10 Best WWE Matches of the Year 2006

To be honest, not many fans look too fondly back at the year 2006 in WWE. Much of 2006 for WWE was like a failed throwback to the '90s. We had the reunion of Shawn Michaels and Triple H as D-Generation X, which was nowhere near as entertaining as their first run 9 years earlier.

Back in 1997, DX was groundbreaking, pushing the envelope as far as possible. The two young guys were highly entertaining in their 18 TV rating antics, while in 2006, they were two 40 something-year-olds making toilet jokes, and they weren't very funny.

WWE also gave us that flop of an ECW revival, a pointless Kane vs. Fake Kane storyline, Rey Mysterio being booked very poorly as World Champion, the late Eddie Guerrero's name popping up in storyline, Kurt Angle parted ways with the company, and Vince McMahon beat God in a match, among other questionable and poor booking decisions.

Despite all that, WWE did still manage to present more than a dozen great wrestling matches. The storylines and angles may have been the pits, but the wrestling itself was great and that brings me to what I think are the top 10 best WWE matches of 2006.

#10 John Cena vs. Edge - Unforgiven

This was a very polarizing match for fans. It is one of the very few wrestling matches to ever be nominated for both Match of The Year and Worst Match of The Year by various wrestling media outlets. Obviously, by its inclusion on this list, I am among those who think it was a great match.

Today, I think John Cena is one of the best of all-time, who frequently gives us some of the best matches of the entire year. However, it hasn't always been like this for big match John, and in his earlier years as WWE Champion, he needed a little help in being apart of a really good match, so I would have to credit Edge a lot here in helping to carry Cena into giving such a great performance.

This match actually took place in Toronto, so despite being the heel, Edge was incredibly over. Consequently, they also had a WWE Championship match in Cena's home of Boston just one month earlier at SummerSlam, where Edge also seemed to have a bit more fanfare. This was a big match for John as if he lost, he was going to head over to SmackDown. According to a former WWE writer, there was a plan in place at one point that John was going to lose, go to SmackDown and make a big heel turn shortly after, but those plans obviously changed.

They brawled early on as Cena hit shoulder tackles while Edge gave some hard shots. Cena teased putting Edge through two tables outside the ring before Edge fought back and gave Cena a powerslam through another table. They used ladders as weapons on each other for a while, followed by some stiff chair shots from each. Lita showed up eventually to aid her man and was given an Attitude Adjustment from John.

The end came in the form of a huge bump when Cena and Edge were on top of the ladder and Cena hoisted Edge on his shoulders and gave him the Attitude Adjustment through two stacked tables that they set up beside the ladder and took the Rated-R WWE Championship spinner belt down.

#9 Rob Van Dam vs. Edge - Vengeance

Rob Van Dam had the makings of a great WWE Champion. He defeated John Cena for the title in a fantastic match and this would be his first title defence, and a great one at that. Alas, the reign was not meant to be due to Rob's... Extracurricular activities. Never the less, this is a highly underrated gem.

Some nice chain wrestling started this one off. Both men tie-up, Rob Van Dam was backed into the corner as Edge gave hard rights, but only to be reversed into the buckle, and a monkey flip to Edge but then Edge landed on his feet. Great sequence.

Edge on the apron and Rob Van Dam put his body at risk with a tremendous crossbody. RVD with a spinning leg-drop to Edge on the barricade but Edge was able to avoid the contact and RVD may have injured his hamstring. They got some good brawling in for a few minutes just after.

As RVD went for a frog splash, Lita tripped him up, leading to Edge to give him a stiff DDT, leading to a convincing nearfall. The end came when Edge set up a chair on the second turnbuckle, aiming to Spear RVD into it, but missed, met the chair with his head which laid him out, prime for a Five Star Frog Splash and three count for RVD to retain.

#8 Jeff Hardy vs. Johnny Nitro, RAW November 13

Jeff Hardy made his triumphant return to WWE after SummerSlam 2006 following a 3 and a half year hiatus from the company. He immediately set his eyes on Johnny Nitro (Morrison/Mundo) Intercontinental Championship. The two had a series of matches on both RAW and pay-per-view, with their best coming here in this ladder match.

Jeff and Nitro started off with traditional wrestling and went back and forth for a little while. Ladders eventually came into play and we had a lot of use out of them. Jeff dropkicked a ladder which folded up Nitro, hit him with a beautiful sunset flip powerbomb and classic Jeff Hardy leg drop over the ladder to him below.

Nitro baseball slid the ladder which ricocheted into Hardy’s face in a rather painful looking spot. The two used it as a weapon plenty of times and both came flying off the top on several occasions. Jeff may have been the ladder match veteran here, but Johnny deserves a lot of credit for giving such a great performance in his ladder debut. The end came when Jeff trapped Johnny under the ladder and retrieved the title.

#7 Brian Kendrick & Paul London vs. William Regal & Dave Taylor

vs. MNM vs. The Hardy Boyz - Armageddon

After the terrible pay-per-view that was ECW December to Dismember, WWE certainly had some making up to do to get back into the good graces of their pay-per-view buyers, and they did just that with the Armageddon event, with particular praise going to a match that wasn't even advertised.

WWE Tag Team Champions Brian Kendrick and Paul London were scheduled to defend their titles with William Regal and Dave Taylor, but just before the match was about to begin, SmackDown general manager Theodore Long came out to announce it would now be a Fatal Four Way Ladder match, adding MNM and the Hardy Boyz.

The action was very fast paced here. The arena went crazy for Matt and Jeff, but Paul and Brian still had their fans here too. After the faces teams drop the heel teams, they had a standoff that amused the crowd.

A little back and forth between them before the heel teams regrouped. Regal hit a brutal capture exploder suplex on London onto a ladder. We have much use of the ladders from everyone.

Regal and Taylor give some comical moments, showing that they are too afraid of heights to climb the ladder and try to aid each other in doing so. In the most famous spot of the match, as the ladders are set up for the famous Hardy Boy seesaw spot, MNM perches Jeff on the top rope and tease a suplex but Matt breaks it up.

They work on him but Jeff jumps off and legdrops the ladder that seesaws back into Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury. The latter is immediately busted open and blood is gushing out everywhere. The medical crew rush down and whisk him away.

Johnny Nitro gave a good one-man performance on his own after but was overmatched. After some more death-defying moments, Paul London grabbed the belts to take home the victory for he and Kendrick.

#6 Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon - WrestleMania 22

The Shawn Michaels vs Vince McMahon feud received a mixed reaction at best. Starting off with Shawn telling Vince to get over Montreal, it soon evolved into a D-Generation X reunion and a match with... God.

Before these failed reunions and silliness, Michaels and Vince managed to put together a tremendous WrestleMania match. Vince proved that at 60, he could still go and gave his best performance since WrestleMania XIX with Hulk Hogan.

Although there was a lot of laying around and much of it was one-sided, there were a lot of entertaining spots too. We had a lot of weapon use, an entertaining moment when Shawn hit Vince with his muscle and fitness cover photo, backfired interference from Shane McMahon including a fun moment of he kissing Vince's ass and much more.

The end came when Shawn delivered an elbow from the top of a 13 ft ladder to Vince who was laying on a table with half his body in a trash can.

#5 Edge, Mick Foley & Lita vs. Terry Funk, Tommy Dreamer & Beulah -

ECW One Night Stand

This was a wild match. A wild and excellent match that didn't get enough credit back then and certainly doesn't today. It was originally scheduled to be a regular tag match of Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer vs. Edge and Mick Foley, but then Lita and even more surprisingly, Tommy's wife and ECW fan favourite Beulah McGillicutty got into it before the match started and were all of a sudden added to the match, making it an inter-gender 6 person tag.

They started off with some back and forth blows, but it didn't take long for some weapons to be introduced. Dreamer hit Edge in the back with a street sign, then he nailed Foley with it and Funk hit Edge in the head with a trash can.

Edge brought in a ladder and used it on Tommy for a while before it got used on him. Funk climbed the ladder, but Edge pushed it over and Funk went crashing down to the mat, a pretty big spot for the then 62-year-old to take.

Foley and Edge and pulled out a table covered with barb wire but Dreamer and Funk tossed Foley into it. Foley was handed some barbwire by Lita, who got it from under the ring. Funk’s arm was trapped in the barbwire board. Foley put the barbwire on his arm and raked the barbwire against the head and eye of Funk, which caused Funk's head to bleed profusely.

He was taken out of the match, leaving Tommy and Beulah against the three. They beat up Tommy for a while and Foley even gave Beulah the Mandible Claw until Funk reemerged from the back with a barbed wire bat.

He took out everyone with it and then lit it on fire, much to the delight of the bloodthirsty ECW faithful. He hit Foley with the flamed bat and then knocked him off the apron onto a barb wire table outside the ring.

After Lita and Beulah had a 'catfight', Tommy took out Lita with a Dreamer Driver. Edge then took Tommy out with barbed wire wrapped around his head into a reverse DDT. Edge then pinned Beulah after a Spear for the win.

#4 Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker - SmackDown, March 3

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle and The Undertaker had an instant classic in the main event of No Way Out 2006, easily the best match of the year and one of the best match of either man's careers.

The match was so good, that a rematch was set up a few weeks later for the March 3 episode of SmackDown. Almost every time Kurt and The Undertaker got in the ring together, they created magic, so it was no surprise that this match was yet another instant classic.

Like No Way Out, as he should be, Kurt was treated as Taker's equal and the two had a show-stopping affair where at no point did Kurt look like he would go down easy.

The two went back and forth, several reversals, Kurt hit the Angle Slam and Ankle Lock to no avail, Taker hit the Chokeslam and other vintage Deadman moves to no avail, and finally, when Taker hot the Tombstone, it looked like he would be the new World Heavyweight Champion, until Mark Henry interfered, ruining the ending.

Still, it was a fantastic match.

#3 John Cena vs. Rob Van Dam - ECW One Night Stand

'' If Cena wins, we riot '' They probably had to

This one was a long time coming for Rob Van Dam. As early as his WWE debut in 2001, many had him pegged to be a future WWE Champion and it looked like we were about to get that in 2002 before Triple H creative card got in the way.

Rob Van Dam spent pretty much all of 2003 and 2004 being misused and spent all of 2005 on the shelf. He returned in 2006 to a strong push with the WWE Championship ready for the taken.

This match is a must watch. Not only is it a damn fine performance from both men, but it also has the most incredible crowd response to a WWE match ever. Seriously, the live audience responses to The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania and Cena vs. CM Punk at Money in The Bank are truly spectacles for sure, but this one was a whole different breed.

The bell rings and a very loud “F*** you Cena” chant starts up. That was in the first three seconds, so that should tell you how the rest of the chants for the match will go. Some nice back and forth friendly wrestling started it off.

A slugfest leads to Cena send RVD to the floor and then Cena jumped off the top with a punch to RVD’s back on the floor. A funny moment as Cena punches Rob through a fan sign that read “F*** you Cena”.

RVD hit his spinning leg drop off the apron onto Cena on the barricade and then RVD hit a guillotine legdrop on the apron. RVD with the Rolling Thunder onto the steel chair. RVD went for the split legged moonsault, but Cena got his knees and the steel chair up to block it.

After Cena took control for a while, RVD came back with a dropkick while Cena was on the apron to send Cena crashing to the floor. RVD brought a table into the ring. Fans chanted “Whole F’N Show” for RVD, and he really was making it his.

Frustrated with the referee, Cena took him out with a clothesline. Cena brought the steel steps in the ring and nailed RVD in the head with them, which RVD sold greatly as usual. A table was set up in the corner.

As they staggered near it, Cena sent RVD to the outside. When he turned around, he was met with someone in a trench coat and bikers helmet, who tackled him through the table, then revealed to be none other than Edge.

RVD climed back in the ring, hit a 5 Star Frogsplash, and ECW General Manager Paul Heyman came out to make the three count. Should have been the start of a great WWE Championship reign, but Rob Van Dam mucked it up for himself, unfortunately.

#2 Edge vs. Mick Foley - WrestleMania 22

Mick Foley always wanted that show-stealing WrestleMania moment, and he somehow never got it... that is until WrestleMania 22.

This was a fantastic match. Both men have called it one of their best matches ever, and Foley even called it the best Hardcore match ever. I wouldn't really agree with the latter but it was still an excellent contest none the less.

Naturally enough, a brawl started it off. Edge goes for the spear and he hits it only two minutes into the match. Edge starts yelling like he hurt his arm, which proves to be a work as Foley takes off the dark flannel to reveal the red flannel and shirt.

Then we learned why Edge was hurt - because Foley had the barbwire wrapped around his stomach. Edge’s arm was bleeding as Mick attacks him with the wire.

After some fun brawling outside the ring for a while, Edge pulled a table out from under the ring and rammed it to the back of Foley's head into the steel ramp, which looked really painful. Foley fought back and hit a pulling piledriver.

Edge busted Foley open with a barbed wire bat. Edge beat him up with the barbwire for a while before Foley fought back and gave a barbed wired Mr. Socko to both Edge and Lita.

Foley got some lighter fluid and sprayed it all over the table in front of the ring. As he stands on the apron, about to enter the ring, Lita takes the Barbie bat into Foley’s knee and she lit the table with fire.

Edge then Speared Foley through the middle rope right through the burning table in one of the most memorable finished to a WrestleMania match, and took home the victory.

#1 Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker - No Way Out

Then WWE World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle and The Undertaker had an instant classic in the main event of No Way Out 2006, easily the best match of the year and one of the best match of either men's careers.

Almost every time Kurt Angle and The Undertaker got in the ring together, they created magic, so it was no surprise that this match was yet another instant classic. One thing that was really great about this match was that despite a size difference and Taker being very dominant in recent years, Kurt was treated as Taker's equal, and the two had a show-stopping affair where at no point did Kurt look like he would go down easy.

The two went back and forth, several reversals, Kurt hit the Angle Slam and Ankle Lock to no avail, Taker hit the Chokeslam and other vintage Deadman moves but failed to win. At one point it looked like Kurt would take in a countout victory over the Deadman after an Angle Slam through the announcer's table, but stops the referee from doing so.

The end of the match came when Kurt countered the Triangle Choke into a bridge pin for the victory. We had a cool respect moment from Taker after the match as he handed Kurt the World title.