WrestleMania 22 Review

Sunday, April 2nd, 2006
Allstate Arena
Rosemont, Illinois

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child fame is here to sing "America The Beautiful" and that leads into the big WrestleMania hype video. There's nothing better than a good WrestleMania video and this one is definitely a thumbs up. I tried my best to get tickets to go to WrestleMania, but these sold out in seconds. 

World Tag Team Championship Match

Carlito & Chris Masters vs. Kane & Big Show

15 years later and this is still a curious choice for an opener. Kane hits a rare dropkick on Masters before tagging in Show. He gets in a few chops until Masters rakes his eyes and tags in a reluctant Carlito. The crowd is chanting for Carlito, but Show lifts him up and crotches him on the top rope. Show then tosses Carlito on Masters on the outside and then Kane hits a double something or other off the top rope to the floor. Carlito hits a low dropkick on Show and he then avoids a charging Big Show and he rams his head into an exposed turnbuckle. Show still gets a tag into Kane and he dominates both opponents. Kane goes off the top rope, but Masters catches him and puts him in the Master Lock. Big Show almost immediately breaks up the hold with a boot. Carlito hits a Backstabber on Kane and then Show goes for a chokeslam on Carlito. Masters comes from behind and hits a chop block. Kane fights them both off and swings Carlito into Masters off the top rope. Kane hits a chokeslam on Carlito and that's it. This felt like a pre-show match, as it was rushed and it did no favors to the young talents they have spent the last year building. This is a match that could have happened at any point in the show and other than the main event, the opening was the worst spot. After the match, Carlito and Masters argue. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Coach is backstage with Shawn Michaels and he says he stole the show two years in a row, but tonight he won't. Tonight is going to get ugly. This wasn't one of Michaels' better promos.

Money In The Bank Ladder Match

Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Finlay vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Ric Flair

I feel like this one still goes down as the most random group of wrestlers to ever be in a Money In The Bank. RVD hits a baseball slide into a ladder that Hardy is holding and then dives onto Hardy and the ladder. Shelton sets up the ladder on the ropes and then hits a running senton onto all of his opponents with the exception of Finlay. Flair starts climbing, but Hardy meets him up there and hits a suplex off the top. Good lord, I completely forgot that happened. Flair sells it as an injury and the officials are calling for help. Flair heads to the back and RVD hits a drop toe hold on Shelton into a ladder. He goes for a Rolling Thunder, but Hardy moves and he lands on the ladder. Lashley starts climbing and Shelton is now there. Shelton goes for a sunset flip powerbomb, but Lashley holds on. Finlay and Hardy come in for the assist and he hits it. Finlay takes control and out hobbles Flair. Flair clears out Finlay, Shelton and Hardy and then has his hands on the briefcase. Up comes Finlay and he hits Flair in the head with the shillelagh, with Flair taking a big bump. Lashley hits a Dominator on Shelton and sets up the ladder. He climbs incredibly slow and here comes RVD with a dropkick off the top rope with a chair to knock him off. RVD is the clear crowd favorite. Hardy hits a leg drop from near the top of a ladder onto Lashley and now he sets up the ladder. Finlay slows him down, but Hardy hits a Side Effect off the ladder and then RVD hits a 5 Star Frog Splash from the very top of the ladder onto Finlay. RVD has his hands on the briefcase, but Shelton springboards himself out of nowhere on the ladder. Now Hardy brings in another ladder. Hardy and Shelton get knocked off and take scary looking bumps to the floor and Van Dam grabs the briefcase. RVD was the only choice here and the crowd loved it. This was definitely not as good as most of the Money In The Bank matches, but it was still very entertaining. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

Josh Matthews is with Mean Gene Okerlund. In comes Randy Orton and makes fun of Okerlund for holding a mic and starts rambling on about paper champions and charity cases. In walks Batista, who reminds Orton that whoever wins is just holding the title until he comes back. 

The Fink is in the ring to announce the Hall Of Fame class. Prior to announcing, he lets the crowd know that Bret Hart was uncomfortable being part of this part of the show. I don't recall that at all. Eddie gets a legendary ovation, with Vickie Guerrero accepting on his behalf. 

United States Championship Match

JBL vs. Chris Benoit

They have to raise the ramp for JBL's limo to come out. It's weird because this feels like a fresh matchup, but the build felt flat. Speaking of flat, this feels like a TV match to start. Benoit eventually hits the three German suplexes and signals for the top rope headbutt. JBL gets to Benoit first and then mocks Eddie's shoulder shimmy. Yeah, let's double down on the Eddie Guerrero crap. JBL hits a superplex and after a failed pin attempt, he mocks Eddie some more. JBL starts doing the Three Amigos, but Benoit fights out of the third one. Benoit runs into a big boot and barely kicks out at 2. Benoit hits the Three Amigos and then hits the top rope headbutt. Benoit goes for a German suplex, but JBL grabs the ref. JBL hits an elbow and goes for the Clothesline From Hell, but Benoit catches him and puts him the Crippler Crossface. JBL rolls over, grabs the rope and steals the victory. So they built this huge story around Benoit and the United States Championship, had JBL mock a wrestler who only died 5 months prior and he wins the title here? The ending was well executed, but the Eddie stuff here leaves a bad taste in your mouth and that's before you realize it's Benoit. 

Match Rating: **1/4

Hardcore Match

Edge vs. Mick Foley

Edge misses wildly with a baseball bat and Foley puts Edge in the tree of woe. Edge comes back with a boot to the face and a running forearm. Lita then hands Edge a cookie sheet and starts wailing Foley in the head. He then puts a road sign in the face of Foley and hits a sliding dropkick. Edge hits the Spear on Foley, but Edge is selling an injury. Foley takes off one of his shirts and it exposes barbed wire wrapped around his stomach. Foley unwraps it and starts using it on Edge. Edge gets tied up in the ropes and Foley grabs a barbed wire baseball bat from underneath the steps. Lita jumps on his back, but Foley hits a clothesline on Edge and all three fall to the floor. Lita took a pretty nasty bump there. Foley charges at Edge, but Edge hits a hip toss into the steel steps. Edge stays on the offensive and again throws him into the steps and then on his back on the steel ramp. Edge then starts pouring lighter fluid on Foley. Edge starts using the barbed wire baseball bat and Foley is bleeding now. Edge pulls out the bag of thumb tacks and dumps them in the corner of the ring. Foley counters Edge and hits a back suplex onto the tacks. Foley takes out Socko and wraps him in barbed wire. He puts the Mandible Claw on Edge and then to Lita. Now Foley has the bat and hits Edge int he stomach and back with it. He then starts grinding it on his forearm and starts looking at the table set outside the ring. He grabs the lighter fluid and douses the table with it. Lita hits Foley with the baseball bat and then she adds more lighter fluid. She sets the table on fire and Edge Spears him through the table in one of the most shown spots in WrestleMania history. Edge barely is able to crawl on Foley and gets the pin. This match took hardcore wrestling and morphed it with the WWE style of wrestling and it worked beautifully. I don't care for the blood and guts stuff as much as I used to, but this one still is fantastic. The crowd chants for Foley as he walks his way back up the ramp. 

Match Rating: ****1/2

Booker T and Sharmell are backstage and Sharmell is freaking out. She asks why all of the freaks are always after him. This leads to Booker walking backstage and encountering Paul Burchill as the pirate, Ted DiBiase bribing Eugene, Snitsky with Mae Young's foot and Goldust in drag. Goldust then suggests where he should put the worms, infuriating Booker. 

Todd Grisham is with two fans who won the Snickers WrestleMania sweepstakes. They then show Joe Theismann and Michelle Williams in the crowd.

Handicap Match

Booker T & Sharmell vs. Boogeyman

Booker makes Sharmell start, but it's a plan so that he can attack Boogey from behind. Booker hits a superkick on him and a Book End as well. Boogey avoids the Scissors Kick and hits a forearm on Booker. Boogey grabs a handful of worms and eats them. Sharmell tries to attack him from behind with his staff, but he catches her and then kisses her with a mouthful of worms. He hits his finisher and that's all. At least this was short, but Boogeyman was really not deserving of a match at WrestleMania. It should be noted that Boogey was working hurt here, which limited him even more. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

WWE Women's Championship Match

Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus

This was pretty much the women's match with the most backstory in WWE history at this point. Trish takes it to Mickie early on, kicking her out of the ring. Mickie turns things around and slams Trish's left leg on the ring post. Mickie goes to work on the knee and a large section of the crowd is rooting for her. Trish is able to finally get in some offense after hitting a headscissors. JR is continuing to make excuses for the crowd cheering for the heel Mickie. Mickie goes up top, but Trish goes for the handstand hurricanrana. Mickie blocks it and slams her and goes for a suggestive pin attempt that Trish is able to kick out of. Trish catches Mickie's hurricanrana attempt and hits a sit down powerbomb for a nearfall. Mickie counters Stratusfaction, but eats a right hand. Mickie hits Trish in the face on her way down and then hits a Mick Kick for the victory. That was a really poorly booked finish. I have to say, I remember liking this a lot more back in 2006 than I do now. This was a pretty average match that had a hot crowd, even if they were cheering for the clear villain. 

Match Rating: **1/2

The whole McMahon family is backstage and he says that they are going to do the first ever McMahon family prayer. He says that he's going to send Shawn Michaels to the fiery pits of Hell. This promo probably wasn't too far from real life. 

Casket Match

Mark Henry vs. Undertaker

One minute in and the crowd is already pretty silent. As Henry continues his beatdown, there is a short "Undertaker" chant. Taker goes for Old School, but Henry blocks it and continues with his methodical pace. Henry tries to push Taker into the casket, which doesn't make much sense since he is clearly not unconscious. Taker recovers and this time hits Old School. Henry misses his squash on Taker and slides into the casket. He brings Taker in and they are brawling in the casket. Back in the ring, Henry hits the World's Strongest Slam and then tries to pin him. Taker hits a Last Ride from out of the corner and throws him on top of the casket. Taker then hits a dive over the top rope and the casket, which is undeniably impressive. Taker then hits the Tombstone and rolls Henry in the casket for the victory. This was hardly even a TV quality match, let alone a WrestleMania match. This was a pretty good reminder that Undertaker requires a great opponent to have a good match.

Match Rating: 1/2*

No Holds Barred Match

Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon

Before the match, Vince unveils a blown up picture of his Muscle & Fitness cover, so Michaels comes out and attacks him. Shawn looks to be trying to bust Vince open the hard way and then starts choking him with a cable. Michaels then takes the poster and smashes it on Vince's head. Out come the Spirit Squad and they all attack Michaels. Kenny goes for the top rope leg drop, but Michaels rolls out of hte way. Michaels then starts smashing them all in the head with a megaphone. He then tosses Kenny over the top rope and onto the remaining members, which allows Vince to come from behind and hit a clothesline on Michaels. Vince then starts using a belt before he starts mocking Michaels' tuning up the band. Michaels blocks the superkick attempt and gets in some chops. Michaels then begins to return the favor and uses the belt. Michaels hits the top rope elbow and starts to tune up the band. Out comes Shane and he hits Michaels from behind with the kendo stick. Vince pulls his pants down, but Michaels shoves Shane's face into it and then clotheslines him out of the ring. Michaels handcuffs Shane to the second rope and starts whipping him with the kendo stick. Michaels hits Vince with the chair and then starts to go for Sweet Chin Music. He stops short and decides to grab a ladder and ram it into Vince's head. Michaels hits him with the dumpster and then climbs the ladder. He climbs down before jumping to some boos. Michaels goes under the ring and grabs an even bigger ladder. Vince is still lying motionless on the table, but Michaels pulls him up and shoves a garbage can on him before lying him back down. Michaels climbs tot he top of the ladder, gives the crotch chops and hits the elbow drop to a big reaction from the live crowd. Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music and that's it. They could have very easily shaved five minutes off of this match and given it to the triple threat match. This was entertaining enough for what it was, but in hindsight it seems like a waste considering that Michaels only has 4 more WrestleMania matches left in him. Vince flips off Shawn as he is being stretchered away. 

Overall Rating: ***

Triple Threat Match For The World Heavyweight Championship

Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton vs. Kurt Angle

Mysterio has P.O.D. here to bring him out for the entrance. Kurt Angle recently said that this entrance ran long and cut into their match. Orton uses the title belt to knock Angle out of the ring before the belt rang. Angle is back in and hits a German suplex on Orton and then a double German suplex on both opponents. Angle launches Mysterio up in the corner and he hits a hurricanrana on Orton. A very vocal part of the crowd is not wanting Rey here and behind Angle. It probably was a mistake to have Angle in there. Angle baits Mysterio into the 619 and puts on the Ankle Lock. Orton comes in with a chair, distracting the referee and he misses Mysterio tapping. Angle just launches Mysterio on his German suplex and then dumps Mysterio out of the ring with an Angle Slam. He puts in the Ankle Lock on Orton, but Mysterio grabs the ref this time so he can't see. I'm not sure I understand the logic there from the ultimate babyface. Mysterio breaks up a second Ankle Lock with a leg drop. Angle throws Mysterio into the ring post and the straps are down. Orton hits the RKO but Angle is able to kick out. Orton goes up top, but Angle hits his leaping suplex in the corner. Mysterio tries to hit a modified 619 in the corner, but he slips. It's pretty rare when Mysterio makes a mistake. Orton hits a nice reverse neckbreaker on Mysterio for a 2 count. Orton is sizing up Mysterio for the RKO, but Angle hits him with an Angle Slam for a 2 count. Angle goes for an Angle Slam on Mysterio, but he hits an arm drag. Mysterio hits a 619 on Orton and the springboard leg drop to become the new World Heavyweight Championship. Angle was booked extremely strong here. I enjoyed this match a lot, but wish they would have had a couple of those extra minutes back. I also am not sure that an arm drag was enough to keep Angle from saving Orton. They show Rey's family as he celebrates in the ring. This really feels like it should have been a bigger celebration, along the lines of Daniel Bryan or Kofi Kingston, but I think the way they booked it just kind of took away from it. Either way, this was such a well deserved moment for one of the absolute greatest performers I have ever watched.

Match Rating: ***3/4

They show Triple H and John Cena getting ready backstage, as JR prepares us for Cena to get booed. 

Playboy Pillow Fight

Candice Michelle vs. Torrie Wilson

Both women are wearing evening gowns and Torrie goes right after Candice. There is a bed in the ring with some Playboy pillows. Torrie turns over the bed on her and jumps on it. She then takes Chloe and rubs her butt in Candice's face. Torrie rips Candice's dress off, but runs into a foot to the face. Candice then hits her Tarantula-like move. I know this might surprise you, but this isn't good. Candice takes out some scissors and cuts Torrie's dress off. I can't believe they gave this match more than 2 minutes. Torrie leaps over a charging Candice and hits a sunset flip for the victory. Thankfully these types of matches are a thing of the past, even if they should have already been by 2006. 

Match Rating: 0 stars

WWE Championship Match

Triple H vs. John Cena

Both men get elaborate entrances, with Triple H getting a Conan the Barbarian entrance and Cena getting a gangster entrance. Honestly, they both are really lame. CM Punk being one of the gangsters is about all that anyone ever talks about either of them. The crowd is definitely 100% into this match, even though I was definitely not that into this one in 2006. It really goes to show how wrestling fans for years complained about Triple H and then cheer for him here against a guy they helped bring up to main event status. Wrestling fandom in a nutshell. We get a lot of playing into the crowd reactions to start off and even Lawler plays into the Cena not being a good wrestler. JR gets fired up and defends him. The action spills out of the ring and Cena hits a back body drop on Triple H on the steel ramp. Triple H retaliates and throws Cena into the steps. I'm not sure I understand why the challenger would let the champion recover on the outside of the ring while the referee counts. Triple H throws him back in the ring, but Cena kicks out. Triple H hits a facebuster and then a big clothesline. We get a lot of the boo/yeah action here and then Triple H hits a huge spinebuster for a 2 count. Cena pumps up his shooes and then puts Triple H in the STFU in the middle of the ring. Triple H is able to crawl to the bottom rope to break the hold. Triple H escapes out of the FU, pushing Cena into the referee in the corner and hitting a low blow on Cena. Triple H then does a crotch chop of his own to a huge reaction and then goes under the ring to get the sledgehammer. Cena fights him off, but still gets hit in the head with the sledgehammer. Cena kicks out of the slow count from the injured ref and the atmosphere here is undeniably awesome. Cena fights back and hits the FU, but Triple H kicks out. I probably haven't watched this match in 10 years or so and it's significantly better than I remember. Cena misses a crossbody off the top rope. Triple H goes for the Pedigree, but Cena counters it into the STFU. The ref goes to the old arm drop routine and Triple H holds it up on the third drop. Triple H reaches for the ropes, but gives in and taps. This was a good WWE style main event, even if it wasn't an all time classic. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

This show was truly all over the place. We had an all time classic in Edge/Foley, an action-packed triple threat match (even if it was rushed), a solid ladder match and a good main event. However, we also had the Boogeyman, a match with a bed in the ring and an awful Casket Match. I think the good outweighed the bad by a large margin though and even though this isn't a top tier WrestleMania, it's very easily in the top half of the shows and one that is worthy of repeat viewings.

Overall Rating: 85%