My reviews of what happened on the RAW Brand in 2006
Main RAW Roster of 2006: John Cena, HHH, HBK, Edge, RVD, Mick Foley, Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy, Umaga, Johnny Nitro.
RAW was pretty rough in 2006. So I present the real MVPs of RAW in 2006:
WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus vs Mickie James - WrestleMania XXII
I had a massive crush on Mickie when she first started in late 2005 into 2006. Loved this storyline with the obsession leading to Mickie snapping and some really good brawls between the two. It felt like the first real blood feud in the women's division and the only real blood feud going on at the time between any two wrestlers. I had never seen this match, but always wanted to.
Mickie was awesome in this match. I have not seen a Trish match since she retired. She is exactly as I remember her sometime who tries really hard. I think it was great she spent most of the match selling because she was A+ at selling the leg. Her offense is ok, but Mickie made it looked like great at the beginning. Trish wanted to start off red hot pissed by the hell Mickie had put her through. Mickie was bumping, screaming and selling her ass off for Trish. Trish went for the Chick Kick on the outside and met steel. The leg work by Mickie was outstanding as was Trish's selling. Hope spots and cutoffs were great. Like Ligerbomb counter to Mickie's usual rana outta the corner or Mickie turning a rana attempt into a sick snapping of the leg over the ring rope. Mickie's demeanor and crazed facial expressions were so spot on.
So now we can get to what the match is famous for. Mickie grabs Trish by the pussy. Stunning Trish. Trish LEVELS Mickie, but kinda oddly eats a knee and then its the Mick Kick for the win. It felt flat. I think Mickie pussy grab followed by a swift kick to the head was the way to go. They wanted Trish to get some revenge for the pussy grab, but then did not have transition to get back to Mickie winning that caused the actual finish to be flat. The pussy grab ->Trish decks her was super hot, but the switch back to Mickie was too abrupt.
Still this has to be the best women's match between what 1996-2013 in WWE history. Is there anything close? Great heat segment. Awesome, awesome performance by Mickie character work, selling, bumping and offense. Trish was great at selling. Finish makes this fall short of being great, but definitely recommend this. ***3/4
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Mick Foley vs Edge - WrestleMania XXII Hardcore Match
This is a quintessential Mick Foley match where his pain is supposed to be our pleasure. It is the greatest hits of his career, the knees into the steel steps, slamming the back of his head on a metal surface. His offense was tight. He escalated the match well. Edge added nothing to this. In fact he actively detracted at times with his abysmal selling. I have no idea what the hell he was doing at the finish. He looked like he was suffering from hypothermia. I thought Lita was awesome in this. In fact, I thought the Lita/Foley interactions were the most compelling. Anytime, Foley looked like he was really going to decimate Edge, Lit was there with the save like the barbed wire baseball bat (taking that sick Cactus clothesline) or the barbed wire Mr. Socko (her lips were all ripped up). Foley's right hand when Edge was pouring Lighter fluid on him was great and Lawler marking out for the piledriver was fun. Thumbtacks are thumbtacks when there is no drama. In fact, with all the over the top violence, there was very little drama. It was just move from spot to spot. Escalation was there, but the fear and stakes were not.
After all the punishment Lita took, she finally got here revenge hitting Foley in the balls with a barbed wire baseball bat and then setting the table on fire before Edge speared Foley from the apron through the flaming table. They should have milked the spot more. But hey they should milked more of the spots. Lita was awesome in this. Good Foley nostalgia. Edge sucked but that's to be expected. Tight, did not over stay its welcomed. Felt rushed though. ***1/4
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ECW Champion Big Show vs Ric Flair - WWECW 7/11/06
I watched this live in 2006 and have fond memories of this bloody brawl. I remember when ECW first started they definitely tried loading up the main events and this was the best of that early bunch. Within a month or two, I stopped watching the show became a total afterthought.
I liked the repackaging of Big Show as the Extreme, violent Giant I don't remember what the end game was but I feel like it was a good idea that could have been better executed. Garbage match Flair was pretty fun around this time. I went to Summerslam in 2006 in Boston and Flair/Foley was fun live but something I will revisit. I thought this was a good solid match which utilized the strengths of both men effectively. Big Show used his size and strength to control the early portion. Loved Big Show's chops in response to Flair. Headbutts bust Flair open early. Plenty of slams and suplexes on Flair. Flair great at selling defiance and bumping. Flair just tried to keep chopping and chopping. Finally when things looked really bleak he just whacked Big Show in the balls four times very blatantly. The Flair brought in the barbed wire baseball bat and thumb tacks and chair. It was just fun garbage stuff but it was well set up because Flair at least tried to go toe to toe with The Giant, but he was clearly overwhelmed and bloody so this his last resort. He knocks Big Show flat on his back into tacks and this pisses off the Giant. Who steamrolls Flair! I loved Show's finish at the time which the Cobra Clutch backbreaker and then Cobra Clutch to win. He then ragdolls Flair into the thumbtacks for good measure.
They did a really great job working around Flair's limitations and thought Big Show looked like a sadistic monster and Flair's comeback was plausible and entertaining because it relied on ballshots and weapons. The finish was great, simple and effective. Very fun garbage TV brawl. ***
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WWE Intercontinental Champion Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy - Unforgiven 2006
I get it, he does look like Jim Morrison, but John Morrison was such a lame name. The crowd loves chanting "Nitro sucks" they really should have stuck with that. I remember Nitro/Morrison as a person with a great look but just never materialized in the ring. Soft Kofi Kingston offense is what I remember along with no standout charisma. This match I thought the offense was a bit better than I remember but yeah no charisma to speak of. The entrance is brash, but where is that cocky attitude in the ring. He is just so mechanical. Jeff Hardy is so insanely charismatic. He had the crowd rocking just doing armdrags from different angles. I will say there was on nice spot where Nitro goes for an armdrag but Hardy hooks the ropes and Nitro still goes through with the rotation. Well done. Some really great impactful dropkicks by Jeff here. Crowd pops for them. Back when crowds popped for stiffness instead of acrobatics, how nice! Jeff takes a totally nutty bump off the top when Nitro trips him up. Nitro works over the leg. I think he does an admirable job. At one point, he steps on Jeff's foot, and kicks the knee hard with his other leg. Well done. He was not Arn Anderson picking apart a body part, but it was solid. Again where is that charisma! Morrision misses a corkscrew moonsault. As much as I love Jeff, he does blow off the knee selling and hits whisper in the wind. Then hits the Swanton Bomb then decides to sell. Not digging that. Also there were way too many shots of Melina. She is hot. I get it, I really do, she is very hot, but I am trying to watch a match. Melina gets knocked off the apron. She hits Jeff with the boot, Nitro covers and wins. Solid finish to a solid match. Too long at 17 minutes & change. ***
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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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WWE Intercontinental Champion Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy - RAW 10/2/06
Going to give Nitro credit again, way to go to back after Jeff Hardy crashes and burns on Whisper in the Wind. This is body psychology is strong. The dropkick to Jeff causing him to the hit the post hard is nasty. Plus he hits a crazy backbreaker. Great use of the surfboard too. The finish was fine too with Jeff reversing the surfboard and then hitting Whisper in the Wind. Nitro tries to hide behind Melina but Jeff topples both of them. I didn't like Nitro getting back on top after Jeff hit a move, but whatever. Jeff backdrops him off the top, cool spot and then Swanton Bomb. New champ. Fine match. I liked this one better because it was shorter, but still nothing amazing. ***
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WWE Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs Carlito - Cyber Sunday 2006
Nothing reminds me of how dreadfully dull the RAW midcard was in the mid-2000s than this match. I remember nothing about Carlito's working style, but this match certainly did not inspire me to learn more. He basically tried to snuggle to death. In addition to a very boring heat segment, the shine was terrible. They were just trading moves with absolutely no rhyme or reason. One would hit a move then the other would hit a move. No transition, no missed moves. It was just strange. Jeff Hardy hits a nasty front suplex. Swanton Bomb eats knees. Carlito hits a bunch of weak springboard moves. Carlito misses the third springboard. Whisper in the Wind! Carlito nearly kills him on some stupid top rope move. Swanton Bomb. JR says "what a match" I say "what a mess"
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WWE Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs Johnny Nitro - RAW 11/6/06
Do you remember Paris Hilton? Do you remember Kevin Federline? Man, mid-00s nostalgia in ten years is going to be so sad. My high school years were a cultural wasteland.
Nitro starts with a hammerlock, Hardy does the Bret escape, good start here with Jeff doing the dropkick and then splash. Nitro uses a leverage move to send him into the buckle and then choking into the ropes. Melina hair pull. Some good heel work here. Hardy hits a sling blade. Did Tanahashi do it first or Hardy? Melina trips and the ref calls for a DQ. Eric Bischoff is BACK!??! What the HELL?!?! He makes it a No DQ. I know I was watching. I have no recollection of this. Back from the commercial, Nitro is in a chinlock. Jawbreaker by Jeff. Tsunami Kick by Nitro. They both collide with a cross body. This match has just been there so far. Reverse mule kick by Hardy gets two. Front suplex gets two. WHISPER IN THE WIND! Two! Melina is choking Jeff Hardy and he whips her down. He goes for Swanton Bomb on Melin and Nitro crotches him and then belt shot. Nitro wins. Meh. I feel like Jeff Hardy could be better utilized but at the same time if Jeff Hardy was truly great he would find ways to keep having great match. This was not as bad as the Carlito match, but for something that was really more of an angle, it didn't feel big. It should have though.
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WWE Intercontinental Champion Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy - RAW 11/13/06
By 2006 (probably earlier), the WWE booking is doing nobody any favors with this constant booking of this match. These two don't have Flair/Steamboat chemistry nor do they have the ability to build their matches off each other. I think Todd Grisham is on commentary and he is atrocious. I am glad he did not stick around. Johnny Nitro uses the hair to take Jeff Hardy down. You know what it is there is not a whole of fun in these matches. Nitro misses a splash and then Hardy hits a dropkick (new spot). Jeff is spot to use the ten count punches and then that dropkick. Way to go for Swanton early. Jeff Hardy's baseball slide is really good. Like the Nitro kneelift to stop jawbreaker and Tidal Wave Kick by Nitro gets a two. Nitro is choking, good heel stuff. Nitro with reverse chinlock. I hate the elbows to end a chinlock. "Sometimes when you please a woman like that, she makes those noises." -Todd Grisham. Horrible. Nitro gets crotched. Hardy misses Whisper in the Wind. Awful modified slam by Nitro. Nitro mocks Matt Hardy with the Hardy Yodel, Jeff hits him with a powerbomb. Swanton Bomb! Ref is distracted. Nitro hits a corkscrew moonsault, but has a shitty pin cover and Hardy rolls him into an Oklahoma Roll to win. I wish someone would do this to Dolph Ziggler who also has shitty covers. Yeah, I am starting to get sick of mid-00s WWE. Nitro hits Hardy with a ladder to setup the ladder match next week on RAW. Jury is out if I will watch it, right now.
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