Summer Slam is here.
Road to Survivor Series 2007 – I
The working plan is to do somewhat of a History of Counterfactual Survivor Series, in the way that I did a Summer Slam history a couple of years ago. That will serve to catch some people up on how we got here, and give everyone something to read (other than The Blog of Revelation, of course) between now and November.
Within those posts, I’ll be referring to the upcoming card – the balance of the building of which I’ll do later. Today, I want to start setting up the 3 World Title matches.
The night after Summer Slam, Ricky Steamboat comes to the ring on RAW.
Steamboat says that in November, it will be one year – one year since Survivor Series ’06 – one year since this happened.
And they’ll play the tape of Punk throwing down the WWF Championship belt.
It was the darkest day, Steamboat says, in the history of this ring. I was brought back to this company late that night, he reminds us, and brought back for one reason – to restore the prestige of the World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight championship. I knew it wouldn’t happen overnight, I knew that the NWA was going to branch off and start it’s own show – I knew that GDI was going to move further away from us – but honestly – that we are approaching Survivor Series a full year after that…that…son of a bitch Punk tore this company apart, and that it’s still torn apart..well, maybe I haven’t done as good a job as you all deserve.
But if there’s a man who knows about how to win – how to win a huge battle at Survivor Series – it’s Ricky Steamboat.
Clip from the first Survivor Series in 1987 – Steamboat successfully defending his WWF Championship over Dynamite.
Hopefully, the people pop.
And if there’s another man – another man who knows how to win a huge battle at Survivor Series is the New WWF Heavyweight Champion of the World – Rey Mysterio Jr!
Clip from Survivor Series 2005, Rey Mysterio successfully defending the WWF Championship over Juventud Guerrera.
And then Rey enters – at Summer Slam, recall, Rey defeated Booker T for the WWF title, just before Booker was turned on by his protégée Montel Porter, sending him out of the WWF.
Steamboat, recall, was Rey’s first big supporter in the WWF – back when the top of the card had been dominated for years by Angle/Benoit/Eddy – when Ricky Steamboat made his return to the company, he said that he thought the real Ace of the promotion was Rey Mysterio, so there’s good history between the two men.
Steamboat shakes his hand – says Rey is the “real world champion” and asks if Rey Mysterio will join him in his mission to unite the 3 belts – unite the 3 companies – and once again return the WWF Championship belt to its rightful place at the top of the wrestling universe.
Rey says there’s no doubt in his mind that one day the titles will be united under the WWF once again. But there’s no way CM Punk will face him; Punk’s not contractually required to ever wrestle a WWF match ever again – he is keeping that title on Tuesdays.
And while he respects Fit Finlay – Rey says the truth is – the last real NWA Champion – well, that was Rey Mysterio Jr. (Rey was NWA Champ when it was bought by WWF).
Rey says there’s a more immediate problem.
He’s been out a year – watching all of this on TV, and what he noticed is that ever since CM Punk threw down the WWF title – there has been 3 PPVs. And at all of those PPVs – some match that wasn’t for the WWF title was the main event.
You want to return the prestige to the WWF belt – then at Survivor Series, the main event has got to be Rey Mysterio defending the WWF Championship!
Rey continues.
And it shouldn’t be against someone from GDI or NWA. It should be against someone who bleeds WWF. It should be against someone whose name is synonymous with the WWF – a man who debuted at Survivor Series 17 years ago – a man who at Wrestlemania this year defeated a Triple crown Winner for his 6th Legends Win – The Undertaker.
Undertaker comes to the ring, gets whatever pop he gets.
Undertaker says he’s been with the WWF since Survivor Series ’90 (clip of Taker beating Snuka) and during those 17 years – he’s had 1 shot at the WWF Title. One.
And he respects Rey – but at Survivor Series – in Miami – 17 years after my debut – he’s taking the WWF Title to the Dark Side.
At the top of the ramp – The Juggernaut Eddie Little (Umaga)
The Juggernaut says Rey’s a paper champion – and it’s like Steamboat to pick an old man who sat at home watching Summer Slam to be number one contender – when at Summer Slam The Juggernaut was going through not just one, but two men.
Steamboat tells him to get out of here – he hasn’t earned a spot out here with Rey Mysterio and the Undertaker – if he doesn’t watch it, he’ll wind up wrestling twice again at Survivor Series – and Steamboat will see to it that Little doesn’t get a cakewalk that night.
Little says maybe he’ll take on both Mysterio and the Undertaker at Survivor Series – or anyone else Steamboat wants to put in front of him – because “I’m the Juggernaut, Bitch!”
That’s the WWF Title match – Rey defending against Undertaker.
Coming next - the NWA Title match. The road continues.
