The WWE has a great way of coming up with new and innovative gimmicks that test the waters as far as what could be considered a wrestling match any more. We’ve seen ladder matches, TLC matches, Hell in the Cell, the Elimination Chamber, hardcore matches, and a number of other types of gimmicks that force the wrestlers to bring their A-games when fighting off their opponents. Unforgiven 2008 brought about a new type of match that didn’t see the danger level raised at all or tons of weapons thrown in to make it a free-for-all street fight. The “Scramble Match” would simply give even chances to everyone involved to walk out a champion.
The night of September 7, 2008 would mark the occurrence of the eleventh annual Unforgiven PPV and it would take place from the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. All of the superstars from WWE would step into the ring and leave nothing behind as it would be a night of firsts at every turn. Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels put everything on the line in an unsanctioned bout to settle differences that could not be contained within the limits of rules. Michelle McCool would put her new Divas Championship up for grabs when facing the blonde bombshell Maryse. But there are three other matches that took center stage and would leave every fan wondering who would walk out as each brand’s champion.
Three scramble matches took place at Unforgiven that would determine the World Heavyweight, WWE, and ECW World heavyweight championships. Five wrestlers would enter the ring from each brand for twenty minute time periods. Everyone would wrestle and attempt to pin anyone involved and therefore become the champion. But in order to walk out of the arena with the title in hand; they’d have to be the participant who scored the last pinfall or submission as the time limit was up. It would be a night of confusion and trying to be the last man standing so no matter who was champion at the end of the twenty minutes; to the other competitors, they would be unforgiven.
~ ECW Championship Scramble Match: Mark Henry (c) Vs. Matt Hardy Vs. Finlay Vs. The Miz Vs. Chavo Guerrero – Two wrestlers begin the match and another enters every five minutes. Have possession the last pinfall when the twenty minute bell sounds and you are the champion. Hardy and the Miz begin the match, but not much happens while it is just the two of them in there. Things begin to heat up quickly when Chavo arrives third and gets a quick pin to become the first champion. The mach itself stays very hot while they are working together, but then things die and fast once Henry and Finlay arrive. Oddly enough, the ending is fantastic and everything gets insanely crazy leading up to the epic victory for Hardy.
~ World Tag Team Championship Match: Cody Rhodes & Ted Dibiase (c) Vs. Cryme Tyme – Not a bad match at all as Simply Priceless (Dibiase/Rhodes) are perfectly matched together as a team and look as if they’ve been teaming together for years. Their chemistry is great, but this match really doesn’t show how good they are because it is a basic straight-forward bout with not much to write home about. Cryme Tyme just can never seem to catch a break, though, and take that one extra step up.
The aftermath does introduce Manu. You can never have enough Samoans in World Wrestling Entertainment. As a side note: I miss Umaga.
~ Unsanctioned Match: Shawn Michaels Vs. Chris Jericho – Not much more can be said about this match except for “wow.” These two really know how to work well together and it shows every time they are in (or out) of the ring with one another. Whether it’s a technical masterpiece or just a straight-up brawl like this, Jericho and HBK are going to put on a show and give it everything they’ve got. One thing that bothers me about this though is that it is supposedly “unsanctioned” yet the ending comes due to the referee stopping it? What the hell is that all about? And another thing that bugs me is the lack of blood. I’ve been watching wrestling for close to three decades and sometimes a little blood is needed because it takes that four and a half star match just over the top thanks to the visual and intensity it brings.
Think about it…Steve Austin in the sharpshooter as Bret Hart keeps pulling back and the camera focuses in on Austin’s bloody face screaming in pain. Take away the blood and it removes the iconic feeling that picture gets. HBK and Jericho put on a brawl unlike I’ve seen in the WWE for a couple years now and it needs to be seen to be believed. Still, I’d like some blood to top off the violence.
~ Randy Orton Confronts Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, Jr., and Manu
~ WWE Championship Scramble Match: Triple H (c) Vs. Jeff Hardy Vs. MVP Vs. Shelton Benjamin Vs. Brian Kendrick – Here we have our second scramble match with a lot of guys in it that you wouldn’t expect. Benjamin has always been a valid midcarder along with MVP, but we’ve never seen them jump up into the main event before really. Hardy has made his case for main event status. The oddball out here is Kendrick who went from tag teamer to all of a sudden being in the main event of a PPV and I think it’s great. The guy works his ass off and deserves it.
For some reason I expected this match to be better then the ECW scramble, but sadly it wasn’t. Hardy and Benjamin begin things off and they always make for a fun time in the ring and adding in Kendrick third makes for even more enjoyment. MVP (one of my new favorites) comes out next and things just start to drag and get very dull. Even after Triple H arrives; the match just is rather boring and produces little to no excitement because you never get the feeling that anyone but Trips will win. One of out two so far with the scramble matches.
~ Todd Grisham Interviews Shawn Michaels
~ Eve Torres Interviews CM Punk
~ Divas Championship Match: Michelle McCool (c) Vs. Maryse – Ahhh moving onto the title belt that is uglier then the WWE belt, which I didn’t think possible. I still don’t understand why someone other then McCool (um, say Natalya or Victoria) isn’t champion and why someone other then Maryse (anyone) isn’t challenging for the belt. Boring match I couldn’t care less about.
~ World Heavyweight Championship Scramble Match: Batista Vs. Rey Mysterio Vs. Kane Vs. JBL Vs. Chris Jericho – Alright it’s the third scramble match and the main event so let’s see if the WWE can pull ahead and get two out of three right. This match already had a lot going for it as CM Punk was taken out by Randy Orton and his band of miscreants; who would take the Straight-Edge Superstar’s place was a mystery. Batista and JBL start out the match and that’s really no fun so right away things start out kind of bland. Kane is out next to keep the plodding around in full effect. Rey Mysterio comes out and there still isn’t much of anything happening, but then the best part of the match comes up as Jericho has replaced Punk. Jericho is still feeling the effects from his brutal match with HBK earlier and it shows. This match is really not too much fun at all, but seeing Jericho come out after his battle earlier and take the title put a smile on my face. I’m still not too sure why Punk was just taken out anyway. Oh well, overall I’d say the scramble matches went 1.5 out of 3.
The event is shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and there are no problems at all with how everything is transferred to DVD.
The event is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and every bump, bang, blam, and bonk can be heard without a hitch.
Eve Torres Interviews Big Show and Vickie Guerrero as They Are Leaving The Arena – Vickie and Big Show say that SmackDown is no longer Undertaker’s yard and they are in control now. How’d Vickie get so good-looking? And when did Show grow a beard on his chest?
Chris Jericho Addresses The Crowd from Monday Night Raw 09/08/08 – Four minutes of Jericho showing off his newly-won title, putting down Shawn Michaels and the fans, and showing off his wounds.
Trailers – Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia, Viva La Raza: The Legacy Of Eddie Guerrero, and Hell In A Cell
Now the Scramble Match isn’t exactly a new concept because if you’re a longtime wrestling fan then you’ll remember what was called the “Hardcore Battle Royal” at WrestleMania 2000. The only difference there is that you had to pin whoever was champion in order to win the belt. That’s just splitting hairs though, and the WWE wanted to throw something kind of new in to spice things up only they didn’t really do the greatest job of it. Maybe you could argue that the match lost its luster after the initial ECW Scramble to start the show, but I doubt that is the case. That match delivered, the SmackDown one didn’t, and then the RAW version came through with a hit and miss. Oh well, they tried and I’ll give them credit for that. Other then those three matches, Unforgiven only delivers the unsanctioned match and not much else. Seek out the HBK-Y2J match if can, but if you’re a collector of the WWE DVDs then I already know you’ve snatched this one up. It isn’t awful, but it’s nothing special either. Not to mention the fact that the special features are right up on the borderline of being worthless, but that’s come to be expected.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
WWE Home Video presents Unforgiven 2008. Featuring: Cody Rhodes, Ted Dibiase, CM Punk, Batista, Kane, Triple H, MVP, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, Shelton Benjamin, and many more. Running time: 180 minutes. Rating: PG. Released on DVD: October 7, 2008. Available at Amazon
