The WWE from November of 2005 to April of 2006 is regarded by most in the professional wrestling world as “The Black Plague of Wrestling”. While that may not be the most accurate description, it is without a doubt one that vividly paints a mental picture as to the state of World Wrestling Entertainment during this time. From one disaster and tragedy to the next, the WWE’s legs were cut off at every conceivable point. This is a timeline and history of what occurred during these infamous six months that led the WWE to where it is today, a company in turmoil desperately in need of restructuring, yet unable to do so.
Within two months the WWE found itself losing Kurt Angle, Batista, Christian, Chris Jericho, Kane, and tragically Eddie Guerrero. A blow of this magnitude at the Main Event and Upper Midcard level would be hard for any company to endure, but it was not the end by any means. What the WWE didn’t see coming at all at this point as it tried and tried to work past these problems was the Midcard exodus it was about to have to endure as well. Many said it was WWE’s own fault, at least in terms of one individual, while others reminded any who would listen that karma was a great thing. In any event, the WWE would continue to be plagued. At least one good bit of news came the WWE’s way, and it occurred on the first Raw of 2006.
On January 2nd 2006 Raw returned to a new year with promises of greatness. Perhaps hoping to compete with TNA for essentially stealing Chris Jericho from right under their noses, RAW had hyped for several days via their website that the first Raw of 2006 would feature a massive return that would get the fans talking about the WWE for months to come. The message boards and the internet went crazy with predictions, with names such as Stone Cold Steve Austin and even the Rock being brought up. Raw opened with Edge, Lita, and the Big Show in the ring wishing the fans of the WWE a Happy New Year. Show and Edge claimed that to herald in this New Year they would continue the new beginnings they had started last year by laying an open challenge for any team to come forth later in the night and challenge them for their WWE Tag Team Titles. While the show continued to hype this challenge, the remainder of the show featured lackluster booking and unimaginative stories as the WWE continued to trudge along, this time towards New Years’ Revolution in one week’s time, a PPV they had not built at all. Ric Flair defeated Matt Striker to retain his IC Title while Chris Masters watched on from the announce position, Rosey defeated The Conman, Gregory Helms defeated Eugene, and Viscera turned on Val Venis after the duo were defeated by HBK in a Handicap match booked by Edge. The Main Event saw The Big Show and Edge come to the ring and make the open call. John Cena came from the crowd, mic in hand, and told the duo that he was one half of their opponents for the night. The other half, well, he was “one of a kind”. Rob Van Dam returned to Raw, and he and John Cena defeated The Big Show and Edge when Cena pinned Edge to become the new Tag Team Champions. The show ended with RVD and Cena, yet another in a multitude of thrown together Raw Tag Teams to win the titles, celebrating as Edge and Show looked on livid. In retrospect nobody was quite sure whether the return that was supposed to set the WWE on fire was RVD or Cena, and sadly few cared.
Once again backstage issues overshadowed the in ring product, as later in the night Nick “Eugene” Dinsmore was arrested following a bar room brawl. The WWE initially suspended Dinsmore, but within days the stories began to circulate how Dinsmore had provoked the fight, acting in character in the bar, making derogatory comments about the mentally handicapped, and being a general ass. By the end of the week Dinsmore was released from the WWE. Within days following he was on several internet wrestling shows discussing his hatred of the Eugene character, as well as bad mouthing the WWE in general. He said over and over that come the end of his 90 Day No Compete Clause he had every intention of wrestling with any and all promotions that would have him.
SD returned in 2006 on Friday January 6th, and somehow managed to avoid the pitfalls that Raw fell into despite having a roster that had been mutilated. The show opened with a rematch between Chavo and Rey for the US Title. Chavo again retained his title, but due to nefarious means when Booker T interrupted the match causing the DQ ending. Teddy Long immediately made the three way US Title Match for The Royal Rumble. MNM and James Noble continued their issues with The Mexicools and Juventud as well, setting the two three man groups on a collision course at the Rumble in a Tag Team Title Match as well as a Cruiserweight Title Match. HHH defeated Heidenriech this night, while JBL dominated and destroyed The Dicks. Matt Hardy continued his issues with Randy Orton, Bob Orton, and Mr. Kennedy, when he and Hardcore Holly defeated Randy and Mr. Kennedy in a Tag Team Match when Hardy once again pinned Kennedy in the Main Event. However the biggest news for SD was after the match. As The Orton’s and Kennedy were beating down Hardy and Holly, the lights went out, the bonging began, and The Undertaker returned to the ring. As Randy Orton ran for the hills, Taker Tombstoned Cowboy Bob and Mr. Kennedy, then made a statement on the mic.
“Orton…At The Royal Rumble…You will Rest…In…Peace.”
Undertaker was back.
However the WWE continued to be blasted via the internet’s fans. While the Chavo and Benoit pushes in December due to Eddie’s death were accurate criticisms, as was Edge winning two World Titles while unable to wrestle, the Undertaker criticisms were perhaps very unfair. The WWE kept Taker off of TV two months longer due to the death of Eddie, but immediately upon his return the company was blasted for the RIP line he delivered. The fans turned on the company completely, taking it to task for that as well as pushing the likes of Chavo only due to his uncle’s death, and allowing Foley to walk in favor of putting Masters over. The public’s “love to hate” relationship with the WWE only intensified.
How did the WWE put forth their second annual and poorly hyped New Years’ Revolution Pay Per View?
Oddly, the WWE Undisputed Heavyweight Title was not on the line at New Years’ Revolution, garnering much more heat for the company that almost seemed to be ready to turn itself around in the last days of 2005. Raw returned on January 9th, 2006 with the new Tag Team Champions opening the show by defeating Cade and Murdoch in spectacularly dominating fashion. Then the unlikely team of Cena and RVD cut a promo in ring that was cringe worthy. Rosey was defeated by The Conman, despite the fact that Conway had been buried in recent weeks by Rosey, probably due to Rosey's partner being released, while Helms began a program with Shelton that focused on Helms mocking Shelton’s hero, Sting. Many thought this was the WWE’s way to try and lure Sting into the company on the Road To WrestleMania. It failed. Masters and Flair continued their headlong crash towards The Royal Rumble, when Flair accepted The Master Lock Challenge and cheated to break free to win the $50,000 prize. Mickie James defeated Ashley, before being attacked by Trish. Finally, the show ended with HBK and The Big Show going one on one in The Main Event. The match was a No Contest, as Edge and Lita interfered. However the show ended with HBK being saved by the Tag Team Champions while Bischoff made a six man tag for the next week adding Carlito to the mix, showing that the WWE had only temporarily forgotten the RVD and Carlito issues from June of 2005.
The SD of January 13th opened with Matt Hardy and Hardcore Holly defeating Cowboy Bob Orton and Mr. Kennedy when Holly pinned Orton. Randy was nowhere to be seen. MNM and Noble defeated Scotty 2 Hotty, Paul London, and Brian Kendrick, while Juvi and The Mexicools defeated Kid Kash, Nunzio, and Simon Dean. Rey and Chavo teamed up to defeat The Dicks . The New LOD defeated Regal and Birchall, ending this team once and for all when Regal attacked Birchall following his pinfall by Animal. The Main Event featured JBL defeating Booker T, while HHH joined Cole and Tazz on commentary. The show ended when The Undertaker cut a promo in the ring about Orton, who made his return only to be Choke Slammed through the mat to end the show.
On January 16th 2006 Raw featured the finale of the Rosey and Conman story, when the two wrestled and Conway again came out victorious. Matt Striker was defeated by Shelton Benjamin before Helms came out dressed like Sting and mocked him. Val Venis then defeated Gregory Helms after a distraction by Shelton. Tyson Tomko and Snitsky defeated The Heart Throbs, somehow being named Number One Contenders in the process. Finally the Main Event featured Edge, Show, and Carlito defeating RVD, Cena, and HBK when Show pinned HBK following Lita’s interference.
On the next Tuesday WWE.com once again announced two releases from the WWE. The first was described as a mutual decision, as Torrie Wilson was announced as leaving the company due to personal issues. The second came from nowhere and seemed to make little sense, as Vito was released from the company. Later information would reveal that Vito had arrived intoxicated to a SD house show and been unable to perform, leading to his dismissal.
January 20th 2006 brought SD again, and much like the previous show, as well as the Raw’s of the year so far, the company seemed to be on cruise control, giving the fans variations of the same matches as The Royal Rumble drew closer and closer. The Freaks were defeated by The Nation when Ron Simmons returned to the WWE and joined Coach, Henry, Orlando, and Lashley. In a backstage skit Goldust asked Teddy Long for an Eight Man Tag Match at The Rumble, as he had a few old friends that would be willing to help he and Boogeyman take on the Nation. Long agreed. Booker T defeated Rey with Sharmell’s help in a singles match. Regal schooled Paul Birchall in their match, with Regal locking in The Regal Stretch and refusing to release it. Birchall was gone from WWE TV for some time following this. Teddy Long announced fourteen of his fifteen SD picks for The Rumble, including men that would wrestle other matches in the night like Rey, Chavo, JBL, and HHH, but paid much attention to the fact that his fifteenth entrant was a surprise that would not be revealed until the night of the match. Matt Hardy was then announced by Long to be the man who, on behalf of SD, would face Raw’s pick on next week’s SD to decide which brand would get the coveted Number 29 Spot in The Rumble, as Number 30 was being awarded to the loser of the WWE Undisputed World Heavyweight Title Match. Hardy went on to defeat Mr. Kennedy following this yet again. In the Main Event, HHH and Randy Orton, teaming up to reform a portion of Evolution for one night only, defeated JBL and The Undertaker when HHH pinned JBL. However the show ended with the heels taking Choke Slams from Taker.
Another set of releases hit the wrestling world, as WWE announced that Brian Gewirtz had left the company to pursue other options, as well as the announcement that Palmer Cannon/Brian Black, who had not been seen on SD in over two months, had been released. Perhaps most shocking were the releases of Danny Basham, Sylvan Grenier, and Rene Dupree, once thought and seen as the future of the WWE. Much was made that none of the four released wrestlers had been able to get over on WWE TV. It was summer 2005 all over again in mid January, or so the internet reported.
The biggest surprise of the year thus far came when the WWE endorsed and promoted a special edition of Real Sports With Bryant Gumble on HBO for January 20th, the same night that SD aired. They went so far as to have Tazz and Cole hype it during the show, as well as show several a small snippets of the show that featured Batista, HHH, and Kurt Angle. The show aired, and it was a fair yet scathing 60 minute special on the world of professional wrestling. During several recorded segments, wrestlers such as Batista, Angle, HHH and Stephanie McMahon, as well as Chavo Guerrero Jr., discussed wrestling, drug abuse, enhancement drugs, and steroids. Perhaps most surprising was actual admissions by Batista, Angle, and HHH that they had in fact used and abused substances over the years. Batista made a point to mention that due to Eddie’s death he had taken stock of his own life, and was going to return to the WWE this coming Spring clean. Also featured were Scott Steiner, Andrew “Test” Martin, and The Warrior, all of whom had extremely negative things to say about the WWE and its policy on drugs and enhancement inducing drugs. The finale featured a “live” in studio interview with nothing held back, where Vince McMahon, Linda McMahon, and Shane McMahon discussed with Gumble the ramifications of Eddie Guerrero’s death, as well as WWE’s newest policy regarding enhancement drugs and drugs and alcohol abuse of any kind. Vince “outed” his own company to the shock of many, as he revealed that he was unaware of how rampant it was, but that measures had been taken to fix the issue, including the release of several wrestlers over the past few weeks that had refused the help or disobeyed the new policies. It was seen by many as a bold move, but also perhaps showed that The McMahon family had finally woken up following Eddie Guerrero’s death. It was definitely a move that changed the face of North American Wrestling, or so many seemed to think for a few days.
The WWE’s good publicity, however, was tarnished as Dave Meltzer reported on how Rey Mysterio had turned down the push that had been awarded to Chavo following Eddie’s death. Many saw this, as well as other issues, as the WWE using the death of a beloved man and wrestler to further their own ends, and the backlash was furious amongst fans on the internet. The WWE never responded to any of these allegations in any way or form, but many saw the US Title Match at The Rumble as an unofficial admission that perhaps the allegations were true.
The final Raw prior to The Rumble on January 23rd featured last minute build to the PPV. Eric Bischoff welcomed Matt Hardy and Teddy Long to Raw to witness Raw’s pick in the inter brand match to be featured on SD later in the week. Bischoff also commented on the losses of Chavo and HHH to SD, and asked to up the stakes. Whichever brand won the actual Royal Rumble itself would allow the GM of said brand to once again raid one member of the opposing brand’s roster and move him or her to their show. Long agreed, and again the roster split seemed to be forgotten. Snitsky and Tomko were defeated by Cena and RVD for the Tag Titles this night, while Flair was brutally attacked in the back by Chris Masters. Matt Striker and Gregory Helms defeated Benjamin and a newly turned face for no apparent reason Rob Conway. HBK and Edge had an altercation following Edge defeating Rosey in a non title match, which led to HBK laying Edge out with Sweet Chin Music as well as showing a video package reminding Edge how many times Michaels had defeated him over the last few years. The Main Event featured a Fourteen Man Over The Top Rope Battle Royal to determine Raw’s pick to face Hardy, and featured all but the final member of Raw’s roster to be in the Rumble, as the final Raw spot was designated to either Edge or HBK. The Big Show defeated, Shelton Benjamin, Matt Striker, Tyson Tomko, Gene Snitsky, Rob Conway, Carlito, RVD, John Cena, Gregory Helms, Lance Cade, Trevor Murdoch, Val Venis, and Viscera. Afterwards Hardy’s music hit and he raced to the ring where the Big Show decimated him, ending the show with Hardy being Powerbombed over the top rope to the floor below while Bischoff gloated to Long at the announce table.
The final SD on January 27th prior to The Rumble was also last minute PPV hype. The Boogeyman defeated Orlando Jordan in singles competition, however Goldust was unable to get by Lashley. The Nation attacked both men following Lashley defeating Goldust, but then the famous ECW music hit and the Chair Swinging Freaks, Axel Rotten and Ball Mahoney hit the ring, chairs in tow, and laid out the Nation, including a Con-Chair-To to Coach. In a backstage segment Goldust announced Mahoney and Rotten as his and The Boogeyman’s partners for their Rumble match against The New Nation in perhaps the most off the wall and bizarre promo ever on WWE television. Matt Hardy was wished good luck by Rey and Chavo against The Big Show tonight, as Hardy sold the after effects of his beating on Raw quite well. Rey and Chavo then went on to lose to Booker T and William Regal in a Tag Team Match when Regal pinned Chavo. Afterwards Regal claimed that he was challenging the winner of The US Title Match for No Way Out based on him pinning the current champion in a Tag Team Match. The Big Show defeated Matt Hardy to get the Number 29 Spot, and afterwards he, Lita, and Edge destroyed Hardy, mocking him. This led to the surprise arrival of HBK to make the save for Hardy. In the Main Event, HHH and The Undertaker went to a No Contest due to the interference of JBL and Randy Orton, setting up both matches firmly as the SD Co-Main Events for The Royal Rumble.
The Royal Rumble ended up featuring:
With the internet worked, details were slowly revealed that Benoit had in fact left SD at the end of 2005 without a new contract. WWE had decided, amidst pushing from HHH and Taker behind the scenes, as well as Angle, who had been rumored to be joining the WWE again in some backstage capacity, to re-sign Benoit no matter what. This is in fact what they did. Perhaps far to telling as to how the WWE was doing business at the moment, it was also revealed that had Benoit not re-signed, which he did a mere four days prior to The Rumble, the WWE had nobody in place to play the role of the mystery SD entrant.
The final Raw of January held on the 26th featured Teddy Long arriving at Raw to make his pick from the Raw Superstars to move to SD. RVD and Cena, like The Big Show and Kane before them, argued about the Rumble when RVD eliminated Cena. Cena and RVD successfully defended the Tag Team Titles against Cade and Murdoch yet again, but after the match the two had words and left separately. Amid the match “Cena Sucks” and “Die Johnny Die” chants were heard amidst the male part of the crowd. Styles made mention of it, as Lawler said it reminded him of 1998 all over again, while Cena smiled and shook his head at the crowd. Masters defended his IC Title against Rob Conway successfully. Ric Flair did not appear. In a backstage segment, Edge told Show and Lita that he would avoid Benoit by simply staying on Raw until WMXXII. Teddy Long appeared and told Edge that was impossible as he was booked to team with HHH, Mr. Kennedy, and Randy Orton against Benoit, Hardy, The Undertaker, and JBL this Friday night, and that Lita and Show, being Raw only Superstars, were barred from SD, proving that WWE only referred to and enforced the brand split when it suited them. Mickie James again defeated Ashley, and again she and Trish fought afterwards. The Big Show and HBK Main Evented Raw, with HBK defeating the monster with Sweet Chin Music. The show ended with Teddy Long, on the ramp next to Eric Bischoff, welcoming HBK to the SD roster as Bischoff was shocked and HBK smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
As January came to an end, the wrestling world shook its collective head in wonder, as since November the WWE had robbed Raw of HHH, Chavo, and now HBK, put SD over repeatedly as the “A” Show, and seemed intent on burying Raw, despite the fact that UPN and the WWE had officially confirmed what so many people had speculated.
Come Friday May 26th, 2006 SD would feature its season finale and final broadcast on UPN. The questions being asked were would The USA Network bring SD over or would this signal the end of the roster split? And if it did signal the end, why was WWE pushing SD as the superior brand for the first time in three and a half years?