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WWE presented the 2008 installment of The Great American Bash last night, featuring two World Championship matches, three title changes ... and a Colin Delaney heel turn!
WWE Champion Triple H main evented the show with a title defense against Edge. Wedding planner/spoiler Alicia Fox made her way down to ringside, but was clotheslined by Vicki Guerrero (and hopefully Vicki’s execution of that move will convince the company to keep her away from any physicality whatsoever, because it looked terrible). The girls grappled in the ring until Edge accidentally speared his new wife, allowing Hunter to take advantage of the distraction and Pedigree The Rated R Superstar to retain. This was a solid match, but I still would have preferred to keep these two apart until WrestleMania next year.
Raw presented CM Punk defending the World Title against Batista. This was a very entertaining and well-worked bout, which was unfortunately ruined by a non-finish when Kane attacked both men, causing a double-DQ. Batista had caught Punk and delivered a spinebuster on the arena floor seconds before the run-in, prompting Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler to put over The Animal as having been moments away from capturing the belt (In other words, so much for this match establishing Punk as a deserving champion).
John Cena and John Bradshaw Layfield squared off in a wild New York City Parking Lot Brawl. There was no shortage of action here and this showdown was better than I had expected. Highlights included Cena hooking JBL’s testicles up to jumper cables (a la Kane and Shane McMahon in 2003), Layfield setting a car on fire with Cena inside, and The Doctor of Thugonomics forklifting a vehicle containing JBL into the arena. As Cena prepared to F-U Bradshaw onto the car, the wealthy Texan escaped and tossed his foe from the stage and through the windshield. JBL then covered Cena for the upset victory.
Three new sets of champions were crowned at the PPV, as Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins won a Fatal Four Way to claim the WWE Tag Team Titles, Shelton Benjamin defeated Matt Hardy for the U.S. belt, and Michelle McCool downed Natalya to become the first Divas Champion.
In other news, Colin Delaney turned heel to assist Mark Henry in retaining the ECW Title over Tommy Dreamer and Chris Jericho defeated Shawn Michaels when the referee stopped the match due to HBK’s injured eye.
This was an enjoyable night of action, soured only by the result of the Raw main event. Otherwise, a high-quality show overall.
Match Results: Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder over WWE Tag Team Champions John Morrison and The Miz, Finlay and Hornswoggle, and Jesse and Festus in a Fatal Four Way to win the belts via Hawkins’ pinfall on Jesse … Shelton Benjamin over U.S. Champion Matt Hardy via pinfall to win the title … ECW Champion Mark Henry over Tommy Dreamer via pinfall following interference from Colin Delaney … Chris Jericho over Shawn Michaels via referee stoppage … Michelle McCool over Natalya via submission to win the Divas Championship … World Champion CM Punk wrestled Batista to a double-disqualification following interference from Kane … JBL over John Cena via pinfall in a New York City Parking Lot Brawl … WWE Champion Triple H over Edge via pinfall.
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