One swift kick to the knee and John Morrison had locked up his first win under his true name. CM Punk fell victim to the ECW World Champion's vicious style as Morrison got the three-count and retained his gold.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Texas Bull Rope Match was made famous by WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, and for the first few minutes of his encounter with Randy Orton, "The American Dream" showed why. But in the end, The Great American Bash was a nightmare for Rhodes, as Randy Orton beat the legend at his own game in the first Texas Bull Rope Match in WWE since 2004's Bash.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Melina bared her teeth as she burned a hole into Candice Michelle. She fought back tears and could not believe her eyes as her hated rival hoisted the Women's Championship in the air. Though Melina had repeatedly lost previous matches --including one for her Women's Championship last month at Vengeance: Night of Champions - to the former GoDaddy.com spokeswoman, she still considered Candice a fluke.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- United States Champion Montel Vontavious Porter has claimed for weeks that he is better than everyone, including his opponent at The Great American Bash -- Matt Hardy. On Sunday night, MVP's boisterous claims were backed up when he stole a victory and retained the U.S. Title against Hardy.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Few gave Carlito a chance going into his match with Sandman at The Great American Bash. After all, he was going to attempt to beat the longtime ECW Original-turned-Raw Superstar in his own game, a Singapore Cane on a Pole Match. And Sandman had made a career out of using his trademark cane to take foes to the extreme in these battles. Just ask the legendary Terry Funk, Mick Foley and ECW's Tommy Dreamer how brutal Sandman could be with a Singapore cane in his hands.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Our fans in San Jose's sold-out HP Pavilion erupted to its feet to hail a new Cruiserweight Champion Sunday night. Unfortunately, some of our more vertically challenged fans might have had a harder time seeing the new Cruiserweight Champion, Hornswoggle, celebrate with his new gold atop the SmackDown announcers' table.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- For months, fortune has favored SmackDown's Ultimate Opportunist over The Animal, to the point where our fans wondered when -- or even if -- Batista might earn another chance to win his third World Heavyweight Championship. But now opportunity has knocked an injured Edge out of the competitive picture and stripped him of his title, thereby allowing Batista to position himself into championship contention once more.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- For months, fortune has favored SmackDown's Ultimate Opportunist over The Animal, to the point where our fans wondered when -- or even if -- Batista might earn another chance to win his third World Heavyweight Championship. But now opportunity has knocked an injured Edge out of the competitive picture and stripped him of his title, thereby allowing Batista to position himself into championship contention once more.

Jerry, I must say I have respected you for many years. And it really anguishes me to say this, but I must. As a sign of respect, I am asking you to remove the word "king" from your name."

VISALIA, Calif. -- Melina struck her usual pose and preened for the popping cameras of the paparazzi as she left the Visalia Convention Center. She made sure the cameras caught every side -- because every side of Melina is the best -- but refused to acknowledge the fans who screamed her name. But one fan's sign froze the A-list Diva.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- In the shadow of the HP Pavilion, the site of The Great American Bash, Bobby Lashley wiped the sweat off his brow as he jogged.

A small, but key, change in the rules could tip the scales of the Texas Bull Rope Match, the "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes' specialty, in favor of Randy Orton at The Great American Bash.

LAREDO, Texas -- As infrequent as Triple Threat Matches are in WWE, never has a three-sided ring encounter included as much girth as the one that will be seen this Sunday. Three very large and dangerous monsters will meet in one ring, with one goal, at The Great American Bash, when new World Heavyweight Champion The Great Khali defends his freshly seized title against both Kane and Batista.

I hope everyone out there is staying as cool as can be. Here in New Jersey it's been pretty warm, and my body and heat just don't get along. As a result of my injury, my body doesn't really sweat, so I can't cool myself down. Sometimes I feel like a flower when I'm outside because I have my aides spray me down with a water bottle. Anyway, The Great American Bash is upon us, and talk about a jam-packed card. Six of the seven matches are title bouts, and that in itself raises the bar for everyone competing.

Sibling rivalries are as common among brothers as black eyes are for WWE Superstars. The competitive spirit that spawns among kin as close in age as Matt and Jeff Hardy (Matt is three years Jeff's elder), is normally something that's uncontrollable. However, as with most things involving the duo, the colloquial definition of "normalcy" is something which they defy.

This Sunday at the Great American Bash, Randy Orton wants to accomplish what countless wrestling greats -- including "Outlaw" Ron Bass, JJ Dillon, and WWE Hall of Famer Nick Bockwinkel -- have failed to do: beat the "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes at his own specialty, the Texas Bull Rope Match.

As our fans around the world tune into The Great American Bash this Sunday, the members of Cobra Starship will be enjoying the pay-per-view event, too. The New York-based band will be proudly rocking out to The Bash's theme -- their song, "The Church of Hot Addiction."

You wouldn't think that Jeff Hardy, world-renowned for his death-defying leaps of faith in the ring, would fear anything in the squared circle. But he admits that one rival has given him nightmares.

Randy Orton got what he wanted -- a match against Dusty Rhodes next Sunday at The Great American Bash -- but he may have been roped into more than he bargained for. "The American Dream" has steered the destroyer of WWE Legends into a Texas Bull Rope Match, a grueling contest in which young Orton has never competed, while Rhodes himself has mastered throughout his storied Hall of Fame career.

Despite what feelings Montel Vontavious Porter may elicit as he arrogantly smirks and struts his way to the ring (some have diagnosed vomiting and extreme repulsion, to name two), the untenable reality is that he's the reigning United States Champion. What's even more impressive is that he accomplished that feat in less than one year as a WWE Superstar.

"I admit…I didn't take her seriously, and I still don't. She got me once, but that's it." Those are the shocking words of Melina, who lost the Women's Championship to Candice Michelle at Vengeance: Night of Champions. These words are shocking not so much in their content, but because of their author; Melina is one of the most domineering and confident (perhaps arrogant) Divas WWE has ever seen, so for her to even partially admit failure is a milestone.

When Cody Rhodes slapped Randy Orton's face Monday night on Raw, the sold-out crowd in Lafayette, La., expected one of two things to occur: 1) An irate Orton would attack, and both Cody and his father -- "The American Dream," Dusty Rhodes -- would become the recipients of some rapid-fire RKO's, or 2) Orton would attack, and the Rhodes would beat the hell out of him. Instead, an irate Orton reacted to the slap in a manner our fans simply aren't accustomed to: He slowly made his departure from the ring.

Johnny Nitro can't help but chuckle when he thinks about what CM Punk does during his free time, away from the squared circle.

The contest for the United States Championship at The Great American Bash promises not only to be a competitive encounter between two of WWE's finest, young and talented Superstars, but also an intersection of fates for Matt Hardy and the champion, Montel Vontavious Porter.

John Cena doesn't defend the WWE Championship against Bobby Lashley until The Great American Bash one week from this Sunday, but it's already being hailed as a "dream match." As for predicting who will win…well, that's been more of a nightmare, one that has sparked furious forecasting not only among our fans, but within the locker rooms of Raw, SmackDown and ECW.

Since being drafted to SmackDown, The Great Khali has made Friday nights his personal domain. This past week, after throwing out an open challenge, Khali attacked everyone in sight, making Jimmy Wang Yang and Eugene among others feel his massive wrath. Finally, when it looked like no one would step up to answer Khali's challenge, one man bravely stepped through the open door and stood face-to-face with the mammoth. That man? None other than The Animal, Batista.

The match has been signed: It's John Cena versus Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship at The Great American Bash. But as this pair of current and former champions prepares to face each other for the first time one-on-one, a glance at their respective histories is in order to see who might have the edge.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Kane thought he was ready. Batista saw it as his ultimate opportunity. But at the end of Sunday night's Triple Threat Match at The Great American Bash, it was The Great Khali who stood tallest once more, holding the World Heavyweight Championship high above his 7-foot-3, 420-pound frame.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- John Cena and Bobby Lashley locked eyes each other and nodded at as our fans at the UP Pavilion stood and applauded. The Great American Bash provided the stage for one of the most anticipated WWE Championship matches in a long time, and our fans knew they had witnessed a special moment in sports-entertainment history.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Umaga held his Intercontinental Championship in his teeth and cocked his head to the left. Boos rained down from the rafters in the HP Pavilion as the Samoan Bulldozer's wild eyes surveyed the broken body of Jeff Hardy.