2006 Discussion

The Undertaker Vs Kurt Angle - World Heavyweight Title - Smackdown March 3rd 2006
The rematch from No Way Out. They put on one of the best matches in WWE history on that night (easily a top 20 match for the Poll), but the finish just begged for a rematch. I wish we had gotten it at WrestleMania, but they had other plans with Rey and all that shizzle, so we had to "settle" for it being on SD. All through the show they were building to this main event, showing clips of NWO, and clips of each wrestler dominating guys over the years etc, and the tale of the tape. This one has big match feel written all over it, and I can't wait to see it .

First thing I notice is how awesome the crowd is. Compared to the Attitude Era its nothing special, but by today's standards its fucking awesome. Also, The Undertaker actually gets BOOED when he reverses Angle in the corner at the start of the match and punches the fuck out of him! Angle gets booed as well when he regains control lol; the crowd are extremely split for this one.

Lots of nice callbacks to their NWO match, with Angle going straight for the same leg and knee of The Undertaker that he worked on at the PPV, and Undertaker going back after the neck. One spot in particular that I liked is when Undertaker was about to give Angle the apron leg drop, but remembering how Angle was able to reverse it last time into an Ankle Lock, Undertaker turns Angle over onto his stomach so he can't reverse is this time. Also does more damage to the neck of Kurt, which is smart on Undertaker's behalf.

A powerslam from Angle transitions into a small period of him being in control, before they go back and forth a little with Undertaker fighting back with his power and striking ability and Angle just trying to hit 'Taker with anything he can, which is eventually a superplex (Cole needs shooting at this point, he must have screamed "OH MY" about 6 times when Angle was hitting the superplex).

The superplex may have taken down The Undertaker, but it also hurt Angle, and not before long both guys are back up and trying to punch each others face in . Undertaker obviously wins the exchange, and Angle realises he needs to do something quick to try and win the match, and here comes the first Ankle Lock of the match! We get some nice counters (only one from the Ankle Lock atm) before Angle lands the Angle Slam! That only gets him a 2 count, so its back to the trusted Ankle Lock. Undertaker is hurting from the Angle Slam, so now might be the perfect time for Angle to lock it in. 'Taker is 'Taker though, and he doesn't stay in the hold for long, and chokeslams Angle! Angle no sells and quickly grabs the ankle AGAIN, but this gets countered into the Triangle Choke; shades of NWO! We then get a replay of the NWO finish, except this time The Undertaker rolls through and keeps hold of the Triangle Choke!!!

Angle gets to the ropes, but is still pretty out of it, so Undertaker positions him for a regular leg drop, which will target the neck. However, Undertaker just seems to be so desperate to put the champion away, he forgot that Angle can counter this, and BAM, Ankle Lock one more time! A couple more counters, and Undertaker gets on the losing end of a DDT.

The Angle Slam didn't work. The Ankle Lock is constantly countered... so Angle decides to go all out with a MOONSAULT! It doesn't pay off, and The Undertaker hits a Tombstone! He covers and... Mark Fat Bastard Shit Face Cunt Henry breaks up the count and gets the match stopped for a DQ . He then puts Undertaker through a table, setting up to the triple threat in Australia that I talked about a few weeks ago, and of course the WrestleMania casket match.

Really glad I got to see this match again, because its awesome. Not on the level of No Way Out, and certainly not on the level as their Smackdown 2003 match, but its still pretty great and better than their other matches. The end was shitty, but everything leading up to it was pretty great. Angle wasn't suplex crazy (though I doubt Undertaker wanted to take multiple over head belly to bellys lol), and he only started using the Ankle Lock AFTER his Angle Slam didn't work, and during the final 10 minutes of this 25 minute match, which was the counter/move/counter/move WWE Main Event Style finishing stretch. A better ending, and maybe another 5 or so minutes added on BEFORE they go into the finishing stretch, and this could have been better than NWO.

Rating: ****1/4

Batista & Bobby Lashley Vs Finlay & William Regal - SD 11th August 2006
2 grizzled veterans Vs one very green rookie and a still somewhat green former champion .

Batista & Lashley have the raw power, which enables them to start this match off the way they want, but the experience and heel tactics, and their sheer toughness as well, allow the veterans to take control of the match.

Not expecting this to be vote worthy of anything, but I was very interested in seeing the match to see how Finlay & Regal could work with the 2 inexperienced power houses. King Booker is on commentary, and I want to put a bullet through his fucking skull. I'm glad he didn't sign with WWE again.

While I wasn't expecting anything great, what I was expecting was Finlay & Regal stiffing and stretching the fuck out of someone, and even though it doesn't last long (the whole match is only about 7 minutes long), we still get Lashley taking a beating . Regal lands a couple of really sick looking elbows and knees to the back of his neck too, which make me all warm and fuzzie inside . Lashley tries to tag out a couple of times, but the veterans prevent him by any means necessary.

The hot tag does come, and Regal & Finlay get annihilated, with a nice double spear spot followed by a Batista Spinebuster for the win.

Its the basic southern tag formula with some Regal & Finlay awesomeness, all condensed into 7 minutes. What we got was good, but just way too short to make this match anything more than fun. Unless you are like Andy and you get a hard on at the thought of Finlay and Regal, then there is no need to go out of your way to see this .

Rating: *3/4


The Undertaker Vs The Great Khali - Last Man Standing - SD August 18th 2006
Lol, remember when this was supposed to happen at SummerSlam? Then WWE realised that Khali + Live PPV = Disaster .

Khali had destroyed The Undertaker at Judgment Day, and this was 'Taker's chance at revenge. Khali had been built up as the old Unstoppable Giant/Monster, so it was Undertaker's job to slay the untalented shit.

Undertaker's biggest chance of winning this was to use his quickness to avoid Khali's offence, take the bigger man off his feet, then beat the living fuck out of him. Undertaker is able to do this at the beginning of the match, and when he has Khali down, he locks in the triangle choke! Smart work as usual from the Dead Man.

Unfortunately for The Undertaker though, Davari, Khali's manager, gets involved and distracts The Undertaker long enough to let Khali recover. They end up fighting on the SD stage at the top of the ramp, and 'Taker gets launched off the top of the stage through the suspiciously placed tables... . Khali thinks this one is over, and it almost is, but the resilience of the Dead Man allows him to get back up at 9, but he is still pretty beat up. Khali doesn't look as awful as usual in this match, probably because The Undertaker knows how to take the offence of useless big men; it was all he did for the first 5 years of his career in WWF after all lol.

Liked the spot with Undertaker being tied up in the ropes, and Khali landing a couple of his big chops, which were sold as death back then, and was the move that put Undertaker away at JD. Everyone thinks this one is over, but AGAIN The Undertaker is up at 9! Put not like before when he got up at 9 and was still hurt, no, this time he sat up and was pissed off to fuck and Khali was going to motherfucking pay. Until Khali reverses Undertaker into the steel steps. Unfortunately for Khali, that just pissed Undertaker off even more, and those steel steps end up being the downfall of the Great Khali.

Shot to the head, followed by a couple of chair shots to the back of the head while Khali's head was laid on the steps! Khali is busted open, and it happened the hard way. I remember reading reports back when this happened and how pissed off Khali was with 'Taker for legit smashing his head in with the chair because "the first shot didn't look real enough". That's Undertaker for ya lol.

Anyway, a couple more chair shots to the head, and then a HUGE chokeslam, and Khali stays down for the 10 count. Undertaker finally got his revenge, and gave Khali his BEST match ever. Nothing before, and sure as hell nothing after, has been as good for Khali.

As far as LMS matches go, there are definitely better ones, but its certainly not the worst. Khali actually looked... decent in the match, as his power offence worked perfectly here, and Undertaker sold extremely well for him. A couple of good, brutal spots too, and a satisfying finish . Won't make my list, but it probably would finish in my top 200 (which is a good thing lol).

Rating: ***1/2

Bobby Lashley Vs Finlay - US Title - SD August 18th 2006

Finlay cheated to win the title from Lashley about a month earlier (I *think* I talked about the match), and this was Lashely's chance at revenge, and getting back the belt.

Slow start from both men, with Lashley perhaps taking his time knowing that Finlay can take advantage of any mistakes he might make by going into this thing too fast, and Finlay trying to keep things slow so Lashley doesn't get the chance to wrestle the match HIS way and make use of his power.

Finlay eventually pisses Lashley off so much that Lashley snaps and beats the fuck out of him in the corner. Finlay fakes an eye injury then jumps Bob, but the power of Lashley puts a stop to that quickly. Plan B; Regal shows up and distracts Lashley, allowing Finlay to launch Lashley into the ring post in a pretty cool looking spot.

Now we just get Finlay taking full advantage of the now injured Lashley, and goes right after the shoulder of Lashley after sending him into the ring post a couple more times lol.

We keep seeing the sheer power of Lashley as he makes a couple of comebacks, but is too hurt to capitalise on the explosive power moves he hits.

Love JBL trying to hide the fact that it was Finlay that allowed JBL to defeat Lashley for the first time, then ignoring the question about the fact he lost the US title to Bobby .

Finlay channels 2009 Jericho (he is so awesome, he can channel people in the future), but instead of screaming "ASK HIM", he screams "I'm gonna break his arm!".

Lashley makes his final comeback and completely ignores the match long arm work by hitting a one armed suplex (with his BAD arm lol). Regal makes another distraction and Finlay brings out the little bastard, only to get speared (Finlay, not Horny ). This looks to be the end, but Regal runs in for the DQ, and then Lashley takes care of both guys after nearly getting decapitated by a chair.

This was a pretty good match, but Lashley's complete disregard for selling of any kind at the end kinda hurts it. Wouldn't have been a problem at all had he not gone for a vertical suplex lol. Aside from that, Finlay controlling the match was great, and Lashley's small comebacks in between were all nicely done. Didn't even mind the DQ end, as it wasn't as bad as the no sell from Bobby .

Rating: ***

Finlay Vs Mr Kennedy Vs Bobby Lashey - US Title - SD September 1st 2006
This was originally going to be Kennedy Vs Finlay, but Long came out before the bell rang and announced that Lashley would be included too!

Kennedy tried to form an alliance with Lashley at the start of the match, and they seems to be on the same page... until Lashley levels Kennedy with an awesome overhead belly to belly (one of my favourite moves EVER) and sends him out of the ring.

Finlay takes advantage of Lashley's back being turned, and he quickly takes down Big Bob. Kennedy gets back in, and forms an alliance with Finlay to take out Lashley. It lasts for about 2 minutes, then Kennedy sends the champion into the ring post, hits the Kenton Bomb on Lashley, and very nearly wins the US Title!

Plenty of action in the first 5 minutes, and nice to see the heels not working together for very long at all before their own greed gets in the way. We all know they will turn on each other eventually, and unless there has been something in the build up to the match, there isn't any reason IMO to keep them working together for a long period of time when it comes to a TV triple threat.

With the heels too busy fighting amongst themselves, Lashley takes control of the match by taking on BOTH opponents and destroying them with his power.

, Lashley actually botches up a school boy pin. Lashley knocks down Kennedy, and before he can go for the cover Lashley comes from behind to roll him up... only problem is, Lashley decides to try and pin Kennedy any way lol, which makes the roll up look ridiculous lol. Finlay looks pissed after the 2 count and boots Lashley in the back of the head.

Plenty of really good action in this one, as even though they go with the usual triple threat formula of "one guy out, 2 guys in", they don't leave it too long with just 2 guys going at it. One guy gets thrown outside from a move, then they come back in pretty quickly and make it a 3 way for a little while, before someone gets thrown out again. Doesn't get as boring as some triple threats can, and hopefully its a match that Andy won't hate for being too "triple threaty" .

Love how Kennedy and Finlay try to outdo each other by beating the fuck out of Lashley later in the match, yet still keep going after each other because they already turned on each other near the start of the match. They even resort to trying to take each other out so they could take out Lashley on their own, which kinda reminds me of the Armageddon 07 triple threat which I really love, only this time its the heels both wanting to get their hands on the face on their own.

Lol, Little Bastard hits Kenton Bomb from the apron to the floor on Kennedy too . Kennedy would get his revenge in MITB a year later .

Lashley takes us into the finishing stretch by dominating both opponents with his power again, and very nearly beating both of them at one point. Lashley is about to pin Finlay, but Kennedy hits a nice roll up from the cover (probably what Finlay should have done earlier lol) and steals the win! New Champion!!!

I REALLY fucking loved this match. The interaction between all 3 men was just fantastic, the action was plenty full, the finish was nice, and there really wasn't anything to hate. It has a small chance of making my bottom 10 atm.

Rating: ***1/2

Chris Benoit Vs Randy Orton - SD January 6th 2006
This was during the best of 7 series with Booker, but Booker was "injured" so Orton replaced him.

This was starting to get good, really good, until it ended with a DQ thanks to Orlando "useless" Jordan who was pissed that Booker didn't pick him to face Benoit in his place.

Not got much to say about this one unfortunately, as I wasn't paying full attention to it . But it looked like their usual hard hitting stuff that was building nicely until that fucktard ruined it (I don't like Orlando...).

Rating: **1/2


Rey Mysterio & Batista Vs MNM - Cage Match - SD January 6th 2006
This one is for the tag team titles, and best of all, NO ESCAPE!

Batista and Rey dominate the early going, and at Rey. Poor guy keeps having to just go around and kick his opponents half the time because big Dave seems to miss a couple of cues for some double team stuff. You can see Rey keep looking behind him at Dave hoping he will realise they are supposed to do a "whip opponents into each other" spot, but Dave just keeps kneeing the fuck out of Nitro instead .

Mysterio takes a pretty fucking awesome spot at one point when Batista whips him into... Nitro I think, and Nitro back body drops him into the cage, and Rey's head catches on the ropes on his way down. This takes him out for a little while so MNM can work over Batista.

MNM look so uncomfortable inside the cage too, and they clearly have trouble running the ropes with the cage behind them, which makes a couple of spots they do just look... shit . Doesn't help that both guys are green as hell too, as their offence comes across as weird to me, and they don't take some of Rey's offence as good as they can today (well, I assume Joey has improved, haven't seen him since he got released lol). Nothing about this match so far is screaming "good".

Batista eventually gets up and destroys MNM, before we get Mark Henry trying to break into the cage for 10 minutes (cut down to immediately for the TV showing lol, but the poor people in attendance had to sit through it all lol). Even the clipped version looks awful, with Henry breaking the door off and throwing it OUTSIDE of the ring, then having to go and get it before bringing it in and attacking Batista with it.

This match only lasts about 11 minutes, but it feels like 30 minutes when watching it. Its just horrible. Oh, and MNM win the tag titles back. Whatever.

Rating: 1/4*

Chris Benoit Vs Randy Orton - Smackdown January 13th 2006
Last week, Benoit got a DQ win over Orton who replaced Booker T in the best of 7 series for the US Title. That win for Benoit made it 3-3, so this would be the final match. If Benoit wins, he gets the US title. If Orton wins, then BOOKER wins the US Title.

Should also be noted that Batista gave up the WHC at the start of the show after Henry injured him. Orton wanted in the Battle Royal to get his shot at the WHC, but was forced into this match as he has already agreed to replace Booker. So Benoit would be fighting for the US Title, while Orton would be fighting for pride and to prove that he is one of the best, and no doubt to gain momentum going into the Royal Rumble which is a couple of weeks away.

They spend the opening few minutes just fighting for control, and you really get the sense that both men are doing their absolute best to fight for that position. This is an important match for both men, and for different reasons; Benoit wants the title, Orton simply wants the win for bragging rights (and no doubt to prove to Teddy Long that he should have been in the WHC Battle Royal).

Benoit ends up on the outside, and sees Booker T coming towards him with the crutch. So what does he do? Channels Eddie Guerrero of course! He holds his knee and tells the referee that Booker hit him with the crutch, and Booker gets sent to the back! Smart by Benoit to get any outside party sent away so he can be fully focuses on Orton, who he knows CAN beat him, as he proved in 04 for the WHC.

With Booker gone, and a commercial break, nothing has really changed in the ring. Both guys are still fighting for control, and its probably done in a way that Andy would describe as "gritty", so you know its probably good lol.

Benoit turns things up a notch when he gets tired of fighting with Orton on the mat, and just chops the fuck out of him. Orton's facial expressions when he gets chopped are just priceless too, which makes his attempt to stop Benoit even more meaningful.

Even with Orton in control of the match, he has to fight with Benoit every step of the way to keep control, and sometimes very nearly loses it. Benoit has to be right up there as one of, if not THE best opponent Orton has ever had. Its basically a lite version of the Benoit/Regal and Benoit/Finlay matches, so I think its safe to assume that everyone on here will pretty much adore this match.

Benoit's big "comeback" spot is awesome too, something that you probably wouldn't see from ANYONE else; its a headbutt while both guys are on the ropes, and Orton gets headbutted off the ropes to the guardrail. Its probably one of the best comeback spots I have seen lol.

I'm struggling to think of something to say now lol, without going all play by play . I guess its best to just reiterate what I have already said; this match is a fight. You can tell who has control of the match, but there is never a part of the match where someone is completely dominating as the other guy is constantly trying to fight out of whatever hold he is in. Screw calling this a lite version of Benoit/Regal and Benoit/Finlay, this is pretty much the full thing now.

I think highly of a small handful of Orton matches, but I don't think I have seen anything quite like this from him before, even with Benoit. Most likely Orton's best singles match, and probably his best match singles or otherwise.

My ONLY complaint with this match is the ref bump and interference. Orlando showing up was pointless (like always, even when he has a match), and with the performance Orton put on for this match, I think it would have been better for him to win this one clean rather than with Booker's help. Everything else before that though was fan-fucking-tastic. This is going to make my top 50.

Rating: ****1/2

20 Man Battle Royal - WHC - Smackdown January 13th 2006
As mentioned in my previous review, Batista had vacated the WHC earlier in the night, so this match was set up to decide a new World Champion. 19 men enter the ring, leaving one more, and its... KURT ANGLE! Angle was a Raw superstar, but had jumped to SD apparently.

Love how this thing starts, with JBL telling the rest of the guys to "leave Angle to him". JBL has always thought of himself as the face of SD, so it made sense that he would want to take out the "Raw" superstar Angle. Unfortunately for JBL, Angle is fired up and quickly eliminates the Wrestling God! Vito is next to go, then the rest of the SD stars decide to gang up on Angle!

Typical battle royal stuff, with people fighting everyone and guys going over left and right. We then start to get a story between Angle and Henry, when Henry knees Angle in the back and sends him out of the ring (under the ropes), and then slams him through the announce table. With Angle out of the match, or so it seems, Henry is now considered the favourite alone with the young powerhouse Bobby Lashley.

Henry and Lashley go head to head while the rest of the superstars watch, which makes what is essentially a small face off in reality, something really big. Henry gets the better of Lashley, and continues to be the favourite to win the title now.

Final four is Henry, Mysterio, and MNM. MNM both get eliminated by Mysterio, who is fighting for his fallen friend Eddie. Once Rey eliminates MNM, he realises what stands before him, and so does the crowd. Some actually Royal Rumble matches don't capture the feel of this match when its down to the final two lol, which should give you an idea of how good this match is turning out to be.

Rey fights with everything he has got, 619'ing Henry over and over, but not being able to send him over the ropes. He goes all Benoit in 04 on Henry, trying to headlock him over the ropes, but the power of Henry sends Rey to the floor. New champion? Nope, ANGLE is still in this thing!

He's back up now, and pissed off. Angle is a fucking lunatic normally, but when he's pissed off? I wouldn't want to be Henry lol. But as pissed as he is, Henry is still a monster of a man, and his awesome power quickly comes into play.

They go back and forth in the ring for a little while, with Angle nearly eliminating Henry a couple of times, but Henry is still too strong, so Angle has to wear him down some more. Henry's powerbomb to Angle is markout worthy too. They don't take their time with this finish either, and in a lot of ways its similar to Benoit/Big Show in 04, with how they have plenty of time to really build to the smaller guy finally taking out the bigger, stronger opponent. Just like in 04, the smaller guy wins, and as such, Angle becomes the NEW WHC! The finish was almost fucked up though as Angle landed on the floor too .

Now this is a pretty great battle royal, right up there with the 2004 Raw one probably. The start is great, with Angle and JBL, then the story of Henry in the middle is really good, and the battle between the final two is better than most Royal Rumbles tbh. Yet another match to add to my ever growing list of matches that could make my list lol.

Rating: ***3/4

Matt Hardy Vs Finlay - Smackdown January 20th 2006
Its the debut of a man who will no doubt give me plenty of entertainment while I sit through SD 06; Finlay! Andy has him as the WOTY, and given what I have seen, and everyone else on here has seen, he is definitely a good candidate, and it all starts here!

Seriously, they choose THIS match to have Michael Cole do a voice over to advertise the Australia Tour? How many times have they done that with a guy making his DEBUT? Cunts!

Anyway, Finlay impresses with his unique style, and Hardy turns it up a notch my taking risks to try and put Finlay away before he finds out just how tough the Irish Bastard really is. Finlay just beats the fuck out of Hardy, and a lot of his stuff is extremely simple but looks devastating as FUCK. Hard to know if its WWE's editing team or the actual crowd, but people are reacting to Finlay more than they do for the 7 foot giants who debut and hit those big power moves.

When I first saw this, it was probably my first Finlay match. But watching it, it already felt like a pretty big mid card match. Its not your typical debut squash, its a pretty good back and forth battle, but Finlay still gets his stuff over really well. I gotta say, this is probably one of the better debuts... ever lol (in terms of a match, anyway). Of course, you probably couldn't get a match like this out of a young, green kid making their debut .

The DQ finish is pretty much perfect in putting over Finlay's character. He wants to fight, and really doesn't give a fuck about his win/loss record unless a title is on the line. Plus, I hate when guys first come in and start winning all the time, as they always try and put over an undefeated streak when they stack up 3 or 4 wins lol.

The aftermath of the DQ is great too, with Finlay telling the ref that if he is going to get DQ'd, he's going to do something WORTHY of a DQ in his mind lol.

Not sure I could truly explain how much I loved this match lol, but it does make me wonder how much MORE Andy loves it, and hell, probably even Viva and CF .

Rating: ***

Mark Henry Vs Rey Mysterio - Smackdown January 20th 2006
The winner of this faces Angle at the RR... I wonder who wins .

A Mark Henry match isn't something I would typically watch, but since its against Rey, it has a good chance of being at least decent.

Rey tries to hit and run, but eventually Henry catches up to him, and the power of the self proclaimed World's Strongest Man comes into play, BIG TIME.

Just like Finlay earlier in the night, the offence from Henry is basic and simple, but between Henry looking like he could punch a hole through your face, and Rey's great selling, everything looks like it could end the match.

Rey keeps trying to use his speed to come back, but Henry cuts him off again and again with his power. One of the cut off spots is Henry hitting what looks like a Clothesline from Hell rather than a normal Clothesline, and fuck me, I thought Rey was dead afterwards lol.

Big men often get a bad name from the IWC, and while some of the complaints are well founded, if you can put them against someone like Rey, and they can structure the match well and stick to their strengths, you can get something good out of them. That is exactly what is happening here.

Mysterio wrestles a smart match too, as every time he gets the opportunity to come back, he goes right for the leg of Mark, chopping him down so Rey can hit some bigger moves. Everything here is so simple as I keep saying, but dammit, its just done so fucking well it doesn't matter.

Finish for this is great too. Rey hits the Frog Splash after FINALLY getting the big man down, only for Henry to sit up with Rey still on his chest, roll backwards and get to his feet while STILL holding Rey, and then slamming him down to the mat with the World's Strongest Slam. Looked cool as fuck, especially with a guy the size of Henry doing it.

Rating: ***1/4

Rey Mysterio Vs Mark Henry - Smackdown January 27th 2006
A rematch from last week that Rey apparently asked for, don't think this is for the #1 contendership again though. I think its just about Rey proving to himself that he CAN beat Henry.

Shades of last week with Rey taking the hit and run approach, only to run into Henry and get knocked on his arse over and over again lol.

The straight right hand from Henry onto Rey who was sat on the top rope, which knocked him to the floor reminded me of something you would see in the Rey/Undertaker RR 2010 match lol. Looked like Rey's head was about to come off.

This match is pretty similar to the week before, just not as impressive. It still managed to put over Henry as a super strong monster going into the RR title match though, while putting over Rey as a real fighter going into the RR Match.

Best part of this match was when Rey hid from Henry, then constantly jumped him from behind and hit the 619 using the ring post before going aerial attack crazy to put him down. He keeps hitting Henry from all directions, but eventually gets caught in a World's Strongest Slam, and this one is over.

Yeah, similar to last week, just not as good. Last week really put over Henry, and while this match did too, it seemed to be more about Rey than anything else, which was a good thing going into the RR match.

Rating: **

Chris Benoit Vs Randy Orton - No Holds Barred - Smackdown January 27th 2006
A similar start to last week, with both men fighting like mad men to take control. Fucking loved Orton doing his best to avoid a German suplex near the start of the match too, he looked like he was legit fighting for his life lol (*insert Benoit is a murderer joke here*).

They eventually end up on the outside, and the "NHB" rules come into play a little here as Orton doesn't think twice to use the announce table, and even make a pin on the floor (didn't realise it was falls count anywhere too lol). He even uses the ropes for leverage inside the ring when he goes for another pin, which is completely legal.

Orton is the first to bring out a weapon (a lame trash can lid), and nails Benoit in the back with it. This just pisses him off, and Benoit slams the fuck out of Orton's face using the announce table lol. Much like the trash can lid pissed Benoit off, the face smashing seemed to piss Orton off, and he brings the fight to Benoit again. Cool to see how the match when from a fight in terms of holds to gain control at the start of the match, to a fight where they will use anything they can get their hands on.

Its amazing how they work this match, making it similar to their previous match, but utilising the No Holds Barred rule just right so its more of a natural progression from last week rather than a hardcore match or something like that.

Loved the finishing stretch of this match, with Benoit making another pretty epic comeback like last week (last week was the big headbutt, this week was a back body drop on the concrete). All through the match Orton had been using a trash can lid to level Benoit in the head, so Benoit gets paypack by nailing Orton in the head with it, then locking in the Crossface to pick up the win, and some revenge.

I wouldn't say this is better than last week, but its certainly right up there. They just do a fantastic job of taking what they started last week, and taking it to the next level with the stipulation. Another good candidate for my list.

Rating: ****1/4

Chris Benoit Vs Finlay - US Title - Smackdown February 3rd 2006
I don't think I have actually watched this one yet, even though I went through a ton of their matches a few months ago for the poll.

Booker is still hurt (I think), so Finlay substitutes him in this match, and well, that's awesome.

Honestly not sure what to say about this match, that hasn't already been said by me and everyone else when we have talked about their other matches lol. Its not that its the SAME match, but rather they wrestle the same style in all of their matches. Its stiff, gritty, brutal... and AWESOME. Its back and forth brutality from both men as they fight each other for control, and for the victory.

Benoit is in it for the title, Finlay is in it for... the fight lol. Shame it had to end with a DQ, but they were still given some time to beat the fuck out of each other before that happens .

Rating: **3/4

MNM Vs Mexicools - Tag Team Titles - Smackdown February 3rd 2006
Fast paced action here from the get go, with Mexicools flying around all over the ring taking down the champions. Always amazed me how high and far Super Crazy could jump, considering the guy is basically FAT lol.

MNM's good teamwork comes into play, as Mercury moves Nitro out of the way at one point, forcing Psicosis to crash and burn in the corner, and so begins his FIP segment. Even Melina gets involved, giving Psicosis a leg scissors (lucky bastard lol) while he was laid out on the apron.

Super Crazy gets the hot tag, and comes flying into the ring to take out MNM, hitting some pretty unique and cool looking offence. Still amazed that the fat fuck can do half the stuff he does .

Melina is knocked off the apron at some point, and Nitro checks on her, taking off one of her boots because she hurt her already injured Ankle (Angle put her in the Ankle Lock a few weeks ago). When the ref gets distracted, she levels Super Crazy with the boot, and MNM retain the belts.

Its a fun 10 minute match, with your basic Southern Tag Formula. Mexicools fly around, MNM do a nice job of stopping them in their tracks, and the finish was ok. Nothing that you need to see though.

Rating: **


Rey Mysterio & Kurt Angle Vs Mark Henry & Randy Orton - Smackdown February 3rd 2006
Earlier in the night, Orton made the comments about Eddie being in hell, so you know that Rey is gonna want to kill him. Angle looks to start the match off against Orton, but tags in Mysterio who goes postal on Orton.

Nice callback spot from the RR match earlier in the week, as Mysterio sends Orton over the top rope in the same fashion that he won the match. Unfortunately for Mysterio, his emotion gets the better of him and Orton capitalises on a mistake, then literally picks up Rey, carries him over to his corner and tags in Henry so his can crush him lol.

LOL at Orton hitting a dropkick on Mysterio btw. You know how Orton can hit a pretty fucking awesome dropkick? Well, imagine that, only this time Orton has to drop down about a foot compared to normal .

Angle gets the hot tag, and his typical "wrestling machine" stuff actually works well here, as the hot tag usually consists of the fresh guy coming in and destroying the heels. A low blow from Henry puts a stop to Angle's offence though, and he plays the FIP for a couple of minutes.

Rey gets a hot tag next, and continues to try and kill Orton, until he runs into a massive clothesline. Angle and Henry get involved, and as Angle is chasing Henry on the outside, Davari gets involved, and all 3 end up running through the crowd. Rey is left alone with Orton now, which is probably what he wants... until Orton pins him .

This is a nice solid tag contest, with Orton and Henry working well as a team and giving us the usual Southern Tag Formula. However, there is just nothing special or standout about it. Its your standard stuff. Doesn't make it bad though, just doesn't make it a must watch.

Rating: **

Matt Hardy Vs JBL Vs Orlando Jordan Vs Chris Benoit - Smackdown February 10th 2006
The winner of this receives a US Title shot against Booker T. Here's hoping that is isn't Orlando Jobber/Pointless/Jackass/Stay in TNA so I never have to watch you wrestle again!

WWE put Booker on commentary WAY too much in early 06. The guy is fucking AWFUL. He makes Mike Adamle and Michael Cole sound like Gordan Solie or Lance Russell. Only funny thing he said was when he was mocking Orlando Jordan for always tapping out .

For the most of this match, its only really about JBL and Benoit, with Hardy and Jordan both being there to take some pretty stiff beatings. I want to write more about this, but fuck me, Booker T on commentary is killing it for me, and its not the same watching it with the sound down either lol.

Fuck it, I honestly am in no mood for talking about the match now. Booker has killed my interest in it. Its a decent match, anyway. Just hard to watch with the sound on. Stupid Booker C (the "c" standing for CUNT obviously).

Benoit wins. Who didn't see that coming?

Rating: **

MNM Vs Paul London & Brian Kendrick - Smackdown February 10th 2006
This was an open challenge match made by MNM... don't think the titles are on the line though.

About 3/4 of this match is all Londrick basically making MNM look like fools as they utilise their fast paced high flying offence and cool double team moves. They transition into the FIP spot when Melina (who is probably one of the best booked valets/managers in the last 5 years, maybe longer) distracts the referee and allows MNM to take out Kendrick.

The heels in control only lasts a few minutes, but they do pretty well with the short amount of time given. London gets the tag but the referee doesn't see it, and while the ref is getting him back into his corner, MNM put down Kendrick for the 3 count.

A nice TV tag match, and a good way to put Londrick over without having them actually beat the tag champs. Looking forward to their other matches in 06.

Rating: **1/2

The Undertaker Vs Mark Henry - Smackdown February 10th 2006
Apparently this is their first match together. Shame they would go on to have more . Its also The Undertaker's first match on SD in 4 months.

This match hasn't come out of nowhere, as Henry is pissed that The Undertaker is getting a title shot against Angle at NWO instead of Henry having a RR rematch with Angle.

'Taker takes things slow at first, locking Henry in a side headlock. Henry powers out, and Undertaker runs into Henry only to be knocked back! They lock up again, and this time its Henry using the side headlock. With the failed shoulder tackle and now being put in a side headlock himself, Henry has to be impressing The Undertaker.

More bad luck for Undertaker, as Henry hits a shoulder tackle and sends 'Taker crashing to the mat, something that The Undertaker was unable to do to him moments ago. Undertaker then attempts a hip toss, but the big man is going nowhere. Henry tried to hit his running... thing where the opponent is in the 619 position, but Undertaker moves and Henry leaps to the outside by mistake!

Undertaker finally gets in some effective offence, by sending Henry into the steel steps. Now its classic 'Taker (Cole has ruined the word vintage), as he begins to throw lefts and rights at Henry's face and body. Henry doesn't really move, so 'Taker boots him in the face for good luck.

Dammit, Cole just used the term "classic Undertaker" as well. Now that is ruined. Bastard.

Henry is getting dominated in the ring by Undertaker, but the guy either won't stay on the mat for a 3 count, or simply won't go down. Undertaker has some success by charging knee first into Henry's face while in the corner, so he goes for it again, only for the massive Henry to catch him. All downhill for the Dead Man now, as Henry focuses on the body and back, setting up for his World's Strongest Slam.

Believe it or not, its a headbutt to Undertaker that wakes up the Dead Man and starts his comeback. Nothing seems to put down Henry though, much like earlier in the match, until the leaping lariat and a Chokeslam are pulled out from 'Taker's bag of tricks. Before this one can end though, MNM run down to the ring and attack Undertaker. He holds his own for a little while, before getting triple teamed for a few moments until Angle shows up and cleans house! No doubt this is setting up to a match next week.

This one isn't on the same level as Henry/Rey from a few weeks ago, but as far as Mark Henry matches go, its still one of his very best. Henry seems to do pretty well when he is focused on attacking the back/body of someone, and not having 20 minutes to do it. Its when his matches go on too long that he suffers, because he ends up doing the same shit over and over again while having to many rest holds. Undertaker sells for him nicely, and puts Henry over by hitting plenty of offence but rarely taking him off his feet.

Rating: ***

Finlay & JBL Vs Chris Benoit & Bobby Lashley - Smackdown February 17th 2006
Oh god, guess who is on commentary trying to ruin this match? Booker, just because you ABSOLUTELY SUCK FUCKING BALLS, doesn't mean you can go out there on commentary and try to ruin matches with guys far beyond you in terms of wrestling skill and ability (yeah, even fucking Lashley is better).

What would be the best way to start off this match? Benoit and Finlay you say? Well, that's exactly what we get . at Tazz owning Booker on commentary though:

Booker: He just hit him with a modified enzeguri!

Tazz: It was a dropkick...

Even Cole gets a few shots in:

Booker & Sharmell: Are you even listening to us? Have you ever been in a match before?

Cole: If you listened to Tazz's commentary you would know, because he asks me that every week...

Anyway, enough Booker Ownage, the match.

Well, yeah, it starts off with Benoit and Finlay, so I'm pretty sure you guys know what to expect when these 2 are in the ring together. Finlay ends up catching Benoit in the ring apron, and while Finlay taunts Lashley, JBL stomps on Benoit's hand repeatedly while its on the steep steps, then gets tagged in so he can do further damage.

Despite Benoit's hand hurting, he still manages to throw out some chops at JBL, but each one of them hurts too much for him to be able to follow up, and JBL tags in Finlay to take care of business, just in case.

I was a little disappointed that Benoit didn't play FIP for very long, I was hoping for maybe 7 or 8 minutes of JBL and Finlay working over the hand, but instead we get a pretty quick tag out to Lashley, who green as hell, does his best to dominate both veterans.

And because they ARE veterans, JBL and Finlay find a way to take out Lashley, by luring him to the outside, where JBL nails him in the face with a boot, and Finlay uses the Shillelagh. So now its LASHLEY playing the FIP, which I don't really get because he is the power guy after all, and Benoit has the injured hand that works perfectly in Southern Tag matches.

Lashley makes a comeback, and does so well against Finlay, that the tag to Benoit is as hot as Chyna. But he still comes in all guns a blazing, and suplexes both guys around the ring ANGLE~! style.

Things get crazy now as we go into the finishing stretch, and Booker finally gets off commentary (THANK FUCK), but unfortunately its to nail Benoit in the back with a chair, setting up a Clothesline from Hell by JBL for the win.

Good tag match right here, even if the structure is a little odd, and they don't play off Benoit's injury and Lashley's raw power the way they should have. Aside from that flaw, this was all good.

Rating: ***

The Undertaker & Kurt Angle Vs Mark Henry & MNM - Smackdown February 17th 2006
Angle is the champ here, and Undertaker is the #1 contender, however, Undertaker has some beef with MNM for jumping him last week, and literally steps in front of Angle when he was about to start the match against Mercury. Plus its just classic Dead Man playing mind games with his opponents, as Angle will be his opponent at NWO.

Mercury does his best to take the fight to the Dead Man, who just shakes off the assault, picks up Joey, and launches him into the corner and tells Henry to tag in. While Undertaker is starting off with Henry, Angle makes a blind tag, and steps in front of The Undertaker to get to Henry! Nice spot.

Undertaker seemingly wanted to start the match off to get to Henry, Angle made the blind tag seemingly to show Undertaker what he can expect at the PPV. All the while, both Undertaker and Angle have their problems with MNM and Henry, so it works out well for both of them lol. They are basically using their opponents to compete with each other, trying to outdo the other by beating the shit out of their opponents more than the other guy .

However, they seem to be concentrating too much on each other, allowing Henry to come from behind and take out both guys, bringing control back to MNM and Henry.

Angle makes a move that will no doubt piss Andy off when he sees this match (and judging from how good it has been so far, Andy WILL be watching it lol), as he leaps up after taking a beating from all 3 opponents to lock in the Ankle Lock on Henry. He saves himself a little though by getting powered out of it, and being too hurt to make the tag still, despite being VERY near his corner. He gets beat up a little more, before the tease the big hot tag and finally follow through with it.

In comes The Undertaker! He takes out MNM, while Henry just stands on the apron, waiting for the right moment to strike. Gotta admit, I've really been enjoying Henry so far in 06. He's been against good opponents, which is always helpful, but even in the past, and after 06, he has been against good opponents (some the same as he faces in 06), and he never got the kind of matches with them that he did here.

Its 'Takers turn to take a beating, and he takes another double suplex from MNM (he took one on the floor during one of the breaks), and then numerous beatings from Henry. Big DDT signals the comeback of Undertaker, and a chokeslam, but before he can hit it, Angle tags himself in AGAIN, and takes out MNM while Undertaker puts Henry down long enough for Angle to make Nitro tap!

Aftermath is something I always remember, because I sliced it out and put it in a flash website I made for The Undertaker for one of my uni projects lol. Basically, Angle got the win to rub it in Undertaker's face, so Undertaker chokeslams, and TOMBSTONES Mark Henry in front of Angle! Epic.

2 great tag matches on one show, and this is definitely the better of the two. Loved how it built to NWO between 'Taker and Angle, and how MNM & Henry looked great in there too. Don't think its something I would vote for, even as #100, but its close.

Rating: ***1/2

Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit & Bobby Lashley Vs Randy orton, JBL & Finlay - Smackdown February 24th 2006
This is the week after NWO, where Orton screwed Rey out of his WM Title match, but Teddy Long added Rey to the match anyway. Rey is still pissed with Orton for saying those things about Eddie, and cheating him out of the win, while Orton is pissed at Rey for getting added back into the WM match. They start things off, and it seems that Rey is out for blood, so Orton tags in Finlay.

Rey, just as smart as Orton, tags out too, and in comes Lashley to face off with the Irish Bastard. Commercial break, and when we comeback, its JBL and Benoit for about 5 seconds before Lashley gets tagged in. At NWO, Lashley had his first loss against JBL, thanks to Finlay, so he just wants to get at both of them. Lashley, while green as heel, does a nice job of using his power without it getting too much into "Angle suplex" territory lol.

Before I know it, somehow Rey and Finlay are in the match instead lol, and Rey seems to be taking the first real heel beat down of the match. He gets a couple of hope spots, but is stopped pretty quickly. The one with Finlay on the outside is pretty awesome btw.

I'm starting to see a lot of similarities between SD 06 and Raw 04, as they have a mix of really good singles matches, and plenty of big tag matches with the top stars and mid carders. Raw 04 seems to maybe have the advantage with the tag matches being better quality, but honestly these ones seem to be more fun to watch that Raw 04. Obviously I need to fully watch both years before I can say which is better, but so far I think its safe to say SD 06 is just as underrated at Raw 04 seems to be outside of this forum.

After a nice FIP segment by Rey, the hot tag to Benoit finally comes, and things get put into a high gear. Lashley and Finlay end up brawling on the outside, as do Rey and Orton. Meanwhile, JBL is setting up Benoit for the CFH, but it gets countered into the Crossface! JBL fights as much as he can, but Finlay interrupts and pays for it.

Now its JBL and Benoit on the outside, and Benoit pays back JBL for what he did to him last week in that tag match, but smashing the steel steeps right into JBL's hand! Rey capitalises, and the faces get the win.

This may have been the only match worth seeing this week, but it made up for that by being pretty great. Rey plays a great FIP, Lashley uses his power the way he should, and Benoit is just Benoit. All the heels work great together, and the 3 feuds all entwined in the match are nicely worked too.

Rating: ***1/4

Finlay Vs Lashley - Smackdown March 3rd 2006
This one has been building for a while now, with multiple tag matches in the last month, and at NWO when Finlay cost Lashley his match, and first loss, against JBL.

Lashley destroys Finlay in the opening minute, so much so that Finlay actually reaches for his Shillelagh, but doesn't get the chance to use it. The veteran Finlay finds an opening, and hits some of his stiff offence before Lashley again uses his power to just overcome his lack of experience.

Finlay is incredibly pissed that he doesn't seem to be able to counter Lashley's strength, so he throws a crap load of chairs into the ring. Both guys swing at the same time, hitting each other's chair, and the ref calls for the bell. Big brawl after the match, with plenty of refs and security trying to break them up.

Only lasts a couple of minutes, but shows how much hate these two have for each other, and will no doubt build to a rematch soon enough.

Rating: *

Finlay Vs Bobby Lashley - Smackdown March 10th 2006
Coming off their match last week, both guys still want to beat the fuck out of each other, and it shows as Finlay charges towards Lashley as he comes down the ramp. They brawl and beat the fuck out of each other and... well, it doesn't look like the match is going to take place this week .

The brawl is pretty fucking great, going to the outside where Finlay trashes a car trying to hit Lashley, and Lashley actually throws a car onto Finlay. Yes, you read that correctly. One hell of a brawl, I can't wait to actually see their grudge match now. I know they have more matches later in the year, but I wanna see the conclusion to this one dammit!!!

Rating: Match Never Started


William Regal Vs Paul Burchill - Smackdown March 10th 2006
Burchill needs to bring back his pirate gimmick. Seriously, it was fucking awesome. This is his first match under the gimmick after threatening Regal with his big sword backstage for a couple of weeks. Yes, you read that correctly.

Some nice arm lock exchanges to begin with, and Regal gets cocky and screams "I've got him", only to get reversed. We then see some nice stiff offence from Regal as he knees the fuck out of Burchill's face and then locks in a... reverse full nelson I guess. Awesome spot with Burchill going for a sunset flip, only for Regal to move out of the way, essentially making Burchill do a front flip onto the mat lol.

Burchill makes his comeback, and I am rather disappointed with Michael Cole. No mention of Burchill's Swashbuckling style, though he did say he was a swashbuckler .

Finish is awesome, just because of the C4 (that is what they call it, right?) and its sheer magnificence. I enjoyed this match, didn't get as much time as I would have liked, but we still got plenty of Regal's awesomeness, and Burchill looked pretty great too.

Rating: **

Chris Benoit Vs Gregory Helms - Smackdown March 10th 2006
US Champ Vs CW Champ. Benoit is awesome, and Helms really stepped up his game when he moved away from the Hurricane gimmick. I'm sure I will be watching more of this matches as the year goes on.

Benoit tries to punch Helms in the face, and Helms backs away and tries to tell the ref to make Benoit stop, because he doesn't want to get hit in the face. Awesome.

They lock up, and Helms gets Benoit in the corner, and guess what he does? Punches him in the face. Yeah, Benoit ain't gonna take that, so he just grabs Helms' face with his entire hand lol. Oh, turns out that Helms had a broken nose, which is why he doesn't want to be punched there. I just thought he was scared of Benoit, which was a fun story in itself, but now its even better.

Really surprised at a lot of this match tbh, despite the fact that Benoit is indeed awesome and Helms was really good at this stage. Plenty of really nice sequences between the two as they fight for control, and a lot stiffer than I would have expected, since Helms isn't someone I would expect to be that physical. Not on the level of Benoit Vs Finlay/Regal/Orton, but certainly more hard hitting that the average match.

Helms does a great job of constantly going after the neck of Benoit whenever he has the chance, and manages to escape multiple sharpshooter attempts all through the match as well. Benoit finally locks it in at one point, and even though Helms gets to the ropes, he has had enough and walks away. However, the SD Cruiserweights show up and send Helms back to the ring, where he gets put in the Crossface (which has to hurt Helms' nose), and this one is over.

Really solid match, nothing to go out of your way to see for the poll, but if you get the chance, its a good way to spend 12 minutes (well, ONE good way to spend 12 minutes ).

Rating: **3/4


Mark Henry & Randy Orton Vs Rey Mysterio & Kurt Angle - Smackdown March 10th 2006
This is a rematch from Feb 3rd, which was a good tag match, but nothing overly special. I wonder what they do this time around.

Ooooo, they announce the rematch between Finlay and Lashley for next week too .

Angle and Orton start things off, and while it seems that Angle wants to get right into the wrestling, because of his "wrestling machine" gimmick, Orton is playing is slow and safe. He reminded me of his current Viper gimmick here, as he slithers around the ring a few times to avoid Angle's takedowns.

Mysterio gets tagged in, and things still remain pretty slow. We transition into the FIP section of the match when Orton dropkicks Rey who is coming off the top rope. Henry comes in and tries to kill the midget.

Rey gets the chance to make a hot tag, but honestly, I don't really care. The match has been so... dull so far, only going at one speed, even at the start. There was no build for the tag either, Rey took a small beating, then moved out of the way of a splash, and makes the tag. Angle comes in guns a blazing as per usual, and his sequence with Orton is really nice, but after that I just don't care.

This match just feels... flat. Henry thinks so too, so he decides to fuck up the referee and bring out a table to make things more interesting. Angle ends up getting put on the table, while Henry crushes him through it from the second rope.

Lol, the stuff after the ref gets beat up is the best part of this match. Their match a month ago was decent and nothing more; this is even worse. Dull is just the best way to describe it tbh.

Oh yeah lol, lame Undertaker "voice" comes over the speakers and we get the announcement of the WM casket match .

Rating: *

Finlay Vs Bobby Lashley - Lumberjack Match - Smackdown March 17th 2006
Here we go! Been waiting for this one for... well about an hour lol . But if this was 2006, I would have been waiting around 2 weeks at LEAST, depending on how much I wanted to see them have a big match starting when Finlay cost Lashley his match at NWO.

The lumberjack stip is used nicely, since the last 2 weeks they have ended up brawling outside of the ring and all over the place, so they are there to keep both guys IN the ring. Also, this is a MITB qualifying match.

Holy shit! Lashley charges into the ring and NAILS Finlay with a boot to the face, sending him to the outside! Finlay gets back up, takes out Funaki who is one of the lumberjacks, then gets back in the ring. He takes a beating, rolls out, gets shoved back in, rolls out, gets shoved back in, and again gets dominated by the raw power of Big Bob.

Finlay rolls to the outside again, this time he goes to the side where the heels are, so they protect him long enough for Lashley to get distracted by what's going on, allowing Finlay to take the fight to Lashley for the first time in this match.

The heel lumberjacks come into play again, distracting Lashley long enough for Finlay to launch him into the ring post (something I remember seeing from one of their other matches later in the year).

Being the smart veteran that he is, Finlay keeps using the lumberjacks to his advantage, distracting Lashley, and even having them beat him up when he throws him to the outside.

Lashley's comeback happens when Finlay drives himself into the ring post, a nice little callback spot from where Finlay took control of the match by sending Lashley into the ring post.

There are a lot of similarities with this match and the one they have in a few months time that I already talked about, except we don't get the arm work so Lashley's comeback doesn't come across as retarded lol.

The heel lumberjacks also get theirs, with Finlay being launched onto them. Lashley goes to get Finlay and gets attacked, and the face lumberjacks just stand around and watch lol. Someone comes in with the chair, and gets speared to hell. The ref is distracted, and BAM. Lashley is put down by Finlay and his big, hard weapon.

I like the finish much more in this match, but I don't think the middle part is as strong as their August 18th match (finally looked up the date lol). That being said, it was still a good match, and Lashley hasn't looked this good since debuting. HOWEVER, based on this match, he doesn't seem to improve over the year lol...

Rating: **3/4

MNM & Mark Henry Vs Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio & Randy Orton - Smackdown March 17th 2006
Orton starts things off by slapping the fuck out of Nitro, I guess to show his partners that he has come to play tonight, regardless of how he feels about them. Rey plays the FIP, no surprise there. Henry traps him in the heel corner, and proceeds to stand on him. Orton pretend to be the good guy and tries to help out, but it only distracts the referee, allowing Henry to continue his assault. Orton continues to "accidentally" distract the referee, giving the heels the advantage. Pretty clever stuff tbh, and Orton acting like a nice guy is funny as hell to see. The heel beatdown/control segment here is really good, combined with Orton's tactics too. Far, far superior to the the big tag match the week before (and the same match as last week, but from a month before). I guess Henry having 2 guys to be in the ring between his turn makes things more interesting lol. Rey finally gets the opening needed to make the tag, and both Angle and Orton want it. However, when Rey gets closer, Orton pretends to be fixing his knee pads, so Angle (with injured ribs), gets the tag (Orton has yet to be in the match btw). Angle and Mysterio take care of business, and Orton blind tags himself in, throws Rey out of the ring, and gets the pin! Making a statement for WM, no doubt. Damn good tag match, much better than the week before, and a few of the other big tag matches on SD in 06 so far. Rey's FIP shizzle was great, MNM did a wonderful job of beating the fuck out of him and preventing tags, and Orton played his part beautifully.

Rating: ***1/4

Rey Mysterio Vs Finlay - Smackdown March 24th 2006
Some nice, basic mat work to start things off, followed by Finlay just grounding Mysterio, and doing whatever he can to keep him there. Fucking loved the elbow to the face from Finlay when Rey gets back up and runs the ropes, looked about as manly as you can get in WWE (I'm guessing a spot like that in Japan would look even more vicious). A nice clash of styles here, and a sign of things to come from them. Finlay is a vicious bastard, and Rey uses his high flying style the best he can given the beating he takes from Finlay, and the fact that Finlay is able to counter a lot of his shit. You know what? Screw the whole "sign of things to come" crap I just said, this is basically what is to come lol, except their future matches (and the feud ender in particular) actually have a feud behind them. Finlay does a fantastic job at taking out Rey's shoulder and just beating the living fuck out of him, and Rey's hope spots are nicely timed, and his offence as the match goes on is pretty great too. He realises that his high flying shit won't cut it against Finlay straight away, so he kicks and elbows the fuck out of Finlay first to wear him down, but Finlay always cuts him off before he can really get a rhythm going. I think I may like this match MORE than their November 07 match! It gets plenty of time to develop, and ends up creating a story in the middle of the match, that is worked just as well, if not better, than their match in 07 that has the feud behind it. Finish is pretty cool, setting up to WM. They continue the build to the title match as Orton interferes while Finlay has the ref distracted with the shillelagh, giving Finlay a big win going into MITB in just under 2 weeks time and keeping Rey looking strong still because he was cheated out of the win. Definitely one of the very best SD 06 matches so far, and atm, given everything I have watched (including the random matches from later in the year), only the Angle/Undertaker and 2 of the Orton/Benoit matches beat it. There is going to be a place for this on my list.

Rating: ***3/4

William Regal Vs Chris Benoit - Smackdown March 24th 2006
Already watched this one, and given it a rating, but fuck it, I'll watch it again since I never really wrote anything about it (not specifically, as I watched 3 of their matches in a row and they all kinda merged together, so I talked about them as a whole lol). Lol, poor Benoit, the guy never gets to face who he wants. First it was Booker picking Orton numerous times to replace him, now its JBL having Regal replace him. And thank fuck on both counts lol (though Benoit and JBL did have some good matches). If you have seen any of their matches before, you have a good idea of how this one goes. Gritty, stiff shit with some cool mat work thrown in too, that isn't always smooth, but that's a good thing here. Makes everything they do look like a fight. Loved the Regal throw/suplex thing he does, especially on the floor in this match, and man oh man, Regal booting Benoit in the head while its resting on the ring post is awesome as fuck. Benoit's knees to Regal's face are just as impressive, along with the chops to the forehead (shame Regal isn't bleeding in this match though lol). Finish is great too, with Benoit hitting a dragon suplex, then locking in the Crossface as Regal tried his best to fight it. I enjoyed this more on this watch, probably because I didn't see 2 very similar matches straight after it lol. It was already a consideration for my list, but now its got a higher rating to back it up. Also, this match AND Finlay/Rey on the same show? Fucking AWESOME.

Rating: ***1/4

Kurt Angle Vs Rey Mysterio - Smackdown March 31st 2006
Just 2 days before WrestleMania, 2 of the participants in the WHC triple threat are going one on one; and its Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio! Both guys have a LOT to prove in this match, as getting a win this close to WM will do wonders for both guys' confidence, and will give them a psychological edge going into the match (according to the commentators all the time, anyway). Angle controls most of this match, and at one point he hits Rey so hard, his own mouth piece falls out . Don't know why I found that so funny, but I did. Kurt is nice and focused in this match, as he targets the mid section of Mysterio. Always nice when Angle is focused, because it usually means is isn't hitting random suplexes over and over again lol. Basic stuff here tbh, with Angle just working the body of Rey for a while, then Rey makes his comeback. The finishing stretch is fun, but doesn't last as long as I would have liked. It all seemed to rushed imo. Its not that there is anything BAD in the match, its all fine. Angle isn't a lunatic, Rey's spots are fine... but it was like they were going through the motions and nothing more.

Rating: **1/2

Smackdown 2006 - JBL vs Chris Benoit (Steel Cage)
I watched this the other day and it was good although not as good as I was expecting. Benoit was good but not outstanding like I thought he might be. JBL brought the usual stuff, with the Cage highlighting his strengths. None of this dragged on and it was a good physical battle with an angry (but not super angry) Chris Benoit against the weasly heel that is JBL. He always brought character to these sort of matches and for that reason matched up nicely against a blue collar guy like Benoit. It's a match nobody will vote for or even desperately need to see, but it is a good, lengthy battle and there's nothing wrong with it at all. I guess I just didn't get into it too much.

*** - ***1/4

Chris Benoit Vs Finlay - Smackdown 5/5/2006
Right I'm mainly watching this as a lead in (I know, me doing research, even I'm shocked) to the Judgement Day match between the two but this match is pretty fucking great in it's own right.

The mat wrestling, whilst slow to start with, is still great just due to the mannerisms of the two men, I'm not the biggest fan of slower mat wrestling but here it's done great. Finlay is awesome heeling shit up (Him shouting at the ref "You get him off me" the minute he gets a hold of the ropes is glorious). The most epic stare off in Wrestling is had. The whole match is based around how equal these two guys are, Benoit works over the legs of Finlay with submissions, Finlay rams Benoit shoulder first into a turnbuckle then puts him in an armbar.

I miss the heel Finlay who used the ring apron as a weapon, I remember his debut on Smackdown (This was the first time I saw him(I most likely saw him on WCW but I don't remember) and just fell in love with him the minute he did the whole "trick Matt Hardy and trap him on the apron when he does a baseball slide" bit.

Of course this being a Benoit/Finlay match they can't just have a normal little TV match and Finlay has to bust Benoit open (hardway) right on top of Benoit's fucking head! Finlay's whole heel persona is possibly my favourite character around, for instance when Benoit reachest the ropes the ref breaks them up, but instead of simply walking away Finlay, whilst getting up, slaps Benoit in the back of the head as if he were in a little boy. This is of course then followed by Finlay throwing the most manly hissy fit on the face of the planet.

Benoit and FInlay are master fucking storytellers, the whole idea of Finlay getting thrown into the turnbuckle the same way Benoit was SHOULD come across as dumb and cheap, but because these two are doing it it works great.

The whole ending seems to build up Finlay's quick thinking and is, although cheap, pretty great.

I was watching this match expecting just a simple lead in to the big match at Judgement Day and instead I find a match that will most likely make my top 70, fuck yes!

****1/4

MNM Vs Paul London & Brian Kendrick - Smackdown April 7th 2006
Lolz at London and Kendrick sneaking up on Melina from behind and grabbing her while she is in mid entrance. Kendrick start the match off in control, but then Melina gets revenge for earlier and causes Kendrick to lose control of the match for his team. I've mentioned in a past SD 06 review about Melina probably being the best booked Manager/Valet in years, and its things like that (revenge spots etc) that are the reason. MNM do a wonderful job working over Kendrick and making the Southern Tag Formula as interesting as they can given the fact they are working in WWE. Loved how Kendrick nearly got over to his partner only to be stopped by Nitro, who hits a fancy spinny leg drop thingy on him and makes a cover, all the while staring and smiling at London because he knows MNM is in control. The hot tag is teased numerous times, and even happens at one point but behind the refs back. It FINALLY happens, and London comes out on fire. MNM try to cheat their way to another victory, but London kicks out and nearly wins the match for his team! The last couple of near falls are well done and are all believable as finishes for the match. Melina gets involved again, but her interference bites her team in the arse, and Londrick get the win!!! Really enjoyed this one, much better than their previous match from.... whenever it happened before . MNM's control segment was fantastic, and the finishing stretch was really nice too without going crazy or anything.

Rating: ***


William Regal Vs Paul Burchill - Smackdown April 7th 2006
The winner of this gets to decide how the other dresses next week (something like that, anyway). Stiffer than their previous bout, and Burchill is a lot more aggressive too. Loved their battle of Elbows to the face and then European Uppercuts. MANLY~! Regal throws out a half nelson suplex, and I mark. That's the most "technical" move so far in this match (might have been an arm drag earlier as well), everything else is just stiff uppercuts, elbows and knees. Knee Trembler is avoided, and Regal takes a C4 from Burchill to lose the match. Better than their first encounter, probably because it was just more hard hitting and vicious. Not on the level as the Benoit/Finlay/Regal matches, but nearly as fun as those and more interesting than a lot of the stuff going on in WWE at the time.

Rating: **3/4

The Undertaker Vs Mark Henry - Smackdown April 7th 2006
A WrestleMania rematch here (so sad that this match happened at WrestleMania lol). Henry cuts a promo about how he passed out and almost passed on when he got stuffed in the casket at WM. When they opened the casket, he had a vision and saw The Undertaker's future, and how it would never be the same. Undertaker begins the match with his massive rights and lefts, but the massive Henry puts a stop to those with one huge clothesline. They keep going back and forth, with Undertaker using his punches and experience to take down Henry, and Henry using his power to counter 'Taker as often as possible. The match ends up on the outside, and Henry is getting his arse handed to him. Before he can try to finish the match, The Great Khali makes his debut by walking down to the ring, having a stare down with 'Taker, then destroying the Dead Man in typical early 90's fashion lol. This match was actually starting to look good, but they only got around 4 minutes to work with before The Great Khali shows up and ruins everything, much like he would do in every match he is involved in lol.

Rating: *