Unforgiven (2007)

Unforgiven (2007)

Promotional poster featuring The Undertaker
Theme
song(s)		 "Rise Today" by Alter Bridge[1]
Information
Promotion World Wrestling Entertainment
Date September 16, 2007
Attendance 12,000[2]
Venue FedExForum
City Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Pay-per-view chronology

SummerSlam (2007) Unforgiven (2007) No Mercy (2007)
Unforgiven chronology

Unforgiven (2006) Unforgiven (2007) Unforgiven (2008)

Unforgiven (2007) was the tenth annual Unforgiven pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It took place on September 16, 2007, from the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands.

The main match on the SmackDown brand was The Undertaker versus Mark Henry, which Undertaker won by pinfall after executing a Last Ride.[3] The predominant match on the Raw brand was John Cena versus Randy Orton for the WWE Championship; Cena lost the match by disqualification but retained the title.[3] The primary match on the ECW brand was CM Punk versus Elijah Burke for the ECW Championship, which Punk won after pinning Burke with a rolling cradle.[3] The featured matches on the undercard included The Great Khali versus Batista versus Rey Mysterio in a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship and Triple H versus Carlito in a match where Carlito could not be disqualified.[3]

The event had 210,000 buys, down from the Unforgiven 2006 figure of 289,000 buys.[4]

Background

The main feud heading into Unforgiven on the SmackDown brand was between The Undertaker and Mark Henry. Their rivalry started in early 2006 when Henry's interference caused Undertaker to lose a match for the World Heavyweight Championship against Kurt Angle.[5] This culminated in a Casket match at WrestleMania 22 which Undertaker won, extending his WrestleMania winning streak to 14–0.[6] On the May 11, 2007 episode of SmackDown, Henry, who made his return from an injury he sustained in mid-2006, assaulted The Undertaker after Undertaker had retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Batista in a Steel Cage match.[7] Following the assault, Edge cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to defeat Undertaker and win the World Heavyweight Championship.[7][8] As a result, Undertaker was out of action for four months.[7][8] In August, vignettes started airing about Undertaker's return and his match with Henry at Unforgiven.[9][10][11]

John Cena as WWE Champion

The main feud on the Raw brand was between John Cena and Randy Orton for the WWE Championship. Cena had retained the title against Orton at SummerSlam.[12] The following night on Raw, Orton demanded a rematch for the title, but his request was declined by General Manager William Regal.[13] Orton proceeded his demands to Mr. McMahon, who also refused to give him a rematch unless he proved himself.[13] That night, Orton interfered in Cena's match by assaulting Cena and kicking Cena's father, who was at ringside, in the head.[14] The following week, Orton was granted a title rematch against Cena at Unforgiven.[15]

The main feud on the ECW brand was between CM Punk and Elijah Burke over the ECW Championship. The rivalry started on the September 11, 2007 episode of ECW on Sci Fi, when Burke became the number one contender to the title.[16] After the fact was revealed, Punk dropkicked Burke. Later that same night, Punk teamed up with Stevie Richards in the main event against Burke and Kevin Thorn, which saw Punk and Richards win the match.[16]

The secondary feud on the SmackDown brand was between The Great Khali, Batista and Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship. After Batista was unable to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Khali at SummerSlam,[17] he participated in a tournament in which he lost to Mysterio, the eventual winner. As a result, Mysterio got a title shot against Khali at Unforgiven.[18] On the September 7, 2007 episode of SmackDown, after Mysterio defeated Chavo Guerrero in an "I Quit" match, Khali put Mysterio in a Khali Vise Grip. Batista made the save, and as a result, he was made a part of the match, making it a Triple Threat match at Unforgiven.[19]

Event

Other on-screen talent[20]
Role: Name:
Commentator Jim Ross (Raw)
Jerry Lawler (Raw)
Michael Cole (SmackDown!)
John "Bradshaw" Layfield (SmackDown!)
Tazz (ECW)
Joey Styles (ECW)
Carlos Cabrera (Spanish)
Hugo Savinovich (Spanish)
Interviewer Todd Grisham
Maria Kanellis
Ring announcer Lilian Garcia (Raw)
Tony Chimel (SmackDown!)
Justin Roberts (ECW)
Referee Scott Armstrong
Jim Korderas
Marty Elias
Chad Patton
Mickie Henson
John Cone
Mike Chioda
Charles Robinson

Before the event began, Kane defeated Kenny Dykstra in a dark match.[21]

Preliminary matches

The first match was for the ECW Championship between CM Punk and Elijah Burke. Punk won the match after pinning Burke with a rolling cradle. As a result, Punk retained the ECW Championship.[3]

Next was a match for the WWE Tag Team Championship between Matt Hardy and Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) against Deuce 'n Domino, who dominated early in the match and mocked the champions because of their rivalry over the WWE United States Championship, which MVP held. Deuce N' Domino took the advantage of Hardy and MVP's fight with each other and isolated Hardy. Hardy tossed MVP out of the ring and delivered a Twist of Fate to Deuce followed by a pinfall victory. As a result, MVP and Matt Hardy retained the WWE Tag Team Championship.[22]

The third match was between Triple H and Carlito in which Carlito could not be disqualified. Carlito took advantage of the situation as he could use any weapon. He attacked Triple H several times with steel chairs, and threw powder in his eyes. With the referee distracted, a blinded Triple H struck Carlito with a low blow followed by a Pedigree, leading to Triple H pinning Carlito to win the match.[3]

The next match was for the WWE Women's Championship between Candice Michelle and Beth Phoenix. Phoenix was in control early in the match. When Phoenix had Candice on her shoulders, Candice reversed the attack and pinned Phoenix with a crucifix. As a result, Michelle won the match, and retained the WWE Women's Championship.[23]

Main event matches

The fifth match was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship between The Great Khali, Batista and Rey Mysterio. Late in the match, Mysterio performed a 619 onto Khali, and attempted to score the pinfall. Batista, however, pulled Mysterio off of Khali and threw him out of the ring. Batista picked Khali up and delivered a spinebuster. Batista then pinned Khali to win the match. As a result, Batista became the new World Heavyweight Champion.[24]

The following match was for the World Tag Team Championship between the team of Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch and the team of Paul London and Brian Kendrick. Cade and Murdoch had the advantage over London and Kendrick early on. At one point, Murdoch pulled Kendrick outside of the ring, over the top rope, and threw him into Cade, who performed a sitout spinebuster onto Kendrick. London tried to help his partner until Cade superplexed him over the top rope. Murdoch took the advantage and pinned Kendrick for the win. As a result, Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch retained the World Tag Team Championship.[25]

The seventh match was for the WWE Championship between John Cena and Randy Orton. Cena entered the ring with rage and started beating on Orton until Orton struck Cena down. Orton covered Cena, but he could only get a two count. Cena angrily lost his control and started beating Orton. The referee Mike Chioda tried to stop Cena from continuously punching Orton, but Cena continued and was disqualified. Therefore, Orton won the match, but not the title, because a title changes hands only by pinfall or submission. As a result, John Cena retained the WWE Championship. Outside the ring, Cena put Orton in the STFU while Cena's father kicked in the head of Orton in the same way as Orton had kicked in his head on a previous episode of Raw.[14] After the match, Jonathan Coachman booked John Cena in a Last Man Standing match against Orton for the WWE Championship at No Mercy.[3]

The main event was between The Undertaker and Mark Henry. During the match, Henry hit Undertaker with a series of splashes and superplexes, but Undertaker was able to continue fighting in the match. Henry put Undertaker in the bear hug but Undertaker broke the hold. In the end, Undertaker delivered a Last Ride to Henry from the top rope. Undertaker then pinned Henry to win the match.[3]

Aftermath

Randy Orton, who was awarded the vacant WWE Championship at No Mercy

Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch continued to feud with Paul London and Brian Kendrick while Jeff Hardy got involved in a rivalry with Mr. Kennedy. At No Mercy, London and Kendrick teamed up with Hardy to take on the team of Cade, Murdoch and Kennedy in a six-man tag team match. Cade, Murdoch and Kennedy won the match after Kennedy delivered a Green Bay Plunge to London.[26] On the September 17 episode of Raw, Candice Michelle and Mickie James defeated Melina and Jillian in a tag team match. Beth Phoenix was at ringside during the match[27] At No Mercy, Candice and Phoenix had a rematch for the Women's Championship, which Phoenix won to capture the title.[28][29]

On the September 18 episode of ECW on Sci Fi, General Manager Armando Estrada announced an "Elimination Chase" to determine the number one contender for the ECW Championship at No Mercy. The first match involved Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn, Tommy Dreamer and Stevie Richards. Burke eliminated Richards from the Elimination Chase after pinning him.[30] In the second round, which was held on the September 25 episode of ECW on Sci Fi, Burke went on to eliminate Kevin Thorn in a Triple Threat match after pinning him.[31] On the October 2 episode of ECW on Sci Fi, Tommy Dreamer and Elijah Burke faced each other in the final match of the tournament. Dreamer won the final match after a DDT and was made the number one contender for the title until Estrada came and said that Elimination Chase was not over. He announced that Big Daddy V would be the final man in the Elimination Chase. Big Daddy V defeated Dreamer and became the number one contender to the ECW Championship.[32] At No Mercy, CM Punk defended the ECW Championship against Big Daddy V and retained the title after Big Daddy V got disqualified.[33]

On the September 21 episode of SmackDown, Michael Cole interviewed Rey Mysterio until John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) said that he would conduct the interview instead. JBL claimed that he was the best wrestler ever and insulted Mysterio. Mysterio attacked JBL and challenged him to a fight until JBL introduced Finlay as Mysterio's opponent. Finlay attacked Mysterio with a shillelagh, which started a feud between the two.[34] Finlay and Mysterio faced each other at No Mercy in a match which was fought to no contest.[35] Also on the September 21 episode of SmackDown, the new World Heavyweight Champion Batista faced Mark Henry in a non-title match which Batista won by disqualification. Henry was disqualified after The Great Khali interfered and attacked Batista. After the match, Khali performed a Khali Vise Grip on Batista and challenged him to a Punjabi Prison match for the World Heavyweight Championship.[36] At No Mercy, the two faced each other in a Punjabi Prison match for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Batista won to retain the title.[37]

John Cena and Randy Orton continued their feud over the WWE Championship, as the two were scheduled to compete in a Last Man Standing match for the title. The match, however, never occurred. On the October 1 episode of Raw, Cena defeated Mr. Kennedy in a non-title match. After the match, as a part of the storyline, Orton attacked Cena and then counted to ten, which Cena was unable to answer to.[38] Cena was legitimately injured in the match, and as a result, the following night on ECW on Sci Fi, Mr. McMahon vacated the WWE Championship because Cena's right pectoral tendon was legitimately torn while executing a hip toss during his match with Kennedy.[32][39] At No Mercy, Mr. McMahon entered the ring and said that a new WWE Champion was to be crowned, and Orton was crowned as champion,[26][40] but he was challenged by Triple H for the title on the spot.[40] Triple H, however, defeated Orton to win the WWE Championship,[41][42] but later that same night, Triple H lost the title to Orton back in a Last Man Standing match after a title defense against Umaga, who he was booked to face in a standard wrestling match.[43][44][45]

Results

No. Results[3] Stipulations Times
1D Kane defeated Kenny Dykstra[21] Singles match Unknown
2 CM Punk (c) defeated Elijah Burke Singles match for the ECW Championship 11:52
3 Matt Hardy and Montel Vontavious Porter (c) defeated Deuce 'n Domino (with Cherry) Tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship 09:19
4 Triple H defeated Carlito Singles match in which Carlito could not be disqualified 10:40
5 Candice Michelle (c) defeated Beth Phoenix Singles match for the WWE Women's Championship 07:17
6 Batista defeated Rey Mysterio and The Great Khali (c) (with Ranjin Singh) Triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship 08:01
7 Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch (c) defeated Paul London and Brian Kendrick Tag team match for the World Tag Team Championship 11:48
8 Randy Orton defeated John Cena (c) by disqualification Singles match for the WWE Championship 07:22
9 The Undertaker defeated Mark Henry Singles match 11:25
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • D – indicates the match was a dark match

References

  1. ↑ "Unforgiven 2007 results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved September 16, 2007.
  2. ↑ "Unforgiven results". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Martin, Adam (September 16, 2007). "Unforgiven PPV Results – 9/16 – Memphis, TN (Return of Undertaker)". WrestleView. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  4. ↑ "WWE Reports 2007 Third Quarter Results" (PDF). World Wrestling Entertainment. November 1, 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
  5. ↑ "World's Strongest Splash". World Wrestling Entertainment. March 3, 2006. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  6. ↑ Tylwalk, Nick; Plummer, Dale (April 15, 2007). "Undertaker the champ, McMahon bald". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Starr, Noah (May 11, 2007). "In with the new". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Edge's first World Heavyweight Championship reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  9. ↑ "SmackDown! results – August 17, 2007". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
  10. ↑ "SmackDown! results – August 24, 2007". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
  11. ↑ "SmackDown! results – August 31, 2007". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
  12. ↑ Robinson, Bryan (August 26, 2007). "Champ's legend lives on". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 McAvennie, Mike (August 29, 2007). "Should Cena step up... or step down". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Robinson, Bryan (August 27, 2007). "Cena's father taken to medical facility for tests". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  15. ↑ "RAW results – September 3, 2007". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Tello, Craig (September 11, 2007). "Who's the future?". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  17. ↑ Dee, Louie (August 26, 2007). "Punjabi robbery". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  18. ↑ McAvennie, Mike (August 31, 2007). "Mysterio becomes top "David" against World Champion "Goliath"". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  19. ↑ McAvennie, Mike (September 7, 2007). "And Batista makes three". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  20. ↑ Unforgiven (2007) (DVD). WWE Home Video. 2007.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Unforgiven 2007 results". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  22. ↑ Difino, Lennie (September 16, 2007). "Keep on Ballin'". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on November 20, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  23. ↑ Atkins, Greg (September 16, 2007). "No glory for the Glamazon". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on November 20, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  24. ↑ "Batista's third World Heavyweight Championship reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  25. ↑ Clayton, Corey (September 16, 2007). "The blue-collar boys retain the titles". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on November 11, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Bishop, Matt (October 8, 2007). "Orton-HHH steal No Mercy – twice". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  27. ↑ Clayton, Corey (September 17, 2007). "Glamazon on the warpath". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  28. ↑ Atkins, Greg (October 7, 2007). "Phoenix Rises". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  29. ↑ "Beth Phoenix's first Women's Championship reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  30. ↑ Tello, Craig (September 18, 2007). "The chase is on". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 26, 2007.
  31. ↑ Tello, Craig (September 25, 2007). "Championship chasers". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 26, 2007.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Tello, Craig (October 2, 2007). "The Chase is over". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 26, 2007.
  33. ↑ Rote, Andrew (October 7, 2007). "CM Punk gets a tough win". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 26, 2007.
  34. ↑ Difino, Lennie (September 21, 2007). "Beyond the matrimony". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  35. ↑ Dee, Louie (October 7, 2007). "Irish eyes are lying". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  36. ↑ Difino, Lennie (September 21, 2007). "The Great Khali grasps at the revenge". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  37. ↑ McAvennie, Mike (October 7, 2007). "Batista's Punjabi Prison break". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  38. ↑ Robinson, Bryan (October 1, 2007). "A glimpse into the future?". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  39. ↑ "ECW results – October 2, 2007". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Robinson, Bryan (October 7, 2007). "Orton awarded World Wrestling Entertainment Championship, but challenged by The Game". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  41. ↑ Robinson, Bryan (October 7, 2007). "King of Kings reigns supreme again". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  42. ↑ "Triple H's eleven WWE Championship reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  43. ↑ Robinson, Bryan (October 7, 2007). "Championship hot potato: Legend Killer's time comes after all". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  44. ↑ "Randy Orton's second WWE Championship reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  45. ↑ Robinson, Bryan (October 7, 2007). "The Game avoids a Samoan maiming". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved November 27, 2007.

External links