by The bell sounded and they started trading blows before Orton focused
on the ribs that Umaga softened up earlier. They moved to the floor
and Orton slammed Hunter onto the back of his head on the entrance
ramp. Orton continued to smash Hunter into objects around the ringside
area. Front row fans encouraged Hunter to get up as the referee
applied a ten count. Back in the ring, Orton stalked Hunter and nailed
a dropkick. Orton continued to methodically work over Hunter, who
wouldn't stay down for a ten count. Orton then pulled out a TV cable
and started to ***out Hunter. Unbelievable. Why not slap on a
Crossface and slip Hunter some pills? Hunter then answered a ten count
by getting up at nine. Orton quickly tossed Hunter to the outside and
nailed him in the face with a TV monitor.
Orton took Hunter on top of an announce table and went for an RKO, but
Hunter shoved him away and through the ECW table. Orton managed to get
up at nine to avoid losing the match. Hunter then nailed a spinebuster
on the floor and Orton recoiled while clutching his wrist. Orton again
came up at nine. Hunter then picked up the ring steps and nailed Orton
in the side of the head; Orton collapsed face-first on the floor. The
ref applied his ten count and Orton began to stir before reaching his
feet at nine for the third time. Hunter had enough on the outside and
threw Orton into the ring. He picked up a chair, but Orton blocked
with a kick to the gut. He then DDT'ed Hunter onto the face of the
chair. Both men collapsed to the mat and the ref applied his count at
13:00. Both reached their feet and Orton came to life with successive
right hand blows to the head, followed by kicks to the gut. Orton
unfolded the chair in center ring and Orton measured an RKO on the
chair. Hunter didn't block this time and Orton nailed the RKO on the
seat of the chair. Hunter came up bleeding and the ref applied his ten
count. Hunter pulled himself up by the ropes at nine, then he
delivered a crotch chop in Orton's direction. Hunter then collapsed to
the mat and Orton looked down at Hunter trying to figure out what he
needed to do to KO Hunter.
Orton measured the big punt to the head, but Hunter grabbed his foot
to block the kick. Hunter started to Hulk Up and he landed a big
clothesline before tossing Orton over the top rope to the outside.
Hunter started to toss Orton head-first into anything attached to the
ground and he tossed him onto the Raw announce table, but Orton rolled
off the table to the floor. He then caught Hunter on the floor and
slingshot him face-first into the ringpost. Orton measured Hunter with
the ring steps, but Hunter landed a low blow and Orton collapsed into
the ring steps. Hunter then smashed the ring steps in a safe way that
sold like a chair shot to the head. The ref applied a ten count as
Hunter crawled back into the ring. The ref reached nine and Orton
reached his feet again. Hunter had enough and put Orton on the
announce table. He teased the Pedigree, but Orton - out of nowhere -
nailed the RKO on the table. The table didn't break and both men
remained KO'ed on the announce table. Orton then rolled off the table
and climbed into the ring. Hunter fell off the table and went wobbly-
kneed. He tried to get up, but he fell down just at ten, giving Orton
the win and the WWE Title.
WINNER: Orton in 22:00 to capture the WWE Title. The Chase is back on.
Now with another title victory on the night, Hunter can inch closer to
Flair's title number when he gets the belt back from Orton after
chasing for a while. Heck of a battle. Great drama and effort to
utilize the last man standing match. Going back to Cena vs. Umaga at
the Rumble, two very good Last Man Standing matches this year. It
wasn't good enough to save the show, but the match was a great battle
on a weak night otherwise. (****)