Kane Vs MVP - Inferno Match - Armageddon December 17th 2006
Yeah, can't say I am expecting this to be good. I believe I mentioned before that you would have to have a Eugene IQ to expect greatness from this
.
The match starts, and MVP begs for Kane to not kill him. Surprisingly... it doesn't work
.
Looking back, I really think that putting MVP in this type of match so soon into his SD and WWE run (debuted in October) showed that WWE had confidence in the guy and expected him to be a big player in the future as well perhaps. I still think he could be if they gave him a real chance.
Kane is having fun, beating up MVP and getting ready to set him on fire. MVP on the other hand is fighting for survival, but it isn't working for the most part.
:lmao at one of the sides going out, followed by another one right after they get it lit again.
:lmao at MVP almost landing on the turnbuckle padding that Kane took off and set on fire. Match could have ended right there! Also, holy shit at how close MVP came to the fire AGAIN when he was trying to baseball slide Kane into it, and Kane moved. How he stopped himself I will never know.
Oh hey... one of the sides has gone out. AGAIN. Can WWE do nothing right?!?!?!
Why is that that all inferno matches HAVE to go outside the ring for someone to get set on fire? Can they not figure out a way for someone to get set on fire IN the ring?
Its not too long after going to the outside that MVP's back is set on fire, and this one is over.
Its not great, but given the circumstances (FIRE~!) its probably one of the better ones (better. Out of 4. 4 matches with FIRE~!). I was entertained by it
.
And completely random(ish)... I love Kane's theme by Finger Eleven.
Rating: **
Brian Kendrick & Paul London Vs William Regal & Dave Taylor Vs MNM Vs The Hardy Boys - Tag Team Title Ladder Match - Armageddon December 17th 2006
Another one of those "I hate it but I love it" matches. I hate it because I wanted to see Londrick Vs Team England, but I love it because its one of the better ladder matches. Grrrr!!!
Until I watched all of SD 06, I actually thought this match was where MNM returned, but it turns out they were back before this, and they had a nice little match with Londrick
.
Ok, time to get down to business. This is spots. SPOTS~! and plenty of them. And when it comes down to it, its probably the BEST pure SPOTS~! ladder match. Its even better than the SPOTS~! TLC matches. I'd only put a handful of Ladder/TLC matches above this one, and that's because those ones are more than just spots.
There really is just so much greatness here. From little things like Londrick and The Hardys clearing the ring and then looking at the titles before getting it on, to one of the most brutal spots in any ladder match... Mercury having his face destroyed. When you think of Hell in a Cell, odds are the first thing you think of is Foley being thrown off the top. When you think of ladder matches, THAT spot is what I think of.
Regal & Taylor are funny as hell in the match, when it turns out both of them are afraid of heights :lmao. They make up for that with their brutality though, especially Regal and THAT suplex on the ladder. Might not be as remembered as the Mercury spot, but it might very well be my favourite spot of the match.
Just an amazing 20 minute rollercoaster ride of a ladder match. I think it made it on my list, but I won't know for sure until I look again
.
Rating: ****
Gregory Helms Vs Jimmy Wang Yang - CW Title - Armageddon December 17th 2006
Helms has perhaps become complacent over the last few months or so, since he rarely defended the CW title (at least on SD and PPV), and when someone like Yang comes along and challenges him for it, he probably doesn't think he is in any danger of losing it because he has held it for so long.
Yang gets the early advantage, taking Helms by surprise maybe, or maybe he is just really motivated to win the belt. It takes a little time, but Helms finally gets focused and the match turns in his favour.
Now that Helms is more focused, he starts getting more and more confident. He takes his time and taunts the crowd, because he believes nothing can stop him now. Yang does a nice job with his comeback; always was a big fan of his offence, especially that awesome looking running heel kick in the corner where he goes over the ropes too.
Only thing to really dislike about this match is the crowd. Apparently good wrestling is boring. So ummm... why did they come to a wrestling PPV again?
Wanna know how Helms wins the match? One word... CODEBREAKER! Jericho stole it from Helms! And Helms probably stole it from someone else... but yeah, Jericho stole it!!!
Great match, another great showing from Helms on PPV. Man was the backbone of the mid-card PPV matches in 2006.
Rating: ***
The Undertaker Vs Mr Kennedy - Armageddon December 17th 2006
They've had a singles match on PPV which ended in a DQ. Then they had a First Blood match on PPV which ended in controversial fashion. So the only way to end it in a definitive way? Last Ride Match! Ok, maybe not the match I would have picked, but it was only the second Last Ride Match ever at the time (has there been any more? I honestly don't remember lol), and hell, I'm all for newish matches than them using a way overused match instead (HIAC would have been a decent option for this match, but even that had been overused by this point in time, and had continued to get worse over the last few years lol).
A similar start to this match compared to their First Blood match, with Undertaker going right after Kennedy and just beating the shit out of him. A couple of nice small spots too, like Undertaker throwing Kennedy onto the table (and Kennedy bascially doing a flip onto it), and then Undertaker launching Kennedy from the table face first to the ring apron.
But Kennedy, as we have seen in all of their previous matches, is pretty resilient, and he manages to reverse Old School, and then goes after Undertaker like a wolf after a wounded sheep (well, that comparison sucked lol).
Its only moments later than they end up at the Hearse, with Kennedy showing Undertaker in and trying his best to close it! Its not happening though, not just yet, as Undertaker boots Kennedy in the face and goes right back to work on the "future of Smackdown" ( :lmao not any more he ain't).
Undertaker's offence is pretty great here, though I'm sure that's all opinion based. I love his elbows, kicks and then legdrop on the apron, and I know some people don't like it too much (screw them!
). Plus I love his strikes too. Oh, and the man his a pretty stellar looking superplex when he pulls it out.
Out of nowhere Kennedy applies a sleeper hold (OMG ZIGGLER STOLENZ KENNEDYS MUVE!), and Undertaker appears to be out! Into the Hearse he goes, and the door shuts! Kennedy goes to get in the driver's seat... and Undertaker pops out instead! Now Kennedy is pretty pissed. He has had 2 chances to get Undertaker in the Hearse for good, and both times Undertaker has escaped. So what to do next? Steel chair
.
Undertaker takes numerous chair shots... and sits right back up!!! Kennedy doesn't seem to have any more ideas, so he runs! Where to? The top of the Armageddon stage of course, where else!?!?
SPOT! And no, its NOT Kennedy that takes it! Undertaker is thrown off the stage after a short brawl. I have to say, even though you can see how soft the landing is AFTER he has landed, the camera angle for the fall makes it look pretty fucking awesome.
After the spot, it looks like Kennedy has this one in the bag, and who could argue with that point right now? Undertaker is dragged to the Hearse and stuffed into the back, and Kennedy gets behind the wheel. Cut to a camera inside, and we see Undertaker sit up and drag Kennedy to the back and out of the door!
Now Undertaker is pissed. Really pissed. How often do you see Undertaker grab a steel pipe to attack someone with? A few steel chair shots later (the pipe only manages to break a window
), and Kennedy is bleeding. This one is nearly over, but not before Kennedy is Chokeslammed on the roof of the Hears! And not in the shitty way JBL was Chokeslammed through the limo in 04! If that wasn't enough though, Undertaker makes damn sure this one is going to be over, because even though he is in control again, he knows that Kennedy took the fight right to him and almost won a couple of times, so he finishes him off with a Tombstone on top of the Hearse!
The Dead Man then drives off with Kennedy in the back, and this one is over!
A good match, but like their First Blood match... its not on the level as their non gimmick matches. I think they work better without weapons tbh. Their NM, Germany House Show and SD 07 matches are all better than this and their First Blood match imo, and they were all under regular rules. However, this is still a good match, around the same level as their First Blood.
Overall, I really enjoyed this series between Undertaker and Kennedy. 2 ****1/4 matches, a ***3/4 match, and now 2 ***1/2 matches. Good stuff! And I'm really glad I went back and watched these again, but I don't remember any of them being as good.
Rating: ***1/2