Armageddon 2006

Armageddon 2006 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which took place on December 17, 2006 at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia. The event starred wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand.
The main event was a tag team match, in which the team of Batista and John Cena defeated the team of King Booker and Finlay. Two featured bouts were scheduled on the undercard, including The Undertaker versus Mr. Kennedy, in a match where the objective was to place an opponent in a hearse located on the entrance stage and drive them out of the arena, which Undertaker won. The other match was an Inferno match featuring wrestlers attempting to set the opponent on fire with flames surrounding the ring. Kane defeated Montel Vontavious Porter.
The event grossed over $423,500 in ticket sales from an attendance of 8,200. Canadian Online Explorer's professional wrestling section rated the WWE Tag Team Championship match a nine out of ten stars, the highest match rating. The event was released on DVD on January 16, 2007 by Sony Music Entertainment. The DVD reached second on Billboard's DVD Sales Chart for recreational sports during the week of February 18, 2007, and it dropped to the tenth spot the following week.
== Background ==
Armageddon (2006) was the seventh annual Armageddon event. Eight professional wrestling matches, were featured on the event's card.
The leading staged rivalry written into the event was between Batista and King Booker. At Survivor Series, WWE's November pay-per-view event, Batista defeated Booker to win the World Heavyweight Championship. On the December 1, 2006 episode of SmackDown!, one of WWE's primary television programs, King Booker and Finlay both demanded a match against Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship. General Manager Theodore Long, a portrayed match maker and rules enforcer, announced that Booker and Finlay would instead form a tag team to compete against Batista and a partner of his choice at Armageddon. Later that night, Batista announced that his partner would be WWE Champion John Cena, a member of the Raw brand. The following week on an episode of SmackDown!, Batista defeated Finlay by disqualification after Booker interfered on Finlay's behalf.[8] On the December 15 episode of SmackDown!, Cena defeated Finlay after lifting Finlay up on his shoulders and slamming him to the mat, a move that Cena dubbed the FU.
The secondary rivalry was between The Undertaker and Mr. Kennedy. On the September 8, 2006 episode of SmackDown!, Kennedy announced that he was looking for a new opponent, one that he had never faced before. Long informed Kennedy that he knew a SmackDown! superstar that had never faced Kennedy, The Undertaker. A match was made between the two for No Mercy, in which Kennedy defeated Undertaker by disqualification. At Survivor Series, Kennedy once again defeated Undertaker in a First Blood match. On the December 1 episode of SmackDown!, Undertaker fought Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) in a match where neither wrestler won. During the match, MVP was scripted to attempt escaping from the ring, but Kennedy caught him during the process and tried to throw him back into the ring. MVP instead threw Kennedy in. Undertaker then kicked Kennedy in the face, and Kane attacked MVP at ringside. The following week as Kennedy was in the ring, the hearse, appearing to have nobody in the driver's seat, drove into the arena; suddenly, The Undertaker appeared from the back of the hearse, as Kennedy sprung from the ring. Later that night, Kane defeated Kennedy by disqualification after MVP interfered on Kennedy's behalf. On the December 15 episode of SmackDown!, The Undertaker and Kane teamed together to face Kennedy and MVP in a tag team match, which ended in neither team winning. Kennedy knocked Kane down in the aisle and jumped into the driver's seat of the hearse that had been at ringside for the match, and threatened to run him over with it however the Undertaker appeared in the passenger side seat scaring Kennedy off.
The third rivalry was between Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) and Kane. After MVP signed with the SmackDown! brand and made his debut, he begged Theodore Long for more competition. Kane answered the challenge but MVP got himself disqualified when he low blowed Kane to escape Kane's chokeslam. Over the past few months, MVP defeated Kane in a street fight with help from Mr. Kennedy (who was feuding with The Undertaker) and later defeated Kane in a steel cage match by escaping the cage. Theodore Long later announced that since MVP and Kane are so evenly matched the two would do battle at Armageddon in an Inferno match. A match in which a wrestler must be victorious by setting his opponent on fire in a ring surrounded by flames.
==Results==
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*Dark Match: Oleg Prudius defeated Scotty 2 Hotty
*Kane defeated Montel Vontavious Porter in an Inferno match (8:21)
*Paul London & Brian Kendrick (c) defeated William Regal & Dave Taylor, MNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro), & The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) in a Fatal Four Way Ladder match to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship (20:13)
*The Boogeyman defeated The Miz (2:51)
*Chris Benoit (c) defeated Chavo Guerrero (w/ Vickie Guerrero) to retain the WWE United States Championship (12:14)
*Gregory Helms (c) defeated Jimmy Wang Yang to retain the WWE Cruiserweight Championship (10:51)
*The Undertaker defeated Mr. Kennedy in a Last Ride match (19:08)
*Batista and John Cena defeated King Booker's Court (Finlay and King Booker) (w Queen Sharmell) (11:29)
==Other on-screen talent==
;Commentators
*Michael Cole
*John "Bradshaw" Layfield
*Carlos Cabrera
*Hugo Savinovich
;Ring announcer
*Tony Chimel	
;Referees
*Jimmy Korderas
*Charles Robinson
*Nick Patrick
*Chris Kay
==See also==
*List of WWE pay-per-view events
*WWE Event History
*Armageddon
==DVD release==
* Armageddon 2006 on DVD
==External links==
* Armageddon 2006 Official Website
* Armageddon 2006 at CAGEMATCH.net
* Armageddon 2006 at Online World of Wrestling
* on WWE Network
==Featured Video==
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events
Category:Armageddon
Category:2006 pay-per-view events
Category:Events with Ladder matches
Category:Events with Inferno matches