WWE’s 25 Greatest Pay-Per-Views of All Time
By Tim Sherry
credit: wwe.com
22. Unforgiven – 2006
Live from the Air Canada Center in Toronto, the numerous members of the RAW brand brought their A-game and when it was all said and done, the 2006 installment of Unforgiven was one of the years very best. A month earlier, the two brands came together at Summerslam for what is always seen as the second biggest show of the year. Holding a card that featured matches between Edge and John Cena, Hulk Hogan and Randy Orton, Ric Flair and Mick Foley, and Booker T versus Batista, the 2006 show had huge expectations. Unfortunately those expectations weren’t realized as most of those matches fell short of the mark.
So it almost seemed like the red brand had a chip on their shoulder and wanted to prove their worth at Unforgiven. Everything just seemed to click on this night. Orton and Carlito had a solid match which featured one of the best RKO’s of all time. The handicapped tag match between D-X versus Shane, Vince, and Big Show, although a bit long, was quite good. The main event TLC war with John Cena and Edge was about as good as TLC gets and let’s be honest, those never had a bad match against each other.
But what stood out most was the Women’s title match between Lita and Trish Stratus. Nearly 2 years earlier, this pairing had a fantastic match on an episode of RAW which many critics called the best women’s match in recent memory. However, their tilt Unforgiven topped that one. Shortly before the match it was announced that after 6 years and 6 Women’s titles under her belt, Stratus was going to retire, win, lose, or draw. With that factored in, the 16,000 fans in attendance were hot for this one and the ladies gave them a treat. Trish picked up the victory for her 7th and final title and retired as a champion, and this match would hold up as one of the very best in women’s wrestling history for a very long time.