WWE: Unforgiven
September 17, 2006
Toronto, ON, Canada
Air Canada Centre

The current RAW champions are as follows:
WWE Champion: Edge (7/3/2006)
WWE Intercontinental Champion: Johnny Nitro (6/25/2006)
World Tag Team Champions: The Spirit Squad (4/3/2006)
WWE Women’s Champion: Lita (8/14/2006)

Your hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler.

• WWE Intercontinental Championship: Johnny Nitro (c) (w/Melina) vs. Jeff Hardy
  

This is Jeff Hardy’s big return to WWE PPVs. Ross refers to Hardy’s three year absence from the WWE as “undiscussed”. Lawler is shocked by Melina’s cleavage. Crowd lets Nitro know that they feel he indeed sucks. A little arm work from Hardy to start. Hardy gets a few surprise nearfalls on Nitro and legdrops him between the up-rights. After Nitro takes a breather, he goes low on Hardy and beats him down in the corner. Hardy reverses a corner whip and avoids a floatover by Nitro and dropkicks him back in the corner for the ten-count corner punch. As Nitro collapses, Hardy follows up by using the ropes and nailing Nitro with a corner dropkick. Hardy wants the Swanton Bomb and Nitro rolls out of the ring. He baseball slides into Nitro and runs down the railing to drill him with a clothesline. Back inside, Nitro dropkicks Hardy up top for one of those crazy signature bumps. Nitro decides to go to the knee and gets some real heat from these Canucks. After some work on the mat, Nitro kicks at the knee while Hardy does the Hennig flip bump. More work on the mat as Nitro bars the knee and applies an Indian Deathlock at one point. Hardy does a good job selling here. He fires back on Nitro and gets drilled with a chopblock. Nitro wants a corkscrew moonsault and misses. Hardy limps around, but finds a way to drop both legs onto Nitro into a cradle for two. After a struggle, Hardy manages the Whisper in the Wind for 1-2-NO! Nitro shoves Hardy back into the corner and goes for a super hurracanrana, but Hardy blocks and hits the SWANTON BOMB! Oh, but his leg hurts! He can’t cover in time and only gets two as Nitro gets his foot on the bottom rope. Nitro wants to go back to the leg, but Hardy mule kicks him away. It could be time for the Twist of Fate, but Nitro grabs the leg and drops down into a kneebar. Awesome. Hardy manages to find the ropes though. Melina gets knocked off the apron and Hardy rolls up Nitro for 1-2-NO! Nitro tries a flying headscissors, but Hardy dumps him with a powerbomb. With Hardy draped on the ropes hurting and exhausted, Melina gets up off the floor and hits him in the face with one of her boots! Totally KO’ed, Nitro rolls over and covers Hardy for the three-count. (17:38) Well this got plenty of time and I’m glad it did as this fleshed out into a pretty decent psychological affair. Not a big fan of the weak finish though. What the heck did she have in that boot? ***¼

In the back, Team Extreme reunites as Jeff runs into Matt Hardy and Lita. Lita makes fun of them for being losers.

• Kane vs. Umaga (w/Armando Alejandro Estrada)
  

Umaga is still undefeated at this point. Also, I still love Armando. Very punchy-kicky to no surprise to start. Umaga clotheslines Kane to the floor and gives him a Flatliner when Kane puts his hands on Estrada. He drags Kane back inside the ring and delivers the diving headbutt followed by a SHINING WIZARD~! The Buttalanche connects, but Kane uppercuts away the Samoan Spike. More clubbering ensues. Umaga takes a series of clotheslines and then stuns Kane with a Samoan drop. He looks for a FLYING SAMOAN SPIKE, but Kane sits up and delivers the Flying Clothesline. Kane goozles him for the Chokeslam and blocks Umaga’s attempt at another Samoan Spike with headbutts. They end up on the floor and continue brawling into the crowd for the double-countout keeping Umaga’s undefeated streak alive. (7:06) Umaga was pretty awesome, right? This just ended up in a big crazy man brawl from the good old days. *

Vince and Shane McMahon bond and talk strategy. Sounds like their plan is for Big Show and Shane to do all the work and let Vince get all the glory scoring the pinfall.

• World Tag Team Championship: The Spirit Squad (c) vs. The Highlanders
  

This is our first look at the Highlanders on WWE PPV. They are cousins Robbie and Rory McAllister. Basically, they are a couple of extras from the movie Braveheart. Of course, they put them with Roddy Piper for a short period to try and get them over. They won this shot at the tag belts in a recent triple-threat match that also involved the teams of Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch and Viscera & Charlie Haas. Yep. Did RAW ever know what to do with their tag titles? At least Smackdown had some memorable holders of their belts, but definitely not RAW. Most of the RAW tag title holders were either hodgepodge teams or failed ideas. Case in point: the SPIRIT SQUAD! Kenny and Mikey defend the tag belts here. Rory and Mikey start this contest. After they do some stuff, Mikey gets sent into Robbie’s head for a two-count. With Mikey in the palm of their hands, the Highlanders tag in and out working on the arm. Kenny tags in and gets stuck in the Highlanders corner. The crowd doesn’t seem too interested in this one. The Highlanders are too new and the Spirit Squad don’t have that much heat since they have looked like jobbers for the last several months. Robbie misses a suicide dive and gets beaten up by the other three Spirit Squad guys. He becomes *your* kilted-man-in-peril inside the ring as Kenny and Mikey deliver their double-team moves. They crash and burn in the corner, but Mikey pulls Rory off the apron to prevent the tag. Hart Attack on Robbie gets two. Kenny misses a flying legdrop and Robbie finally makes the hot tag to Rory. He drills Mikey with Polish Hammers because I guess there aren’t too many Scottish moves. Rory takes care of the other three Spirit Squad guys. See what I mean about being jabronis? Mikey takes the Highlanders finish which is a double team reverse slingshot suplex for 1-2-NO! Johnny kicks Robbie in the back of the head from the apron into an X-Factor by his beard by Mikey for the win. (10:00) Pretty average tag match. And unfortunately, nobody here is interesting enough to be anything but average. *½

• Hell in a Cell Match: D-Generation X vs. The McMahons & Big Show
  

The McMahons go along with their plan by sending Show to do most of the work, but DX kicks him in the globes to take him out of the equation. They beat up the McMahons and pitch them to the floor. When Show starts to stand up, DX kicks him in the juevos again. This has so far been a real Hans Moleman Production. DX sends the McMahons into the cage to bust them open. HHH gets pretty violent driving a screwdriver into Vince’s cut forehead. In the ring, Triple H slams Vince for an HBK flying elbow, but Big Show has recovered. He knocks HHH down and catches Shawn in mid-air for a slam. They go to the floor where Show first gets sent into the cage and then thrown into the steps by DX. Once again, Show is incapacitated and DX goes back to beating up the McMahons. When Show wakes up, he headbutts on HHH while Shane clotheslines HBK to the floor. Show gives HHH a CHOKESLAM and goes outside to send HBK into the cage to bust him open. Meanwhile, the McMahons are double-teaming HHH. Shane finds a trash can and delivers COAST TO COAST to HHH. That may or may not have legit cut open Triple H’s left ear. HBK gets brought into the ring so Show and Shane can hold him up for Vince to punch on him. HHH is taken to the floor where Shane catapults him into the cage. More blood is spilled. In the ring, Big Show delivers a Vader Bomb. Vince covers him, but lifts up HBK at two. There’s a Cobra Clutch Backbreaker to HBK. Show continues with the legdrop move he does. Vince pulls up HBK at two again. HHH is now back inside the ring and ducks a charge from Show to cause him to go flying to the floor.

Triple H hits Vince with his Facebuster move and goes for the PEDIGREE, but Shane pulls HHH off his father into a TORTURE RACK NECKBREAKER~! JR thinks HHH countered, but I don’t think so. Shawn enziguri kicks Shane to the floor, but Vince nails HBK with a clothesline. In comes Show, Vince wants him to force Shawn to join the Kiss My Ass Club. With Vince standing there with his butt exposed, Triple H punches him down. Show punches HHH down instead. Now Vince wants Big Show to splash HBK, but gets pulled into the move killing Vince. DX grabs Show by the legs and pulls his nads into the ringpost. That leaves Shane all alone for DX. HBK atomic drops him into a AA Spinebuster from HHH. They PILLMANIZE Shane’s neck as HBK comes off the top with the flying elbow. Shane starts bleeding from the mouth signifying internal bleeding. Show puts a stop to DX’s shenanigans, but walks into the ring with half of the ring steps and takes a chairshot to the belly and a shot to the head with his head on the steps. Some SWEET CHIN MUSIC drapes Show over the ropes. Vince looks ready to fight DX by himself, but then Show gets his pants pulled down so Vince can brown nose the Big Show. To get his revenge, HBK gives Vince SWEET CHIN MUSIC and Triple H breaks a sledgehammer over Vince’s shoulders for the three-count. (25:05) For something that was supposed to be hate filled, this came off more like a comedy match as they came down the stretch. I understand not wanting to show up Cena and Edge, but that doesn’t necessarily make this match any more worth seeing. It was slow and lumbering through much of the early going too. The only saving graces were the characterizations and facial expressions. We won’t see Vince or Shane for a few months until Vince starts his feud with the 2016 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. **½

Being the retirement match for Trish Stratus, they show us a video montage highlighting her six-year WWE career.

• WWE Women’s Championship: Lita (c) vs. Trish Stratus
  

Interesting that these two would meet now. They debuted in the WWE only a few weeks apart – Lita in February and Trish in April of 2000. Trish is obviously very emotional from the get-go, spazzing out and nearly tripping on the stairs. Trish gets a headscissors and a Thesz Press off the apron (ironically, the same move Lita hurt herself on last time). Another headscissors plants Lita on the outside. Lita comes back with a sleeper but takes some chops to the chest (WITH MULTIPLE LICKS!). Lita counters the Stratusphere and they spill off the top rope. Lita tosses Trish back to the mat, but misses the LITASAULT. Trish goes for STRATUSFACTION, but Lita dumps her to the floor. Trish wins a slugfest and hits the Stratusphere. CHICK KICK connects for 1-2-NO! Trish goes for STRATUSFACTION again, but slips over into a sunset flip – and into a SHARPSHOOTER! The crowd goes nuts for that one. Lita taps and Trish wins her record-setting seventh WWE women’s championship. (10:35) Near-perfect booking here. Both women worked hard for Trish’s last match and this turned into a near match of the night. Give me genuine emotion over Vince tossing salad any day. Interesting that two months later, Lita will be retiring from full-time WWE work as well. ***¼

Backstage, Randy Orton talks to Todd Grisham. He gets some cheap heat calling Trish a “bitch.”

• Randy Orton vs. Carlito
  

Who would ever think two guys would have a hard time following a WOMEN’S TITLE match? Strong tie-up since Orton just insulted Carlito’s buddy Trish. Carlito spits in Orton’s face. He does a springboard backflip and dropkicks Orton down before mocking his pose. He shows off some more with a springboard corkscrew senton and a quebrada for two. Orton starts bleeding from the mouth. Very bloody PPV tonight. Finally, Randy knocks Carlito off the apron down to the floor. Back in, Orton delivers the Garvin Stomp and goes into chinlock mode. Carlito comes back with a springboard back elbow. Orton fires back with the Inverted Backbreaker and goes for the RKO, but Carlito counters to the BACKCRACKER. Carlito goes up top and springboards into the RKO. Goodbye. (8:44) Cool finish. The match was solid enough technically, but it lacked energy and intensity. **

• TLC Match for the WWE Championship: Edge (c) vs. John Cena
  

If Cena loses, he’ll be going to Smackdown for three years. Champ enters first. Edge is the babyface as far as the Toronto is concerned. Headlocks and shoulderblocks to start until Edge slaps the taste out of his mouth. Big pop for that. Edge gets an Impaler DDT. He decides to set up chairs instead of using the ladder – at least for now. His suplex is countered, but Edge comes up with a reverse DDT on the chairs! Edge sets up the ladder against Cena’s face and dropkicks it from the railing. Cena comes back with a hiptoss onto the ladder. They botch a spot where Edge is supposed to sunset flip Cena and powerbomb him through a table. Instead, Edge powerslams him through the table in a much cooler spot anyway. Edge smashes Cena with a chair and goes for the Con-chair-to, but Cena sweeps the leg. He sandwiches Edge in the ladder and locks in the STFU for the insignificant tapout. Cena drops the Five-Knuckle Shuffle on Edge from the ladder. Cena sets up a table but doesn’t see Edge recover. Edge pops up and KNOCKS CENA OUT with a chairshot! Edge sets up Cena in between two set-up tables and goes up. Unfortunately, Cena pops up and knocks him to the floor. Cena goes up, but Edge climb a nearby ladder and spears him off! Cena catches Edge going up and powerbombs him into a ladder! Cena goes up the big ladder, but here’s Lita to tip over the ladder and send him falling through a table below! INSANE! Edge goes up, but Cena recovers and jumps in the ring. Lita tries to help Edge out with a chairshot to Cena, but the challenger stumbles into the ladder and shoves Edge out and through the tables. MORE INSANE! FU to Lita! Cena thinks for a moment about going out and getting some more of Edge, but he decides to go up instead. Edge catches up with him, but Cena grabs him and FUs him through some nearby tables. The WWE title is easy pickings from there. (25:38) Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got a NEW WWE champion. Another brutal, intense match from these two. The only problem is that most of the spots have been done before in other matches and the TLC concept has been taken as far as it can without risking someone’s life. Nevertheless, a MOTYC as far as I’m concerned. ****¼

Final Thoughts: There are three pretty good matches in there, and no really horrible matches. It does feel, though, like they piled in a lot of gimmicks in lieu of creating interesting stories for them. The Trish/Lita match had the most emotional heat behind it, but that falls under the “familiarity breeds contempt” category rather than anything they actually did during this feud. I’m giving Unforgiven 2006 a mild thumbs up for the TLC and the Trish retirement match.