Brand(s) Raw
SmackDown!
ECW Attendance 10,500 | Date May 20, 2007 Venue Scottrade Center | |
 | ||
Theme
song(s) "I Don't Wanna Stop" by Ozzy Osbourne Promotion World Wrestling Entertainment | ||
Judgment Day (2007) was the ninth annual Judgment Day professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It took place on May 20, 2007 from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. This was the first Judgment Day event since 2003 to be an inter-brand pay-per-view, as it featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brands.
Contents
The main match on the Raw brand was John Cena versus The Great Khali for the WWE Championship, which Cena won after forcing Khali to submit to the STFU. The featured match on the SmackDown! brand was Edge versus Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Edge won via pinfall with a school boy pin. The primary match on the ECW brand was a Handicap match for the ECW World Championship between Team McMahon (champion Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and Umaga) and Bobby Lashley. Lashley won the match by pinning Shane McMahon; however, he did not win the title since he did not pin the champion, Vince McMahon.
Background
On the April 30, 2007 episode of Raw during a match between WWE Champion John Cena and Shawn Michaels, Michaels was attacked from behind by The Great Khali, who also KO'd Edge and Randy Orton. The Great Khali then Khali Bombed Cena. The next week on Raw, Khali defeated Shawn Michaels in a number one contenders match by KO after Khali Bombing Michaels through the announce table. Later that night, Khali stole Cena's WWE title belt. The next week on Raw, when Cena tried to take his belt back, Khali attacked him.
On the May 11 episode of SmackDown! Batista challenged The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship in a Steel Cage. Both men escaped the cage simultaneously, thus ending in a draw. After the match, Mark Henry returned, attacking The Undertaker. Edge then defeated Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Title after cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. The next week on SmackDown!, Batista confronted Edge and challenged him for the World Heavyweight Titleudgment Day.
Bobby Lashley had represented Donald Trump in the "Battle of the Billionaires" and defeated ECW Champion Vince McMahon's representative Umaga, thus becoming a rival of Team McMahon (Umaga, Vince and Shane McMahon). Team McMahon defeated Lashley in a three-on-one handicap match to let Vince win the ECW World Championship. Lashley demanded a rematch for the ECW World Title, and Vince booked himself, Umaga and Shane in another three-on-one handicap rematch against Lashley for the ECW title.
Event
Before the broadcast began, Kane defeated William Regal in a dark match.
Preliminary matches
The first televised match was between Ric Flair and Carlito. Carlito controlled most of the match, as he attacked and applied various submissions on Flair's arm. After reversing a Back Stabber, Flair forced Carlito to submit with the Figure-Four Leglock to win the match.
The next match on the card was between Bobby Lashley and Team McMahon (ECW World Champion Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, and Umaga) for the ECW World Championship. Towards the end of the match, Lashley delivered a Dominator to Shane and pinned him for the win. Lashley was declared the new ECW Champion, but Vince said that since he did not pin him, the champion, Lashley did not win the title. The third match was between CM Punk and Elijah Burke. Throughout the match, the two exchanged many aerial maneuvers. Punk won the match by pinning Burke after performing a GTS (Go To Sleep).
The match between Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels followed. During an interview segment before the match, Orton attacked Michaels. Before the match began, Orton stood alone in the ring and declared himself the winner by forfeit. Michaels, however, appeared and came to the ring, although he showed signs of injury. Michaels came into the match with a legitimate knee injury. During the match, Orton tried to perform a superplex over the top turnbuckle, but Michaels used an eye rake and caused Orton to fall. Michaels followed up with a diving elbow drop and tried to execute Sweet Chin Music, but collapsed in the process. The referee declared Orton the winner as a result. After the match, Orton attacked Michaels again, causing a kayfabe career-threatening concussion.
Next was The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) versus Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch for the World Tag Team Championship. Near the end of the match, Matt performed a Twist of Fate on Cade, which was followed by Jeff performing a Swanton Bomb. Jeff pinned Cade and The Hardys retained the World Tag Team Championship.
Main event matches
The next match was Edge versus Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship. Batista controlled most of the match and performed a Spinebuster on Edge. Edge, however, pinned Batista with a school boy, retaining the title.
The seventh match was a Two out of three falls match for the WWE United States Championship between champion Chris Benoit and Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP). MVP gained the first pinfall by pinning Benoit after executing a Playmaker. MVP gained the second fall and won the match after pinning Benoit with an Inside Cradle.
Next was the main event, which saw John Cena defend the WWE Championship against The Great Khali. Khali attacked Cena early in the match, but Cena countered and gained the advantage. Cena performed a diving legdrop bulldog and followed by putting Khali in the STFU. Cena forced Khali to submit to the hold, but Khali's foot was under the rope, meaning Cena should have broken the hold. The referee, however, did not see this and declared Cena the winner. Cena retained the WWE Championship and gained possession of the belt, which Khali had kayfabe stolen prior to the event.
Aftermath
Bobby Lashley and Team McMahon continued their rivalry, as Mr. McMahon was forced to book himself against Lashley at One Night Stand in a Street Fight for the ECW World Championship. Lashley won the right to face McMahon by winning a Gauntlet match with the stipulation that he would receive a title shot if he beat Chris Masters, Viscera, Umaga and Shane McMahon in succession. At One Night Stand, Lashley defeated Mr. McMahon in a Street Fight to win the ECW World Championship despite interference by Shane McMahon and Umaga.
Edge and Batista also continued their rivalry over the World Heavyweight Championship after Batista defeated Mark Henry, Kane and Finlay in a Fatal Four-Way match to become the number one Contender to the title. On the June 1 episode of SmackDown!, Batista verbally and physically confronted Edge on the SmackDown! debut of Edge's Cutting Edge talk show. At One Night Stand, Edge and Batista faced each other in a Steel cage match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Edge retained his title after escaping the steel cage first.
Shawn Michaels did not appear on-screen until October 8, when he returned to confront Orton and restart their feud. On the May 28 episode of Raw, Rob Van Dam claimed on WWE's website that Randy Orton should not have attacked Shawn Michaels at Judgment Day. Orton challenged Van Dam to a match that same night, which Orton won by forfeit. At One Night Stand, the two had a Stretcher match, which Van Dam won. After the match, Van Dam was attacked by Orton.
John Cena and The Great Khali also continued to feud over the WWE Championship. Following the controversial ending to their match at Judgment Day, where Cena forced Khali to submit while his foot was underneath the bottom rope, meaning Cena should have released the hold, Khali challenged Cena to a Falls Count Anywhere match for One Night Stand. Cena accepted, and Khali attacked him, performing a Chokebomb. At One Night Stand, Cena retained his title by pinning Khali after performing an FU off a crane.