**Edited July 2019 – Removed Broken Pics & Videos**
Wrestlemania 22 (tagline: Big Time!) drew 17,159 fans to the Allstate Arena in Rosemont,Illinois on April 2nd 2006. Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler provided commentary for Raw, Michael Cole & Tazz for Smackdown, Joey Styles during the Edge/Foley match, and all four main commentators during inter-promotional matches. Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child kicked the show off with her rendition of the U.S. national anthem. The card included five championship matches, and the second Money in the Bank Ladder match. Triple H won the Road to Wrestlemania Tournament to become #1 contender to Cena’s WWE Championship. Following the death of Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio gave tribute to him by winning the Royal Rumble match, lasting over an hour from the #2 spot.
Before I share my experiences of this PPV (watched it again on Tuesday night), I will share my thoughts on two subjects: 1) Fan reaction to John Cena, and 2) Use of Eddie Guerrero’s memory. Firstly, I remember back in 2006, many fans were already tired of him in the main event scene, and it was largely down to the booking, and Cena matches in general. The fans were used to adult-orientated angles and booking, so for Cena to walk in like the new Hulk Hogan (despite never receiving Hogan-like reactions) and take over the main event scene was frustrating for old-school fans, who simply (and myself) weren’t eating what they were given.
As for Eddie Guerrero, it was one of the saddest moments I can ever recall. The news crushed me inside, I cried as they paid tribute on Raw, I bought an Eddie Guerrero t-shirt from their website (which I still own ten years later), and I just couldn’t come to terms with never seeing him again; you could tell how much it effected the roster. Eddie Guerrero was an amazing athlete, and just as charismatic. He worked hard for years to reach the top, and suddenly it was taken away, it felt like a cruel joke for someone so loved to be taken away with no warning. All I can remember is how hard it hit Benoit; no one cried as much as he did.
So while Eddie Guerrero died almost five months before Wrestlemania 22, WWE continued to use his passing as a way to gain sympathy for the wrestlers close to him, but also, allowed heel wrestlers (like JBL and Randy Orton) to openly mock Eddie with no sense of remorse. I know that some wrestlers wouldn’t mind if they were used in angles following their deaths, but WWE went too far in my opinion. Orton told Rey “Eddie’s in hell!”, Batista said “Eddie’s dead” to Rey as well, just to pull cheap heat. JBL used Eddie’s shake of the shoulders at in his match with Benoit, again, another cheap attempt. Triple H told everyone that Eddie wasn’t good enough to create “divine intervention” during the Rumble match.
So while I always enjoyed Rey Mysterio, having him win from the #2 spot cheapened Benoit’s recent Rumble victory, only two years prior, and it also cheapened his own career. There was no doubt that Mysterio was going to win at Wrestlemania after winning the Rumble, because Benoit did it already, and his connection with Eddie ensured it. Mysterio’s title win was just another tribute in a long line of tributes for Eddie, and World Heavyweight Championships should never be decided like that; why pay to see a Triple Threat World title match if you already know who’s going to win? I’ll get into Rey Mysterio’s fan reaction later.
This is a “Super Cena” Edition of the Wrestlemania I-XXX series, and it’s dedicated to one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Eddie Guerrero. Almost ten years since his passing, and we still miss him .. and his cheating ways.
Before the show, a dark match saw Viscera win an inter-promotional battle royal, last eliminating Snitsky, and this time, it was Snitsky’s fault as he eliminated himself.
Big Show and Kane (c) vs. Carlito and Chris Masters for the World Tag Team Championship
Ugh. Ok, safe to assume the tag team division was non-existent at this time, so they stuck Kane and Show together, giving the likes of Carlito and Masters no chance. I really don’t want to go into the action, because there wasn’t much to excite. The fans got behind Carlito at one point, which was funny at least. Why have two veterans like Show & Kane destroying all the young talent? And why do Kane and Big Show continue to do the same thing NINE YEARS LATER! Why is Kane in the main event scene with Rollins? And why is the Big Show not retired? I guess Vince likes big guys. Anyways, the outcome was obvious, and the fans didn’t care too much for it. It should have been cut from the PPV entirely; it was more like a dark match than a Tag Team title contest.
Rob Van Dam vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Ric Flair vs. Finlay vs. Matt Hardy vs. Bobby Lashley in the Money in the Bank ladder match
This was Rob Van Dam’s consolation prize for reaching the Road to Wrestlemania Tournament Finals. Ok, so this is where the PPV really begins. Lashley got the upper hand to begin, until Shelton took him out with a wicked high kick; JR put Lashley and Benjamin over as two amazing young athletes. RVD did the first crazy thing of the night, throwing his body into Matt’s while he was holding a ladder; hurting both in the process. Shelton got a ladder and used it on Flair (who looked so out of place here), placed it on the rope on a slant .. gave an evil smile, and followed it up with a sick .. “running up the ladder, then using the momentum to spring off the ladder, over the top rope to the outside .. on to everyone else” spot. Beautiful, Shelton innovates again.
Flair and Finlay fought it out over the ladder in the ring (JR said he likes this pairing), until Flair got the upper hand. He climbed the ladder, Matt Hardy followed, and soon enough, a flying 57-year old came crashing down to earth via Superplex. After waiting a second, Flair screamed in agony at his leg, which he’d injured apparently. The referee held up the “X” sign to signal a real injury, and Flair was escorted to the backstage area.
Back in the ring, Lashley got caught on the ladder by Shelton, who tried a springboard powerbomb .. but needed assistance from Matt Hardy and Finlay to loosen Lashley’s grip from the ladder. Finlay took no prisoners after smashing Matt Hardy’s face with a ladder; he really suits these matches. Finaly started his frenzy of offense, taking everyone out, until Flair returned to a welcome back pop from the fans. Finlay decked him with the shelayley? (no idea how to spell it), and Lashley followed up by taking Finlay out. Lashley started climbing slow again (and this guy is meant to be a LEGIT athlete), until a flying RVD outta’ nowhere (with the cameraman way out of position) nailed him with a Van Terminator.
Matt Hardy followed up with a weak leg drop from halfway down the ladder on Lashley. Finlay tried to stop Matt climbing, but instead eat Side Effect off the ladder. RVD climbed the ladder, much to the delight of the fans, and delivered a standard falling splash (not 5-star, not even close) to Finaly from the top. RVD started climbing, but once again, the damn cameraman is FREAKING USELESS, as Shelton randomly appears on the ladder like Spiderman after a springboard leap. JR almost had a heart attack trying to figure out where he came from.
RVD, Shelton and Matt fought each other on the ladders, until Matt and Shelton fell, leaving RVD safe to claim Money in the Bank as his own, a consolation prize which he would use the same year. Does anyone remember when? I do, the main event of ECW One Night Stand 2006; Super Cena didn’t show up that night!
While Money in the Bank was good, it didn’t live up to the previous years. The spots didn’t flow as well, but it didn’t suck either. Once again, Shelton Benjamin was the true Money in the Bank MVP, and it’s sad he never actually won any. Flair was out of his element here, it was strange to see such an old veteran competing in a match which could cripple him for the rest of his days had something gone wrong. I enjoyed it though, and the winner was right in the eyes of the fans, so it definitely served its purpose. My only criticism would be that it should have been on later, to give more importance to the match type.
JBL (with Jillian Hall) vs. Chris Benoit (c) for the WWE United States Championship
Before the match, the Hall of Fame inductees were brought out on stage. Howard Finkel announced (like he was annoyed to say it) that Bret Hart would not be appearing, despite his induction. Bret was still against working for WWE, and had not made up with Shawn Michaels. The legends received decent ovations, but it paled in comparison to the ovation for Vickie Guerrero as she represented Eddie. All she could do was smile, as The Blackjacks consoled her, and rose her arms in the air. I didn’t mind that, it was pretty cool to see.
The entrances began, and JBL arrived in style as usual. Jim Ross questioned Benoit’s game after his emotional induction of his best friend. The match started with some brawling, and Benoit tried to go for the crossface early .. which I noticed he did far too often to be shocking anymore. Also, Benoit went to the German suplex combo early, so clearly rushing his moveset at this point. Benoit tried for the headbutt to put him away, but JBL shoved the referee to the ring ropes to crotch him – Superplex followed. JBL started doing Eddie’s shoulder shuffle, which was incredibly uncalled for, and whoever gave him permission to lazily mimic Eddie should be fired. He followed up with a much lazier version of Eddie’s Three Amigos combo, which he struggled to do with his massive frame.
Benoit soon hit his own version of Eddie’s Three Amigos, which was good, but no one can do it like Eddie. A headbutt soon followed and only got two. Benoit tried for the crossface, but JBL managed to slip out of it and pin Benoit, using the ropes for leverage as the referee couldn’t see it. JBL won the contest by cheating, and to be honest, no one gave a flying monkey’s. No one gave two pieces of crap whether JBL won the match or not, because again, JBL had a bad match at Wrestlemania, and this time it was against Benoit — Even he couldn’t save it from disaster.
So JBL tried to get into Benoit’s head by using Eddie gestures, but we already had that going on with Mysterio, so it felt like another cheap way to remind everyone to buy Eddie Guerrero merchandise before it sold out five months after his death. Just a bad match in general, you could tell Benoit didn’t want to work with JBL, and JBL had no interest in making a masterpiece. Like the commentary team said before it started, it wasn’t going to be pretty, and they were right — My reaction below.
Edge (with Lita) vs. Mick Foley in a Hardcore match
OH MY GOD! Joey Styles on commentary for a HARDCORE match!? Someone got it right for a change. Edge started with trying to nail Foley with a baseball bat, but Foley managed to hit him and Edge dropped it. Lita retrieved the usual cookie sheets and road signs for Edge so he could take control. After some smashing of heads, Edge looked to end it early by spearing Foley. Only problem was, Foley was wearing barbed wire around himself and under his shirt, so Edge rushed in and lacerated his arm something wicked.
Foley got his own baseball bat with barded wire (Barbie) to use on Edge, but Lita managed a distraction. A short time later, Edge threw Foley into the steel steps, twice. A table was soon introduced, and Foley was placed on it, Edge climbed the turnbuckle, but Foley countered it by ROLLING OFF THE TABLE! Genius move, why does that rarely happen? Edge followed it by trying to slam Foley through the earth’s crust, but inevitably, Foley went as far as the steel ramp .Back in the ring, Foley went full psycho as he found lighter fluid and poured it on Edge.
After a piledriver on Edge (King appreciated that), Lita distracted Mick long enough for Edge to get Barbie, and nail Foley right in the head with it. Foley started bleeding profusely. Edge found his stash of weapons under the steel steps, which included a bag full of thumbtacks. Edge tried slamming Foley on them, but Foley reversed it into a back drop and Edge screamed in pain (with bulging eyes) as thumbtacks pierced his back rather well (could see blood); even I felt that one. Foley pulled out Mr. Socko, and added barbed wire to it, HARDCORE SOCKO TIME! Foley used it on Edge, and then Lita tried to interfere, so she eat HARDCORE SOCKO as well. Now everyone’s bleeding, even Lita!
Foley took it to another level by opening the floodgates on Edge’s head, allowing the blood to flow .. and then using the bat to cut those wounds up even more. Cringing, in a good way! Foley started pouring fluid on the table, until Lita attacked him and took the fluid off him. She carried on dousing the table, and then set it on fire. Foley was conveniently on the ring apron, Edge recovered and speared Foley to the BURNING TABLE ON THE OUTSIDE! HOLY SHIZZLE! HOLY SHIZZLE! Ohhh Myyy God! Best spot of the night award.
Loved everything about this. It gave me another level of respect for Edge, and even more so for the supposedly retired Mick Foley. This was a gruesome and well-heated rivalry played out with weapons, one of the best hardcore matches you’re like to see anywhere.
Probably my favourite match of the night, just because I remembered that spear so vividly despite nine years passing since I saw it. The use of blood was absolutely right, and sadly you won’t see anything like it in WWE anymore.
The Boogeyman vs. Booker T and Sharmell
Before the match, Booker T and Sharmell ran into “the freaks” backstage, which consisted of hilarious skits between Ted Dibiase & Eugene (DiBiase ripping him off), Paul Burchill playing around in his pirate gimmick, Snitsky licking Mae Young’s feet (even I found that too much), and Goldust dressed up in some outfit. Goldust told Booker to embrace his inner freak. He told Booker to show Boogeyman he’s not afraid of the worms, and he advised Booker to take the worms and put them in his … Goldust whispered something to Booker T. He freaked the hell out by shouting “TELL ME YOU DIDN’T JUST SAY THAT!” .. implying that Goldust meant his backside. Disgustingly freaky.
Booker and Sharmell walked off, and Snitsky laughed .. because it wasn’t his fault. Ted Dibiase laughed manically. Snitsky laughed. DiBiase laughed. Snitsky laughed. DiBiase laughed. Finally, the segment came to an end.
I remember liking The Boogeyman to begin with, because I like something different, but it didn’t take long for me to see he wasn’t great. Booker T and Sharmell stood afraid in the ring as Boogeyman did his freaky stuff. Booker used Sharmell to distract Boogey so he could gain the upper hand. A quick Bookend only got 2. Boogeyman completely botched the following sequence, Sharmell tried to ambush him with his stick of doom, but he turned suddenly and gave Sharmell a kiss filled with worms. She ran off, and Boogeyman finished Booker T off.
Booler T was a 5-time WCW Champion, multiple time tag team champion, and was involved in a main event match only a few years ago, and instead of playing around in the upper mid-card like he should have been, he was reduced to this. Very sad indeed. The match serves as the toilet break which would normally be reserved for the Divas.
Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus (c) for the WWE Women’s Championship
Damn .. Mickie James was so fine back then. I remember watching in 2006 and not caring if she was a psycho chick, I wouldn’t say no to some love by the fire with crazy Mickie. The build for the feud was the best I can remember .. ever, for a Women’s title match. Mickie James was Trish’s #1 fan, and she dressed up like her, and stalked Trish everywhere she went. Mickie kissed Trish at one point, and I’m still having happy dreams about that. Trish didn’t like the HLA (Hot Lesbian Action), which I’m sure didn’t go down well with the fans.
Trish Stratus was a 6-time Women’s Champion, and already held it for a long time prior to Wrestlemania 22. Just like any sport around the world, you will find champions who are respected, but not overly loved, so their dominance eventually turns into disdain; the fans become sick of the same old champion and want someone new. Trish Stratus was like the John Cena of the Diva’s Division (except she wasn’t booed heavily every week), and Mickie James was like Kevin Owens, the cool heel you should be booing, but inevitably you want them to win because they are new and exciting.
Mickie’s persona was at its best during this contest. She sold everything with her eyes and facial expressions, and sadly she never returned to the psycho fan character. Mickie played mind games with Trish by slapping her around, so she lost her cool and jumped Mickie into a Lou(ise) Thesz Press. Mickie tried a spinkick, but Trish countered it and dropped her into the splits (crowd goes “ohhhh”). They brawl on the outside til Trish’s kick missed and hit the turnbuckle. Mickie wrapped her leg round the turnbuckle post.
Mickie started working on Trish’s leg, and the fans suddenly noticed Trish had a real challenger, so they cheered Mickie like she was the new Stone Cold Steve Austin! Jim Ross was left dumbfounded as he tried to explain why the fans were cheering for the psycho bitch. We get it Jim, Trish is old news, and the fans want Mickie now. James went for a half-crab, and the fans cheered even more; I can’t remember a crowd reaction anywhere near this level at any other Wrestlemania, for a women’s match. Mickie continued her work on the leg, and the fans were eating it up like free chocolate bars. Trish managed a swinging headscissors, which drew a large amount of boos.
Trish tried to amount a comeback, but every time she did it was met with negativity, including the attempt at the handstand rana. Mickie countered it by dropping Trish on her head, much to the delight of the Chicago crowd. Some sexy rollups got two counts, and Trish countered a rana into a powerbomb, for two. The fans popped so much when Mickie kicked out at 2. Trish did something right by selling the leg near the end, as she tried for the Matrix dodge, but failed to make it look convincing. Trish tried for the bulldog, but Mickie James managed the best counter of the night, the infamous “Grope The Pussy Cat”, which again, I’m still having happy dreams about.
Stratus, dazed and confused from all the groping, suddenly found herself going for the Stratusfaction, but her knee buckled and the finisher was completely botched. The fans did not cheer for that one. Mickie decided to end it quickly with a botched Chick Kick which clearly didn’t hit Trish as intended, but it was enough for Mickie to pick up the win. Despite the horrible finish, it was an amazing match on crowd reaction alone; they LOVED Mickie, and seriously wanted her to dethrone the stale Trish Stratus.
The match quality was pretty average, but it proves that a nicely built feud is often more important than the match itself. This was Mickie James’ defining Wrestlemania moment, and she got to feel Trish’s lady parts at the same time, lucky girl! Easily the best Women’s match from any Wrestlemania (so far in the series), and the booking was spot on.
The Undertaker vs. Mark Henry Casket match
Lame. Boring. Typical Undertaker vs Henry feud which I never got invested in. It was almost considered worst match of the night, but luckily, nearing the end, Taker delivered an INSANE flying suicide dive over the top rope, to the outside, and over the casket. Definitely one for the highlight reel, but the rest of it fell flatter than Brock Lesnar’s football career. As expected, Taker gave Henry a tombstone and rolled him into the casket. End.
Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. McMahon in a No Holds Barred match
Before writing this, I read reviews of the event, and some claim Michaels vs Vince to be 10/10 and best match of the night … so why do I feel like it was a waste of time? Why couldn’t Shawn Michaels be against a wrestler like the previous year when he fought Kurt Angle? And why is Vince in another match like this? Wasn’t the previous matches with Shane or Hogan enough? I found it difficult to stay focused, but I’ll try my best to call it.
Vince swaggered out there and revealed his Men & Fitness cover; he was selling the characters ego too much, to the point it felt cheesy and overcooked .. like his tan. Shawn got annoyed with his posing and attacked him on the outside, and hit him with a water bottle, and finally, with the Men & Fitness cover. Ouch! Paper hurts. Of course, Vince sold it like a missile dropped on his head. The Spirit Squad (WM Debut for Ziggler!) appeared and threw Michaels into the air, perhaps too high in the air. After a failed leg drop from Kenny, Michaels cleaned house, and took the entire Spirit Squad out by himself.
Inevitably it was a distraction, Vince surprised Shawn with a wicked clothesline. Vince’s belt was used to choke Shawn, and the match dragged on a little until Shawn tried for the elbow drop. Shane appeared and used his kendo stick, and he happened to bring handcuffs with him. Vince started smiling as he lowered his pants for the “Kiss My Stinking Ass” club. Shawn countered Shane (JR kept getting mixed up on who was Shane/Shawn) and shoved his face into Vince’s crack, and he enjoyed it because he thought it was Shawn. HBK handcuffed Shane on the outside to the ring rope.
Most hilarious part was Shawn doing Shane’s dance while holding his kendo stick, as Shane looked on in horror with nowhere to escape. Most entertaining part saw Michaels destroy Shane with the kendo stick. Shawn soon followed up with a chair shot to Vince, and as is tradition, Vince bled. The endgame saw Shawn tease the fans with how he was going to end Vince. He set Vince up for the kick, but decided not to, and the fans booed. The fans cheered again once he introduced a ladder, but an elbow drop off the ladder wasn’t enough for Michaels. Again, the fans booed as Michaels took his time to decide. HBK got a table, placed Vince on the table, climbed the ladder, but he was still unhappy.
HBK went to the outside and got a garbage can, and a much bigger ladder. He smashed Vince with the can, then put his head in it, and placed him on the table. Shawn struggled to set the ladder up, due to its magnificent size (giggity). Eventually, Shawn climbed the ladder, posed with a DX crotch chop, and finished Vince by elbow dropping the garbage can worn by Vince .. through the table. Michaels pinned Vince for the win. As Vince was carried out, he gave Shawn a middle finger salute, which again is exactly the same thing he did to Hogan a few years earlier.
While this match would please anyone who seriously hated Vince in 2006, it didn’t appeal to me. The Shane dance, and the final elbow drop were the only two things I can say made the match unique, but aside from that, it was a lame recreation of previous McMahon matches at Wrestlemania, and it was littered with weak interference which saw HBK take out six men, not including Vince.
It confuses me how anyone can say it was a great match, the Edge vs Foley match from earlier was far superior. Perhaps I missed something, but there’s no way this match can be rated 10/10, while Angle vs HBK from the previous year didn’t get that distinction. It’s like the reviewers only want matches filled with nonsense and crazy spots. I enjoyed previous Vince McMahon WM matches, but this one didn’t do it for me, and I would be surprised if others look back on it fondly.
Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton vs. Kurt Angle (c) for the World Heavyweight Championship
The match began with Orton hitting Angle with the belt, then taking Rey out with a dropkick. Angle followed with a German Suplex, and soon after, Angle delivered a German suplex on Orton (while he set Rey up for one), resulting in Rey flying across the ring. Orton and Angle exchanged a neckbreaker and a belly-to-belly suplex. Angle launched Rey into a hurricanrana on Orton, who was sat on the turnbuckle. Rey fell to the floor, and Kurt delivered an Angle slam on Orton for two. An attempted ankle lock was stopped by Rey, so Angle nailed him with a forearm, and Rey countered a sunset flip to a low kick on Angle.
Angle caught Rey on the 619 and locked in the anklelock, Rey started tapping out but Orton had the referee distracted. Orton stopped the anklelock, and the champion responded with suplex to both men, and an Angle slam to Rey sent him to the outside. Now it was Orton’s turn to tap as Rey distracted the referee. Rey broke the anklelock up with a leg drop. The crowd started booing Rey, which you can understand because no fan likes to watch a World Championship match knowing the winner.
Kurt sent Rey flying into the post, leaving him alone with Orton in the ring. Angle Slam on Orton suddenly countered into a RKO! But he kicks out at 2. Orton climbed the turnbuckle, and was soon thrown across the ring by Angle. Mysterio botched the 619 entirely, so he did a springboard instead; boos intensified. Angle got another Angle slam on Orton, Rey reversed an Angle slam into an arm drag, sending Angle to the outside. West Coast Pop on Orton gave Rey the pin, and the World Heavyweight Championship.
While I appreciate the technical ability seen here, and while I can forgive the botch by Mysterio, I cannot forgive the pacing and lack of heat. The referee stopped Orton using a chair at one point, despite it being a triple threat match, and Angle was the clear aggressor, and wasn’t involved in the decision. The match wasn’t about the champion at all, it was about Mysterio paying tribute to Eddie, which is surprising because you would expect three wrestlers of this caliber to plan things out and outshine the main event as a tribute to Eddie.
Instead we had nine minutes of quick paced action with spots thrown together, finishers used at will, and a sudden ending, with Rey going over on a guy who was taking The Undertaker to the limit the previous year. While some may praise the match for giving Rey his Wrestlemania moment, others may criticize it for using Eddie’s passing, five months later, to sell Rey as a World Heavyweight Champion.
Think of it this way, instead of having JBL vs Chris Benoit, wouldn’t Rey vs Chavo vs Benoit for the US title be a better idea? With Angle vs Orton in a singles match? At the time I appreciated the tributes for Eddie, but I felt that Rey wouldn’t be World Champion if Eddie hadn’t passed away, and World Championships shouldn’t be booked that way. It felt cheap, ya know? Because the fans in attendance knew Rey was going to win, that’s why he got booed by the Chicago fans. They were booing the forced booking by targeting Rey. You may have enjoyed the match, and I understand why Rey won, but sadly I can’t agree with it.
Torrie Wilson vs. Candice Michelle Playboy pillow fight
Ehh. A Playboy pillow fight following a World Heavyweight Championship match? While I always had the hots for Candice, the last thing I wanted was to see this travesty — they didn’t even use the pillows! I might include this in my Worst Matches Of All Time series. it’s already taken far too much room in this article. The crowd chanted “Boring” so it was nothing more than a glorified time waster.
John Cena (c) vs. Triple H for the WWE Championship
Earlier in the night, we saw Cena and Triple H briefly. John Cena was booed heavily, while fans cheered for Triple H. You guessed it, Cena is playing the babyface, HHH is playing the heel, but the fans have decided Cena is Skeletor, and Triple H is He-Man (good comparison right?) Are you ready for the most controversial and polarizing figure in WWE history? Jim Ross calmly explained how the fans in attendance don’t like Cena because they are like him, “old school traditional wrestling fans”. Damn right JR! We are wrrrasslin fans! We need slobberknockers! Not this new school crap.
Triple H simply NEEDS a big entrance at Wrestlemania it seems. Triple H made it known he was playing Conan the Barbarian, which was surprisingly welcomed by the Chicago faithful. John Cena’s entrance started with a video highlighting Chicago’s depression era gangster history, and a bunch of people came out wearing old-style gangster suits and Tommy guns. Cena entered wearing a gangster suit, yielding a Tommy gun, which he fired in the air. I’m not sure if the fans bought it, I’ll tell you in a minute. They make the official announcements with both men in the ring (for a change), and the fans popped loud for Triple H, and booed the living hell out of Cena.
Jim Ross was reluctantly claiming Triple H as his favourite to win, despite their long history, as he felt Triple H would out-wrestle Cena. Once again, JR calling it like he sees it, perhaps that’s why he lost his job; JR kept agreeing with the audience instead of Vince. Hammerlocks in the beginning, with Triple getting the advantage, much to the delight of the fans. JR and Lawler tried to make the Chicago fans out to be a crazy crowd with no logical sense, but we all know they trying to protect Cena. The crowd started chanting “F^%! YOU CENA!”, and there was no denying it, so JR commented on it by saying it was colourful and unflattering.
As Triple H and Cena slugged it out, the crowd did the YAY! BOO! YAY! BOO! thing, which was something fans weren’t used to in 2006, but nowadays it’s a typical Cena match. Perhaps this is where it started? Cena carried on with his flurry of offense and his Fisherman suplex, to a chorus of boos. The match continued on as the crowd reverted to a “Let’s Go Cena” and “F^%! YOU CENA” chants, with the F U Cena chant winning in overall volume. More typical moves from Cena and Triple H … (I’m tired, and you should know Cena and HHH’s moves by now), as the fans raged against the Cena machine, and once in a while, chanted “Triple H!”.
So further into the match, during a sleeper, the fans chanted “You can’t wrestle”, probably at Cena. They booed even more during Cena’s FIVE MOVES OF DOOM. Luckily HHH countered his 5 Knuckle Shuffle in to a Spinebuster. Eventually, Cena managed the shuffle, and followed it with the STFU; HHH made it to the ropes. Cena attempted the FU, but Triple H fell out of it.
During a scuffle with Cena and the referee, Triple H low blowed both Cena and the ref at the same time. Big pop for Triple H as he did the “You can’t see me” to Cena, followed by a crotch chop. Never heard a venue be so happy to see Triple H retrieve the sledgehammer. HHH smashed Cena in the face with it, only 2. He tried for the pedigree, but Cena countered in to the FU, which for the first time did not pick up the victory, only 2.
Cena tried a cross body from the top, Triple H picked him up for the pedigree, Cena countered it to the STFU, and after a minute or two .. Triple H tapped out unexpectedly. Some fans cheered the end, but a lot of the crowd, if you look at them, were really disappointed. I think many fans were already tired of Super Cena, and even Triple H was a better choice. It was only a year ago when the fans were intensely booing Triple H in his match with Batista, so it shows that in one year, he went from someone everyone was sick of, to someone who the fans preferred over Cena. And he didn’t just lose by pin-fall, the ten-time champion tapped out in a match which saw him dish most of the damage out.
The match had an exceptional crowd reaction. Whether you love or hate Cena, the Chicago crowd was at its most vocal in the main event, and whether that’s for the right reasons or not doesn’t matter, as long as they got a loud reaction, it could be considered a success. Also, while Cena did his part, Triple H carried things here, and anyone who says he can’t wrestle .. should watch this and see how he did it. But it wasn’t the last time the fans would turn so aggressively on Cena, at ECW One Night Stand 2006, the loyal ECW fans hated Cena so badly. I can’t recall an instance where someone was booed more, they truly hated everything Cena stood for.
Conclusion
A tough PPV to rate. On one hand, Money In the Bank, Trish vs Mickie, and Edge vs Foley were my definite favourites. Two filler matches with the tag teah contest and the Playboy pillow fight. It’s going to come down to whether you care if Mysterio was pushed excessively after Eddie’s death, and how much you love/hate Cena. It’s going to be a mixed reaction, but for me personally, I preferred Wrestlemania 21 and XX to this. HBK and Vince wasn’t as great as some say, the triple threat disappointed, and I’ve heard the typical fan reaction from Cena matches so many times; it was inevitable that he would win despite the majority booing him.
2006 marks the year when Cena truly became “The Man”, when he did what so few have done before, defend the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania. Back in 2006, I remember watching for the midcard wrestlers, and losing focus during main events. In the years going forward, Cena, Orton, and Batista took over, and the product was toned down in favour of “family-friendly” content. The ECW relaunch inevitably failed, and WWE was never the same again.
Cena was shoved down our throats, much like I’ve done throughout this piece. Annoying isn’t it? You know what’s more annoying? I know there’s so many Super Cena moments at Wrestlemania, and I’ll have to sit through them all. Can I survive the carnage? You’ll have to wait to find out, because the next entry in the series will be up in November. VIVA LA RAZA!
