Throwback Thursday: Looking back at WWE Armageddon 2006

Throwback Thursdays are back!

If you're unfamiliar, each and every Thursday I will look back at a different pay-per-view event from the past via the WWE Network. Want to see a certain event covered? Send your suggestions to @VaughnMJohnson on Twitter.

Next week, we'll cover WCW Slamboree 2000

WWE Armageddon 2006

Date: December 16, 2006

Venue: Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Va.

A little background

The 2006 edition of the Armageddon pay-per-view was a Smackdown exclusive event. This event took place when WWE was in the midst of its brand extension and part of that extension was giving each brand — Raw and Smackdown — their own pay-per-view events every other month.

The only joint shows between Raw and Smackdown were Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series. Armageddon belonged to Smackdown whereas an event like Unforgiven belonged to Raw.

However, this particular event was one of the final brand exclusive pay-per-views WWE has ever done. The final brand exclusive event was No Way Out in February of 2007. That was a Smackdown event.

From then on, every WWE pay-per-view featured both brands until ending the brand extension in 2011.

Inferno match – Kane def. MVP

This match was always odd to me. That's because Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) had just been signed to what was being touted in storyline as the "largest contract in Smackdown history," only to have his first major pay-per-view match against Kane in an Inferno match.

You know, the match where the only way to win was to set your opponent on fire. WWE doesn't do these matches anymore because, well, someone has to get set on fire and that's not very becoming of a publicly traded company that is PG-rated.

But back in 2006, however, WWE was publicly traded, but it wasn't PG so all bets were off. That meant someone had to burn.

On this particular night, it was MVP. I must remind you that this was MVP's first major pay-per-view match. Not only did he lose, but he was set on fire.

It didn't make much sense to me to have the highly coveted free agent wrestler lose in that fashion so early in his run. MVP recovered in due time, but this felt like a mistake at the time.

You know who else wasn't very happy with this match? John Bradshaw Layfield. JBL was irate on commentary that the match was even taking place. He scolded Smackdown general manager Teddy Long throughout the match for putting MVP in such a barbaric contest.

Speaking of JBL, he was so good back in 2006. I have to believe it him being on Smackdown and having more leeway helped because he can become intolerable at times now on Raw.

He gave actual analysis and insight instead of just shouting things for no real reason.

You know the words and phrases. Things like "Ballgame!" "Big Match John!" "He's a prize fighter!" "He's Mexico's greatest export!" "He's perfect fighting machine!" "He's a lunatic!" "Maggle!"

Instead he seemed a lot more like an actual human being instead of someone that just shouts on command, but I digress.

The match itself was decent I guess. It was just odd given the circumstances MVP was in.

WWE Tag Team championship (Ladder match) – Paul London & Brian Kendrick def. MNM (Joey Mercury & Johnny Nitro), The Hardys (Matt & Jeff Hardy) & William Regal & Dave Taylor

To think that this match wasn't even supposed to take place is kind of crazy in hindsight.

Heading into the show, WWE Tag Team champions Brian Kendrick and Paul London were scheduled to defend their titles against William Regal and Dave Taylor in an ordinary tag team match.

However, plans changed after the general manager came out and changed it to a four-way ladder match by adding MNM and The Hardys.

That ante was upped very quickly and the match that followed lived up to the standard of ladder matches that came before it. This match was incredible, even by today's standards.

Amid all of the insane spots, the one that had a lasting effect was the seesaw ladder spot that could have ended Joey Mercury's career. When the ladder popped up and hit Mercury in the face, it broke his nose and orbital bone, creating a pretty gruesome scene in the process.

Mercury's face looked he had been in a serious car wreck and he was bleeding all over the place. It looked like a crime scene there was so much blood outside of the ring. There was literally a puddle of it on the floor.

Mercury was immediately hauled out of the arena and straight to the hospital, leaving Johnny Nitro to finish the match on his own.

In hindsight, that spot should have never been attempted. A lot could go wrong with those ladders, which can do real damage to a person's body, and the worst-case scenario took place on this night when it all but shattered Mercury's face.

Even if it didn't destroy Mercury's face, it could still cause severe damage. The risk was not worth the reward.

Other than that one ugly scene, the match was fantastic. One of the funnier parts of the match was Regal and Taylor being afraid to climb the ladder to grab the titles.

Regal and Taylor were supposed to be the rugged, tough guys in the match, but didn't want to climb more than halfway up the ladder.

The Boogeyman def. The Miz

It amazes me that The Miz has lasted as long as he has in WWE. I mean it is truly amazing when you think about it.

Even in 2006, The Miz looked like such a dork with his goofy-looking hair and his terrible wrestling gear. He looked like a backyard wrestler that won a contest to get one match in a real company.

That same dork went on to become a future champion. Not just a champion, the champion and he participated in the main event of WrestleMania 27 in 2011. No matter how you feel about The Miz, you can never take that away from him. He'll always have that on his resume.

But back in 2006, he was still a complete goof that deserved to have worms shoved in his mouth by The Boogeyman, who looked sort of normal next to The Miz.

Hoorah? Give me a break.

WWE United States championship – Chris Benoit def. Chavo Guerrero

To further my point about JBL from earlier, this was one of the matches where he shined the brightest. He was giving real analysis about the match, which was a delight to hear instead of him just shouting random things.

As far the match itself, it was good for what it was. We all know the story with Chris Benoit and it still feels weird watching him even until this day.

Every time he showed his aggressive side, I cringed a little. Every time he was called the rabid wolverine, I slightly winced. Every time he did the throat slash, I couldn't help but think about how his life ended.

When he threatened to put Vickie Guerrero in the sharpshooter, it was just a little uneasy knowing what I know now. I wish I could get that tragedy out of my mind, but I simply can't. It is just unfortunate.

Speaking of weird, it was also weird to think that Chavo and Vickie Guerrero were heels only a year after the death of Eddie Guerrero. Chavo Guerrero was even wearing the "EG" wristband everyone wore after his uncle's death.

Vickie Guerrero eventually grew into the role of being a heel. She was such a natural despite the fact she had no prior experience in wrestling before she became an on-screen character in 2005.

Although she was very talented, I think I would have thought twice about making Eddie Guerrero's widow a villain. Eddie Guerrero was such a beloved figure before his death and to see his wife play the role of a bad guy was kind of weird.

Like I said, it eventually worked though

WWE Cruiserweight championship – Gregory Helms def. Jimmy Wang Yang

JBL was such a human being on this show, and not a catchphrase machine, that he actually acknowledged the chants of "Boring!" during this match.

He yelled at the fans of Richmond for saying such a thing while two athletes the caliber of Gregory Helms and Jimmy Wang Yang were working their butts off to put on a good match. He wouldn't do it today, but I really wish he would.

I wish JBL spent as much time ripping Yang's gimmick as he did the fans because that character was so awful. The gimmick would have been bad on pretty much anyone but making a half-Korean guy a hillbilly cowboy wasn't going to catch on. And they wondered why he never got over with the fans?

Helms was always very good in the ring, but his character was rather bland during this particular period. He eventually became the longest-reigning cruiserweight champion in history, but his best days were definitely as The Hurricane.

By the way, Helms looked legitimately injured after the match. For whatever reason, he delivered a swinging neck breaker from the top rope that looked like did more damage to him than it did his opponent.

After that, he looked a little woozy and even had blood coming out of his mouth at the end of the match. I don't think we've seen that move too many times since.

Last Ride Match – The Undertaker def. Mr. Kennedy

The Last Ride match was essentially a stretcher/ambulance match but instead of a stretcher or an ambulance, it was a hearse. Get it? It was because of The Undertaker. He plays a man that is dead.

While the match was very good, I couldn't help but think about what a talent Mr. Kennedy was and how WWE squandered what it had with him.

I know that WWE had big plans for him to eventually become a world champion and that injuries derailed those plans, but Kennedy wasn't the first wrestler to ever get injured.

Triple H has had countless injuries. He's torn both of his quadriceps muscles, but that never stopped WWE from keeping him in a top position. Randy Orton has had multiple shoulder injuries and other various problems outside of the ring, but he's maintained his spot after all of these years.

Let's not forget about John Cena and all of the injuries he's had, including neck surgery. By the way, both Orton and Cena are currently on the shelf with injuries.

But for whatever reason, Kennedy's injuries led WWE to lose faith in him. It is a real shame, too because he was on fire during his feud with The Undertaker and I'm not talking literal fire like MVP.

Another thing that made me cringe was all of the unprotected chair shots to the head. With what we know about concussions now, it is tough to watch them.

Fortunately, The Undertaker was protected when Kennedy threw him off the top of one of the entrance structures to the floor. Well, it wasn't all the way to the floor. It was to a comfortable crash pad that was waiting for The Undertaker to land on instead. Because of that, I'm not totally sure the fans really bought into it.

In between this match and the main event, there was lingerie contest between Ashley Massaro, Layla, Kristal Marshall and Jillian Hall. All I'm going to say is that there was no "divas revolution" kicking off on this night.

Batista & John Cena def. King Booker & Finlay

This match was being touted as the first time two current world champions had ever been on the same team, as Batista was the World Heavyweight champion at the time and John Cena was the WWE champion at the time.

This felt a lot like when Cena team with The Rock to against The Miz and R-Truth at Survivor Series in 2011. This match had nothing to do with the heels and was all about to mega-stars coming together on one team.

King Booker, the man who Batista beat to become world champion, was a hilarious gimmick that went all the way to the main event of Smackdown. I know this was one of Booker T's favorite runs of his Hall-of-Fame career, but a part of me wishes he could have been a world champion in WWE by just being Booker T instead of a delusional king.

However, Booker T and Sharmell seemed to be enjoying the gimmick more than anyone else. Booker T's sense of humor helped him immerse himself in the character.

If they had no problem with the run, then I can't be but so up in arms about it.

People were up in arms about Cena's spinner championship belt, which was still spinning at this point. It didn't stop spinning until he lost it in late 2007.

The funny thing about Cena was that he was so over-the-top at this point with his mannerisms. Everything he did was so exaggerated.

He's still kind of over-the-top, but not nearly to the extent he used to be. He has also improved by leaps and bounds in the ring. Cena went from being called "unorthodox" to cover up his shortcomings in the ring to being one of the best in-ring performers WWE has today.

But on this night in 2006, the word "unorthodox" was still appropriate for the WWE champion. Despite that, Cena was still wildly popular. Cena didn't receive the 50/50 ovation he routinely receives today.

When his music hit, the crowd went crazy. The same goes for Batista. I think people forget just how popular he was as the main man on Smackdown. It may be easy to forget after the series of vitriolic reactions he received during his most recent WWE run in 2014.

In 2006, however, Batista was still the babyface knight in shining armor for Smackdown. He was an animalistic knight, but a knight nonetheless.

The unsung hero among the group was Finlay. Finlay didn't have the star power of Cena, Batista or even Booker T, but was a cagey veteran that had more experience than all three of his peers.

The match itself was actually felt kind of routine despite all of the talent in the ring. It felt more like a main event of a three-hour episode of Raw than the main event of a pay-per-view.

But I guess this was one of the reasons why WWE eventually did away with the brand exclusive pay-per-views.