Warfare 17/05/06

In the final week before Super Schiznit Sunday the three men in the World Title Ballot were given a taste of what it will be like for the World Champion Randy Orton at the ppv as he chose their opponents in three seperate matches. The Cruiserweght Contenders at SSS got a chance to showcase their skills as did four men who will meet in singles matches at the show. And the six men who will walk into battle in the Elimination Chamber match got their chance to give their reasons as why the fans should vote for them to be the last entrant into the match.

Randy Orton delighted in being able to choose the opponents for his SSS challengers. For Chris Kanyon he chose The Big Gee and it was looking like Gee would take the fight and seriously weaken Kanyon's momentum going into SSS, but some timely distraction from Torrie Wilson, Stacy Keibler and Jackie Gayda meant that Kanyon was able to get the win. Kurt Angle was taken to the limit by his rough and ready opponent Finaly. The two had a brutal and hard-hitting match which Angle only just sneaked away from with the victory. But Orton was pleased that his possible opponent had had such a hard time. The biggest shocker though came as Randy introduced Dean Roberts' opponent...the physical phenom that is OLEG PRUDIUS. Dean couldn't believe it as Oleg, accompanied by his manager NIKITA KOLOFF , stormed down to the ring. Dean fought valiantly, but in the end the odds were too much; when the referee went down, Orton took that as his opportunity to strike, hitting Dean with an RKO. Angle and Kanyon both ran out in an attempt to even up the odds, but Orton and Prudius cleaned house before Prudius pinned a bloodied and battered Dean. With all three men who may oppose Orton at SSS taking a beating, it's advantage Randy so far.

In other matches, Eric Young won the Cruiserweight Showcase by pinning Super Crazy in a match also featuring The Great Sasuke. In the aftermath, Cruiserweight champion Rick Shaw attempted to shake Young's hand but merely got a slap across the face for his troubles. Six more men who may get a shot at Shelton Benjamin at SSS met in a classic tag team battle as the dream team of Rob Van Dam, Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit defeated Edge, Rhino and Booker T. And Lance Storm & Kane went to a no-contest with Charles Haas and Abyss in a wild encounter, which only makes the Storm/Haas and Kane/Abyss issues leading up to SSS all the more exciting.

In other news, the six man Elimination Chamber debate was turned on its head when a six-man tag match was announced for the upcoming episode of Impact. After weeks of women turning him down, The Big Gee suddenly found that he was irresistable to the opposite sex and Torrie, Stacy and Jackie all wanted him...the solution? Let the fans decide on his date at SSS!

Match Results;
Chris Kanyon defeated The Big Gee
Eric Young defeated Super Crazy & The Great Sasuke in a 3-way match
Kurt Angle defeated Finlay
Rob Van Dam, Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit defeated Edge, Rhino & Booker T
Lance Storm & Kane went to a no-contest with Charles Haas & Abyss
Oleg Prudius defeated Dean Roberts