Sports: Diary of a WWE Championship *SPOILERS*

[#HEEL Dark Lord]

November 9, 2006 - Damn. One word, that's all Ron Simmons needs to pop a crowd. The way he said it on Monday, I was waiting for Shelton Benjamin to break character and burst out laughing (and if you rewind your TiVo, you'll see how close he came). Shelton Benjamin is the best athlete in WWE, and if you've watched his stylized matches with Angle, HBK, or the two stunning Money in the Bank matches from Mania, you know this kid might be one mouthpiece away from headlining the show.

Damn.

Bring in Ron Simmons as Benjamin's manager and you open up so many opportunities. Sometimes wrestling storylines really are that simple. Forget chasing Cryme Tyme for chains and The Rock's hand-me-downs, the gold Benjamin should be chasing is around the waist of John Cena. Actually, the way I'd rather see it play out is Edge beating Cena at Wrestlemania (after Edge wins the Rumble), then start a feud between Edge and Benjamin with Benjamin (and the extremely funny Simmons) as the face. Maybe I'm just selfish and I want to see my two favorite wrestlers feud against each other, then again, imagine the possibilities of a TLC match between Edge and Benjamin for the title.

Damn.

Unfortunately, Ron Simmons isn't in the new game, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007, so when I take Benjamin through Story mode, it looks like we're going it alone. With his athleticism and Spider-Man like agility, Benjamin is a walking videogame, so it's only natural I play as him in Smackdown.












It's time for Shelton to move up to the main event, one right analog stick move at a time.

When I start Story mode, I'm presented with a PC, a calendar, some magazines, and a PDA. On the computer, I can check my stats (wins, losses, draws, even Royal Rumble finishes), Superstar bios for every wrestler in the game, and a shop where you can spend the money you earn to buy legends like Rowdy Roddy Piper (anyone think in 2006 this man would be holding a title in WWE?). You will also find out how to unlock special items like the nWo championship belt design (win the SumerSlam trophy).











check my PDA and there's a message from The Coach. He kisses my ass, tells me that he's impressed with my skills in the ring, and that if I win 4 matches, followed by 1 at a pay per view, I will be rewarded with a shot at the title.

From here, I can adjust the look of the locker room, from the floor patter to the wall pattern, but I'll leave that to Billy and Chuck (not that there's anything wrong with that), Shelton is here to fight.

And Coach isn't fooling around. My first match is against The Big Show (a quarter ton of humanity, according to J.R.). Couldn't they at least start me out against a jobber so I can get the controls down? If I beat Big Show, I earn $5,000 in WWE cash to spend at the shop. If only I could use it to buy my chain and shirt that is missing in my intro. How long ago did Shelton first start wearing silk shirts to the ring?











Anyway, the match starts and I rush Big Show, but he catches me and sends me flying with a hip toss. I get up, collect myself, then do what Shelton does best, and that's wrestle. Old school head locks and takedowns to knock Show off his feet and eliminate the height advantage. I'm hitting him in the head, grabbing him in headlocks (might even be a little choke), and as I wear him down, I even hit two Mach Man-like elbow drops off the top rope.




I pick Show up for a back suplex and he backflips out of the move and on to his feet. I kick him in the mouth for the escape then hit a T-Bone Suplex for the win.











After the match, Big Show reaches out to shake my hand, but Chavo and Daivari hit the ring and beat him down with pipes. The two then grab my hands and raise them like I was in on the plan all along. Shelton looks confused, then Carlito walks out with a mic. He says something about how nobody can beat the four of us as long as we stick together, and that's cool.









I check my messages after the match and it's Carlito (the message is actually Carlito's voice). He tells me that he's sick of being pushed around by "big dump apes like Big Show" and that they're going to prove that there's strength in numbers. He also tells me that I have no choice but to help finish the job against Show.

Damn.

Where's Ron Simmons when I need him?

Next week, my second match is against Viscera. What's up with pitting Shelton against the biggest people in the game? I'm surprised King Kong Bundy and One Man Gang weren't signed as legends just so they can come out and join in the fat man fray.

I wonder if Chad Johnson got the idea for the Mohawk from Big Vis? Is Ocho Cinco a wrestling fan? A few more nachos and Big Vis will be pushing into cinco territory himself.

Anyway, easy match, T-Bone Suplex and Vis gets obliterated.

After the match, Big Show hits the ring and even though I beg and plead for my life, Show chokeslams me "halfway to China".

My PDA has a message from Chavo. He says, what are you going to do, you want to team up with us and take him out once and for all or are you going to keep getting yourself chokeslammed?

I guess he has a point.

I have the opportunity to respond to Chavo's offer. I can either agree to team with Carlito and his crew or try to explain things to Show one more time. I already beat Show, so I don't fear him one bit, but what I don't like is some punk coming in and trying to tell me what to do. I'm going to try to talk to Show one last time. I just hope I don't get chokeslammed for my efforts.

I check the computer and WWE.com has a story called "Waking and Angry Giant". It talks about how Shelton Benjamin played Big Show the voicemail messages from Carlito and Chavo, and while Show doesn't necessarily believe everything I say, he's trusting me enough to tag with me against Daivari and Chavo on Raw. "I'd rather keep him right next to me where I can keep an eye on him," says Show.

Same to you big fella.

Daivari and Carlito call to leave me threatening messages. They tell me I just made the biggest mistake of my career. We'll see.

Daivari starts the match by punching me in the nuts…this is getting personal. I smack him around, DDT him, then tag in Show to let him have some fun. The match is pretty much a squash as neither Chavo or Daivair can even pickup Show, and when Chavo tries to pick up Shelton, he can't even get me off the mat. Slingshot suplex. Elbow off the top. Another DDT and we have the win.









After the match, Show gets some revenge on Daivari with some chest slaps and a choke slam. We leave the ring and Shelton is still undefeated.

I have to say, when I first started playing the game, I didn't like the new control scheme at all, but not I've completely changed my opinion. The more you play the game, the more you get used to the new layout and move set on the right stick, and now I really can't see myself ever going back to buttons.




Coach sends me a message and tells me all I need is one more win to earn a title shot. But that's when things get tricky. WWE.com reports that Daivari has been injured and because of The Big Show's actions, he is barred from ringside. To top it off, I'm being ordered to face Chavo and Carlito in a handicap match on Raw. I guess Coach really wants me to earn that title shot the hard way.

It doesn't take long for the referee to get knocked down, and within seconds, Carlito hits me with two low blows. I'm on the mat and Carlito stomps on me, goes outside the ring, then flips over the ropes back on top of me with an elbow strike. That is not cool.










Chavo tags in and that's when Shelton gets hot. Arm drag. DDT. Kick to the face. Choke. Chavo is in trouble. But every time I go for a pin or submission, Carlito jumps in and breaks things up. I exit the ring and Carlito chases after me. I manage to beat Carlito down outside the ring, then flip my way back into the squared-circle to take care of Chavo. A few more moves and I slap on a submission move to the head to make Chavo tap. When the bell rings, Carlito hits the ring and the two bad guys work me over until The Big Show makes the save. Show grabs the mic and says that next week on Raw is a Tornado Tag, no DQ match to settle the score once and for all.










The no DQ match isn't much of a match at all as Show beats the hell out of Chavo while Shelton hits Carlito with just about every move in his arsenal. Showstopper on Chavo and the match is over in less than two minutes.

As I head back to the locker room I notice I can finally click on WWE magazine and there is an article about how Shelton and Show beat Carlito and his cronies. "I'm not scared of anyone or anything," says Shelton Benjamin, "but when Big Show first thought I was with Carlito's crew, I knew I had to do some serious explaining, and fast. I'm not saying that I couldn't have held my own against him, but I will say that he's the kind of guy you want to have on your side, not as an enemy."

Before my next match, I use the money I've acquired through winning to unlock both Piper and Dusty Rhodes ($12,000 each), then I move on to the next week where Coach informs me that I am the number one contender for the title.

But before I challenge for the belt in four weeks at Wrestlemania, someone wants a piece of me, and that someone is The Big Red Machine.

I get Kane in a headlock down on the mat, and even though he gets to the ropes I refuse to break the hold. This guy is a monster, no time for good sportsmanship. Kane gives me some trouble, almost pins me after a chokeslam, but Shelton kicks out and starts to work on the big man's head. I just keep hitting the same spot over and over, and any time Kane starts to come back, I exit the ring and get my stamina back to full strength. Kane finally taps and I remain undefeated.

That's when the music hits. "It's time to play The Game!"











The champ, Triple H, walks out and tells me that I shouldn't even lace up my boots for Mania, that I don't have what it takes. Then he makes me a deal. He says if I go to Smackdown and beat Randy Orton, then our match at Wrestlemania will be no DQ. Sounds like a trap, but I like using weapons as much as the next guy, so it's off to Smackdown I go.



I'm not scared of him," says Orton. "I'll send him back to Raw with his tail tucked between his legs."

[#HEEL Dark Lord]

It's Orton who should've run, though, as I destroy Mr. RKO and make him tap. Triple H leaves me a message and says if I do the same to Batista, I can name my match at Wrestelmania. An offer I can't refuse.










But when the match starts, Randy Orton runs into the ring and it's two against one. Orton throws me into the corner, hits me with the shoulder ram, then punches my lights out. The ref refuses to call for the bell and I'm facing both men for about a minute before Orton finally leaves, giving his old pal Batista the edge in the match.

Shelton is able to comeback against the odds, even gaining an advantage until Batista knocks me outside the ring and Orton grabs me in a submission hold. The Smackdown ref, obviously in on the scam, counts me out and I lose the match. To top it off, Orton and Batista are now headed to Raw to take on Shelton and Triple H in a tag match. If Evolution reforms on Raw, I could be in some big trouble.








The action is back-an-forth all match long until Randy Orton and Batista start clobbering me two-on-one. I order Triple H into the ring and as he battles Batista, Orton throws me outside the ring then goes top rope and flattens me with an elbow on the concrete. Meanwhile, Triple H throws Batista outside the ring as well and beats his head bloody. Shelton hits Orton with a DDT outside the ring, and when the ref counts to ten, Shelton is the only one standing in the squared-circle as the Raw team wins by countout.

After the match, Shelton raises his arms but loses sight of his Wrestlemania opponent. Triple H grabs the sledgehammer and sends a message to the challenger, smashing him over and over with the sledgehammer. This is what Wrestlemania is all about.








The baby face chasing the villain for the belt. That's how you make your money in wrestling folks. And anyone who has seen Money in a Bank knows Benjamin delivers on the biggest stage time and time again. Let's see what he has in store as he goes for the gold.




Before Mania even starts, though, I get a message from Shane McMahon telling me I barely received medical clearance after the repeated sledgehammers to the head. He doesn't recommend that I risk further injury. Are you crazy? This is Wrestlemania. My first title shot. Even if I had to flip into the ring with one leg, and an eye patch, I'd be there (strange image of Zach Gowan and Pierre Carl Ouellette comes to mind that I try to erase).

Anyway, it's time. The showcase of the immortals. Wrestlemania. The main event. Shelton Benjamin vs. Triple H for the title. It's funny that these two are in the main event as it was Shelton's performance against Triple H on Raw a few years ago that really put him on the map as a singles wrestler.









When the match starts, Shelton's health is already in the yellow because of the beat down just a few days earlier on Raw. Shelton starts the match with his spinning back kick to the head, knocking Triple H over the top rope and onto the concrete. When he rolls back into the ring, the Game gets dirty. He hits me low from behind, pokes me in the eyes, kicks me in the kidneys…this is no DQ and Trips is taking advantage of the wounded Benjamin.








The fight spills outside the ring and I tear the monitors off of the announce table and attempt to suplex Triple H through the wood, but the champ reverses the move and knocks me down. He stand over me, but now it's my turn to poke him in the eyes, kick him, then I climb on top of the table and land an elbow drop. When the action goes back into the ring, we trade moves for a few minutes, then Triple H sends me flying into the corner and starts to deliver punch after punch to Benjamin's skull.









After six punches, Benjamin pushes Triple H off of him, Kicks him in the head, and while Triple H is stunned, hits a T-Bone suplex to knock the champ out. 1-2…kick out.

Damn.


Shelton goes top rope and drops the elbow. 1-2…kick out.

I start kicking Triple H in the head out of frustration. He tries to comeback with one last move, but I grab him and hit a DDT out of nowhere.

1-2-3. Shelton Benjamin has won the gold!







Confetti falls from the roof and the crowd goes nuts. It's a moment reminiscent of Benoit winning the belt as Shelton celebrates and Triple H lies motionless in the ring.








It's the moment I've been waiting for in real life, finally coming true on the Xbox 360 (and this is just the beginning of story mode in the game, as after Mania, Edge steps up as the number one contender setting up the dream match I wanted all along).

But I want this match in real life. Let's see how long it takes Benjamin to make the jump to the main event outside of polygons. His time can't arrive soon enough.



And you never know, it could all start with one word.

Damn.