M.O.T.Y? - Shawn Michaels vs Vince McMahon 2006

[IrishCanadian25]

At the request of the Honorable Mr. Sam, the 2006 Match of the Year will be the new installment of this thread.

At Wrestlemania 22, Vinny Mac and HBK renewed their familiar (and often real life) rivalry.

Part One
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Part Two
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Part Three
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This match was largely one sided for a great amount of time, but had a great deal of satisfaction in it, because you get to see Shawn Michaels destroy Vince McMahon. The promos and works leading up to the match served largely (IMO) to take some of the owness for the Montreal Screwjob OFF of Shawn and place it squarely on McMahon.

The question remains - PWI felt it was enough to be the Match of the Year. Do you? Some wonder if it was even the match of the night, with a Hardcore War between Edge and Mick Foley just 2 matches prior, and with Kurt Angle vs The Undertaker and Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe I lurking out there.

Was McMahon vs Michaels the Match of the Year?

 

[Slim Pickns]

This match was largely one sided for a great amount of time, but had a great deal of satisfaction in it, because you get to see Shawn Michaels destroy Vince McMahon. The promos and works leading up to the match served largely (IMO) to take some of the owness for the Montreal Screwjob OFF of Shawn and place it squarely on McMahon.

The question remains - PWI felt it was enough to be the Match of the Year. Do you? Some wonder if it was even the match of the night, with a Hardcore War between Edge and Mick Foley just 2 matches prior, and with Kurt Angle vs The Undertaker and Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe I lurking out there.

Was McMahon vs Michaels the Match of the Year?

The WWE year end magazine actually gave Edge vs Foley MOTY without Vince vs Shawn even getting an honorable mention. When looking at the picks PWI has made for any of their categories, I find it hard to find them credible. This match is one of those that makes me disregard everything they write.

This match was nothing special or nothing important. It played off the screwjob the whole time and no one saw Vinny Mac as a threat to Michaels in the ring. The match itself wasn't even entertaining in my eyes.

You said it right IC, MOTY? Its not even match of the night.

 

[Skillz]

Shawn Michaels has been involved in a few questionable MOTYs. Does anyone actually remember his MOTYs against Marty Jannetty (1993) and Diesel (1995)? His MOTY against Razor Ramon in 1994 was a very important match, a great match, but both Bret/Owen matches from WM and SS of that year were far better matches. HBK/Vince is another very questionable MOTY to add to that list.

HBK/Vince being MOTY is just another reason why we shouldn't take PWI too seriously. Nothing of any importance happened in this match. Basically, it was just a glorified squash match.

Looking back, there weren't really many great matches in 2006. Probably Angle/Taker, Edge/Foley or Angle/Joe would have been a more deserving MOTY.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

It's a good match. Every Vince McMahon match is at least entertaining. But like Most Vince matches it's not great and goes on far too long. An extra 5-10 minutes off this match and I'd hold it in higher regard.

Match of the year has to be Taker vs. Angle. Off the top of my head I can't think of any other match. the Foley/Edge match is great. But I don't think heavily gimmicked matches are ever MOTY. I think that any wrestler, how good or bad can have a great gimmick match on any given day. Especially a hardcore match. Joe vs. Angle was great, but I remember being incredibly dissapointed by it the first time I saw it.

 

[DeadmanInc.]

I don't think it deserved MotY. I would have given it to Taker vs Angle at No Way Out 2006 or Edge vs Foley.

Vince vs Shawn was largely one sided and really wasn't that entertaining. Angle vs Taker was an amazing match with reversals left and right. Foley vs Edge was amazing, especially the table spot at the end.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Goddamn it! I finally get access to a working keyboard and everybody has already made all the interesting points. Meh, I'll try and throw in a few original ones.

So, does Michaels/McMahon deserve PWI Match of the Year? No. I'd like to finish there just for comical value. Damn spam rules. It seems that PWI awards Shawn Michaels match of the year for his WrestleMania match just out of habit these days; a lot of them are questionable at best. The guy has a ridiculous amount of them. Ridiculous in that he doesn't deserve a significant amount of them - this one being the most prominent example.

This match was just a repeat of any McMahon/INSERT MAIN EVENTER HERE matches gone before. Austin, Hogan, er, Shane, etc. It was entertaining yeah, so were lots of matches that year. This one just ticked all the boxes for what should have ended the feud. Michaels kicking the crap out of the Spirit Squad, shoving Shane's face into his dad's ass, a big spot, and a defiant exit from the boss - actually, that last part was probably the high point - the imagery was far more powerful than yet another HBK high spot. Too generic to be match of the year. At least Taker/Foley broke the mold.

The alternatives. Well, everyone's waiting for me to mention a certain one but I'll hold off for a bit. Edge/Foley. That same night. Already been mentioned. However, again, Foley's done it before with other wrestlers. It was impressive as always. There was a tack spot and a flaming table spot, both holy shit moments but, like many of my recent posts, just a cut and paste job, really.

Now finally, here it is. Undertaker/Angle at No Way Out. This match has it all and much more than the others do - two big names in a main event sitatuation, at their best (yep, Undertaker 2006 is his best) even a title on the line. It's just incredible. I mean, I appreciate it's my two favourites but, y'know, there's a reason they're my favourites. This match is pretty much it.

Best match of the year, hands down, by any criteria. Some people will use some shoddy psychology argument to try and dismiss it - that's bollocks. It's two faces, going at it, using skills which they can finally display to their full extent, and with a surprise finish, which unlike so many these days, isn't just a bunch of finishers. It broke the mold, but followed it enough to be a classic spectacle.

I'm certain if Angle had stayed with the WWE this match would be far more appreciated than it currently is. The only sad thing is that it was merely a transition to WrestleMania - this should have been SmackDown!'s main event. Only thing is, Undertaker would have had to win, and would have had to have taken the belt, which WWE wouldn't have wanted to happen at the time. Then we could have had the infinite false finishes that we all love so dearly. I know I just bashed them, but really, what builds more tension? Angle/Michaels (MOTY 2005) is testament to that.

That'll probably me my last copied and pasted together post for a while, or at least a few days, so enjoy!

 

[Mighty NorCal]

It was a fun match in that it was Vinny Mac just getting his ass severely whipped. In fact, I dont think I remember seeing Mcmahon get dominated MORE in any match. And the hot crowd from that night made it good too. But MOTY??? Hardly. Edge Vs Foley that same night was much better. And Angle Vs UT the month before was better BY MILES. That match was an absolute war. This one was just your basic hardcore Vince ass whuppin, with a high spot finish. Fun, entertaining, but not a wrestling match, and certainley not wrestling match of the year.

 

[Kcorthe]

The WWE year end magazine actually gave Edge vs Foley MOTY without Vince vs Shawn even getting an honorable mention. When looking at the picks PWI has made for any of their categories, I find it hard to find them credible. This match is one of those that makes me disregard everything they write.

Okay. Let me explain something ot everyone.

The PWI Match Of The Year, every year......is voted on by THE FANS. That is a fact. Near the end of the yera in one of their monthly magazines, PWI has a ballot in it and anyone who wants can fill it out, and send it into the PWI Office. The majority vote is the winner.

So. All of this talk about PWI not being credible, or whatever...they don't pick the Match of the Year; the fans do. As a matter of fact, I have the PWI 2006 Year-End Awards issue, and they say themselves something along the lines of, "while we don't agree that McMahon vs. Michaels was the best match of the year, it was certainly very entertaining."

So...just thought I'd clear that up with everyone.

But now, to address the point at hand.

Was Michaels vs. McMahon the match of the year? No. Angle/Taker was, as has been pointed out many times.

 

[jmt225]

The match was decent, but I didn't even see it as Wrestlemania's MOTN, so there's no way I could ever rank this as MOTY. All it the match was to me was HBK proving once again that he literally can carry ANYONE to a good match. Like Jake said, almost all of Vince's pay-per-view matches are entertaining on some level, but this match was incredible compared to Vince's other big show matches.

Anyway, MOTY for 2006 comes down to only two matches for me:

John Cena vs. Edge in a TLC Match at Unforgiven - Fantastic match, in my opinion. The crowd was hot for it (though it seemed very lacklustered compared to ONS from a month or two before it), and the action was great. This match also has one of my favorite finishes of all time. I still can't believe Cena kept his balance during that F-U. Anyone who claims Cena isn't athletic needs to see this match.

Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide at Final Battle 2006 - Just an awesome match with an awesome build-up. Homicide started chasing for the title in April of 2006, and he finally got it during this match against Danielson in December of '06, and it was fantastic. ROH gets shit on (rightfully so) for their lack of psychology in a lot of matches, but no one can ever claim this match didn't have any. The crowd couldn't have been more into it too, and the final pop when 'Cide won was incredible.

 

[klunderbunker]

No it wasn't match of the year. Off the top of my head, I'd go Edge Foley from the same night. Just a classic old school hardcore match with tons of blood, violence and brutality. Vince and Shawn did this also, but that match was more just to see Vince get his ass kicked. Foley and Edge had a good build up and the two of them just beat the hell out of each other. Vince and Shawn is a good match, but it wasn't even the best wild match of the night. Edge with the spear through the flaming table was flat out great. Just looked sick.

 

[Slim Pickns]

Okay. Let me explain something ot everyone.

The PWI Match Of The Year, every year......is voted on by THE FANS. That is a fact. Near the end of the yera in one of their monthly magazines, PWI has a ballot in it and anyone who wants can fill it out, and send it into the PWI Office. The majority vote is the winner.

That doesn't mean the fans pick the winner, it means the people who pay for PWI's news vote for it. Thats just considering that the ballots are taken seriously and not just a way for them to sell more magazines. Its more than likely similar to Cyber Sunday where if they don't like what is picked they just change it.

Now, add in the fact that most WWE fans don't read PWI let alone vote for there year end awards and you can see why your argument fails.

 

[Shocky]

Ten people have voted yes, but not a one of them has come in here to defend that ridiculous answer to this question. I like Michaels, but it's crap like this that makes it hard to defend the man. This match being match of the year is an abomination, a pimple on the asshole of professional wrestling.

This match was terrible. For Vince McMahon getting his ass handed to him, please see vs. Austin at St. Valentine's Day Massacre (he broke his butt falling off of a cage), vs. Shane McMahon at Mania 17, vs. Hogan at Wrestlemania 19 (The best of McMahon's matches), or even the Buried Alive vs. the Undertaker at Survivor Series 03 (the worst ass beating McMahon ever received.) It was a crap match with a crap angle that led to a crap reformation of a crap stable.

As stated, not even match of the night. There were several matches much better and much more enjoyable, including the aforementioned Foley vs. Edge hardcore match. Match of the year was undoubtably and without question Angle vs the Undertaker. The only true shame was that match wasn't at Mania and the WWE decided to "treat" us all to a wonderful undeserving world title run by Rey Mysterio.

 

[HBK-aholic]

How did anyone say this was match of the year? Please, it wasn't even match of that wrestlemania. I think the reason this one, is that Vince actually had a good match. Ususally when you see McMahons name on the card, you expect a gimmicked, ok-ish match, depending on his opponent.

What people didn't pick up on, was who his opponent was. Shawn Michaels; the guy that can carry anyone to a good, if not great match. And that's all this match proved. It won because Vince McMahon was actually good in the ring. Due to the fact he's usually not that good, people took it as a great match because of the shock, and comparison in his before skills compared to the match.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

MOTY?! Are you kidding me?! NO, not even Becca agreed that this was MOTY quality and shes so much in love with Shawn Michaels that her two pets are named Heartbreak and Triumph.

This is honestly the biggest slap in the face to me of all people, as Edge went out and stole the damn show with his hardcore classic against Mick Foley. Edge & Foley had a match that was leaps and bounds above any recent hardcore match in W.W.E., and topped anything their E.C.W. brand has even ever thought of doing.

Not only that, but the hype to the Edge/Foley match was off the charts. The crowd reaction was better, and the only thing that got the people remotely carrying about the H.B.K./McMahon brawl, was the fact that like every McMahon match.. hes getting owned 90% of the time.

But lets side-step that for a moment, and truly LOOK at some of the matches from 2006, shall we? (in no specific order)

1. Unforgiven: W.W.E. Championship: T.L.C.: Edge (c.) v. John Cena: The environment was Tornoto, the match was Edge's favorite, the place was off the charts. Gimmick or not, this match set a whole nother level of standard for John Cena to win against the odds and those fans in Canada were the type that truly could've killed him.

Edge and Cena (dislike him or not) put on one HELL of a top talented T.L.C. match, and the entire way through I was on the edge (no pun intended) of my seat with excitement. Surely this match tops McMahon/Michaels.

2. E.C.W. One Night Stand II: Mick Foley & Edge v. Terry Funk & Tommy Dreamer: Sure, its not going to be the prettiest of matches, or the most technical.. but when you look at the outline for it, it was the most brutal. When you look at the history of hardcore, you have its Grandfather and Father, in Terry Funk & Mick Foley, then you add in the bastard child of Tommy Dreamer.. and the adopted son in Edge.. and you get one hell of a Family function!

(Breaking away from the gimmick matches now)

3. T.N.A. Against All Odds: Triple Threat: X-Division Championship: Samoa Joe (c.) v. Christopher Daniels v. A.J. Styles: When Samoa plain was entertaining to watch, it was because of each of the two opponents he had in this match. Styles & Daniels are by leaps and bounds more underrated than anything in the sport of Professional Wrestling and this match deserved something so much more than to be an underling to some bastard off-shoot like McMahon/Michaels - MOTY.

Again, H.B.K. is any type of wrestling God you can imagine and he is without a doubt the showstopper in anything he does.. but Styles and Daniels, combined with Joe.. equal 3 against 1 in showstopping performances.

4. No Way Out: World Heavyweight Championship: Kurt Angle (c.) v. The Undertaker: Seriously, this is the best of both world's and this match is one of the most highly forgotten matches of the year in 2006, but not because it was horrible. Please, it was definately anything but. Instead, its forgotten about because it was practically the best thing on the card. It was basically the only thing on the card.

Kurt Angle and the Undertaker made the Wrestlemania Triple Threat that Orton, Angle & Mysterio had look foolish and pathetic in comparison. THIS should've been the Mania - World Title match.

Those are all just SOME examples of far better matches than Shawn Michaels v. Mr. McMahon. I'm not even mentioning the likes of: Samoa Joe v. Kurt Angle, D-X v. Rated R.K.O., Styles/Daniels v. A.M.W. or L.A.X.

Seriously, the list can go on.. but I think I've proven my point. H.B.K. v. Mr. McMahon was good, great by McMahon standards even.. but Shawn Michaels himself said it best, when he said before the match, the night of Mania.. that he didn't want people to expect the typical 5 star classic from him, as he was going to go out and brawl. And thats all he could do with a guy that isn't a completely athletic wrestler.

 

[Rated K for Kennedy... Kennedy!]

I'm going to throw a spanner in the works and say Angle vs Orton at ONS 06, PUERLY for the crowd heat, I've never seen a WWE crowd so hot (Okay most of them were ECW fans), but eh Angle's gonna kill you chants, the p*ssy chants sent Orton's way and the match itself was great, Angle made it look stiff and put on a clinic with Orton infuriating the fans with rest holds. Classic example of how to work a crowd, and draw some amazing heat.

 

[Uncle Sam]

What people didn't pick up on, was who his opponent was. Shawn Michaels; the guy that can carry anyone to a good, if not great match. And that's all this match proved. It won because Vince McMahon was actually good in the ring. Due to the fact he's usually not that good, people took it as a great match because of the shock, and comparison in his before skills compared to the match.

Shawn didn't carry Vince. Vince's offense was composed of a belt, the Spirit Squad and Shaw-shay--shawn---Shane (superb commentary, JR!) McMahon. If by "carry" you mean "looked fairly decent kicking the shit out of your opponent" then absolutely, Shawn carried Vince. Vince has always been great in the ring. He's not even a wrestler but he's great in the ring. Ask anyone. He's had much better matches than this. Shawn quite obviously has.

1. Unforgiven: W.W.E. Championship: T.L.C.: Edge (c.) v. John Cena

Surprisingly, I'm actually quite a big fan of this match. This match is one of the big reasons I don't think Cena is all bad. Definitely better than McMahon/Michaels. Thank you William.

3. T.N.A. Against All Odds: Triple Threat: X-Division Championship: Samoa Joe (c.) v. Christopher Daniels v. A.J. Styles:

Sad thing is, their Unbreakable match was better.

4. No Way Out: World Heavyweight Championship: Kurt Angle (c.) v. The Undertaker: Seriously, this is the best of both world's and this match is one of the most highly forgotten matches of the year in 2006, but not because it was horrible. Please, it was definately anything but. Instead, its forgotten about because it was practically the best thing on the card. It was basically the only thing on the card.

Kurt Angle and the Undertaker made the Wrestlemania Triple Threat that Orton, Angle & Mysterio had look foolish and pathetic in comparison. THIS should've been the Mania - World Title match.

If there was a "face that indicates preceding statements are glaringly obvious" emoticon I'd be using it now.

You also mentioned Styles/Daniels vs. LAX, Will. I was about to mention them anyway. For the life of me I can't even remember if their Ultimate X match was in 2006. Actually, I know it was for a fact but can't remember when it took place. It doesn't matter, as I always thought their cage match at BFG '06 was unfairly overlooked. That match should have been TNA MOTY instead of the Ultimate X one. Possible thread idea there. Anyway, I'd say that's the best cage match I've ever seen. Definitely the best tag one. I'm sure old school fans would point one out which really hasn't survived the test of time. Sure, I'd say it's better just to save face, but it really wouldn't be. It was better than the oft-loved AMW/XXX final cage showdown. Shame about that Styles botch. I couldn't believe it either. The man never botches.

 

[Mr. TM]

This match bored me, the set up for the spot seemed to take forever, and i had the visual of what it would look like already there, and that was the highlight!

That night did feature matches that were better than this match. The Edge/Foley match was better in many ways, in spots, in heat, in technicality, in entertainment. The MITB match with RVD winning also entertained me a lot more than this match did. I would also argue that both title matches were better than this match was. It was loser on the card, and only shown more than the Taker/Henry match on the upper card. In one night, the match came in 5th in my opinion, and know of at least 10 matches that heavily outshown the Michaels McMahon match. I felt a little sick when I had saw it was named match of the year. Thats my thoughts.

 

[whoopwhoop12]

HBK/McMahon - i wouldn't rest this on being the match of the year, i can see why most people make it, its just because of how it was built on the "grandest stage of them all" and how much time vince took to get his ass handed to him by hbk...it really had high spots and crazy outcomes for being a squash match...hbk did his thing to carry vince...but not hbk's best...certainly vinny mac's best though...

i think edge/foley was cool that year...it had its spots that were memorable with the fire through the table, i wouldn't consider that though to be m.o.t.y.. One match to highlight edge's career, but not doing any different for mick.

angle/joe - the build coming from wwe to tna. (shocking, estatic, unbelievable and very unexpected). Everybody who is a wrestling fan knew in an odd sense the biggest dream match at that time would be angle/joe. a CRAZY build to it, 2 faces (mostly behind angle for just joining to tna)...it was an ok match...the hype of it was crazy...angle beating joe giving joe his first loss as a singles wrestler was expected, but we were all on the edge of our seat to see if it actually was going to happen. though...joe did carry angle mostly around the match and it was something i wasn't expecting to happen...it could've been better, but the build backed it up.

angle/taker - 2 faces, 1 championship. overall my personal M.O.T.Y. just cause of how well the match came out to be. i think that the finish nobody expected and it threw people off real fast. the ending didn't have a build to know when it was coming down to the very end...it was kinda sudden and off, but nevertheless...this was a good showing by 2 veterans. This match brought the best out of both athletes.

if it had to be in order...

angle/taker, angle/joe, hbk/mcmahon, edge/foley

 

[Father:_Polley]

This wasn't match of the year. There is a good call for it being feud of the year, and given this was the conclusion of the feud, it's easy to see how it got the award...it was the centrepiece of a good feud.

I'm giving it to Angle/Taker. Neither of these guys disappoint on a regular basis, and this match was proof of what two veterans can do ...the fact that they carried No Way Out and made it look decent (an awful card because of how close to 'Mania it is usually) deserves recognition.

AS for Vince in the ring...he's not a great wrestler, but he's not a wrestler allows him to make up for that. Vince is there to build the match into something people talk about. He's never going to put on a technical masterclass, but the fact the match won MOTY is a credit to the man's genius at building matches into something memorable

 

[The Dungeon]

I'm not trying to start something here by brining up his name...

But I have to go with Benoit/Finlay at "Judgement Day". Hard hitting, stiff, back and forth, rock 'em sock 'ema action! This match ALWAYS gets overlooked!

As for Shawn & Vince...it was fun to watch, but it was really just a glorified plunder match, almost remeniscent of an ECW clusterfuck...again, fun...but MOTY? NO!