Batista would carry the title with him through the end of the year and into WrestleMania XXIII, where he came face-to-face with The Undertaker, who had won the Royal Rumble in January. The Deadman won the title at WrestleMania, and defended it to a draw against Batista in a Last Man Standing rematch at Backlash, and in a Steel Cage match on Smackdown, which saw interference from Mark Henry. It was then that the “Rated-R Superstar” Edge, who had found major success on the Raw brand, made his return to Smackdown, cashing in a Money in the Bank briefcase he won from Mr. Kennedy in order to take the championship from The Undertaker. Edge was set to become a major player on Smackdown, much as he had with multiple WWE Championship reigns on Monday nights, but an unfortunate injury forced him to vacate the world title after just 70 days on top of the “blue brand”. In July 2007, WWE decided to take a risk on their monstrous new Superstar, the Great Khali, awarding him the World Heavyweight Championship after a 20-man battle royale. His reign was considered lackluster, as Batista would take back his placeon top two months later at Unforgiven.
Batista and Edge became the two key main event players for Smackdown, as John Cena and Randy Orton solified the Raw roster. The legendary Undertaker provided legitimacy for the two rising stars. Upon his return from injury, Edge won the world title from Batista and The Undertaker in a triple threat match, debuting two look-alikes (Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder), and aligning himself with Chavo Guerrero and Vickie Guerrero, the later of whom would become his on-screen wife in a faction known as La Familia. The trio would continue to battle through the early parts of 2008, with The Undertaker winning back the title at WrestleMania XXIV. While the Phenom won the match, Edge and his “family” would win the war. Vickie Guerrero, who was at that time the general manager of Smackdown, stripped ‘Taker of the World Heavyweight Championship, and after two matches for the vacant title, Edge not only defeated The Undertaker to become champion once again, but because of a stipulation added to their TLC match at One Night Stand, the Deadman was forced to leave WWE.
Don’t Miss These Matches:
Batista vs. Triple H (Vengeance 2005)
Batista vs. Eddie Guerrero (No Mercy 2005)
Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker (No Way Out 2006)
Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton (WrestleMania 22)
Batista vs. The Undertaker (WrestleMania 23)
Edge vs. The Undertaker (WrestleManai 24)
Edge vs. The Undertaker (One Night Stand 2008)
