European Tag Title 4-Way (* * *)
To kick off Man Of Steel we got this exciting and fast paced four team match for the European Tag Team Titles. The big suspense leading up to the bout was just who would Eric Young's partner be? It turned out to be Bobby Roode, a native of Ontario, Canada. He comes with a reasonable rep from the indie circuit and he made an impressive debut. This bout was fought under elimination rules, so the order of elimination was as follows;
I) Brian Kendrick & Rick Shaw (eliminated when Johnny Nitro pinned Kendrick)
II) MNM (eliminated when Bobby Roode pinned Joey Mercury)
III) Flavio Love & Loco Delagdo (eliminated when Bobby Roode pinned Delgado)
WINNERS - Eric Young & Bobby Roode.
So quite an impressive start for Roode and Eric Young added European Tag Team gold to his Cruiserweight Title!
Samoa Joe Vs Chris Harris (* *)
So onto the first semi-final of the 2006 Man Of Steel Tournament, and although it was a decent enough effort it never really caught fire due to a clash of styles that the two struggled to overcome. The two fought back and forth but eventually Joe finished off Harris with the Avalanche Island Driver to advance to the finals.
Abyss Vs Matt Morgan (* * *)
This was more like it, with only the relative brevity of the match hurting the star rating. Whilst this was little more than a big man brawl it was done with such verismilitude that you couldn't help but get involved. In the end it was a slight shock when the monster Abyss took the win after hitting Morgan with the Black Hole Slam to advance to the final.
Krissy Vaine Vs Alexis Laree (* 3/4)
Women's title action was next up and they had little chance of following that last match. Still whilst this was pretty basic stuff it did at least make sense and came across as a coherent bout, which isn't always the case in these things. It was a decent effort from both women and although it looked like Alexis would take the win and regain her title, Krissy hit "The Special Attraction" from out-of-nowhere to wrap up the pinfall that retained her title. It was also noteable for the first appearance of the IWF's new female referee Shantelle Taylor who, we suspect, may not stay a referee for long. Nudge nudge wink wink.
Chris Kanyon Vs Paul Wardle (* * 1/2)
A late addition to the card after Wardle bowed out at the Quarter-Final stages of the Man Of Steel tournament, the only point to this bout was that Wardle had beaten Kanyon in the group stages and this was Kanyon's big chance for revenge...Which probably tells you more about how Kanyon's career is going than it does about Wardle's. This was a decent effort, albeit one that never really convinced, but the two men put in good efforts and they did crank it up for the big finish. But Kanyon wasn't to get his revenge, oh no, as Wardle evaded a Kanyon Kutter attempt and then, for the second time in less than a month, finished Kanyon off with the Phenom-Plex for the 1-2-3.
The Big Gee Vs Triple H (* * *)
Well wasn't this the pleasant surprise? Indeed if it hadn't been for the anti-climatic (non) finish this would have rated even higher. The two have shown a certain chemistry in their verbal exchanges over the past few weeks and this made for a hot crowd and the wrestlers delivered great performances too. It was just a pity that there was a DQ finish, when Gee used a steel chair to whack Tripper. The crowd booed the cheap finish, as well they should, but they did seem to approve of Gee's agression. All things considered, this sets up well for the inevitable rematch.
Samoa Joe Vs Abyss (* * * 1/4)
So it was onto the Man Of Steel final and the two took notice of the prestige of the match to put on a good, brutal, display and held nothing back. The crowd got into the stiff exchanges as well and seemed firmly behind Joe in his quest to grab the Man Of Steel title (although it must be said that Abyss had a pocket of fans cheering him on as well) but in the end Joe fell just short. Abyss finished him off with the Black Hole Slam to get the pinfall victory and to be crowned the 2006 Man Of Steel!
Randy Orton Vs Barabus Lashley Vs Kurt Angle (* * 1/2)
So main event time, and judgement day for Team Orton in many ways. Although Lashley seemingly had nailed his colours firmly to the TO nest when he refused his "earned title shot" from Super Series, Eric Bischoff's decision to make this three way match meant that Lashley's loyalty was divided. Which didn't exactly make for a thrilling match as Lashley spent a large portion of it doing nothing and just watching. Still, as you might expect, he made his presence felt in the denouement. He teased an alliance with Angle, but to few people's surprise he eventually sided with his boss Orton and their brutal attack on Angle made our olympic hero easy prey for Orton's RKO, and once again Orton had regained his world title.
Man Of Steel was a reasonably entertaining night of action albeit one that never really got going. As a one-of night of action it just about did its job, but it's unlikley that it will be remembered with too much fondness in the future.
