WWE And TNA Present ECW Epics (July 7th): What Are Paul Heyman's Plans For Victory Road?

"Epics" by Faith No More plays throughout the arena as Tazz and Matt Striker welcome the viewers.

Tazz:
Hello folks, and welcome to yet another edition of ECW Epics! We've just been told that ECW Epics General Manager will have some big news later on in the night. I can't wait!

Matt Striker:
Whatever he's got planned, it will probably be big considering we've got a PPV coming up, in the old home of ECW. That's right, we're going back to Philly!!!

Let's get the show underway!

R-Truth's music hits and he makes his way to the ring through the crowd while rapping. Booker T comes out shortly after and the two men stare at each other intensely as Booker walks to the ring.

As soon as Booker climbs into the ring, R-Truth's rage gets the better of him and he hits Booker with a corkscrew flying elbow. Truth follows up with a plethora of stomps and absolutely goes to town, not giving up until he tires himself out.

Booker gets to his feet by pulling himself up the ropes. He goes after Truth, hitting multiple knife edge chops. Booker then gets a run up and hits a spinning wheel kick. He goes for the pin. 1... 2... No! Truth got his shoulder up.

Matt Striker:
This match hasn't been going for long, and already these athletes are exhausted!

Booker T picks up Truth and connects with a Book End. He goes for the pin. 1... 2... No! Truth kicks out just as the ref’s hand is an inch above the mat. Booker T looks at Truth in astonishment.

Booker again picks up Truth, but this time whips him into the ring ropes. R-Truth grabs hold of the ropes to stop himself from rebounding. Booker sprints towards R-Truth and connects with a clothesline. Both men go over the top rope. It takes them a while to gather themselves.

R-Truth knocks Booker down and tries to get into the ring, but Booker gets up and grabs Truth’s leg. The ref is still counting. Booker tries to get in the ring, but Truth grabs his leg. Ref is up to 8. Both guys start brawling and the ref counts them both out.

Winner: Double count out.

The two superstars continue to brawl outside the ring before security runs down the ramp and breaks them up. Booker manages to break free of the security for a brief second and he connects with one last punch to R-Truth before Security recapture him and walk him up the ramp.

Raven immediately throws a few lefts and rights to get the ball rolling. Dreamer recoils from the assault and responds with a DDT. While Raven is down, Dreamer goes for a cloverleaf, but Raven reverses it into a cross armbar.

Raven keeps the pressure on, and then picks up Dreamer and lands a piledriver. Raven stands over Dreamer and taunts him. Dreamer takes the opportunity to put Raven in a roll up pin. 1... 2... Kick out by Raven.

Dreamer stands up and whips Raven into the corner, followed by a running body splash. Dreamer picks Raven up and places on the top turnbuckle in a tree of woe. Dreamer walks to the opposite corner and pounds on his chest.

Crowd/Dreamer:
E! C! W!!!

Dreamer charges at Raven at nails him in the head with a hard hitting dropkick that whiplashes Raven's neck. Raven's legs unlock and he falls to the canvas. Dreamer drags the limp body to the center of the ring and covers him. 1... 2... 3!

Winner and participant in the Chamber match at Victory Road: Tommy Dreamer.

Dreamer climbs on to the middle turnbuckle and plays to the crowd.

Mick Foley emerges onto stage and the crowd pops big time for the current ECW Epics champion. Foley walks to the ring and the two hardcore legends shake hands.

Foley:
Together, we are gonna put on one hell of a match at Victory Road!

They approach each other and talk trash as they step closer. They trade shoves and then Natalya dives at ODB, sending them both onto the mat. They're rolling around, pulling at each others hair and landing punches.

Tazz:
Man, where's Joey Styles when you need him? Catfight!!!

ODB seems to be getting the upper hand as she manages to straddle Natalya and simultaneously wail on Natalya with closed fist punches. ODB gets to her feet and drags Natalya up by her hair. Natalya slaps ODB and the two start scuffling again.

ODB winds up for a big punch, but just as her fist is closing in on her opponent, Natalya ducks and the punch connects with the referee! The referee has an astonished look on his face and then calls for the end of the match.

Winner by DQ: Natalya Neidhart

ODB quickly gets out of the ring and grabs her belt as Natalya is screaming obscenities at her. The referee has to physically hold Natalya back from jumping the ropes and going after ODB.

ODB celebrates that she still has the belt as we go to a commercial break.

Back from the commercial break and Gregory Helms is backstage with The Hart Dynasty.

Gregory Helms:
Bad luck about your match, Natalya. You'll get her next time.

Natalya:
Bad luck? She hit me with a freakin' chair! Don't patronise me you little...

Natalya lunges at Helms, but she gets held back by David Hart Smith. Helms looks a little ruffled, but continues the interview.

Gregory Helms:
Last week, Tyson, you won Beer Money Inc's Six Pack Challenge and you will now go to Victory Road for a shot at the Tag Team titles. I assume that you've picked David to be your tag team partner?

Tyson Kidd:
Yeah, that's right Greg. We are going to do the family proud and win those belts at the PPV.

Jim Neidhart walks into the camera shot.

Natalya:
Hey, Dad! What are you doing here?

Jim Neidhart:
I've come to help you guys out. If you want to win those Tag Team titles at Victory Road, then we've got work to do! I'm not going to let you tarnish the Hart family name, so you WILL win that match.

Gregory Helms:
Jim Neidhart! It's an honor, sir!

Jim just stares at Gregory and ignores him.

Jim Neidhart:
C'mon, guys. We've got a match to prepare for.

Tyson Kidd, David Hart Smith, Natalya, and Jim Neidhart all walk off together, leaving Helms standing there by himself with the microphone.

Paul Heyman is standing in the middle of the ring with his assistant Tiffany as we cross back to ringside.

Heyman:
In two weeks time, because of the amalgamation of WWE and TNA, the Victory Road PPV will be replacing Night Of Champions. However, ECW is still going to keep the Night Of Champions tradition alive. Every single championship belt that is currently on ECW will be defended on one night!

(Crowd cheers enthusiastically)

Matt Striker:
How is that going to be possible, Tazz? We've got 5 championships on ECW, but there's only going to be 3 ECW matches at Victory Road.

Tazz:
Shut up and you might find out! Geez...

Heyman:
I've decided that at Victory Road, Natalya Neidhart will get another chance at the Knockouts title. This time however, it will be as part of a six man tag team match. It will be the team of The Hart Dynasty taking on the team of Beer Money Inc and ODB. Winner takes all! Tag Team and Knockouts titles!

(Crowd cheers even louder than before)

As we already know, there will also be an Extreme Elimination Chamber. It will be only the second one in history, and it will be something that you have to see to believe! The winner will get the coveted ECW Epics Heavyweight Championship!

Also at the PPV we will have what I like to call ECW Epics' version of counselling. You see, I'm sick and tired of the petty squabbles that have been going on around here. If you have a problem with someone, take care of it in the ring. Don't come to me with your complaints!

That's why at Victory road it will be a Strange Bedfellows match! There will be four teams competing, with the winning team getting both the Intercontinental and Legends titles. It will be:

Rey Mysterio and Shelton Benjamin vs. Kofi Kingston and Abyss vs. Mr. Kennedy and Sabu vs., and this is my favourite, R-Truth and Booker T!

Heyman gets a huge pop from the crowd. His music plays and he walks to the back.

Christian, Rhyno, and Tomko are all standing around Christian's locker room, backstage. Christian's in a fit of rage after what happened last week.

Christian:
What the hell happened last week? All you had to do was make sure that Batista didn't qualify for the chamber match at Victory Road, and you couldn't even get that right! You had the advantage in numbers!

Christian starts pacing back and forth trying to calm himself down.

Tomko:
Look, don't worry about it, alright? We'll fix our mistake.

Christian:
You're damn right you will! I don't care how, when, or where you do it. Just make sure that Batista can't physically make it to Victory Road!

Rhyno:
Why should we? I mean, what do we get out of this little arrangement of ours?

Christian:
Well, well, well. Look who finally grew a pair and decided to stand up for themself! For your information, I happen to have a lot of influence around here. You do this for me, and I'll make sure you guys compete in the Strange Bedfellows match at Victory Road.

Tomko and Rhyno walk off with a determined look on their faces.

MVP sizes up Kane before locking up in the middle of the ring. Kane easily overpowers him and drives him into the corner. The referee tells Kane to break the hold, and he obeys. Kane gets in a cheap shot before walking away.

MVP lets his frustration out and delivers a big boot, sending Kane to the mat. MVP runs the ropes and pauses in front of Kane in a pose.

Crowd/MVP:
Ballin'!

MVP is about to hit the Ballin' Elbow when Kane suddenly comes to life and wraps his hand around MVP's throat. MVP has a shocked look on his face and he tries to fight off the chokeslam.

Kane lifts MVP into the air, but MVP manages to escape the Big Red Machine's grip just in time. MVP kicks Kane in the gut and hits him with the Playmaker. MVP runs the ropes one more time just to make sure that Kane stays down.

Crowd/MVP:
Ballin'!

MVP lands the elbow this time and goes for the pin. 1... 2... 3!

Winner and qualifier for the Extreme Elimination Chamber: MVP

MVP gets his hand raised by the referee as we cross backstage.

We cross backstage where we see Christian knocking on Paul Heyman's door. Assistant GM Tiffany answers the door instead.

Christian:
Is Paul here?

Tiffany:
No, he left early for a meeting with Mr. McMahon.

Christian:
Good. I have a favour to ask you.

Tiffany:
Well, if you want something from me, you're going to have to earn it.

I smile comes across both their faces and they both sneak back into Heyman's office, giggling and holding hands.

Tazz:
What the hell? Are Christian and Tiffany in a relationship?

Matt Striker:
I think this is what Christian meant before when he said he had a lot of influence backstage.

Beer Money Inc are already in the ring as we come back from the break. The Hart Dynasty come to the ring along with Jim Neidhart. Kidd and Hart get in the ring while the father and daughter stay at ringside for support.

Storm:
Congratulations on winning the match last week! Now, don't get too far ahead of yourselves. You may have won that one match, but you still can't mix it with the big boys like (points to himself)...

Crowd/Beer Money:
BEER! MONEY!

The ref signals for the bell and the match is officially underway. David Hart Smith and Robert Roode are starting the match.

They lock up and have a bit of a power struggle. They push each other back and forth, but eventually break the hold, realizing that neither of them had an advantage.

They circle each other while trying to formulate a plan of attack. Roode rushes Smith, who hits him with an arm drag. Smith then picks up Roode and hits him with a sitout powerbomb. Smith follows that up with a Bret Hart like Sharpshooter.

Roode frantically waves his arms around trying to find the ropes, but without any luck. James Storm has had enough and he gets into the ring and breaks the submission hold. The ref tells Storm to get back on the ring apron, and while the ref has his back turned, Kidd and Smith double team Roode in a typical heel fashion.

Kidd gets out of the ring before the referee knows what happened. Roode fights off Smith and desperately tries to tag in Storm. Smith stops Roode in his tracks and connects with German Suplex. Smith goes for the cover. 1... 2... How the hell did Roode just kick out!?

Roode digs deep and gets to his feet in an effort to tag his partner. Smith tries to stop him, but Roode delivers a Roode Bomb. Roode drags himself across the canvas and finally tags in Storm. Storm climbs through the ropes and hits Smith with a Superkick.

Storm waits for Smith to get up and lines himself up to hit a spear. Smith staggers to his feet and Storm charges at him. Smith sidesteps the spear, sending Storm into the ring post.

Smith tags in Kidd and the duo go to work on Storm. Smith picks Storm up, Kidd runs the ropes and hits a Hart Attack. Kidd goes for the pin. 1... 2... 3!

Winners: The Hart Dynasty

All four members of the Hart family are in the ring celebrating as Beer Money regather their title belts and head to the back.

The two men meet each other in the middle of the ring and shake hands as a sign of mutual respect.

They initially lock up, but RVD breaks the hold and hits Batista with a dropkick to his leg. Batista drops to his knees in pain, and then gets hit again by a dropkick to the face.

RVD runs the ropes and goes for Rolling Thunder, but Batista rolls out of the way at the last second. Batista runs at RVD, who's sitting up, and hits him with a big boot to the face. Batista quickly goes for the pin. 1... 2... Late kick out by RVD.

RVD kips up and tries to kick Batista in the gut. Batista grabs his foot before it connects, but RVD counters it into an enzuigiri. Batista staggers on his feet as RVD runs the ropes again. Batista shakes it off and hits a spine buster on the returning RVD.

Batista picks RVD off the mat and whips him into the corner. He follows up with several shoulder thrusts before going to the ring ropes and performing his thumbs up, thumbs down taunt.

Batista has RVD in the corner, right where he wants him. All of a sudden, Tomko and Rhyno appear in the ring behind Batista and attack him with steel chairs. Batista puts his hands up to shield himself, but the chairs eventually wear him down.

RVD explodes out of the corner and attempts to fight off the duo. Tomko jabs his chair end first into RVD's ribs, making him haunch over instinctively. Rhyno follows up with a chair shot to the back of RVD's skull. RVD's eyes roll into the back of his head as he collapses onto the canvas, face first.

Christian walks out onto the stage and receives some huge heat from the crowd.

Christian:
Oh, shut up! I have an announcement to make. Thanks to our wonderful assistant General Manager Tiffany, my boys here will be taking part in the Strange Bedfellows match at Victory Road.

By the way, Batista. I hope you'll be able to make the Extreme Elimination Chamber match in 2 weeks (in a sarcastic voice).

Christian's throws his head back and erupts into a fit of laughter. Christian's now getting massive heat from the crowd as the screen fades to black.

The ECW Epics superstars only have one more week to prepare for Victory Road. Who will have the momentum going into the PPV? Tune in next week to find out!

The ECW Epics matches at Victory Road will be:

Strange Bedfellows match:
Mysterio/Benjamin vs. Kingston/Abyss vs. Kennedy/Sabu vs. R-Truth/Booker T vs. Tomko/Rhyno

6 man Winner Takes All match:
The Hart Dynasty vs. Beer Money Inc/ODB

Extreme Elimination Chamber for the ECW Epics Championship:
Christian vs. Foley vs. Batista vs. RVD vs. Dreamer vs. MVP