WWE Extreme Rules was a 2006 professional wrestling event put on by World Wrestling Entertainment. It was the first ever Extreme Rules event, the 6th event of 2006 and the 198th event overall in the alternate WWF timeline. Emanating from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, the main event was a triple threat WWE title match between John Cena, Rob Van Dam and Kane. Other matches on the card included a Loser Leaves Raw Hell in a Cell match between Edge and Matt Hardy, a Handicap match featuring Triple H against Sylvester Terkay and Elijah Burke, and a 30 Minute Iron Man Match between Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels.
Prelude[]
Since defeating Edge at Backlash, John Cena had seemingly been accosted on all sides for his WWE Championship, with individuals ranging from Edge, to Kane, to Kurt Angle all targeting the champion. The latest challenger was Rob Van Dam, who had won a Fatal Fourway #1 contenders match on Raw (albeit with unintentional help from both Shawn Michaels and Matt Hardy). This rare face versus face match was interrupted however by Kane, the other individual in that afore mentioned Fatal Fourway. During the contract signing between Van Dam and Cena, Kane interjected himself and destroyed both competitors, signing his own name to the contract and stealing the WWE Title belt in the process. Cena thus accepted an Extreme Rules Triple Threat match for the title, with the Extreme Rules stipulation meaning the same thing as No Disqualifications and No Countouts.
While Kane and RVD had achieved their title shots, two other individuals (Edge and Kurt Angle) had been saddled with their own long running feuds. For Edge's sake, it was the year-long feud with Matt Hardy that reared its ugly head once again, leading the self-professed Rated-R superstar desiring nothing more than to end the issue with Hardy once and for all. Interim Raw General Manager Jonathan Coachman ruled that there was only room on Monday Night Raw for one of the two superstars, making a Loser Leaves Raw Hell in a Cell match for Extreme Rules to finally settle the blood feud once and for all.
As for Kurt Angle, his long running issue was with Shawn Michaels. Angle had beaten Michaels by submission at Wrestlemania, but the Heartbreak Kid had evened the score on an episode of Raw in early May, defeating the Olympic Hero via pinfall. With the feud between the two even, Michaels challenged Angle to a rubber match at Extreme Rules, which Angle accepted, but only if it was a 30 Minute Iron Man match, to determine who the best between the two men actually was.
Vince McMahon's policy of "tough love" against his son-in-law, Triple H, had continued unabated since Backlash. It had initially led to a feud between Triple H and Randy Orton, only for a shoulder injury from Orton to sideline him for a few months. McMahon thus had used the World Tag Team Champions, Sylvester Terkay and Elijah Burke, to target The Game. McMahon made a handicap match at Extreme Rules, trying to entice Triple H to "get tougher" through the difficulties he placed him in, and going so far as to stack the deck against him further by naming Shane McMahon as the special guest referee for the match.
Event[]
Coming Soon...
Results[]
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Umaga w/Alejandro Estrada d. Ric Flair by Pinfall | Singles Match | 8:56 |
| 2 | Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch d. The Highlanders [Robby & Rory MacAllister] by Pinfall | Tag Team Match | 14:00 |
| 3 | Johnny Nitro w/Joey Mercury & Melina d. Jeff Hardy by Pinfall | Singles Match | 9:52 |
| 4 | Edge w/Lita d. Matt Hardy by Pinfall | Loser Leaves Raw Hell in a Cell Match | 12:00 |
| 5 | Shelton Benjamin (c) d. Tyson Tomko by Pinfall | Singles Match for the WWE Intercontinental Title | 7:26 |
| 6 | Kurt Angle d. Shawn Michaels 2 Falls to 1 | 30-Minute Iron Man Match | 30:00 |
| 7 | Triple H d. Sylvester Terkay & Elijah Burke by Pinfall | Handicap Match | 9:30 |
| 8 | Rob Van Dam d. Kane & John Cena (c) by Pinfall | Singles Match for the WWE Championship | 15:00 |
Aftermath[]
Rob Van Dam's reign as WWE Champion would be short-lived, as a drug arrest would lead to him dropping the title in July to Edge, followed by a 30-day suspension. Edge would then continue to feud with Cena for the title. Kane would enter a feud with Intercontinental Champion Shelton Benjamin, while Shawn Michaels "aide" in the handicap match with Terkay/Burke would eventually lead to the reformation of D-Generation X. This would also be the last appearance of Kurt Angle for several years, as he would refuse to enter rehab and subsequently leave WWE before Summerslam.