2006 Discussion

Finlay Vs King Booker - Smackdown October 6th 2006

Bloody hell, a Booker match without Undertaker? More reason that I fucking LOVE 06 Finlay lol. He can interest me in anything .

This is a Pick Your Poison match, so Lashley picked Finlay to face his friend in Finlay. Finlay refuses to "do the right thing" so Booker really goes to fucking work on Finlay. I mean wow, he looks like he legit wants to kill the Irish man at the start.

Both men seem to be working stiff to start, and the kick Finlay gets in to start his control segment sounds awesome. Once Finlay is in control, its time for the King to take one hell of a beating. Always fun to see Booker get destroyed .

Simple story for the match but done so well too. Booker wants to beat Finlay as quick as possible in order to save himself for the PPV in a couple of days (which explains his brutality and aggression), and Finlay wants to get a win over the World Champ to maybe put him in line for a title shot down the line. Plus he loves to fight .

Sharmell keeps getting involved and distracting Finlay, so Hornswoggle comes out and chases her off, which distracts the ref and Booker, allowing Finlay to attack Booker's leg with the Shillelagh! Finlay beats the champ!!!

Stiff as fuck, and pretty great too. Another reason Finlay rocks the world.

Rating: **1/4


Batista Vs Bobby Lashley - Smackdown October 6th 2006

The other Pick Your Poison match, with Booker choosing Batista to face Lashley. Pretty funny to see this match after I just read that Batista and Lashley might have an MMA match at some point soon .

Typical big man vs big man babyface vs babyface stuff, as they both go for tests of strengths and end up equal and all that shit.

Then its a case of them trying to outdo each other. One knocks the other down, so the other gets up and knocks the other down. Plenty of big, hard hitting moves that you would expect. Its looking really good until Finlay and Booker come out (and Booker only comes out to attack Finlay lol, which ends in a 4 way brawl). Shame it had to end so quick, because they were doing really well at turning what could have been a big main event spectacle on PPV into a TV match.

Rating: *3/4


Bobby Lashley & Batista Vs Finlay & King Booker - Smackdown October 6th 2006

After the end of the Batista/Lashley match, Finlay and Batista were added to the No Mercy main event. And then a tag match was made for tonight!

Great action here, and nice little story with Finlay and Booker not wanting to tag together, but knowing they need each other to win the match and perhaps even survive. Booker continues to be aggressive as hell like he was earlier in the night with Finlay, shame the guy wasn't like this all the time, because he's actually really good at it.

Once Finlay and Booker get in firm control of the match (after Finlay takes one hell of a beating at the start lol), we get a great STF match taking place. Finlay is great at preventing tags and making the ref not see tags too btw. Another awesome thing about him I have noticed lately lol. The transition spot into the hot tag looked awesome too; a massive spear from Lashley to Booker. Before Batista can try to win the match, Regal shows up to make it a DQ, but Batista has been stood on the apron for too long and he absolutely destroys Regal, Finlay and Booker.

Another great match with Finlay! Who would have thought?

Rating: ***1/4

Mr Kennedy Vs Chris Benoit - US Title - Smackdown October 13th 2006
Benoit made his return a few nights before at No Mercy and had a classic match with Regal. And his first match on SD is against Kennedy? Awesome.

Kennedy no doubt saw how great Benoit was on the PPV, and wastes no time jumping Benoit as he gets in the ring. Plus Kennedy needs to beat Benoit so he can move to Raw, as he claims to have done everything that there is to do on Smackdown (he is running away from The Undertaker lol).

Benoit isn't having any of it though, and not even getting attacked on his way into the ring can stop him. Like the machine he is, he takes what Kennedy dishes out and shrugs it off, which leads to some punishment for Kennedy.

Kennedy keeps trying to get a shot in here and there, but nothing is going to stop the returning Benoit. For the first part of the match (like, 8 minutes or so lol), its essentially an extended SQUASH match. And its more entertaining than the majority of stuff today.

After a commercial break, Kennedy FINALLY catches a break and sends Benoit shoulder first into the ring post. Kennedy has a good control segment, including sending Benoit into the ring post shoulder first AGAIN just to make sure he remains in control. I've mentioned it before, but I honestly do think Kennedy is underrated for his in ring ability. He IS pretty damn good in the ring, but it was always overshadowed by his mic work (which ironically is overrated lol).

Undertaker's music hits and that distracts Kennedy long enough for Benoit to make a comeback. Then when Undertaker comes out, Kennedy tries desperately to get away from Benoit, but no luck. Crossface. Tap. New champ!

Awesome opening match to SD, and awesome return to SD match for Benoit. He and Kennedy have a great match, AND he wins the US title! Made sense to put it on someone else other than Kennedy as Kennedy's feud with Undertaker wasn't about the title.

Really liked the structure of the match too, with Benoit dominating to start with, due to returning to SD and being on a roll, then Kennedy creating an opening for himself to get control. Plenty of great action too, and the finish was cool because of how Kennedy reacted to Undertaker, first just from the music and then actually seeing him.

Rating: ***1/2

Rey Mysterio Vs Jamie Noble - Smackdown October 13th 2006

Chavo and Vickie are on the ramp way, and get on the mic to tell Rey they won't interfere. How nice of them .

This isn't anywhere near as good as their Velocity match, but hey, that match was epic. This match might not be epic, but it was good as you might expect.

Not really sure what else to say lol. Noble is a nasty cunt with his offence, Rey is great with his selling and comebacks. Its simply a good match .

Rating: **1/2


Batista Vs Finlay Vs Bobby Lashley - Smackdown October 13th 2006

I'm in man love with Finlay. The guy is just awesome. Before the match even starts, he is awesome. Batista and Lashley are staring each other down, and Finlay is smiling and telling them to get each other so he can sit back and watch. Then Lashley and Batista turn and look at him, and Finlay looks scared shitless, knowing what's coming. They knock Finlay out of the ring then go to work on each other.

They end up knocking each other down, and Finlay just walks back into the ring, sends Batista out and goes to work on his old rival Lashley. Lashley ends up powerslamming Finlay, but before the ref can start a count, Hornswoggle jumps on the ref . Poor Finlay though, he tries to use Hornswoggle to his advantage on the outside, and still ends up getting a massive clothesline.

Of course the match ends up suffering from the usual triple threat formula of 2 guys in the ring, one on the outside a lot of the time, but we do get enough 3 way action (sexeh ) to make me happy .

Cool to see Finlay and Lashley working together against Batista at one point too. Even more awesome to see them deciding between the steel ring post or the table to take out Batista! A double spinebuster and Batista looks to be done in this match, and its down to Lashley and Finlay once again! Always love when these two get together in the ring.

Some greatness between Finlay and Lashley, which ends with Finlay hitting the Celtic Cross! The winner of this gets a title shot btw, didn't know this myself until that moment. Finlay is about to win, but Batista shows up and drags Finlay out of the ring! Big arse spear to Lashley from Batista too, another great looking spot in this match. All 3 men are in the ring now, and we get a real nice finishing stretch.

Hornswoggle makes another appearance and tries to help Finlay win, but it only takes out Lashley long enough for Batista to beat Finlay instead.

Fucking awesome shit here. I think it might even be better than the great triple threat earlier in the year from Kennedy/Lashley/Finlay. Definitely a hidden gem, especially when it comes to great triple threats.

Rating: ****

MVP Vs Kane - Smackdown October 20th 2006

This match was supposed to happen last week, but MVP stalled and stalled as much as possible to prevent the match from starting (and was pretty fucking great at it too btw), which lead to Kane beating the shit out of him on the outside before the match could start. So this week they try again.

MVP tries to take the fight to Kane first, but ends up receiving some vicious right hands and uppercuts, and its not long before he is begging for mercy. However, MVP begging for mercy was just a heel tactic to lure Kane near him so he could slam him into the steel steps and gain the advantage. This also happens to be MVP's first real match, since he was only signed a few weeks ago and had only faced random jobbers since. I still remember watching his debut match at No Mercy after seeing him in segments for weeks building to it, and being massively disappointed by him lol. But believe it or not, it took this feud with KANE to show us all how good MVP could actually be. And people don't like Kane...

As smart as MVP was to send Kane into the ring steps, Kane's ability to absorb punishment is above all of that. He quickly comes back and dominates MVP, setting him up for a chokeslam. MVP counters with a low blow, getting himself DQ'd but manages to escape more punishment. This feud is just beginning!

Not too much to this match, but it was a good showing for MVP in his first legit match, and showed that the feud could have potential. Nothing more than a feud advancer, but a fun one at that.

Rating: 3/4*


William Regal & Dave Taylor Vs Scotty 2 Hotty & Funaki - Smackdown October 20th 2006

Given the opponents for Regal & Taylor, I probably wouldn't bother with this. But it is the first time they are teaming together (Regal & Taylor, that is) in WWE, and Regal cut a rather awesome promo before hand that made me want to watch it lol.

The jist of the promo he cut before the match was that he was tired of being a joke on SD, and it was time to get serious, and Taylor was there to help. This match is just a stepping stone to making Regal into the old Regal. Its simply an extended squash match, with Regal and Taylor making sure they look like the two most physical and nasty bastards on the planet. If only they had made a group with Finlay too .

Finish is great too btw. Regal basically lets Funaki get the tag, and when Scotty comes in he knees him in the head, tags in Dave who hits a wonderful double arm suplex and floats over into a pin.

Great way to bring Regal back to his old self, and to show what Regal and Taylor can do together.

Rating: *1/4


Gregory Helms Vs The Undertaker - Smackdown October 20th 2006

This match caught me by surprise lol. I saw Helms come out to the ring, so I stopped fast forwarding and waited to see who his opponent was going to be, expecting Matt Hardy again or some other CW. Undertaker being his opponent makes me both happy and a little sad. Happy because its Helms Vs Undertaker, and I like both guys. Sad because I have a feeling Helms won't get much offence in.

Helms is pretty much terrified when the bell rings lol. He runs around the ring, but keeps hold of the ropes at all times just in case 'Taker comes near him . He then lures Undertaker into a corner and uses his speed to avoid being trapped. He gets a few shots in, then Undertaker comes back with rights and lefts. Looks like a chokeslam is coming, but Kennedy's music hits and out he comes, only to get chokeslammed into the steel steps lol.

Chokeslam in the ring to Helms, followed by a Tombstone Piledriver! Just as I expected, a short match with virtually zero offence from Helms.

After the match, Kenned attacks Undertaker and ends up getting a chokeslam. Fun for what it was.

Rating: 1/4*

Bobby Lashley & Tatanka Vs William Regal & Dave Taylor - Smackdown October 27th 2006

Tatanka? Really?

Decent match here, pretty short though. Some similarities between Regal & Taylor and Regal & Finlay in how they could cheat to gain control, and how they would just destroy their opponents with physical shots and moves.

Would have been nice to see a longer FIP segment, but oh well. Poor Dave injures his leg in this match, after taking an overhead belly to belly (how he injured his leg landing on his back I will never know lol), but luckily the match was ending a few seconds later anyway.

Rating: 1/2*


Matt Hardy Vs Gregory Helms - Smackdown October 27th 2006

Yey .

Matt got the win at No Mercy, and Helms is pretty pissed about it and now needs to get a win over Matt to make them even.

Opening sequence is pretty great, some basic "technical" shit with Helms looking really fluid, followed by some viciousness from Helms as he knees the fuck out of Matt's head lol. He is really on top of his game here, and its not surprising given how much he wants to beat Hardy tonight.

It quickly turns into a very competitive back and forth contest between the two, and we get the usual greatness from them. Helms then makes sure he gets the win by holding onto the ropes to keep Matt down. Perfect way for him to win the match imo, showing just how desperate he was to get the victory.

Rating: **3/4


Kane Vs Mr Kennedy - No DQ - Smackdown October 27th 2006

The beginning of the short lived Undertaker & Kane Vs Kennedy & MVP feud, where they would keep mixing up the two feuds. Wish they had turned it into an actual tag feud after both singles feuds got done, but given the fact Undertaker was winning the RR in a couple of months, there wouldn't have been any time for a tag feud between them unless both singles feuds got cut short and they had a tag match at Armageddon.

Kennedy tries the methodical approach; circling Kane and kicking the legs, but an uppercut from Kane gets things going in a different direction lol.

Kane dominates, while Kennedy keeps trying to go to the legs any time he sees an opening, but the striking ability of Kane keeps him on top for the majority of the match up to this point (OMG SIMILAR TO TEH UNDERTAKER!). Kane even does one of The Undertaker's spots when he goes for a boot in the corner, and catches his leg on the top rope! Kane tries to fight back, but the leg is now hurt and Kennedy is fantastic imo at creating a limb injury and going to work on it.

Loving Kennedy's offence while targeting the leg/knee of Kane here. He even hits something I don't think I have ever seen before, and considering I have watched a fair amount of Malenko matches (one of the very best leg workers in the business imo), I'm pretty surprised.

Its not just Kennedy that is good in the match though, Kane does a good job at selling the leg, and I love his power offence when he makes a comeback.

Just as Kane has things going his way, MVP (who was originally supposed to be in this match) shows up to try and help Kennedy. It doesn't quite work out though, at least not at first. Kane fights both off, but a chair shot to the knee puts him down long enough for a three count.

Really, really good shit here. I know Kane's list of greatest matches isn't too big, but this needs to be added to it.

Rating: ***1/2

The Undertaker & Kane Vs MVP & Mr Kennedy - Smackdown November 3rd 2006
More Kennedy love from me at the start lol. He and MVP argue on the outside as to who will start the match (neither of them want to lol), so eventually Kennedy "mans up" and gets in the ring with Kane. He looks like he is about to make a move.. and then tags in MVP .

Nice follow up from last week as MVP goes after Kane's legs, but Kane has had a week to rest his legs, so the kicks don't bother him enough to stop him throwing out those uppercuts that I really adore.

The Undertaker gets a tag, and Kennedy quickly tags out again, leaving MVP terrified once again. MVP dances around Undertaker, punches him in the face to no effect, and then gets revenge for the start of the match by running away and tagging Kennedy in .

Kennedy and MVP try to work over the Dead Man, but it ends up with both of them getting taken out when Kane comes in to join the fun. This is too much for them, so they decided to walk away and get counted out. Much better to lose a match than continue to get beaten I guess lol.

Wait! Its not over yet! Teddy Long comes out and restarts the match! After a break Kennedy and MVP psych each other up and run to the ring, only for Kennedy to stop and let MVP go in against both Brothers of Destruction. Gotta love the dynamic between MVP and Kennedy. They are both heels, and both need each other in this match, but won't hesitate to sell the other down the river in order to save their arse.

Poor MVP . Ever since the match restarted, he has been in the ring taking all the punishment. Kennedy only gets in the ring to break up a count, and then to low blow Kane to get DQ'd. Seems the match is over again, but nope! Restarted with No DQ and No Countouts!!!

This time Undertaker and Kane don't wait for Kennedy and MVP to come to them; they take the right to the two cowards on the outside. The match goes a different direction to how its been so far, as now the story is focused on Undertaker and Kane trying to out-do each other rather than focusing on the dynamic of MVP and Kennedy.

Mr Kennedy does what I have found he does really well; he creates an opening and allows MVP and Kennedy to control Kane. Doesn't last very long at all, but I still like the fact that Kennedy was able to pull something out of nowhere to help out himself and MVP in the match.

Facial expressions have been a HUGE part of this match too, especially in making it so good. MVP constantly being shit scared, Kane looking like he is the happiest monster alive as he tries to out-do Undertaker at beating up their opponents, and Undertaker looking constantly pissed off every time MVP or Kennedy try to attack him.

The match finally gets a real ending with Undertaker hitting a Tombstone on Kennedy. Shame it had to end, because I was absolutely fucking loving every second of it. It got plenty of time, the restarts were great and didn't seem out of place or overbooked etc, the action and pace was fantastic, the facial expressions were wonderful, and the dynamic between both teams was awesome. The ONLY thing that could have made it better would have been a longer period of time with the heels in control. Other than that, awesome. I think I just found another match for my list .

Rating: ***

Gregory Helms Vs Jimmy Wang Yang - Smackdown November 3rd 2006

Really like their Armageddon match, so this should be good.

Yang starts things off with a super quick arm drag, and Helms has a smile on his face, almost as if he is impressed with his opponent. Personally I think it was because he believed he finally had some competition in the CW division, something that had been lacking BIG TIME in the last few months. Hardy was the only competition to Helms for the last few months, and that wasn't about the CW title because Hardy was too heavy lol.

No real psychology here, or any big story, just a fast pace and a crap load of awesome moves, mainly from Yang because he believes a win here will get him a title shot somewhere down the line.

For some reason Sylvan Gayfrenchguy shows up and distracts the ref when Yang has a cover, allowing Helms to eventually pick up the win. I'm sure its either building to something or I missed something in previous weeks by not watching anything to do with the french dude.

Rating: *1/2


Finlay Vs Batista - Smackdown November 10th 2006

Its Finlay, motherfuckers! Been looking forward to this match since I believe either Andy or Viva, or maybe both, or maybe even neither (in which case, who the fuck was it?) have said this was a pretty great match. Nice to see it being billed as a big main event match too, when they announced it last week and then all through the show leading up to it we saw video packages of the history between them (Finlay busting open and destroying Batista, Batista going ape shit after Finlay to get revenge etc). Plus with everything Finlay did with Lashley, it will be interesting to see how good he can make Batista look here.

Batista is pissed off, but doesn't really bring the HATE~! I thought he would. Instead he locks up with Finlay and throws him to the matt, knocks him down with a shoulder block, and pushes him against the ropes while trash talking him. I guess he is gonna take him time with him lol.

Its unusual to see Finlay getting dominated like this, even in his matches with Lashley he never got off to such a bad start. Seems Batista has focused his hate and is using it to control and dominate the Irish bastard.

Good to see Batista bringing out some moves we don't usually see from him, I'm guessing Finlay did a bit of training with him while they were both on SD. Also nice to see Batista focus on a body part. Loved the spot where Finlay jumped off the apron and got caught in a bear hug, and Batista decided "fuck it", threw him off and kicked him in the face . After all, you can't win by submission on the outside!

Hornswoggle is the difference maker here, hitting Batista in the leg with the Shillelagh. Finlay wastes no time targeting it.

Batista has a great hard fought comeback, having to put everything into his moves in order to keep Finlay at bay. He continues to sell the leg all the way too, even when he went for a running powerslam. Instead of running with him on his shoulder, he just moves about one pace and has to slam him down there and then instead. Might not have been something Batista meant to do, but I saw it as selling .

The Batista Bomb is out of the equation for Batista as Finlay can easily clip the knee while in the position for it, plus Batista might not even have the strength to get him up now, so a Spinebuster does the job instead.

Great stuff, I can see why it was being pimped as a great TV match. Not the best I have seen from Finlay so far this year, but probably the best from Batista in singles action.

Rating: ***1/2

Paul London Vs William Regal - Smackdown November 17th 2006

What's a show in England without Regal?

While I would now say I prefer Finlay to Regal, when Regal gets the chance to be himself in the ring, there really aren't many people I would rather be watching. His suplexes are epic, that kick he does to the head of his opponents while they are against the ring post is epic. His arm work his great. His stiff elbows, punches and knees are worthy. And when he is in the ring with someone who call sell his shit like London can, there is nothing better.

at London jump kicking Regal in the head, and he landed on the mat after the kick, and because Regal always falls weird when he sells he actually fell on top of London!

Ashley on the outside gets taken out accidentally by London, and when Kendrick comes to help her, London is distracted and gets a knee to the head. Remember the whole Ashley/London/Kendrick "love" angle they did for like, 3 weeks? Whatever happened to that lol? Did they both run out of weed and realise she looks like a man with tits?

Really fun match here, nice stiff shit from Regal. I adore his offence.

Rating: **


Kane Vs MVP - Street Fight - Smackdown November 17th 2006

I have fond memories of this match lol, hope it stays just as fun as I remembered it being .

Oh yeah, its just as fucking awesome as I remembered. Mainly thanks to one thing... a phone booth. MVP sends Kane into it and shuts the door, then trash talks Kane. Kane just stands there, and then from out of nowhere (I didn't expect it since I only remembered the spot AFTER this one) Kane just pushes his hands through the glass right into MVP's face!!! Reminded me of a comedy spot in some big action movie lol, maybe something that Blade would have done .

And the other spot I do remember with the phone booth is when Kane throws MVP into it, and then pushes the booth over. Gotta admit that wasn't nearly as spectacular as I remembered it, but it doesn't help that the spot before it was a complete surprise to me.

The next part of the match is a usual WWE street fight, with Kane smashing MVP into everything he sees and generally beating the fuck out of him. MVP fights back with the ring bell, but that doesn't even put a stop to Kane. Ever since coming to SD a few months back (after losing to Umaga and having to leave Raw), he really has been booked like a monster. Shame that kind of booking didn't continue for very long.

In the end, its Kennedy that is the difference maker when he runs down to help MVP pick up the win after both of them run through Kane with the steel steps. I still think we should have gotten a tag match on PPV out of this. Something similar to their SD match a couple of weeks ago, with a FIP segment and only one finish.

Undertaker comes out to help Kane, and Kennedy throws MVP into the ring and its a double chokeslam for him.

Fun match, really entertaining with some memorable spots.

Rating: **


Matt Hardy Vs Gregory Helms - Smackdown November 17th 2006

I like this episode of Smackdown . All we need now is a Finlay match, and its like, everything good about SD in 06!

Match starts with Helms jumping Hardy, literally JUMPING him lol, when he comes off the ropes with a dropkick after taunting the crowd. He beats the fuck out of Hardy like we have seen before, only this time it doesn't come across as "I need to beat you!!!", rather "why the fuck am I still wrestling you? I beat you!".

Call back spot to their last singles match on SD when Helms used the ropes to get the win, only this time the referee sees and stops counting. The referee keeps going off on Helms for all the things he is doing, and it puts him off his game long enough for the Twist of Fate to put him down for good.

A little short, but they still manage to fit in everything we have come to expect from them.

Rating: *1/2

Bobby Lashley & Batista Vs King Booker & Finlay - Smackdown November 17th 2006

Yey, Finlay! With Lashley and Batista as his opponents! Shame Booker is his partner, but hopefully he can surprise me and be good again.

Batista and Finlay start things off, and Batista wastes little time going back to the back of Finlay that he worked on in their match last week. Lengthy babyface shine period here too, as both Finlay and Booker take a beating, with Finlay receiving more punishment than Book. Awesome to see the double one arm suplex from Lashley and Batista again too.

Lashley makes a mistake against Finlay by getting caught in the ring apron, something that Finlay is pretty well known for doing. This leads to a FIP segment, and some time in the ring for Booker too, who again manages to impress me by NOT sucking as much as he normally does .

Batista gets a hot tag eventually, and we get a nice finishing stretch with some false finishes, including one where Sharmell hits Batista in the head with the sceptre. He managed to kick out and still hit Booker with a spinebuster for a big win over the champ going into Survivor Series.

Good tag match to end a really good show.

Rating: ***


MVP Vs Kane - Steel Cage Match - Smackdown November 24th 2006

Simple formula here. Kane wants to destroy MVP, and MVP wants to escape. And they stick to that all the way through . Any time MVP mounts an offence, he quickly goes to escape either through the door or over the top, while Kane doesn't seem interested in leaving at all.

Nothing special here though, just a very basic TV cage match, but I'm a fan of both guys and I have been enjoying their feud so I am a little invested in it and probably enjoying it more than I would have if I had skipped ahead to this match without seeing anything else from them.

I like how they continue to stick to the simple formula I mentioned right until the end. MVP only manages to escape when Kane makes a mistake by trying to Chokeslam MVP from the ropes, and to do that he had to bring MVP up to the ropes, which gave MVP the chance to climb out and he took it.

Rating: *3/4


Gregory Helms Vs Jimmy Wang Yang - Smackdown November 24th 2006

SPOTS~!

But its fun, like, really fun . Plenty of great sequences, with a nice big moonsault from the ropes to the outside by Yang, and some great aggressive shit from Helms.

Like their last match, its a lot like how their Armageddon match ends up being, only this match is longer than their previous match and a hell of a lot better, especially the finishing stretch.

Rating: **3/4

Brian Kendrick Vs William Regal - Smackdown November 24th 2006

Fuck yeah. Lets see how good Kendrick can bump for Regal too lol.

Brian actually puts up a good fight, unlike his tag partner the week before lol. He actually controls Regal for the early part, but some vicious knees and elbows to the face of Kendrick soon put him in his place.

Holy shit. I thought the suplex Regal did to London last week looked epic, but Kendrick took it even better this week. I think he actually landed on his head and bounced.

Regal brings out some shit I have never seen from him or, well, anyone before lol, and it looked awesome too. Kendrick went for a dropkick or something (he was in the air anyway), and Regal dove at him and kicked his legs while he was still in the air and Kendrick came crashing down to the mat.

BLOOD~! Quick, get the EMT's out here to... wait, no, this is 2006 bitches! Regal is bleeding, and he reacts to being busted open by stomping the fuck out of Brian's face.

Kendrick does a great job of staying in the match all the way through, and even hits his sliced bread #2 move or whatever lame name it had, but Taylor gets in the ring to distract him. After some action on the outside with Taylor and London, Regal comes back with his running knee and gets the win.

Its stiff, its brutal, its back and forth, its fucking awesome. Makes the London/Regal match from last week look like shit. Considering voting for this.

Rating: ***1/4


Chris Benoit Vs Finlay - Smackdown November 24th 2006

This bad boy is already high on my list... but will a re-watch make me change its position?

Ya know, I remember saying that last week's SD was pretty awesome. But based on the last 2 matches and then this, combined with the entertaining cage bout... this might very well be the best SD ever for quality lol.

Hard to talk about this one without going into play by play mode (pretty sure I said this the last time I reviewed one of their matches lol), so I'll keep it simple.

Its manly and stiff. Finlay does some wonderful leg work, and Benoit sells like one of the best sellers ever that he is. Benoit ends up bleeding too, but not his face, no, instead he is cut on his side from being shoved hard as fuck into the steel steps.

Its the last SD before Survivor Series, and Benoit has a US title defence against Chavo. You would think Benoit wouldn't take many risks so he can stay as healthy as possible while wrestling a guy like Finlay. Nah. The history between these two and the sheer competitiveness comes into play and Benoit doesn't give a fuck about SS, he is focused on tonight, on Finlay. This is pretty evident when he hits a suicide (OMG) dive without hesitation. He doesn't give a shit about his match with Chavo right now, he gives a fuck about the Irish Bastard in the ring with him who will kill him if given the chance.

Chavo and Vickie come out, and Finlay uses the distraction to pick up the win.

Epic stuff, just like I remembered. Rating and placement on my list remains the same . And I still think its a tiny bit better than their March match, but not by much at all.

Rating: ****1/4

MNM Vs Brian Kendrick & Paul London - Smackdown December 1st 2006

Is this the start of the year again? Nope, its just MNM back together!

This match really is just a big flashback to earlier in the year lol. Babyface shine period to begin with, one of them makes a mistake with a high risk move, heel beatdown begins, then a finishing stretch. And like earlier in the year, its great. Just great, solid tag team wrestling .

Only thing that "taints" it is the interference from Regal and Taylor, but hell, that consisted of a running knee from Regal, so it was awesome . MNM get the win.

Rating: **1/2


Batista Vs King Booker Vs Finlay - WHC - Smackdown December 1st 2006

What a way for Batista to have his first title defence, just days after winning it. And this isn't even the main event!

Winning the title a couple of days ago has lit a fire under Batista, and given the fact this is a triple threat match, Batista needs that fire more than ever if he is to retain. He doesn't waste a single second going after both his opponents (who haven't gotten along for over a month at least by now, so there was maybe only a small chance they would have teamed up to begin with), to make sure he controls the match from the get go.

Booker gets some time alone with Batista, but he ends up on the outside and in comes Finlay to have a go at Batista too. Amazing DDT from Finlay (the kind Orton does these days, with someone on the ropes), and even though this is 4 years old and I know the result, my heart still skipped a beat when the ref was so close to counting to 3 and crowning Finlay the new champ lol. I really wish the guy had at least been given the ECW title last year.

King Booker's return to the match spot is rather splendid; Batista goes after Finlay who is on the apron, and Booker comes out of nowhere with a scissors kick to Batista who's neck is across the ropes. Saw the same spot against 'Taker a while ago, but it was set up better here.

The moment where Booker and Finlay finally get some time alone is great too. They stare at each other, trash talk, then Finlay headbutts his former King and a brawl between them erupts.

Finlay gets taken out again and Booker/Batista get some more time in the ring. Another great moment happens not long after that, with Hornswoggle showing up, running into the ring which confuses the fuck out of Batista and Booker, and allows Finlay to come in unseen to hit both opponents with the Shillelagh!

But in the end, after a couple of attempts due to his leg being hurt from the Shillelagh shot, Batista gets Finlay up in a Batista Bomb and retains his belt in probably his best match not including The Undertaker or Triple H. Dammit, yet another match I want on my list...

Rating: ****


MVP Vs The Undertaker - Smackdown December 1st 2006

A few days ago at SS, Undertaker lost to Mr Kennedy in a first blood match, when MVP's chair shot aimed at Kennedy accidentally hit Undertaker. Tonight is payback for Undertaker.

As much as I loved JBL as an announcer, if he mentioned one more fucking time that the last time he wrestled Undertaker he got Tombstoned in the steps and a billion stitches in his head, I'm going to kill someone. Firstly, we know. We remember. We loved it. Secondly, you are wrong. The last time you fought Undertaker was on SD in 2005, and you didn't get the Tombstone on the steps in that match, you fat moron.

Pretty much what I expected here at the start. MVP tries to get the advantage early on, Undertaker shrugs it off and drops MVP with a single punch, then goes to work on the bastard that made him bleed and lose to Kennedy.

Undertaker is so pissed off he even resorts to heel tactics when he removes a turnbuckle pad and has every intention of smashing MVP's face into it. The threat of having his face smashed in forces MVP to fight back, and he delivers some pretty damn good looking punches, almost Undertaker like with the body shots in the corner. A massive clothesline puts a stop to any offence MVP was doing though, and Undertaker goes out for a chair, causing MVP to get the hell out of there.

Mr Kennedy runs down though, and tries to throw MVP into the ring, but MVP reverses it and Kennedy is sent into the ring with a very angry Dead Man! MVP laughs, but its short lived as Kane comes out and the Brothers of Destruction go to work on the two young superstars before they manage to escape.

Seriously. Tag team PPV match. Should have happened instead of the inferno and last ride matches tbh!

Rating: 3/4*

London & Kendrick Vs William Regal & Dave Taylor - Smackdown December 8th 2006

Regal had a good singles match with London and a fantastic match with Kendrick; time to see how well they do in tag team action with Taylor thrown in there too!

Damn, flashback to Arn & Tully Vs The Rockers for the first few minutes!!!

After a short babyface shine period (where Taylor looks genuinely shocked that he was backed into a corner and double teamed ), the two rough and tough English bastards make things go their way through cheating and Regal's awesome offence .

Nice to see the match get some time, so we see a pretty lengthy FIP segment, and plenty of Regal & Taylor preventing the hot tag from Londrick. Plus it means more Regal kneeing the fuck out of someone. I think I mark for Regal's knees lol. I mark for Steamboat's arm drags, Angle's overhead belly to belly suplexes (doesn't mean I like how he uses them constantly for no reason though lol), and I now mark for Regal's knees.

The hot tag finally gets made, and Kendrick hits his buttered toast #2 or whatever the fuck its called, and nearly gets the win. Regal realises they are in trouble, and looks over at Ashley. He knows she is the biggest weakness of Londrick, and he proves himself to be right as London goes to protect her, causing Brian to be distracted by what they are doing, allowing Taylor to pick up the win. Shame the titles weren't on the line .

Damn, this is another awesome tag match from SD 2006, and fuck, another god damn match I want on my list! Stop it SD!

Rating: ***1/2


Batista Vs Finlay - Smackdown December 8th 2006
Their last singles match was great, and I mentioned that someone (most likely Andy or Viva) pimped it as being really good. And it was. BUT... maybe THIS is the match they were talking about, so it could actually be better!

They lock up to begin with, and when they break, Finlay shoves Batista and slaps him, which makes Batista slap the fuck out of Finlay to show him that he isn't a pushover and he won't take any shit. He is the world champ after all!

JBL describes the match as being similar to a chess match, and he is right. The early going is all about both guys trying to position themselves into the advantage where they can hopefully get a check mate down the line. Batista looks real good to begin with, but the old chess master Finlay takes what Batista has been doing and makes it help him.

They keep going back and forth for what seems to be a very long time for a TV match, and neither man gets a clear advantage for too long. Then when Batista catches Finlay coming off the ropes in a bear hug, throws him off and boots him in the face (one of my favourite things from their last match), Finlay goes out of his way to attack that arm and finally gets a control segment.

Comeback from Batista, followed by Batista taking out Hornswoggle, and then a run in from Booker which ends up in a big double team on the champ.

Well, I think I am safe in saying that their previous match WAS the one pimped as being great. This is good, but not as good as their other match. Not really a fan of how it ended either, but I guess it was to build to the Armageddon tag match.

Rating: ***


Jamie Noble Vs Jimmy Wang Yang - Smackdown December 8th 2006

#1 contenders match for Armageddon. Yang has had a couple of really good matches with Helms so far, and since I already know the outcome, he will go on to have another good match with Helms on PPV. But first, he needs to go through Noble in what should be a good match given the talen involved.

Short but very fun match. Yang's offence is great to watch, and Noble is good at grounding his high flying opponents to make the match more than just SPOTS~!. Would have been nice if it was longer, but I guess I can't really complain lol.

Rating: *


Kane Vs Mr Kennedy - Smackdown December 8th 2006

Its Kane all the way for the first half of the match, and then Kennedy once again puts a smile on my face with his transition spot by drop kicking Kane off the apron into the guardrail.

Now its time for a Kennedy control segment that I am loving more and more every time it happens . Fuck Orton for getting the guy fired. He should still be around and should be a main eventer dammit!

MVP runs out to get him some of Kane in a 2 on 1 situation, then the lights go out, Kane disappears, and his pyro hits while MVP stands alone in the ring realising that at Armageddon those flames will be all around the ring and not just in the 4 corners. Kennedy ran off like a pussy btw .

Rating: *3/4

Brian Kendrick, Paul London & Jimmy Wang Yang Vs William Regal, Dave Taylor & Gregory Helms - Smackdown December 15th 2006
Fun start with Kendrick and London hitting some of their offence on Helms, but the match really gets good when Regal gets a cheap shot in on Kendrick, and then with Taylor's help works on Mauling one half of the tag champs.

Helms even gets in on some of the action with some stiff kicks and knees of his own . More stiffness from this team than a gay gangbang (or so Viva tells me ).

When the tide turns and the babyfaces are in control, Regal and Taylor decide its in their best interests to leave before getting hurt, to save themselves for the PPV. Unfortunately it means that Helms is left alone, and ultimately loses .

Too short to be anything great, but what we got was good, and was a nice build to Armageddon.

Rating: *3/4


The Undertaker & Kane Vs Mr Kennedy & MVP - Smackdown December 15th 2006
Its happening again! Still not on PPV... but the show before a PPV, so its almost like what I wanted .

Interesting to see Undertaker actually playing the FIP at one point during the match, how often does THAT happen? And how does it transition into him in trouble? Kennedy. Kennedy is the one who distracts Undertaker long enough for MVP to counter Old School.

When Kane gets a tag I laughed a little at Undertaker's reaction. He was in control of MVP at the time, and Kane made a blind tag. MVP didn't see it, but Undertaker did, and he looks at Kane as if to say "WTF Bro? Its my kill!" .

Pretty disappointed with the match overall, as it ends with a... double countout/no contest/something when Undertaker chases MVP backstage and Kennedy works over Kane on the outside. Kennedy then tried to run down Kane in the hearse, but the lights go out, and when they come back on the Dead Man is sat in the hearse! Awesome spot lol, followed by another awesome one when Kane sits up after the gong sounds. MVP and Kennedy get the fuck out of there.

Decent action before the finish, and while I'm disappointed, the finish was there to help build up to the PPV, something that SD has been really good at all year tbh.

Rating: *3/4


Finlay Vs John Cena - Smackdown December 15th 2006
No doubt this match has Andy marking like mad. Hope its as good as Andy thinks it could be!

Lolz at the Hornswoggle shit in this match. Finlay brings him out, launches him at Cena, who catches him and launches him back at Finlay, who moves (nice of him lol), leaving Hornswoggle to land on JBL who goes apeshit and tries to beat the midget with his hat of all things. Really entertaining moment to break up the match. I guess this is where JBL's hate for Hornswoggle first began, and it took him 2 years before he could get his revenge!

The match, ahh the match. Everything looks like it hurt. Finlay's offence because, well, he probably was really laying it in, and Cena because the guy is so strong that a slam from him looks like it could break the ring. Add to that the fact that Finlay probably told Cena to work a little stiff too, and you just know both men came out of this one hurting.

Only thing I didn't really like about the match was Cena kicking out of Finlay's finisher, especially after going shoulder first into the steel ring post. Don't really know why I was bothered about it, maybe because after taking the move and kicking out he hits his own, incredibly shitty finisher and gets the win, or the fact that it didn't need to happen at all (would have been better on the PPV maybe). Aside from that, I enjoyed the match, but probably not as much as Andy will when he sees it .

Rating: ***

The Undertaker & Kane Vs Finlay & King Booker - Smackdown December 22nd 2006
Why oh why couldn't Regal have been teaming with Finlay?

Booker and Undertaker start, with Booker on the losing end of the offence. Undertaker hits Old School, and Finlay runs into the ring, so Undertaker grabs him and goes for Old School on him too, as if to say "You wanna come in the ring? Ok, then you can feel my fucking wrath as well".

Awesome to see Undertaker and Finlay exchange blows a little here before their match in 2007 that I really like. Doesn't last nearly as long though since Kane gets tagged in, but Undertaker seems to be on a mission to destroy the Irishman for running into the ring when he wasn't legal, so he does the same and goes right for the head of Finlay with rights and lefts .

Ok, seems Undertaker is pissed off in general, as it isn't just Finlay he attacks illegally lol. Booker happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Undertaker lands his massive apron leg drop just for the hell of it. Maybe he is upset that all he got to do a few days earlier at Armageddon was beat the living shit out of Kennedy, while his brother Kane got to set a man on fire .

Finlay and Booker get a little revenge on Undertaker by trying to take him out while Kane is the legal man. Really great back and forth action all the way through so far, non stop entertainment!

Booker gets control of Kane in the ring, and Finlay notices that Undertaker is getting up again on the outside, so he walks over to him and kicks him in the face to make sure he doesn't interfere with what Booker is doing in the ring. Awesome tag work imo.

Fuck me, no wonder Undertaker and Finlay end up having a match in 2007... Finlay is a relentless motherfucker with the Dead Man on the outside; even the Shillelagh is brought into the beat down of Undertaker!

Really interesting to see a hot tag being built up both in the ring with Kane trying to survive 2 opponents and outside the ring with Undertaker trying to get back to his corner. Don't think I have ever seen it happen before or since lol!

'Taker gets his revenge by Tombstoning the fuck out of Finlay to pick up the win.

Wow. Didn't expect the match to be anywhere near THIS good. Its fucking incredible tbh. Out of all the matches I have said I want to put on my list from the last month of shows, this one has the greatest chance of making it.

Rating: ***3/4

Chris Benoit vs Finlay - Smackdown 03.05.2006

Just a really stiff and intesne battle between two fighters. Nothing pretty or mind boggingly hard to understand other than two men beating each other up for entertainment.

***1/2

Chris Benoit vs Finlay - Smackdown 24.11.2006

Still not as high as others are on these Benoit vs Finlay matches but I did prefer it to their other matches from 06. Benoit's excellent leg selling was a great addition from their other matches and the action flowed a bit better here I thought.

***3/4

Rey Mysterio vs Finlay - Smackdown 21.03.2006
Right I'm clearly nowhere near as high on Finlay as guys like cal and Andy are, not that I dont like his style or anything cause I do but I'm not major lovin for him like some guys do. I liked him a lot more than usual here though. His beatdown on Rey came off really well and Rey is the ideal guy for someone like Finlay to clobber on in a match. First few minutes I really liked with Finlay taking Rey lightly and looking pissed off when the little guy started hitting him back. Finish with Orton's interference is really well done and the RKO spot looked cool.

***1/2

Rey Mysterio vs Randy Orton - World Heavyweight Championship - Smackdown 04.04.2006
Possibly one of my favourite non gimmick match singles performance from Orton here. Since sometime in 2007 I've found him quite frankly unbearable at times but pre 07 Orton is actually really good at times I've realised recently. His immediate selling after impact from some of Rey's moves is really good and he does this amazing little smirk a couple of times in the match when he realises Rey is hurt and that he has the upper hand. I adored Orton countering Rey's springboard attempt with a super sweet dropkick that looked insanely awesome. He did another one when Rey was in mid flight later on in the match that looked really cool too. Great chemistry between the two with some really good counter wrestling and both men making the other look great. Easily better than the WM main event with Angle less than a week before.

***3/4+

JBL vs Chris Benoit - US Championship - Steel Cage Match - Smackdown 11.04.2006
Another great example of how great cage matches on TV can be. I'm not a fan of cage matches on PPV but they make perfect TV matches. JBL plays the cowardly heel role great and I loved the start of the match with JBL trying to escape the cage from Benoit and playing the game of cat and mouse. Easily the best formula for a cage match when you've got a strong heel in there for me. Some of Benoit's chops are just scary at times with how viscous they are. Lots of top rop moves while the other is trying to climb out of the cage. The top rope german suplex was a favourite near the end of the match. Finish worked really well too with the Jillian stuff thrown in too. Dont normally like the cage door coming into play as an escape method but it works fantastically here with JBL literally squirming out of the cage door. Perfect for his character. The throwback to the Mania match with JBL rolling the corssface into a pin but not getting the 3 this time because of not having the ropes to hold onto was great and also showed that JBL wouldn't be the champ without cheating. Nice twist with the heel still winning despite Jillian almost costing him the match. Nice storyline and character advancment here along with it being a really awesome TV match.

***3/4+