Skip to main content

October Countdown: WWE No Mercy 2006

The SmarK Rant for WWE No Mercy 2006

- One of the cool things about 24/7 is that they not only show stuff from the past, but from the present, like PPVs on a 4-month delay, for instance. Hey, better to pay nothing and wait a while than $40 and get screwed by a bad show. And I'm a month late in reviewing this, as the current offering is Survivor Series 2006, but that's the beauty of a DVD recorder. I LOVE technology.  (Thankfully I recorded a TON of stuff off 24/7 over the course of the few years that I had access to it, although cataloguing is not my strong suit so it’ll basically be a case of one day going to watch a random Boston Garden house show and having an episode of World Class stuck at the end as well.  I love surprises like that!  Also, for those of you super-obsessive ultra-nerds out there who keep track of this sort of thing, this was the first rant done where the formatting was 100% compliant with my current formatting, so I only had to cut-and-paste instead of the numerous changes I usually have to make with these things.) 

- Live from North Carolina University.

- Your hosts are Michael Cole & JBL

Opening match: Matt Hardy v. Gregory Helms

Non-title match here. Lockup to start and Helms takes Matt down, but gets his doo rag knocked off as a result. Oh, now it's on. Funny how making Helms into a faux superhero with a catchphrase and merchandise did nothing for his career, but actually letting him win matches got him over. It's almost like it's rocket science or something.  (Yeah, well he went crawling back to the Hurricane character like a drunk guy stumbling back into the bar for one last drink, and then in Helms’ case driving home on his motorcycle afterwards and nearly dying.  Hang on, I think I lost my metaphor in there somewhere.)  Helms gets a cheapshot and stomps away in the corner, but Matt suplexes him and wins a slugfest. Elbowdrop gets two. Matt puts him out with a clothesline and follows with a pescado. Back in, Matt yanks him out of the corner into a powerbomb for two, but Helms hotshots him to stop the rally. Neckbreaker gets two. Blind charge hits elbow, but Matt gets too frisky and tries to go up, which allows Helms to bring him down with a Russian legsweep for two. Helms locks the arms and throws knees on the mat, which would actually be a pretty wicked submission move, (Austin Aries would agree.) but it goes nowhere and he switches to choking instead.

They trade knees and Helms takes him down with a jawjacker for two. He takes Matt down with a wristlock/chinlock combo, but Matt escapes with an inverted DDT and they slug it out. Matt comes back with a corner clothesline into a bulldog for two, and that sets up the Yodeling Legdrop for another near fall. Twist of Fate is reversed for two and Helms follows with an Unprettier for two. Again, but he stalls and goes up, which allows Matt to catch him coming down and get the Side Effect for two. Another one as we go all Japan with the repeated finishers, and Matt goes up with a moonsault that hits knee. Shining Wizard misses and Matt rolls him up for two. Another try hits and gets two for Helms. They head to the top and fight up there, and Matt wins the battle but loses the war, as Helms crotches him on the top and then hits him with a knee strike to bring him down for two. Sweet. They fight for the finisher and Matt wins with the Twist, and that's finally enough.

(Matt Hardy d. Gregory Helms, Twist of Fate -- pin, 13:07, ***1/2) Started slow but they gave it time and it built very nicely, leading to a good finishing sequence. Sadly, it meant nothing and was forgotten the next day. (Just like Tammy Sytch’s rehab.) 

Meanwhile, King Booker tasks Sir William Regal with making sure that he slays the three evil dragons tonight and ensuring his title remains in the kingdom.

Smackdown tag titles: Brian Kendrick & Paul London v. KC James & Idol Stevens

Man, James and Stevens sure didn't stick around long, did they? (Ah, but Idol Stevens was just waiting to grow out his awesome beard before returning as our intellectual savior Damien Sandow.  DID I JUST BLOW YOUR MIND?  Probably not.)  Idol slugs on London to start, but gets caught with a rana out of nowhere and it's some double-teaming by the champs. JBL really goes for the Obscure Reference of the Week award by comparing the champs to Steve & Shaun Simpson. Who the hell is gonna remember THEM? (JBL compares EVERY team to the Simpson brothers. That’s his whole thing.)  James comes in and also gets double-teamed, as London & Kendrick hold them off with spinkicks, and then dump them and follow with stereo dives. London goes up and gets caught by Faceless Diva #1 at ringside, and Stevens takes over in the ring with a chinlock.

James comes in with a flying knee to the back, which gets two, and hits the chinlock. Backbreaker gets two. Stevens gets an arm submission on the mat as the vanilla offense continues, and they keep London in their corner. KC misses a blind charge and Stevens is forced to yank Spanky off the apron and prevent a tag, but London escapes and makes it anyway. He dropkicks everyone , but Sliced Bread #2 is blocked while London nails Stevens with a tope suicida. James brings Kendrick down with a superplex for two, but London saves. Heel miscommunication allows Kendrick to get two, but Stevens sneaks in with a backbreaker on Kendrick for two in what I guess was supposed to be the big false finish. Meanwhile, a catfight at ringside between the two women who I couldn't pick out of a lineup if asked gets the crowd more excited than the match to this point, and Kendrick finishes James with a Sliced Bread #2 into a standing moonsault from London to retain.  (Out of curiosity I checked Wikipedia and the women in question were Ashley Massaro and Michelle McCool.   Just in case you care.) 

(London & Kendrick d. James & Stevens, Kendrick Sliced Bread -- pin James, 9:34, **1/2) Never really got anywhere because the challengers were mostly of the punch-and-kick variety of offense, and I guess the fact that they went back to whence they came soon after this speaks to that. Cole & JBL spent the whole match putting the champs over, which also left little doubt as to the outcome.

Meanwhile, William Regal searches for Finlay, but finds Vito jumping rope instead. Hilarity ensues.

Teddy Long joins us with a birthday present for the Miz, who JBL burns by calling him a Terry Taylor wannabe. Oh, that's mean. To both guys, really. (And to think Miz would be headlining Wrestlemania just four years after this.)  Long brings out Faceless Diva #3, who apparently won the Diva Search last year, and gives Miz a lapdance. (That would be Layla, in fact.)  Well, that explains how she won. To the shock of no one, the giant birthday present opens and reveals Big Dick Johnson, which is apparently supposed to be hilarious. Have I mentioned how awesome it is that I can at least watch this crap for free instead of paying $40 for it like people had to do in October?

MVP v. Marty Garner

Yes, the screwing of the fans continues, as they debut MVP with a squash match on a PPV. He takes Garner down with a snapmare for two, but stops to work out. The crowd decisively turns on the match already, as MVP pounds him in the corner and gets a lariat. He finishes with Elix Skipper's Play of the Day.

(MVP d. Marty Garner, neckbreaker -- pin, 2:27, DUD) JBL, despite being the heel announcer, completely buries MVP the whole match, which is kinda cool and probably why he was so effective in that role. I know the match was designed for fans to hate it and turn on it, but I like watching shows and ENJOYING matches, not being manipulated into reacting to them in ways I don't want. Also, MVP has the worst look for a supposed mid-to-top-level heel that I've ever seen, with his ridiculous outfit and cornrows.  (I think that was supposed to be the point, or something, I’m not sure.  The whole MVP thing went way over my head because as everyone knows, I live in the bubble and don’t watch sports outside of hockey, and I never got into him until he got really good and then quit right after.) 

Meanwhile, the Regal-Vito saga continues, as Regal is showering for no apparent reason (I guess to clean off the ketchup and mustard from the last segment) and runs into a naked Vito, the result of which is getting put into a match with Chris Benoit.

Mr. Kennedy v. Undertaker

Another non-title match, as Kennedy was US champion at this point. (Ken Anderson was US CHAMPION!?!  When the fuck did THAT happen?  Why do I not remember this at all?)  Wow, nothing makes me want to buy a show more than champions not defending their titles. Taker quickly goes after Kennedy, attacking him in the corner and chasing him to the floor for a quick brawl, and back in for a slam off an armbar that sends Kennedy running again. Taker sends him into the post to continue on the arm, but goes Old School back in the ring and gets yanked down by Kennedy to take over. Taker goes right back to the arm and tries Old School again, this time successfully. Flatliner gets two, and it's heartening that JBL actually calls it that. The more I hear him on commentary, the more I'm impressed.  (Plus he climbs mountains too.) 

Kennedy gets whipped around and clotheslined down for two, and UT pulls the turnbuckle pad off for good measure. They brawl outside again, and Kennedy still doesn't learn his lesson from last time, as Undertaker is again able to take him into the post and this time hurts the back. Back in, Taker gets two. Kennedy tosses him to buy time and attempts to take the countout, then recovers enough to DDT Undertaker on his way back into the ring. That gets two. Running choke gets two. Kennedy stomps away in the corner and follows with the face wipe, which gets two. Elbows get two. Kennedy makes another error, starting a slugfest, and Taker sends him out of the ring again. Taker legdrops him on the apron, but Kennedy catches him with a piledriver when they head back in. Zombie situp and Kennedy hammers him down for two, then goes to a chinlock. JBL really needed to smack Cole around for calling Kennedy's piledriver a tombstone.

They slug it out as JBL advocates "kicking him in the groin" to slow Undertaker down, but despite this advice Taker is able to come back with a corner clothesline and Snake Eyes. Legdrop gets two. Chokeslam is blocked by Kennedy and countered with a neckbreaker, which gets two. High kick misses and Taker gets his chokeslam, which sets up the Last Ride. Kennedy fights out of that, however, and rams Taker's head into the exposed turnbuckle. Nice continuity there. Kennedy goes up with the Kenton Bomb, and that gets two. Taker revives and Kennedy runs away for his belt, but gets slugged down by Undertaker, who uses the belt to draw the cheap DQ.

(Mr. Kennedy d. Undertaker, beltshot -- DQ, 20:35, **) This was shaping up to be a really good, old style heavyweight match until the shitty finish. They really should have cut it off shorter than 20 minutes if they were gonna do that ending, considering the match had no real big finishing sequence and just ended up being a lot of dull buildup and no payoff.  (Much like Anderson’s career.  High five!  Anyone?) 

Falls Count Anywhere: Chavo Guerrero v. Rey Mysterio

This whole storyline makes me wish they would have given the Kerwin White gimmick another few weeks to see if it clicked. Chavo slugs on Rey to start, but gets dropkicked and they fight on the mat. Rey goes up early and Chavo follows, but can't powerbomb him down. Both guys end up landing on the floor and they start fighting up the aisle. Chavo gains the advantage and tries to powerbomb Rey by the entrance, but Rey grabs onto the scaffolding of the set in a neat counter and takes Chavo down with a rana, for two. Over to the crowd, where Chavo sends him into the sideboards and Rey responds by whipping him into a railing. The railing appears to be there for no reason other than so that Rey can whip Chavo into it and then give him a guillotine legdrop, and they fight down the aisle. Rey tries the Rube Goldberg bulldog in an area with no room to do it, and Chavo swings him into the boards to counter, which gets two. Up the stairs we go, but Rey sends Chavo crashing back down again and follows with the senton off the railing. Chavo comes back with a clothesline as they continue their leisurely walking tour of the arena in lieu of having an actual match. Going "walk walk walk punch, walk walk walk punch" is not exactly the makings of a classic brawl. Over to the rear entrance, where Rey gets a 619 variation and finishes with a high cross off the bleachers.

(Rey Mysterio d. Chavo Guerrero, cross body -- pin, 12:12, **) Really kinda dull and unmotivated for a supposed grudge match, although I guess Rey having only half a knee was probably a factor.  (How scary is it that Rey was falling apart six years ago, and he’s STILL doing the same shit today with even worse knees?  This dude is gonna be in a wheelchair by the time he’s 40.) 

Chris Benoit v. William Regal

This was of course Benoit's return from yet another lengthy injury.  (HIs next injury would be of the permanent type.)  They slug it out to start and Regal grabs a headlock, and that turns into a fight in itself on the mat. Regal tries going for the leg takedown, and they fight over a top wristlock before Regal gets his takedown. I should point out how unspeakably awesome it is that Regal has "Villain" on his tights. They trade bridges on the knucklelock battle and Benoit rolls into a bodyscissors. Note to Michael Cole: The name of the scissors move refers to the body part being attacked, not the body part being used. Thus, wrapping the legs around the body is a "body scissors," not a "leg scissors."

Benoit starts chopping and follows with the german suplex, then headbutts Regal down to bust him open and adds another suplex. Diving headbutt gets two. Yeah, they came to fight tonight. Over to the apron and Regal tries to suplex him out, but Benoit throws knees to block and attempts his own suplex off the apron. Regal counters with a DDT on the apron, and gets two back in the ring. The stiffness continues, as Regal throws knee into a straight punch to drop Benoit, and Benoit fires back with chops into a Sharpshooter attempt. Regal kicks him in the face to escape. Running knee gets two. Regal gets a bizarre abdominal stretch, with a dragon sleeper added in, and it looks mighty painful. Benoit beats him up in the corner to break and CHOPS THE CUT. Oh, come on, that's gold. Regal jumps on his gut with a kneedrop and gets two, and stretches Benoit on the mat. Benoit makes the ropes, so Regal kicks him in the head and gets two. Bow and arrow submission, which Benoit slugs out of, and they fight over a full-nelson until Benoit gets a dragon suplex, into the crossface.

(Chris Benoit d. William Regal, crossface -- submission, 11:15, ***1/2) Kinda surprised that the finish came so soon, as I thought they were just getting warmed up out there. Another 10 minutes and it would have totally stolen the show and been a Match of the Year candidate.

Meanwhile, Regal has to report to his royal Bookerness that he has failed in his quest to find Finlay, but Finlay finds them anyway. Finlay emphasizes that he wants a fight, and Booker blames Regal.

Smackdown World title: King Booker v. Lashley v. Finlay v. Batista.

I think Booker has the advantage in that he at least has two names. Hey, that's as valid an analysis as anything in a worked sport. This was original supposed to be Booker v. Lashley, which probably would have produced the lowest buyrate in history had they not panicked and changed it. Everyone goes after Booker to start, but Finlay decides to start fights and dumps Lashley, then lays out Batista. Booker forges an alliance with Finlay and they work on Batista in the corner, but Lashley saves and catches Booker with a spinebuster for two. He slugs away, but Finlay yanks Booker out of the ring to save him again, and together they ram Lashley into the apron to get rid of him for a while. They should form a team, actually, given that burst of cooperation -- they can call themselves Black Irish! (Still could be used for Sheamus and Kofi or any number of people.)  Back in the ring, they pound on Batista in the corner and Finlay clotheslines him, then turns on Booker and clotheslines him, too. BUT WHAT ABOUT BLACK IRISH?

Finlay gets rid of Batista and goes after Booker, ramming his throat into the apron and buttdropping him for two before Batista saves. Finlay smoothly takes Batista down with a Fujiwara armbar while Booker rolls out to recover,and Finlay even holds on through a samoan drop by Batista. Lashley saves, so Finlay takes HIM down with a leglock, seemingly determined to single-handedly carry this thing. Booker saves with a superkick and gets two on Finlay, but Batista chokes him down. Booker fires back with a nice sidekick for two, but Batista sideslams him for two. Lashley dumps both guys, but since it's not a Royal Rumble he doesn't win yet. Finlay tries attacking, but Lashley fights him off and presses him. However, the Little Bastard makes his appearance and nutshots Lashley, giving Finlay two. Booker saves, but covers Lashley himself for two. Booker and Finlay, unable to agree to disagree on who gets the pin, fight it out in the corner until Batista returns to pound on both of them.

Corner clothesline for Finlay and a Jackhammer for Booker, and only Lashley is left standing now. They do the staredown like it's Hogan and Warrior or something, but it's not like they have any history. Batista spears him for two and works him over in the corner, but Lashley comes back with a spinebuster. Batista ends up bleeding off that fairly innocuous sequence, and Lashley snaps off a nice belly to belly and dumps him with a clothesline. Finlay returns and gets dumped, but Booker sneaks in with a Bookend on Lashley and gets two. Lashley cradles for two. Booker with the flying forearm for two. Axe kick is broken up by Finlay, who bowls Booker over with a clothesline for two. Batista returns with a spinebuster for everyone and opts to hit Finlay with the Batista Bomb, but Lashley stupidly spears Batista away and Booker steals the pin on Finlay to retain.

(Booker d. Lashley, Finlay and Batista, pins Finlay, 16:53, ***1/4) The four-way format actually allowed them to do several short matches instead of one long one, and the small bursts of power stuff actually ended up being quite effective.

The Pulse:

Sure, no one bought the show, but this was actually quite a good PPV, with a shocking number of ***+ matches spread across the card and only one real clunker, and even that was short. Check this one out on DVD.

Recommended show.  (I literally don’t remember anything I just read about.) 

Comments

  1. Wow you have to wait till the 4th match to find someone still with the company, and not one match had people who are both still in the WWE. That's scary when you realize a lot of these guys were supposed to be the future of the company and the show's only 6 years old.. So if I was Ziggler, Cesaro, PTPz, and the other mid to bottom PPV card guys, I would keep that resume ready.

    ReplyDelete
  2. All I remember about the Taker/Kennedy matches (Multiple!Good god why?!)was commenting on how The Kennedy family has poor luck against death, so the outcome was pretty clear.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Or if you were Ziggler, Cesaro, PTPz, etc., I'd just recommend staying away from drugs and doing stupid stuff to get fired, honestly. Most of the guys who are on this show but aren't with WWE anymore were idiots.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Also, Scott, MVP = Most Valuable Player. I think it was a good gimmick and MVP did a great job at playing the character. The outfit was very odd, though, minus the bling-bling around his neck. If you were a bigger sports fan outside of hockey, you might've got more of a kick out of him.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The mid-2000s are generally a blur for me, too, but KC James and Idol Stevens? Absolutely no memory of either guy, let alone that one of them was Sandow.

    ReplyDelete
  6. So wait, of the 19 wrestlers competing on the PPV, two of them are still active full time wrestlers (Shadow and Ray), two are part-timers (Booker and Taker), three of those being among the oldest wrestlers on the show. What the hell?

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's true for some yes, but if you look at this period there were a LOT of guys who came in and got a push, didn't catch on quick and ended up on the alumni page. Idol, James, London, Kendrik, Trevor Murdoch, the three La Resistance guys, several others weren't fired for drugs, and some legitametly were good young guys who just didn't catch on in the first try. Someone made the point, maybe Scott, that guys aren't given the chance to just work their way through the tough early years to get the chance to break through that people used to have. Look at some of the big stars from a few years back Batista started out as just a green guy backing up D-Von and beating up audience members stealing from offering plate, but before he left had caught on and people practically beg to come back as Aces and Eights leader because he was allowed to just work through the crap, and finally broke out. Same with Cena who was just not interesting in his short tights and bland offense, then bam one Halloween skit on Smackdown later he found that hook that got him noticed. I know not every guy will be a huge star, but you just have to give them more than one feud. Hell, Owen Hart was one of my favorites when he died, and he spent almost as many years almost fired or almost giving up, but that Bret feud MADE him.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You forgot about Regal being a part-timer. In general, though, a lot of those guys are still active, or were you just strictly talking WWE?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Just WWE: In need of new stars indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  10. If Scott Steiner + steroids + colored beard = BIG POPPA PUMP, then I imagine Miz + Layla lapdance = BIG POPPA BONER

    ReplyDelete
  11. While I think it's true that some guys need some time to work out the kinks to become really good (in fact, London and Kendrick were given that chance and had a great tag team run until London got fired). But in a case like some of the guys on this show, I think it's kinda surprising that a lot aren't with the company, but the reason that most of them are not there anymore is their own fault, with the exception of a couple:

    Hardy - Head-case, especially as he was leaving WWE
    Helms - I'm guessing creative had nothing for him? *shrugs*
    KC James - Kinda bland, but with some work, who knows?
    London - Laughed at Vince going to the death limo (probably high out of his gourd)
    Kendrick - Huge pothead and seemed to be a lot more trouble than his worth
    MVP - Also a huge pothead, but asked for his release on his own
    Kennedy - Injured all the time. But not quite as over as Batista, so Vince probably didn't think he was worth it to hold on to him
    Chavo - Surprised he ain't retired, but seriously, though, boring (to me) and he lasted a long time with WWE. 9 years is a long time with the same company these days.
    Chris Benoit - Obvious.
    Lashley - asked for his release
    Finlay - I can't honestly remember how he got fired
    Batista - retired

    So 7 out of 12 ended up quitting, asking for a release, or just did stupid shit. And out of the 5 that didn't ask for their own release or did stupid shit, some are still active in wrestling or just simply went on to a different endeavor, or in Helm's case, is inactive for a reason. I have no clue what happened to KC James, though.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Helms is a guy I think could have done well after he left in TNA. They may have even let him bring back the Vertabreaker or the Sugar Smack since I don't recall hearing while he used it he injured anyone. As for KC James, all I remember after his failing on Smackdown was some matches on ECW I believe as James Curtis. I do remember he was one of Braden Walker's only 3 opponents. Chavo was good, he just became very reliant on Eddie's memory in his promos to keep him in the eyes of the fans. And speaking of Guerrerros, I'm still to this day amazed that Vickie was able to take a pittance job that WWE probably gave her temporarily to help with the children when eddie died too soon, and has actually managed to become a fixture and not that bad either. She has that persona that you just want to hate her, which is strange because I used to feel so bad for her being a young widow with three girls. For that I think she deserves some major credit. I only wish her daughter would have panned out because I would love to have scene a Heartbreakers-esque storyline using the two of them. (a romantic comedy that I was forced to watch in order to get my wife to marry me).

    ReplyDelete
  13. I may be wrong but was this Finlay's only World title shot on PPV? I always found him just fun to watch because he was stiff and there's always a use for guys like that to give the sport some look of toughness. Sadly, they put him with Hornswaggle and he ended up as just a sad joke in the end. But I believe I read that he was hired back a short while back as an agent, which hopefully he can help guys learn how to at least look as tough in the ring as you'd think a 250 lb guy would be.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I loved his opening gimmick of not wanting to sign until he was paid more than anyone else, and didn't it end up being he got one dollar more than I think Cena? I know Cena wasn't on the show then, but it seems that was who he wanted more money than. And his outfit I think was a rip on the outfits pro football players wear during camp. That tight fabric with the lighter stripes on the side. I know TO and Moss wore them often and those seem to be the guys his look was molded after.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Kennedy was all zip and no pop. He was awesome from the moment he walked out, through his opening bit, then the bell rang and he just got boring quick. The only thing he ever did I thought were a fun of was his videos he posted during the time he left WWE to when he joined TNA. Now he seems to have molded his look on Hardcore Holly. Though I do believe he may go down as the only man who actually lost his MiTB briefcase to someone else before cashing it in.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I think a lot of football players and baseball players wear the Under Armor stuff as it provides warmth while not being too heavy, so I get that. But everything was just so BRIGHT! In fact, he got made fun of for it by fans, when they chanted Power Ranger at him :P I don't remember the money thing with him, but as ridiculous as it sounds for that to happen, take a look at Drew Brees who kept turning down what, a 21 million dollar per year deal, but finally accepted for 21.1 mil? Obviously, 100k >>> 1 dollar, but it's still ridiculous.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I thought Helms was doing okay in PWG for a bit, or was it Chikara? Before the motorcycle incident, anyway. He also got punished for that whole public intoxication episode with Jericho, but I don't find that to be much of an excuse since Jericho won the damn belt a month later.

    I always preferred Chavo as a babyface because he had some good offense as one, but was just uber bland as a heel. I understand the Eddie/Chavo feud in WWE, and Chavo did fine there, but afterwords, meh.

    I was amazed at how loud the boos were for Vickie when I went to my first wrestling show in 2008, it was just unbelievable. Crazy thing is, but it's definitely believable, is that she seems like the nicest person you'll ever meet backstage. Weird moment to talk about, but I remember people being upset at the fact she did a frog splash at Mania 26. While it didn't make the match better, it was cool to see Vickie play tribute to her husband there and I dug that moment.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Booker vs. Lashley would have been the only all-Black PPV main event WWE has ever done, if I recall.
    There was Booker vs. The Rock, but he's 25% Black, 25% Samoan and 50% kick-ass so that doesn't count.

    ReplyDelete
  19. They were about the jobbiest-looking jobbers ever, but I liked the gimmick they were going for - they were called "The Teacher's Pets", and they were always trying to impress their teacher/manager, Michelle McCool.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Also, in this case, MVP = Montel Vontavious Porter.

    And I loved the stupid outfit, it was perfect for a delusional idiot like him - it was almost like WCW-era Jericho's pointy hair, where only HE thought it was cool. I was actually very disappointed when the outfits began to get less gaudy; he started with lots of sequins and multiple colors, and then they gradually became just single-colored singlets.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I remember MVP saying that the gimmick was supposed to make fun of the fact that the pro athletes in the NFL, NBA, etc. who are actually good are all pretty cool guys and humble, while the mediocre scrubs are the ones who act like big shots.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hornswoggle was kinda badass at first when he was Little Bastard.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Funny sidenote on JBL burying MVP on commentary: JBL did that for a few more weeks after his debut. Then all of a sudden he changed gears and started putting him over, at which point Michael Cole would say MVP took JBL out to an incredibly lavish dinner in NYC. Just kinda cool that Cole & JBL bothered to come up with a little backstory as to why one of them suddenly started endorsing someone.

    ReplyDelete
  24. KC James goes down in history as the only guy to get unemployment benefits after being future endeavored

    ReplyDelete
  25. regarding Helms, I bet if he didn't look so awful in his mug shot they wouldn't have fired him. Jericho looked like a mo-fuckin' BOSS in his

    ReplyDelete
  26. "Medium Sexy" Caliber WinfieldOctober 27, 2012 at 8:29 AM

    There was a time when I was working two jobs, so I had a good chunk of money to burn. Whenever I'd get off work [I worked at both Hot Topic & Game Stop] I'd head over to Sam Goody and check out their wrestling DVDs. They had a TON, with some being fairly priced, and others costing upwards of $25. So, I'd buy DVDs with the interest of only one match, and lemme tell ya, I saw some SHITTY ppvs because I wanted to see just one match from the card. The New Years Revolutions come to mind. I bought those for the Elimination Chamber bouts, and good God. Those are some of the worst PPVs of all time.

    Anyway, one of the PPVs I bought was the one that came 2 months after this, Armageddon 2006. I bought it for the Hearse match between Taker & Mr. Kennedy. I'd read some amazon reviews that the match was awesome. I learned my lesson on that day that most people who post reviews on amazon have terrible taste. Thankfully the awesome ladder match saved the day.

    ReplyDelete
  27. But on the other side, 6 years is a loooong time in wrestling business. If you compare WWF from 1986 to 1992 or 1992 to 1998...there were not many guys there the whole time.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I got back into wrestling around this time and thought that Smackdown was just ridiculous i had no idea that Booker T had changed to King Booker and when I saw him come out I came pretty close to pissing myself

    ReplyDelete
  29. Someone on here made the astute observation that Kennedy's frequent injuries were actually a Godsend for his reputation (well, for a while) because they helped mask the fact that he's a specatcularly unimpressive worker. As you say, elements of awesome were there, and his constant disappearances made you a bit excited about his return, and what he would be capable of once he was 100%. Then he'd come back, suck, get injured, fuck off again, and you'd be left wondering.

    When Kennedy lost his MITB briefcase to Edge I remember being legit pissed because they handed it to someone who didn't really need it, but hindsight has demonstrated it was a fucking brilliant decision.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I think the outfit was also partly a necessity, as MVP is covered in gang tattoos, as well as tattoos of Malcolm X, which WWE didn't want seen on TV.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Black Irish = Phil Lynott!

    ReplyDelete
  32. It would have to be very short while back because Finlay wrestled 2 matches for ROH in May and June

    ReplyDelete
  33. I was gonna say that Helms never returned to the Hurricane character, but then I remember that he came back from some big surgery and some rough personal loss and they played up the "is mild mannered reporter Gregory Helms really the Hurricane" angle for a bit.

    ReplyDelete
  34. "Long brings out Faceless Diva #3, who apparently won the Diva Search last year, and gives Miz a lapdance."


    The way this sentence is constructed, you make it sound like Teddy Long is the one performing the lapdance.

    ReplyDelete
  35. This is what I was thinking, 6 years is actually a pretty long time.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Idol Stevens/Damien Sandow was in the second match.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Finlay was in an Elimination Chamber match one time at least, but I can't recall if the match was for the title or if it was to set up a #1 Contender. But yeah, while the Hornswaggle thing could be entertaining sometimes, I liked the old-but-tough-with-dirty-tricks brawler he was when he first started out in WWE.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Yeah, I loved when Finlay used him as a battering ram for basically the first couple of months.

    ReplyDelete
  39. *sees 7 dislikes*


    *hurls self off building* MACGYVERRRRRRRRRRRRRR

    ReplyDelete
  40. I was always hoping "special delivery" jones vs kamala would go main event.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Jarrett > mr. Kennedy right?

    ReplyDelete
  42. That's a main event in any arena in the country -- Gorilla Monsoon

    ReplyDelete
  43. I guess we should be happy he just stick to making tag matches with whoever's in the ring these days.

    ReplyDelete
  44. That's how I DVD my Classics-On-Demand as well. I've got 11 binders full of last minute surprises.. Including the ever-so-rare RAW or SD! banger...

    ReplyDelete
  45. Yeah, I thought it was cool that she got her Wrestlemania moment, too.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Michelle's outfits looked great but the team's look, movesets and entrance music just screamed INDY JOBBERS.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Scott's anguish over the demise of Black Irish always makes me laugh.

    ReplyDelete
  48. True but look at the average age of a lot of the guys on this card compared to the guys in 86. On this card save a few matches, most of these guys were young, very late 20"s to mid 30's. Back during that period you mentioned, the young guys had a better track record for being there 6 years later, while it was the older guys who were phased out. Bret, HBK, Owen, Davey, are some who while not kids, were pretty young compared to the others and stayed much longer than 8 years, with Davey being the only one with a break in between.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Ahh someone references my beloved (but not at the moment) Saints. With Brees it was more of the fact he was probably the biggest reason New Orleans became a nationally followed team. He asked for a contract suited to a player of his caliber, and rightly so IMO, but was basically stonewalled for a whole season, then most the off-season. He at his age and still one of the best playing could have gotten Peyton Manning money from any team out there had he walked.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Sorry, Scott, but I gotta disagree with you on the subject of Gregory Helms. He may have won more titles while in his generic heel character, but the fanbase DIDN'T FUCKING CARE about him in any way. (It actually boggled my mind he was Cruiserweight champ for as long as he was because he did pretty much NOTHING with it.) At least when he was the Hurricane, he moved crazy merch and gave us a reason to care about him even if some forces (in other words, Trips) were aligned against him. I mean, criminey, he got people to invest themselves with ROSEY for a good while.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Finlay had Miz (or some other heel) interrupt the Star-Spangeled Banner and get some heat on the military in attendance at a house show. The soldiers complained and Finlay got the ax.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Jennifer Love Hewitt's jugs probably has something to do with you watching that flick.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Wasn't this the PPV where Regal accidentally showed his wiener?

    ReplyDelete
  54. Personally I'd put Kennedy's in ring work slightly above Orton's. NO WAY IN HELL is his heel offense more boring than Orton's.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment