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

[Megafighter3]

Battleground 2015

Venue: Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 11,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/JBL​

Roman Reigns (w/Dean Ambrose) d. Bray Wyatt (w/Luke Harper) for the Money in the Bank Briefcase

In place of the OTL match, we have Reigns defend his briefcase against Bray, with Dean and Luke in their corners. This feud is still playing out and after some fun shenanigans, Reigns wins with the Spear.

Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) d. Seth Rolins (c) for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by disqualification

OTL match. DQ finish after Undertaker runs in because he wants a rematch against Lesnar. Seth scurries away with the belt and gets Speared by Reigns at the top of the ramp.

 

[Megafighter3]

SummerSlam 2015

Venue: Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York
Attendance: 16,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/JBL​

Sheamus d. Randy Orton
The New Day (Big E/Kofi Kingston) (w/Xavier Woods) d. The Prime Time Players (c), Los Matadores (w/El Torito) and The Lucha Dragons in a Fatal Four-Way Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship

Two OTL matches to kick things off.

Rusev (w/Summer Rae) d. Dolph Ziggler (w/Lana)

Maybe I'll put this feud on the list for future focus because goddamn was this an awful storyline. And now they're doing again with Bobby Lashley! What in the hell is wrong with WWE? Rusev wins here with the Accolade after Lana turns on Ziggler because fuck this storyline.

Stephen Amell d. Stardust

Neville's got his ticket punched for later, so we drop him and Barrett from this match, just have Cody carry Amell to a decent match, Amell hitting a Crossrhodes to Stardust.

Ryback (c) d. The Big Show and the Miz in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns d. The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper)

OTL matches.

John Cena (c) d. Bad News Barrett for the WWE United States Championship

Just a quick little match, Cena keeping the title with AA.

The Dynasty (Charlotte/Paige/Becky Lynch) d. The Boss Posse (Sasha Banks/Naomi/Tamina Snuka) and Team Bella (Nikki Bella/Brie Bella/Alicia Fox) in a Three Team Elimination Match

OTL match, but with some slightly better team names.

Kevin Owens d. Cesaro
The Undertaker d. Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman)

Two more OTL matches, but we're not done yet.

Seth Rollins (c) d. Neville for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Seth retains after an exciting match against the 2015 King of the Ring, winning after a Phoenix Splash... but the night's still not over. Here comes Roman. This time, Seth can't escape as Dean awaits outside the ring. Roman hands the ref the briefcase while Seth throws a fit.

Roman Reigns (w/Dean Ambrose) d. Seth Rollins (c) for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

And this match goes a little shorter than the Neville match as Seth tries to escape or get DQed, but Dean cuts him off at every turn. Reigns hits the Spear and reclaims his title after a year. And now we end act 2. The final act begins with Reigns once again as champion.

 

[Megafighter3]

Night of Champions 2015

Venue: Toyota Center in Houston, Texas
Attendance: 15,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/JBL​

Pre-Show Match: Stardust/The Ascension d. Neville/The Lucha Dragons in a Six-Man Tag Team Match

Figured I may as well go full card here since I'll need to do some tinkering now. This match is OTL, still.

Kevin Owens d. Ryback (c) for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Another OTL match.

Bray Wyatt d. Dolph Ziggler

Bray wrecks Dolph here since Roman's gonna be busy, so we pull Bray from the tag match and give him a singles match. Sister Abigail finishes.

The Dudley Boyz d. The New Day (Big E/Kofi Kingston) (c) (w/Xavier Woods) for the WWE Tag Team Championship by disqualification
Charlotte (w/Paige and Becky Lynch) d. Nikki Bella (c) (w/Brie Bella and Alicia Fox) for the WWE Divas Championship

Two more OTL matches.

The Wyatt Family (Luke Harper/Braun Strowman) d. Dean Ambrose/Chris Jericho

So, we cut it from a six-man to a basic tag match, but the match ends the same. Jericho passes out in Strowman's triangle choke.

John Cena (c) d. Seth Rollins for the WWE United States Championship

Seth wants his rematch, but Lawler denies him so Seth isntead takes a spot in Cena's US Title Open Challenge. We have a tidy match here with Cena keeping over the indignant Seth with the Attitude Adjustment.

Roman Reigns (c) d. Rusev (w/Lana) for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Nothing like a good ol' hoss fight. Just two big, strong boys throwing each other around with power moves. Reigns keeps with the Spear to cap off the night.

 

[Megafighter3]

Hell in a Cell 2015

Venue: Staples Center in Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 18,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/JBL​

Pre-Show Match: Bad News Barrett/Rusev/Sheamus d. Neville/Dolph Ziggler/Cesaro in a Six-Man Tag Team Match

OTL match but with a flipped result.

Alberto del Rio d. John Cena (c) for the WWE United States Championship

And we bring in del Rio, but without Zeb Colter. A run-in by Barrett, Rusev and Sheamus helps Del Rio win the gold.

Dean Ambrose d. Bray Wyatt in a Hell in a Cell Match

In place of Reigns/Wyatt, we let Ambrose finally get a one-on-one against Bray, getting the clean win after an intense Hell in a Cell bout. Bray oddly tells the family they are not needed. Weird... why wouldn't he? Ah, whatever, it's Bray. He's crazy.

The New Day (Big E/Kofi Kingston) (c) d. The Dudley Boyz for the WWE Tag Team Championship
Charlotte (c) d. Nikki Bella for the WWE Divas Championship
Kevin Owens (c) d. Ryback for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Three OTL matches, but with one pushed back because we got a big match for the co-main event.

Roman Reigns (c) d. Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Seth gets his rematch, facing off against Roman before he has to go down for knee injury. It's an all-out war between the two, with Seth and Roman giving their all, ending in a Spear by Roman as he keeps his title.

Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) d. The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell Match

Oh yeah, there's also that OTL main event match you might've heard of. Yeah, that's here too, including the Wyatt Family taking him away.

 

[Megafighter3]

Survivor Series 2015

Venue: Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 15,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/JBL​

The New Day (c) d. The Cosmic Wasteland in a Six-Man Tag Team Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship

Kicking off the show with an insane six-man tag for the tag belts. It's got everything you could want. The Ascension bring the brawling, Big E has the power moves, Kofi is flying everywhere, Stardust occasionally brings some southern-style work and Xavier, during the slower periods, will jump in on commentary. Midnight Hour to Stardust keeps it as we start the show.

Braun Strowman (w/Erick Rowan) d. Bo Dallas

In the build up, Bo pleads with his brother to not fight the Undertaker and to turn away from his so-called "family" and be his brother again. Instead, Bray throws him to Braun. It's a squash. Big boot and a running powerslam ends it in less than two minutes.

The Dudley Boyz d. The Usos

Just to do. 3D to Jimmy wins it.

The League of Nations (Bad News Barrett/Sheamus/Alberto del Rio/Rusev/Kevin Owens) d. Neville/Titus O'Neil/Goldust/The Lucha Dragons in a Five-On-Five Survivor Series Elimination Match

The League dominate this mismatched group of babyfaces, taking Titus out first with a Pop-Up Powerbomb, then Goldust with the same. Del Rio gets rid of Sin Cara with a Cross Armbreaker, but becomes the only elimination for the League thanks to a Salida del Sol. Kalisto falls to a Wasteland, leaving Neville to get stomped out before the White Noise.

Charlotte (c) d. Paige for the WWE Divas Championship
Tyler Breeze d. Dolph Ziggler

Oh hey, OTL matches.

Ryback d. Kane

Get Ryback some momentum going with a hoss win over Kane. Shellshocked does it here.

Bray Wyatt (w/Luke Harper) d. The Undertaker

His career began at Survivor Series and it ends at Survivor Series. Both men give it their all to make the Deadman's last ride a great one. It all ends with three Sister Abigails to put 'Taker away. But the show's not done yet.

Roman Reigns (c) d. Dean Ambrose for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

We make this match go longer than the nine minutes it got in OTL. It's a big match, after all. Two friends, practically brothers, meeting for the biggest prize in all of wrestling. The crowd is white hot for the match and it ends with a Spear. The two go to shake hands... and then Reigns pulls Ambrose into a clothesline and thrashes him. The crowd, who were always mixed to after the Shield break-up, finally turns on Dean, finishing off with a Spear before taking his belt and leaving. He does the "I'm not a bad guy, not a good guy" speech next RAW, but it's much more clearly a heel promo.

"I'm not a bad guy. I'm not a good guy. I'm THE guy. I'm the guy who carried the Shield to dominance while all of you cheered for Ambrose and Rollins. While you typed away about how great they were on your forums and Twitter, I was the guy getting the wins. I'm the guy who won the world title when Seth turned on us. I'm the one who beat the one in 21-1, while all of you booed and then got so happy when Seth cashed in on me. I'm the one who fought day in and day out to get this back and when I got it back, I became the guy who became a two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion. But it wasn't enough for you. For you, you wanted Seth to be the guy. You wanted Dean to be the guy. You hated me because I wasn't one of your indie darlings. Well, too bad for you because I'm the guy, I've always been the guy and I will ALWAYS be the guy.

Believe THAT!"

 

[Megafighter3]

TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2015

Venue: TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 15,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/JBL​

The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper/Erick Rowan) d. The Dudley Boyz/Tommy Dreamer in a Six-Man Elimination Tables Match

OTL match, but with two men cut out. Rowan still gets the 3D out, followed by Harper booting out Tommy Dreamer and Bray sending out both Dudleys.

Kevin Owens (c) d. Dean Ambrose for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

We flip the match so Owens keeps here with the Pop-Up Powerbomb.

Roman Reigns (c) d. Rhyno in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

We've got Spear vs. Gore in the main event. It's a nice wild garbage fest and people really get into the idea of Rhyno shutting down the Big Dog, but Roman keeps after doing a Spear, sending both off the ladder and into a table. Roman climbs up and pulls down the belt.

 

[Megafighter3]

Royal Rumble 2016

Venue: Amway Center in Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 16,000
Announce Team: Michael Cole/JBL​

Pre-Show Match: Jack Swagger/Mark Henry d. The Ascension, The Dudley Boyz and Darren Young/Damien Sandow in a Fatal Four-Way Tag Team Match

OTL match. Probably gonna be a lot of those tonight, but I wanted to do a little more than just mention one changed match at the Rumble.

Kevin Owens (c) d. Dean Ambrose in a Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Another flipped match, Owens keeping again against poor Ambrose.

The New Day (Big E/Kofi Kingston) (c) (w/Xavier Woods) d. The Usos for the WWE Tag Team Championship
Kalisto d. Alberto del Rio (c) for the WWE United States Championship
Charlotte (c) (w/Ric Flair) d. Becky Lynch for the WWE Divas Championship

And there's the OTL matches for tonight, next up. One vs. All. The Royal Rumble match.

Winner leaves with the title.

 

[Megafighter3]

The 2016 Royal Rumble​

#1: Roman Reigns (c)
#2: Rusev

The two start things off and this time, Rusev doesn't get immediately get tossed out. Him and Roman just duke it out.

#3: AJ Styles

And here comes the Phenomenal One! It's a huge moment for the company as he goes right in there with the two.

#4: Tyler Breeze

Breeze goes in on Rusev, courtesy of Summer Rae, splitting him off from Roman and AJ.

#5: Curtis Axel

Going to do this spot early as Tyler hits the Beauty Shot, followed by a Running Powerslam, then comes the Phenomenal Forearm and followed by a Spear and Axel goes out (30, Axel)

#6: Chris Jericho

Jericho goes after Styles, Reigns waiting for his next opponent.

#7: Kane

Kane goes right for Roman and the two go to blows for a while. Rusev, meanwhile, sends out Tyler Breeze (29, Breeze)

#8: Goldust

Goldust tries for Rusev, getting tossed around while Reigns sends out Kane (28, Kane)

#9: Ryback

Ryback and Roman are now going to blows while Rusev sends Goldust out (27, Goldust)

#10: Kofi Kingston

Kofi jumps right for Rusev, taking the tossing around.

#11: Titus O'Neil

Titus comes in, but Ryback tosses Roman at him and he gets sent right out. Sorry, Titus (26, O'Neil)

#12: R-Truth

Truth comes in to help Kofi, Rusev sending him out instead. (25, R-Truth)

#13: Luke Harper

Roman and Ryback end their tussle with Ryback going out (24, Ryback) leaving Harper and Roman to face off.

#14: Stardust

Stardust jumps Kofi, pulling him away from Rusev for the time.

#15: Big Show

Wellll, I'm a face now, I guess! Big Show goes for Roman, getting a healthy pop from the crowd after a chokeslam.

#16: Neville

Neville dives in after Stardust while Kofi sits in the corner. Yes, AJ and Jericho are still in this Rumble.

#17: Braun Strowman

BRAAAAAAAAAAUUUUNNNN!!! Braun makes a big impression by lifting up the Big Show and sending him out (23, Big Show) before deciding to double team Kofi with Luke Harper, so Kofi has to underdog it a while. Neville manages to send out Stardust (22, Stardust)

#18: Kevin Owens

Owens helps Jericho send out AJ (21, Styles) before going after poor Neville, the two take some time to batter him before tossing him out too (20, Neville)

#19: Dean Ambrose

Ambrose goes right for Roman, the two brawling it out while Kofi does the elimination save with Big E before finally getting sent out by Harper and Strowman (19, Kingston)

#20: Sami Zayn

We're running low on babyfaces, so here comes Sami like a house of fire, sending out Rusev (18, Rusev) KO (17, Owens) and Harper (16, Harper) before being tossed out by Braun. (15, Zayn)

#21: Erick Rowan

Rowan comes in to join up with Braun.

#22: Mark Henry

Henry comes in and manages to send out Erick (14, Rowan) before being bounced by Strowman (13, Zayn) while Dean is fighting off the efforts of Jericho and Reigns

#23: Brock Lesnar

Brock, wanting to take out the biggest dog in the yard, hoists up Braun and sends him right out (12, Strowman)

#24: Jack Swagger

And Swaggie Time is short as Lesnar suplexes him right out (11, Swagger)

#25: The Miz

The Miz runs... for the announce table, wanting to watch Ambrose suffer a beatdown.

#26: Alberto del Rio

del Rio adds to the stompout, Ambrose fighting hard against the four-on-one and manages to launch Alberto out (10, del Rio)

Miz rushes in to help but Dean still has plenty in the tank and gets him out too (9, Miz)

#27: Bray Wyatt

Dean keeps getting torn apart, Roman keeping him as others try to send him out. He wants to make Dean suffer.

#28: Dolph Ziggler

Dolph rushes in for the save, peeling off Bray and Leaving Ambrose to fight Jericho, Lesnar and Roman alone.

#29: Sheamus

Dolph manages to toss out Bray (8, Wyatt) before getting bounced by Sheamus (7, Ziggler) before the leader of the League of Nations joins in on the whipping of Dean Ambrose.

#30: Triple H

In a surprise attack, Hunter goes right for Brock, sending him out without even looking at the Ambrose fight going on. (6, Lesnar) before just as quickly clamoring out and keeping up his attack on Lesnar (5, Triple H)

The final four are Sheamus, Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. Reigns sends Sheamus out, wanting to make sure he gets the pleasure of eliminating Dean (4, Sheamus) while Dean manages to overcome, probably has a cut and has been bleeding plenty, but he manages to send Jericho out (3, Jericho)

We get one more Dean vs. Roman sequence, ready build up the crowd's hopes that Ambrose will finally win... but he goes out to thunderous boos of the crowd as Roman keeps his title. (2, Ambrose)

 

[Megafighter3]

Fastlane 2016
​

Dean Ambrose d. Brock Lesnar

Dean has to earn a shot against Roman for WrestleMania, and while Lesnar tears him up, another Triple H run-in leaves Brock laying to give Ambrose the win.

Roadblock 2016​

Dean Ambrose d. Triple H

And another match to get the title shot. Dean wins again thanks to Brock giving the F5 receipt to Hunter. Dean's going to WrestleMania! Roman, meanwhile, has been on vacation since the Rumble, saying the fans don't deserve him until he can get the biggest payday. Make him a real smug shit heel leading up to 'Mania.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania 32

Venue: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
Attendance: 98,000
Announce Team: Mauro Ranallo/JBL​

Pre-Show Match: Kalisto (c) d. Ryback for the WWE United States Championship

OTL match for the start of the PPV.

Pre-Show Match: Paige d. Emma in a Lumberjill Match

Instead of the ten-woman match, we get eight women at ringside at the lumberjill match. Lumberjills: Alicia Fox, Brie Bella, Eva Marie, Lana, Naomi, Natalya, Summer Rae and Tamina. Paige gets the win with the PTO.

Pre-Show Match: The Usos d. The Dudley Boyz in a Tables Match

Let's have some tables to excite the crowd. Uso Splash to D-Von ends the match.

Sami Zayn d. Kevin Owens (c) in a Ladder Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

We get a ladder war between these two. The feud really writes itself. Longtime friends in wrestling, Zayn the underdog babyface and Owens the bastard heel and they do some great spots, make it a ladder war in there. Zayn puts Owens before getting up the ladder and pulling down the strap as we start WrestleMania 32's broadcast on a high note.

AJ Styles d. Chris Jericho

And we flip the result here so AJ wins his WrestleMania debut. Crazy idea, that. Styles Clash wins it for the Phenomenal One.

The New Day (c) d. The League of Nations (King Barrett/Sheamus/Rusev) (w/Alberto del Rio) in a Six-Man Tag Team Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship

We have a tag title match on the show and have the New Day win the match clean, hitting Midnight Hour on Barrett since he's going out. This is gonna be pretty close to how I would've booked WrestleMania 32, just a few differences from the planned card.

Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) d. Triple H (w/Stephanie McMahon)

Triple H wants back his power and he's willing to fight Lesnar if it means the Authority returns. If not, he has to fully retire from ever wrestling. This one sticks too as Lesnar wrecks Hunter here, three F5s followed by a Kimura puts Trips away.

Charlotte d. Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks in a Triple Threat Match to crown the inaugural WWE Women's Championship

We take Flair out of this match and focus on the women. This is the one match where the result stays the same. Nothing wrong with Charlotte winning here.

Baron Corbin wins the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Keep this result. In case you wondering where the other guys from the ladder match went, it's here in place of guys like Tatanka, DDP, Shaq and maybe the Ascension. Corbin wins it as he did in OTL. Also, we don't have the Hell in a Cell Match, so all matches on the main shows get a five minute boost, plus we cut the awful Rock/Wyatt segment. Just, that whole Rock segment is gone. But now comes the main event.

Dean Ambrose d. Roman Reigns (c) in a No Holds Barred Match for the WWE World Championship

And the book finally closes as Dean, scrappy underdog who has had to claw his way to this meets Roman Reigns, the resentful heel who hates the crowd for going cold on him and cheering for Ambrose. The two men just do everything they can to each other, giving and taking as neither wants to lose this match. It's a barn burner. They tear the roof down, etc. After 32 minutes, Dean finally catches Roman with Dirty Deeds onto a steel chair and wins the title, completing the trifecta as the crowd explodes in applause.

And that's another TL wrapped up.

 

[Megafighter3]

A Wonderful Accident
​

Suggested by @Unknown, we have the interesting scenario of a promising feud cut short by a freak accident and the repercussions of said accident: What if Paul Orndorff had botched a piledriver on Hulk Hogan and injured him to the point of early retirement? Let's have a look.

July 19, 1986​

On a Wrestling Challenge, Hulk Hogan and Paul Orndorff teamed against Heenan Family members King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd in a tag match. However, in that match, Orndorff surprise attacks the Hulkster with a clothesline followed up with a piledriver. However, while the piledriver was always sold as a dangerous maneuver, it was in this moment where it proved its reputation true. No one is quite sure what exactly went wrong but it absolutely went wrong. Hogan's neck was broken and broken bad. Doctors were able to repair it, but he was told in no uncertain terms that he could never wrestle again. Thus, Hulk Hogan is forced into retirement less than ten years into his career and just as Hulkamania was heating up. As a result of the injury, the piledriver becomes a banned move within the WWF.

In the time leading up to WrestleMania, a tournament was booked for the vacated WWF World Heavyweight Title. During the tournament, Orndorff hits a piledriver on Roddy Piper, resulting in a DQ and a suspension (taking Orndorff out of action to deal with a neck injury he suffered around this time.)

WWF World Heavyweight Title Tournament First Round Results
​

Roddy Piper d. Paul Orndorff (DQ)
Randy Savage d. Ricky Steamboat
Bob Orton d. The Junkyard Dog
Andre the Giant d. Harley Race

WWF World Heavyweight Title Tournament Semifinal Round Results
​

Randy Savage d. Roddy Piper
Andre the Giant d. Bob Orton

WWF World Heavyweight Title Tournament Final Round Results
​

Andre the Giant d. Randy Savage for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship

As you can tell, this is all building up to WrestleMania III with Andre vs. Orndorff, since Mr. Wonderful will be coming back fully rested from his own neck injury.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania III​

The card remains the same, with only one change. Reigning champion Andre the Giant facing off against Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff in the main event. Rather than bump up the number, Vince accepts the actual attendance number of 62,000 in the Silverdome. The PPV buyrate for Wrestlemania also took a blow due to the loss of Hogan. Andre had proven a great attraction, but his mobility had been greatly reduced and Orndorff, while now starting to build momentum as the man who ended Hulkamania, he was nowhere near the draw of Hogan, resulting in WWF making only $5 million in PPV revenue and just barely under a million at the gate. WrestleMania III was a success, but nowhere near big enough to justify adding onto the PPV calendar yet.

Thus, when November came around, Jim Crockett Promotions and the NWA jumped into the PPV market by bringing their own flagship event, Starrcade, to pay-per-view, headlined by Ric Flair defeating Ron Garvin for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The event pulled in a 6.8 PPV buyrate and managed to rankle Vince McMahon, who had little recourse as cable companies were not intimidated by his threat to pull WrestleMania IV. It was clear that Vince needed a new Hogan and he believed that perhaps instead of the 'Mania... it was time for the Madness.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania IV

Venue: Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Attendance: 19,200
Announce Team: Gorilla Monsoon/Jesse Ventura​

The Hart Foundation d. The British Bulldogs

Good strong opening to kick off the show between two of the finest tag teams in the WWF.

The Ultimate Warrior d. Hercules

OTL squash.

One Man Gang (w/Slick) d. Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Oliver Humperdink)

We don't have Bam Bam long, so we have him put over the One Man Gang. Note the lack of a tournament. There's an obvious reason for that.

Jake Roberts d. Rick Rude (w/Bobby Heenan)

Give Jake a victory here since we're not doing the tournament. DDT to Rick does it.

Ricky Steamboat d. Ted DiBiase (w/Virgil)

And since the loss of of his #1 star, there needs to be another big babyface and Steamboat and Savage put on the best match of WrestleMania III, so there's a lot of promise, but Vince had eyes on Savage (not helped when Honky threatened to go to the NWA if he was forced to drop the IC title) so we give him a win against the hot upcoming heel Million Dollar Man before the title matches.

Demolition (w/Mr. Fuji) d. Strike Force (c) for the WWF Tag Team Championship

OTL match.

Honky Tonk Man (c) (w/Jimmy Hary and Peggy Sue) d. Brutus Beefcake for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

This time it's a clean loss for the Barber, though he still cuts Jimmy Hart's hair, allowing for a great post-match with Honky and Jimmy Hart (seriously, if you haven't seen it, it's amazing.)

Randy Savage (w/Miss Elizabeth) d. Paul Orndorff (c) (w/Jimmy Hart)

And after almost a year of Mr. Wonderful as champion, we come to this. Macho Man wins the title and gets to have his moment in the spotlight and is crowned the new face of the WWF. Just in time as NWA began to gain real traction, with the success of Starrcade on PPV, Bunkhouse Stampede getting more views than WWF's free televised Royal Rumble and with the real threat of Clash of the Champions (Headlined by Flair vs. Sting) the WWF needed a new top star and fast.

Clash of the Champions did go PPV rather than being televised and got a 6.5 buyrate, a notch above than WrestleMania's 5.5, with many believing that losing Hulkamania might mean that the WWF might not survive. Vince, feeling emboldened by Macho Man's ascent, takes the loss in surprising stride as he opts for a planned follow-up to WrestleMania in August. The event is known as SummerSlam.

 

[Megafighter3]

SummerSlam 1988​

One month after the NWA had its Great American Bash PPV, the WWF launched its summer answer to WrestleMania, SummerSlam. The show saw some great matches such as the Bulldogs vs. the Rougeaus going to a time limit draw, the Ultimate Warrior demolishing the Honky Tonk Man in under a minute for the Intercontinental title, Demolition vs. the Hart Foundation fort he tag titles and in the main event, the team of WWF World Champion "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat tag up against "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff and the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase (The Wonder Bucks? ...Eh, not going with it) in front of roaring MSG crowd with Jesse "The Body" Ventura as special guest referee. The match, coming off the four-star classic between Savage and Orndorff that had headlined WrestleMania IV, had helped solidify Vince's faith in Savage in the top spot. He had everything needed to stand against the NWA champ Ric Flair; he had the look, he had the mouth and he was technically sound in the ring and put on great matches with other ring generals such as Steamboat and DiBiase. While Crockett had managed to force back any plans for a November show and completely decimated the Royal Rumble as a PPV concept for the time being, SummerSlam was the first PPV to give Vince a bit of edge back. And it jsut so happens his good friend Donald Trump wants him back in Atlanic City.

For WrestleMania V.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania V​

Back to Boardwalk Hall (not Trump Plaza) with the fifth ever WrestleMania. It's a massive (some would say bloated) show, with 14 matches on the card. The major ones include Jake Roberts facing off against Ted DiBiase, Paul Orndorff meeting Brutus Beefcake, Demolition defending their tag titles against the Powers of Pain, Mr. Perfect vs. Owen Hart, The Brainbusters vs. Strike Force, Rick Rude beating the Ultimate Warrior for the Intercontinental Championship, and of course the main event.

The story of the main event is one of and intense rivalry heating back up. Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat II. At WrestleMania III they stole the show. Tonight, they are the show, putting on an absolute five-star classic, a match of the year contender against NWA's Chi-Town Rumble main event, which saw Sting win his first NWA World Title against Ric Flair. Many thought that this would be Ricky Steamboat's crowning moment, much like Sting's. However, that night the Macho Man lands the elbow to keep the title. The WWF and NWA continue to go neck and neck in terms of quality, especially after Jim Crockett Promotions was bought by Turner (though probably for less money than OTL due to getting a few successful PPVs under their belt before the buyout) and being reborn as WCW. As the 80s draws to its close, wrestling seems to have nowhere to go but up.

 

[Megafighter3]

SummerSlam 1989​

The second annual SummerSlam event, headlined by Randy Savage vs. Paul Orndorff for the WWF World Title. I realized I slightly undersold the importance of Orndorff in the WWF at this point as he not only retired Hogan, he effectively retired Andre as Andre most likely retired after III, so he got something of a reputation as the WWF's hero killer. So, while I doubt Mr. Wonderful is gonna be staying in the company long with how little I've been able to give him, but he's still probably the biggest heel in the wrestling business (at least up north) going right now and him and Randy can put on another mat classic. Along with that, Steamboat takes on DiBiase to a losing effort, we got Demolition vs. The Twin Towers, Ultimate Warrior reclaiming the IC title from Rick Rude, the Brainbusters vs. the Hart Foundation and the Rougeaus and Rick Martel vs. The Rockers and Tito Santana. Really good show.

Also, Ready to Rumble gets butterflied away as Vince focuses his efforts on fighting Ted Turner's WCW, which just did their Great American Bash show, main evented by Ric Flair and Terry Funk for the NWA World Title and for Sting facing off for both the NWA United States and television titles against different opponents (Great Muta for the TV, Lex Luger for the US) in losing efforts, but keeping up the momentum he had built up as a growing star for the company. WCW continues to grow as a promotion, drawing closer to fighting Vince head on and Vince is not happy about it.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania VI​

The Toronto SkyDome is packed to see the main event, dubbed the Ultimate Challenge as up-and-coming star the Ultimate Warrior faces off against long-reigning champion Macho Man Randy Savage with Warrior's Intercontinental and Savage's World titles both on the line. In what many considered a great main event, though nothing on his previous efforts at 'Mania against Orndorff and Steamboat, Savage opted to pass the torch to the Warrior, losing clean in the main event. Other major matches on the card include Rick Rude beating Ricky Steamboat in the semi-main. the Hart Foundation taking on Demolition for the tag titles in a losing effort, Mr. Perfect continuing his Perfect streak with a win against Brutus Beefcake and the final WWF PPV appearance of Paul Orndorff as Mr. Wonderful lost to the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes.

So yeah, going forward I didn't really have any major plans for Orndorff, but hell, I gave him a year-long world title run, so that's gotta count for something. He's pretty much a career heel, meant to make or break the upcoming babyfaces. He'll be heading over to WCW soon. Their most recent show was WrestleWar, where Lex Luger lost in the main event against Ric Flair for the NWA World Title. Everything's still chugging along fine over there, but now WWF's got that fire going and Vince is hoping the Warrior will be the man of the 90s.

 

[Megafighter3]

SummerSlam 1990​

SummerSlam 1990 was meant to be The Ultimate Warrior's first main event as the WWF World Heavyweight Champion, a crowning achievement. However, more people had tuned into SummerSlam to see the Texas Tornado, Kerry Von Erich end Mr. Perfect's winning streak and take the WWF Intercontinental Championship, The Hart Foundation reclaim the WWF Tag Titles over Demolition and most importantly, a now fully heel Randy Savage meet Dusty Rhodes in the semi-main, which many believed was a more deserving main event. Certainly not helping matters was last month's Great American Bash where Sting defeated Ric Flair to win his second NWA World Heavyweight Championship before the newly arriving Paul Orndorff hit him with a piledriver (a move infamously banned by the WWF after Hogan's injury) to set up his next feud in the company.

Also on the Bash show was the last PPV match of Mark Callous, losing to Lex Luger in a US title match. At one point, Vince would've snapped up the 6'4 powerhouse to sell as the next big threat to a conquering hero and indeed that was the close to the case with the new champion Warrior. However, Savage's run of great matches with smaller, more technically sound workers had shown that WWF didn't need to be a land of giants and that perhaps Ole Anderson was right to not consider Mark Calaway a draw. Negotiations came to a standstill and with more lucrative offers coming from Japan, Calaway turned down the WWF and headed for Japan to continue his run there as "Punisher" Dice Morgan.

 

[Megafighter3]

WrestleMania VII​

A solid 20,000 fill the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on the promise of one match, Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior for the WWF Title with the loser being forced into retirement. As the Warrior experiment failed to catch on the way Vince had hoped, he decided to pull the plug and instead make the Macho Man a two-time WWF World Champion, ending the Warrior's career after five consecutive elbow drops. Tonight was also a record night for Savage as he not only became a two-time WWF Champion, becoming the second man to do so after Bruno Sammartino (if we don't count all that Backlund-Inoki stuff that happened) but also his fourth WrestleMania main event, putting him above Hulk Hogan at two and Paul Orndorff at three. Along with the main event, viewers at the Coliseum saw Ted DiBiase's manservant Virgil break free from the Million Dollar Man, being rechristened "Soul Train" Mike Jones in the process, Mr. Perfect defeat Ricky Steamboat to retain his Intercontinental title, The Rockers defeat the Hart Foundation for the tag titles, The Road Warriors meet Demolition and the British Bulldog defeat the jingoistic heel Sgt. Slaughter in the start of his solo run.

The NWA? Eh, they're doing alright. Paul Orndorff joined the Four Horsemen and was part of good WarGames match at WrestleWar. Of course, people are really not liking Jim Herd over there. Especially not Flair. I gotta feeling something's gonna come out of that.

 

[Megafighter3]

SummerSlam 1991

Venue: Madison Square Garden
Attendance: 20,000
Announce Team: Gorilla Monsoon/Bobby Heenan/Roddy Piper​

(Dark: Koko B. Ware d. Kato)

The British Bulldog d. Power and Glory in a Handicap Match

Oh hey, a card! Rare for this TL, I know, but I figured this one could be fun. We start off with the Bulldog beating two dudes on his one, showing off just how powerful he is. Running Powerslam to Paul Roma finishes this one.

Bret Hart d. Mr. Perfect (c) (w/Coach) for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
The Natural Disasters (w/Jimmy Hart) d. The Bushwhackers
"Soul Train" Mike Jones d. Ted DiBiase (c) (w/Irwin R. Schyster) for the Million Dollar Championship
Big Boss Man (w/Sgt. Slaughter) d. The Mountie (w/Jimmy Hart) in a Jailhouse Match

Whole lotta OTL matches, maybe lose Andre from being in the Bushwhackers' corner. Have Rotunda back DiBiase and Slaughter behind Boss Man. All good so far.

The Road Warriors d. The Rockers (c) for the WWF Tag Team Championship

There we go! How about some Warriors vs. Rockers for ya? Poor Marty takes the Doomsday Device here.

Ric Flair (c) (w/Bobby Heenan) d. Ricky Steamboat for the NWA World Championship

And in a match you thought you wouldn't see ITTL, we have Flair/Steamboat putting on a classic, though it is only around 12 minutes. Had to shave a bit off Bulldog vs. P&G to get it there and knock off Valentine vs. IRS. But hey, Flair defends the "Real World Title" over on WWF's PPV, a big black eye for WCW, who had fired him over refusing to put over Lex Luger for the belt and putting on the terrible Great American Bash show just last month. Flair keeps with the Figure Four.

Randy Savage (c) d. Kerry Von Erich in a No Holds Barred Match for the WWF World Championship

We didn't get a Kerry that could still go as well as in his World Class heyday, but we make up for that by just having this match have a bit of plunder. Let the two just brawl for a while before ending it with the elbow drop. Now, try as Vince might and it has shown to work for a bit, the crowd still wants to cheer Savage and with Flair in the company, there's a big match to build up to, so we can expect that the Macho Man will be face again.