As announced on Raw, World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk will defend his title against four other Superstars in an innovative "Championship Scramble" that will last 20 minutes and allow the championship to change hands multiple times.
Also picking up momentum leading up to the Championship Scramble was John Cena, who beat the odds by defeating World Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match. Before the match even began, Cena’s allies, Cryme Tyme, emerged and stole the coveted titles from the champions. Though they outnumbered the Chain Gang Commander, Rhodes & DiBiase’s arrogance got the best of them, allowing Cena to pick up the win and gain some matter of redemption following his SummerSlam loss to Batista.
Raw General Manager Mike Adamle placed John Cena in a Handicap Match Against World Tag Champions Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes tonight on Raw. Can the Chain Gang Commander rebound from his SummerSlam loss to The Animal?
Two of the most dominant WWE Superstars of this decade – Batista and John Cena – weaved very parallel career paths that ultimately intersected at SummerSlam, and the eagerly anticipated one-on-one confrontation ended with The Animal roaring in victory.
The blockbuster battle more than six years in the making was a match for the ages. When both men first debuted in 2002, perhaps only a few of sports-entertainment’s most erudite maestros could foresee the achievements that awaited Cena and Batista.
From their initial appearances on SmackDown to each man’s respective World Championship triumph at WrestleMania 21 (the first of several for both), The Animal and the Chain Gang Commander would permanently alter the WWE landscape.
Their first-ever singles bout at SummerSlam was no different, as the Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer bore one of the most memorable and iconic collisions for all time. But, like other much lauded SummerSlam showdowns including WWE Hall of Famer Bret “Hit Man” Hart vs. British Bulldog in 1992 and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Undertaker in ’98, only one man could emerge the victor.
When John Cena and Batista face off at SummerSlam, the world will witness two of the largest, most powerful forces in WWE clash head on – for the first time ever. And to think, the promise of such an earth-shattering collision began over a simple misunderstanding.
When Cena accidentally knocked Batista out of the ring after The Animal’s title bout with World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, Batista came up swinging, and the two strongmen traded blows.
Those hard feelings seemed to subside when the two shook hands at the beginning of the next week’s Raw. That truce, however, was short-lived.
Regal, JBL, & Khali vs. Cena, Punk, & HHH. Cena starts the match but Punk soon tags in. Punk took a lot of punishment while the heels kept tagging. Punk tags HHH and Hunter cleans house. HHH gets Khali over the to rope and out of the match. Cena enters and both Cena and HHH hit their finishers simultaneously. Hunter gets the pinfall. The heels dissappear quickly to the back. HHH and Punk are standing in the aisle while Cena grabs the house mic and shills for Summerslam. Cena then calls Punk into the ring and hypes up the (almost) hometown hero (Rockford is only an hour northwest of Chicago). Punk soaks up the crowd response for a few minutes and then heads to the back.
Here’s a match that I’m up in the air about. Both Superstars are beloved by most of the fans and it’s going to be interesting to see how the crowd is divided. They have been interacting with each other for quite some time now and were even World Tag Team Champs for a week. With this interaction, we’ve seen these two men are very equal with their size and strength, but I’d have to give the advantage in quickness to John Cena. I think that is going to play a major role in this match. This one, in my eyes, could be the match of the night and I’m reluctant to say it, but I have to give the edge to The Animal Batista.
Source: wwe.com
Posted on Aug Fri 2008
Circle of Champions: Cena grants two more Wishes in Richmond
Days before John Cena steps into the ring at SummerSlam against The Animal Batista for the first time ever in a one-on-one match, the three-time WWE Champion made the dreams come true for Make-A-Wish’s Tiffany Santos, of Boca Raton, Fla., and Kevin Vargas, of Ocean Township, N.J.
“I was very excited. I never saw a real celebrity. I was so surprised at how big his arms are,” Kevin, 13, said. “He’s my idol. I like his theme song. I always listen to it on my iPod.”
Tiffany, who traveled with her mother, sister, and cousin to meet her favorite Superstar, echoed Kevin’s enthusiasm on John Cena’s theme song, but admitted she liked Cena for another reason.
