Video – Digitals – Captures

Continuing to prove that they have not only some of the most impressive bloodlines in the WWE locker room, but also the skills to back them up, the team of World Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase and Manu faced off against Kofi Kingston, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Good Ol’ J.H., who was really Charlie Haas disguised as SmackDown’s Jim Ross. Rhodes, DiBiase & Manu went on to defeat their opponents, perhaps in a show of force to Randy Orton, who they shared a cold glance with prior to their match.

The match ends with DiBiase pinning Haas after the Million Dollar Dream/Legsweep combo.

They come along every few years. Those guys with the total package who have that rare and elusive “it” factor.

Not all of them, however, stand the test of time.

Brock Lesnar was tabbed as “the next big thing,” and he was well on his way to being that until he finally realized that professional wrestling was more of a job than a passion.

Randy Orton, a third-generation wrestler, has emerged as a legitimate superstar, and only a lack of maturity and untimely injuries have prevented him from being all that he can be.

Ken “Mr.” Kennedy, a one-time favorite of Vince McMahon, has been on the cusp of superstardom more than once, only to have injuries and out-of-ring issues surface at the worst possible times.

There’s one name on the current WWE roster worth taking a close look at over the next year.

TED DIBIASE & CODY RHODES
This Week: 12
Last Week: 14
They may not be impressing Randy Orton, but the World Tag Team Champions are certainly impressing us at The Academy. And, their new-found alliance with Manu may certainly prove to be priceless.

MYFOX Tampa Bay has added a video about FCW and how it’s WWE’s development area. Ted is briefly featured in the video commenting on wrestling. Here’s what he had to say.

“Two days dosen’t even compare to what we go through in this ring, your body, the stuff we put our body through.”

Although Ted only said something short he can be seen through the video training with various other superstars, it’s definatley worth checking out.

Digital Pictures | Screen Captures

At Unforgiven, World Tag Team Champions Rhodes & DiBiase not only successfully defended their titles, but along with Manu and Randy Orton, they beat CM Punk so severely that he couldn’t compete in the night’s Championship Scramble. On Raw, the young second and third-generation Superstars interrupted the Legend Killer to announce to him that they deserved his respect, since all of them come from impressive lineage, and are blessed with so much natural ability. Orton’s response was to slap DiBiase, just as he had slapped Rhodes previously.

Orton’s slap must have lit a fire under the three promising young athletes, as they continued to show their potential by defeating Cryme Tyme for the second time in two nights, along with Kofi Kingston. Manu, the son of WWE Hall of Famer Afa, had a particularly impressive performance, making the pin in his WWE debut.

Digital Pictures | Screen Captures | HQ Match Video | HQ Backstage Video #1 | HQ Backstage Video #2

After taking Randy Orton’s words to heart on Raw, World Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase walked into Unforgiven with their new mindset and retained their titles against Cryme Tyme. The priceless pairing followed up their victory with the brutal post-match beating of Shad & JTG with the assistance of newcomer Manu, son of WWE Hall of Famer Afa of the Wild Samoans. While celebrating their victory in the locker room with Manu, the champions were quickly brought back to reality by the Legend Killer. Orton congratulated them on just squeaking by with a win and noted that their victory wasn’t impressive, though he implied that their talents could be used for much better things. Orton later taught the World Tag Team Champions and Manu what he thought the meaning of impressive is. After confronting World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, Orton watched as Rhodes, DiBiase and Manu all savagely beat the champion. The Legend Killer himself put an exclamation point on the attack with a lethal kick to the head of Punk that would result in Raw GM Mike Adamle pulling the champion from defending his gold in the World Heavyweight Championship Scramble. On the most recent edition of Raw, the Legend Killer made his return to Monday nights with words for all the champions on Raw, including the World Tag Team Champions, and what he thought was an embarrassing state of a brand. Orton even had words with the young champion duo about their inability to get their gold back after Raw’s Robbin’ Hoods had stolen them a few weeks before. The Legend Killer’s words seemed to light a fire in the belly of both the World Tag Team Champions and later that night, as Cryme Tyme prepared to take on the The Miz & John Morrison, Rhodes & DiBiase attacked them from behind and took back what was rightfully theirs. At Unforgiven, the tag champions secured their position as true owners of the gold. With the criticizing tutelage of a multi-time World Champion in Orton and Manu by their sides, it seems as though the duo will be able to soar to great new heights and will have every right to consider themselves a “priceless” tag team combination – and maybe even change the Legend Killer’s opinion of Raw’s champions while they’re at it.