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Armageddon (2005)
Encyclopedia
Armageddon was the sixth Armageddon
professional wrestling
pay-per-view
(PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
(WWE). It took place on December 18, 2005 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center
in Providence, Rhode Island
and was a SmackDown! brand
-exclusive event.
The main event was a Hell in a Cell match between Randy Orton
and The Undertaker, which Undertaker won by pinfall after performing a Tombstone piledriver. One of the predominant matches on the card
was an Interpromotional tag team match
between WWE Tag Team Champions Batista and Rey Mysterio and World Tag Team Champions Big Show and Kane
. Big Show and Kane won the match after Kane pinned Mysterio following a chokeslam
. Another primary match on the undercard was Booker T
versus Chris Benoit
in the fourth match of their "Best of 7" series for the vacant WWE United States Championship
. Benoit won the match after forcing Booker to submit with the Crippler Crossface, thus earning his first victory in the series.
with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing script
ed feuds, plots and storyline
s. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains
or fan favorites
as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. All wrestlers belonged to the SmackDown! brand – a storyline division
in which WWE assigned its employees to a different program, the other being Raw
.
The main event at Armageddon was fought in a Hell in a Cell, a match where the ring is surrounded by a structure of metal between The Undertaker and Randy Orton
. The buildup to the match began at WrestleMania 21
, where The Undertaker defeated Orton, a Raw
superstar at the time, in an Interpromotional
match. On the June 16 episode of SmackDown!, during the third annual WWE Draft
, a mock sports draft lottery in which wrestlers switched programs, Orton was drafted to the SmackDown! brand. At the August pay-per-view event, SummerSlam
, Orton defeated The Undertaker, where he pinned him after performing an RKO following interference from his father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton
. This led to a Handicap Casket match between Undertaker and Orton and his father at No Mercy
. At the event, Orton and his father defeated Undertaker, and set the casket, which Orton locked Undertaker in, which was scripted to be on fire. The proceeding month, at Survivor Series
, the Undertaker returned and attacked several SmackDown! superstars following a 5-on-5 Survivor Series match between Raw and SmackDown!. Orton, who won the match for SmackDown!, was able to escape the attack.
The pay-per-view event featured the build up of a rivalry among two tag team
s, a group of at least two wrestlers. The two groups were Batista and Rey Mysterio versus Big Show and Kane
. On the November 11 episode of SmackDown!, an Interpromotional Street Fight match was scheduled between Batista and Edge. Edge, who earlier in the night, pleaded to Batista not go through the match. Batista, however, declined to cancel the match. Outside the arena, General Manager Theodore Long
was outside talking to Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff
, who had just arrived to the show. As Long and Bischoff were talking, Chris Masters
showed up and grabbed Long from behind and placed him in a full nelson submission hold, which he calls the Master Lock. After the assault on Long, Bischoff and Masters got into a limousine and drove away from the arena. Rey Mysterio, Matt Hardy
, and John "Bradshaw" Layfield
(JBL) got into JBL's limousine and followed Bishoff and Masters. Inside the arena, Kane and the Big Show showed up and chokeslammed Batista. The chokeslam resulted in Batista legitimately injuring his back. On the November 21 episode of Raw, one of WWE's primary television programs, SmackDown! superstars, Batista, Randy Orton, JBL, Rey Mysterio, and Bobby Lashley, arrived to the show's arena. The Raw superstars met the SmackDown! superstars and a brawl broke out between both rosters. The fight led to Kane and the Big Show to double chokeslam Batista on top of a car, which was scripted so that Batista could attend to his injury. On the November 25 episode of SmackDown!, Batista was scheduled to defend his World Heavyweight Championship
against Orton in a No Holds Barred matchs. Batista retained his title after the Raw roster showed up to the arena and began a fight with the SmackDown! roster. Kane and the Big Show double chokeslammed Batista into the announcer's table.
on pay-per-view
, Jamie Noble
defeated Funaki
on Sunday Night HeAT
, which aired on Spike TV. The first match of the event was Matt Hardy
versus John "Bradshaw" Layfield
.
ended up winning the vacant WWE United States Championship
on the January 13, 2006 edition of SmackDown in Philadelphia, with the help of Randy Orton
. The feud between Randy Orton
and The Undertaker ended in the Hell in a Cell match after the feud ran for about nine months. Batista and Rey Mysterio, who were the WWE Tag Team Championship holders at the time, lost the title to the team of MNM
after Batista suffered a legitimate injury in early 2006, sidelining him for up to seven months.
WWE Armageddon
Armageddon was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every December by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was created in 1999, with its inaugural event taking place on December 12, 1999 at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida...
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
(PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWE). It took place on December 18, 2005 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center
Dunkin' Donuts Center
The Dunkin' Donuts Center , is an indoor arena, located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States...
in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
and was a SmackDown! brand
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
-exclusive event.
The main event was a Hell in a Cell match between Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
and The Undertaker, which Undertaker won by pinfall after performing a Tombstone piledriver. One of the predominant matches on the card
Card (sports)
In sports, a card comprises a listing of the matches taking place in a title-match combat-sport event. Organizers divide overall cards into a main-event match and the undercard, which encompasses the rest of the matches. One can also further subdivide the undercard into midcard and lower card,...
was an Interpromotional tag team match
Professional wrestling tag team match types
Much like singles matches, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace...
between WWE Tag Team Champions Batista and Rey Mysterio and World Tag Team Champions Big Show and Kane
Big Show and Kane
Kane and Big Show are two professional wrestlers currently signed to WWE, who formed a tag team during three periods: 2001-2002, 2005-2006 and 2011...
. Big Show and Kane won the match after Kane pinned Mysterio following a chokeslam
Chokeslam
A chokeslam refers to a type of body slam in professional wrestling in which the wrestler grasps their opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerful on camera...
. Another primary match on the undercard was Booker T
Booker Huffman
Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World...
versus Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
in the fourth match of their "Best of 7" series for the vacant WWE United States Championship
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
. Benoit won the match after forcing Booker to submit with the Crippler Crossface, thus earning his first victory in the series.
Background
The event featured six professional wrestling matchesMock combat
Mock combat involves the execution of combative actions without intent to harm. Participants can engage in such sparring for ritual, training, recreational or performance reasons...
with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing script
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
ed feuds, plots and storyline
Narrative thread
A narrative thread, or plot thread , refers to particular elements and techniques of writing to center the story in the action or experience of characters rather than to relate a matter in a dry 'All knowing' sort of narration...
s. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
or fan favorites
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. All wrestlers belonged to the SmackDown! brand – a storyline division
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
in which WWE assigned its employees to a different program, the other being Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
.
The main event at Armageddon was fought in a Hell in a Cell, a match where the ring is surrounded by a structure of metal between The Undertaker and Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
. The buildup to the match began at WrestleMania 21
WrestleMania 21
WrestleMania 21 was the twenty-first annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on April 3, 2005 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. It started off with an interpormotional battle royal, for which Booker T...
, where The Undertaker defeated Orton, a Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
superstar at the time, in an Interpromotional
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
match. On the June 16 episode of SmackDown!, during the third annual WWE Draft
2005 WWE Draft Lottery
The 2005 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft Lottery took place over a three week period in June. There were ten draft picks and an eleven-person trade conducted between the promotion's two brands: Raw and SmackDown!, where twenty-two superstars were drafted and traded overall...
, a mock sports draft lottery in which wrestlers switched programs, Orton was drafted to the SmackDown! brand. At the August pay-per-view event, SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2005)
SummerSlam was the eighteenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on August 21, 2005 at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C...
, Orton defeated The Undertaker, where he pinned him after performing an RKO following interference from his father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton
Bob Orton, Jr.
Robert Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Cowboy" Bob Orton. He is the father of wrestler Randy Orton, who is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment...
. This led to a Handicap Casket match between Undertaker and Orton and his father at No Mercy
No Mercy (2005)
No Mercy was the eighth annual No Mercy professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on October 9, 2005 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas and featured wrestlers and other talent from WWE's SmackDown! brand...
. At the event, Orton and his father defeated Undertaker, and set the casket, which Orton locked Undertaker in, which was scripted to be on fire. The proceeding month, at Survivor Series
Survivor Series (2005)
Survivor Series was the 19th annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
, the Undertaker returned and attacked several SmackDown! superstars following a 5-on-5 Survivor Series match between Raw and SmackDown!. Orton, who won the match for SmackDown!, was able to escape the attack.
The pay-per-view event featured the build up of a rivalry among two tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
s, a group of at least two wrestlers. The two groups were Batista and Rey Mysterio versus Big Show and Kane
Big Show and Kane
Kane and Big Show are two professional wrestlers currently signed to WWE, who formed a tag team during three periods: 2001-2002, 2005-2006 and 2011...
. On the November 11 episode of SmackDown!, an Interpromotional Street Fight match was scheduled between Batista and Edge. Edge, who earlier in the night, pleaded to Batista not go through the match. Batista, however, declined to cancel the match. Outside the arena, General Manager Theodore Long
Theodore Long
Theodore R. "Teddy" Long is an American professional wrestling manager and former referee who currently works for WWE on its SmackDown brand as its General Manager.-National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling:...
was outside talking to Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff is an American entrepreneur, and professional wrestling booker and on-screen personality currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, who had just arrived to the show. As Long and Bischoff were talking, Chris Masters
Chris Masters
Christopher Todd Mordetzky is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Chris Masters. He is best known for his tenure with WWE.-Early career:...
showed up and grabbed Long from behind and placed him in a full nelson submission hold, which he calls the Master Lock. After the assault on Long, Bischoff and Masters got into a limousine and drove away from the arena. Rey Mysterio, Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
, and John "Bradshaw" Layfield
John Layfield
John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News...
(JBL) got into JBL's limousine and followed Bishoff and Masters. Inside the arena, Kane and the Big Show showed up and chokeslammed Batista. The chokeslam resulted in Batista legitimately injuring his back. On the November 21 episode of Raw, one of WWE's primary television programs, SmackDown! superstars, Batista, Randy Orton, JBL, Rey Mysterio, and Bobby Lashley, arrived to the show's arena. The Raw superstars met the SmackDown! superstars and a brawl broke out between both rosters. The fight led to Kane and the Big Show to double chokeslam Batista on top of a car, which was scripted so that Batista could attend to his injury. On the November 25 episode of SmackDown!, Batista was scheduled to defend his World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
against Orton in a No Holds Barred matchs. Batista retained his title after the Raw roster showed up to the arena and began a fight with the SmackDown! roster. Kane and the Big Show double chokeslammed Batista into the announcer's table.
Event
Before the event aired liveLive television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
on pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
, Jamie Noble
Jamie Noble
James Howard Gibson better known by his WWE ring name Jamie Noble, is an American former professional wrestler currently working for WWE as a trainer. He is best known for his work from 2002 to 2009 when a severe back injury forced him to retire from competition...
defeated Funaki
Shoichi Funaki
is a Japanese/American professional wrestler best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he was a one-time Cruiserweight Champion and a one-time Hardcore Champion.-Early years :...
on Sunday Night HeAT
WWE HEAT
WWE Heat was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
, which aired on Spike TV. The first match of the event was Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
versus John "Bradshaw" Layfield
John Layfield
John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News...
.
Aftermath
In the "Best of Seven" series, Booker TBooker Huffman
Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World...
ended up winning the vacant WWE United States Championship
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
on the January 13, 2006 edition of SmackDown in Philadelphia, with the help of Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
. The feud between Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
and The Undertaker ended in the Hell in a Cell match after the feud ran for about nine months. Batista and Rey Mysterio, who were the WWE Tag Team Championship holders at the time, lost the title to the team of MNM
MNM
MNM was a villainous professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment and Ohio Valley Wrestling that consisted of Joey Mercury , Johnny Nitro, and their manager Melina Perez....
after Batista suffered a legitimate injury in early 2006, sidelining him for up to seven months.
Results
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Noble Jamie Noble James Howard Gibson better known by his WWE ring name Jamie Noble, is an American former professional wrestler currently working for WWE as a trainer. He is best known for his work from 2002 to 2009 when a severe back injury forced him to retire from competition... defeated Funaki Shoichi Funaki is a Japanese/American professional wrestler best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he was a one-time Cruiserweight Champion and a one-time Hardcore Champion.-Early years :... . |
Singles match | 03:30 | |
| 1 | John "Bradshaw" Layfield John Layfield John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News... (with Jillian Hall Jillian Hall Jillian Faye Fletcher is an American professional wrestler who is currently signed to Women Superstars Uncensored. She is also known for her tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Jillian Hall or simply Jillian... ) defeated Matt Hardy Matt Hardy Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling .... |
Singles match | 06:44 |
| 2 | MNM MNM MNM was a villainous professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment and Ohio Valley Wrestling that consisted of Joey Mercury , Johnny Nitro, and their manager Melina Perez.... (Joey Mercury Adam Birch Adam Birch is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment , and training in WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling, as Joey Mercury... and Johnny Nitro) (with Melina Melina Perez Melina Nava Perez is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Women Superstars Uncensored. She is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring mononym Melina.... ) defeated The Mexicools The Mexicools The Mexicools were a professional wrestling stable and tag team, that were signed to World Wrestling Entertainment's SmackDown! brand. The team consisted of three well-known Mexican wrestlers of the late 1990s: Super Crazy, Psicosis and Juventud... (Super Crazy Super Crazy Francisco Islas Rueda is a Mexican professional wrestler, or Luchador, best known by his ring name Super Crazy. Islas is most known for his three year run in the original ECW... and Psicosis) |
Tag team Tag team Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name... match |
08:55 |
| 3 | Chris Benoit Chris Benoit Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide... defeated Booker T Booker Huffman Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World... (with Sharmell) |
Match 4 in a "Best of 7" series for the vacant WWE United States Championship WWE United States Championship The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand.... |
20:09 |
| 4 | Bobby Lashley defeated William Regal and Paul Burchill Paul Burchill Paul Birchill , better known by his ring name Paul Burchill, is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he signed after training and debuting for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance in his home country.-Frontier Wrestling Alliance... |
Handicap match | 03:38 |
| 5 | Kid Kash defeated Juventud Juventud Guerrera Eduardo Aníbal González Hernández , better known as Juventud Guerrera, is a Mexican professional wrestler who is best known for his work in many wrestling promotions worldwide, including all the major American wrestling promotions, such as World Wrestling Entertainment, World Championship... (c) |
Singles match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship WWE Cruiserweight Championship The World Wrestling Entertainment Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and was originally a World Championship Wrestling title. It was challenged by cruiserweights at a maximum weight of 215 lbs... |
09:25 |
| 6 | Big Show and Kane Big Show and Kane Kane and Big Show are two professional wrestlers currently signed to WWE, who formed a tag team during three periods: 2001-2002, 2005-2006 and 2011... defeated Rey Mysterio and Batista |
Tag team match | 08:37 |
| 7 | The Undertaker defeated Randy Orton Randy Orton Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand... (with "Cowboy" Bob Orton Bob Orton, Jr. Robert Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Cowboy" Bob Orton. He is the father of wrestler Randy Orton, who is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment... ) |
Hell in a Cell match | 30:31 |