is on the rise while the Wolfpac is rolling as tweeners in WCW, tearing down the nWo they created. Wrestling's at its hottest now in 1998 on both sides.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania XV

Venue: First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 20,276
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler​

Heat Match: Jacqueline (w/Terri Runnels) d. Ivory

Sure, keep this match.

Heat Match: The Legion of Doom wins a Tag Team Battle Royal by eliminating the Public Enemy

Entrants: Public Enemy, The Legion of Doom, The Disciples of Apocalypse, Too Much, The Hardy Boyz, Gillberg/Steve Blackman, D'Lo Brown/Kama Mustafa, Test/Droz

See what I mean about #1 contender matches for the tag titles? The Road Warriors win here, so they'll be meet the Dudleyz later on in the night.

The Smoking Gunns d. Bob Holly/Al Snow

Hey, look! The Smoking Gunns are back (YAY!) so, why no Outlaws? Well, Brian Armstrong made himself a nice little spot in Smoky Mountain as a rising main eventer, drawing crowds thanks to his family connections. So, Billy goes through the Rockabilly run, does basically nothing and reunites the Smoking Gunns. Also, no Brawl for All, so Bart's career isn't tanked. They'll be around for a bit longer.

The Dudley Boyz (c) d. The Legion of Doom for the WWF Tag Team Championship

And we get this dream match. The Dudleyz and the Road Warriors going at it for the tag belts. 3D to Hawk wins it for the brothers of Dudleyville.

Dustin Rhodes d. Val Venis

Just to have these two on the card. Dustin still doing the anti-gimmick gimmick, putting away Venis with the Final Cut. Give them under ten minutes.

Owen Hart (c) d. Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and Shane Douglas in a Four Corners Elimination Match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

Yeah, let's just have a big old slice of workrate here. Jericho and Benoit get the double count-out, brawling all the way out and Owen wins with a roll-up after an attempted Pittsburgh Plunge.

Kane d. The British Bulldog

Well, Bulldog is back from rehab (and didn't destroy his vertebrae on a shitty entrance gimmick) so we use him to put over Kane. Chokeslam followed by a stolen Running Powerslam should do it. He's also aided by the Brood as Kane is a member of the Ministry of Darkness.

Luna Vachon (c) d. Tori for the WWF Women's Championship

Because Sable never wrestled. Never. Not gonna happen. We give all her title reigns to Luna instead because Luna's cool.

Tazz d. Dean Malenko (c) for the WWF European Championship

It's Tazz! Tazz comes in as Tazz and chokes out Malenko, taking the European title.

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) d. Paul Wight in a Hell in a Cell Match

Because what else would you have at WrestleMania XV for the Undertaker? The leader of the Ministry faces off against Mr. McMahon's newest toy to send him a message. Tombstone victory. Sure, it's a loss for the Big Show, but he'll recover.

Stone Cold Steve Austin d. The Rock (c) in a No Disqualification Match for the WWF Championship (Guest Ref: Cactus Jack)

Yeah, keep this match from OTL.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania X-Seven

Venue: Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas
Attendance: 67,925
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Bobby Heenan​

Heat Match: The Impact Players (Justin Credible/Lance Storm) d. The Filthy Animals (Billy Kidman/Rey Mysterio)

So, WCW got bought out. Even if Wolfpac cleared out the nWo, the political cesspool on top in comparison to Vince's more open door to booking new talent resulted in people leaving en masse. Russo's still with the WWF, learning under Paul Heyman and actually improving a little, so he doesn't jump to WCW but works as an assistant booker for Gabe in ECW. However, this meant a revolving door of bookers for WCW after Bischoff got sent home. However, unlike OTL, Vince was more than happy to use the WCW brand for money since even towards the end, it was drawing decent ratings. They couldn't get the major stars (as in OTL) but they got some names.

We reunite the Impact Players to meet the Filthy Animals to get those on the fence to pick up the PPV.

Chris Jericho (c) d. William Regal for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

Keep this match from OTL. Nothing wrong with this.

Raven's Nest (Raven/Stevie Richards/Perry Saturn) d. Tommy Dreamer/The Sandman/Cactus Jack in a Six-Man Tag Raven's Rules Match

We go hardcore after the technical master-class that preceded it. We have Mick do some light bumps, leave the really brutal stuff for Dreamer and Sandman. Raven Effect to Dreamer ends the match. No hardcore division since Vince doesn't need to imitate ECW. Quoth the Raven...

Kane d. Big Show (w/Shane McMahon)

Yeah, make this a quick match between two powerhouse monsters. Shane's managing Show, but that doesn't really help. Vince isn't wrestling, the booking team argued it'd be better to focus on the wrestlers.

Eddie Guerrero (w/Chavo Guerrero) d. Owen Hart (w/Davey Boy Smith) (c) for the WWF European Championship

Yeah, Owen's alive. No Blue Blazer and I'll be nice and not kill anyone in place of him. He's looking to wrap things up in 2002, but for now, he puts over Eddie at WrestleMania. Frog Splash victory.

Kurt Angle d. Chris Benoit

Same match from OTL.

Trish Stratus d. Ivory (c) and Lita in a Triple Threat Match for a WWF Women's Championship

We cut a few matches from this card, so we use Trish and Lita here to make this a good solid ten minutes of triple threat action. Stratusfaction to Ivory for the win.

Edge and Christian (w/Rhino) d. The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley/D-Von Dudley) (c) (w/Spike Dudley) and The Hardy Boyz (w/Shane Helms)

So, in place of Lita, the Hardyz bring in Shane Helms as their back-up. It's the same match as OTL.

The Undertaker d. Bret Hart

And we say goodbye to Bret as the Deadman puts him away. After eight years on top in the WWF, Bret is finally done in wrestling. Tombstone finishes, but Bret's getting on in years and there are newer stars with healthier bodies out there, so he packs it up here in the new Millenium.

Stone Cold Steve Austin d. The Rock (c) in a No Disqualification Match for the WWF Championship

So, it's the OTL match, but Austin doesn't turn heel at the end. Instead, Booker T runs in and hits the Book End on Austin, holding up the WCW World Title. The WCW Invasion is coming...

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania X8

Venue: SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Attendance: 68,237
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler​

Heat Match: Chuck Palumbo/Sean O'Haire/Shawn Stasiak d. Scotty 2 Hotty/Rikishi/Albert

Eh, why not? Bring some members of the Natural Born Thrillers together for one more victory.

Rob Van Dam d. William Regal (c) for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

Same match from OTL.

Dustin Rhodes d. Mr. Perfect

Just a quick little match between two guys who got shuffled out of matches. Final Cut to end it.

Diamond Dallas Page (c) d. Christian for the WWF European Championship

Yep, the same match from OTL again.

Kurt Angle d. Kane

We're starting to drift back to OTL. We'll see how long that sticks.

The Undertaker d. Ric Flair

You know, for being a TL about an altered Streak, most of the Streak has been the same. But who knows? Maybe that's for the best. It's really about cleaning up the duds.

Edge d. Booker T

Yeah, this one stays too.

Stone Cold Steve Austin d. Triple H

So, Austin's still feuding with a member of the Wolfpac. Hunter's not yet at "Am I fucking going over?" because he missed out on the Attitude Era (and hasn't dated Stephanie... yet) so he takes the fall here. He's low on the Wolfpac totem pole, though, so Austin's still not particularly happy about wrestling him.

The Wolfpac (Kevin Nash/Scott Hall) (w/Stacy Kiebler) d. The Dudley Boyz (w/Spike Dudley), The Hardy Boyz (w/Shane Helms) and The Thrillseekers (c) in a Four Corners Elimination Match for the WWF Tag Team Championship

And we get new tag champions. And hey, the Thrillseekers are back! And Lance takes the 3D to go out first, followed by combination Twist of Fate/Swanton Bomb to Bubba, Matt pinning to eliminate the Dudleyz. The match ends with a Jackknife Powerbomb to Jeff, the Wolfpac taking the tag titles.

The Rock d. Hulk Hogan

So, instead of being Hollywood, we bring the red and yellow, but this match stays the same as OTL.

Jazz (c) d. Lita and Trish Stratus in a Triple Threat Match for the WWF Women's Championship

Alright, one more OTL match.

Shawn Michaels d. Owen Hart (c) for the Undisputed WWF Championship

So, Shawn didn't destroy his back as he did in OTL. He may have taken a few more breaks toward the end of WCW to rest, but now he's firing on all cylinders (and fueled by copious amounts of drugs) as he and Owen meet in Owen's last WrestleMania match. This is an amazing match between two great wrestlers, ending with a Sweet Chin Music to send Owen off. He's been away from his family for so long and it's time he went home. And now Shawn has become a two-time WWF World Champion. The Wolfpac's on top!

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania XIX

Venue: Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington
Attendance: 54,097
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler (RAW), Michael Cole/Tazz (SmackDown!)​

Heat Match: Big Show/Kane d. Lance Storm/Rob Van Dam for the vacant World Tag Team Championship

The tag titles were vacated after Regal's injury, so we use it to have this match. The two giants destroy Storm and his randomly-chosen partner RVD. Chokeslams all around as they win the tag belts.

Matt Hardy (c) (w/Shannon Moore) d. Rey Mysterio for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Trish Stratus d. Jazz and Victoria (c) (w/Stevie Richards for the WWE Women's Championship
Team Angle (c) d. Chris Benoit/Rhino and Los Guerreros for the WWE Tag Team Championship
Shawn Michaels d. Chris Jericho

Boom!Four straight OTL matches! We really are drifting back into the timestream.

Booker T (c) d. Triple H (w/Ric Flair) for the World Heavyweight Championship

Looks like people like you don't get to be World Champion, Triple H! Yeah, Booker T is more over than Triple H ITTL! Well, okay, Triple H has less political power (even if he marries Steph, Steph has so little creative control in things. Hell, Shane is making more waves as Paul's new "Creative Understudy" and looks to be taking over the company in due time.) so while he was the slow crawl after Pedigree spot, but Booker kicks out and hits the Book End to keep.

The Undertaker d. Hulk Hogan in a Street Fight

We put away Hogan here to add a much bigger match to Undertaker's streak instead of Big Show and A-Train. It's not a technical wrestling masterpiece, but the crowd is on their feet. Undertaker sits up after a Legdrop and hits three Tombstones to put away the Hulkster.

The Rock d. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Brock Lesnar d. Kurt Angle (c) for the WWE Championship

Apart from Brock hitting the Shooting Star Press, not much changed from OTL. The Rock wins and Lesnar gets the title.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania XX

Venue: Madison Square Garden
Attendance: 20,000 (Capacity)
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler (RAW), Michael Cole/Tazz (SmackDown!)​

Booker T d. Big Show (c) for the WWE United States Championship

Just two WCW guys fighting for a belt they're familiar with. Book End for Booker for his second US Title match.

The Dudley Boyz (c) d. Garrison Cade/Mark Jindrak, Rob Van Dam/Sabu and Triple H/Rob Conway in a Fatal Four-Way for the World Tag Team Championship

The Dudleyz beat three teams here to keep their tag title, but important to this is the finish of Conway taking the 3D. Triple H tried to act as a mentor to Conway, but then he decides that he's done with this loser and gives him a Pedigree after the match before storming off.

Christian d. Chris Jericho

Keep this match from OTL.

The Revolution (Randy Orton/John Cena/Batista) (w/Paul Heyman) d. The Rock/Cactus Jack in a Handicap Match

We introduce the Revolution, a stable of the finest of OVW, led by Paul Heyman. Three of its members are in this match, taking on Rock and Cactus Jack. The match ends as the OTL one did, Orton hitting the RKO on Foley.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. (c) (w/Chavo Guerrero Sr.) d. Funaki, Jamie Noble, Jimmy Yang, Nunzio, Shannon Moore, Tajiri and Ultimo Dragon in a Cruiserweight Open for the Cruiserweight Championship

The same match from OTL, but two people got pulled and instead, it's Ultimo who eats the pin instead of Mysterio.

Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) d. Goldberg (Guest Ref: Stone Cold Steve Austin)

Heyman is able to talk Lesnar into staying for another year, so instead, he sends off Goldberg after two F5s. The Revolution stands tall at WrestleMania.

The Filthy Animals d. Rikishi/Scotty 2 Hotty (c), The Basham Brothers and the World's Greatest Tag Team for the WWE Tag Team Championship

And there are our missing Cruiserweights! Kidman and Mysterio win the WWE tag titles after a Shooting Star Press to Danny Basham.

Victoria (c) d. Molly Holly in a Hair Vs. Title Match for the WWE Women's Championship
Eddie Guerrero (c) d. Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship
The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) d. Kane

Keep these OTL matches and as for the main event.

Chris Benoit d. Shawn Michaels (c) for the World Heavyweight Championship

And instead of Triple Threat, we get a one-on-one of Benoit vs. HBK. Shawn, after a year with the title, drops to Benoit to check himself into rehab as the drugs finally start getting to him. Sharpshooter victory as Benoit and Eddie hug to the end the show.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania 21

Venue: Staples Cente rin Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 21,000
Announce Team: Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler (RAW), Michael Cole/Tazz (SmackDown!)​

Pre-Show Match: John "Bradshaw" Layfield wins a 30-Man Interpromotional Battle Royal by eliminating Chris Masters

Well, look who's finally back! Yeah, we haven't seen Bradshaw on a card since... WrestleMania XIV. Dang, where's he been? Mostly working in USWA and Smoky Mountain, sometimes on WWF/E TV. However, in mid-2004 he jumped over to ECW to try out his new gimmick and got immense heat, so they brought him full-time to the WWF. He hasn't gotten the mega-push of OTL, but he's on his way.

Rey Mysterio/Batista d. Big Show/Kane

A weird opening tag, but the Animal helps Lil Rey defeat two monsters. The Revolution has fractured and now Batista's in a weird tweener role. Batista Bomb followed by a springboard splash to Kane ends things.

Chris Benoit d. Booker T, Chris Jericho, Christian, Edge, Matt Hardy and Shelton Benjamin in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match

The same outcome as in "The Beast Remains" with Matt Hardy costing Edge the briefcase, allowing Benoit to win it. Also, Booker and Christian are in the match.

The Undertaker d. Shawn Michaels

So, Shawn never really overcame his personal demons ITTL. He spent '98-'01 partying it up with the Kliq and it wasn't until some time into his second WWF/E run for him to finally sober up, so it's unfortunate to say that this will be Shawn Michaels' last WrestleMania match of TTL. Health issues brought on by drug abuse took him while he was taking time off after WrestleMania and Eddie would join him with his own death (same date as OTL) so I'll give him one match against Undertaker (a very grim, if fitting end to the Heartbreak Kid) to go out on a high note.

Trish Stratus (c) d. Christy Hemme (w/Lita)

Yep. Keep it.

Triple H (w/Ric Flair) d. Kurt Angle

And now Trips is starting to turn things around. Admittedly, Hunter's not as big as before and didn't tear his quad, so he's still a good worker, he just was never able to shake being the fourth-best guy in the Kliq (fifth until Waltman started breaking down) but now as Nash is breaking his quads walking, Syxx is too high to focus, Razor is lost to his personal demons and Shawn is taking time off, Hunter gets to step up and with it, puts on a strong showing against the Olympic Hero at WrestleMania. Pedigree wins it for the Game thanks to interference by Flair.

Randy Orton d. Eddie Guerrero (c) for the WWE Championship

Orton, still loyal to Heyman and the Revolution, took his Royal Rumble victory and turned his attention to Eddie, winning his first main event title after an RKO to Eddie.

John Cena d. Brock Lesnar (c) (w/Paul Heyman) for the World Heavyweight Championship

Meanwhile, Cena begins his face run and main event push. Here, Cena's coming off the dissolution of the Revolution, having been regarded by Heyman as the weak link after he cost them the tag titles. Cena went on to become white rapper Cena and now he's here, beating Lesnar with the FU (which is especially fitting) and becomes the new World champion.

And in, not WrestleMania TL stuff: The TitanSports alliance of WWE, USWA, and ECW has fractured. See, John Laurinaitis was Vice President of talent relations. And keeping up talent relations for three promotions under one banner is harder than the simple WWE-OVW stuff Johnny Ace was dealing with in OTL and he is still not equipped to handle it, making everyone in the inner circle miserable because of his bullshit. Lawler already had problems after Stacy's firing back in 2001 and Cornette is a time-bomb on a short fuse, so the companies agreed to a split. Lawler and Cornette went back to USWA, Heyman and Sapolsky went to ECW (taking with him them a number of ECW originals and, in a big surprise, Brock) and left Vince with only himself, his son Shane and Vince Russo. Not helping matters is how Jeff Jarrett, while certainly huge in Memphis, was pretty much iced out of the WWF since 1998.

So now instead of a united front, we have the top game in town, the WWE and we have a somewhat uneasy alliance of ECW and USWA, connected by a shared exchange of talent with ROH.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania 22

Venue: Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois
Attendance: 17,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/Josh Mathews​

Pre-Show Match: Viscera wins a Battle Royal by eliminating Snitsky

Big Show and Kane (c) d. Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch for the World Tag Team Championship

We switch out the mismatched team of Carlito and Chris Masters for an actual tag team, but they fare no better against the giants. Lance Cade's doing a lot better ITTL Your idol and mentor dying of complications from drug abuse is a good motivator to stay away from them, after all. Chokeslam to Murdoch ends this one.

Matt Hardy d. Bobby Lashley, Booker T, Finlay, Mark Henry and Shelton Benjamin in a Money in the Bank Ladder Match

And because RVD headed off for ECW, we have Hardy actually win this match, knocking off Benjamin and unhooking the briefcase. Go Matt.

John "Bradshaw" Layfield (w/Jillian Hall) d. Chris Benoit (c) for the WWE United States Championship
Edge (w/Lita) d. Cactus Jack in a Hardcore Match
Mickie James d. Trish Stratus (c) for the WWE Women's Championship

And there's our marathon of OTL matches. Not much change there.

The Undertaker d. Kurt Angle

We switch Mark Henry out for another Olympian, this time Kurt Angle. We give them 18 minutes to work and put Angle out with the Tombstone. We're in the final stretch of the Streak, folks.

Rey Mysterio d. Randy Orton (c) for the World Heavyweight Championship

We drop Angle and also give this 18 minutes (cut from the Michaels/McMahon match) to make this match mean something. Of course, we still have Eddiesploitation, so the TL is starting to drift back to bad stuff. Rey wins with the 619 and the Frog Splash for Eddie.

Torrie Wilson d. Candice Michelle in a Playboy Pillow Fight Match

And without anyone to stop him, we get this match. Yaaaaaaay.

John Cena (c) d. Triple H (w/Ric Flair) for the WWE Championship

And one more OTL match. Cena's gonna be on top for a while folks, get used to it.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania 23

Venue: Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 80,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/Matt Striker​

(Dark: Elijah Burke/Marcus Cor Von d. Gregory Helms/Chavo Guerrero Jr. in a Lumberjack Match)

Mr. Kennedy d. Edge, Finlay, Jeff Hardy, King Booker (w/Queen Sharmell) Matt Hardy in a Money in the Bank Ladder Match

So, apart from CM Punk (who is currently in ECW) and Orton (who is in another match), this match is the same. Kennedy wins the briefcase.

The Great Khali d. Kane
Chris Benoit (c) d. Montel Vontavious Porter for the WWE United States Championship

And here's some OTL matches. Nothing to see here.

The Undertaker d. Randy Orton (c) for the World Heavyweight Championship

Instead of Batista, we have Orton lose to the Deadman here. Tombstone Victory. We add the time from the ECW Originals vs. New Breed match to this to put it over 20 minutes.

Bobby Lashley (w/Donald Trump) d. Umaga (w/Armando Alejandro Estrada and Mr. McMahon) in a Hair vs. Hair Match (Guest Ref: Stone Cold Steve Austin)
Melina (c) d. Ashley in a Lumberjill Match for the WWE Women's Championship

Yep. More OTL matches.

John Cena (c) d. Batista for the WWE Championship

And in place of HBK, we have the Animal. He and Cena put on a good match, certainly not the classic that we had in OTL, but most of the buys were for Lashley/Umaga anyway, but WWE is starting to lose its edge in the market thanks to ECW having the talent pool that WWE is sorely lacking right now.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania XXIV

Venue: Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 74,500
Announce Team: Michael Cole/Jonathan Coachman​

John "Bradshaw" Layfield d. Finlay (w/Hornswoggle) in a Belfast Brawl

Same match from OTL. Just a good ol' fashioned brawl. If you want, you can use the battle royal participants from OTL's pre-show as lumberjacks for added fun.

Chris Jericho d. Brian Kendrick, Carlito, John Morrison, Mr. Kennedy, Montel Vontavious Porter and Shelton Benjamin in a Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Since Punk is tearing the house down as ECW Champion, Kendrick takes his spot in the match, but Jericho wins.

Batista d. Umaga

OTL inter-promotional match.

The Undertaker d. Ric Flair in a Streak vs. Career Match

We have Undertaker be the one to retire Flair ITTL. Flair puts on the last great performance before falling to the Tombstone. We do the big goodbye show on RAW the next night.

Beth Phoenix/Melina (w/Santino Marella) d. Ashley/Maria in a Playboy BunnyMania Lumberjill Match
Randy Orton (c) d. John Cena and Triple H for the WWE Championship
Floyd "Money" Mayweather d. Big Show in a No Disqualification Match

All OTL, just one more match.

Matt Hardy d. Edge (c) for the World Heavyweight Championship

Unlike OTL, Matt actually got a push from the affair incident and now he and Matt face each other in the main event of WrestleMania. Matt wins with the Twist of Fate, getting his first main event-level title. It's a big moment for Matt that he never got.