The Year in PPV- 2006, Part II

Now that WrestleMania season is over, let's see how the year 2006 continues...


5. Backlash

This show features some new post-Mania feuds, the PPV debut of Umaga, a legitimate injury for Trish Stratus all within the undercard. I may have rushed through that, but this show has 3 matches that deserve my full attention. There was an awesome match between Shelton Benjamin and Rob Van Dam that was for both Benjamin's Intercontinental Championship and Van Dam's Money in the Bank Briefcase. What really worked well for these two was their complementing wrestling styles. Benjamin is more of a technical wrestler, who can also take risks, whereas Van Dam takes more risks and can wrestle when he needs to. It creates a very athletic and competitive match between the two that is full of great counters and physicality. The main event for the WWE Championship was also memorable, as John Cena defended his title against Edge and Triple H in a triple threat match. This was your standard triple threat, but what really helped it stand out was the star power of the three involved and the amount of blood that is spilled. Seriously....Triple H bleeds buckets here. If you have a week stomach for blood, you may wanna stop at the main event. If you love blood, enjoy the triple threat you sadistic little scamp.

But there is one match that is one of the most infamous matches in WWE history: a No Holds Barred tag team match which featured Mr. McMahon and Shane McMahon taking on Shawn Michaels and God. I'm absolutely serious, they had the balls to go with a Mr. McMahon wrestling God storyline. It's exactly how you think it would go. It's sacrilegious, it's uncomfortable, it's mildly hilarious because of the execution. This thing is BAD....I mean REALLY BAD...it ranges on 2000 WCW BAD!!!! If you can stomach Vince's tongue in cheek humor when it comes to wrestling God, I'd say to give this match a try, since it really does have some good spots and is one of those trainwreck matches you need to see to believe.

Mild Recommendation


6. Judgment Day

When your first two matches are the best on the card, you may think your show may be in trouble, but Judgment Day proved you didn't need JUST wrestling quality to have a good show. After the WWE Tag Team Championship match (MNM vs. Brian Kendrick and Paul London) and a 20 minute match between Chris Benoit and Finlay, the show had a bit of difficulty finding its footing for a while. But then they went into the three main events, each showcasing something very different and intriguing. The first was the finals for the King of the Ring tournament, which saw Bobby Lashley and Booker T fight it out to see who would take home the crown and scepter.

Next, we had a match between the Undertaker and the Great Khali. YES, I admit it. Of Khali's moments in the WWE, this might be his greatest. Why? Because this push was handed to him on a silver platter. It's against Taker, he's being teased as the new dominant force in the WWE, and he has a mouthpiece in Daivari. The pieces were there...he just needed to be a better wrestler. Finally, we had the main event between Rey Mysterio and JBL for the World Heavyweight Championship. This feud show one of the biggest issues many had with Mysterio as World Champion. So, he is going to lose week after week against bigger opponents, and we are supposed to believe he still has a chance to win? Why? Because he is labelled gimmick-wise to be an underdog? Because the booking staff thought it would be a good idea for him to use the legacy of Eddie Guerrero to fuel his gimmick? This was a tough time for the smart marks to care about the main events for either RAW or SmackDown, because BOTH shows had the same underdog formula for their champs. RAW had Cena, but SmackDown had Mysterio, and at least because of Cena's size, his victories made sense.

Mild Recommendation


7. ECW: One Night Stand

This show was ALMOST as good as the one from 2005, but the early decisions of the WWE's version of ECW began to shine through. For starters, the inclusion on Big Show and Kurt Angle on the main roster was covered very heavily, as was the inclusion of current WWE superstars like Randy Orton, Edge, and John Cena. Something about the match quality also seemed to lack from the previous year. In 2005, we had Lance Storm vs. Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit, and Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka. Here, we have Tazz vs. Jerry Lawler, and Tanaka vs. Balls Mahoney. Clearly, this was also missing the factor of famous alumni who moved on to bigger and better things. Instead, this re-branding of ECW felt like whomever needed a paycheck could show up. Still, the reason these shows worked for two years was the nostalgia it would generate for the fans of ECW.

The show does have two great matches attached as well. The first was a 6-person tag match with Terry Funk, Tommy Dreamer, and Beulah McGillicutty taking on Mick Foley, Edge, and Lita. This really elevated the hardcore quality since Edge and Foley's match at Mania by including more blood, more weapons, more barbed wire, and more fire. After that, we had the main event for the WWE Championship. Rob Van Dam was cashing in his Money in the Bank Contract against Cena in a VERY BIG anti-Cena crowd. The match is a great moment for both men, showcasing another quality Cena excels at (extreme matches) and giving Van Dam arguably his career defining moment. This show is very enjoyable, but it was all downhill from here for ECW in the WWE.

Highly Recommended


8. Vengeance

If there's anything I learned from Vengeance, it's that the WWE should NEVER depend on a D-Generation X vs. Spirit Squad match to headline a show. This main event wasn't the worst thing I've ever seen, but say it with me: Triple H and Shawn Michaels, two of wrestling's all-time greatest performers took on a group of 5 male cheerleaders (admittedly, one did become Dolph Ziggler down the road so they weren't a COMPLETE failure) in the main event of a PPV. Can you see where the problem might be for that? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Admittedly the midcard does hold a few gems, including an opening contest between Randy Orton and Kurt Angle, a 2 out of 3 falls match between Ric Flair and Mick Foley, a triple threat for the Intercontinental Championship (Shelton Benjamin vs. Carlito vs. Johnny Nitro), Rob Van Dam vs. Edge for the WWE Championship, and an extreme lumberjack match between John Cena and Sabu. All those matches are fine (with Orton/Angle and the IC Title match really standing out in quality), but the main event is so deflating on a selling point, that I can't in good conscious faith recommend this show. I recommend checking out some of those good matches elsewhere, but if I let a PPV where the main event features the Spirit Squad...then all hope is lost.

Skip It


Thoughts: I think it's safe to say we can point out some early flaws (Mr. McMahon vs. God, the Spirit Squad main eventing a PPV, the early showings of ECW's downfall, Rey's championship reign). But, I can't deny there are some good matches on each of these shows, they just had something holding it back from really standing out in history's eyes. One Night Stand is a must, but only if you're a fan of the old ECW. If you're the casual fan, you may be like "This is what the old ECW was like? What's the big deal?" And THAT'S why the WWE's ECW was in trouble from the start. But we're only halfway done with 2006, so let's see if things go from bad to worse, or if they can improve in quality.

Continued in Part III...


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