Part 4 of 40 as we are now 10% done with this gargantuan project of looking back at the best the WWF/E has to offer from 1978-2017. It is 2006 and I am a sophomore-junior in high school and like every good teenager I hated John Cena. I am a bit ashamed to admit it, but I was a teenager. This is probably why I overcompensate with my effusive love of John Cena today. :)
The year 2005 had a very clear narrative move the company in a very fresh and new direction. They positioned John Cena & Batista as the new aces and everything was done to make them feel like the biggest superstars on the roster. On top of that, Randy Orton was given about as a big push as you can get as a heel spending the majority of the year feuding with The Undertaker. But we are not here to discuss 2005, we are here to discuss 2006, in my opinion one of the most forgettable years in WWE history. 2006 began WWE's current business model of peddling nostalgia. The major storylines of the year featured the reunion of D-Generation X to feud with the McMahons, no less and resurrection of ECW. In addition, Hulk Hogan had his last match in WWE history (I was there!) and Mick Foley was a prominent figure throughout the year. Nostalgia is running wild!
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| The Year WWE made Nostalgia their business model: D-X, ECW and Hulk Hogan |
The Main Event Roster of 2006: John Cena, Batista (out from January-June), HHH, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle (Leaves company in Summer of 2006 for TNA), Randy Orton, Edge, Rey Mysterio, King Booker
The big news from the beginning of the year was that Batista was injured and was being forced to relinquish the World Heavyweight Championship (Smackdown!) when he tore his right tricep against Mark Henry at a house show. They had Mark Henry put him out of action on TV and then had a battle royale to crown the new champion. They smartly moved Kurt Angle from the stacked RAW roster to fill the void. This was during the first big monster Mark Henry push that did not take. Henry got multiple matches with Angle (one for the title at Rumble), Mysterio and even got a Taker match. At the time, I didn't understand why Sexual Chocolate was being pushed, but we have already established I was a lame teenager. The push did take in 2011 thank God and Mark Henry got the place in the Sun he deserved. Congratulations to Mark on going into the Hall of Fame this year! I should mention here that Undertaker and Kurt Angle had a fantastic match at No Way Out that is often considered the WWE match of the year for 2006.
Staying on the Smackdown side of things, Rey Mysterio won the Royal Rumble as a part of the tribute to Eddie Guerrero. This storyline has mostly gotten negative reviews due to the infamous promo where Randy Orton claims Eddie is not watching down from Heaven, but rather up from HELL! I think if Guerreros are ok with it let heels be heels. I think the bigger problem was just how weak Rey Mysterio looked throughout this main event run. You could tell the WWE did not believe in Rey as truly the guy. They saw him as a huge merch mover and big time draw for the Latino audience but due to his small stature and maybe due to his mediocre promo skills they did not see him as THE MAN. That's why you can get lame moves like making his WrestleMania match a triple threat with Angle & Orton. I will say Rey & Orton did have fantastic chemistry in the ring. I do recommend checking out their matches even if they are not blow-away classics they are very good. Rey ends up winning at Mania, which should have felt like an amazing moment like when Eddie won at No Way Out or Daniel Bryan won at WrestleMania XXX, but it just rings hollow. Both due to the build-up and the lackluster run that followed as Rey was never given a hot storyline that you could really sink your teeth into. There were fun TV matches with Mark Henry & Kurt Angle and JBL is a great promo, but none of it really is memorable. Ultimately, they put a bullet in the reign when the King Booker gimmick took off and Booker T finally won the big one in July of 2006 at Great American Bash. Rey would have the first of his many injury sabbaticals as Chavo & Vickie Guerrero turned heel on Rey and put him out of action.
Somewhere, I need to mention that the Smackdown midcard in 2006 was a ton of fun and it was anchored by Christ Benoit and Finlay just lighting up against each other. Benoit vs Finlay at Judgement Day 2006 is a common choice for WWE Match of the Year for 2006. I have at it #2. It is a real testament to these two in-ring generals that they could get a midcard match so over. Benoit actually a very rare injury sabbatical in the summer of 2006. He would come back in late 2006 and have a wicked violent, disturbing match with William Regal at No Mercy. Finlay what an out of nowhere comeback story. Just incredible! US Champion for most of the year, anchoring midcard, great TV after great TV match, MULTIPLE PPV main events and a key member of King Booker's act. Finlay is one of the few bright spots in a lackluster year for WWE.
On the RAW side, John Cena remained healthy and was continued to be pushed heavily as The Man of the WWE. I will say the biggest success story of 2006 was Edge. I am far from an Edgehead but this was by far the time period that Edge was the most interesting since the Edge & Christian. His tandem with trashy Lita was incredible! Edge cashed in the first Money In The Bank in a legendary moment at New Years Revolution after an Elimination Chamber. I thought the month that followed some really strong TV. The TLC match against Ric Flair and the Live Sex Celebration from recollection was some of the best TV of the year. I remember the Internet was pretty deflated when Cena won it back at the Rumble. I will give credit to the WWE they did not return Edge to the midcard, but they continued to invest him with a match against Mick Foley at Wrestlemania and the Money In The Bank cash-in really was the turning point of his career. With Cena, Batista, HBK, Undertaker and soon Triple H being babyfaces, the WWE needed heels and Edge was a perfect candidate to take advantage of the opportunity. ;)
2006 was an interesting year for Cena...I thought 2005 was booked perfectly going over JBL, Jericho and Kurt Angle. Now he needed to go up against the big boys like HHH, HBK and Undertaker. Out of those three, Triple H as a heel was the obvious option. I don't remember much of the build to their match. I think it was during this build HHH did his infamous promo where he cut Cena's balls off and basically said John Cena couldn't work, which indulged all the stupid smart mark opinion. Some of the blame has to go on Cena for not rebutting more strongly, but I do blame HHH was cementing a lot of the polarization of John Cena just so that he could play the cool heel. HHH did ultimately put over Cena in match that I have seen once a long time ago that I did not think was that remarkable. What is strange about 2006 is they did not seem to know what they wanted to do next with John Cena. We get the lame triple threat with him and Triple H & Edge, which I don't remember and I would surprised if anyone did. Then it became apparent what the direction was WWE was going to go nostalgia really hard by resurrecting ECW and D-Generation X.
I think ECW was very disruptive to the overall plans of the WWE, but at the same time they really did not have much. The front half of the year for Smackdown was the Rey Mysterio reign that went bust and the second half was the fun distraction of the King Booker reign, but you knew ultimately it was not going to go anywhere. On RAW, they did not have a path forward so they looked backwards. That is how we ended up with D-X (HHH & HBK) and ECW dominating the airwaves pushing Cena back.
D-X reunited as a part of the very strange Shawn Michaels vs Vince McMahon storyline. Basically, they did not have a major match for Shawn at Mania so they stuck him with Vince because Vince is more over than the most the roster. The setup for this feud was so confusing. It revolved around Montreal but I still don't know why Vince was pissed at Shawn. It was very convoluted. Poor writing. This led to some good campy Vince vignettes in a Church mocking Shawn's newfound religion and ultimately Vince & Shane beat Shawn & God in a wrestling match. They even had a spotlight to act as God. It also led to that great JR call of "Father, Son and The Holy Spirit Squad". Eventually, HHH reunited with Shawn to wrestle the McMahons and bury the Spirit Squad, which in fairness was always going to just be a fun midcard act.
At first it did seem like WWE was acting in good faith to re-launch ECW bringing in Paul Heyman to run it using both original ECW talent and fresh talent. Rob Van Dam was given a strong push winning the Money In The Bank and winning the WWE Championship from John Cena at the Hammerstein Ballroom at One Night Stand. I actually watch all of One Night Stand recently except for the main event which I really need to watch. It was an amazing teleportation back to the 90s even though it took place in 2006. Rey vs Sabu was disappointing that is the general consensus and I have to agree. I thought Edge & Foley vs Dreamer & Funk was a good trash brawl, but nothing next level. It did seem like RVD was going to finally get that big push that a lot of the Internet wanted, but he was busted smoking pot I believe and the wheels came off the wagon. Edge would win the WWE Championship in a triple threat from Cena & RVD on RAW. An excellent idea to reset and again position Edge as a serious heel in the main event.
So we finally culminate at Summerslam and why did I structure the blog this way? Because I was at Summerslam!
The opener was Chavo vs Rey which was a decent match. I don't have too much of a recollection of the match but this was as Rey was on his way out and Vickie was beginning her career which would end up having her as a very significant part of WWE for years to come. Big Show had become ECW Champion and was re-branded as an Extreme, Violent Giant. Pitting him against Sabu was smart as Sabu was the biggest star of the ECW Originals but this match was a clusterfuck. A ton of Sabu blown spots, but hey I SAW SABU LIVE! At Summerslam...how weird is that! Oh Shit! I forgot I saw the very last Hulk Hogan match in WWE ever in person! How about that for a fun fact? Randy Orton was not positioned as strongly as Edge, but they did a good job making sure you knew he was a protected heel. After the Rey storyline, he was feuding with Angle which I think was good for him, but Angle left for TNA due to the fact Angle was clearly messed up and should not have been on the road for his own safety so he just left. This led to Orton getting a massive match with Hogan. All I remember is that Hulk Hogan was clearly the most over person on that show. It was NOT even close. Then it was Flair vs Foley in I Quit match that people seem to really like and I am bummed to say I don't remember anything about except Melina. I LOVE Flair and I LOVED him at that time. I cant believe I watched Sabu, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair on the same show back to back to back in 2006! How weird is that? So I am going to rewatch that match. Next up Batista had returned the previous month and it was obvious that he was going to go over Booker, but they just delayed inevitable. I didn't mind that because Booker with his Court (Queen Sharmell, Finlay & Regal) was wicked entertaining. My Dad absolutely loved that gimmick and still mentions it to do this day. The Booker/Batista matches were just flat though. D-X vs McMahon featured a ton of run-ins from the midcard heels and it was a pretty decent match. I remember the McMahons doing Demolition Decapitation and marking out. The main event was Edge defending his championship against John Cena in Cena's hometown and I remember a lot of boos. This was during time period where I told my brother we should be quiet during Cena's entrance and match because if he gets no reaction he would be pushed down the card. I am right and it shows that smart marks are still getting worked, BUT boy am I embarrassed at my lack of respect for the WWE GOAT. John Cena is the Man and my eyes have been opened. I don't remember that Cena vs Edge being that great. Their Unforgiven TLC match was awesome and still holds up and I have that as my WWE Match of The Year for 2006. Overall, a lackluster workrate show, but mind-blowing in terms of who was on the card.
The Autumn of 2006 did not really have any big highlights. Batista regained the championship from King Booker as expected. D-X finished off their feud with the McMahons and so they needed a new team to feud with. Enter Rated RKO, which I think was genius for Edge and Orton. With Edge vanquished from the title picture and Orton having nothing to do, this was perfect to keep these two in the limelight and established them as THE TWO TOP HEELS. Cena had a very, very quiet Autumn as they were heating up a new monster heel for him in the form of the SAMOAN BULLDOZER, UMAGA! To me Cena is old school. He is a throwback not to the 90s, but to the 80s. I think a monster, savage heel plays into John Cena's wheelhouse more than anything else.
One wrestler I have not talked about is The Undertaker. He had the fantastic match against Angle at No Way Out and then a casket match against Mark Henry. He started a feud with the Great Khali which was reminiscent of his shitty early 90s feuds against the likes of Giant Gonzalez and King Mabel. It was a clusterfuck with Khali having injury issues. Taker would then be placed in a long feud with Mr. Kennedy who was being earmarked as potential top heel to join Edge & Orton. The feud was pretty lackluster and when you have less charisma than Randy Fucking Orton you know you suck and that was Mr. Kennedy. He just was not interesting. It just dawned on me he reminds me of Dane Cook, who is from my hometown of Arlington, Mass, the Greatest Town on God's Green Earth. They revel too much in being loud and obnoxious. Just be loud & obnoxious. Don't tell us you are loud and obnoxious.
2006 a very forgettable year in WWE history. They kinda stalled out Cena, but then he roared back with a great feud against Edge in the summer that is fondly remembered. Batista stalled out due to injuries but ended up back on top of the mountain. Lots of nostalgia with D-X and ECW. The big success story was cementing Edge & Randy Orton as the top heels for the rest of the decade. In terms of workrate a pretty poor year, Finaly kept the Smackdown midcard watchable and there is a dearth of high end matches.
WON Match Of The Year Rankings (Overall Ranking In Parenthesis):
1. Chris Benoit vs Finlay - WWE Judgement Day 2006 (7)
2. World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle vs Undertaker - WWE No Way Out 2006 (10)
3. WWE Champion John Cena vs Edge - WWE Unforgiven TLC Match (15)
4. Edge vs Mick Foley - WrestleMania XXII (16)
Smarkschoice Rankings of the Greatest WWF/E Match of All Time (Overall Ranking ):
1. Chris Benoit vs Finlay - WWE Judgement Day 2006 (57)
2. World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle vs Undertaker - WWE No Way Out 2006 (60)
3. WWE Champion John Cena vs Edge - WWE Unforgiven TLC Match (#75)
4. Chris Benoit vs Finlay - WWE Smackdown 5/5/06 (94)
5. Mick Foley/Edge/Lita vs. Terry Funk/Tommy Dreamer/Beulah - One Night Stand 6/11/06 (104)
6. Chris Benoit vs. William Regal - No Mercy 10/8/06 (115)
Total Matches Watched: 22
Matches I need To Watch or Rewatch:
Ric Flair vs Mick Foley - Summerslam 2006
Ric Flair vs Edge - RAW TLC
Rated RKO vs DX - Cyber Sunday 2006
John Cena vs RVD - One Night Stand 2006
Reviews from Matches on the Blue Brand: http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2018/03/i-love-to-fight-smackdown-in-2006.html
Reviews from Matches on the Raw Brand: http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2018/03/you-think-you-know-me-raw-in-2006.html
Honorable Mention: Chris Benoit vs Finlay - WWE Smackdown 5/5/06 ****1/4
3. World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle vs Undertaker - WWE No Way Out 2006
If you are like me and couldn't remember how Angle ended up back on Smackdown, well it is simple when Batista got injured, he simply entered a Battle Royale and won the World's Heavyweight Championship. Undertaker and Angle are a really good pairing as they had a really good TV match back in 2003. Taker clearly is an MMA mark and loves rolling with guys like Angle and Brock. I think the style benefits Angle a lot. This is one of the last high touted matches of the era that I have yet to watch at least once. I thought Undertaker was awesome in this and looked to really be in high gear. I feel like 2004 and 2005 were down years for the Deadman but coming back to challenge for Angle's title here until the present day he more often than not looks good in his matches.
Loved his urgency right out of the gate. He was the aggressor at the beginning. Taking the fight to the champion and looking to win the championship. Angle powdered early but Taker did not lose focus. Loved Taker's posture and body language in this. Everything was about moving forward. Grabbed a headlock and did a great job converting from that base hold into working on the arm. Thought the arm work was great, focused and intense. Angle sold well, tried to break, but kept being overwhelmed so good struggle. Couple good Angle hope spots based around Undertaker missing charges. In both cases, they were fleeting with Undertaker not being denied and making quick comebacks against Angle. It really looked like Undertaker was going to run away with this early. He was hitting his spots and turning back everything Angle threw at him. So when he went for the chokeslam that's when the complexion of the match changed. Desperate, Angle kicked at Undertaker's knee, creating enough separation to clip the knee from behind. At the beginning, I thought the knee work was great. Using the post, loved the Bret Hart figure-4 around the post and Undertaker's selling was great. Undertaker looked like he was going to turn the tide again with a legdrop on apron, but caught into the Anglelock was great. Undertaker was able to take an Angle leg lace and counter into a Triangle choke, which was a good hope spot. Taker tried turning this into a brawl, which makes sense and leveraging his striking ability. Angle got a pop-up Angleslam through an announce table. Up until this point, I thought they were wrestling an absolute classic. The transitions were crisp, great urgency on Undertaker's part, lots of struggle and they were telling the story of Undertaker's strong desire to prove he is the better wrestler and how much he wanted to win this match whereas Angle had become desperate.
They lost it after the Angleslam and it became too much of a post-modern Angle match. The first misfire was Undertaker going to the top rope after the Angleslam through the table clearly just to set up Angle's run up the ropes Belly to Belly spot, which is lame. Then Taker hits a big boot anyway. Then comes the 8 million Anglelocks counters and reversals. I wouldn't mind it so much if he did not have the hold on for soooooooooo long before the counter. If it was constantly quick, like people could kinda feel it coming and before he can get set they countered that's one thing, it is this stupid is he going to tap or not and then roll through bullshit that's so lame. Way too easy getting in and out of the Anglelock and triangle. I am really bumming at this point because the first 2/3s was so damn good. Really dug the tombstone reversal spots into the Anglelock though that was neat-o, I will admit. The tenacity of wanting to put on the Anglelock is awesome. It is the sitting in the hold that sucks and kills the move. Loved the finish Angle gets a jackknife pin on a Triangle (again really didn't need the false drama of the arm raise).
The first 2/3rds was awesome. Undertaker killed it and was such an aggressive challenger. I thought Angle kept Undertaker honest made him earn it and worked leg well. They just fell into the trap of way too many Anglelocks and sitting in them. Good finish though keeps everyone strong. Interesting match that Undertaker's shine felt more like a heat segment that was building and building to a finish. Then Angle took over likewise. I thought the highspots were just right in terms of giving the oomph to the story. Just wished they didn't fall into the Kurt Angle match trap, which is hard when the match involves Kurt Angle. Coulda been somebody. ****1/4
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2, Chris Benoit vs Finlay - WWE Judgement Day 2006
Chris Benoit is wicked over despite his push being down for two years now. The same thing was true in WCW where he was not pushed very often. I think Benoit has to be the most over person ever in relation to how little talking charisma he had. He has a lot of body language charisma. He has the silent, violent asskicker vibe that definitely resonates. Of course, that's what makes him so difficult to watch is how violent he can be in the ring and it turned out he was even more violent in real life.
Intense and gritty. That's going to shock absolutely nobody. I think the deeper story here is Finlay is reacting to Benoit. Benoit is a great babyface because he is like the Russians at Stalingrad. He is always moving forward. He is going to fight through everything. On about a handful of occasions, we see Finlay completely overwhelmed by the fury of the Rabid Wolverine. I thought Finlay's reaction each time was perfect. He was always trying to break Benoit's momentum first by using the ref, then it was an eye poke, and then finally it was going outside trying to use foreign objects twice. Sometimes, he was successful, like that eye poke really gave him his first control segment. Other times, Benoit would blast through these distractions. I really liked that sense of tension they built.
I thought it was very lo-fi not a lot of highspots and when they happened they counted. Transitions mattered. Everything was laid in. Benoit looked ferocious in this match. Finlay had jumped Benoit by using a distraction and got a little cocky so he started to disrespect Benoit with some slaps to the face. BENOIT ROARED BACK WITH THE SLAP TO END ALL SLAPS! Like you need to see this slap. He SMACKED Finlay. Watching Finlay backpedal and Benoit just race after him and still chop him was so awesome. Finlay eyepoke gives us the first Finlay heat segment, which I thought was excellent all centered around the head and neck while maintaining wrist control. The Benoit hope spots were great. He gets the Rolling Germans, the first one is nasty like a deadlift and misses Diving Headbutt, both men are kinda out. Benoit goes for Sharpshooter, Finlay kicks out and heads to floor. Finlay is spooked at this point. He averted disaster twice. Now he wants chair so Benoit baseball slides chair into him. Benoit knows how critical the Diving Headbutt is so he goes back and hits it. He does not cover just once, but twice. Benoit makes the Diving Headbutt such an important spot. He does not just leave it. He goes back, gets it and when it does not get him the win, he tries another cover. Now Benoit is a little lost in kayfabe and needs to regroup and look for Crossface, but Finlay reverses into a Bret Bump in the corner and smashes him in the back of the head.
Second Finlay heat segment not as good as first. There were some wicked short arm clotheslines! It kinda meandered. It was intense. It felt like Finlay was torturing Benoit but it was NOT progressing. This is my criticism. Finlay was not escalating towards a win, he kinda stalled out. Benoit's selling was so good in all of this. Benoit gets an enziguiri and again Finlay freaks out and heads to outside and goes for Shillelagh, but Benoit gets a German on outside and does the Three Amigos inside as a tribute to Eddie. I also thought this was weird as Finlay bumps him off apron and actually starts to work over the arm. All of sudden Benoit gets an armbar takedown, great struggle over Crossface and Finlay taps.
Angle take note, the struggle should be to put on the hold not in the hold!!!!
Great character work by both men. Benoit was a machine in this looked awesome. Finlay was great as the sort of mirror heel Benoit and made good choices reacting to Benoit. Benoit's great understanding of psychology and selling was on display. Thought Finlay needed to escalate in his second heat segment and go for the win, thought build to finish was strange. The finish itself was great and how you ought to do a submission finish. Excellent intense encounter with strong storytelling and psychology from both men. I still think Akiyama/Taue is match of the year. ****1/2
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1. WWE Champion John Cena vs Edge - WWE Unforgiven TLC Match
You know a match is damn good when ten years later you are pumping your fist at the finish. John Cena Rocks! Cena was awesome in this match. Definitely a harbinger of his bitchin 2007 campaign. I was at Summerslam live in 2006 was pretty disappointed by the main event and partly because at the time I was not a Cena fan (shaking my head, 17 year old me had so much to learn) and it was not a very good match. I watched this after the fact on DVD comp and I loved it. It has been a good 6-7 years since I have seen it and thought this was excellent. The best match of John Cena's career up until this point (yes, I think this is better than JBL I Quit match, which is number two).
The story of the match is John Cena's heart vs Edge's experience in this match. You see throughout the match Cena become more and more comfortable with the environment. He starts off with what he knows running Edge over with shoulder tackles. Edge responds with what he knows: weapons. Edge is a pretty ineffective wrestler without gimmicks. The match at the beginning is really good thanks to Cena's selling. He makes these sometimes contrived spots look painful and important by selling. The table bump he powders because he wants to create space. This allows for Edge's best spot of the match which is him running up a ladder and diving to the floor on Cena.
This match is really good at transitions and bringing the energy up in each segment. Edge is driving towards the Conchairto but Cena trips him up and drives his head into a chair. Now we see Cena adapt to the environment. STFU using a ladder, the most painful looking STFU in history! Edge taps. Great symbolic spot. Then the FU of the ladder onto Edge and then Fist drop from the top of a ladder. Great use of the gimmicks! The match is not perfect there are some contrived moments like why is Cena going for a table he should be looking to win. It is to set up a later spot which is not my favorite, but it is a minor complaint. Again, Edge's transition is to crack a chair across Cena's skull. Edge takes way too long to set up a double table. Cena sends him flying. Then as Cena is climbing Edge hits the lamest spear in history, but Goddamnit Cena sells it like he has cracked ribs and internal bleeding. God Bless John Cena!
I thought the finish run was incredible and very dramatic. Lita comes out and tips the ladder over as Cena is climbing sending him hard through a table on the floor.
Tangent: Lita got one of the best boob jobs in history. If I did not know what she looked like before, I would be convinced those were natural. ***** to the Cosmetic surgeon and Lita in this period was a definitely a young Sleeze favorite.
On a more serious note, I feel like Lita adds a lot to these matches. She is just a much better performer than Edge. Really liked the spot where Lita cracked Cena in the back with a chair and that caused Cena to collapse into the ladder sending Edge through the tables on the floor. Cena FUs "the Evil Bitch" (JR's words not mine). Im not for man on woman violence typically but Lita feels like a wrestler and it felt like a great fist pumping moment. The FU off the ladder through two tables on Edge was awesome!!!! I was marking out big time for the Cena win in Toronto. It felt like a great SUCK IT moment to all those smart marks.
Awesome car crash match that really built on itself and told a really great story. Cena was awesome throughout the match making each spot meaningful and adapting to the environment. I thought Lita added a lot to the match down the stretch in her interference, exhorting Edge and taking the FU bump. Thought all three table spots were awesome and well-done. It felt like a big time, Rah Rah John Cena victory. Loved it! ****1/2
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