Unforgiven (2008)
| Unforgiven (2008) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| File:UF 120x240.jpg | |||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Entertainment | ||
| Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown ECW | ||
| Date | September 7, 2008 | ||
| City | Cleveland, Ohio | ||
| Venue | Quicken Loans Arena | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Unforgiven chronology | |||
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Unforgiven (2008) will be the eleventh annual Unforgiven professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It will take place on September 7, 2008, at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The event will feature wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands: storyline expansions of the promotion where employees are divided into wrestling brands under the WWE banner.[2] Residents of the United Kingdom will be able to see the event free on Sky Sports 1.
Background
As of August 26, 2008, five professional wrestling matches are scheduled on the event's card. These matches are planned with predetermined outcomes by WWE's creative staff and feature wrestlers playing a character for the entertainment of the audience. The buildup to these matches and the scenarios that take place before, during, and after the event are also planned by WWE's creative staff.
The main rivalry written into the pay-per-view on the Raw brand is a Championship Scramble for the World Heavyweight Championship. On the August 18 episode of Raw, General Manager Mike Adamle, a portrayed matchmaker and rules enforcer, announced the bout, which will involve CM Punk (Phil Brooks), John "Bradshaw" Layfield (John Layfield), Kane (Glen Jacobs), Batista (Dave Bautista), and John Cena. This match has a 20-minute time limit, during which participants can become the temporary champion via pinfall or submission. The final superstar who gains a victory when the time limit expires will leave the match as the champion. Only the person who wins the match will be officially recognized as the champion. On the August 25 edition of Raw, Adamle announced that Cena had suffered a herniated disc in his neck in his match with Batista at SummerSlam, taking him out of the Scramble. Rey Mysterio (Oscar Gutierrez) was subsequently named as Cena's replacement.
Another rivarly in the Raw brand is between Shawn Michaels (Michael Hickenbottom) and Chris Jericho (Christopher Irvine). At SummerSlam, Jericho accidentally punched Michaels' wife Rebecca in the face when Michaels publicly announced that he was (kayfabe) "retiring" from WWE. On the August 25 edition of Raw, Michaels revealed that he had denounced his decision to retire and challenged Jericho to an Unsanctioned match at Unforgiven.
The predominant rivalry on the SmackDown brand is another Championship Scramble for the WWE Championship held by Triple H (Paul Levesque). The match was announced on the August 22 broadcast of SmackDown by General Manager Vickie Guerrero, who also announced a series of qualifying matches. The qualifiers were The Brian Kendrick (Brian Kendrick), Shelton Benjamin, Montel Vontavious Porter (Alvin Burke, Jr.), and Jeff Hardy.
The central rivalry on the ECW brand is a third Championship Scramble for the ECW Championship. The August 26th episode of ECW opened with General Manager, Teddy Long announcing that the ECW brand would have its own Championship Scramble match at Unforgiven. There were four qualifying matches on the episode that left Matt Hardy, The Miz (Mike Mizanin), Chavo Guerrero (Salvador Guerrero III), and Finlay (Dave Finlay) the four challengers for Mark Henry's ECW Championship at Unforgiven.
Matches
| Match | Stipulation |
|---|---|
| CM Punk (c) vs. Batista vs. Kane vs. John "Bradshaw" Layfield vs. Rey Mysterio[3] | Championship Scramble for the World Heavyweight Championship |
| Triple H (c) vs. The Brian Kendrick vs. Montel Vontavious Porter vs. Shelton Benjamin vs Jeff Hardy[4] | Championship Scramble for the WWE Championship |
| Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels[5] | Unsanctioned match |
| Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase (c) vs. Cryme Tyme (JTG and Shad)[6] | Tag team match for the World Tag Team Championship |
| Mark Henry (c) vs. Matt Hardy vs. The Miz vs. Chavo Guerrero vs.Finlay[7][8] | Championship Scramble for the ECW Championship |
See also
References
- ^ "WWE Unforgiven official website". World Wrestling Entertainment.
- ^ "Greatest Moments in Pay-Per-View History". WWE Magazine: 64–65. 2007.
{{cite journal}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ "Preview: World Heavyweight Championship Scramble match". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2008-08-18. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
- ^ "Preview: WWE Championship Scramble". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2008-08-22. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
- ^ "Preview: Unsanctioned Match". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2008-08-25. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
- ^ "Preview: World Tag Team Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2008-08-25. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
- ^ "Wrestlers named for the ECW Championship Scramble Match". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 2008-08-26. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
- ^ 4 wrestlers in the scramble match unvieled after their victory's.Retrived on August 27 2008