Earlier today, WWE.com revealed that following the unprecented conclusion to the Beat the Clock Challenge last Friday night, the Board of Directors ordered Vickie Guerrero to make a Triple Threat Match at Unforgiven for the WWE Championship.
Therefore Edge is set to defend the championship against both Triple H and Jeff Hardy. This presents an all-new challenge for The Game, as in recent months Jeff Hardy has consistenly come up just inches from besting him in the ring, and now he'll have to deal with Edge as well. But a title opportunity is a title opportunity, and anyone who knows Triple H can tell you—he'll stop at nothing to win at Armageddon.
Quick updates from the conclusion of the 22nd annual Survivor Series.
Team HBK prevailed against Team JBL when Shawn Michaels pinned John Morrison after ducking Morrison's "Nitro Blaster" (his name for Sweet Chin Music) and firing back with his own little number.
MVP eliminated JTG with a kick to the face, surprising everyone.
The Great Khali eliminated MVP only seconds later with a Khali Chop.
Rey Mysterio eliminated Kane after Khali tagged out and allowed Mysterio to use his giant shoulders as a launchpad, hitting Kane with a giant splash that he simply couldn't find the power to kick out of.
The Miz eliminated Shad with the Reality Check thanks to some interference by tag team partner John Morrison.
Rey Mysterio hit a hot streak of offense culminating in a 619, eliminating The Miz.
Shawn Michaels took the fight to JBL, who sought solace from the brutality outside of the ring. HBK had none of it though, relentlessly bringing the fight to JBL out of bounds. However, HBK kept his wits about him and beat the referee's ten-count back to the ring, while JBL wasn't so lucky, resulting in his elimination via countout.
Shawn Michaels eliminated John Morrison with a chorus of Sweet Chin Music, as noted above.
Thus, Shawn Michaels, The Great Khali and Rey Mysterio were the sole survivors tonight.
Unfortunately, things didn't go so well for Triple H tonight, who lost the WWE Championship in a flurry of bizarre circumstances.
At about 3 a.m. Sunday morning, Jeff Hardy was reportedly found lying unconscious at the bottom of a stairwell in his hotel.
The incident's cause remains unknown, but Hardy's injuries were determined severe enough to pull him from the advertised triple threat match for the WWE Championship.
The match went on as a one-on-one encounter between Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov.
The two competitors fought until neither could stand, and as the referee worked the ten-count, Smackdown General Manager, Vickie Guerrero, took the stage...
She stated that she promised us a triple threat match tonight, and we were going to get a triple threat match, excitedly proclaiming "He's here! He's here!"
Contrary to expectations, "he" turned out to be Edge, returning to action after taking time off to heal his injuries from his Hell in a Cell match with The Undertaker at Summerslam.
Edge joined what was left of the fray, easily taking down an exhausted Triple H...
Which is when Jeff Hardy showed up, to the delight of the live audience in Boston, and headed right for Edge.
Though successful in taking out the opportunist Edge, Hardy decided more punishment was in store, as he grabbed a steel chair from ringside...
Re-entering the ring, he apparently missed with his first swing at Edge, cracking it over the skull of Triple H instead. His second swing connected with Kozlov, intentionally by appearance.
His third swing was interrupted by a spear from Edge, who easily covered a prone Triple H for the victory and to capture the WWE Championship.
Edge, who has apparently mended fences with Vickie Guerrero, returned to the stage to celebrate and gloat along with her.
Triple H was visibly distraught after the match, which is certainly understandable—I know that none of us got the outcome we wanted. But for what it's worth, it took three men and extremely unusual, unfair circumstances to take Triple H down.
On that note, the circumstances surrounding the events of the night remain questionable, and where there are the questions, the WWE Universe demands answers.
Was Jeff Hardy's incident actually the result of an attack by Edge or by allies in La Familia?
Hardy seemed to be in fine condition when he made his appearance in the arena... was his condition, as reported, actually accurate?
Might there have been collusion between Hardy, Edge, and Vickie Guerrero in order to throw Triple H off his guard and off his game and to ensure that Edge would capture the WWE Championship?
After all, in recent weeks we've seen Jeff Hardy both growing increasingly frustrated with his apparent inability to defeat Triple H and capture the WWE Championship, and attempting to please Vickie Guerrero backstage in exchange for one more shot at the gold. Perhaps there was more to Jeff's "extreme" attitude change than we knew, and perhaps the events of tonight will put Hardy into political favor with the boss and first in line for the next title shot... only time will tell.
Just one thing is certain at this point... Triple H isn't going to take any of this lying down, and eventually The King of Kings will reclaim what is rightfully his.
Here's a quick update on what went down at Cyber Sunday...
Triple H faced Jeff Hardy as a result of votes collected from the WWE Universe, and naturally Triple H retained the WWE Championship. Jeff is getting better by the day but he's got a long road ahead of him still if he wants to dethrone the Game.
Shawn MIchaels wasn't voted in as special guest referee in the World Championship match between Chris Jericho and Batista, although he did make an appearance as a temporary replacement referee after Batista accidentally knocked Steve Austin out. Shawn did all he could to award the match to Batista but Jericho thwarted those attempts. Austin returned to the action as referee and run-ins from JBL and Randy Orton further disrupted things, but ultimately Batista gained control of the situation and defeated Chris Jericho, making Batista the new World Heavyweight Champion.
Last stop before Backlash! After taking part in the grueling eight-man tag this past Monday on Raw, there will be no rest for the Deadman—general manager Vickie Guerrero has ordered him to compete against Batista with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line! Vickie has ruled that if Batista captures the Championship, then it will be Batista, not the Undertaker, defending against Edge at Backlash. Good news for Edge, as either way his opponent won't be fully rested.
No word on what this could spell for the upcoming encounter between Batista and Shawn Michaels.
Also on the card is a match between The Miz and Shannon Moore.
