Judgment Day 2006 Judgment Day 2006 was the eighth annual Judgment Day professional wrestling pay - per - view ( PPV ) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) . It took place on May 21 , 2006 at the US Airways Center in Phoenix , Arizona and featured talent from the SmackDown ! brand . The main event was Rey Mysterio versus John " Bradshaw " Layfield for the World Heavyweight Championship , which Mysterio won after pinning JBL following a Frog splash . One of the predominant matches on the card was Booker T versus Bobby Lashley in the finals of the 2006 King of the Ring tournament , which Booker won after interference from Finlay . Another primary match on the undercard was Kurt Angle versus Mark Henry , which Henry won after Angle was counted out . Background . The main feud heading into Judgment Day 2006 involved Rey Mysterio and John " Bradshaw " Layfield ( JBL ) with the two battling over the World Heavyweight Championship . On the May 5 episode of " SmackDown ! " , after Rey Mysterio expressed his feelings about being World Heavyweight Champion , John " Bradshaw " Layfield came out and declared himself the number - one contender . JBL immediately began degrading Mysterio because of his Mexican heritage , saying he was an illegal immigrant and that Mysterio doesn ’ t deserve to be champion . Mysterio reacted by saying that he ' d fight anyone at anytime . In turn , JBL announced that Mysterio would face off against Mark Henry later that night . During the match , Mysterio tried to use his quickness to avoid Henry , but was easily countered by Henry ' s power . Mysterio was able to hit a 619 and a Seated senton , but was defeated when Henry hit the World ' s Strongest Slam for the pin . The next week on " SmackDown ! " , JBL announced that Mysterio would take on The Great Khali later that night . During the match , Mysterio attempted a springboard dropkick , but it had no effect . Khali then picked up Mysterio and hit a Two - handed chokeslam for the win . On the May 19 episode of " SmackDown ! " , JBL said that Mysterio didn ' t look so well due to the beatings he endured in past weeks and that he probably didn ' t even know what day it was . Mysterio answered and told him the day , May 19 . Kane , who in recent weeks attacked anyone who said May 19 , came out and faced off against Mysterio . Kane dominated most of the match , hitting a variety of power moves . Kane then began to hear voices in his head saying May 19 , which caused him to go into a psychotic trance . JBL told him to finish the job , but mistakenly said May 19 , causing Kane to attack him . As a result , the match ended in a no - contest . The other main match on the card was Booker T versus Bobby Lashley in the finals of the 2006 King of the Ring tournament . The tournament was first announced by SmackDown ! General Manager Theodore Long on the April 7 episode of " SmackDown ! " . He announced the participants and that the first match , Kurt Angle versus Randy Orton , would take place next week . In this match , Angle won after , in storyline , breaking Orton ' s ankle by refusing to break his Ankle Lock . The second qualifying match was between Booker and Matt Hardy on April 21 . Booker won the match after a low blow while his valet , Sharmell , had the referee distracted . The third qualifying match was Lashley versus Mark Henry . Lashley won by countout after Henry was knocked to the outside of the ring . The final first round match was Finlay versus Chris Benoit , which Finlay won after a chair - shot and a Celtic Cross . The semi - final round took place on May 12 , with Finlay taking on Lashley , and Booker versus Angle . Lashley won his match with a Spear , however , Angle was unable to compete in his match and had to forfeit , meaning Booker also qualified for the final . Angle was unable to compete due to the injuries to his ribs that he sustained after being attacked by Henry . This happened after Henry was eliminated from the King Of The Ring tournament , that same night , by Lashley . Two weeks later , Angle demanded a match against Henry from SmackDown ! General Manager Long , but Long refused to let Angle compete that night . Instead , he booked the match for Judgment Day . Also as a result of the King Of the Ring tournament , a Chris Benoit vs Finlay match was set up . The third match on the card was The Undertaker versus The Great Khali . This feud began when Khali attacked The Undertaker at the beginning of April . After the attack , the Undertaker didn ' t appear on television again until Judgment Day , leading Khali ' s manager , Daivari , to proclaim that Khali was " the real phenomenon " . Over the next few weeks , Khali and Daivari continued to proclaim that Khali was better than the Undertaker , however , on May 5 , General Manager Long told Khali and Daivari that the Undertaker had challenged Khali to a match at Judgment Day . Later that night , Khali accepted the challenge . Event . Before the event went live on pay - per - view , Matt Hardy defeated Simon Dean in a dark match . The first match that aired on pay - per - view was the WWE Tag Team Championship match between the champions MNM ( Johnny Nitro , Joey Mercury , and their manager , Melina ) and their challengers Paul London and Brian Kendrick . After a largely back and forth match , Mercury accidentally ran into Nitro , who hit Melina on the outside . This distracted Mercury , allowing London to roll - up Mercury for the victory and the Tag Team titles . The second match was between Chris Benoit and Finlay . Benoit took advantage after three German suplexes , but missed a diving headbutt , allowing Finlay to gain control . After the Three Amigos , however , Benoit locked in the Crippler Crossface , and Finlay tapped out giving Benoit the win . The third match of the night was between Melina and Jillian Hall . Melina controlled the early stages of the match , until Hall was able to pin her with a sunset flip , even though Melina ' s hand was on the bottom rope . The next match was the Cruiserweight Title match between the champion , Gregory Helms , and Super Crazy . In a high - flying match , including a suicide senton by Crazy , Crazy took control about half - way through the match . Helms countered , however , and after a Powerbomb , Helms pinned Crazy to retain the title by using the ropes for leverage . The fifth match was between Kurt Angle and Mark Henry . Angle , who had his ribs taped , lost the match by countout after Henry crushed him against the ringpost on the outside . After the decision , however , Angle hit Henry with a steel chair and applied the ankle lock on Henry . He then Angle Slammed him onto a table , which didn ' t break , and proceeded to hit him through the table with a further charishot The sixth match was the King of the Ring Final between Booker T and Bobby Lashley . Lashley took control early on in the match , until he hit the ringpost with a shoulder block attempt . This allowed Booker to take control , although Lashley quickly countered with a belly to belly suplex . Before he could capitalise , however , Booker ' s valet , Sharmell , distracted Lashley . After some more back and forth offense , Sharmell caused another distraction , allowing Booker ' s associate Finlay to hit Lashley with a shillelagh . Booker then pinned him to win the tournament . Lashley was outraged , however , and speared Booker through a throne to gain some revenge . The next match was between The Undertaker and The Great Khali . Khali dominated the match for large periods , although the Undertaker did manage to hit his signature " Old School " . After the Undertaker failed to hit a chokeslam , Khali took control again , and pinned the Undertaker following a Big Boot . The main event was the World Heavyweight Championship match between champion Rey Mysterio and John " Bradshaw " Layfield ( JBL ) . After a back and forth beginning to the match , JBL took control after throwing Mysterio into the steel steps on the outside . After continued offense from JBL , Mysterio fought back , but when Mysterio went for a West Coast Pop , JBL avoided it by pulling referee Nick Patrick in front of him . A second referee , Charles Robinson , replaced Patrick , but after Mysterio kicked out of a second pinning attempt , JBL attacked Robinson . JBL then brought a steel chair into the ring , but Mysterio kicked it back into his face . Mysterio followed it up with a 619 and Frog Splash to pin JBL and retain his championship .