STW - SummerSlam 2006 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

It is the 15th anniversary, Bruce of SummerSlam '06 and we’re going to cover the show and everything that has something to do with it today!

What an interesting year it is for the WWE in 2006. We’re in the process of covering this time frame on The Kurt Angle Show and how he was on his way out of the WWE, this show has Hulk Hogan’s return to the squared circle in WWE for the first time since he beat Shawn Michaels at SummerSlam 05, the Ric Flair vs. Mick Foley match the internet had been waiting for and DX vs. the McMahons….oh yeah also Edge vs. Cena in the main event.

Bruce walk us through how crazy the summer of 06 is...ECW launching and losing Rob Van Dam and Sabu to being pulled over and having to change everything...Angle forcing himself out of the company...Batista and Booker getting in a fight. It’s almost like Jim Cornette & Vince Russo are running things am I right?

What is it about this time that makes things go nuts?

Between running 3 brands and all the egos and drug busts and releases...is this one of the most tumultuous times in the company compared to now?

Let’s start back at the last pay-per-view for the company which is Great American Bash. Booker pins Rey to win the World Title, Batista returns but loses to Mr. Kennedy by DQ, and somehow the Undertaker and Big Show battle in a Punjabi Prison Match. Between drug testing and talent being suspended, long term planning is completely out the window. Am I right Bruce?

How much does Rob Van Dam’s suspension change plans?

Oh yeah by the way...Stephanie goes into labor the Raw after Great American Bash so you lose Vince & Triple H for Raw the very next night. I’m assuming creative knew it was coming but golly how much more could you guys take at this point?

Melina, Mick Foley, Ric Flair...it’s all one big mess of an angle...who’s idea was this and how hard was it to put Flair & Foley together for one match since everything they wrote in each other’s book wasn’t the most flattering?

How did Melina come into play?

Todd Grisham announces on Raw that Stephanie gave birth to a daughter named Aurora Rose. Who made the call to announce that on Raw? Did everyone know once she gives birth that Vince wanted it on TV?

How did Hulk Hogan come to be in terms of returning to face Randy Orton? Was it just Hulk hoping to push his daughter’s Brooke’s album and beating Randy? It’s a big platform for someone who beat Shawn last year and then disappeared.

Did Hulk negotiate only with Vince? Did Randy have any hesitation getting into a program with Hulk at this time?

Any heat with Hulk & Shawn this time around from 2005?

Did Hulk do anything special to get into “ring shape?”

There’s a big shift in Canadian TV coverage that gets a lot of news. WWE shifts Raw from TSN to the Score and it’s spun by the WWE that it’ll be better for them because they won’t be delayed or postponed for sporting events. But Meltzer claims the problems were really about the content, noting Edge & Lita’s live sex show back in January caused a ton of heat and then Triple H & Candice Michelle acting like they were getting oral sex from two women...yes that’s a real sentence...on July 3rd was the straw that broke the camel’s back. What do you remember about this and the shift to the Score brought a lot of changes to a very important market for the WWE?

The Miz announces on Raw that Maryse was eliminated from the diva search. Glad that worked out for him right Bruce?

Lillian Garcia returns to Raw on 7/24 as ring announcer. Was Lillian the right move at this point and why was Howard not considered?

How hard is Kurt Angle trying to get on the SummerSlam card at the time? Did you know how bad his problems were at the time? Did you attempt to reach out?

The WWE announces Ford Field will host WrestleMania 23. How big a deal is it to put WrestleMania back in a stadium after the last ever arena Mania at the Allstate Arena?

Vito is doing a gimmick where he’s a crossdresser on SmackDown. Bruce...what are we doing here?

Sylvester Terkay debuts on SmackDown as a shooter. What is it about some of this talent that debuts around this time that ultimately didn’t pan out...Terkay specifically?

Kevin Thorn debuts with Shelly Martinez on ECW. Had to have a vampire on Sci-Fi right?

Raw on July 31st from the Meadowlands stands out for a couple of reasons. Randy Orton does an “Orton Knows Best” segment where he beats up “Hulk’s family” which includes future ROH manager Larry Sweeney as Nick Hogan and leads to Jerry Lawler and Randy Orton challenging each other to a match the next week in Memphis. Did Orton ever have any issues working with the older wrestlers?

Vince, Shane, HHH and HBK have a promo talking about the new granddaughter and the old WWE gag of photoshopped faces on things appears including Vince featured with a shirt that says I love and then a picture of a rooster to imply that he loves cocks. Yup. Bruce Vince loves this shit doesn’t he?

Also on July 31st Foley and Flair and Melina have a segment where Foley brings up Flair’s recent road rage incident and it leads to the making of their match against each other at SummerSlam. How did Ric feel about using that incident in this angle?

Chavo Guerrero and Rey Mysterio are fueding over Chavo helping Booker beat Rey at Great American Bash for the World Heavyweight Title and how Mysterio has “disrespected” the Guerrero name. Vickie also is involved as well. How did Vickie & Chavo feel about doing this type of angle?

The July 31st show has Raw live and SmackDown taped afterward. How exhausting is that on a crowd and do you try to plan your creative in a way to limit burn out?

Michelle McCool announces she has two new “Teacher’s Pets” which are Idol Stevens (Damien Sandow) and KC James. KC was teaming with Roadkill in OVW at the time. Why pair Stevens & James together and not Roadkill?

Was this gimmick doomed for failure from the start?

CM Punk debuts on ECW TV from the Hammerstein Ballroom to a big reaction and gets the win over Justin Credible. How hard did Paul push to debut CM Punk at this point?

At the same show Big Show & Batista main event ECW and the crowd is vicious. We’ve covered this in our WWECW episode but the bingo hall fans aren’t helping give the office the product they want is that right?

We’re building to Batista vs. Booker T at SummerSlam. Was it just because they got into the fight or was it because that was the plan? Is there any worry about people going into business for themselves between Foley and Flair and Batista and Booker?

Tatanka is suspended via a drug failure but fights it. Do you remember what was going on at this time?

Raw heads to Australia and does some big crowds including 16,000 in Sydney. How important is international business at this time?

It’s reported in the Observer that contract negotiations between Trish Stratus & Lita sounded like they were going to end without either being renewed. We recently covered Trish in the archives but this is a big hole to fill at this time is it not?

At Raw on August 7th in Memphis Jerry Lawler loses to Randy Orton via RKO in 2 minutes. Jerry have any issues doing business?

It’s announced on the show that Hulk Hogan has a torn meniscus and there’s doubt that Hogan may make his SummerSlam match against Randy. Was this part of the storyline or are you working on hedging your bets in case Hulk pulls out?

Umaga pins Triple H to close the show and Vince delivers a pedigree of his own on Triple H. Kind of like what just happened with NXT right?

Kurt Angle wrestles his last match for WWE TV for 11 years going to a no-contest with Sabu. Angle’s drop off has to be one of the quickest falls from the grace in WWE history does it not?

Undertaker and Khali have a Last Man Standing match announced for SummerSlam but it’s moved forward to Smackdown. Was it safer to have this match taped instead of live? Does Taker request this and is he happy to not be on SummerSlam?

Jeff Hardy has promotional videos being shown on his pending return. How does Jeff’s return come to be at this time?

Charlottesville, VA is the home of the go-home Raw and it features the infamous segment of Edge at the home of John Cena’s father and Edge smacking the shit out of him. Did you film it or were there and what did you think of this?

Lita defeats Mickie James to become the Women’s Champion on Raw. Was this a way to get her to re-sign?

Listen to this line-up Bruce. Eugene & Jim Duggan defeat Mikey & Kenny of the Spirit Squad in a non-title match when the Highlanders interfere. Is 2006 just a bad acid trip?

Shannon Moore is being promoted as debuting with a new look. Was Shannon & Hardy coming in a package deal?

John Laurinitis travels to Atlanta & Louisville to let everyone know that Tommy Dreamer will now only be a talent and Mike Bucci...your old friend...is taking over as head of developmental. We’ve touched on it before...but what do you really think about Mike Bucci the former Super Nova?

Andrew Goldstein & Dave Kapoor were hired as writers around this time. Andrew is a friend of the show and Dave is still there. What do you remember of these two starting with the company?

Sabu defeats Rob Van Dam in a Ladder Match to become the #1 Contender to face Big Show at SummerSlam. Why Sabu over Rob Van Dam?

Layla wins the Diva Search. Did you see “star” in Layla?

MVP is being shown as hanging in sky boxes as he makes his decision on which brand to sign with. This is a great way to introduce someone and MVP certainly made the most of it as he’s still in a top spot today. Who’s idea was it to introduce MVP this way?

Taker beats Khali at the SmackDown go-home show and Khali even bleeds. How does a conversation with Khali go about getting color?

Well we’re here at the show Bruce!

The show got a mixed reaction from the Wrestling Observer readers. 32.7% thought thumbs up, 37.2% thought thumbs down and 30.2% thought thumbs in the middle.

13,500 paid for a gate of a little bit more than $800,000 so that has to be good news for everyone. It’s only a 7 match show. Was this under the thought process that less is more?

1. Chavo Guerrero pinned Rey Mysterio in 10:59. There was nothing wrong with the wrestling, but it was evident by 2:00 in that this match didn’t have the heat it should have had with the build-up it was given. JBL on commentary said he had to hire extra security at his wedding in case Eddie fell off the wagon. JBL ended up with some heat over the Eddie falling off the wagon line, as well as later in the show saying how Batista cried like a bitch when he had to give up the title. At one point, accidentally, Mysterio’s mask came off and he had to leave the ring and put it back on. The finish saw Mysterio do a facebuster off the top rope with Guerrero and then hit the 619 and hit a huracanrana over the top rope. At this point Vickie Guerrero came out. To her credit, Vickie was animated as hell and came off as beliveably frantic for wanting the two to stop fighting, but it was way too obvious this isn’t what the people wanted to see. When Mysterio went to the top rope, he was being booed heavily. At the same point, Vickie was climbing onto the apron and grabbed the top rope to pull herself up. This shaking the rope caused Mysterio to lose his balance, and he fell into the ring after crocheting himself. Chavo put him away with a brainbuster and a frog splash. ** ¼

Lot to unpack here Bruce. You got JBL getting heat. You got the crowd turning on this. Vickie’s eventual heel turn that happens a few days later. Chavo really gets the biggest win of his career. But the crowd just doesn’t like it. What missed here?

1. Big Show retained the ECW title pinning Sabu in 8:30. It was a garbage style match that wasn’t even good in its style, and the live crowd wasn’t much into. Sabu botched a spot, and then Show gave him a spinebuster through one table and a choke slam through a second table for the pin. *½

Bruce, we know you hate the ECW style and all that ECW represents. Was Show just not built to do these matches with someone like Sabu that needs someone to really take his punishment? Would this had been better with Van Dam in it?

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1. Hulk Hogan pinned Randy Orton in 10:56. Hogan got the big reaction. He didn’t move much, but he usually doesn’t. Orton had a come back and hit the RKO and the ref counted three, but Hogan got his foot on the ropes. Hogan made his usual comeback with the three punches, the foot in the face, and the leg drop. He then played to the crowd for a long time after the leg drop, before getting the pin. **¼

Ready for this Bruce? This is Hulk Hogan’s last match ever in a WWE ring. How crazy is that? How touch and go was Hogan being able to do this match? Did Randy have any issues with this? Did Hulk give any push back regarding the visual pin by Orton? HOGAN MUST POSE! Bruce Hogan is 3rd on this show. Was it because of the injury limitations?

1. Ric Flair beat Mick Foley in the I Quit match in 12:47. Foley went for Mr. Socko right away, then put barbed wire around it. Flair used a low blow, put the barbed wire sock on his hand and started chopping Foley, opening up his chest. Foley brought in a barbed wire board and before long Flair was bleeding everywhere. By 6:00 in, Foley had brought out the thumbtacks. Flair ended up in the thumbtacks. Next came the barbed wire baseball bat. Foley drove that into Flair’s face. Flair kept refusing to quit. Flair knocked Foley off the apron where he took the old Nestea plunge bump with his head hitting a garbage can. They sent out the trainers and agents and the trainer waved off the match and the bell rang. Flair was furious, saying Foley never said, “I quit,” so in his mind the match wasn’t over. He was rubbing the barbed wire bat in Foley’s face but Foley wouldn’t quit. Flair acted like he was going after the eye and Melina threw in the towel for Foley. Flair stated that he didn’t accept that as a win and started to threaten to mess up Melina’s face with the barbed wire bat and Foley quit. Good match. ***½

This is some...interesting booking and a lot of punishment. The babyface threatening to disfigure a woman makes a heel quit. Did you ever think you’d see Ric in something like this and how beat up were the guys afterwards?

1. Batista beat King Booker via DQ in 10:30 so Booker retained the World title. Virtually everyone I spoke with after the match internally spoke pretty openly regarding Batista’s work here. He was slow moving and tentative, with none of the explosiveness he used to have. The finish saw Booker use a missile dropkick and a book end, but missed the ax kick. Batista used a jackhammer and a full nelson drop until Sharmell jumped on him for the title saving DQ. Fans didn’t like the match, and hated the finish worse. ½*

What was it about these two that just didn’t click? Do you think Dave was ready to be put into this type of position after his injury which Meltzer points out he didn’t look the same? Was it the real life issues that came into play here?

1. Shawn Michaels & HHH beat Vince & Shane McMahon in 13:02. The whole thing took a lot longer. Vince & Shane sent the Spirit Squad to the ring. They were beaten down in seconds, complete with HHH giving Johnny a pedigree. Vince then sent Kennedy & Regal & Finlay out, but HHH & Michaels laid out all three of them. Then Vince sent in Show. Show did the cobra clutch backbreaker on Michaels, then gave HHH a choke slam through the ECW announce table. At this point Vince & Shane hit the ring and the bell sounded to start the match. Vince & Shane did the Demolition finish on Michaels, followed by the Hart Attack, complete with Vince and Shane walking around the ring like they were Bret Hart, and finally the Road Warriors doomsday device. Ross said Hawk would be turning over in his grave. Michaels kicked out anyway, made a small comeback, then hot tagged a now recovered HHH in. Umaga came out and gave HHH the Samoan spike but Kane chased Umaga away and HHH kicked out of the pin. Shane went up to the top rope and put a garbage can in front of HHH’s face and teased doing the Van Terminator. As he came off, MIchaels hit him with a superkick in mid-air. HHH then hit Vince with a garbage can, Michaels superkicked Vince and HHH pinned him after a pedigree. Good match for what it was. ***¼

Holy shit Bruce. All the heels get discarded by Hunter & Shawn except for Show. All the gaga. Vince & Shane being their favorite 80 tag teams including the McMahons mocking Bret...and DX still recovers from all of it to win. Tell me how this wasn’t a burial of about 10 people?

Finally the main event. Here’s John Cena...in really his hometown...in the main event of the second biggest show of the year...taking on Edge.

1. Edge pinned John Cena in 15:41 to retain the WWE title. Rules were that Edge would the title if he got disqualified. The interesting story here is Cena was heavily booed. The match had a story in that Lita kept starting to interfere and Edge would scream for her not to because the DQ would cost the title. Best match on the show. Edge used the edgecution. Cena came back and had the STFU, but Edge made the ropes. Lita handed Edge Knux. However, Cena ducked the shot and got Edge up for the FU again. This time Lita did interfere. But she ran right into Cena who got her on his shoulders as well for the FU. He threw Lita off and she took the FU bump. Edge escaped, and as the ref was looking at Lita, Edge used the Knux on Cena and pinned him to keep the title. ***¾

This is the first evidence of a whole crowd turning on Cena I could find. Was everyone thrown off backstage about this?

OK so why not let Cena win here and Edge win in Toronto next month where they literally are in each other’s hometowns? Was this match the main event match you and everyone else expected?

What was it about this show that just didn’t click?