Road to Survivor Series 2007 - 5

Part 4 is here.

This wraps up our preview of Survivor Series - the big, big, Pay-Per-View coming in November from Miami.

Here's the card so far:

NWA Title: Fit Finlay (w/Dean) v. Johnny Nitro (w/Melina)
ECW Title: CM Punk (w/Maria) v. Jeff Hardy
WWF Title: Rey Mysterio v. Undertaker
Unified Tags: S&S: Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch v. The Clique: HBK and HHH-M
The Juggernaut Eddie Little v. ?
The Juggernaut Eddie Little v. ?

Two matches left. The IC and the opening tag.

The IC challenger is MVP.

At Summer Slam, we saw the blow up of Heat - Porter and Burke had spent the past year as protegees of Booker (backstory being that MVP wrote to Book when he was in jail and Book was in the NWA, Book sent tapes, said to look him up when he got out - Porter got out, he and Burke, his childhood running buddy, moved to Houston to get trained by Book - they came to WWF, Book taught them the ropes) while Heat started to grow as a tag, Book regained the fire of his youth and won the WWF Title at XXIII.

But everything falls apart - the build to Summer Slam teased at that falling apart, and after Book dropped to Rey - Porter turned on both Book and Burke.

And now - we have the birth of MVP: Montel Vontavious Porter.

Porter's got a catchphrase: "I run this."

Like "People say, Montel - how could you have done Booker like that? Booker spoke up for you at your parole hearing - Booker got you into the WWF - without Booker, you'd be in jail or in a shallow grave - how could you have done him like that?

'Cause I'm Montel. Vontavious. Porter. And I run this.

And people say, Montel - you and Burke have been together since you were shorties. Okay, you had to push Booker aside - okay - you had to be your own man - okay, you had to make a strike to make your name the same way Book and Stevie Ray did back in the day - but why you gotta do Burke like that?

'Cause I'm Montel. Vontavious. Porter. And I run this.

I'm all gangsta. I'm straight G gangsta. I don't do friends. I don't do tag teams. I don't do little buddy to the World Champ.

I do me. I do me.

I'm Montel. Vontavious. Porter. The MVP. And I run this."

Like that.

Porter does that gimmick - spends most of the stretch after Summer Slam getting over as a single - the LWO has some debts to pay, and Porter's gonna be going over all of them here.

Porter's collision with Randy Orton, the Worldwide Champ, happens at, shockingly, SNME. Orton does some running around with Murdoch and Cade after Summer Slam - the three champs from the NWA carrying their gold all around the 3 shows. They big time everyone they meet - they come to GDI and big time everyone - they big time Dusty Rhodes on Fight Night (more about that momentarily) and they big time everyone in the WWF.

That's where Porter/Orton first starts. Porter's cutting a promo and Orton cuts him off - "you run this? you don't run jack - I'm Randy. Orton. I'm the Worldwide Champ. I run this." That leads to a 6 man that opens SNME (big show, recall, that's where Michaels made his return to reunite with Hunter - that's where Team NWA beats Team WWF in the main, Nitro pinning Rey after the Juggernaut attack - and the conclusion of the show, the big reveal that Jeff Hardy is the Blood Dragon). Porter teams with Chavo and Crazy to face Orton/Murdoch/Cade. The working premise being the LWO is looking for a rematch against S&S, to whom they lost their tag belts at SSlam - and although Porter and the LWO have been in violent opposition for months and months - they are put together, uneasily so, by Steamboat for this match.

Porter pins Orton - and we've got the IC match set up.

The LWO is announced as the opposition to S&S - but the next night, the Clique punks them out and claims the shot for themselves, which was set up on SNME.

And Jericho's clock keeps ticking on the TitanTron. Ticking down to Survivor Series.

The opening tag match will be Leviathan, by himself, against The Miz and Alabama Bob.

Bob and Miz are doing the gimmick you think they'd do - oil and water, Bob's the grumpy vet, trying to learn the kids right from wrong - and Miz is the guy from the Real World. I'd like as many MTV reality personalities as possible in this stretch for this angle - Miz hangs out with Spencer and Heidi, for example - whomever they can get. Holly hates this more that he can express - he doesn't know who any of the people are - he's never seen MTV since they stopped playing .38 Special. He wants to get ready for the match.

Now - Leviathan takes us back to where we started this series of previews.

Recall - Fit needed a partner to face Rey and the Undertaker for SNME. Nitro got tabbed.

But before that - 3 guys lobbied Dusty to get the spot and were turned down.

Shelton Benjamin, Randy Orton, Leviathan.

Benjamin lobbied and was turned down - Dusty saying actually, baby, it goes something like this - we've traded you over to Monday nights.

WWF sends John Cena/Ken Kennedy/Jamie Noble to NWA for Shelton Benjamin

(Noble, recall, gets traded from GDI to WWF for Ulysses Morley after the big London hanging angle - this trade then happens)

We've alluded to this. Cena/Kennedy both lost to the Juggernaut at Summer Slam and were sent packing. Benjamin's really stung by this move - it breaks up Strong Style - he has to leave Haas and Arn. There's a vignette where Benjamin goes to Arn, says he doesn't want to go - asks Arn if there's a way he can talk to Dusty, get them out of this - keep Strong Style together.

Arn tells Benjamin he won't do that - 'cause the trade was his idea.

Arn tells Benjamin that it's time he moves on. After he beat Kurt Angle at WM, Arn hoped he and Haas could revolutionize the tag division - but the truth is it never happened - Benjamin's gotten too comfortable just working with Charlie, hanging out at the bottom of the cards - not making the big shows, not being in the big matches. And the only way to jumpstart his career is to get him out of here.

So - he's gone. Benjamin and Arn say goodbye - Benjamin and Charlie say goodbye - and Benjamin heads back to Monday nights.

Randy Orton comes to Dusty - and he's turned down. Now, Dusty says he's not picking Orton because he wants Orton in that opening tag match - but to Orton, he should be in the main event - not the opener. Orton argues - Dusty tries to massage it but is unsuccessful - Orton cryptically exits with "you're making a mistake, Dusty - you're gonna regret this."

And Leviathan also gets turned down. Dusty says the big man should focus on his tag career - he and Flair were tag champs, he should try to get back to that level - get yourself a tag partner. So, Leviathan's quest to find a partner becomes his storyline - he says he'll have one by Survivor Series, so we get a mystery partner angle.

And that's your show.

NWA Title: Fit v. Nitro
-Nitro's rematch for the title.
GDI title: Punk v. Jeff
-Jeff's masked gambit pays off, he returns after the post Mania beating and faces Punk
WWF Title: Rey v. Undertaker
-Over a decade since his last shot, the WWF legend faces the Triple Crown winner.
Worldwide Titles: Orton v. Porter
-Heel on heel
Unified Tags: Cade/Murdoch v. HBK/HHHM
-Also heel on heel - the Clique reunites.

Also - the Clique promises to finish off their assault on all things Hart - saying they'll go after Natty Neidhart at Survivor Series -- and, the Jericho clock is set to go off at Survivor Series.

The Juggernaut v ?
The Juggernaut v. ?
Leviathan/? v. Holly/Miz

And the 3 mystery matches - Little beat 2 guys at Summer Slam, and now has to face 2 mystery guys at Survivor Series. Leviathan has been looking for a partner and says he'll find one and bring him to Survivor Series.

It's Survivor Series 2007.. From Miami. In November. Call your cable company!