Road to Summer Slam 2007 - 4

Part 3 is here.

In the previous posts, we've set up the following:

ECW Title: CM Punk v. Paul London

WWF Title: Booker T v. Rey Mysterio

Worldwide Titles: Randy Orton v. Brian Kendrick

Perejas Increibles: Punk/London v. Orton/Kendrick

In Part 3, the tag title was set up without revealing who the challengers are - as the LWO had its summerlong feud with Heat turn into a new feud with a team we didn't name.

That team is S&S - The Superstar and the Sidekick - Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch.

Cade and Murdoch are in the NWA, on Friday Night Fight Night - and throughout 2007, as that show begins to deveop its identity, they are the core tag act. The dynamic between the two is not dissimilar to the Will Farrell/John C Reilly shtick they did in Talledega Nights - in fact, I'm going to steal a catchphrase from the movie "That Just Happened" and make it the name of Murdoch's finisher (flip piledriver - Petey Williams's Canadian Destroyer).

Cade's the Superstar - he's got the big, fancy robe and the crazy physique and the bronzer and the platinum hair. He carries himself like he's Ric Flair in 1989. Murdoch's the Sidekick, trucker hat, farmer's tan, and his clothes are covered in advertising patches, like a stock car racer. Their promos always include some type of product placement or ad catchphrase, with the idea being that they're getting paid. Cade's not really doing comedy, not really trying to pull off the Ferrell character, he's just being pro wrestling heel - but Murdoch's telling jokes. Unlike the Punk/Colt dynamic that is established this summer, Cade doesn't get irritated with Murdoch, Murdoch's doing his job, selling the product, moving merchandise, keeping them on task.

As mentioned in Part 3 - over the summer - they unexpectedly appear on RAW to take out the LWO during a couple of high profile moments, as the LWO/Heat program comes to an end - to set up the tag title match at Summer Slam.

Unified Tag Titles: LWO v. S&S

That look at Fight Night takes us to the NWA Title - Fit Finlay is, of course, the champ, having retired Flair at XXIII. Fit, with Dean Malenko as his manager, is the face of Fight Night - tough, stiff, humorless, rugged -- Fit's a guy who will kick your ass legit, he's the champ and the locker room enforcer. And he and Dean make it clear after Mania that for Summer Slam, they want to defend the belt against an up and comer - they know they aren't here forever - they bleed NWA, Dean was NWA Champ back before the WWF buyout (clips, so many clips to show) and they set a tone that they want to create a culture on Fight Night where it is clear the man who holds the NWA belt is the real world's champion - the best wrestler on the planet.

So, they look to inculcate that whenever they can - working on the young guys, looking for a new generation who will be the face of Fight Night in the future --

But the guy who keeps blowing them off - who is always more interested in how he looks and photo shoots and his girl Melina - is Johnny Nitro.

I teased this a little in an earlier storyline that was background in 2006 - when Arn took over Haas and Benjamin after XXII, calling them Strong Style, toughening them up - they ran through the WWF tag ranks, clearing out the deadweight - the last team standing was MNM, with Nitro being the one who proved he was tough enough to stay in the company when guys like Bradshaw and Mercury left from the beatings.

But now we reset Nitro a little - he's concerned about his hair and his abs and his girl - he blows Fit off, isn't interested in the Fight Night culture - he's all showbiz -- and that enrages Fit and Dean, who decide its their duty to teach him a lesson.

Nitro stays a step ahead of them, through various chickenshit heel chicanery, all summer -- Nitro and Melina laughing, taunting - saying after Summer Slam it will be the Nitro Wrestling Alliance - that Fit can wrestle in the senior's division - that their vision of the NWA is glitz and glamor and beautiful people. Fit wants everyone to be as personality-free as he and Malenko are - Nitro is the one saving the business - saving the NWA - and looking pretty doing it.

That's the matchup - with Fit vowing not just to beat Nitro - but to beat some respect into him - that the NWA isn't about style, it's about substance, and the Summer Slam clash will be over which vision of the NWA will prevail.

NWA Title: Fit Finlay v. Johnny Nitro

6 matches down - 2 left.

Back to the WWF - recall, on the Road to XXIII, we met Eddie Little (Umaga) - Little is our Kimbo Slice, he was launched in viral internet videos of his streetfighting in late '06, building as much of a following as we can generate - although he was barely controllable, he entered as Steamboat's man against Dusty's man, Monte Brown, in the winner gets a contract match at XXIII -- Little went over, signed the contract - showed contempt for the entire process.

Little's a cross between Kimbo Slice and the Necro Butcher - I see him wrestling in a wifebeater, jeans and no shoes - unleashing rage on his opponents - Little is nicknamed "The Juggernaut" by Taz - and will now be The Juggernaut Eddie Little, and probably, eventually, just The Juggernaut.

Taz is an interesting comparison, actually - part of his gimmick was he was supposed to be a legit badass, legit miserable, mean, a guy who would fuck you up if you crossed him -- I'd like stories leaked to the sheets about how Little is out of control - he's scary, dangerous, legit fucked up - how he gets into locker room fights, how he beat the hell out of the Brooklyn Brawler. That kinda thing.

The storyline is he v. Steamboat; sometimes, Little no shows RAW. Or he gets DQ'd by beating up a referee - or Howard Finkel. Steamboat threatens to fire him, Little doesn't care - I'M THE JUGGERNAUT, BITCH!! - becomes his catchprase.

Steamboat decides to make him wrestle twice at Summer Slam - that he's going to earn his money on PPV. And he's going to wrestle against Cena and Kennedy. Cena and Kennedy have been a bottom card babyface tag act; Cena's a former tag champ, with Orton - but as Orton's gone on to win the IC, Cena's been struggling.

Steamboat brings them into the office, tells them that this is a very competitive time in the WWF, there's a whole universe of talented young wrestlers - and for whatever reason, the two of them aren't getting it done.

So he says there's an ultimatum. If they can't beat Little at Summer Slam, he's going to look hard at trading them away. He doesn't know if there's room for them on Monday nights anymore.

And that's the program - Cena and Kennedy are fighting for their jobs, taking on Little in two separate singles matches at Summer Slam - Steamboat hoping to light a fire under the young wrestlers - and maybe teach Little a lesson.

Coming in August from East Rutherford is Summer Slam 2007:

1. ECW CHAMPIONSHIP: CM PUNK (w/Maria) v. PAUL LONDON

2. WWF CHAMPIONSHIP: BOOKER T. v. REY MYSTERIO

3. NWA CHAMPIONSHIP: FIT FINLAY (w/Malenko) v. JOHNNY NITRO (w/Melina)

4. WORLDWIDE TITLES: RANDY ORTON V. BRIAN KENDRICK

5. UNIFIED TAG TITLES: LWO:CHAVO GUERRERO/CARLITO COLON (w/Crazy) v. S&S THE SUPERSTAR LANCE CADE/THE SIDEKICK TREVOR MURDOCH

6. THE JUGGERNAUT EDDIE LITTLE v. JOHN CENA

7. THE JUGGERNAUT EDDIE LITTLE v. KEN KENNEDY

8. PAREJAS INCREIBLES: PUNK/LONDON V. ORTON/KENDRICK

Call your cable company! We keep building.

Road to Summer Slam 2007, Part 3

Part 2 is here.

We’re a month away from Summer Slam 2007 from East Rutherford; three matches already set up – the main event:

ECW Title: CM PUNK V. PAUL LONDON

The Worldwide Titles:

RANDY ORTON V. BRIAN KENDRICK

And the Summer Slam tradition, perejas increibles PUNK/LONDON V. ORTON/KENDRICK.

5 more to go.

The tag title program most of the summer is the new tag champs coming out of XXIII, the now babyfaced LWO (Carlito, Chavo, w/ Crazy as the 3rd man) against Heat (Montel Porter, Elijah Burke). It begins when Steamboat announces that the legendary Rey Mysterio, a Triple Crown Champion, will be returning after a year on the shelf (he was taken out by Lashley with the Dominator through the table at Summer Slam 06, that was the match where Flair won the Unified Title, which he then dropped to Punk at Survivor Series 06, Punk threw down the WWF and NWA belts, which is what ended the 51% Solution and broke up the company into three pieces) to challenge Booker T for the WWF Championship.

There will be subtle (by the announce and Steamboat) and then not subtle suggestions that Rey is coming to reclaim his belt, that while it was an incredible story that Booker, a career midcarder really, was able to beat Edge at the Rumble and then the previously unbeaten Lashley at XXIII top become the first ever African-American World Heavyweight Champion – that he just isn’t in the class of Rey Mysterio, an all time elite wrestler, a WWF legend.

This will be prodded then by the LWO – who will do some promos cheerleading for Rey – saying that after Summer Slam, the Lation Nation will have totally taken control of the WWF, they will still be tag champs – and obviously Mysterio will be WWF champ.

That draws the ire of Heat as Booker’s protégées – add in some partisan minority fanbases and you get your summer. Tag matches and singles matches among all 5 guys.

Two matters of note in that program: Heat begins to act heelish, taking shortcuts – both because the feud presents them as not as seasoned as the LWO, still young, still a little green – and because they think they’re taking Book’s advice. Recall, Porter loved him some Harlem Heat, and Book would take some shortcuts. And part of this year that we’ve watched Book give advice to Porter and Burke (and, in the storyline, the years that Book’s been training them in Houston, not to mention the years in prison where Book sent tapes and wrote letters to Porter) has involved Book telling them that you gotta press the advantage, take the openings, feel weakness – even when (you may recall) it was time for Book to leave his own brother behind to come to New York to wrestle for the WWF Title against Kurt Angle, he had to do what was best for him.

So – Book, now the veteran babyface symbol of his people WWF Champ takes umbrage at the heel tactics used by Porter and Burke – they’re a little surprised – and Porter eventually responds with video proof that Book’s occasionally gone heel himself. Book is clear, clear that he learned from his mistakes – that he wouldn’t be where he is today wrestling like that – but maybe there’s a little pride as his guys begin to grow up – maybe.

All of that builds the program – getting us to the climax – whenever it is that Lashley walks, his goodbye job has to be to Rey. Lashley disappears after Mania – then returns unannounced, say to bury Crazy when he’s separate from the LWO (maybe they’re already gone, say they were in a parking lot brawl with Heat) Lashley’s as furious as he can be, cutting his own promo – saying that if Mysterio is healthy enough to come back at Summer Slam – he’s healthy enough to come back next week on RAW. He’s still the Executioner, he’s ended careers – and he will end Mysterio’s if he has the guts to face him one on one.

So – Rey comes back early – beats Lashley on RAW – Lashley attacks postmatch – cheapshotting Rey – the LWO comes out for the face save – but they never make it to the ring, attacked by…

Well, we haven’t met that team yet – that’s next –

Lashley’s all over Rey – setting up the table for the Dominator – the announce losing their minds – when Book does the run in.

Book with the face save – he battles Lashley back – Rey recovers for the doubleteam, doing all the finishing moves they can do to definitively bury Lashley – the two opponents for the WWF Title working together to end the Executioner. They do a long Hogan like postmatch thing for the fans, in my head, there’s a good, hot battle between the Hispanic and African-American WWF fans that builds over the summer of ’07, the LWO obviously is doing an explicitly Latino pride gimmick, and with Book’s title push from Rumble on being about the quest to be the first Black champion, there is race consciousness abounding. A summer of LWO and Heat – building to the return of an icon like Mysterio – could get hot, and that would be excellent.

Because Heat’s gonna enter the ring now – Book introduces them to Rey – it’s a thing, Rey’s a legend after all, he’s won the Triple Crown – Burke will shake Rey’s hand as the segment is clearly over and it’s just time for a commercial- until Porter gonna takes out Mysterio’s knee.

Porter stomps Rey out – Book and Burke are shocked – they pull Porter away – Porter is excited – Porter’s all amped up – eventually, we’ll hear from Porter the explanation that he was seizing the advantage – now, Book will be going up against an injured, weakened Mysterio at Summer Slam, giving him a better chance to keep his strap – but Book isn’t hearing it at all – and right now, in the ring – with Porter not stopping his attack on Rey – with the LWO gone, attacked by –

Well, we haven’t met them yet –

Book has to get physical to stop Porter – Book takes one shot at Porter – a slap to draw him back – and that’s the second shock in the ring – the slap stops Porter cold – Porter and Burke staring wide eyed at Book – Book really verbally ripping into Porter right in the middle of the ring. Book yells at Burke to get Porter out of there – he does, ending the segment.

That gets to the blowoff to Heat/LWO, a No DQ tag title match on RAW – with Crazy still out, it will be Book and Mysterio in the corners of the other teams. Burke and Porter are all tension – Burke’s caught in the middle between Book and Porter, Book obviously objects to Porter’s heelishness, particularly the unprovoked attack on the legendary Mysterio – Porter is clearly seething, he was slapped by Book in the ring – and really, all he was trying to do was help.

Carlito and Chavo of course are looking for some payback for Porter’s attack on Rey.

So, it’s full on out of control, with the LWO, who had always been heels, always been aggressive, on the wrong side of too many asskickings recently – and they spill Heat’s blood all over the ring, at one point, they’ve got Porter isolated and are full on assaulting with some sharp, awful object – barbed wire or glass or something bad – when Book saves – Book’s save of Porter leads to Rey’s save of LWO – and that means Book and Rey are full on brawling in the middle of the ring.

Chavo gets the fall on Burke, ending the match – LWO will then be attacked by…

Well, we haven’t gotten to them yet.

But – that will set up the WWF Title match – Booker T v. Rey Mysterio – giving us 4 matches.

And it sets up the tag title, LWO defending against…well, not Heat – that feud’s blown off and they have injuries to sell – but LWO defending against the team that’s attacked them twice – a team from the NWA – we’ll get to that team along with the NWA Title match and the two other singles matches on the card (spoiler alert – one man’s wrestling in each of those two matches) in the next installment on the Road to Summer Slam 2007.