King of the Ring 2006 King of the Ring 2006 was the nineteenth annual King of the Ring tournament produced by World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) . The tournament was held between April 14 and May 21 , 2006 . It was the second King of the Ring tournament to take place after WWE ' s brand extension . However , unlike the previous tournament ( it was exclusive for both Raw and SmackDown brands ) , it was exclusive for only the SmackDown brand . The 2006 tournament was the first time the formerly annual event had been held after it was discontinued in 2002 . The tournament was won by Booker T , who began using the ring name " King Booker " for the rest of his tenure in WWE . Matches . The 2006 King of the Ring tournament was only exclusive for WWE ' s SmackDown brand . The quarter - final and semi - final rounds took place on editions of SmackDown from April 14 to May 12 . The final round took place at Judgment Day . Quarter - Finals . The first quarter - final match in the 2006 King of the Ring tournament took place on April 14 , 2006 edition of " SmackDown ! " between Kurt Angle and Randy Orton . Angle dominated the earlier part of the match by a series of clotheslines and a Belly To Belly Suplex to Orton . Angle applied an Ankle Lock earlier on in the match but Orton quickly kicked out of the move . Orton gained momentum and attacked Angle ' s arm and shoulder , injuring them . Orton continued to tear Angle ' s arm and shoulder until Angle attempted a Sunset Flip and reversed it into an Ankle Lock but Orton did not tap out and worked on Angle ' s injured arm and shoulder . Angle eventually sent Orton out of the ring . As Orton returned into the ring , Angle performed three German Suplexes and attempted to hit Orton an Olympic Slam , which he calls " Angle Slam " . Orton countered it into an Inverted Backbreaker . Orton tried to hit Angle a Jumping Cutter , which he calls " RKO " . Angle blocked the move and applied an Ankle Lock on Orton , forcing him to submit to the hold . After the match , Angle applied two more Ankle Locks on Orton , injuring his ankle in storyline . The second quarter - final match took place on April 21 edition of " SmackDown " between Matt Hardy and Booker T . The match went back and forth until Booker earned momentum after Hardy missed a Moonsault . Booker dominated the match until Hardy regained momentum and attempted a Front Facelock into Cutter , which he calls " Twist of Fate " . Booker reversed by whipping Hardy . Booker ' s wife and valet Sharmell pushed the rope down and Hardy fell on the ground . Booker tried to finish Hardy but Hardy hit a Reverse DDT . Booker regained his momentum and hit Hardy a Lifting Side Slam , which he calls " Book End " . Booker tried to finish the match by attempting a Scissors Kick on Hardy but Hardy avoided the move and hit Booker a Side Slam , which he calls " Side Effect " . Sharmell joined the ring and distracted the referee . Hardy tried to hit a Twist of Fate but Booker took advantage of the situation and low blowed Hardy to win the match . The third quarter - final match took place on April 28 edition of " SmackDown " between Bobby Lashley and Mark Henry . Lashley used several of his moves to put down Henry but Henry dominated him and easily performed his moves on Lashley . Lashley tried to defeat Henry by attempting an Inverted Front Powerslam , which he called " Dominator " but Henry reversed the move . In the closing moments of the match , Henry tried to clothesline Lashley but Lashley pulled the ropes down and Henry crashed to the floor . His head crashed on the announce table and Henry was knocked out . He was unable to enter the ring and lost by count - out . As a result , Lashley was awarded the victory . However , after the match , Henry splashed Lashley into the ringpost . The final quarter - final match took place on May 5 edition of " SmackDown " between Chris Benoit and Finlay . The match went back and forth until Benoit started using his German suplexes on Finlay and attempted to hit a Diving Headbutt on Finlay but Finlay avoided the move . Finlay started throwing weapons into the ring . The referee threw the weapons outside the ring . Finlay took advantage and grabbed his shillelagh . He tried to hit Benoit with the shillelagh but Benoit avoided the move and sent Finlay outside the ring on the floor . Finlay took the weapon himself outside the ring . The referee caught the shillelagh and began disposing it . Finlay took advantage and hit Benoit a chair shot . Finlay followed by hitting Benoit a Kryptonite Krunch Piledriver , which he calls " Celtic Cross " for the victory . Semi - Finals . The semi - final round of the King of the Ring tournament on May 12 , 2006 edition of " SmackDown " . The first scheduled match was between Kurt Angle and Booker T . Angle suffered injured ribs after being attacked by Mark Henry during his World Heavyweight Championship title shot against Rey Mysterio . Angle was escorted out of the arena by the security before his scheduled semi - final match against Booker . As a result , Booker was awarded the victory by forfeit and advanced to the final round of the tournament . The only semi - final match that took place was between Bobby Lashley and Finlay . Finlay and Lashley continued to wrestle each other and performed their moves . Lashley tried to finish the match by attempting a Spear on Finlay . Finlay avoided the move and tossed a chair into the ring . The referee began disposing the chair . Finlay took advantage and grabbed his shillelagh but the referee caught Finlay with it and disposed it . Finlay caught a chair and hit Lashley with it . Finlay tossed the chair outside the ring but when he turned back , Lashley speared him to win the match and advance to the finals of the King of the Ring tournament against Booker T . Finals . The final round of the King of the Ring tournament took place at Judgment Day 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 , Sharmell distracted Lashley . After some more back and forth offense , Sharmell caused another distraction , allowing Booker ' s associate Finlay to interfere in the match and hit Lashley with a shillelagh . Booker then pinned Lashley to win the tournament . Lashley was outraged , however , and speared Booker through a throne to gain some revenge . Aftermath . Many rivalries were created because of the matches in the King of the Ring tournament . Two of the participants of the tournament , Chris Benoit and Finlay were scheduled to a match at Judgment Day because Finlay cheated to defeat Benoit in their tournament quarter - final match . At Judgment Day , Benoit defeated Finlay by forcing him to tap out to a Crossface , which Benoit called " Crippler Crossface " . As a result of winning the 2006 King of the Ring tournament , Booker T began wrestling under the ring name " King Booker " . Booker had cheated to defeat Bobby Lashley in the finals of the King of the Ring tournament at Judgment Day , which lead to a feud between Lashley and Booker . The two competed in several matches throughout June . Tournament brackets . The tournament took place between April 14 and May 21 , 2006 . The tournament brackets were :