2006 Discussion

Johnny Nitro Vs Brian Kendrick - Smackdown April 14th 2006
Nitro wants revenge for last week when Londrick beat MNM in a non title match, and Kendrick wants to prove that their win last week wasn't a fluke, and that any combination of Lonrick can beat any combination of MNM.

Before Nitro became Morrison and turned his singles matches in spot fests (before finally getting grounded a bit and turning pretty good), he was actually pretty good, and it showed in this match. His beatdown in this match, as short as it is, is really, really good.

Like last week though, Melina inadvertently costs her team (well, just Nitro this week), the match, with Kendrick doing a repeat of London last week by getting a surprise roll up pin!

No doubt all of this is just leading to a nice big tag title match with a decent amount of time to it. So while this was short, it probably served a purpose, and was good for the time it got as well.

Rating: *1/2


JBL Vs Chris Benoit - US Title - Steel Cage - Smackdown April 14th 2006
A WM rematch! Liked their match at WM, thought it was a hell of a lot better than it should have been given the fact JBL was involved.

Long comes out before it starts and announces that it will be a CAGE match! Been wanting to see this since Andy mentioned it and got me to upload it (and he still hasn't watched it, the cunt!).

Didn't think this "feud" was ready for a cage match just yet, but WWE was about to start using the cage as often as a singles match (after they had kinda cooled down with them since the Attitude Era where we would have one every couple of weeks ), so I guess it doesn't matter too much. Benoit takes it to JBL straight away, and Bradshaw has to brawl his way back into control, and once he takes down Benoit, he quickly tries to climb out. Benoit drags him off, and tries to climb out himself, which honestly doesn't bother me too much since I didn't think their were in a heated feud. Benoit pretty much wants to beat JBL to win the US title, not necessarily maim him... but if he has to do that to win, then he'll do that.

We get a couple of medium sized cage spots, with a back suplex from the top rope (in the middle of the ropes, not the corner), and Benoit launched off the top rope when they were battling in the corner to escape.

Plenty of stiff shots from both guys too a you would expect. They don't like each other so they do want to inflict damage, but overall I believe I am right in saying that both men simply want to win rather than destroy each other; destroying each other just helps with the winning lol.

Off topic here... never been a fan of Jillian in terms of looks... but those tits and THAT top... yum.

Both men end up exhausted, and JBL takes full advantage of this by locking in a sleeper hold, hoping that Benoit is already worn down enough for this hold to be used as a viable finisher for the first time in years. Surprise surprise though, its not over with a sleeper, instead it begins the Benoit comeback.

All through the match, any of the big spots (aka from the top rope) have been taken by Benoit, so when he finally gets to make his big comeback at the end, he makes damn sure JBL takes a bump too, and he busts out a top rope German Suplex! Looked AWESOME considering a guy the size of JBL took it.

Finish is pretty great, with Benoit crawling out of the cage and Jillian trying to ram the door into his head. The ref stops her, and while she gets rid of him, JBL shoves Benoit of of the way and is about to leave... but Jillian slams the door into HIS face! Ha! Crossface is locked in, and JBL taps out! Only Jillian makes up for what she just did by distracting the ref inside the ring when she tried to climb in.

JBL reverses the Crossface into a pin like at WM, but Benoit kicks out this time. They then fight to get out of the door, but a low blow puts Benoit down and JBL picks up the win.

Really enjoyed this match, maybe not enough to add it to my final list, but will be put into consideration. I liked how they worked with the cage stip, given where their feud was. It wasn't a blood and hate filled feud, though both guys don't like each other at all, its about the title (for this match, anyway. Benoit wants revenge for WM by winning back the belt). So they don't work this cage match like they want to kill each other, they try to win. And like I mentioned, trying to destroy each other helps them on their way to winning. So considering all of that, I thought they worked this cage match better than most people have in the last 5 or so years (HHH/Flair is the only one I can think of that was worked better).

Rating: ***1/2

Kurt Angle Vs Randy Orton - King of the Ring Qualifying Match - Smackdown April 14th 2006
This might just seem like random pairing for the KOTR tournament, and it is, but Angle has vowed to take out his frustrations from losing the WHC at WM out on Orton. With Angle being a fucking lunatic, I would not want to be Orton .

Orton knows this, so he tries to stay away from Angle by backing into the corner a couple of times and getting the ref to keep Angle away... but he quickly walks into a clothesline and a belly to belly. We are about a minute into the match, and out comes the Ankle Lock! Actually makes sense to be done this early, so well done Angle!

Of course, Angle's intensity and aggression from the get go ends up being his downfall, as he ends up shoulder first into the ring post, and this can begin a control segment from Orton who works over the now injured arm.

Angle is still just a pissed off motherfucker though, and he finds an opening for another Ankle Lock, but a kick to the injured shoulder breaks the hold and Orton is back on top. I'm guessing Orton called this match lol, because he is grounding Angle's lunatic offence, and creating openings for him to land a move or two before being grounded again instead of them going balls to the walls with moves like Angle would probably do all the time if he could (which he pretty much does in TNA these days lol, aside from the odd match with the right opponent).

Holy crap, did Angle just SELL the injured arm when he hit a European Uppercut? He did! Bloody hell!

Angle's big hope spot is nice, as he reverses a suplex attempt on the apron, and sends Orton to the floor. Angle continues to sell the arm, and really well too... until Orton gets back in the ring and out come the Germans ( at that lol)! Orton counters the Angle Slam and nearly gets the 3 count in a really nice cut off spot, and then Angle counters the RKO really nicely into an Ankle Lock. Angle quickly drops to the mat and grapevines the leg, no doubt to make up for his injured arm (more selling!), and Orton taps! It ain't over though, as Orton ends up getting another Ankle Lock, and SNAP! There goes his Ankle, aka SUSPENSION!!!

Wow, this was a GREAT 10 minute match. Angle sold his arm really well, and Orton controlled Angle and his offence incredibly well. Everything just seemed to click, and the only thing really done wrong was Angle hitting 3 German Suplexes in a row with the injured arm, but he did sell it again after those, so all is forgiven. One of the better "make Angle look less like a retard" matches I have seen.

Rating: ***3/4

Joey Mercury Vs Paul London - Smackdown April 21st 2006
Last week it was Kendrick that beat Nitro, so now London wants to make it 2 for 2 in their quest to gain a tag title shot. London is in firm control early on, getting a couple of 2 counts over Joey. Nitro helps out his partner by distracting London while on the ropes, allowing Joey to push London off to the outside in a pretty sick looking bump, which gets a 9 count on the outside. London gets back in the ring, and the heel control segment from Joey begins. Mercury makes a point to hit a dropkick on London and then taunt afterwards, showing London that he can do it just as well as he can. Would make more sense if I mentioned that London hit a nice dropkick earlier in the match for a 2 count . MNM continue to show me that they were a pretty great team back in the day, as Nitro and Melina continue to help out from the outside, distracting the referee or taunting Kendrick so that he distracts the ref for them. Its all simple stuff that nobody seems to be able to do these days and I don't know why. London's comeback is cool, mainly because his offence is pretty slick. Nice play on the finishes to some of the previous matches with MNM as London goes for a victory roll (and fucks it up real bad lol, but luckily its NOT the finish) to try and win. Things get a little crazy with all 4 men involved, but not where the ref calls for a DQ or anything. MNM get the better of Londrick in this situation, causing Joey to get cocky and them BAM. Roll up and another victory for Londrick! Another fun and solid match from members of MNM and Londrick. Nice call back spots and some great action, with some awesome team work from MNM. Can't wait for the blow off match!

Rating: **1/2

Chris Benoit & Bobby Lashley Vs Finlay & Orlando Jordan - Smackdown April 21st 2006
Why does OJ have to ruin everything? Him just being in this match makes it less interesting. What's wrong with JBL? Or Regal (ok, he has a tag match later, but that's not the point). Or fucking ANYONE ELSE? Man, I think I hate Jordan as much as Roma. Ok, Benoit and Finlay are in this match, and we start with Lashley and Jordan? Well, I guess things can only get better from here lol, and hey, Lashley can dominate OJ with his power for a little while. Not long before we get Benoit and Finlay in there together, but it doesn't last long enough to turn into anything worth seeing, as OJ gets tagged in again. At least Finlay gave him some direction by working over the arm of Benoit and basically telling Jordan to continue it while he stands on the apron and looks mean. Benoit sells well, and Finlay does some damage to the arm while on the outside, and OJ doesn't look terrible as he just puts Benoit in a couple of arm locks and lets everyone else do the real work. Benoit gets a hot tag, and Lashley runs through OJ like the jobber he is. Benoit gets involved again and launches himself at Finlay with a suicide dive, while Lashley spears OJ (not in the way he would like though) and gives him the dominator for the win. Match isn't bad, despite OJ being involved. Benoit sells his arm nicely, and Finlay puts together the match for his team so OJ just has to follow his lead and ends up looking half decent. Lashley plays his role perfectly, as the powerful "hot tag" guy. Nothing special, but nothing terrible either. Just a decent tv tag match.

Rating: **

JBL Vs William Regal - US Title - Smackdown April 28th 2006
Seems WWE are in England for this show, so Regal is the face for a change. JBL cuts a pro-America promo, and at the fans actually cheering when he mentions that Tony Blair is Bush's poodle. Regal cuts a great promo on JBL, then proceeds to beat the living fuck out of Bradshaw lol. Funny seeing him put on the cowboy hat and level JBL with a left hand too. JBL gets zero offence in for a good while, but a boot to the face finally takes down Regal. Regal's ear is busted open from the kick, so JBL targets it with his huge clubbing fists, and follows it up with a sleeper which could be pretty effective in this situation. Loved Regal's comeback, when he countered a Clothesline from Hell with the exploder suplex thing he does, then levels JBL with the knee trembler which probably would have won him the match had JBL not been too close to the ropes. Typical heel tactics from JBL allow him to finally hit the clothesline, and he retains the belt. Bastard!!! Fun match, not as long as I would have liked it to be, but we got some typical stiff action from both guys, and Regal played the FIP really well, and I loved how the worked in the bleeding ear into the story... or if it was planned, I liked that they went with that .

Rating: **3/4

MNM & Gregory Helms Vs Paul London, Brian Kendrick & Super Crazy - Smackdown April 28th 2006
Heels jump the faces, which I can understand with MNM wanting to get revenge on Londrick, and Helms was hated by the entire CW division when he first showed up so he wants to fight anyone lol. Faces counter, and we get a cool double suicide dive, but before they can control the match, Melina (<3) gets involved and Kendrick becomes the FIP. A nice little beatdown on Kendrick, but its way too short, and the hot tag is made super quick, leading into the finish about 30 seconds later. London rolls up Helms (more ROLL UP~! wins), and as such, MNM are on the losing end again. Way, WAY too short to be anything good, I only really watched it to keep up with the MNM/Londrick feud lol.

Rating: *

Mark Henry Vs Bobby Lashley - King of the Ring Qualifying Match - Smackdown April 28th 2006
Power Vs Power here, could either be decent, or suck balls . Henry shoves Lashley over, so they stare each other down and Lashley decides to punch the fuck out of Henry instead of match power with him . Lashley makes the mistake of trying to slam Henry, which he doesn't seem to be able to do right now, and Henry begins to dominate. Awesome hope spot from Lashley, with a massive clothesline out of the corner, but it doesn't knock Mark down, so he runs off the ropes for another, and gets a clothesline from Henry that nearly kills him. Henry's control segment doesn't last long, but it did enough to build a tiny bit out doubt in people's minds about whether he can knock down Henry or slam him, both of which he manages to do during his big comeback. Lame countout ending for Lashley, since he couldn't hit the Dominator, so he sends him to the outside instead, and apparently a clothesline and slam is enough to keep Henry from getting back up again. Other than the end, this was pretty good. Kept nice and short, and the match was worked well.

Rating: **

Gunner Scott Vs Finlay - Smackdown April 28th 2006
Gunner Scott was built up as the next Benoit for a little while when he was in WWE, shame it never really panned out. Anyways, someone billed as the next Benoit Vs the real Finlay? Should be awesome... except Booker is on commentary and pretending to have a cold. Oh joy. Finlay has a match with Benoit next week on SD in the KOTR tournament, so you gotta believe he is going to wrestle this match as if it WAS against Benoit, and given the level of stiffness Finlay applies... well its hard to tell, because Finlay likes to beat up on everyone . Scott gets beat down for a while by Finlay, and when Finlay is on offence, its always gonna be good. Gunner makes a comeback, but gets screwed by Booker T, and Finlay gets the win. Fun little match, thanks to Finlay and his awesomeness. Had potential to be great though, if they had more time and Booker was nowhere near ringside.

Rating: **


Rey Mysterio Vs Kurt Angle - World Heavyweight Title - Smackdown April 28th 2006
Lolz at the build up to this match all night. They kept showing videos of Angle's big matches and title wins and achievements... while Rey got one backstage interview where they basically implied that his reign could very well be over tonight because he is the underdog and Angle is on a roll. Poor Rey, actually getting booed in the match. No surprise, Angle is always over as fuck in the UK, and WWE didn't give anyone a reason to cheer for Rey during his title reign for the most part. Angle is working in slow motion by his standards, grounding Rey and targeting the back and mid section, while Rey works his usual hope spot style which he does better than almost everybody these days. However, its not too long before they go into full finishing stretch mode that Angle loves so much, which kinda sucks. Well, the action is great, but I was enjoying Angle beating down and controlling Rey, followed by Rey getting a hope spot only to be cut off. They dropped it way too quickly to hit MOVES~!, which is fun, just not what I wanted from this match. Why? Because of the build up. Rey is supposed to be this big underdog champion, so having Angle dominate him and have Rey slowly come back should have been the standard story for the match. Instead, they have Rey basically go move for move against Angle, making either Angle look weak, or contradict the entire story of Rey being an underdog. Henry shows up and stops the match, then destroys Angle, something he did to Lashley earlier in the night. Then a table comes out, and Henry splashes Angles through it from the ring apron! Yeah, this match isn't that great. Started off nicely, then just ignored the first half in favour of moves. Reminds me of AJ/Angle from TNA earlier this year (2010 lol), only they had twice the time for MOVES~!. This was still fun though.

Rating: **

Finlay Vs Chris Benoit - King of the Ring Qualifying Match - Smackdown May 5th 2006
Already seen this one, but give the fact everyone seems to love it more than their November match, and its awesome anyway, I figured I would give it another watch. What is there to say about this match that hasn't already been said by... everyone . Its fantastic, and I loved it more on this watch that I did the last time I saw it. Could you imagine either of these men in a promotion like RINGS, or hell, even in UFC or the likes? I'd personally pay to see Finlay elbow the fuck out of Lesnar or someone lol (hey, I think I just discovered somewhat of a dream match for me; Finlay Vs Lesnar!). The whole "seen one, seem em all" sort of applies to these Benoit/Finlay matches, but at the same time, all of their matches are great in their own way. Yeah, they work them in the same hard hitting, fighting for position style, but they still make each of their matches different and all awesome at the same time. I love their mat work at the start, and I love how it evolves from that into a straight up fight until one of them gains the advantage and can begin a brutal beat down (usually Finlay). Benoit gets busted open, and I *think* its from a knee drop from Finlay. Yeah, Finlay legit drops a knee to the forehead of Benoit. MANLY. Much better than those HHH knee drops where half the time he doesn't even go near his opponent's head (I'm sure everyone has seen the clip of him doing it to The Rock and missing by a mile lol). Benoit's chops always look vicious, but against Finlay they look more devastating than ever. He probably puts a little extra into them lol. The just look and sound so brutal, and when Finlay falls out of the ring after taking 3 of them in a row, you get the feeling that Finlay had no choice. Quick question for everyone... what the hell was I smoking when I watched this last time, and how much of it did I take? I gave this ***1/4-***1/2 on last watch. This SHATTERS every ***1/2 match I have ever seen. Their November match has a LOT to live up to when I see it again, given how much I loved that one last time and considered it to be better than this. I can now also see why Craig would take this over their JD match (not because I don't like their JD match too much, because that too is epic, but because this is way better than I first thought). Gotta mention how awesome Finlay is during the triple German's too. Most guys would beat down Benoit, then take 3 German's as Benoit's big comeback. Not Finlay. He elbows the fuck out of Benoit's head in hopes of escaping, making the suplexes more meaningful as Benoit is actually able to hit them. Finish is good, puts over Finlay as a heel, and the win doesn't really hurt Benoit at all. Man, how I wish Finlay went on to win this KOTR tournament. Ummm, yeah. Fucking FANTASTIC match. It already had a place on my list, but now, its shot right up into probably the top 50. I could watch this over and over again and never get bored.

Rating: ****1/4

Rey Mysterio Vs Mark Henry - Smackdown May 5th 2006
Nothing really new in this match compared to their others, apart from a rather cool spot where Henry runs into Rey when he is coming off the ropes for a spring board cross body. Pretty much like Rey jumped into a moving truck or something. Henry powers Rey around, and Rey gets a couple of his usual hope spots in, only to be cut off. Henry looks to do the same to Rey as he did in their first match in 06 (I think), where he sits up and rolls through with Rey on his chest, but Rey has it scouted this time and reverses it. Unfortunately, he just delayed the inevitable, as he soon runs unto a World's Strongest Slam and loses. Awesome booking for Rey's title run. Match only lasts about 6 minutes, but hey, its fun as hell. I'd take this over the Rey/Angle match from the week before.

Rating: **

Bobby Lashley Vs Finlay - King of the Ring Semi Final Match - Smackdown May 12th 2006
Finlay wants to start this match off nice and slow, since he knows the power of Lashley can be extremely dangerous (remember when Lashley tried to kill Finlay by pushing over a car onto him? ). Lashley gets bored and wants to fight, and as quick as lightening, he hits a single leg take down on Finlay! Finlay doesn't like that, so he slaps Lashley in the face, then goats him into coming after him and levels him with a vicious short arm clothesline to gain control. Love Finlay's offence here, using a headlock better than Orton ever has (and Orton has used it really well in a number of matches), and when Lashley looks to escape, Finlay releases it and just kicks, elbows and stops numerous parts of Lashley. The power of Lashley comes into play though, and Lashley hits a slick looking body press slam into a gut buster. Being the veteran that he is, Finlay is able to regain control and more awesomeness follows with Finlay on the offence. Everything he does looks painful as fuck, and I love it. Speaking of hurting... poor Lashley's crotch . He dives off the apron at one point and gets caught by Finlay with the apron cover, and I think his crotch hit the cover before his feet hit the floor . Plenty of hope spots thrown in here for Lashley, and he uses his power well for all of these, while Finlay does a great job of cutting him off every time. All the hope spots were so believable too, I honestly thought every time Lashley got back in control that the match was gonna be over soon, but every time Finlay kept finding a way to put a stop to him. Finish was great, putting over Lashley's strength and ability to endure pain (which in turn put Booker over even more when he beat him in the finals), as Finlay hits Lashley in the back with a chair, throws it away, then turns around and gets speared to hell! Bg win for the rookie. Ok, its going to take something REALLY special to beat this as Lashley's best match ever. I have yet to see his PPV match with Cena, but I have my doubts on how good that actually is. This match though, there is NO doubt that its damn good. Another match to add to my ever growing list .

Rating: ***1/2

MNM Vs Paul London, Brian Kendrick & Jillian Hall - Smackdown May 19th 2006
6 man tag just 48 hours before Judgment Day. Nitro and Mercury will be defending their titles against Londrick, while Melina will be facing Jillian, so this match will be a nice preview of things to come. The match stays between the men for the most part, as it just becomes a good old fashions Southern tag match, with some great work by MNM on Kendrick as they work over his leg. They work over Brian's leg for quite some time, and its all really good, yet really simple. Just really nice, basic tag team work. The women finally get involved towards the end, and then things go crazy with all 6 individuals getting involved, and Jillian getting the 3 count. Wow, this was really good. The whole leg work/FIP stuff was just fantastic, and the women were kept to a minimum and them doing the finish was nice too, as it didn't take anything away from the tag title match.

Rating: ***

Finlay & Booker T Vs Chris Benoit & Gunner Scott - Smackdown May 19th 2006
Well, it beats Booker on commentary. Another great tag match on this episode of SD. You have Benoit, Benoit Lite, and Finlay. Can't really go wrong there lol. I was pretty impressed by how long the match actually gets, with a commercial break in there too. I honestly thought that the match was going to end before the commercial break, as Scott played the FIP for a few minutes, then got the hot tag and Benoit came out on fire. But, the thing is still going as we go to commercial break, and Scott ends up doing another FIP segment. I gotta admit, I'm currently drinking while watching this, and my mind isn't as focused as it should be, so I don't have too much to talk about . I will say that this was a pretty damn good tag match, almost as good as the 6 man earlier in the night. 3 out of the 4 men involved are really good, and any time you get Benoit, or someone like Benoit, against Finlay, its hard to not get something good.

Rating: **3/4

Chris Benoit vs. Randy Orton - Smackdown 1/13/2006
I think I might like this more than their two 04 matches, but I haven't watched those in a while. Not a big difference among them in terms of quality though: all their matches (that I've seen) are great. Orton is wrestling in the Finals of a Best of 7 series for the US Title in place of an injured Booker T. I'm guessing Booker chose Orton because of Orton's past success against Benoit? Anyway, Orton isn't afraid to work the mat against Benoit, and he actually fares pretty well. I thought Orton was pretty great throughout the match. He started to go wild anytime Benoit went for either the Crossface or the Sharpshooter, and he managed to stay out of both holds for a long time. Still, every Crossface attempt meant Orton spent some time in an armbar. Nothing that completely debilitated him or anything, but enough that he would definitely be in some pain, and he sold that really well. Lots of stiff strikes and quality mat work throughout the match, with Benoit frequently going back to the arm and sometimes trying to hook in the sharpshooter, and Orton going back to that rear choke. Awesome chops from Benoit, which Orton sold like death. Finish wasn't the greatest, but it worked, and a Booker interference after a ref bump made sense here. Fantastic, well-executed match.

****

Mark Henry Vs Chris Benoit - Smackdown May 26th 2006
Love the early parts of this match, with Henry trying to use his strength against Benoit, since that's, well, his strength, but Benoit is the rabbit veteran and is able to counter everything into a Crossface attempt. While his strength isn't helping him offensively to start with, Henry is able to avoid the Crossface attempts by powering his way to the ropes. Benoit realises that he needs to weaken him up more first, and does attempt some arm work, but Henry is just one big power move away from taking control of this match, and it comes in the form of a running splash. The story of Benoit trying to lock in the Crossface and Henry being too powerful for it keeps coming up in the match, and I'm fucking loving it. Its a simple, basic story, but it works so well. Plus they keep variation the Crossface attempts, from Benoit doing it in the standing position and not being able to get him down, to Benoit getting him down on the mat but not locking it in, to Benoit locking it in but Henry powering out of it. Awesomely simple. Henry seems to be really pissed with Benoit always countering him into the Crossface, so eventually he takes the fight to the outside and repeatedly slams him back first into the ring post, causing him to bleed internally. He then locks in a variation of the Crossface to Benoit using the ropes, seemingly as payback for all the Crossface attempts on him. I'm probably overrating this match, but fuck me it was awesome. I'd put it just below his Mysterio match in Jan, but probably is his second best match.

Rating: ***1/2

Finlay Vs Paul Burchill - Smackdown May 26th 2006
Wow. Squash match. Seriously. Finlay just destroys Burchill, and wins within a couple of minutes. I guess he was pissed that he lost to Benoit at JD, and decided to take it out on the Pirate. Real fucking shame because this match could have been awesome. After the match, we get the debut of Little Bastard! Oh fucking joy! At least the midget was in a good role during this time period.

Rating: 1/4*

Rey Mysterio Vs Randy Orton - WHC - Smackdown April 7th 2006
This is Rey's first title defence, and he only won the belt 5 days ago. Instead of Angle getting the first title shot since he is the former champion and never got pinned... Orton, the man who DID get pinned, gets the shot. Ummm... why exactly?

Strange to see Rey taking things slow and going for a headlock early in the match, but it makes perfect sense. This is Rey's first title defence, defending the title that was no doubt a dream of his to win. So he wants to take things slower than usual, be extra careful so he doesn't make any mistakes early on that Orton can capitalise on.

Orton too doesn't want to rush into anything. After losing at WM, a loss here might put an end to any title shots for some time, so he really needs to get the victory.

Its great to actually enjoy a headlock in 2006. Orton is one of the few people these days that has that ability. Being against Rey and having a hot crowd for the match certainly helped, but the way he worked the headlock was just fantastic. And the way he would release it and do some more damage to Rey before locking it back in again is great. And the dropkick to Rey while Rey is trying to springboard back into the ring is awesome as well.

Plenty of nice hope spots for Rey, and even better cut offs from Orton. Had to laugh at Rey countering an elbow from the ropes by Orton by putting his feet up, and Orton landing head first on them. Not sure where he was planning to elbow Rey .

Great finish to this great match too. 619 using the ring post, which makes Orton go loopy and fall onto the ropes at the other side so Rey can get another 619, and then hit the springboard legdrop!

Should have happened at WM. Would have been a great WM moment for Rey to win the title in this match, as well as defeating Orton on a big stage for everything Orton had done to Rey and had said about Eddie.

I definitely enjoyed the match more on this watch. Not by much, but a little. However, I still don't think its as good as NWO.

Rating: ***3/4

Rey Mysterio v Mark Henry (Smackdown!, 1/20/06)
- Didn't think this was quite as great as Eddie/Show, but at the same time, Rey's smakker than Eddie and works it differently as a result. As in, he bumps bigger and goes above and beyond to make himself look like a push bike in a head on collision with a Range Rover. Countless great big man v tiny man spots, all of which Rey bumps off of like a king. There's one point where Rey's trying to run into the ring and Henry grabs his leg and drags him back out so hard Rey flies right into the barricade. Then Henry tries to club him, so Rey moves and he hits the barricade instead. What made it great was that Henry didn't hold back at all, and you could buy it caving Rey's skull in if it actually made contact. Finish is terrific, too. Eddie/Show is my #50 right now, so this should end up in my top 75. ***3/4

Chris Benoit v Randy Orton (Smackdown!, 1/27/06)
- Step below their match from the previous week, but this is still fantastic. Really wish we got a 20 minute Orton/Finlay match from around this time, because Orton always seems to work opposite Benoit like he's a prettier version of Finlay, so I can't imagine that not ruling. Orton again makes Benoit's chops look more lethal than all but a handful of guys ever. Same goes for his Germans. And the Crossface. Orton rules. Benoit hates Orton because he has a pretty face and his little tights make the girl weep tears of joy, so Benoit headbutts him in his pretty face and tries to rip his chest open and that makes me weep tears of joy. Orton hates being chopped so he tries to rip Benoit's eyes out. More weeping tears of joy. Trash cans and trash can lids are pretty goofy in a situation like this, but I was surprised at how they managed to make it seem like an actual weapon and not a comedy spot for a change. Who do I have to kill for an Orton/Finlay match, seriously? Tears of joy. ***3/4

Rey Mysterio Vs Kurt Angle - Smackdown June 2nd 2006
Rey retired JBL (for the first of two times lol) the week before, and Kurt Angle was "drafted" by the new ECW so I assume this would be his last SD match. Also... how many times have these guys wrestled? Oh, and Rey is the world champion here too. Which you wouldn't really know with how Angle is making him look like a complete jobber. He takes him down over and over again, and slaps him when he has him down, and stands on his head, and forces Rey to leave the ring to take a break. Gotta love how Angle makes his opponents look good . Rey isn't exactly being smart here either. The man is so close to the ropes during a submission hold at one point that he could fucking LICK the rope if he wanted to... yet he decides to sit in the submission hold until Angle finally lets go. Fuck me this match is boring. I think so, the crowd think so, and I'm guessing the commentators think so too, as they are spending more time talking about the new ECW with Paul Heyman lol. The only good thing so far is Angle NOT being his usual self and just throwing out a shit load of moves. 10 minutes in and he has only hit 2 suplexes, and he goes for a cover after each one due to working over the mid-section of Rey! And speaking of only hitting a couple of moves... Rey has gotten hardly any offence in so far. Maybe 4 moves before he makes his comeback. Finishing stretch is so bloody dull too. They rest, go for a roll up type move, rest, go for a big move, rest, go for a finisher, rest... I guess there is a fine line between selling, and just being lazy and slowing the whole thing down lol. Plus Angle selling as much as Rey most of the time was retarded because he took very little offence throughout the whole thing. Oh, and its a countout win for Angle in the end. Kinda shit. This is probably the worst match these two ever had, which is a shame because they have had plenty of good matches together.

Rating: 3/4*


William Regal Vs Bobby Lashley - Smackdown June 9th 2006
Booker is watching on from his Royal Throne (and NOT on commentary, thank FUCK), and Regal attacks Lashley from behind. Regal gets in some stiff shots when he gets Lashley back in the ring, but the power of Lashley cuts Regal off when it looked like he was going for the awesome running knee that he does. Lolz at them locking up at one point, and Regal seemingly OVERPOWERING LASHLEY, sending him through the ropes where Lashley gets his leg caught. I'm guessing that was a botch . Loving how brutal Regal is for the most part here. Every time he is on offence he is kneeing and elbowing the fuck out of Big Bob. And he does manage to hit his awesome running knee too, which nearly leads to a countout victory. Speaking of countout victories... Lashley wins via countout after he Spears Regal on the outside when Regal wanted to follow up on the running knee with a running chair shot . Good stuff for the time it got, but nothing that you would really need to go out of your way to see unless you fucking love one or both guys and you must see everything they are involved in lol.

Rating: **

Rey Mysterio Vs Finlay - Smackdown June 9th 2006
I can't help to compare this match to the Angle/Rey match from the week before as soon as I start watching it. It starts similar, with Finlay grounding Rey, but unlike Angle, Finlay doesn't try to make Rey look like a jobber by letting him get back up and doing the same thing over and over again. Finlay grounds Rey, then doesn't let up. He does his best to destroy Rey, making him seem like a real threat if he were to get back up. And Rey gets some offence in early on, and even sends Finlay to the outside to take a break rather than Rey, the WORLD CHAMPION, having to take a break. Seems like Finlay is wrestling the match that Angle wanted to do last week, but simply couldn't because the man can't work a match to save his life . The match is only around 10 minutes, but its the fucking awesomeness you would expect from these two in the ring together. Finlay looked awesome, Rey was great with his little comebacks and being cut off, and holy shit Finlay gets the win!!! Shame that talentless pile of shit Sabu shows up to distract Rey long enough to lose though. Finlay deserved a clean win, but hey, Finlay is a heel so it worked. Could have done without Shitbu still.

Rating: ***

Rey Mysterio Vs Gregory Helms - Smackdown June 16th 2006
Some nice exchanges between the two at the start of the match, which finally ends with Helms hitting a big shoulder block and sending Rey down hard on his injured shoulder (from his match with Sabu at ONS). Rey gets pissed off and goes to work on Helms, but JBL, who made his debut as commentator a few minutes earlier (this is the opener, even though Rey is world champ...), manages to distract Rey long enough for Helms to take advantage. Its matches like this that remind me why I loved Helms during his CW title run in 06/07. His control segment was great, his cut off spots to Rey were awesome, and he was just great overall. Rey wins of course, but Helms looked fantastic throughout. Nothing overly special, just a solid TV match .

Rating: **1/2

Matt Hardy & Gunner Scott Vs Finlay & William Regal - Smackdown June 16th 2006
Man, how I wish that Regal & Finlay had a big tag run at some point. Would have been epic. Unsurprisingly, this is pretty great, and Finlay & Regal as a team is epic. From Finlay faking an eye injury and signalling for Regal to come in and attack Matt, to Hornswoggle using the Shillelagh on Matt's balls and having Regal follow it up with his awesomely manly running knee that I mark the fuck out for . Matt bleeding from the mouth really adds to the whole thing too, and I loved one spot where he was trying so damn hard to make a tag that it looked like he was legit trying to get away from Regal and just get the fuck out of there. HOLY SHIT! Finlay running shoulder first into the steel post that sets up the hot tag was fucking brutal. Might be the best shoulder to post spot I have seen. Gunner Scott coming off the hot tag was pretty great too, but in the end the Shillelagh > Gunner's head . Tremendous tag match, and I'm currently thinking of maybe adding it to my list if I can part with anything already on it.

Rating: ***3/4

Finlay Vs Gunner Scott - Smackdown June 23rd 2006
As Finlay gets to the ring, we see some beer cans being thrown from under the ring. Seems that Hornswoggle is getting pissed under the ring lol. Nice and manly as you would expect from Finlay and mini-Benoit. Not really got anything else to say about it other than its good, and the finish is funny with Hornswoggle being drunk and trying to take matters into his own hands .

Rating: **

Rey Mysterio Vs Mark Henry - World Heavyweight Title - Smackdown June 23rd 2006
I know I keep saying it, but this match is just what you would expect. And so far its never been a bad thing, because what I expect from these matches with these wrestlers is usually something great. Henry is the powerful monster, and Rey is the small underdog. Henry dominates Rey. Rey makes Henry look like a bigger, badder, better monster than he normally does. Rey gets in some hope spots. Henry swots him away and continues to destroy the small masked man. Of course watching it is way better than just reading the cliff notes lol. Rey continues to make Henry look like the baddest man on the planet, and Henry holds his own too by not being as lazy as he tends to be. Definitely not as good as their first match from early SD 06, but it is another match that could be added to the hugely unsuccessful Best of Mark Henry DVD . Lolz at the referee trying to put the padding back on a turnbuckle after Henry ripped the padding off. What makes it so funny is the fact that the padding is all over the mat, and is in no way fixable. Yet there is the ref. Trying to fix it. At least he gets squashed between the steel turnbuckle and Rey Mysterio being thrown into him by Henry . Wait... maybe this whole thing was a set up for a ref bump!!! With the ref down, Chavo makes an appearance and helps Rey win with the Eddie Guerrero lie, cheat and steal play. It was a fun ending, and nice to see some of Eddie in the match, but fuck me it made Rey look like a giant pussy who couldn't beat anyone despite being World Champion. Up until the finish, this was really good, but again, not as good as their first SD 06 match.

Rating: **3/4

Matt Hardy Vs Finlay - Smackdown June 30th 2006
Last week Gunner Scott wrestled Finlay to try and get payback for the tag match two weeks ago. This week its Matt Hardy going after Finlay. Did they forget that Regal was in the match too? Finlay goes right after Matt and knocks the fuck out of him, but once Matt starts to get on a roll, Finlay fakes an eye injury again, just like in the tag match. Gotta love the balls on him. Hardy doesn't fall for it this time though, and reacts to it by punching Finlay in the eye. Awesome. Some great back and forth action, with Finlay getting dragged under the ring at one point by Hornswoggle too, which made me laugh seeing the tough bastard getting dragged by a midget . An exposed turnbuckle from earlier in the match comes into play and Finlay is able to pick up the win. Right now I am struggling to think of anyone in WWE that is ahead of Finlay for WOTY. More good shit from him here.

Rating: **1/2

Mr Kennedy Vs Gunner Scott - Smackdown June 30th 2006
Kennedy returned to SD at the beginning of June, but this is the first time he has wrestled an opponent that isn't a random jobber still on the roster for reasons unknown to me (Scotty 2 Hotty, Funaki etc). Well... this was pretty much a squash match. Honestly didn't see that coming given how they had been using Scott over the last few months. He was Benoit's "student", he had some great matches with the likes of Finlay... and then he gets squashed. Not only that, but Khali shows up after the match and destroys Gunner too.

Rating: 1/4*

Mr Kennedy Vs Matt Hardy - Smackdown July 14 2006

A nice little TV match here, which most likely has some history because Matt jumps Kennedy before he can finish his mic stuff. Matt tries to kill Kennedy, until Kennedy is able to throw Matt shoulder first into the ring post (which looked sick), and from there its all Kennedy, and its all awesome tbh.

Since its only a TV match and doesn't get too much time, Kennedy doesn't get to control the match as long as I would have liked, but he did well with the time. Matt's comeback is really nice, and the counters towards the end are great. Kennedy really looked great in this, and Matt is part of the reason with how he sold a lot of the offence. Kennedy's inexperience costs him in the end when he argues with the referee for too long and gets rolled up.

Something I wouldn't vote for at all, but for what it was, it was pretty good, and great to watch. Even though Hardy got the win, Kennedy is the guy that I remember the most in the match.

Michael Cole almost ruins it at the end though by repeated over and over and over and over again "Kennedy! Kennedy! Kennedy!". Seriously, I don't think he says "Vintage" as much as this in a MONTH.

Rating: **3/4


Finlay Vs Bobby Lashley - US Title - Smackdown July 14 2006

Its Finlay, so I thought I would sit through it .

You know someone is a tough bastard when they can short-arm clothesline someone like Lashley and it would be believable for him to get a 3 count from it.

Nothing special here unfortunately, but still a fun watch. Finlay uses his stiff offence to take the fight to Lashely, while Lashley uses his power to stay in the match just long enough to get hit in the head with a Shillelagh to LOSE the US Title to Finlay! Holy crap lol, I don't even remember Finlay winning a title .

Kinda disappointing, but they got very little time, and the commercial break came at one of the worst times possible. Finlay stopped this match from being terrible though, because he's fucking awesome.

Oh, and the DIVA SEARCH segment after this got more time.

Rating: *


William Regal Vs Rey Mysterio - Smackdown July 14 2006

During the whole "King Booker" days when Regal was one of his jesters or something, and Booker was getting ready to face (and beat) Rey for the title. Sending Regal in was to scout Rey and to try and soften him up for the PPV. That's keyfabe anyway... in reality, its Rey Vs Regal, and that alone is awesome.

The Diva Search segment also gets more time than this. Than the MAIN FUCKING EVENT. Finlay/Lashley even got more time. WTF was up with the booking?

Rey takes the fight to Regal, and being World Champion at this point, he fights hard than ever before. He keeps losing the advantage though thanks to distractions from Booker and his biach.

This is nothing more than a storyline advancer for the most part, but Regal's awesomeness makes it feel more than that when you watch it, while still maintaining the whole "storyline advancer" part to it, which was needed.

Fucking hell, a Bronco Buster? Can't remember the last time I saw him do that move lol. Rey makes a comeback, takes out Booker, and actually picks up a win in a non title match! Didn't happen very often during his reign from what I remember lol .

For the 6 or 7 minutes it gets, its a decent enough match. Nothing more, nothing less.

Rating: *3/4

Finlay Vs Bobby Lashley - US Title - Smackdown July 21st 2006
I saw their match from the week before when Finlay wins the title a few months ago when I wasn't planning to do this massive 2006 review project lol, and the only thing I really remember is that it was too short to be anything good. Then I remember their match about a month later which I have also already seen lol, which I gave *** and thought was pretty good aside from Lashley's lack of selling towards the end. Maybe THIS match could be the great match that they seem to have potential to do but never manage it.

Lashely goes straight for Finlay, taking him to the mat where he has the advantage thanks to his amateur background. Finlay realises that this isn't good for him, so he fakes an arm injury (that damn Finlay and faking injuries!) and then levels Big Bob with a vicious forearm shot (with the very arm he claimed was hurt lol). Lashley kicks out of a cover and both men are back on their feet, and Finlay just smiles over at Lashley and points to his head, showing Bobby that he is smarter.

Finlay keeps the match from getting fast paced, as he knows Lashley has that explosive power that must be avoided. So instead Finlay outsmarts Lashley again and goes after him with hard hitting blows like punches, elbows and that awesome clothesline he does. This keeps Lashley at bay, and eventually sends him down to the mat where Finlay has control over him rather than being on the mat with Lashley in control.

Once Lashley is down, Finlay goes to work over the knee of Big Bob in order to keep control, to weaken him for any potential comebacks, and to maybe even get the powerhouse to tap out.

Big Bob keeps trying to make a comeback, but the first time he does Finlay goes after the leg again, and the second time he does, Regal shows up whcih distracts the ref while Hornswoggle is brought out to get him some of Lashley too lol. Once this craziness it out of the way, Finlay goes right back after the leg as if he never stopped.

Dammit to hell. Just like their match that will happen a month later, Lashley makes his comeback at the end and ignores all leg work. Regal makes him pay though lol, when he assaults him behind the ref's back . Finlay goes after Lashley with a chair and gets taken down, Regal goes after him with a chair too and gets speared, then Finlay manages to get in a chair shot (and gets himself DQ'd too), and we get a big beat down of Lashley from the two guys Lashley has to go through to get back the US Title at the Great American Bash (which he ends up not being apart of lol).

Well, I definitely think this match is better than their August match. With an actual finish, and maybe a little better selling from Lashley right at the end, this could have been even better.

Rating: ***1/2

Mr Kennedy Vs Batista - Smackdown July 28th 2006

A rematch from GAB that happened a few days earlier! Should be interesting.

Batista is pissed that Henry is injured and he didn't get his match against him. So at GAB he took out his frustration on Kennedy. Now it seems Batista wants to destroy Kennedy some more. This makes Batista more prone to making a mistake, and Kennedy knows that. One kick to the knee later, and Kennedy has everything in control!

The structure of the match reminds me of the Finlay/Lashey match from the week before. Batista has the power to make a comeback any time he wants, so Kennedy has to play it smart and take advantage of every situation. Kennedy does this, and its less than 5 minutes before Kennedy gets a countout victory!

Disappointed with this one, because it started out good, then ended out of nowhere.

Rating: 1/2*


Finlay Vs William Regal - US Title - Smackdown July 28th 2006

How the hell can people say Smackdown 2006 sucked when you have matches like this happening all year round?

As I have said a few times before, I find it so hard to really talk about these matches beyond "Stiff, manly and fucking awesome" lol.

Finlay goes around stamping on Regal's hands trying to break his fingers, and Regal is launching Finlay face first into the steel post. Those two things alone make this match awesome lol, but added onto their usual hard hitting gritty style, its just extra awesomesauce on the awesomesteak.

The ending with Hornswoggle is funny and actually works nicely into the match too. Poor Regal gets hit in the balls and rolled up for a 3 count, and is once again embarrassed by Finlay.

Rating: ***1/2

Finlay Vs William Regal - US Title - Smackdown August 4th 2006

2 weeks in a row? FUCK YEAH.

Pretty sure I have watched this match already at some point for the poll, but I either didn't write anything about it, or I didn't write anything about it in the text document with my SD 06 stuff .

Good stuff between the two, with Regal wanting revenge for what happened last week by going for the Shillelagh early on. When the ref takes it away and it giving it to the ring announcer, Finlay brings out Hornswoggle and Regal gets embarrassed AGAIN lol, which pisses him off and causes him to go ape shit on Finlay's head in the ring as he makes good use of his knees lol.

In the end Finlay gets the Shillelagh and levels Regal to get DQ'd after taking a beating. Short and not even close to being as good as last week, but still some stuff fun from the two.

Rating: **


Mr Kennedy Vs Batista - Smackdown August 4th 2006

Hopefully this one doesn't end in a lame countout finish in less than 5 minutes lol.

Things start off the way the ended in their last match, with Kennedy going after the leg in order to ground the Animal.

Nice to see that Batista doesn't have Lashley Syndrome here, as he actually SELLS the leg when he is hitting offence. Just a simple thing like the leg buckling while going for a suplex can really make or break a TV match like this for me.

Hell, Batista even sells it while hitting his Batista Bomb for the finish. It doesn't bother me that he was able to get Kennedy up there and hit the move, but it WOULD have bothered me if he hadn't done any kind of selling after. Anyway, enough of the Batista/Lashley comparisons lol, this was a good TV bout. Kennedy smartly went after the legs, Batista sold well and used his power the way he should have, and he finally got a win over Kennedy.

Rating: **1/4


The Undertaker Vs King Booker - Smackdown August 4th 2006

Lol, a Booker T match I am remotely interested in from Smackdown 2006. About time I guess, and it only took THE UNDERTAKER to do it .

I do believe this is also Undertaker's first match on Smackdown April 7th when he wrestled Mark Henry in a WM rematch and Khali showed up. He's had a couple of PPV matches since then, but this is his first Smackdown match since then.

Booker tries to jump the Dead Man, and hopefully take advantage of any injuries he has from the Punjabi Prison match with Big Show a few weeks back. But since its The Undertaker that Booker is trying to destroy, he doesn't do a very good job and its not long before 'Taker is picking apart the World Champ.

A missed running knee to the face causes The Undertaker to go leg first over the ropes, and this gives Booker the opening he so desperately needed. For some reason though, Booker doesn't continue to go after the legs of 'Taker, instead decides to use those big kicks he has in his moveset, and its not long before he ends up in a situation where he is going one on one with Undertaker in a brawl, which he obviously doesn't win.

Chokeslam! But before Booker can take more punishment, the Punjabi Prick shows up and takes down The Undertaker. This time however, Undertaker sits up and sends Khali out of the ring! He then challenges the giant to a LMS match... at SummerSlam .

Match was ok, not too long (which for a Booker T match is a GOOD thing), but nothing memorable at all from it.

Rating: *1/2

Mr Kennedy Vs Rey Mysterio - Smackdown August 11th 2006

Kenndy is a cocky prick here, and I'm loving it. Right from the get go he locks up with Rey, pushes him into the corner then just pats his head like Rey is some helpless child. They when he breaks and goes to the other corner, he starts smiling and prancing around. Rey takes exception to this and goes after Kennedy, but Kennedy is able to take Rey down and he looks as happy as can be that he did so lol.

Every time Rey gets in a hope spot and Kennedy cuts him off, Kennedy acts like he's just done the greatest thing ever. Pretty sure Andy will appreciate this shit way more than me or anyone else lol, and with it being a Rey match I think there is a good chance he will like the match overall more than me .

Watching this match really makes me miss Kennedy in WWE. Sure, people overrated the guy like crazy, claiming he was the next Steve Austin etc, but every time I go back and watch one of his matches or promos, I definitely see a future major player in the making. He works the crowd really well, his offence is focused and good (which I find to be one of the things that people actually underrate about him), and his had plenty of really good matches with different opponents.

Shame this match had to end with Chavo "boring" Guerrero coming out and getting involved. Poor Rey, going from World Champion to feuding with Chavo .

So yeah, great match here. Kennedy was an awesome hell, Rey was his usual awesome self, and aside from the poor finish this was a great match.

Rating: ***1/2


Batista & Bobby Lashley Vs Finlay & William Regal - Smackdown August 11th 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 - Smackdown 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 - Smackdown 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: ***


Mr Kennedy Vs Matt Hardy - Smackdown August 25th 2006

These 2 men had a pretty good match a few months ago, so I have high hopes for this one .

More greatness from Kennedy, with his focused offence and the way he portrays his character during the match. This was also during the time where Matt Hardy was on somewhat of a role with TV matches too, so it was nice to see them having a couple of matches around this time period.

Hardy holds his own at the start, but a missed moonsault, followed by an irish whip into the steel steps, puts him on the losing side of the match for some time.

Nice back and forth action, with Helms costing Hardy the match in the end. Didn't think it was as good as their previous match, but a solid TV match non the less.

Rating: **

Gregory Helms Vs Matt Hardy - Smackdown September 1st 2006

There isn't much to this feud that seemingly begins here, but I always loved the matches between them. They are two old friends, one is a nice guy (Matt) and the other is a cocky bastard (Helms), and both men want to prove to the other that they are the best. Its a simple feud between two guys with a history and is nothing more than competition.

Really good in ring action, plenty of back and forth shit and near falls. As the match goes on though, Helms gets frustrated and tried to use his CW title belt to pick up the win, but Matt dodges it and hits a jackknife pin for the 3! Not as good as their No Mercy match, but like so much of the stuff I have watched so far, its an extremely solid TV match.

Rating: **1/2


Finlay Vs Mr Kennedy Vs Bobby Lashey - US Title - Smackdown 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

Rey Mysterio Vs Finlay - Smackdown September 8th 2006

They had an incredible match earlier in the year. They would have an equally good match in 2007 (which is currently in my top 100). They also had a good (but not as good as the previous 2 I mentioned) match a month or so ago. Can they do it again?

Ahh Finlay. With only a few months of SD 06 left, I don't see anyone knocking him off my WOTY #1 spot. Seriously, from the SD side of things, NOBODY even comes close to him. Benoit and Regal had their moments, but with Benoit being away for a few months, and Regal not getting the chance to show his greatness on a weekly basis like Finlay, not even they can match up to him. As for Raw, well, I don't remember anyone over there being super fantastic all year round. Big Show has his awesome run in ECW, but its still not enough to knock Finlay off his thrown.

So, the match. Right from the get go Finlay is awesome. He locks up with Rey, pushes him into the corner, then cleanly breaks. Now, since that's all too nice for Finlay, he decides to slap the fuck out of Rey instead. What a cunt. Rey comes back with a slap of his own, then some kicks to the legs, and things are picking up now.

Its your typical Rey match (in terms of basic structure, anyway), with Finlay destroying him, Rey selling like a champ, getting in some hope spots and then being cut off just when it looks like he is on a roll. And Finlay cuts him off awesomely every time, and his control segments are always great. I think that Finlay to me right now might be what Arn is to Andy. The more I watch of the guy, the more I love the little things he does. Simple shit like putting a submission on Rey, only to have Rey kick him in the face a few times to try to escape, only for Finlay to get pissed off and switch the submission hold to something else to prevent being kicked in the face.

And damn, Finlay gets the win! The man got some BIG wins over guys during the year too, shame he never got a big one on one PPV match for the title, even if they would never have plans to put the belt on him. He was having great matches with everyone, and like I said, he got some big wins too. Beating Lashley, Rey (when he was World Champ as well as this match!), Benoit, Regal etc.

Match is great, btw. A little behind their March match, and then the other awesome on in 07, but still really, really great.

Rating: ***1/2


William Regal Vs Bobby Lashley - Smackdown September 8th 2006

Poor Regal. First he gets dominated in the ring by Lashley, then when he goes to the outside, he gets a face full of Vito's arse (who is in a dress and wearing a thong...). At least he is able to drop Lashley face first on the steel steps .

Match is fun, but doesn't last very long, and just like I mentioned in the Rey/Finlay match, Regal just isn't given the chance to show his greatness. When it was Finlay/Lashley, they got plenty of time usually, and Finlay was able to unleash on Lashley. When its Regal, he gets in some good blows, but you never get the feeling he can actually win, and he doesn't. Hell, the win came out of nowhere too really. Regal was in control and then BAM. Spear. 3 count.

Rating: *


Gregory Helms Vs Matt Hardy - Smackdown September 15th 2006

A rematch from a couple of weeks ago, but this time there is some bad blood between the two rather than it being about competition. Last week Helms made Matt lose... to MIZ.

Matt brings the hate straight away, jumping Helms from behind and just pummelling him with lefts and rights, and even taking the fight to the outside. This is where Helms gains control, by using Matt's aggression against him and sending him into the steel steps. Now its Helms' turn to try to destroy Matt. Not because he wants revenge for a loss against Miz, but because he NEEDS to beat Matt and prove that HE is the better of the two. Its Ego all the way for him.

I've already seen and talked a little about their match from No Mercy, which takes place after this one, and of course I talked about their match from a couple of weeks ago. The best way to really describe this one without going on and on is to say that its the feud advancer match. It takes what they did in their first match, adds some hate, and then a screwy finish (Helms hitting a pretty brutal looking low blow). That gives Helms a win, making it 1-1 for their matches, and a good reason to have a PPV match which would essentially be a longer and better version of this one .

Rating: **3/4


Rey Mysterio Vs Mr Kennedy - Smackdown September 15th 2006

I marked out a little for Dean Malenko showing up in a backstage segment with Rey.

The story with Rey recently is that Vickie going all HEEL~! on him has Rey not in the right frame of mind when it comes to wrestling. Last week he lost to Finlay when he missed one of his signature moves, which was apparently because he was distracted by personal issues. This week however, Rey seems like he is back to normal... until Chavo and Vickie go and visit Dominick in the back just before the match starts.

I was somewhat disappointed with this one. It probably had superior action to their last match, but dammit, no cocky bastard Kennedy!

Well, for the most part anyway. Kennedy does start acting cocky around 3/4 of the way through when Rey hurts his back and Kennedy goes after it. Shame it took so long for Kennedy to act like this, because honestly when Kennedy is in cocky bastard mode, he can take his matches from "solid TV match" to "great TV match". Might not mean much to some people, but it means the world to me!!!

Kennedy does some nice back work, cheating here and there too. Then when Rey makes his big comeback and looks to be close to a win, Chavo and Vickie come out to ringside with Dominick, which distracts Rey and allows Kennedy to pick up the win!

Great action, but not enough arsehole Kennedy! Puts it on the same level as their previous match, so its still great, but in a different way .

Rating: ***1/2

Bobby Lashley Vs Finlay - Smackdown September 15th 2006

Fuck, Booker is on commentary. In his King gimmick. Its normal shitty Booker on the mic + the annoying King accent. Fucking wonderful.

At least its another Finlay Vs Lashley match .

A slow start, which makes sense since they know each other well by now, and know what the other is capable of. Nice to see Lashley adapting to Finlay a little bit, as when Finlay goes for a test of strength, Lashley punches Finlay in the face instead, because you just know Finlay isn't going to get into a test of strength with someone like Big Bob. Unfortunately this just pisses the Irish Bastard off, and he quickly sends Lashley out of the ring and gains the advantage.

Some nice leg work by Finlay, and even he seems to be adapting to wrestling Lashley. After attacking the leg for a little while, he decides to send Lashley out of the ring to maybe get a countout instead of trying to get a pin or submission which he KNOWS will be hard to do.

There isn't much of a comeback for Lashley in this one, so he doesn't get much chance to no sell the leg . However, it IS nice to see him slightly improving by selling it when he has Finlay in a torture rack!

End is a little crazy, with Regal throwing in a chair so the ref sees it, allowing Finlay to try and use the Shillelagh, but Lashley moves and when Finlay DOES hit him with it, the ref sees and Lashley wins by DQ.

Solid match, not their best outing, but still good.

Rating: ***


Bobby Lashley & Batista Vs Finlay & William Regal - Smackdown September 22nd 2006

Finlay attacked and bloodied Batista a few weeks ago, and he wants revenge. However, its Regal that starts the match off with Batista, and poor William gets destroyed, and nearly beating with a spinebuster within the first couple of minutes, but Finlay breaks it up.

Holy shit at the double suplex. You know that one arm suplex that Lashley occasionally did? Well, imagine that, but a double suplex, so both Batista and Lashley are using one arm and it looks like neither of them are using a single arm lol. Impressive move.

Finlay finally decides to get in, but only when its Lashley in there. Despite the fact that Lashley is big and powerful, Finlay knows Lashley well, and he knows what to do to keep him under control for the most part. And that's by cheating . Regal attacks him in the outside, and then Finlay grounds him in the inside.

Nice southern tag formula, and as usual I enjoyed Regal and Finlay teaming up. Just remembered that this match happened before in August (and I had watched it months ago, before I saw the rest of August which is why I didn't remember it lol), and this is MUCH better. More time, and better action. Finlay and Regal were great at cutting the ring in half and preventing tags to be made (Finlay especially, as he toyed with Lashley, almost letting him make the tag and then kicking him). Batista was great too, with his hatred for Finlay being turned on Regal at the start, and then towards the end of the match when he got fed up and just levelled Regal (allowing Lashley to recover and pick up the win) then chased after Finlay and brawled with him.

Rating: ***


Matt Hardy Vs Gregory Helms - Smackdown September 22nd 2006

so much for what I said about their previous match. Guess No Mercy hasn't happened yet . I keep forgetting that it was single brand PPV's and there is usually around 6 weeks between shows!

So maybe I wasn't completely right about what I said during their previous match, but some of it was still true . This is becoming a series of matches now, and each match is evolving. The first was about competition and seeing who was the best. The second was about revenge after Helms made it personal. And this one is a little more like the first in that both men want the win, but there is some personal heat between them now after what happened last week. Biggest difference though is that Matt doesn't come out on fire trying to kill Helms, because it was that very thing that essentially lost the match for Hardy last week.

DAMN at Helms dropping Matt neck first on the ropes btw. Look sick, and the fans gave one of their big "Oooooooo"'s that they only usually do when something big happens.

In an ironic turn of events, Helms ends up getting pissed off and his hate for Matt gets in the way of his focus when he tries to take the turnbuckle pad off, which distracts the ref long enough for Matt to hit a low blow for the win! Seems that Matt realised the best revenge this time around would be to beat Helms at his own game rather than trying to kill him lol.

Great stuff, but a little short for my liking. Hopefully THIS is the last match they have before No Mercy lol, because its a great lead in match .

Rating: **3/4


The Undertaker Vs King Booker - Smackdown September 22nd 2006

Yet another Booker match I want to see (making it what, 3 for the entire year so far? And it only takes The Undertaker being his opponent to do it .

Booker dances around the Dead Man to begin with, then builds up enough courage to attack. He punches 'Taker in the face, and 'Taker doesn't even feel it. Cue cowardly Booker as he runs out of the ring .

Mr Kennedy is on commentary too (makes a nice change from Booker being there), and he is pretty awesome. He sits there acting cocky, then pretty much screams like a girl when Undertaker does something impressive.

The match is all Undertaker until Sharmell distracts the ref and Booker hits a low blow followed by a superplex. Awesome variation of his Scissors Kick too, with Undertaker's neck across the rope rope first! Seems that King Booker is going to do everything he possibly can to pick up the biggest win of his career here (yes, bigger than beating a midget for the World Title ).

I'm guessing it must be the fact he is facing The Undertaker that Booker is actually looking GOOD here. Normally the guy sucks, so it makes a change for me to be enjoying one of his matches beyond "Undertaker is his opponent".

Finishing stretch is really nice too, some great back and forth big moves before the shitty DQ ending. Booker goes for a Tombstone, Undertaker reverses, and before he can hit it, Booker wriggles free and hits a low blow. Then Undertaker gets hit in the head with the World Title belt. Both Undertaker/Booker matches ended similar, so I wonder if they were planning another feud between these two at any time.

Really surprised with this. Good match, and it wasn't ALL down to The Undertaker! Booker looked better here than he had in years. Shame it was only for one night .

Rating: **1/2