Considering how poorly the Championship Scramble match had been received in the weeks leading up, WWE had to do something to get some buzz coming out of tonight's Unforgiven pay-per-view. They certainly did just that as Chris Jericho regained the WWE World Title in a match he wasn't originally supposed to be in.
Jericho took the place of now-former World Champion CM Punk. Punk was attacked in a backstage angle by Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, and Manu (who? Hold on...we're getting there).
Punk was unable to then compete in the match and was replaced by Jericho as the final entrant, only revealed upon his actual entrance into the ring. It seems fitting that the weakly-booked Punk's reign came to an end without him actually having a chance to defend the belt, but c'est la vie.
But wasn't Jericho supposed to fight Shawn Michaels? And what about the other Championship Scrambles? Read on as Ropes, Ring, and Cage brings the action to you in the order that it happened:
Matt Hardy won the ECW Title in a Championship Scramble: Instead of attempting to explain exactly what happened and how, I'll just tell you this. The match included Mark Henry (champion), The Miz, Chavo Guerrero, and Finlay. Hardy pinned Miz with around three minutes left and was able to evade Henry enough to keep the belt. The match wasn't good as Matt Striker described it as "bowling shoe ugly."
World Tag Champs Ted DiBiase/Cody Rhodes defeated Cryme Tyme to retain the belts: DiBiase reversed a small package that allowed Rhodes to get the pin on JTG. Post-match, the two teams brawled and Afa Jr. (later revealed as Manu) came in on DiBiase/Rhodes behalf.
Shawn Michaels defeated Chris Jericho in an unsanctioned match: People were livid this match was so early, but they would soon figure out why. The match went just under 30 minutes and the end came when the referee stopped the match after Michaels repeatedly was punching Jericho with a belt wrapped around his hand.
But it was supposed to be an unsanctioned match, you say? Exactly. Big spot where HBK hit a top rope elbow on Lance Cade and Jericho while the latter were laid out on the ECW announcer's table. Of note was that they acted like Michaels was possessed with Michael Cole asking whether God would forgive him. Uhhh...
HHH retained/won the WWE Championship in a Championship Scramble:
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