Big Bubba: Dissolving the Corre

For this week’s edition of Big Bubba, we were asked to build a main event feud and a midcard feud, as well as bringing an undercard wrestler up during these feuds. My booking begins the Friday after Capitol Punishment. Here is the backstory:

-At Over the Limit, Randy Orton defeats Christian to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.

-Wade Barrett and Ezekiel Jackson wrestle to a no contest after interference by Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater, who have decided that the two of them are better than either Zeke or Wade. A four-way brawl ensues.

-The Corre officially splits into three distinct parts: Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson, and the duo of Gabriel and Slater. Teddy Long books a Fatal Four Way match for the IC Championship at Capitol Punishment.

-At Capitol Punishment, Wade Barrett seems to be on his way to retaining when he kicks Heath Slater out of the ring and hits Wasteland on Justin Gabriel, but Ezekiel Jackson comes out of nowhere and hits a huge clothesline on Barrett to pick up the victory and the Intercontinental Championship.

June 24, 2011 – Smackdown!

Wade Barrett is in the ring with a mic.

“You may all notice that there is something missing around my waist. This past Sunday at Capitol Punishment, I was forced to defend my Intercontinental Championship against three men! Well, obviously those odds are too steep for any man to overcome. I’m putting the Intercontinental Championship behind me because I have my eyes on something else, something even more prestigious – the World Heavyweight Championship! Half a year ago I was challenging the current World Heavyweight Champion, Randy Orton, for the WWE Championship. I would have won it too if it weren’t for that meddling John Cena. So I know I can beat you, Randy. And at Money in the Bank, that’s just what I intend on doing.”

Ezekiel Jackson’s music hits

“Wade, Wade, Wade, let me get this straight. I just beat you on Sunday for this Intercontinental Championship and now you want to go after Randy Orton? If anyone deserves a shot at Orton, it’s me! I have proved that I am better without the Corre, and everyone can see that I am better than you, Wade.”

Teddy Long’s music hits

“Hold on there, playa. I have a solution to your problem. You two had a hard-fought match at Capitol Punishment, so you are off tonight. But next week, it will be Intercontinental Champion Ezekiel Jackson versus Wade Barrett in a number one contender’s match for the World Heavyweight Championship!”

Later in the show, Slater and Gabriel give a promo as newly minted faces proclaiming that they are glad their run with the Corre is over and that they can’t wait to challenge for the WWE Tag Team Championships once again. Their promo is cut short by Jinder Mahal, The Great Khali, and Ranjin Singh. Jinder says that if anyone wants to challenge for the tag titles, the line starts behind him and he starts a backstage brawl.

July 1, 2011 – Smackdown!

Slater and Gabriel are in the ring. They call out Jinder Mahal and The Great Khali for attacking them last week for no reason. Ranjin Singh comes out with a mic and says Jinder didn’t mean to get so testy last week. He says that it was all a misunderstanding, but Jinder comes out and disagrees. He throws Ranjin off the stage into some technical equipment and sparks fly out. Khali is quick to Ranjin’s aid, but Jinder won’t let him get close. Jinder commands Khali to toughen up and observe how weak Ranjin is. Khali looks confused, but follows Jinder to the back.

The main event is the number one contender’s match. Randy Orton comes out as a guest commentator. Ezekiel Jackson comes out to a big pop and he shows off his new Intercontinental Championship. Wade Barrett is the last out and gets booed all the way to the ring.

Orton says that it doesn’t matter who wins the match because he is better than either of the competitors. He says that he actually hopes Barrett wins because he would love to punt him in the skull.

Jackson starts off on the offensive. He gets Barrett in the corner and beats him to the ground with powerful strikes. He backs off and charges into Barrett with a body splash. Later in the match, the action spills to the outside. Barrett gains the upper hand when he whips Jackson into the barricade. He then, picks Jackson up and rams him into the steel steps. Barrett runs at Jackson, but Jackson back body drops him over the barricade into the crowd. Jackson follows him out and hits a huge clothesline on Barrett. Zeke takes a moment to celebrate, but he doesn’t realize the referee has been counting. 8…..9…..10!!! The match is ruled a double count-out.

Orton takes us off the air saying, “I guess I still don’t have an opponent for Money in the Bank.”

July 8, 2011 – Smackdown!

Teddy Long is the first to come out.

“Last week, we had a number one contender’s match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Unfortunately, we did not have a winner in that match. So this week in our main event, we’re having a rematch between Wade Barrett and Ezekiel Jackson and it will be no disqualification and no count out!”

We go backstage and we see The Great Khali walking and wielding a kendo stick. Khali comes to a locker room door that says Slater/Gabriel on it and he looks back. The camera pans to Jinder Mahal who says, “Do it Khali!”. Khali kicks the door in and starts swinging. By time the cameraman gets in, Slater and Gabriel are laid out. Khali takes a couple more swings at them for good measure.

The main event is a familiar sight with the same two men in the ring as last week. This time when the bell rings, Wade Barrett slides outside the ring immediately. He looks under the ring and finds a chair before getting back in the ring. Ezekiel Jackson gives him an enraged glare before charging. Barrett sidesteps and hits Jackson in the back with the chair. He hits him a few more times before Jackson can escape the ring. Jackson regroups and lures Barrett to the outside, where he can beat on him more effectively. The match goes back and forth on the outside until Zeke rolls Barrett back in the ring. Zeke is slow to get back in the ring and once he does, he is met by a blatant low blow by Barrett. The ref looks funny at Wade, but can’t do anything in this no DQ match. Barrett is met by many boos from the crowd as he picks Jackson up on his shoulders and hits Wasteland. He is very happy with himself and climbs up on the turnbuckle to try to win the fans over to no avail. He steps back down slowly and turns around into a clothesline from Jackson! Both men crumble to the mat. They each have an arm over their respective opponent. The ref counts to three and the match is over! But who is the winner? The show goes off the air with suspicion in the air.

July 15, 2011 – Smackdown!

Randy Orton is in the ring with a mic.

“Teddy Long, join me….please.”

Teddy Long’s music hits and he joins Orton in the ring.

Orton: “For the second week in a row, we have had a number one contender’s match with no conclusion. Now, I’ve said before, I don’t care who I face at Money in the Bank, but this is getting out of hand. I do need time to prepare for my opponent, so I need to know who it is going to be.”

Long: “Well, unfortunately playa, I don’t have an answer for you. I guess we’re going to have to have another match tonight to decide who will face you at Money in the Bank.”

Orton: “No, Teddy. I can’t wait until later. Just pick who you think is the better man.”

Wade Barrett’s music hits

“Teddy, this is an easy one. I have been dominant in my matches against Zeke. He has manipulated our matches because he knew a draw would look better than a loss.”

Ezekiel Jackson’s music hits

“Don’t listen to this fool, Teddy. I beat him for the Intercontinental Championship, so we know who the better man is.”

Long: “I have come to a decision. At Money in the Bank, we will have a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship. It will be World Champion Randy Orton defending against Wade Barrett and Ezekiel Jackson.”

Orton gets a serpentine smile on his face and nails Zeke with an RKO! Barrett attempts a big boot but misses and Orton hits him with an RKO as well!

The main event for this week is the much awaited encounter between Slater/Gabriel and Khali/Mahal. It looks like Jinder Mahal has convinced The Great Khali to be more ruthless and that is a scary sight.

As the match begins, we see Big Show and Kane in the back watching on a monitor. The winner of this match may be in line for a shot at the WWE Tag Team Championship.

Slater starts the match off with Jinder Mahal. Mahal shows the strength advantage and dominates Slater for a short while before Gabriel gets tagged in. Gabriel catches Jinder off guard with a couple kicks to the head. Gabriel hits another big kick and a springboard maneuver to stay in control. Jinder finds the first opportunity to tag in Khali and takes it. Khali hits Gabriel with a big chop. He grabs him by the head and squeezes. Khali looks to be unstoppable. Gabriel finally tags Slater and they each dropkick a knee of Khali to drop him. Slater hits Khali with a DDT from the knees and tags Gabriel. Gabriel gets to the top rope, but Khali is back up. He grabs Gabriel with both hands and hits the Punjabi Plunge. Mahal knocks Slater off the apron as Khali pins Gabriel for the three count and the win. It looks like there is a new force in the tag team division.

July 17, 2011 – Money in the Bank PPV

World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat Match – Randy Orton versus Wade Barrett versus Ezekiel Jackson

The three men circle each other for a few seconds. Zeke and Orton look at each other and nod before charging at Barrett. Barrett is on the wrong end of a double team and cannot escape. Zeke picks Barrett up and teams with Orton on a double suplex. Orton tosses Barrett outside. Zeke and Orton bump knuckles as a sign of respect then grapple with each other. Zeke whips Orton off the ropes and hits a big shoulder block. He then hits a huge scoop slam on the World Champion. Barrett gets back in the ring behind Zeke and hits him with a low blow. That’s becoming a staple of Barrett’s repertoire. Barrett then picks the two others apart with a serious of strikes. He goes to the second rope for his signature elbow drop with Zeke laid out in front of him. He jumps off into an RKO from Orton! Orton swings his neck around wildly looking like he has snapped. He looks sideways at Zeke who is on his hands and knees and decides to line up a punt kick. He runs at Zeke, but Zeke counters into a huge clothesline! He goes to cover, but it’s Barrett who is back up. He picks Jackson up on his shoulders and hits Wasteland! He covers Jackson and Orton can’t break it up in time. Wade Barrett wins his first World Heavyweight Championship!


So we can recap:

Main event feud - Orton vs Zeke vs Barrett
Midcard feud - Gabriel/Slater vs Khali/Mahal
Undercard wrestler pushed - Jinder Mahal