Best of Three Trivia Quiz

Answer: Edge

John Cena, Triple H, and Edge have had rivalries multiple times throughout their careers. As three of WWE's most talented superstars, they have all held many championships and headlined dozens of Pay Per Views. In January 2006, John Cena beat five other wrestlers at "New Year's Revolution" in a brutal elimination chamber match. Cena's celebration was cut short by Edge, who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and quickly beat Cena to become the new WWE Champion. Cena recovered the title in "Royal Rumble" weeks later, and retained the title in the subsequent Pay Per Views, including "Wrestlemania 22". This series of events led to a triple threat match at "Backlash" for the WWE Championship.

The match was explosive from the beginning. Edge left the ring to let Cena and Triple H exchange blows. Soon, Cena and "The Game" formed a short alliance and joined forces to get Edge back into the ring, then took turns smashing Edge's head into the announcers' table. The brawl had several other memorable moments, including Triple H bleeding from his head after being launched into a metal post by Edge. The match ended when Cena pinned Triple H, who then furiously hit everyone in the ring (including the referee) with his sledgehammer.

The image is a reference to "The Spear", Edge's finishing move.

Answer: Battle Royal

2007 was an entertaining year for WWE fans, as it had enthralling storylines in all three of its major brands ("Raw", "Smackdown", and "ECW"). The World Heavyweight Championship, which at that time belonged to the "Smackdown" brand, changed hands at "Wrestlemania 23" when The Undertaker defeated Batista. However, Edge (aptly nicknamed "the ultimate opportunist") soon cashed his Money in the Bank contract and stole the belt from "the Deadman". Unfortunately, Edge's reign was also short-lived as he suffered a legitimate injury that forced him to vacate the championship in the July 17, 2007 episode of "Smackdown".

Later that night, The Great Khali won a 20-man Battle Royal match to become the new World Heavyweight Championship following the eliminations of Kane and Batista. General Manager Theodore Long booked a triple threat match involving all of those three men at "The Great American Bash", which was held two days later. Kane and Batista momentarily teamed up at the beginning of the match to take down Khali, but "the Punjabi giant" quickly overpowered both men and retained his newly-won championship.

The Battle Royal match involves several competitors brawling at the same time inside the ring, who can only be eliminated by being thrown outside of the ring over the top rope. Both of the wrestler's feet must touch the ground to make the elimination official.

Answer: Summerslam

In early 2007, Umaga won the Intercontinental Championship for the first time by beating Jeff Hardy. A few months later, he lost it in a shocking way in Milan, Italy to Santino Marella (who was pulled out from the crowd by Mr. McMahon). The "Samoan Bulldozer" recovered the championship in a July episode of "Raw", and defended his championship at "Summerslam" 2007 against both Carlito (a former Intercontinental Champion) and Mr. Kennedy. Less than 8 minutes into the match, Umaga hit Mr. Kennedy with a "Samoan Spike" and then pinned him to retain the belt. This was probably the peak of Eddie Fatu's (Umaga's) career. He passed away in 2009 from a heart attack.

"Summerslam", nicknamed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", is one of WWE's most important Pay Per Views, historically known as one of the "Big Four" (the others being "Royal Rumble", "WrestleMania", and "Survivor Series"). That particular "Summerslam" in 2007, which is one of my personal all-time favorite Pay Per Views, was special for many reasons. One of them is that it saw the return of both Rey Mysterio and Triple H following serious in-ring injuries that sidelined them for months. Both won their respective matches against Chavo Guerrero and King Booker. The Great Khali retained his World Heavyweight Championship even though he lost to Batista (since Khali was disqualified) and John Cena retained his WWE Championship against Randy Orton.

Answer: Pittsburgh

Just like he did in his triple threat match against Triple H and John Cena at "Backlash" 2006, Edge left the ring as soon as the bell rang so that his opponents would fight each other. This time, however, barely any time went by before both Batista and The Undertaker could get their hands on Edge. All three superstars had their moments throughout the match. At one point, Undertaker thought he won because the bell rang, but it turned out to be Edge ringing the bell himself. After interference by Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, Edge captured the World Heavyweight Championship by hitting The Undertaker with a chair and pinning Batista.

"Armageddon" 2007 took place on December 16 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Earlier that night, both MVP (United States Champion) and Randy Orton (WWE Champion) had lost their matches by count-out and disqualification, respectively. Because title belts don't change hands in either of those situations, however, Edge was the only new champion to emerge from the Pay Per View.

The event was held at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, a city known for being a major steel producer in the 20th century and for its many steel bridges. Pittsburgh is also home to a hockey team called the Pittsburgh Penguins, which played at Mellon Arena (formerly known as Civic Arena) until 2010. This arena was the same venue that saw the iconic moment at "King of the Ring" 1998 when The Undertaker threw Mick Foley from the top of the steel cell.

Answer: No

"Wrestlemania XXIV" was a fantastic Pay Per View with many exciting matches, including a Money in the Bank match won by CM Punk, a Career Threatening match where Shawn Michaels forced Ric Flair to retire, a No Disqualification match between Big Show and boxer Floyd Mayweather, and a thrilling World Heavyweight Championship match between Edge and the Undertaker. One other attention-grabbing match was the triple threat contest between Randy Orton, Triple H, and John Cena for the WWE Championship. Cena had recently returned from an injury at "Royal Rumble", where he earned his spot in this match. The three men gave a great match for a little over 10 minutes.

In the end, Triple H hit Cena with a "Pedigree" and it looked like it was over. However, Orton interrupted Triple H's pinfall by brutally striking him with a "punt kick", allowing Orton to pin Cena and retain the WWE Championship. Though Orton's usual finisher is the "RKO", he has used the "punt kick" multiple times, usually as a more devastating maneuver. Victims of his brutal kick have included Dusty Rhodes, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Mr. McMahon, and John Cena's father!

Answer: Jeff Hardy

In the middle of 2008, the WWE Draft caused a major change as the two major championships changed from one brand to another. The WWE Championship migrated to "Smackdown" and the World Heavyweight Championship went to "Raw". At "Armageddon" 2008, WWE Champion Edge had to defend his title against both Triple H and Jeff Hardy. Hardy had previously won the Intercontinental Championship and several tag team titles but had never won a heavyweight title in WWE before. That changed on that night when the charismatic superstar made history.

The match had several interesting moments and was interrupted at one point by a brawl between Matt Hardy and Vladimir Kozlov. In the end, Triple H hit Edge with a "Pedigree" but in the middle of the pinfall, Jeff Hardy launched himself from the top rope and performed a "Swanton Bomb" on Edge (falling on Triple H also). Hardy got the pinfall and a loud pop from the crowd as he was announced as the new WWE Champion. What followed was an emotional celebration where Hardy was applauded by the entire arena, including the commentators. Arguably, this moment marked the highest point of Hardy's career, which started when he founded the Trampoline Wrestling Federation with his brother Matt.

Answer: D-Generation X

"Survivor Series" 2009 was held in Washington, D.C., and featured the classic 5 on 5 elimination matches. Before the main event, another triple threat match had taken place: The Undertaker, Big Show, and Chris Jericho competed for the World Heavyweight Championship in a match that "the Deadman" won to retain his belt.

The main event featured a triple threat match between John Cena, Triple H, and Shawn Michaels. The latter two superstars are known for founding the stable D-Generation X (or DX), which is widely considered one of the greatest tag teams in WWE history. Hunter and Michaels even entered the arena together with the DX theme music, leading fans to believe they would work together at least at the beginning of the match. Amazingly, Michaels hit Triple H with "Sweet Chin Music" immediately after the bell rang, shocking everyone in attendance including a visibly shaken John Cena. The match went on for over 20 minutes, at which point Michaels hit Triple H with yet another "Sweet Chin Music". Cena capitalized on this and performed an "Attitude Adjustment" on Michaels, who fell on Triple H. Cena completed the pinfall on "The Game" and retained the WWE title.

Answer: The Miz and R-Truth

The story leading up to this match was quite intense. CM Punk had threatened to leave WWE holding the WWE Championship, but his efforts were stopped by Alberto del Rio cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. Cena came into the match as champion and faced a tough challenge ahead. At one point, Del Rio locked Cena out of the cell, paving the way for his eventual victory. After the match ended, Cena got back into the cage and beat down Del Rio. The beatdown did not last very long, however, because two mysterious men dressed in black clothes came into the ring and brutally assaulted the wrestlers, the referees, and even the cameramen.

It was soon revealed that these men were The Miz and R-Truth (a team known as "Awesome Truth"), who had been previously fired by WWE's COO, Triple H. The pair assaulted everyone in the ring, prompting Triple H, John Laurinaitis, and other WWE officials to flood ringside while trying to get into the cage. The WWE locker room eventually filled the area but failed to open the cage. It wasn't until police arrived, broke into the cage, and arrested Miz and Truth. Triple H had to be separated as he attacked the two men while they were handcuffed.

Answer: Daniel Bryan

The night of "Wrestlemania 30" is remembered by fans as one of the most historic events in modern WWE history. Perhaps the most shocking moment of the Pay Per View occurred when Brock Lesnar beat The Undertaker, putting an end to his unprecedented 21-0 streak of undefeated matches at "Wrestlemania". When the bell rang, the arena briefly was overcome by a haunting silence as the crowd tried to process what had just happened.

Later that night, the crowd got yet another shocking (but more pleasant) moment when Daniel Bryan was facing WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton and Batista in a triple threat match. After an incredible match, Bryan put Batista in the "Yes Lock" and forced him to tap out, causing one of the loudest crowd pops in recent history. Bryan became champion after months of being belittled by The Authority. According to some wrestling journalists, Vince McMahon did not want to give Bryan championship status but was left with no choice after the WWE Universe pressured him to push Bryan.

Answer: Seth Rollins

"Wrestlemania 31" took place on March 29, 2015 in Santa Clara, California. The event had matches such as Randy Orton vs Seth Rollins, Triple H vs Sting, and The Undertaker vs Bray Wyatt. The main event was set to elevate Roman Reigns to a new level as he was expected to defeat Brock Lesnar and become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. However, despite WWE's efforts, the fans disliked Reigns and the perceived lack of development in his character. His win at the "Royal Rumble" earlier in the year was met with rejection from the WWE Universe, for example.

In the middle of an intense match, Seth Rollins's music suddenly started playing as he ran into the arena carrying his Money in the Bank briefcase, which allowed him to get a title match at any point. After he cashed it in, the referee restarted the match as a triple threat match. Rollins took advantage of how exhausted both of his opponents were and shocked the world by winning the match and becoming the new champion. One of the commentators, Michael Cole, described what was happening as "the heist of the century".