WWE Unforgiven 2007

[Mitch Henessey]

Date- September 16, 2007

Attendance- 12,000

Venue- FedEx Forum

City- Memphis, Tennessee

Commentators:

Raw- Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross

Smackdown- Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

ECW- Joey Styles, Tazz
​

This is the first pay per view after Summerslam. Triple H has just made his big return after being on the shelf with his second major quad tear. John Cena is nearing the end of his very lengthy WWE Championship reign, and unfortunately, The Great Khali is still the World Heavyweight Champion.


CM Punk(Champion) VS Elijah Burke- ECW Championship

Punk just finished up a long feud with John Morrison before this match. He managed to finally win the title on an episode of ECW after four months, and he’s opening the show with his first pay per view title defense….

Burke gets a little bit too cocky towards the end, as he slaps Punk in the face while he’s laying on the ground. Punk quickly grabs Burke. He catches him in a roll up, and he gets the three count for the win. I thought this was a damn good match. This was very competitive. These two went back and forth during the entire match, there were a lot of hard hitting moves, and Pope used some ring psychology as he worked on Punk’s back in this match. Seeing Punk as a face again was kind of weird, because his heel work in WWE over the past couple of years has been so impressive. He did get a nice pop when he pinned Pope, but still, it just seems so strange seeing him as good guy here. This was a great way to kick off the show.

Matt Hardy & MVP(Champions) VS Deuce ‘N Domino/With Cherry- WWE Tag Team Championships

So we’re right in the middle of the “I’m better than you!” MVP/Matt Hardy feud here. Hardy is seeing some spotlight, and MVP is also the US Champion. Before this pay per view, Matt and MVP won the Tag Team Titles from Deuce ‘N Domino on an episode of Smackdown. Hardy did all of the work during the match, but MVP came in at the very end of the match to capitalize on Hardy’s hard work, as he tossed Matt out of the ring, and he stole the pinfall to win the gold. This is the rematch, and Deuce ‘N Domino are looking to win their gold back.

MVP goes for his Ballin’ elbow drop on Deuce. He hits it, but MVP doesn’t know Matt made a blind tag. Matt uses MVP as a weapon, as he throws him into Domino. Domino flies off of the apron. Matt hits the Twist Of Fate, and the odd couple retains the gold. After the match, Matt takes credit for the win. He throws the US Championship at MVP, and he walks away with both tag belts. Meh. This match was okay. Everything that happened here was pretty basic, and this was just another way to advance the MVP/Matt Hardy feud. They spent the entire match mocking each other, and they were constantly trying to show each other up. I never really cared for this feud. These two never had a memorable match together, and this feud was very mediocre. WWE put a lot of time and effort into this feud, but it was a failure is you ask me.

A WWE Mobile interview with Rey Mysterio is shown. He talks about being the underdog. He says nobody gave him a chance in the World Heavyweight championship match at Wrestlemania 22, but he reminds us how he proved all of his doubters wrong.

Triple H VS Carlito- No DQ For Carlito Only

Carltio throws powder in Triple H’s eyes. Carltio tries to clock HHH with a chair, but HHH counters with a spinebuster. HHH wants to use the chair, but the ref takes it from him. The ref is trying to put away the chair, and his back is turned to the ring, so of course he can’t see what’s going on. HHH counters Carlito’s attempted garbage can shot with a low blow. HHH hits The Pedigree, and he picks up the win. This was a pretty solid match. HHH used some psychology, as he worked on his opponent’s back in this match. Carlito made sure to take advantage of the NO DQ stipulation, as he threw everything at Triple H. Carlito used the ring bell, TV cables, a garbage can, and powder in this match, but Triple H made sure to cut corners in this match. He locked in the abdominal stretch, and he managed to hold the ropes without getting caught by the ref. Triple H also made sure to get in some cheap shots while he had Carltio on the outside. “Trying to get Carlito back in the ring” was his excuse. Triple H used some sneaky tactics in this match, we saw a nice little game of cat and mouse, and I think it worked well here.

Maria interviews Batista backstage, Batista starts off by flirting with Maria. He says he it’s every man for himself tonight. He says he will leave Unforgiven a three time World Heavyweight Champion.

Candice Michelle(Champion) VS Beth Phoenix- Women’s Championship

Beth has been tearing through the Women’s division as a dominant heel during this time, and she has her sights set on WWE Women’s Champion Candice Michele.

Beth is going for a slam. She slings Candice on her shoulders, but the Champ is able to slide down her back. She gets a roll up for the win. Candice quickly escapes from the ring with her Championship, as a furious Glamazon looks on. Ugh, I couldn’t get into this. Beth dominated the bulk of the match, and Candice managed to get in a few shots here and there. I understand they were going for the “Candice has to overcome the big bully” angle here, but this match wasn’t good. It was very awkward, the pace was kind of sluggish, and this one never got into rhythm. To tell you the truth, I was never a fan of Candice wearing any type of gold. She was just a pretty face who posed in Playboy. She’s also one of those Divas who will be forgotten about as time goes on, because besides being in Playboy, she really never did anything memorable.

We’re backstage with The Great Khali and Ranjin Singh. Josh Mathews is conducting the interview. Ranjin translates for Khali. He pulls out a cantaloupe. The cantaloupe is supposed to represent Mysterio’s head. Khali places one of Mysterio’s masks on the cantaloupe. He crushes it with the Vise Grip. Khali sends the same message to Batista by crushing a watermelon. Singh ends the interview by chanting “Khali!Khali!.”

Rey Mysterio VS Batista VS The Great Khali(Champion) With Ranjin Singh- World Heavyweight Championship

This match was supposed to be Rey VS Khali one on one, but Batista was added to the match later on.

Mysterio hits a 619 on Batista, and then he clocks Khali on the shoulder with the same move. Rey hits the Seated Senton on Khali, but Batista is back up. He powerbombs Mysterio on Khali. Khali and Mysterio rise to their feet. Batista has to chose who he will go after. After a brief moment of hesitation, Batista throws Mysterio to the outside of the ring, and he delivers a spinebuster to Khali. Batista picks up the three count, and we have a new World Heavyweight Champion. This match was pretty decent. Of course Batista and Rey had to team up to take out the scary giant. Rey tried be sneaky, as he caught Batista in a roll up, and then we saw the “But..but…you’re supposed to be my friend!” look on Batista’s face, and the temporary truce was broken. Things really picked up towards the end. Batista and Rey provided some fast paced action, and I was really happy to see Khali’s WHC reign end. His matches weren’t worth remembering, and it just felt like WWE wanted to throw a World Championship on “the big guy.” His reign as WHC was very lackluster, and I was glad to see it end again.

A video package of the “Who is Vince McMahon’s Bastard Son?” storyline is shown. It was Hornswoggle. Ugh, terrible, terrible storyline WWE.

We’re backstage again. Triple H congratulates Batista on his World Title win. He says “It’s one thing to win it, but it’s another thing to keep it.”

Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch (Champions) VS Paul London & Brian Kendrick- World Tag Team Championship

Cade hits his sit down spinebuster on Kednrick. London tries to come in for a save, but Cade tosses him to the outside. Murdoch takes advantage of a fallen Kendrick, and he gets the pinfall for the win. This was a pretty good match. There was plenty of action here, and the team work and chemistry from both teams was amazing. This match was very competitive, and there were times where I thought London and Kendrick had a serious chance of winning, because there were a good amount of near falls in this one. London and Kendrick were an exciting tag team. They always brought tons of energy to their matches, and Cade and Murdoch worked very well together.

A video package for The Condemned is shown, and now I’m reminded why I hate WWE Films so much.

John Cena(Champion) VS Randy Orton- WWE Championship

Orton lost to Cena at Summerslam, but he wouldn’t go away quietly. Orton whined to Raw GM William Regal about a rematch, but he was denied. Orton pleads his case to Vince McMahon, and McMahon tells Orton he must show him how much the WWE Championship means to him. Orton really wanted his rematch, so he decided to punt John Cena’s father. Cena went insane. He attacked Raw’s GM, William Regal, and he made sure to vent his frustrations to Vince McMahon. Cena’s Dad is at ringside for this one.

Cena gets Orton in the corner. He blasts him with a flurry of punches. The ref tries to stop Cena, but John refuses to listen, as he constantly tosses Mike Chioda to the side. Cena is in a rage, so the ref has no choice. He calls for the bell, and Orton wins this one via DQ. WOW. The crowd is really PISSED. Hmmm, I’m not to sure about this ending. The build for this match was great, and Cena did an awesome job of showing his anger, as he was literally shaking with rage when the match started. Cena’s psychotic facial expressions were also golden. I understand Randy Orton attacked Cena’s father. I understand Cena wanted revenge in the worst way, but did we really need to see a DQ here? This was a pay per view match with an awesome build, and I’m sure everyone wanted these two tear each other apart. As far as the match goes, nothing special happened. This match was pretty short, and Cena just beat the shit out of Orton most of the time. The Viper got a few shots in here and there, but Cena really did dominate this one.

After the match, Orton goes for Cena’s Dad again. He throws him to the floor. Orton tries to go for another punt, but Cena cuts him off. Cena locks on the STFU, and his Dad gets revenge by punting Orton.

We’re backstage. Jonathan Coachman is yelling at Cena’s Dad. Coachman says Orton will get his rematch. It will be a Last Man Standing match. Coach is now the interim GM, because Cena went ape shit, as he destroyed Regal when the rematch for this pay per view was announced. Coachman continues to yell at Mr. Cena, but John steps in. He throws Coachman to the floor, and Cena walks away with his Dad.

The Undertaker VS Mark Henry

We’re here because of Henry’s viscous attack on The Deadman. The beat down took place months before this pay per view, and it occurred while Taker was still World Heavyweight Champion. The Deadman had just finished a grueling steel cage match with Batista. Mark Henry came out, and he managed to beat the piss out of Taker. This allowed Edge to come down. He cashed in the MITB briefcase he won from Mr. Kennedy to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. Taker lost the Championship, and he was carried away by Druids after the match. In real life, Taker had to take time off to recover from a biceps tear.

The Deadman gets his usual long and extravagant return style entrance here. Taker is still angry, and he’s ready for revenge.

Henry gets Taker in the corner. The big man mounts Taker, but before he can start his attack, Taker grabs Henry, and he hits a Last Ride powerbomb to win the match. This was a pretty decent match. This one was pretty physical, as both men dished out a good amount of punishment, but this match never got into a rhythm, and it did feel like this one was dragging along at times. Although, you could tell the time off did wonders for Taker here. He was quick on his feet, in shape, and he did look sharp in the ring. Undertaker VS Mark Henry might not sound like the most enticing main event, but I can understand why WWE did this. They wanted to send the crowd home happy, and having Taker win in the main event during his big return was a perfect way to do that. The crowd seemed to be really ticked off at the Cena/Orton decision, but Taker got a huge pop when he scored the pinfall, so the fans didn’t go home too bitter.

Overall Show Rating 6/10: This was a pretty decent show. None of the matches were really great or memorable, but we did get see Undertaker make another one of his big returns here. 2007 was a good year for The Deadman. He was able to win the Royal Rumble and he defeated Batista for the WHC at Wrestlemania. The Orton/Cena stuff would be put on hold for a while, because Cena would suffer a torn pectoral muscle shortly after this pay per view. The injury would keep him on the shelf for a while, but he would go on to make a HUGE return at the 2008 Royal Rumble. Unforgiven 2007 wasn’t a terrible show, but there’s nothing worth remembering from this card.