Judgment Day 2008 Recap & Results

John Cena vs. JBL - JBL used the ring ropes and ring post to injure the left shoulder of John Cena. JBL spent the next 10 minutes exploiting the injury. When he attempted a clothesline, Cena ducked it and hit the FU to get the win out of nowhere. Winner: John Cena

- King and RAW GM William Regal is shown sitting in the front of his luxury box scowling down at the crowd.

WWE Tag Team Championship: Champs The Miz & John Morrison vs. Kane & CM Punk - When CM Punk was distracted by Kane giving the Miz a choke slam outside of the ring, John Morrison hit the Moonlight Drive on Punk to get the win for his team. Winners: The Miz & John Morrison

Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels - The complexion of this match changed when Shawn attempted the elbow off the top rope and was greeted by Jericho’s knees. For the rest of the match, Shawn’s ribs were injured. However, Michaels had the answer for many of Jericho’s also. The match ended with a series of reversals that ended with Michaels rolling up Jericho in a cradle when Jericho attempted the Walls of Jericho. After the match, both men shook hands. This match was just as good as their classic battle at WrestleMania XXIV. Winner: Shawn Michaels

- Tod Grisham interviews Mickie James about her date with John Cena when JBL interrupted them. JBL corrects Grisham when he asks about JBL getting beat tonight. JBL says that he beat Cena because Cena is in the training room because of the 20 minute beating he gave him.

Women's Title: Champion Mickie James vs. Melina vs. Beth Phoenix - The visual highlight of this match was when Beth Phoenix held both of her opponents in an over-head backbreaker. A few moments later, Melina was able to get Beth out of the ring. Mickie then gave Melina the DDT to get the win. Winner: Mickie James

- Batista confronts Shawn Michaels in the locker room. He promises to hurt Shawn Michaels at the time and place of his choosing.

Match to Determine the World Heavyweight Champion: The Undertaker vs. Edge - The battle between Edge and the Undertaker went outside of the ring. The Undertaker was able to get back into the ring before the 10 count and won the match by count out. As the announcer was about to declare the Undertaker the new champion, Vickie Guerrero came out and announced that the title is still vacant since he won via count out. Winner: The Undertaker by count out

- MVP enters the ring to complain about being left off of the card. He throws out an open challenge to any top-tier talent to get him out of the ring. Matt Hardy comes out to answer the challenge. Matt says that he has proven that he is better than MVP. Matt then says that there is someone else that is going to prove he is better than MVP. Jeff Hardy comes out.

MVP vs Jeff Hardy - MVP dominated most of this match but when he made a mistake, Jeff hit the Whisper in the Wind to get the win. Winner: Jeff Hardy

- William Regal is shown again with a scowl on his face. This is at least the fourth time he has been shown. It has to be noted that Regal has used his powers to be a major part of Orton’s matches over the past few weeks.

- Since this event is sponsored by Rambo, footage of Sylvester Stallone talking about the movie was shown.

Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship: Champion Triple H vs. Randy Orton - For several minutes of this match, the battle took place on the top ropes and the edge of the cage. When the battle finally got back to the mat, Randy missed his punt and was greeted with a steel chair to the head. Ironically, Randy brought that chair into the ring several minutes earlier when he tried to escape the cage. Triple H then hit the pedigree to win the match via pin. While Regal was shown during the match, he had no part of the outcome of this battle. Winner: Triple H

What does this event mean for the future?
Not much. The World Heavyweight Championship is still vacant and there is a PPV event in two weeks which will feature all gimmick matches. The issues between JBL and Cena are far from settled as are the issues between Batista and Shawn Michaels.

Overall Thoughts
Backlash was three weeks ago and One Night Stand is in two weeks. Three PPV events in a five week period is just too many. With the exception of the Michaels vs. Jericho match, there is really nothing to go out of you way to see. It’s not like we haven’t seen Edge vs. The Undertaker and Triple H vs. Randy Orton many times over the past few months.

There is one other thing that has been bothering me lately. With the new set the WWE bought, I understand why they keep using it for every PPV event. However, because of this, the PPV events both look and feel like a good episode of RAW. One of the things I used to like about WWE PPV events was that there was a special set created for each event and the wrestlers weren’t afraid to use the set as a weapon. With a new $20 million set I understand why there are no battles up the ramp way anymore, but that takes away from the feel of PPV events being special.

Match Results

• John Cena beat JBL
  
• WWE Tag Team Championship: Champs The Miz & John Morrison beat Kane & CM Punk
  
• Shawn Michaels beat Chris Jericho
  
• Women’s Championship: Champion Mickie James beat Melina & Beth Phoenix
  
• Match for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship: The Undertaker beat Edge by count out, the title is still vacant
  
• Jeff Hardy beat MVP
  
• Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship: Champion Triple H beat Randy Orton

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