Category: Written Reviews

Finlay Vs Bobby Lashley – Smackdown March 10th 2006

Coming off their match last week, both guys still want to beat the fuck out of each other, and it shows as Finlay charges towards Lashley as he comes down the ramp. They brawl and beat the fuck out of each other and… well, it doesn’t look like the match is going to take place this week :(.

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

Rating: Match Never Started

The Undertaker Vs Kurt Angle – World Heavyweight Title – Smackdown March 3rd 2006

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rating: ****1/4

Finlay Vs Lashley – Smackdown March 3rd 2006

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

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

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

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

Rating: *

Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit & Bobby Lashley Vs Randy orton, JBL & Finlay – Smackdown February 24th 2006

Oooo, an opportunity for some Finlay Vs Angle & rey, and more Finlay Vs Benoit?. I like.

This is the week after NWO, where Orton screwed Rey out of his WM Title match, but Teddy Long added Rey to the match anyway. Rey is still pissed with Orton for saying those things about Eddie, and cheating him out of the win, while Orton is pissed at Rey for getting added back into the WM match. They start things off, and it seems that Rey is out for blood, so Orton tags in Finlay.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rating: ***1/4

The Undertaker Vs Kurt Angle – World Heavyweight Title – No Way Out February 19th 2006

The Undertaker begins to work on the arm of Angle in the early going here. Something we usually see from the Dead Man, and its something I always enjoy watching. The arm work never really plays a part in the outcome of the match or anything like that, but to me, its like The Undertaker is just testing his opponents, while wearing them down at the same time. If they can survive his assault on their arm, then he knows they aren’t going to be beat so easily, so now he can pull out his big moves instead of wasting his time and energy to hit them straight away.

So yeah, Angle survives the early onslaught, and even manages some offence of his own, such as a German Suplex, which ‘Taker takes very well. The Undertaker comes back though, and targets the always injured neck of Angle, hitting his signature legdrop on the apron.

Angle knows he is in trouble, especially when ‘Taker grabs him by the throat :p. So what does he do? He goes for the leg/knee of the big man. He slowly wears down the knee and lower leg of The Undertaker, setting him up for an eventual Ankle Lock.

The Undertaker has been here before there, as most people try to cut him down to size by going after his legs, so he knows when and how to counter moves to gain control, which he manages to do, but not before some damage is done.

One of my favourite parts of the match now, when The Undertaker once again goes back to the neck of Angle, and tries to his another legdrop on the apron. He sells his leg, and takes his time going for the move, which may have cost him… because Angle avoids the legdrop, grabs hold of ‘Taker’s ankle, and locks in the Ankle Lock on the outside! Looks better than I describe it too :p.

Angle has lost it, nearly getting counted out as he refuses to leg go of the hold.

More action inside the ring, before it spills to the outside once again, and now The Undertaker is pissed. He sets up the announcer’s table for something big, but before he can do anything, he gets Angle Slammed through it!

The referee begins his count, and The Undertaker looks hurt. Angle is in the ring waiting for him, but the referee gets to 9 and The Undertaker is far from coming back. Just before the referee can get to 10.. Angle breaks it up! He doesn’t want to win on a countout, he wants to win on a TAP OUT! The fans cheer this decision, as just like me, they want this match to continue!

Some great back and forth action in the ring when The Undertaker finally gets back in, including a top rope Belly to Belly Overhead Suplex! Then we see a beautiful counter by Angle, who rolls through a Chokeslam attempt, right into an Ankle Lock! The Undertaker tries to roll through a couple of times, but Angle refuses to let go!

The Undertaker doesn’t give up though, and eventually counters the Ankle Lock into a Triangle Choke! Both men release their holds, and make their way to their feet, only for Angle to get a Chokeslam! The Undertaker is still pretty hurt though, and can’t make the cover. He realises that he has wasted too much time after the Chokeslam, so instead of going for what would no doubt be a failed cover, he sets Angle up for the Last Ride!

AGAIN, Angle counters The Undertaker into an Ankle Lock! It still isn’t enough though, as The Undertaker escapes one more time.

Angle hits an Angle slam now, hoping to just pin The Undertaker, since making him tap doesn’t be going anywhere. 1…2.. Kick out! The Undertaker sits up, and Angle can’t believe it! The Dead Man sets the champion up for a Tombstone now! Wait, Angle reverses it! Is Angle going to Tombstone The Undertaker? No! The Undertaker reverses Angle’s reversal! Tombstone? No! Angle grabs hold of ‘Taker’s Ankle, and the Ankle Lock is locked in AGAIN!

Refusing to give up still, The Undertaker counters the Ankle Lock into another Triangle Choke! Angle looks out of it, as his arm falls twice… but before it can go down a third time, he rolls over and has ‘Taker’s shoulders pinned to the mat! The referee counts to three, and calls for the bell! Angle has won, but Tazz believes it is the wrong call, because The Undertaker was the aggressor with the submission hold, and the pin shouldn’t have counted!

The Undertaker is livid, chasing the referee out of the ring, then goes for Angle… and helps him to his feet! A small show of respect to Angle, before he shoves him into the corner and trash talks.

Awesome, awesome match. I remember watching it live, and the last 10 minutes or so were just as epic now as they were then. I love everything about this match, except for the finish. However, the finish might have made sense if they actually went somewhere with it (like, say, add The Undertaker into the WM Main Event? After all, Rey was added after he got “screwed” by Orton earlier in the night, right? So why not add The Undertaker? Oh, yeah, they wanted Rey to win, and that would fuck up The Undertaker’s streak. Stupid Rey…).

Rating: ****3/4

Rey Mysterio Vs Randy Orton – WrestleMania #1 Contender Spot – No Way Out February 19th 2006

Orton was eliminated by Rey in the RR match last month. Orton wants that WM title match. So Orton brought Eddie Guerrero into the whole deal, acted like a complete cunt, and tricked Rey into putting his WM title shot on the line, while putting Rey in the wrong frame of mind needed to win a big match like this.

Orton is funny as hell in the beginning, making Rey look like his bitch, slapping him in the back of the head, then looking over at Rey and laughing. Rey retaliates by using his unique offence to make Orton look equally foolish.

Fucking hell, I don’t think I have enjoyed Orton as much as I am right now. He is just being awesome. He looks like he is legit happy as can be whenever he is in control, and toys with Rey like nobody else. Loved when he got down on his knees to be at Rey’s level so he can European uppercut the fuck out of him (which results in Rey kicking the fuck out of his head while he is still on his knees). Then reversing a hurricanrana on the outside to swing Rey into the steel post. All just awesomeness.

Rey is great too though, even if Orton is kinda outshining him here. He gets in some nice hope spots during all of this, and sells Orton’s offence as well as you would expect from Rey Rey.

Mysterio’s big comeback is like, fucking awesome too. He keeps hitting Orton with moves, Orton keeps getting up before Rey (because Rey took one hell of a beating before all of this), running at Rey, only for Rey to hit something else. They are slowly building up to the bigger moves with this, and its done wonderfully. Unfortunately for Rey, the beating he took before all of this keeps preventing him from taking full advantage of anything he hits.

Randy remains a cunt till the end, poking Rey in the eye and smiling then going back to work on Rey to try and end things. Finish is a thing of beauty (really liking the finishes for things lately lol). Orton is in position for the 619, but is facing the titantron. You can see him watching it as Rey comes around, and Orton is able to dodge and roll up Rey (using the ropes for leverage too) to get the win! And it all looked smooth as fuck too.

I know people tend to really, really love their match on SD after WM, but honestly, as of right now (planning on re-watching the SD match since I don’t believe I wrote about it too much), I think this is a hell of a lot better. Orton is magnificent. Rey is awesome. Nothing more needs to be said.

Rating: ****1/4

Bobby Lashley Vs JBL – No Way Out February 19th 2006

Before the match, Finlay kidnaps Kristal backstage and brings her out to the ring because he is looking for a fight. Lashley comes out for the save, and they brawl. While this brawl is happening, JBL comes out to take advantage, but Lashley takes care of Finlay before Bradshaw can do anything.

So, since JBL couldn’t get in a 2 on 1 situation with Lashley to gain control… he sticks his thumb into Big Bob’s eye instead :p. Shame its going to take more than a thumb to beat Lashley!

Fun stuff on the outside with JBL trying everything he can to gain control, including using Jillian as a shield. Bobby is unstoppable though, and quickly begins to suplex JBL all over the place (belly to belly in the ring, stalling suplex in the ring that looked like it reaaaallllyyyy hurt lol).

Being a veteran, JBL eventually manages to find a way to turn the tide, and when he does, he gets a VERY loud “JBL Sucks” chant from the crowd. What an awesome heel he was lol.

Holy shit! JBL just hit a… a… a TOP ROPE ELBOW DROP! I’m fucking serious! JBL. Fat Bastard. Top Rope. Elbow Drop. I guess he realises that Lashley is one big powerful bastard and he needs to do everything in his power to put him away.

JBL’s simple but brutal offence is doing a great job of keeping the young rookie Lashley at bay, but Lashley’s power is always there for him to make numerous comeback attempts. We see more of JBL going for moves he probably wouldn’t and shouldn’t go for, in order to put his opponent down for good, but the power of Big Bob really makes an impact when he reverses a top rope move from Bradshaw into a powerslam, and so the big comeback begins!

Man I love suplexes. And I love Lashley’s suplexes. JBL probably hates them at this point though :p.

Hey, remember Finlay earlier? Well, he’s baaaaaaaaack! Throws the ring announcer in the ring which distracts the ref, then takes out Lashley allowing JBL to end the winning streak of Bob!

Definitely didn’t remember this match being good at all, but that’s one of the reasons I decided to go through the entire SD 2006. I got hold of all the shows for my collection, started watching a couple to see what they were like, and ended up falling in love with the roster and the matches. So I had to keep on going. This is just one of the MANY matches I would find to like that I wouldn’t expect to or didn’t remember doing so to begin with.

Rating: **1/2

Gregory Helms Vs Scotty 2 Hotty Vs Psicosis Vs Brian Kendrick Vs Paul London Vs Funaki Vs Kid Kash Vs Super Crazy Vs Nunzio – Cruiserweight Title – No Way Out February 19th 2006

Another multi-man CW title match to kick off a PPV! Nice choice imo, taking a page out of Nitro’s book back in the day. Kick start a PPV with a fast paced action filled match to get the crowd going.

Like the RR, Helms isn’t liked by anyone. He still sees himself as a Raw star, and believes himself to be better than anyone on SD. So the SD CW’s took it upon themselves to destroy Helms on SD the week before. So now Helms just wants to survive, while the rest want to win the belt and beat the shit out of Helms if they get the chance.

Helms tries to enter the ring, but everyone goes after him, so he jumps out and stays on the floor for a while as everyone else starts the match. Smart decision by Helms; let everyone else beat the fuck out of each other, then pick the bones.

Eventually it comes down to 2 guys in the ring (Funaki and Kash), which brings in Helms to make sure nobody gets a pin. He starts attacking Kash, then turns around when he realises he isn’t alone… the rest of the competitors are back in the ring and out for blood.

The match now becomes a 9 way since Helms has no choice but to join in. Some cool stuff with Mexicools and Londrick in there working as together in their respective teams.

Liked the little spot where Helms and Kash (another hated CW, and the champ going into the RR last month) meet in the ring and go at it. Shame the fans acted like nothing at all was happening…

Its all similar to RR, only with more men and more awesomeness. Plenty of stuff to just sit back and enjoy, because like RR, there isn’t really a story for them to work with. They already did the bits with Helms Vs the world, so once they got through with that, they were essentially free to just work with the MOVES~! part.

Amazing how over S2H has managed to be for like, 6 years at this point in time lol, considering he did fuck all for maybe 4 and a half of those years. They go fucking apeshit when he is left alone with Helms and goes for the worm, because they can legit see him winning. I can’t :p. And hey, he doesn’t! :p

Another nice finish to this match, with Helms sneaking in once again and stealing the win. Finishing stretch was pretty sweet as well. Also like how the other 8 guys realise what happened and chase Helms to the back.

Rating: ***1/4

The Undertaker & Kurt Angle Vs Mark Henry & MNM – Smackdown February 17th 2006

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rating: ***1/2

Finlay & JBL Vs Chris Benoit & Bobby Lashley – Smackdown February 17th 2006

Oh god, guess who is on commentary trying to ruin this match? Booker, just because you ABSOLUTELY SUCK FUCKING BALLS, doesn’t mean you can go out there on commentary and try to ruin matches with guys far beyond you in terms of wrestling skill and ability (yeah, even fucking Lashley is better).

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

Booker: He just hit him with a modified enzeguri!

Tazz: It was a dropkick…

Even Cole gets a few shots in:

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

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

Anyway, enough Booker Ownage, the match.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rating: ***