STW - Unforgiven 2006 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Bruce we covered SummerSlam '06 last month and this month we’re off to Unforgiven '06 which is a Raw only pay-per-view.

The Raw after Unforgiven is in Bridgeport, CT and draws 5,700 people. The opening segment features Lita throwing the Spinner belt into the Long Island Sound. From the ceiling comes a new belt...the Rated R belt for Edge. Who’s idea was for Edge to get his own belt and this is just a way to build merchandise right Bruce?

Jeff Hardy returns after being out of the WWE for 3 years and Edge has the line of the night, “Didn’t you die three years ago?” Edge and Jeff brawl and a match is made for later on in the night.

Why program Jeff and Edge together so quickly when you have Edge & Cena in a hot top program?

Vince runs into Coach in the back on a Bowflex for our product placement move of the night. Bruce, did you get a chance to hear Coach over at adfreeshows.com?

Vince & Shane discuss how Shane wasn’t the legal man at SummerSlam and the pin shouldn’t count.

Right after that Randy Orton cuts a promo talking about how he really beat Hulk Hogan...and since Flair is a bigger legend than Hulk anyway he’s going to beat him tonight. Does this seem counterproductive to tell the same story in back to back segments...and was the Orton promo a real shot at Hogan in reference to the Flair stuff?

Carlito interrupts Orton and they’re about to begin a program. Was this the big attempt finally at making Carlito a top babyface?

The Highlanders, Jim Duggan & Eugene beat the Spirit Squad in an 8-man tag match to make the Highlanders #1 contenders for the tag team titles. Why didn’t the Highlanders work Bruce?

DX tags the WWE jet & Titan Towers with the DX logo. Yup. Graffiti. Does a lot of work go into doing this? Like was it a lot of money?

Vince & Mick Foley have an interesting interaction in the back where Vince tells Mick that he’ll have to join the Kiss My Ass club or someone will get fired tonight. The Vince - Mick relationship has always been an odd one. Why do you think that is?

Jeff Hardy vs. Edge ends when Lita interferes and it turns into a Cena vs. Edge brawl which ends with Edge getting tossed into the Long Island Sound. Does being near a body of water at an arena...much like a cake being involved and ending up in someone’s face...mean someone will end up in the water?

Gridiron Gang starring the Rock and the Marine starring John Cena are both promoted throughout the show. How important were the movies to the WWE bottom line and the business as a whole?

Foley tells Melina backstage that he’d rather quit than get someone fired but Melina said she’ll take one for the team. Was the Foley - Melina relationship...really based around the internet but never really fleshed out too heavily on television...something that Vince took a liking to?

Flair beats Orton by reverse decision disqualification after Orton pins him with the RKO and continues to beat the shit out of him. Was this done to rehab Orton after losing to Hulk the night before?

The main event is the Kiss My Ass club segment where Melina ends up turning on Foley after Foley kisses Vince’s ass to save her job. This is the last time we’ll see Mick Foley on WWE TV until March of 2007. Was this the right way to write off Mick?

Vince & Shane are happy about the night and go into their limo to drive away but the rear tires are hooked on something and the limo loses them. Vince & Shane get out and see DX spray painted on the limo now.

The next night at SmackDown/ECW taping in Wilkes Barre there’s some interesting things going on. 2 Cold Scorpio is given a dark tryout match and he beats Rene Dupree. What stopped Scorpio … who’s still going mind you … from returning to the WWE at this time?

Danny Doring & CW Anderson are also on TV in enhancement roles for Rob Van Dam & CM Punk. Obviously this is a Paul Heyman call but why do you think they never continued on after this?

Vickie Guerrero officially turns heel on Smackdown. At the time everybody thought the WWE was crazy and that no one would boo Vickie. What did you know about Vickie that no one else did?

Kurt Angle is let go by the WWE on 8/25. We recently covered his leaving on the Angle Pod but in hindsight do you think Angle leaving helped him still be around today?

We’re in the US Open part of the WWE/USA relationship so Raw is actually moved to Sci-Fi for the next two weeks. Knowing this is going to be seen by less people does that change the philosophy of the creative?

There is a philosophy change in the Wellness Program that’s reported in the Observer. “From now on, if a wrestler is suspended for failing a drug test, they are docked their downside guarantee for 3 0days. They will continue to work both TV and PPV shows, but will only get expenses covered and get no bonuses for those shows. This way they don’t have to interrupt storylines or change PPV matches if someone fails a drug test because they weren’t happy how things went down at the Great American Bash, and with a bunch of Raw tests coming back, didn’t want to risk screwing up Unforgiven plans.”

What happened with all this Bruce? Is this how you remember this going and was it important to protect what was going on after the Great American Bash?

It’s announced the card for Unforgiven is going to feature not only the TLC main event between John Cena & Edge but also a Hell in a Cell match between DX and the McMahons & Big Show. Bruce these are two big stipulations to put on one pay-per-view. Was anyone worried about burning out the crowd or big time stipulations being used on one show?

The whole card rundown is:

John Cena vs. Edge in a TLC match for the WWE Title. If Cena loses he would be forced to go to SmackDown for 3 years. Did you think this was a more realistic stipulation than your run of the mill loser leaves town match?

DX vs. the McMahons in a Hell in a Cell match.

Randy Orton vs. Carlito.

Lita vs. Trish Stratus for the Women’s Title in Trish’s “retirement” match. Was it important to promote this match as her retirement match?

Johnny Nitro vs. Jeff Hardy for the Intercontinental Title.

Spirit Squad vs. the Highlanders for the World Tag Team Titles.

Kane vs. Umaga.

This is a pretty packed card for a “B” show. Was it just you had a lot of over talent that you needed to get on the card?

The rumor and innuendo at the time is that ECW had to be taped two weeks in a row because much of the ECW roster was unable to cross the border because of criminal histories. Is that a red flag to anyone in the office?

From the Observer: “Psicosis is still on the company's roster. He is at every Smackdown

taping on Tuesdays but has no storyline since Super Crazy had his health issues,

and it doesn't appear anything is scheduled for him to do. He was buried by one of

the agents in creative meetings so he's on the outs. He did work an angle on an

independent show on 8/25 in Tijuana, turning heel on Rey Mysterio's uncle.”

Who buried Psicosis and how does he get permission to work an outside show?

From the Observer: “One of the Deep South guys, who apparently is close to quitting, wrote John Laurinaitis to complain about how abusive Bill DeMott is at practice. Laurinaitis

told the guy he'd come down and talk to everyone about it, basically trying to tell

the guy what he wanted to hear. When he got there, he did an about face and told

anyone who didn't like it to leave. The DeMott situation was handled months ago when it was mandated all training sessions get taped and the tapes have to be

shipped to the WWE office, so the office can decide whether he's just doing his job

or not. The fact he's still there tells you they're behind him.”

How much aggravation was Bill Demott at the time do you think it was warranted?

The WWE earnings report comes out and there’s one business correlation I have to ask you about Bruce. Pay-per-views are steady. House shows are steady. Raw ratings are steady. Smackdown ratings have dropped terribly. What does it mean when that’s the one thing suffering? Is it just UPN being an issue before the move over to the CW?

Unforgiven sells out weeks ahead of time. That has to be an encouraging side for business right?

Was there fear that Batista had peaked already and it was up to Finlay as a heel to get him going again?

There’s a couple notable debuts and returns to discuss Bruce. Chris Masters returns on Raw on August 28th from Atlantic City and loses to John Cena via DQ with Edge’s interference. Masters returns from a stint in rehab/OVW. There’s a noticeable difference in Masters’ body. Was he just all body?

Candice Michelle and Torrie Wilson participate in a paddle on a pole match...was Vince Russo re-hired at some point during this time?

Mike Mizanin...better known as the Miz...makes his debut on Smackdown and defeats Tatanka. Was it better to have a green Miz on a taped show?

There’s a story in the Observer regarding Batista I wanted to bring up Bruce. “Batista's

star fading is being whispered more and more. The reason Kennedy got the U.S.

title from Finlay is because they were worried about Batista losing steam, and felt

Finlay is the best on that side at getting someone over, so they're moving toward

Kennedy vs. Lashley as the U.S. title program, which is tough because both need

someone to carry them, and it's Finlay's role to get Batista back where he needs to

be to carry the brand.”

On September 1st there’s a Raw show in Huntsville, AL at the Von Braun Center....

Robbie & Rory McAllister defeated WWE Raw Tag Team Champions Kenny & Mikey in a non-title match

Umaga defeated Kane

Oleg Prudius defeated Val Venis

Candice Michelle & Maria defeated Mickie James & Melina in a bra & panties match

Jeff Hardy defeated WWE IC Champion Johnny Nitro via disqualification

Harry Smith defeated Chris Masters

Triple H & Ric Flair (sub. for Shawn Michaels) defeated Viscera & Charlie Haas and Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch in a gauntlet match

WWE World Champion Edge defeated John Cena

Henry Godwinn gets a dark match look in a win over Eric Perez and Bull Buchanan in back to back nights. From the Observer… “Henry Godwinn is expected to be signed, if he hasn't been already, and will be used on Smackdown. This one is controversial because several months back he was sent to OVW for a tryout and the reports were he was terrible. Laurinaitis decided against even keeping him around at OVW or Deep South, even though it was HHH's recommendation to use him because they are friends, that Godwinn's son passed away last year, he loves and misses wrestling and needs the j~b. Then he got the tryouts last week and reports were he looked old and didn't look good in either match. One internal report was that the Godwinn vs. Bull Buchanan match in Columbus, GA, was one of the worst dark matches in a long time. However, HHH this time got him the job.”

He signs and is never used on TV. What happened here and how hard did Hunter push to get him signed?

Cryme Time debuts on Raw on September 4th. JTG & Shad Gaspard are really one of the more underrated teams I think in WWE history. When we lost Shad Gaspard we lost a great man didn’t we Bruce?

Another signee that comes in at that time...from the Observer… “Brad Armstrong, 45, signed a contract and is expected to be on the ECW brand,

mainly or only working house shows. Perhaps he's being used as a coach to put

people over in that he was always well respected as very strong on working and

mechanics, but seemed to lack a certain charisma necessary to be a national star.

Ric Flair, when he was champion, loved working with him and they had great

matches, but the matches usually didn't draw …”

Who’s idea was it to bring in Brad and why did he never make it to TV?

Super Crazy is moved over to Raw and defeats Chris Masters clean. What was it about Crazy that you moved him from SmackDown and wow over Masters clean showed where he was at the time huh?

It’s announced that the go-home Raw...the first show at Madison Square Garden  in 17 months...will be main evented by HHH vs. Vince McMahon. Why the big gap in between shows then Bruce?

The go-home Raw features Jim Duggan making his first appearance in MSG in 15 years...albeit in a dark match. It also includes the first time ECW is taped there and Joey Styles’ first appearance at MSG.

It is also the 5-year anniversary of 9/11...how much security was at the show for this day and how big a deal was it to run this date at MSG?

Toby Keith is sitting ringside and is shown. Think that got him heat with our friend Double J?

Umaga makes his MSG debut and destroys Flair which leads to Kane saving Flair to build heat for the upcoming PPV. How important was using Flair in these roles to get guys over?

Roddy Piper has an amazing entrance with the Highlanders for a 6-man tag match against the Spirit Squad. How did this come to be and how was Roddy to deal with here?

Trish Stratus pins Mickie James in her last match on Raw before her “retirement.” Why was Trish’ exit so much different than so many others before and after her?

Vince McMahon pins Triple H in a no holds barred match to close Raw after getting Lance Cade, Trevor Murdouch, Big Show & Shane to help defeat him. Was this the perfect Vince moment? Pinning his son-in-law in MSG?

The SmackDown and ECW for airing after Raw saw Punk defeat Shannon Moore in Moore’s ECW debut...Rene Dupree defeats Balls Mahoney in his ECW debut...and Sabu loses in his MSG debut to Big Show. On SmackDown Jimmy Wang Yang is promoted to debut in his new cowboy gimmick, and Bobby Lashley earns the right to face Booker T at No Mercy for the World Heavyweight Title in the last SmackDown on UPN. There is just so much going on here isn’t there Bruce?

Randy Orton and Balls Mahoney are reportedly suspended for 30-60 days without pay but still had to be on the road for just house shows. Do you remember the story here?

There’s some interesting news in the Observer right before Unforgiven happens that I need to ask you about.

Carlos & Eddie Colon were at Raw in MSG on 9/11 to discuss Eddie being signed and using WWC as developmental. We know Eddie will be signed eventually but why was WWC never used as a developmental promotion?

“... The company did an HDTV taping at the 9/1 0

house show at the Mohegan Sun Casino. It was basically an experiment for when

the eventual switch over takes place. They are looking at both picture and sound.

The WWE said doing the switch will require tens of millions of dollars in

equipment upgrade ($5 million alone for a new production truck) and it will be a

minimum of three years before it takes place. While nobody will publicly say so,

there is a lot of concern about the switch because there are those familiar with it

who say watching pro wrestling in HDTV that people can see very clearly missed

punches being sold and will be able to see move calling very clearly.”

How big a worry and concern is this at the time? Did it take a lot of practice to prepare for HDTV?

“. WWE made a pitch to Bob Sapp, but nothing has resulted

thus far from the talks.”

Who’s idea was it to discuss Bob Sapp and was there ever a deal that came close to happening?

“The only discussions regarding new members of DX,

believe it or not, was back in the early summer when Vince decided to bring back

Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. This was a rare time when knocking the company in

interviews didn't lead to getting rehired. Neither Vince nor HHH had any

awareness of the interviews the two had done. Vince takes it as a challenge when

he's ripped personally to bring that person in and have the power over them, but

they ripped Stephanie and HHH, and apparently that's not the procedure to get

rehired. When Vince found out about the interview, he changed his mind. HHH

was also pushing hard for it until he found out how Gunn said if he ever saw him

he'd punch him out, and then he nixed the idea as well.”

We know that eventually they would return to the company and Brian is still with the company but how deep into conversation does this go for those interview comments to come up and bite them in the ass?

“Justin Credible has been described as being on the endangered species list, described as "sort of gone AWOL."

Was Credible just not ready at this point to be trusted?

“Chris Klucsaritis (Kan yon) caused a minor disturbance at the 9/8 house show in Tampa, basically trying to shoot his own angle, and eventually he got kicked ·out of the building.”

He wrote a very long internet post afterwards discussing how he was told he was fired from the WWE because he was gay and how the Undertaker took advantage of him with chair shots in his last SmackDown appearance. We know Kanyon would lose his battle to mental illness later on in his life but what do you remember of this?

Sean Waltman is also at this show and is invited into the ring by HHH & HBK after their match to do the DX crotch chops. Any thought to using Sean?

Well Bruce we’re finally here!

Unforgiven 2006 from Toronto draws 16,105 fans for a sell out. The pay-per-view generates 289,000 buys. Now compared to Unforgiven 05 headlined by John Cena & Kurt Angle from Oklahoma City...that show drew 8,000 and 243,000 buys so a marked improvement year-over-year.

In terms of improvement the show gets 89.1% thumbs up from the Wrestling Observer readers and 10.9% in the middle but no thumbs down at all. Now if it happened at the Tokyo Dome it would’ve all been thumbs up but anyway…

1. Johnny Nitro pinned Jeff Hardy in 17:36 to retain the IC title. Crowd was hot

early. Even though Hardy is considered the bigger star and has the experience,

it was really Nitro who made the match and held it together. About 13:00 in, when Hardy

made his comeback, the match fell apart. Not bad in that people saw it and

booed it, but bad in that a few straight spots missed and you could see them start

to lose it. But they got it back together and did a lot of near falls. At the finish,

Hardy kicked Nitro into Melina, who fell off the apron and started acting like her

ankle was hurt. Hardy got a schoolboy for a great near fall. Melina took off her

boot. Nitro came off the top rope with a huracanrana that Hardy turned into a

power bomb for another near fall. Melina then hit Hardy with her boot and Nitro

got the pin. ** ¼

Here are two guys currently on the main roster now 15 years ago killing it. What is it about these two that they just keep producing great matches?

2. Kane went to a double count with Umaga in 7:03. Crowd was into the Armando Alejandro Estrada promo. Both brawled to the back and were counted out. Crappy finish and the crowd booed it heavily. Match had been fine up to that point. *¼

I get it Bruce...it’s to build to something more but it’s still a pay-per-view. That match could’ve been a lot more with more time don’t you think?

3. The Spirit Squad, in this case Mikey & Kenny, retained the World tag team titles over the Highlanders in 9:59. Crowd was dead for this one. It’s really amazing how quickly the Spirit Squad got over, and how buried underground they got so fast. Behind the refs back, Johnny hit Robbie with an enziguri and Mikey pinned him. ¾*

I mean he’s not wrong here Bruce. Spirit Squad got over fast and then were booked to be weak heels all year. What say you?

4. DX beat Vince & Shane McMahon & Big Show in 25:04 in the Hell in a Cell. They built a new Hell in a Cell cage. The characters were over, and the McMahons both were bleeding within 70 seconds, but the wrestling was pretty clumsy early. Show dominated it for his side, and they tried to hide Vince as much as possible. Michaels whipped Shane into the cage and he juiced. Vince bladed as well, although Vince didn’t get enough blood the first time and bladed again. Show destroyed Michaels leading to triple-teaming HHH. Shane brought in a garbage can and did his coast-to-coast dropkick into the can into HHH. HHH bladed his ear. Michaels also juiced by this point. Michaels was destroyed and Vince would pin him for two and pick him up. Vince pulled down his pants for Michaels to kiss his ass, but it was time for HHH’s comeback. HHH gave Shane a spinebuster, and then put his head into a chair. Michaels came off the top rope with an elbow drop. This was made into a major injury spot ,and all Shane did from this point on was act like he was having convulsions from the pain. With both his partners out of commission, Vince was acting defiant at the end as they bounced him around. They draped Show over the ropes and pulled his pants down. HHH then did the big spot of ramming Vince’s head up Show’s gigantic ass. Michaels superkicked Vince and HHH hit Vince in the head with a sledge hammer, breaking it in two (obviously pre-gimmicked) and got the pin. *** ¼  Both McMahons are taken out on stretchers afterwards.

Jesus Christ Bruce. This is something we’d never see on WWE TV today but all the blood, punishment, gaga...that’s good shit right pal? How did Big Show feel having Vince’s head up his ass? Why the change in the Cell? Production based?

5. Trish Stratus pinned Lita in 11:34 to win the women’s title. Loud “Thank you Trish” chants early. Stratus went for a stratusfaction, but Lita turned it into a sunset flip, but before she got over, Stratus blocked it and got the sharpshooter. Lita struggled to the ropes, but Stratus pulled her into the center and Lita tapped. The sharpshooter tore down the house. This was probably the best women’s match on a PPV in a long time. The crowd gave her a big ovation. Lillian Garcia was in major tears at ringside. They didn’t do any kind of a ceremony in the ring and she didn’t do a promo. *** ¼

It really was a great send off for Trish as we’ve covered before. Just a testament to these two at the time, correct?

6. Randy Orton pinned Carlito in 8:41. Usually the women’s match is placed to be an intermission substitute to take the crowd down, but on this show, this was the match. Carlito did a quebrada and landed with his elbow right on Orton’s mouth, busting it up legit. Carlito escaped the RKO and hit the back cracker. He then tried a double springboard into a crossbody but Orton sidestepped him into an RKO for the pin. Timing of the finish was perfect, and it was not an easy spot. ** ½

That finish has been replayed numerous times over the years. That’s a big risk on a live PPV to not pull that off right Bruce? This is considered kind of the beginning of the end for Carlito is that right?

Main event time!

7. John Cena beat Edge in 25:28 to win the TLC match. This was

their best bout to date, and Cena took one bump as the ladder was pushed over

where he flew over the top rope and went through a table. Unlike the usual back

bump you are taught to try and take, he landed on his hip or tailbone, but got

right back up and finished the match. He went nearly a half hour, there was only

one spot where you groaned, and even those who wish he wasn't in the position

he's in, should honestly have to give him grudging respect. He's very much like

Steve Austin, in that he's so over he doesn't have to work so hard every night,

and unlike Austin, he didn't grow up admiring and emulating the great workers

or have Austin's level of ability. But just the same, his effort going above and beyond, has to be praised. Lita hit Cena with a chair shot, but he staggered into the ladder, knocking Edge off, who flew over the top rope onto two tables on the floor. Cena gave Lita an FU. Cena then had to stack back up the tables for the one last spot. He then clbimed the ladder and Edge climbed as well. Cena got Edge up while on the ladder in a fireman’s carry, and dropped Edge off his shoulders with an FU through the two tables. He then grabbed the belt for the win. He went over to his dad in the front row and hugged him. Still, even after seeing that great match, the crowd booed him a lot on the way out. **** ¼

How awesome is this match and the story and everything Bruce? Looking back hindsight was correct in Cena going over here and not at SummerSlam right? Was there any thought to Edge going over to move Cena to SmackDown?

Well what did you think Bruce...thumbs up right?