With only two weeks as opposed to the normal four weeks of build up it is no wonder WWE's 2006 edition of Vengeance seemed a little rushed. Still, on paper, the card looked strong. With two Championships on the line, the return of the greatest group of the 90's DX, and a few inter promotional wars, this was possible going to be the hidden treasure of 2006. It wasn't.
The main event of the evening saw the returning DX battle McMahon's henchmen, The Spirit Squad. The match was nothing special. Why it was even booked as the main event of the night is beyond me. Actually correction, Triple H and HBK having so much stroke backstage is why the match was booked as the main event. I guess Triple H has turned over a new leaf since WrestleMania X8 where he was against allowing Hogan and The Rock to take centre stage in the Skydome. The Championship match is always the last match he stated. I guess times change huh?
The WWE Championship match was an excellent contest and ties with me for match of the night status. I was shocked to see Rob Van Dam walking away with the Championship. If I was a betting man I would have staked the house on Edge becoming a two time champion. I guess tonight was not his night.
The other great match of the evening was the Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat match between defending Champion Shelton Benjamin, Carlito and Johnny Nitro. This was an amazing contest and could have gone to anyone. Carlito in particular was on amazing form. Some very unique offence in this one. It reminded me of the glory days of the Intercontinental Championship. Johnny Nitro stole the win in this one when he pinned Benjamine after Carlito had nailed the champ with the backcracker. Nitro and Melina. The Shawn Michaels and Sensational Sherry of 2006.
John Cena finally got some revenge and perhaps more importantly some respect from ECW after he defeated Sabu in a wild Extreme Lumberjack match. The match was good, very physical but could have been better if they had been permitted more time.
That is the same for the Nature Boy taking on the Hardcore Legend Mick Foley. I was interested to see how this one would play out after all the back and forth gripes and real life animosity between these two superstars. It is good to see they have put their differences behind them for the sake of the business. The crowd was red hot for Ric Flair in his home town of Charlotte. Flair won the match after Foley reverted back to his hardcore ways with a trash can. Not happy with losing, Foley then busted Ric Flair with his trusted barbed wire baseball bat. Flair did a major juice job. This is certainly just the start of the feud between these two legends of the squared circle.
We go from real legends to the Legend Killer, Randy Orton. He was matched against ECW's Kurt Angle in the opener of the night. Once again, if these two had been allocated more time, this could have stole the show easily. Instead Orton got the cheap win after Angle's face connected with the exposed turnbuckle and walked straight into an RKO.
In other action, Umaga destroyed Eugene and then decimated Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Doink The Clown in the only semi entertaining part of their confrontation. Umaga, the Samoan Bulldozer was, for some strange reason, afraid of the now 91 year old Kamala and retreated up the ramp. Mind you, if a man of that size walked towards me mumbling and slapping his stomach I think I would head in the opposite direction too.
The Imposter Kane defeated the real Kane in another mediocre match which would be best suited for Monday Night Raw.
All in all, Vengeance 2006 was a fairly good single brand pay-per-view. It could have and should have been a lot better. Hopefully they will kick things up a gear on the road to SummerSlam in Boston.
The main event of the evening saw the returning DX battle McMahon's henchmen, The Spirit Squad. The match was nothing special. Why it was even booked as the main event of the night is beyond me. Actually correction, Triple H and HBK having so much stroke backstage is why the match was booked as the main event. I guess Triple H has turned over a new leaf since WrestleMania X8 where he was against allowing Hogan and The Rock to take centre stage in the Skydome. The Championship match is always the last match he stated. I guess times change huh?
The WWE Championship match was an excellent contest and ties with me for match of the night status. I was shocked to see Rob Van Dam walking away with the Championship. If I was a betting man I would have staked the house on Edge becoming a two time champion. I guess tonight was not his night.
The other great match of the evening was the Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat match between defending Champion Shelton Benjamin, Carlito and Johnny Nitro. This was an amazing contest and could have gone to anyone. Carlito in particular was on amazing form. Some very unique offence in this one. It reminded me of the glory days of the Intercontinental Championship. Johnny Nitro stole the win in this one when he pinned Benjamine after Carlito had nailed the champ with the backcracker. Nitro and Melina. The Shawn Michaels and Sensational Sherry of 2006.
John Cena finally got some revenge and perhaps more importantly some respect from ECW after he defeated Sabu in a wild Extreme Lumberjack match. The match was good, very physical but could have been better if they had been permitted more time.
That is the same for the Nature Boy taking on the Hardcore Legend Mick Foley. I was interested to see how this one would play out after all the back and forth gripes and real life animosity between these two superstars. It is good to see they have put their differences behind them for the sake of the business. The crowd was red hot for Ric Flair in his home town of Charlotte. Flair won the match after Foley reverted back to his hardcore ways with a trash can. Not happy with losing, Foley then busted Ric Flair with his trusted barbed wire baseball bat. Flair did a major juice job. This is certainly just the start of the feud between these two legends of the squared circle.
We go from real legends to the Legend Killer, Randy Orton. He was matched against ECW's Kurt Angle in the opener of the night. Once again, if these two had been allocated more time, this could have stole the show easily. Instead Orton got the cheap win after Angle's face connected with the exposed turnbuckle and walked straight into an RKO.
In other action, Umaga destroyed Eugene and then decimated Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Doink The Clown in the only semi entertaining part of their confrontation. Umaga, the Samoan Bulldozer was, for some strange reason, afraid of the now 91 year old Kamala and retreated up the ramp. Mind you, if a man of that size walked towards me mumbling and slapping his stomach I think I would head in the opposite direction too.
The Imposter Kane defeated the real Kane in another mediocre match which would be best suited for Monday Night Raw.
All in all, Vengeance 2006 was a fairly good single brand pay-per-view. It could have and should have been a lot better. Hopefully they will kick things up a gear on the road to SummerSlam in Boston.