SmackDown! pay-per-views have been disappointing, lacking, and just plain awful. With hopes to turn things around, WWE Armageddon made its way to us from Providence, RI, offering a fresh breath of air that could mean a promising 2006.
Armageddon’s card consisted of many last-minute matches, including the two-on-one Handicap match between Bobby Lashley and William Regal and Paul Burchill, as well as the Cruiserweight Championship match between Kid Kash and “The Juice” Juventud Guerrera. But for some odd reason, it all seemed to mesh fairly well.
Although, the PPV was nowhere near Raw quality, it was still much better than its 2005 predecessors. The night was capped off by the much anticipated Hell in a Cell debacle between “The Legend Killer” Randy Orton and arch rival The Undertaker.
The match started off slow with Orton playing the coward, ducking ‘Taker’s punches and running scared. Orton was able to use his quickness to score a few key hits, but ‘Taker countered with a boot to the face. Once the fight spilled out to the floor, all bets were off. A sickening chair shot to the skull of Orton busted him wide open.
With Orton bleeding, ‘Taker went right to work on the gash, grinding the youngster’s face across the steel mesh. “The Deadman” found a chain buried underneath the ring and proceeded to use it as a choking instrument, driving the air out of Orton’s body. But as they say, “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”
Orton was able to turn things around later on and choke The Undertaker until he turned a nice shade of purple. After a shot to the head via the steel steps, Undertaker found himself tasting his own blood, and not necessarily liking it. Orton followed up with a thunderous chair shot of his own, taking “The Deadman” off his feet.
“Cowboy” Bob Orton tried to intervene, but found himself on the receiving end of a boot to the face that sent the cage back at him, in the process lacerating him above the eyebrow. The younger Orton came back with repeated shots, eventually setting up a table and splashing Undertaker through it.
However that was not enough to put ‘Taker away, Orton took some more jabs, taunted a little and was nearly put away with a Last Ride. Orton escaped and ducked a punch that caught referee Nick Patrick, busting him open as well. As referees and EMTs came down, the door was left open for Bob Orton to enter. Randy hit an RKO, but there was nobody to make the count. Once a count was started, it only came out to a two.
The Undertaker got back to a vertical base and planted Randy with a Last Ride that was broken up by Bob. ‘Taker went outside the ring, grabbed Bob and proceeded to pound the daylights out of him. ‘Taker went for a Tombstone on Randy, but it was reversed as Randy hit ‘Taker with a devastating Tombstone for a two count.
Bob tried to get involved again, but was once again stopped thanks to a hard blow from ‘Taker. ‘Taker regained his urn and used it to crack the Orton’s in the face. A couple of Tombstones later and both men were laid to rest as The Undertaker stood atop the cell, urn in hand and victorious.
WWE Armageddon 2005 Results:
– The show began with a music video that hyped the Undertaker/Randy Orton feud. Some really cool stuff that’s been going on in this one. Definitely one of the better feuds of 2005.
– JBL came out with his Image Consultant, Jillian Hall, and cut a promo on Rhode Island and Matt Hardy. JBL harped on the fact that Hardy lost his girlfriend, then whined to his geek friends on the Internet. He was soon cut off, leading to…
– Match One – John “Bradshaw” Layfield w/ Jillian Hall vs Matt Hardy
Hardy came through the crowd, attacking JBL from behind. Sadly for Hardy, that would be about 90% of the offense he would get for the entire match. Hardy got caught up, neck first, between the top and middle rope, and stayed their for a little while as JBL proceeded to choke, punch and kick his head in. With the exception of a swinging neckbreaker and moonsault, it was all JBL. The Texan ripped off a turnbuckle padded, sent poor Hardy into it and delivered up a Clothesline From Hell like never before.
Winner Via Pinfall – John “Bradshaw” Layfield
Match Rating – 7/10
– We then caught a recap of SmackDown! where Melina tried to use her “Assets” to gain the favoritism of Batista, but to no avail, as “The Animal” and Rey Mysterio walked out, new Tag Team Champions.
– In the backstage area, Psichosis and Super Crazy walked up to Melina and told her that they will pull themselves out of the match they have with MNM, as long as Melina does to them what she did to Batista. She told them that they were sick and walked away.
– Hell in a Cell Last Rites Moment – The Undertaker’s brutal beatdown of Mankind.
– Match Two – MNM w/ Melina vs The Mexicools (Psichosis and Super Crazy)
Quick paced match that really kept the crowd going. Psichosis and Crazy took to the air, landing a corkscrew as well as a tope con hilo over the referee’s back. Melina got involved, tripping up Psichosis and taking away his momentum. MNM used their double teaming tactics to wear down Psichosis, keeping him isolated from making the tag. Once the tag was made, it was all Mexicools. Melina tried to get involved again, but was sent down for her troubles. Crazy hit a moonsault on Joey Mercury, but the pinfall was broken up by Johnny Nitro, leading to The Snapshot for the win.
Winners Via Pinfall – MNM
Match Rating – 7/10
– JBL and Jillian Hall were shown with Steve Romero, chatting with fans on WWE Instant Access.
– WWE’s most untalented announcer Kristal ran into Booker T and Sharmell who guaranteed a sweep in Booker’s match against Chris Benoit. Sharmell also let Kristal know that when she left, she could use her broom to ride away on.
Match Three – Best of Seven Series For The United States Championship MATCH # 4 – Booker T w/ Sharmell vs “The Rabid Wolverine” Chris Benoit
A technical match on all accounts. Tons and tons of chops and suplexes. They seemed to be a little off their game however, floundering a bit at times. Several Crossface attempts, as well as a low blow/scissor kick combination from Sharmell and Booker all came back negative. With Booker down, Benoit went for a diving headbutt, only to come up with a two count. Benoit once again went for the crossface, this time Booker rolled through and hit the ref. Benoit was quick to his feet to apply the Sharpshooter, forcing Booker to tap. The only problem was that the referee was out. Sharmell came in and hit Benoit with the broom, but that didn’t phase him. As he went to take care of Sharmell, Booker came from behind and attacked, setting up for the Book End, which was reversed into a DDT and topped off with a Crossface for the victory.
Winner Via Submission – “The Rabid Wolverine” Chris Benoit
Best of Seven Series – Booker T (3) vs Chris Benoit (1)
Match Rating – 6/10
– MNM and Melina were shown talking with the WWE Instant Access crew.
– Hell in a Cell Last Rites Moment – The Undertaker chokeslamming Rikishi off the top of the Cell.
– SmackDown’s GM Teddy Long and Palmer Cannon made their way to the ring. Long thanked all the fans for their support in making SmackDown! number one. Cannon took the mic and said that since it’s the holiday season, he has a treat for everyone. He brought out Big Vito as Santa Claus and Nunzio as an elf. The duo handed out lumps of coal to everyone, yes even Michael Cole. Once in the ring, the two began requesting all sorts of title shots. Cannon denied their requests, but offered them a different gift. The Boogeyman made his way to the ring and absolutely destroyed the FBI. Nunzio was thrown shoulder first into the ring post. Vito tried to charge in, but caught the stick into the midsection and a pump handle slam. The Boogeyman lit his stick, and as the smoke poured out, he waved it over the Santa Claus bag and opened it up as worms poured out everywhere. He took a bite himself and then shoved a handful down Vito’s throat before leaving. I am putting all my stock in this guy, he is truly one of the better parts of SmackDown!
– They played another Undertaker/Randy Orton hyped video, showcasing their tremendous feud.
– Randy Orton stood by with Kristal and cut a promo on how he is the master of the mind games. He showed off The Undertaker’s urn before leaving to prepare for his match.
– Match Four – 2 on 1 Handicap Match – Bobby Lashley vs William Regal and Paul Burchill
An big time squash match that saw a little double teaming from Regal and Burchill, but mostly a power display from Lashley. Lashley used the dreaded Dominator on Burchill to secure himself a win.
Winner Via Pinfall – Bobby Lashley
Match Rating – 5/10
WWE New Years Revolution takes place on January 8, 2006 from Albany, NY.
– Things were then sent over to the Friendly Tap, where Josh Matthews was standing by with Friendly Tap owner and former WWE official, Tim White. White wasn’t answering any questions, rather just drinking beers and drowning his sorrows. They showed a clip of the Hell in a Cell match that put him out of commission When asked how he was doing, White talked about how his wife left him, how he lost all his friends, how he developed all these medical problems. He pulled out a riffle and told Josh Matthews to leave. Matthews agreed as White walked away with the gun. From their the most disturbing thing on WWE 2005 PPV took place. With screams from Josh Matthews a gun went off, signifying what could only be the suicide of Tim White. Matthews looked squeamishly on as I pondered what the hell had just happened.
– Match Five – WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match – Juventud “The Juice” Guerrera (C) vs Kid Kash
After a slightly awkward transition, we were sent back to the ring for more action. Another slightly sloppy, but not-so-terrible match. Kash went for his trademark springboard moonsault, but caught a pair of knees to the midsection. “The Juice” hit a huge huricanrana off the top rope, but planting Kash with a Juvi Driver for the two count. Juvi missed the front flip leg drop and was leveled (no pun intended), with the Dead Level Brainbuster for the win.
Winner Via Pinfall and NEW WWE Cruiserweight Champion – Kid Kash
Match Rating – 5/10
– Bobby Lashley was then shown with the WWE Instant Access group.
– Next up was an awesome commercial for the Royal Rumble, which featured all the McMahons. Vince as the leader of Rome of course. In the end, Shane or “Shanicus”, stabbed Vince in the back and did his trademark dancing around. Hillarious. The Royal Rumble will be taking place on January 29, 2005 from Miami, FL.
Match Six – Inter-Promotional Tag Team Match – The Big Show and Kane vs “The Animal” Batista and Rey Mysterio
Not much good here. Each team demonstrated their strength, with Mysterio being the only man out of place. The match evolved into a brawl, with Batista and Big Show wrestling over the announce table, as Mysterio delivered a 6-1-9 to Kane. He went for the West Coast Pop, but was caught in midair and planted with a chokeslam for the three count.
Winners Via Pinfall – The Big Show and Kane
Match Rating – 5/10
– They hyped the Tribute To The Troops edition of Raw.
– Hell in a Cell Last Rites Moment – The Undertaker beats up on Shawn Michaels.
– Match Seven – Hell in a Cell Match – “The Legend Killer” Randy Orton w/ “Cowboy” Bob Orton vs The Undertaker
Winner Via Pinfall – The Undertaker
Match Rating – 8/10
Overall Event Rating – 6.5/10
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