We get the hype video for the return of Rey Mysterio next as Michael Cole and Tazz rejoin us. This match is centered around Rey and the jealousy that Chavo Guerrero has of him. This is also the first match that Rey has had since returning from a ten month break that was to rehab his knee. This is a long-going feud that was even a match a SummerSlam 2006. (More on that here.) Chavo is out first and is looking very East L.A. here. He gets some nice heat as he makes his way to the ring and the fans quickly turn that emotion around when Mysterio’s music comes on. Rey comes popping out of the stage and is dressed in all silver and has his chest painted silver as well. This is an homage to the Silver Surfer and was a common theme that Rey used, that of a famous Super Hero. It is rumored that Vince hated this gimmick of Rey’s because he “didn’t get it.” The two men square up as the bell sounds and Rey is quick to give Chavo a shove. The building is rumbling with “Chavo Sucks” chants, but this doesn’t stop him from using a double leg takedown on Rey. Mysterio returns to his feet and Chavo soon finds himself in a strange bridge pin. He kicks it out and the two continue with an acrobatic show that ends with Rey landing a neat little armdrag takedown. Chavo then rolls from the ring to try and slow Rey’s growing momentum.

Chavo returns to the ring and it’s collar and elbow time. He pushes Rey into the corner and when the ref forces the break he gives Rey a few good kicks to the rehabbed knee. Chavo then wraps the knee around the rope and begins to stretch it. He hits the ropes and tries to dropkick the tangled knee of Mysterio. Mysterio dodges it and Chavo’s kick sends him sailing through the ropes. Mysterio slingshots off from the top rope and flips onto Guerrero. Rey is still on the aggressive and bounces Chavo’s face off the ring stairs. Both men return to the ring and Rey takes Chavo off his feet with some kicks to the back of the leg. The men have a little back and forth punch battle before Mysterio leaps off the second turnbuckle and nails a hurricanrana. Rey takes to the top turnbuckle but Chavo is there to chop his leg out. This leaves Mysterio suspended in the tree of woe. Chavo uses this to his advantage and pounds away at the knee of Mysterio some more. Guerrero leaves the ring and wraps Mysterio’s knee around the ring post. No time is wasted and Chavo keeps his focus on the knee when he returns to the ring. After a leg snapmare, Chavo goes for a pin but Rey kicks out at the one. Chavo wraps Rey’s leg around the back of his neck and uses his own head for leverage. Rey eventually uses the head scissors to escape it but Chavo is still the first to his feet. Chavo then applies a leg lock and continues to stretch the knee of Rey. The downed Mysterio gets a few punches in, and this allows him to regain his footing. Rey lands an enziguri out of nowhere and Chavo falls into the 619 position. But when Rey hits the ropes his knee buckles and he falls to the canvas. Chavo then puts Mysterio in the one legged crab but Mysterio doesn’t take long to get to the bottom rope.

The men battle their way onto the top turnbuckle and this ends with Chavo in the tree of woe. Rey now pounds away at the knee of Guerrero until he falls from the tree. Rey whips Chavo and this sends Guerrero through the ropes and to the floor mats. Chavo eventually returns to the ring and Mysterio catches him with a springboard seated senton from the apron. This sends the fans into a frenzy. After a kick to the face Rey goes for a cover but Chavo gets a shoulder up at two. Rey goes for a springboard moonsault, but Chavo is able to catch him. This still doesn’t stop the Mysterio momentum, and he catches Guerrero with the tornado DDT. Another cover for Mysterio but this time Chavo stops it by getting his foot onto the ropes. Mysterio takes to the top rope next and tries for the crossbody. Chavo ducks it and gets Rey with the Gory Bomb. Chavo makes the cover but Mysterio is able to get the shoulder up. Both men are slow to return to their feet but Rey shoots the legs and leaves Chavo in the 619 position again. Rey goes for the move but Chavo is able to avoid it and Rey goes spinning around the ropes. Guerrero channels Eddie and hits Rey with the Three Amigos. The third suplex is reversed into a hurricanrana though and this leaves Chavo once again in the 619 position. This time Rey’s finish is a success and after a springboard splash, Mysterio makes the cover. The ref counts the three and Mysterio is the winner here. This is the first good match on the card and you could really use this as the starting point for this show. Match Time-12:06

Todd Grisham is in the back and he is joined by the one and only, King Booker and Queen Sharmell. Booker goes on to say that “Triple H’s return will pale in comparison to that of Mysterio,” and it will be a “Shakespearian tragedy.” I always liked Booker but like is said in the last article, I am not a fan of the King Booker variant that he used.

The WWE Diva’s Battle Royale is next, and before it begins, Lillian Garcia introduces the Diva’s Champion, Candice Michelle. The Battle Royale is for the number one contenders spot. These are tough to cover as this is chaotic. I’ll just highlight the eliminations here as there are a lot of Women in the ring. There is lots of slapping and hair pulling before Brooke is eliminated when Beth Phoenix tosses her over the top rope. Maria is the next one out when Jillian Hall spears her off the Apron. Layla goes next after a dropkick to the midsection from Krystal and Victoria isn’t to far behind her. She goes out at the hands of a Michelle McCool. The women are pretty quickly eliminated now in the following order, Krystal, Kelly Kelly and Jillian Hall. Mickie James soon follows, which leaves us with the Final Four.

Melina is the first of the four to go after she is dumped over the top rope by Torrie Wilson and Michelle McCool. These two are then flattened by a double clothesline from the Glamazon, Beth Phoenix. Phoenix easily tosses Wilson from the ring, and then there were two. It doesn’t last long and Phoenix tosses McCool from the ring to become the number one contender. This is terrible stuff and just goes to show how fortunate we are to have the Women’s Division that we do today. Match Time-7:09

The United States Champion, MVP, or Montel Vontavious Porter, is quick to take to the ring after the match dressed in a suit. This is because of the reasons I mentioned earlier in the read. He is joined by two lackeys carrying a cooler. MVP talks some trash before he calls Matt Hardy out for a beer drinking contest. He says he has been known to “Crack a forty in his day” and wants to enjoy a contest that a common man would have. Hardy joins him in the ring and after quite some time Hardy calls out his replacement. The Glass breaks and the greatest beer drinker in the history of the business enters. The crowd explodes as Stone Cold Steve Austin enters the arena. Steve runs the ropes a few times before he knocks some push-ups and jumping jacks out. He then grabs some Miller Lites from the cooler and hands MVP a few. The “Lets go Austin” chants are in full force as he pulls the cooler to his side of the ring. Of course Steve just hits MVP with a Stone Cold Stunner and hits the corners to pound beers.

We see a video package next that starts with “The Shaman of Sexy”, John Morrison. The video shows the ECW Champion challenging CM Punk and it is really well done. Tazz and Styles introduce the ECW Champion, John Morrison first and he does his usual corner taunts when he hits the ring. This dude has some serious swagger here. The crowd explodes when the challenger, CM Punk enters the arena. It’s easy to tell from this who’s side the fans are on. Punk fakes the collar and elbow and takes Morrison to the mat with a double leg. They roll on the mat and Morrison comes out ahead with a side headlock. Punk escapes the lock and takes Morrison down with a hip toss. John is quick to his feet and Punk slams him back to the mat with a spinning scoopslam. Punk then hotshots the midsection on the top rope and this leaves him on the apron. Morrison then eats a dropkick from Punk who comes off the top rope. After Morrison stops Punk’s suplex, he hits Punk with a neckbreaker over the second rope. This sends Punk’s lower back crashing into the corner of the ring apron. Morrison returns Punk to the ring and goes for the cover but he kicks out at one.

Morrison hits a trio of European Uppercuts and goes right for another cover. Punk kicks out and Morrison is quick to put him in a chinlock. Punk escapes the hold behind some elbows to the midsection, but is dropped neck first onto the second rope with a toe hold. Another quick cover for Morrison and another kick-out for Punk. Morrison applies a sleeper hold and Punk slowly starts to waver. Punk starts to shake instead, and rallies free from the hold. Some midsection elbows free Punk from the hold, then some well placed slaps allow him to gain a little momentum. Punk then rolls Morrison into the pin with a tip-up but he kicks out. After a quick back and forth, CM Punk springboards off the second turnbuckle to land the crossbody. Morrison rolls through it and charges Punk with a clothesline. Punk manages to avoid it and Morrison collides with the corner. This leads to Punk meeting him there with a rising knee to the face. The bulldog attempt is next for Punk but Morrison escapes it. Punk doesn’t falter and nails Morrison with a step-up enziguri. A whip into the ropes is next for Morrison and when he returns, Punk hits him with a solid scoopslam. He then hooks the leg but the pin attempt only gets another two.

Punk swings at the fences for a clothesline but Morrison ducks under it and catches Punk with a neckbreaker. The offensive front of Morrison doesn’t last long as his swinging neckbreaker is  reversed. Punk then puts him to the mat with a clothesline and runs to the top turnbuckle. Punk then comes soaring off from it and lands on Morrison with a perfect moonsault. He hooks the leg of Morrison but he isn’t done yet and kicks out. Punk atomic drops Morrison onto the top rope and while Morrison is still bouncing on the top rope, Punk jumps off the second turnbuckle to nail him with a clothesline. Morrison somehow is still the first to his feet, but this doesn’t help and Punk catches him with an inside cradle. This looks to end it, but Morrison narrowly escapes. After a kick to the side of Morrison’s head, Punk places the “A-List Elitist” onto the top turnbuckle and attempts the Frankenstiener. Morrison holds the top rope, though, and Punk crashes to the canvas. Morrison then rolls CM Punk up and gets three while using the rope for leverage. The ref misses this and John Morrison retains the ECW Championship. After going 1-3 to start the card this one was much better. A great match and Morrison’s cheating pin was a great finish. Match Time-7:09

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