“The winner takes it all.
The loser has to fall.” – ABBA

Double the pleasure, double the pain. That’s the catalyst behind the Winners Take All Match pitting Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston & Women’s Champion Mickie James against Santino Marella & Beth Phoenix.

Raw General Manager Mike Adamle created the stipulations for the intergender bout, which dictate that whichever team prevails, that team will earn both titles.

As if the rules governing the bout weren’t unusual enough, there is also the added element of a strange love affair between the Italian Stallion and The Glamazon. The pair has been nurturing a budding, if odd, romance for several weeks now. Ever since Phoenix, a former Women’s Champion, defeated Marella, a former Intercontinental Champion, in an intergender encounter, the two have succumbed to their amorous feelings for one another.

For their part, Kingston & Mickie have been proud defenders of their respective titles. The Intercontinental Champion made an immediate impact when he was brought over from ECW during the WWE Supplemental Draft on WWE.com. Mickie claims the Women’s Championship for her fourth time, most recently after defeating former champion Phoenix.

How will the romance between Santino and The Glamazon fare under the strain of competing for two championships in one match? Will their chemistry outside of the ring relate to gold inside? Or will the reigning champions make easy work of bickering opponents?

To catch the Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer, tune into SummerSlam, live and only on pay-per-view.

[Screen Captures] [WWE.com Digitals]

In the first of the night’s three title matches, Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston defeated Paul Burchill to retain gold. After the match, when Kingston chased Paul away from the ring, the brutal Englishman’s sister Katie Lea was left in the ring by herself. She was soon joined, however, by WWE Women’s Champion Mickie James, beginning the night’s second title match. Mickie defeated Katie Lea to retain her championship gold, but before she could leave the arena, the Women’s Champion was attacked by Beth Phoenix, accompanied by what appears to be The Glamazon’s new beau, Santino Marella.

After the match, both The Glamazon and the Italian Superstar confronted Mike Adamle about their desires for championship matches at SummerSlam. Hoping to satisfy both competitors, Adamle created another match for the Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer: A Winner Takes All Match between Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston & WWE Women’s Champion Mickie James and Santino Marella & Beth Phoenix, with both titles going to the winning team.

Recap Source: WWE.com