ECW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE MATCH:
CM Punk(c) v. Elijah Burke
BO'S PREDICTION:
Morrison winning the belt was an audible after Chris Benoit didn’t make his last PPV and he was staring to get over with his new personality but he was one of the first people suspended. It was inevitable that Punk was going to end up with the belt but their feud ended when Morrison had to go away for a while. The Punk/Burke dynamic was pushed hard during the short lived New Breed faction and the two should put on a great match if given enough time. I would doubt that Punk drops the strap here but if the two are allowed 20 minutes or so this could be the singles match of the night.

BO'S REVIEW: 
The tendency is to start the show off with a hot match and the two did their best to set the tone for the show. With the Morrison suspension the company went back to the program between Burke and Punk because the feud worked well. Both have a great combination of traditional wrestling and MMA training. Burke was an amateur boxer and Punk has shown an interest in going into MMA after his wrestling career is over. Burke debuted a sort of reverse Boston Crab move here and spent a great deal of time working on Punk's back. Burke got pinned with an inside cradle out of nowhere and Punk kept the belt to Burke's disbelief. With this being the only ECW match on the card Tazz and Joey Styles watched the rest of the show from some of the best seats in the house. .

WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
MVP/Matt Hardy (c) v. Deuce/Domino
BO'S PREDICTION:
The pairing up of Matt Hardy and MVP is one of the best angles on not only Smackdown but the WWE. Both work hard at their craft and both have a special charisma that makes every time the two interact something worth watching. Now if you want to know why the two are together aside from the fact that paring up enemies is a tried and true angle you have the fact that MVP isn’t completely cleared from his heart issue and the fact that there aren’t any teams on the roster ready. The Major Brothers have been mostly forgotten and the Daltons haven’t wrestled on TV yet. So Deuce & Domino are the only real tag team on the roster and they aren’t that good right now and may never be.

BO'S REVIEW: 
We actually saw MVP without his shirt on Friday's taped Smackdown and here he came out first with his outfit undone. MVP and Matt spent time imitating each other's mannerisms but doing so didn't come off as comedy as much as it should have. MVP did the tried and true 'walk away from my partner' bit before Matt was nailed with a two man top rope suplex. He returned and got back in the match but was hard tagged by Matt. Matt then tossed MVP into the out of the ring Domino then hit Deuce with the twist of fate for the win. Unlike his partner Deuce took the move right and got his knees out to be pinned. Post match Matt draped himself with all three belts (tag and US strap) then put one on the disbelieving MVP who took crap from Matt as he sat in the ring. It's a matter of time before the two lose the belts and get back into a fight for the US strap but this is a pretty entertaining tag team. This was followed by the video interview with Rey Mysterio about his match with Khali/Batista.

Triple H v. Carlito (Carlito cannot be disqualified but HHH can be)
BO'S PREDICTION:
Freed from booking hell with a program that isn’t going to get him over one bit since HHH would actually have to want to lose to him, Carlito has new hair and can probably work rings around HHH. Carlito can’t be disqualified in the match and HHH can but all this means is that after the match he can try to use the sledgehammer on the bushy haired one. HHH generally wants to work long matches but with Carlito being able to use anything and the kitchen sink that wouldn’t make any sense. In a Kevin Nash/Billy Kidman way I would expect Carlito to win when HHH loses control and gets disqualified. (For those of you who don’t get the Nash reference he ‘lost’ to Kidman in WCW but did it in a way that that didn’t get Kidman over at all)

BO'S REVIEW: 
The first weapon brought in is a garbage can that Carlito doesn't get to use. He can't be disqualified but takes the initial punishment (with HHH cheating and not getting caught) before the match goes outside the ring and he hits HHH with the ring bell. From there he strangles HHH with the video cords then takes a bite out of the apple but HHH hits him and he ends up eating the apple. HHH then gets nailed again and again by another garbage can before Carlito tosses powder in his eyes but apparently HHH is immune to powder because he slams Carlito, gets him with a nut shot and pedigrees Carlito for the win. The match was working until the powder comes into it. Post match HHH is pouring water all over his face but we just saw that his vision wasn't altered at all. It was strange seeing this match third on the card but since this program comes off as something created to kill time it makes sense. This was followed by a short and uninteresting interview between Maria and Batista.

WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE MATCH:
Candice Michelle (c) v. Beth Phoenix
BO'S PREDICTION:
Phoenix has been pushed as a glamazon (and man, did we hear that over and over again on Monday) who should by appearance destroy Michelle. Monday we saw that Michelle is going to put up a good fight and isn’t scared of Phoenix but I would expect Michelle to lose the belt and Phoenix to get an even greater push. She is the better worker of the two but Michelle has turned into a pretty decent wrestler herself (considering she had no prior experience in the business before she won the Diva competition).

BO'S REVIEW: 
The match was Phoenix doing power move after power move on the shiny Candice. We were supposed to believe Candice was losing hair during the match and that no matter what the odds were she wasn't going to give up. Because this program isn't ready to end Candice walked away with the win with a roll up. Phoenix was frustrated by losing and can't believe it and Candice made her way to the entrance with her belt. This was followed by a Todd Grisham/Khali/Kapoor interview that had Khali put a Mysterio mask on a cantaloupe and smash it then crush a small watermelon with the idea that it was Batista's head. 

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE MATCH: (Triple Threat Match)
The Great Khali (c) v. Batista v. Rey Mysterio
BO'S PREDICTION:
Okay, Khali sucks as champion if you consider his lack of wrestling skills but he does play the part of unstoppable monster well. I would guess that Batista was added to the match because Rey can’t carry Khali to a long match but a third person lets the match go at least 15 minutes. Vince seems to want Batista as the perpetual challenger and he is supposedly not interested in putting the belt back on Rey so that means that Khali will retain the belt. There are tentative house show plans for Kane to take on Khali but there is a reason they are called tentative. Aside from the Woman’s title match this may be the shortest match on the card.

BO'S REVIEW: 
The first person tossed out of the ring was Rey and then when he got back into the ring he got used as a battering ram into Khali. Rey tries to pin Batista and the two go at it for a bit. Somehow Batista gets a cut behind his ear here. Batista gets his head trapped in the Khali vise grip but lets go when Rey hits Khali with a legal chair shot (this was a no DQ match). Khali beats up on Rey and puts the nerve hold on him. Khali ends up tangled in the ropes The three all go at it and Khali takes a 619 in the chest then gets Rey's feet in his face. Batista tosses Rey from the ring and sort of gets Khali up for a slam to pin him for the belt. Batista celebrates and even gets the WrestleMania fireworks display as Cole and JBL tell of his six month journey for the title. Rey applauds him from the ring entrance and we see the new champ before we get the Son of McMahon recap. That is followed by HHH and Batista backstage and HHH congratulating Batista but telling him now he has to keep the belt.

WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE MATCH:
Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch(c) v. London/Kendrick
BO'S PREDICTION:
If there was ever a team that showed you just have to stick to it and eventually they will come to you it’s the team of Cade and Murdock. WWE pushed them hard before they then forgot them and tried to make Murdock a single. Then they had them mostly work the internet only Heat matches before remembering that they were one of the few tag teams in the federation. They had a very successful program with the reunited Hardy's and then took the belts from them. London and Kendrick are another matter. They were the best team on Smackdown then London got into trouble for telling a fan that Ashley was on Survivor and the story got out. Shortly thereafter on the night of the "Death of Vince" angle when Vince made that slow walk to the limo, London smiled when he was told to be serious (and in his defense he didn’t know what they were all standing there for in the first place) and got reamed out afterwards. Getting back to this match we have a style clash here since London and Kendrick are high fliers and Cade/Murdock are more ground based. That said, the two let the Hardy's get their moves in and can work with anyone it seems. Do I expect London/Kendrick to go over here? No, but I expect one hell of a match.

BO'S REVIEW: 
This match is a perfect contrast of styles with London/Kendrick doing high spots and Cade/Murdock being ground based. L/K did a dive out out of the ring on top of C/M. Cade did a great power slam from the top rope on Kendrick and Murdock tried a top rope move but got kicked in the jaw on his way down. London did a top rope stomp on the back of Murdock but Kendrick took the high/low move from the duo and eventually was pinned. This was one hell of a match and we should expect more great matches between the two then when Charlie Haas returns from his suspension then they could have London/Kendrick v. Cade/Murdock v. The World's Greatest Tag Team matches for months on end. One of the better matches on the card as I predicted. This was followed by the pimping of this Tuesday's Condemned DVD release.

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE MATCH:
John Cena(c) v. Randy Orton
BO'S PREDICTION:
HHH was pushing for Orton to win at SummerSlam but either changed his mind or someone realized Cena is the moneymaker on the roster and can handle the off camera stuff easier than Orton would or could. Orton has been a perfect employee since his last suspension and the fact that he was mentioned in the Signature case makes putting the belt on him a red flag if the Congressional hearing ever happen. Their SummerSlam match was perfect and the two may feel a need to top that. The only problem with Orton losing is that you have no program for him afterwards. The plan at one point was going to be Orton/HHH at WrestleMania but HHH has a program with Umaga after his suspension is over. Taking all that into account I wouldn’t be shocked if Orton won and then Cena became the hunter but if Cena is holding the belt over his head at the end of the show I won’t mind.

BO'S REVIEW:
John Cena's dad is at ringside and he is staring a hole thru Orton. Cena comes out hot and takes out his frustrations on Orton. Orton does his inside the ropes DDT on Cena after the two go outside the ring. This was followed by Orton sinking in a sleeper hold as the crowd alternated cheers for both. Mr. Cena is shown with that same hard look on his face. Cena is disqualified for beating on Orton and not stopping as the ref tells him to. When Orton realizes he hasn't won the title he pulls Mr. Cena into the ring area (and he staggers back to the exact place he needed to be to do that). As Orton prepares to kick Mr. Cena in the head John tackles him and puts him into the STFU. As Orton is held Cena tells his dad to kick Orton in the head and Orton takes a professional style kick in the head. Security takes Mr. Cena into the back as the refs try to keep his son off of Orton. After the match Mr. Cena is confronted by Coach who yells at him and tells him that Orton is getting a rematch with Last Man Standing rules. Cena gets back in Coach's face and pushes him away then father and son walk away with Coach on the floor steaming. We get the set up for the Taker match and JBL lets it slip that the Cena/Orton rematch will be October 7th at No Mercy from the Allstate.

Undertaker v. Mark Henry
BO'S PREDICTION:
The PPV is all about him so a smart man would make this the main event but I would bet that it comes after the Woman’s match. Henry has no chance in hell here but I would expect Taker to take a good beating before continually getting back up and defeating Henry. I expect blood here and it being made a big deal because Henry doesn’t bleed much. Taker hasn’t done any house shows to work on his timing but with Henry that is less of a big deal. If Khali keeps the belt Taker will probably get fast tracked for a title shot since he was going to keep the belt all year anyway.

BO'S REVIEW: 
Taker enters with the most elaborate entrance ever. First the middle of the set falls after being struck by lightning to revel a lighted Taker symbol, then we get more lightning and see two flaming symbols, more flame, Taker rising up from the floor and then the traditional slow walk to the ring. He makes Henry back up then strikes the first blow. The match is a series of blows between the two men with one getting the upper hand then the other. Henry actually goes to the top rope and superplexes Taker. Taker choke slams Henry but Henry kicks out. Henry puts Taker in a bear hug and Taker gets out and does the rope walk. With Henry back on the top ropes Taker picks him up and gives him a Last Ride then pins him. As Taker stands in the ring the last thing we see is him making the motions for the belt so we should expect him to challenge Batista for the belt he lost due to injury. 

All in all, not a bad show. The main event had it's flat points but the match wasn't that bad. The lack of backstage bits was refreshing and there wasn't a single ref smashed into the ring and taken out of the picture. Candice leaving with the belt was a shock but the program between her and Beth Phoenix has just started. No Mercy may have the return of HBK but not the suspended wrestlers since the event takes place the week that all will be allowed to return. This suggests a quickly made card and the return of the backstage segments.

Photo © 2007 WWE/World Wrestling Entertainment
Article © 2007 Alternate Reality, Inc.