Full Credit: Dave Meltzer, WrestlingObserver.com
WWE Armageddon PPV report
by Dave Meltzer
Dave@wrestlingobserver.com
Welcome to our live coverage of WWE Armageddon from the Richmond Coliseum.
We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
We are opening with Kane vs. MVP in the Inferno match. There isn’t much you can do in a match like this. If you were into seeing the flames and spectacle it was okay. They were outside the ring and Kane snatched him and shoved MVP’s back of his ring costume in the flames to end the match.
They are going to add MNM vs. Hardys and a ladder stipulation for the tag title match later in the show.
They’ve also added a lingerie contest with Jillian Hall vs. Leyla vs. Ashley vs. Kristal Marshall.
Brian Kendrick & Paul London vs. William Regal & David Taylor is up next.
Teddy Long is out and announced a ladder match, and is about to announce the additions.
Match was incredible. London and Matt were climbing and London got the belt to win. This was carnage. Mercury got his nose shattered from a teeter totter spot and had to be rushed to the hospital. His eyes shut immediately. He could have been hurt really bad. The other bad spot was Kendrick giving Regal a sliced bread #2 off the top of the ladder on Regal and both landed badly. Kendrick who, landed the first, seemed okay as he at least walked out on his own power. They had most of the usual ladder spots. They did a story that Regal & Taylor were afraid of heights or they could have won. Another crazy spot was Jeff on the top of a ladder on the floor and Nitro dove through the ropes with a dropkick. Jeff lost his balance and caught his throat on the top rope. Nobody is going to be able to follow this one.
The Miz vs. Boogeyman is up next. Miz thinks Smackdown is still on Thursday. Boogeyman won with a tree slam quick and spit all kinds of worms into Miz’s face. This was way below bad indie level as far as a match.
Joey Mercury has a broken nose and severe lacerations around the eye.
Chris Benoit vs. Chavo Guerrero for the U.S. title is next. Another strong match. Benoit won clean with a sharpshooter off a rolling reverse cradle by Chavo. Chavo got the O’Connor roll from behind when Benoit had Vickie set up for a sharpshooter as she tried to give him a belt shot.
Gregory Helms vs. Jimmy Wang Yang is next. Helms busted up his mouth. Helms dropped Yang’s face on his knee for the clean pin after a missed sky twister. Crowd wasn’t much into it, even turning on it at one point, but I thought it was good. JBL went off the on the crowd for not appreciating it.
Undertaker vs. Mr. Kennedy is next. Long match with Undertaker winning with a tombstone on the top of the hearse, then he put Kennedy, who bled, in the back of the hearse and drove off. The big spot was Kennedy throwing Undertaker the Armageddon set into a crash pad. People saw it was gimmicked and the spot didn’t really get over. Crowd was quiet most of this match. Nobody has been able to get the crowd hot since the ladder match.
I’ve never seen a WWE lingerie contest get over less. Kristal wore the most so keep her from winning. It was clear they wanted Ashley to win, to the point Michael Cole said, no question Ashley got the loudest cheers. Layla got twice the cheers of Ashley and the other two were booed. Christopher DeJoseph was Santa Claus and said they all won. Then he stripped and danced. Terrible ending of the segment, that much for sure. Didn’t get over at all.
Batista & Cena vs. Finlay & Booker headlines the show. Man, that sucked. They mostly paired up Cena vs. Finlay, which was fine, and Batista vs. Booker, and those two can’t work together. They screwed up the finish it appeared. Then Finlay hit Batista in the knee with a chair to the knee and Batista didn’t even sell it and went right back to the finish with a Batista bomb on Booker. Show started out great but peaked way too early. Crowd was into Batista & Cena, though.
