Following the biggest WWE Draft in history, in which a total of 25 superstars from RAW, Smackdown!, and ECW jumped shows to other brands, as well as the tragedy of the alleged “death” of the Chairman, Mr. McMahon, in a “terrible” limousine explosion, WWE went right on with its second Pay-Per-View for the month of June, which just happened to be the biggest, and at the same time the most disappointing, Vengeance yet.

On Sunday, June 24, the 2007 Vengeance, dubbed the “Night of Champions,” finally did the unthinkable, by dedicating the entire night to showcasing all nine championships in WWE, whereas only about half have ever been defended at any one PPV prior. Unfortunately, the matches were booked so poorly that almost none of the competitors had any existing beef with one another, and coupled with the predictable, mundane results of the matches, Vengeance ended up being a PPV with a great gimmick and loads of potential … done absolutely and horribly wrong.

WWE Vengeance 2007 took place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, with “Gone” by Fuel serving as the official theme song for the event.

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World Tag Team Championship: Cade & Murdoch vs. The Hardys (RAW)
The storied rivalry between Cade & Murdoch and Matt and Jeff Hardy came to a boiling point weeks ago on RAW, when the resident rednecks revealed their true intentions and “returned” their new leaf, stealing the World Tag Team titles from a beaten and battered Hardy Boys, whom had just survived a grueling Ladder Match at One Night Stand. With revenge on their minds, Matt and Jeff went into Vengeance with the intention of getting back their World Tag titles. However, it was the team of Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch that would emerge from the PPV victorious, as the pair resorted to the same dirty tactics that made them champions in the first place, to retain the gold successfully at Vengeance. After delivering a modified sit-down powerbomb, Cade pinned Jeff Hardy for the three count.

World Cruiserweight Championship: Chavo Guerrero vs. Jimmy Wang Yang (Smackdown!)
For a long time now, the sensational Yang has repeatedly defeated the Cruiserweight Champion on Smackdown!, in both singles and tag team matches. Finally, at the “Night of Champions,” the cowboy from the east got his chance to battle Chavo Guerrero for the Cruiserweight gold. Unfortunately, Yang failed to bring his game to the big dance, as the still-champion Guerrero delivered countless aerial maneuvers, followed by a definitive Frog Splash, to end the match and retain his Cruiserweight Title.

ECW World Championship: Johnny Nitro vs. CM Punk (ECW)
One year after ECW was revived as WWE’s third brand, Chris Benoit was finally drafted from Smackdown! to his home turf of ECW. Because the former ECW Champion, Lashley, had been drafted to RAW, he was thereby stripped of the ECW title, which had remained vacant … until now. The previous week on ECW, two matches were held to determine the contestants who could compete at Vengeance for the vacant title. The Rabid Wolverine, who had defeated Elijah Burke, and CM Punk, who had defeated “The Alpha Male,” Marcus Cor Von, won the right to face off with each other for the ECW Championship. Benoit, however, ended up backing out of the match due to personal reasons, and Johnny Nitro, freshly drafted from RAW to ECW, became the straight-edge superstar’s new opponent. Punk and Nitro were able to follow up on each other’s movements closely throughout the match; however, it would be Nitro who would pick up the win in the end, as a modified swinging neckbreaker off the ropes allowed the former member of M.N.M. to win his first world title … and become the new champion in the Land of Extreme.

Intercontinental Championship: Santino Marella vs. Umaga (RAW)
The Intercontinental Title, which hadn’t been defended at a Pay-Per-View in ages, finally saw the light of day at Vengeance, when relative newcomer Santino Marella put his gold on the line against the man (or monster, rather) that he had originally taken the title from. Marella debuted months ago during RAW’s tour in Italy, back when Mr. McMahon was “still alive” and still in a heated feud with the former ECW Champion, Bobby Lashley. Upsetting Umaga for the title in his very first match, thanks to interference from Lashley, Marella captured the Intercontinental Championship and had held it ever since. Umaga, hungry for both his title and for revenge, took on the Italian rookie in a match that left the relatively inexperienced superstar broken and battered. Although Umaga’s disregard for the rules and the referee’s five-count would leave him disqualified, the winner, and still-Intercontinental Champion Marella, was the one who left Houston feeling like the loser.

United States Championship: Montel Vontavious Porter vs. Ric Flair (Smackdown!)
Freshly drafted from RAW to Smackdown! following the biggest WWE Draft in history, the Nature Boy went straight for the gold, challenging the cocky MVP for his United States Championship, which he himself had taken from Chris Benoit in an amazing upset back at Judgment Day. At Vengeance Flair took the arrogant superstar to the limit, as MVP almost lost his gold following the Nature Boy’s signature Figure Four Leglock, which MVP eventually broke out of. After a blatant low-blow behind the referee’s back, followed up by his Playmaker finisher, MVP pulled off a controversial win to retain the United States Championship.

Open Challenge for the WWE Tag Team Championship: Deuce and Domino vs. Sgt. Slaughter and “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka (Smackdown!)
London and Kendrick, two of the longest-reigning tag team champions in wrestling history, lost their coveted titles some time ago following a dirty win by the team of the greasers, Deuce and Domino, with assistance from the roller-skating Cherry. Straight out of the ‘50s, D&D have dominated the tag team division on Smackdown!, despite never defending their titles at a Pay-Per-View … that is, of course, until Vengeance. Deuce and Domino issued an open challenge for the “Night of Champions,” daring any tag team in the back to step up and try to take the titles from them. Lo and behold, the two competitors bold enough to step up ended up being WWE Hall-of-Famers, the legendary Sgt. Slaughter and “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka. However, the youth of Deuce and Domino proved to be dominant over the experience of Snuka and Slaughter, as Deuce took advantage of a botched attempt at the Superfly Splash, rolling up Snuka for the pin and the win.

“One Last Chance” Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Edge vs. Batista (Smackdown!)
Ever since Edge cashed in his WrestleMania-won Money-in-the-Bank on Smackdown! to defeat then-champion Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship, the Animal has been on a quest to reclaim what used to be his. Following a brutal Steel Cage Match at One Night Stand, Edge and Batista ended their storied feud at Vengeance, in a “One Last Chance” Match, with the stipulation being that if Batista could not defeat Edge this time, then he would never be able to challenge for the World title again as long as Edge remains champion. Although Batista and Edge battled in a hard-fought match, it was the Animal who ended up losing in a most inopportune fashion, as he was counted out by the referee after having remained outside of the ring past the ten-count. Batista, with hopes dashed and championship denied, will not be given another opportunity for the World Heavyweight Title as long as Edge remains champion.

WWE Women’s Championship: Melina vs. Candice (RAW)
A feud fueled by jealousy and arrogance, Melina and Candice met once again, much like they did at One Night Stand in a Pudding Match, but this time, for Melina’s gold. The former member of M.N.M., known for her envious ways, had been making Candice’s life a living hell for ages, obviously jealous of her success in Playboy and her success attained for her infamous Super Bowl commercials. Melina tried to finish off Candice once and for all at Vengeance, but it was the GoDaddy.com girl who pulled out the win in the biggest upset of the night. Following a devastating spinning heel kick that came from out of nowhere, Candice Michelle pinned the A-lister for the 3-count and successfully stripped Melina of her Women’s Title.

WWE Championship Challenge: John Cena vs. Mick Foley vs. King Booker vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Randy Orton (RAW)
The WWE Draft brought a boatload of new main event competitors to RAW, including Smackdown!’s King Booker and ECW’s Bobby Lashley, whom, along with the legendary Mick Foley as well as the Legend Killer Randy Orton, were put into an unprecedented five-man bout for Cena’s WWE Championship, a battle which cut the chances of the champ’s survival with his title intact to 20%. Shockingly (or not surprisingly, depending on how you look at it) enough, the champ successfully defended his WWE Championship, even after having gone toe-to-toe with four other men simultaneously, after Cena effectively delivered the F-U to an unsuspecting Foley in order to pick up the win. As a result, this PPV ended in the exact same way that every WWE Pay-Per-View since WrestleMania 23 back in April has ended … with John Cena successfully retaining the WWE Championship. For one more time (but probably not the last), the champ, following a brutal match that closed out the 2007 Vengeance, “was still here.”

Major WWE Superstars who did NOT compete at the event:

Triple H (RAW)
Rey Mysterio (Smackdown!)
Rob Van Dam (ECW)
Carlito (RAW)
The Undertaker (Smackdown!)
Tommy Dreamer (ECW)
Haas and Benjamin (RAW)
The Great Khali (Smackdown!)
The Boogeyman (ECW)
Jillian Hall (RAW)
Mark Henry (Smackdown!)
Chris Benoit (ECW)
Mickie James (RAW)
Kane (Smackdown!)
Mr. Kennedy (RAW)
Elijah Burke (ECW)
Hardcore Holly (Smackdown!)
London & Kendrick (RAW)
Torrie Wilson (Smackdown!)
“The Alpha Male” Marcus Cor Von (ECW)
Finlay (Smackdown!)
The Sandman (RAW)
Gregory Helms (Smackdown!)
Matt Striker (ECW)
Snitsky (RAW)
Ashley Massaro (Smackdown!)
Balls Mahoney (ECW)
Victoria (Smackdown!)
Shawn Michaels (RAW)
“The Masterpiece” Chris Masters (Smackdown!)
Kevin Thorn (ECW)