Next we get a video that starts by highlighting the feud between Eric Bischoff and John Cena. This is centered around John being the first pick for RAW during the Brand draft. Bischoff chooses Chris Jericho as the man to stop Cena and take his WWE Championship because John doesn’t want to play by Bischoff’s rules. The video highlights some of the two guys’ great microphone skills, but it seems as though the match was rushed. We’ll touch back on that after the match. The Challenger Chris Jericho is out first and is getting some good heat from the fans. When the WWE Champion and “Doctor of Thugenomics” enters next, the crowd erupts into a frenzy for John Cena. The two men come nose-to-nose before they lock-up in the collar and elbow. Jericho gets the side headlock first and when Cena shoves him into the ropes, Jericho flattens him with the shoulder block. They trade some punches and once again Jericho comes out ahead by whipping Cena into the corner. Jericho is right behind him and meets him there with a clothesline. When Jericho hits Cena with the spinning heel kick off the ropes, the crowd releases their first pop of the match. Cena rolls to the apron, and when Chris springboards at him he ducks and sends Chris crashing to the floor. Cena joins him and tackles Jericho into the Spanish announce table before delivering some punches to the face. Cena is quick to return him to the ring and whip Jericho into the corner. Cena is fast to meet him there with a back elbow, that he follows with some more face punches. Cena whips Jericho to the other corners meeting Jericho with back elbows each time. On the final attempt Jericho pushes off the turnbuckle and smokes Cena with the dropkick. Jericho continues to stomp away at the champ and eventually lifts Cena and slams him with the powerplex. Jericho goes for the first pin but Cena gets the shoulder up.

Jericho works the chinlock for a bit but the ref forces the break and Cena slowly returns to his feet. Cena starts to rally behind some right hands but Jericho reverses the Irish whip and sends Cena through the ropes. Jericho joins him out there by dropkicking him in the face, from the apron. After a choke with the microphone wire, Jericho returns Cena to the ring and resumes the beating. Jericho places Cena on the top turnbuckle and slams him to the mat with a superplex. Jericho takes a hard bump here and it takes a moment for him to roll over and make the cover attempt. But at the count of two Cena gets the shoulder up. When Jericho whips Cena to the corner again we then see the tides start to shift. Cena catches the charging Jericho with a boot that he follows with the back body drop, and the ball is back in Cena’s court. Cena levels Jericho with a pair of clotheslines but when he goes airborne for the shoulder block, Jericho ducks under it. Jericho hits the running bulldog next and when he goes for the Lionsault, Cena moves out of harms way. Jericho lands smoothly on his feet and, after a victory roll, Jericho tries for the Walls. It isn’t time for this, though, and Cena uses his leg strength to shove him away. This sends Jericho through the ropes and crashing to the floor. Cena takes to the top rope as Jericho is re-entering the ring. The “Cena” chants start, and as Chris is sticking his head through the ropes, Cena leaps and hits him with a leg drop. Cena tries for the cover but Jericho is able to get the foot on the ropes to stop it. Cena goes for the Attitude Adjustment next but Jericho wiggles free and hits Cena with a DDT. Jericho tries for the cover but yet again Cena gets the shoulder up. After Y2J drops some elbows into Cena’s back he places the champ neck first onto the ropes. At this point the crowd is torn between “Lets Go Jericho” and “Lets Go Cena” chants. Jericho chokes Cena with the rope by stepping on his head, and this goes on until the official forces the break. The place is just rumbling as the Jerichoholics and Cena’s Chain Gang are at war with their chants. This is amazing stuff and I cant imagine how it feels to be one of these two dudes in the ring.

Jericho does a little shimmy before he hits the ropes but Cena comes to life and crushes him with the clothesline. The ref starts his count and makes it to five before both men start to stir and rise to their feet. Cena lands the first punch and goes on a tear from there. He hits two clotheslines in a row before a sidewalk slam leaves Jericho on the mat. The crowd is going nuts now as Cena is teasing the 5 Knuckle Shuffle. Jericho pulls his foot out first and puts John Cena into the Walls of Jericho. The crowd is going bonkers now and Cena is really selling it. After quite the struggle Cena almost finds the ropes, but Jericho drags him back to the middle of the ring. Cena finally drags himself to the ropes and gets the break. At this point you cant tell what is louder, the boos or cheers. Jericho stomps the head of Cena before he takes to the top turnbuckle. Cena meets him there and after a few punches he is trying for the high Attitude Adjustment. Jericho reverses this and hits a side suplex. Jericho is quick to hook the leg but Cena narrowly gets the shoulder up at two. Jericho is pissed over the close call and so are the fans, as they are chanting “That was Three.” Jericho is now threatening the official and this is when Cena strikes with the Attitude Adjustment. And before I get hate tweets I am aware that it was called the FU at this time but I just prefer to call it the latter. Cena hooks the leg and the crowd is in a frenzy as the ref counts the three. And John Cena retains the WWE Championship. This is an ending that Jericho wanted and he even signed a month long contract extension because he wanted to be able to help put Cena over before he left the company. Jericho was originally supposed to fight Carlito at this SummerSlam, but the plan was scrapped late and this one formulated. This is the reason behind the rushed storyline. As for the match itself, it was great. Jericho is a master in the ring and he really helped to showcase what Cena was able to do here. The fans were definitely into this one and so was I. It surely is a must-see match. Match Time-14:49

We get a quick package next that shows the contract signing between John “Bradshaw” Layfield and the World Heavyweight Champion, Batista. JBL is offered the choice to choose the stipulation of the match and he chooses No Holds Barred. This is because at the Great American Bash, Batista retained the Title by DQ and JBL doesn’t want that to happen again. The challenger, JBL, enters first and of course he is in his long horned-clad white limousine. The confetti rains from the rafters as Layfield makes his way to the ring. On his way down we see the confetti is 100 dollar bills with JBL’s face on them. When the Animal known as Batista enters the crowd unleashes the pop for the World Heavyweight Champion. This is most likely due to the fact that Washington, D.C. is his hometown and you are always more over there. JBL doesn’t waste any time getting the match started and ambushes the Champ off the entrance ramp. This plan backfires and Batista is soon beating the head of JBL off from some storage boxes. Batista then bangs him in the head with a fire extinguisher. Bradshaw finally enters the fight by reversing Batista’s Irish whip, that sends the Champ into some more storage crates. They eventually battle their way through the crowd separator, stopping to beat each others heads of the rail on their way back to the ring. JBL catches Batista with a chairshot and when he attempts the second one Batista spears him through the security wall and back to ringside.

At this point we can see that the official is holding the Gold. I always love when the official did this and it was mostly seen when the Hardcore Title was in play. Of course as soon as I mention this the ref hands the Strap over to the ring announcer and is no longer carrying it. Regardless, the point still stands. JBL bounces Batista off the ring post and returns him to the ring. Bradshaw is quick to level him with a clothesline and go to work stomping Batista’s head. After JBL knocks Batista into the corner, with some big punches, he leaves the ring and grabs a leather belt from the timekeeper’s area. The must just keep them on deck over there for this very situation. He then gives Batista some solid lashings with it before he starts to choke Batista with the strap. Batista struggles to escape for some time, but finally he lifts Bradshaw up and delivers the sidewalk slam. It takes a moment, but Batista regains his footing and it is now his turn to beat JBL with the leather belt. After a few good lashings, he puts Bradshaw into the corner and rams the shoulder into the midsection of JBL a few times. HE whips Bradshaw to the corner but when the Animal attacks he is met with JBL’s big boot. The Clothesline from Hell is delivered by JBL next, but when he goes for the cover, the Animal kicks out. JBL brings the ring steps into the ring and takes Batista on top of them but Batista saves himself by back body dropping JBL off the stairs. This leaves both men on the mat as the ref starts his count. JBL is first to his feet and puts the boot upside Batista’s skull with a brutal kick. He hits the rope and when JBL goes for another Clothesline from Hell, Batista counters it and slams him to the mat with a hard spinebuster. Batista does the “Thumbs up, Thumbs down” before he hits JBL with the Batista Bomb. Batista starts to go for the cover, but pauses and stares into the crowd. He slowly shifts his attention to the ring stairs, that are still in the ring, and picks JBL back up. This time when he gives Bradshaw the Batista Bomb he slams him on top of the stairs. He leaves JBL in a pile and covers him on top off the stairs. The fans count along and erupt when they get the three count. The Animal that is Batista retains his World Heavyweight Title in his hometown. This is a good match but isn’t anything special. I wouldn’t go out of my way to skip it but if time is a factor it definitely could be fast forwarded. Match Time-9:05

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