On paper, the tag team main event of Armageddon had all the makings of an explosive blockbuster. By the time the match was over, the elite competitors involved delivered on the high expectations. Making WWE history as the first set of reigning World Champions to tag, Batista and John Cena disposed of bitter rivals King Booker and Finlay at Armageddon.

The hostility between the teams has been brewing for months, and the physicality within the match reflected every ounce of it. In the weeks leading up to Armageddon, there was doubt as to whether King Booker and Finlay could function as a team. However, when the match started, it was clear the question had been answered and the team of Cena and Batista would be in for a gut check.

Relying on their advantage in experience, the veteran King’s Court formed a cohesive unit and held their powerful opponents in check for much of the match. A botched and somewhat dubious incident involving Finlay’s Little Bastard contributed in turning the tide back toward the Champions. Bastard entered midway through the match and attempted to kick the WWE Champion. However, the undersized Irish icon misjudged his target and kicked himself right between the eyes, rendering him useless for the rest of the contest. From there, it was all Batista and Cena.

With Finlay neutralized by the WWE Champ, the Animal finished off the King. A thunderous Batista Bomb shook the Richmond Coliseum, sending the crowd into a frenzy as the World Heavyweight Champion recorded the pin, and another huge victory.

 

The heat was on Montel Vontavious Porter from the moment he entered the ring for his Inferno Match with Kane at Armageddon�?but it wasn’t just from the fans who were trying to boo him out of the Richmond Coliseum. It was the eight-foot, 500-degree flames surrounding the ring that ultimately claimed him Sunday night. Though he’d be transported to a local burn unit for treatment, one thing was clear: MVP may have lost a lot more than a grueling contest to the Big Red Monster.

As documented by WWE.com throughout the hours building up to Armageddon, MVP tried acting unconcerned about going into a match where the sole stipulation is to set your opponent on fire. Having defeated Kane on two previous occasions—a Street Fight and a Steel Cage Match—he had claimed that he would be celebrating another victory at Armageddon. But as Kane joined him inside the ring and summoned the flames to erupt from all four corners, it dawned on MVP that he was in the devil’s burning playground.

The loud, crackling flames threatened to melt the very ring ropes as they flared up several feet with every impact made on the mat. MVP tried desperately to mount an offense against the Big Red Monster, who at one point delivered a Chokeslam from Hell that shot the flames up to their highest point, and brought every WWE fan in the arena to their feet.

Those same WWE fans continued standing as Kane removed one of the corner turnbuckles, then ignited it so he could set his opponent on fire. Narrowly escaping, MVP nearly stole the victory with a series of dropkicks that sent the Big Red Monster rolling toward the flames. But Kane dodged the final blow, and when MVP tried escaping his wrath by climbing up the top rope, he threw him over the fire, near the announcers�?table. He then climbed up top and followed MVP to the outside, delivering a near-fatal blow from above.

Eerily smiling as the flames danced beside them, Kane dragged MVP over to the steel ring post and proceeded to set his back on fire. Screaming in agony, MVP ran back toward the steel ramp, but the pain proved too much; he was unconscious by the time officials doused the flames on his back with fire extinguishers, then rushed him to the back for immediate medical attention. Meanwhile Kane, still smiling, returned to the ring and celebrated in the middle of what truly looked like Hell on Earth.

 

The war between Mr. Kennedy and the Phenom came to an ominous close in a rare Last Ride Match at Armageddon, as Kennedy was thrown into a sleek, dark hearse headed towards damnation.

In the second match of this kind in sports-entertainment history, the only way to escape the Richmond Coliseum was for either man to put their opponent into the hearse and have him driven out of the arena.

This macabre encounter commenced with chilling druid incantations heard throughout the building and as the hearse rode into sight, cool sensations rippled through the spines of WWE fans in attendance. Within minutes, both Kennedy and Undertaker would be tossing one another’s bodies into the very same black chariot of death.

Securing a pair of controversial victories over The Phenom �?one in a First Blood Match at Survivor Series �?Kennedy came close to making it three in a row over Undertaker. The two combatants exchanged blows up the entranceway and climbed the medieval Armageddon set where Kennedy hurled The Phenom to the arena floor more than 15 feet below.

Kennedy attempted to close the battle by dragging Undertaker’s beaten carcass to the hearse, and stowing his opponent in the back. As Kennedy sat in the driver’s seat to ride off, Undertaker rose up and pulled Kennedy through the hearse and outside the vehicle where the lethal fight continued.

Somehow rejuvenated, Undertaker blasted his enemy and followed up with both a chokeslam and a devastating Tombstone on the roof of the vehicle. With Kennedy incapacitated, the Deadman lugged his foe’s body into the hearse, revved its engine and slowly rode out of the arena to end the match.

Following weeks of mind games from Undertaker and, tonight, against all odds in Undertaker’s specialty match, Kennedy held his own against the Deadman and came close to pulling off an upset victory against The Phenom.

The SmackDown loudmouth took the Deadman to his limit, but his efforts weren’t enough to overcome the legendary Undertaker, who seems to only get better and better after more than 16 years of dominance.

 

If you didn’t know any better, you would’ve thought that Chris Benoit and Chavo Guerrero had been lifelong enemies. The two former best friends and virtual family members relied on years of experience and mountains of toughness in providing one of the most physical battles of the night. In the end, misplayed interference from an “ailing�?Vickie Guerrero contributed to another successful title defense for the Rabid Wolverine. 

Perhaps motivated by constant accusations of abuse, Chris Benoit was as determined as ever to stick it to SmackDown’s devious duo at Armageddon. The U.S. Champion used his entire arsenal, including an incredible string of eight straight German Suplexes in mounting his offense and controlling the action.

Late in the match, Benoit appeared poised to put Chavo away when Vickie entered the ring with the U.S. Title in hand. As the crowd chanted, “Vickie sucks,�?Benoit turned around and stopped the Guerrero matriarch in her tracks. Vickie crumbled to the canvas, retreating from the hungry Wolverine. Ever the opportunist, Chavo attempted to take advantage of the situation. The challenger rolled Benoit up from behind, pulling on the tights for extra leverage, but the momentum was too much and Benoit was able to reverse the roll up into the Sharpshooter. Stuck in the middle of the ring and suffering from excruciating pain, Chavo was forced to tap out. 

After the match, a livid Vickie Guerrero offered the following comments to WWE.com.

“I am more upset than ever,�?said Guerrero. “I can’t believe he tried to abuse me again. I was scared for my life out there. He will never be a part of the Guerrero family.�?

 

Gregory Helms won the Cruiserweight Championship in an Open Invitational Match at last January’s Royal Rumble. Since then, he has become the longest reigning champion in sports-entertainment today, and has eclipsed former WWE Champion JBL’s mark of 10 months as the longest reign in SmackDown history. After defeating Jimmy Wang Yang at Armageddon Sunday night, Helms will continue to add to that mark as he heads into 2007.

Yang beat Jamie Noble two weeks ago for the right to face Helms at Armageddon, and he came close on several occasions to taking the Cruiserweight title away from the Superstar JBL insists is “SmackDown’s best-kept secret.�?But every time the resident redneck started building up momentum, Helms shut him down. He also silenced the Richmond fans�?boos at one point by delivering an impressive swinging neckbreaker off the top rope.

Moments later both Superstars went up top again, but this time Yang got the better of the exchange, bloodying Helms�?nose and mouth before sending him crashing down to the canvas. But then Yang crashed and burned with a Corkscrew Moonsault that missed its moving target, dazing him long enough for Helms to drill his knees into the redneck’s face. Rolling Yang up for the three-count, Helms exited the Richmond Coliseum—and the year 2006—the way he entered it: as the Cruiserweight Champion.

At Armageddon, The Miz’s incredible undefeated streak was finally broken by his terrifying rival, Boogeyman. Before the match began, The Miz told the “worm-eating freak,�?that he was about to get a reality check, but when the dust settled it was Boogeyman that picked up the pinfall for the win.

As if facing his first loss in WWE wasn’t bad enough, the ex-reality TV star was also forced to face his worst fears as Boogeyman delivered a disgusting mouthful of worms moments after the match ended. The two Superstars have squared off on numerous occasions, but up until this point Miz’s friend Kristal has taken the brunt of Boogeyman’s worm attacks. Last week on SmackDown. The Miz competed in his own Face Your Fears Challenge, eating monkey brains and pig tongue, but balking at the site of a plate full of worms. When asked how the worms tasted, Miz paused for quite some time and finally answered, “Yeah�?that’s all I have to say,�?Before storming off.   

 

Christmas came early to WWE fans as SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long presented a special holiday treat in the form of a Ladder Match for Brian Kendrick and Paul London’s WWE Tag Team Championship. London and Kendrick have beaten the best teams SmackDown has to offer, and at Armageddon, the champions climbed a 12-foot ladder to retain their gold and earn the respect they rightfully deserve.

Live in Richmond, Va., Long made an unanticipated yet hugely popular decision to have the champions battle not only William Regal and Dave Taylor, but also The Hardys and MNM �?the team London & Kendrick defeated for the titles back in May. Though the champions were not the biggest men in this battle, they were the most tenacious and proved themselves as deserving of the name “champion.�?/FONT>

In order to attain the victory in a match of this nature, a competitor scales the unforgiving rungs of a ladder to retrieve the pair of tag team titles suspended above the ring. As four unique teams in a single ring vied for one solitary prize, WWE fans saw the ultimate in contrasting styles.

No strangers to this type of encounter, Matt & Jeff Hardy have made their fame in several unforgettable matches involving the ladder. Days after Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy experienced a concussion at the hands of the Samoan Bulldozer Umaga on Raw, he and his brother picked up right where they left off years ago, using innovative maneuvers with the ladders as weaponry to weaken their opponents. This action would result in the blow to the head of Joey Mercury that drew a gruesome spew of blood from his face.

As this holiday treat turned out to be one of the grisliest Ladder Matches in history, Mercury was immediately rushed to a nearby medical facility and Nitro was left to battle for the gold on his own.

In what was arguably the defining moment in the young careers of London & Kendrick, the WWE Tag Team Champions outlasted the three highly formidable teams. Using explosive, seemingly fearless high-risk techniques and dynamic teamwork, London & Kendrick endured the fierce battle and came out victorious when a bruised London made his way up the ladder to claim both titles.

“When I saw the Hardys, I was nervous because this match was their expertise; it’s what put them on the map,�?said a bruised Kendrick. “I think beating those three teams was a huge feather in our cap, and it’s something we should hold our heads high about.�?/FONT>

Still dazed, London offered a few words following the unbelievable confrontation at Armageddon.

“We defeated the masters of the Ladder Match in The Hardys,�?London said, “We defeated MNM who are considered to be one great tag team and we beat two of the best �?if not the best �?nbsp; wrestlers in Dave Taylor and William Regal. We proved why we’re WWE Tag Team Champions.�?He continued, “We’re still alive and we’re still the champs. But, more than anything, I’m happy to be out of there.�?/FONT>

The sexiest women on television certainly didn’t disappoint as they donned their hottest lingerie to compete in the first-ever Naughty or Nice Diva Lingerie Contest. Kristal, Layla, Jillian and Ashley joined Santa Claus in the ring to reveal their skimpy lingerie much to the delight of the Richmond fans. In a surprising turn of events, Santa declared all the Divas winners and then revealed one final surprise for WWE fans: Santa Claus was none other than Big Dick Johnson! The WWE Divas danced Johnson out of the arena as he shook his belly like a bowlful of jelly. WWE fans heard him exclaim as he walked out of sight, “with the Divas with me, I’m sure I’ll have a great night!�?
Your Wrestling Guide,

Love & Peace,

AngelBear7042-Mgr.