By 2006 WWE was smack in the middle of the Ruthless Aggression Era. Viewership had taken a major hit from the days of the Attitude Era and the product just wasn’t as hot as it once was.
WWE was also missing a number of the stars that had helped make its product so enjoyable.
Eddie Guerrero tragically passed away in November 2005, and the likes of Chris Jericho and Christian had left the company.
With its roster having taken a pretty massive hit, WWE still managed to put on a number of very entertaining pay-per-view matches. Albeit not as many as in years past or in the future.
These are the eleven best WWE pay-per-view matches of 2006.
11. John Cena vs. Triple H – WrestleMania 22
Hardcore fans were pretty much over the John Cena as WWE Champion experiment by WrestleMania 22. Little did they know he would still be competing for the title 15 years later.
Cena was still incredibly rough around the edges in the ring at the time he faced Triple H in the main event of WrestleMania 22. Triple H himself has said that he told Cena to his face that he sucked after the match.
The two would go on to have better matches together years down the line but their WrestleMania main event was pretty solid.
The Chicago crowd definitely wanted to see John Cena lose, which they were not given, but the atmosphere helped boost this to being a perfectly adequate way to close WrestleMania.
10. Rob Van Dam vs. Shelton Benjamin – Backlash
Rob Van Dam appeared to finally be getting his shot at the main event scene when he won Money in the Bank in 2006. Before he could focus on the WWE Championship, however, he had to make it through Shelton Benjamin.
The two did battle at Backlash with both the Money in the Bank briefcase and Benjamin’s Intercontinental Championship on the line.
The match was very good with the often-clumsy RVD meshing very well with Benjamin’s finesse. Van Dam got the win and captured his sixth and final Intercontinental Championship before winning the WWE title just two months later.
9. Chris Benoit vs. William Regal – No Mercy
It was rarely the WWE way to allow technical superworkers like Chris Benoit and William Regal to show off during this time. However, at No Mercy 2006, that is exactly what happened.
Two of the great technical wrestlers from the dying days of WCW once again got to mix it up as Regal was part of King Booker’s Court.
Competing for the United States Championship, the title had a very solid run during this time with Benoit consistently putting on good matches. This was one of the best and worth watching if you are okay with watching Benoit matches.
8. John Cena vs. Edge – SummerSlam
Heh, look at John Cena’s stupid face. What an unfortunate picture that is. Give that photographer a raise.
Edge and John Cena feuded for most of 2006 with the pair trading the WWE Championship several times. One match where many people expected a title change was at SummerSlam in Cena’s hometown of Boston.
However, that was not to be. The stipulation was in place that if Edge was disqualified he would lose the title and he certainly walked that tightrope.
Eventually he still managed to cheat by hitting Cena with brass knuckles behind the referee’s back, allowing him to get the win.
7. Chris Benoit vs. Finlay – Judgment Day
Virtually everything said earlier about Chris Benoit and William Regal can be applied here as well. Finlay was a tremendous worker and shined best when he was allowed to work with other great workers like Benoit.
At Judgment Day 2006 the two did battle over the United States Championship. It was not often that two wrestlers of this caliber were given the chance to wrestle each other on pay-per-view and even less often were they given over 20 minutes.
Benoit ultimately got the win in another clash of excellent former WCW technical wrestlers.
6. Money in the Bank Ladder Match – WrestleMania 22
The 2006 Money in the Bank lineup was an eclectic bunch. With only six men competing the field was comprised of Rob Van Dam, Bobby Lashley, Finlay, Shelton Benjamin, Matt Hardy and Ric Flair.
I don’t know about you, but Lashley, Finlay, and Flair do not strike me as ladder match guys.
Regardless, the match was still an excellent spot-fest, albeit a dangerous one. There were some all-time great spots here with Benjamin running up a ladder on the ropes and doing a senton bomb to the outside.
It was, of course, Rob Van Dam who got the win in this match and judging by the lineup, he seemed to be the obvious choice as well.
Not the best Money in the Bank ladder match by any means, but a damn fine watch nonetheless.
5. Edge vs. Mick Foley – WrestleMania 22
When you look back at the matches that stole the show at WrestleMania, this match is certainly one of the most unique.
Edge was frustrated by WWE’s decision to exclude him from the main event picture at WrestleMania after successfully cashing in Money in the Bank in January. Meanwhile, Mick Foley saw this as an opportunity to have an all-time classic at WrestleMania 22.
That is exactly what happened. Two extremely motivated and extremely talented performers walked into Chicago and decided to have one of the most extreme matches in WrestleMania history.
Their hardcore match is best remembered for the flaming table finish pictured above. However, there are multiple moments that are just as extreme. Edge Spearing Foley, while Foley was secretly wrapped in barbed wire, was excellent and Edge’s bump into thumbtacks was an all-timer.
They both got what they wanted, second-degree burns, and to steal the show.
4. John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Edge – Backlash
After WrestleMania 22 the ongoing rivalries for the WWE Championship began to intersect.
John Cena took on both Triple H and Edge in a Triple Threat match and to this point, it was among the best matches Cena had had.
Edge played the manipulative heel, trying to get Cena and Triple H to fight one another only for them to use him as a ping-pong ball. The match got going and was among the most heated and exciting matches of the year.
Cena was able to outwrestle Triple H once again to retain the title before continuing his feud with Edge but of the matches the three men had in 2006, this was right up there with the best.
3. Brian Kendrick & Paul London vs. The Hardys vs. MNM vs. William Regal & Dave Taylor – Armageddon
With the return of Jeff Hardy to WWE in 2006, it was only a matter of time before we got a Hardys reunion. We got a taste of this on ECW but the brothers got their first shot at tag team gold in four years at Armageddon.
What was supposed to be a regular tag match between Brian Kendrick and Paul London and William Regal and Dave Taylor was given a massive upgrade.
Teddy Long announced the match would be a ladder match and would be including the Hardys and the newly reunited MNM.
The match was spectacular, blending the older high-flying of the Hardys with the new-age athletics of Kendrick and London and MNM.
The match is best remembered for Joey Mercury’s horrific injury, however. Viewer discretion is definitely advised for this one.
The match itself is quite great with that terrifying injury aside and should be remembered as one of the best ladder matches in company history.
2. John Cena vs. Edge – Unforgiven
Everyone sure remembers this TLC match. Only the second singles TLC match in history, Edge and John Cena closed out the 2006 chapter of their rivalry with a bang at Unforgiven.
With the stipulation added that if Cena lost he had to go to SmackDown, this was it for him. The two walked into Toronto ready for a fight even if Edge got emotional first.
Cena and Edge pulled off the difficult task of a singles TLC match masterfully. To this day there are few singles TLC matches better than this one.
Cena expertly played the role of the man out of his element, having never had a TLC or ladder match before. Edge was the hometown favorite and was wrestling his match, how could he lose?
By being FUed off a ladder through two tables, of course.
1. The Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle – No Way Out
This match has seen an increase in popularity over the years. Prior to this match, The Undertaker was not particularly known for having classic matches.
It is crazy to think about now, but there was a time when The Undertaker was not known as the great match machine he became later. This match helped change that perception.
Kurt Angle was in the middle of another great run in 2006. This match, however, was the peak of his year just as it was Undertaker’s.
The two battled over the World Heavyweight Championship at No Way Out, one month before WrestleMania. At one point this match was planned for WrestleMania and what a WrestleMania match it would have been.
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