Randy Orton was at one point scheduled to win the WWE Championship from John Cena at SummerSlam. The final decision was not made by Vince McMahon until two days before the event, when he changed the plan as he was not happy about news of Orton’s win leaking early and he did not like any of the planned finishes that were brought up for their match. Should Cena retain the title at Unforgiven and the week after that event, he will be the longest reigning WWE champion since Hulk Hogan’s 1984-88 stint.
Your rumoured main matches for WrestleMania 24, as reported by the Wrestling Observer, are Triple H vs Ken Kennedy, Edge vs The Undertaker and John Cena vs Batista. HHH/Kennedy would be based around something like getting 100% of Vince McMahon’s inheritance. Edge/Taker would be based around nobody having beaten Edge at WrestleMania either, which seems rather dubious considering what happened to him at WM23. Cena/Batista is being discussed simply because it has never happened on a big stage before, though it has been discussed many times only for other options to be pursued.
The Observer also says that Jeff Hardy’s recent suspension, due to missing house show money, 30 days downside guarantee and a SummerSlam match with Umaga, cost him around $100,000. The fact that he was still kept off of SummerSlam despite the suspension being up just before the show is to send a message to talent that, from now on, suspensions have serious repercussions as opposed to when they could still work TV.
Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, 03 September 2007 (click here for subscription information)
