The 2005 Armageddon was the sixth

Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

(PPV)

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of e ...

produced by

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(WWE). It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's SmackDown! brand division. The event took place on December 18, 2005, at the

Dunkin' Donuts Center The Amica Mutual Pavilion (originally Providence Civic Center and formerly Dunkin' Donuts Center) is an indoor arena located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It was built in 1972, as a home court for the emerging Providence College men's ba ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. The

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

was a

Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fenci ...

match between

Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. H ...

and

The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majority ...

, which Undertaker won by

pinfall In wrestling, a pin is achieved by holding an opponent's shoulders to the mat for a three count. Pinfall is the term used in professional wrestling which is a way to win the match for that person or team. Background A pinfall is a victory condi ...

after performing a Tombstone piledriver. One of the predominant matches on the

card Card or The Card may refer to: * Various types of plastic cards: **By type ***Magnetic stripe card *** Chip card *** Digital card **By function ***Payment card ****Credit card **** Debit card ****EC-card ****Identity card ****European Health Insur ...

was an Interpromotional

tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

between WWE Tag Team Champions

Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest profes ...

and

World Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...

Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player * Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also ...

and World Tag Team Champions

Big Show and Kane Big Show and Kane were an American tag team active in professional wrestling during 2001–2002, 2005–2006, 2011 and 2014–2016 consisted of Paul Wight (Big Show) and Glenn Jacobs (Kane). Using their gigantic statures and power to dominate ...

. Big Show and Kane won the match after Kane pinned Mysterio following a

chokeslam A chokeslam is a type of body slam in professional wrestling, in which a wrestler grasps an opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks power ...

. Another primary match on the undercard was

Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 1944) ...

versus

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the WWE, World Wrestlin ...

in the fourth match of their " Best of 7" series for the vacant

WWE United States Championship The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Location-specific championships, championship promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, currently de ...

. Benoit won the match after forcing Booker to submit with the

Crippler Crossface Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ring. Some wrestlers use ...

, thus earning his first victory in the series.

Production

Background

was established in 1999 as

's (WWE) December

(PPV) and was held every year except in 2001. The 2005 event was held on December 18 at the

. It was the sixth event in the Armageddon chronology. Like the previous year, the 2005 event featured wrestlers exclusively from the SmackDown!

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

Storylines

The event featured six

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

ed feuds,

plot Plot or Plotting may refer to: Art, media and entertainment * Plot (narrative), the story of a piece of fiction Music * ''The Plot'' (album), a 1976 album by jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava * The Plot (band), a band formed in 2003 Other * ''Plot' ...

s and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

or fan favorites as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. All wrestlers (aside from the one interpromotional match) belonged to the SmackDown! brand – a storyline division in which WWE assigned its employees to a different program, the other being

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

. The main event at Armageddon was fought in a

match stipulation between

and

. The buildup to the match began at

WrestleMania 21 WrestleMania 21 was the 21st annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event too ...

, where The Undertaker defeated Orton, a

superstar at the time, in an Interpromotional match. On the June 16 episode of ''SmackDown!'', during the third annual

WWE Draft The WWE Draft, alternatively called the WWE Superstar Shake-up from 2017 to 2019, is a process used by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion WWE to refresh its rosters between the Raw (WWE brand), Raw and SmackDown (WWE bran ...

, a mock sports draft lottery in which wrestlers switched programs, Orton was drafted to the SmackDown! brand. At the August pay-per-view event,

SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...

, Orton defeated The Undertaker, where he pinned him after performing an

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

following interference from his father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton. This led to a Handicap

Casket match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

between Undertaker and Orton and his father at No Mercy. At the event, Orton and his father defeated Undertaker, and set the casket, which Orton locked Undertaker in, which was scripted to be on fire. The proceeding month, at

Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the sec ...

, the Undertaker returned and attacked several SmackDown! superstars following a 5-on-5

Survivor Series match The Survivor Series match is a professional wrestling tag team elimination match held in WWE. The match typically sees two teams pitted against each other and members of the teams are eliminated one-by-one until one entire team is eliminated. Membe ...

between Raw and SmackDown!. Orton, who won the match for SmackDown!, was able to escape the attack. Then, on the December 2 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Undertaker called Orton to face him inside Hell in a Cell at Armageddon, which was made official. The pay-per-view event featured the buildup of a rivalry among two

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

s, a group of at least two wrestlers. The two groups were

and

versus

. On the November 11 episode of ''SmackDown!'', an Interpromotional Street Fight match was scheduled between Batista and

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

. Edge, who earlier in the night, pleaded to Batista not go through the match. Batista, however, declined to cancel the match. Outside the arena, General Manager

Theodore Long Theodore Robert Rufus Long (born September 15, 1947) is an American former professional referee and manager known for his work for WWE and WCW serving as an on-screen authority figure. Long began his career in the National Wrestling Alliance ...

was outside talking to Raw General Manager

Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, professional wrestling booker, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ...

, who had just arrived to the show. As Long and Bischoff were talking,

Chris Masters Christopher Todd Mordetzky (born January 8, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) under the ring name Chris Adonis as a member of Strictly Business. He is a former two-time National Ch ...

showed up and grabbed Long from behind and placed him in a

full nelson A nelson hold is a grappling hold which is executed by one person from behind the opponent, generally when both are on the mat face down with the opponent under the aggressor. One or both arms are used to encircle the opponent's arm under the armpi ...

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

hold, which he calls the Master Lock. After the assault on Long, Bischoff and Masters got into a limousine and drove away from the arena. Rey Mysterio,

Matt Hardy Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his time with WWE. With his real life brother Jeff, Hardy gained notoriety in WWF's tag team d ...

, and

John "Bradshaw" Layfield John Charles Layfield (born November 29, 1966), better known by the ring name John "Bradshaw" Layfield (abbreviated to JBL), is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on ...

(JBL) got into JBL's limousine and followed Bishoff and Masters. Inside the arena, Kane and the Big Show showed up and

chokeslammed A chokeslam is a type of body slam in professional wrestling, in which a wrestler grasps an opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerf ...

Batista. The chokeslam resulted in Batista legitimately injuring his back. On the November 21 episode of ''Raw'', one of WWE's primary television programs, SmackDown! superstars, Batista, Randy Orton, JBL, Rey Mysterio, and

Bobby Lashley Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and bodybuilder. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is an eight-time world champion, having been a two-t ...

, arrived to the show's arena. The Raw superstars met the SmackDown! superstars and a brawl broke out between both rosters. The fight led to Kane and the Big Show to double chokeslam Batista on top of a car, which was scripted so that Batista could attend to his injury. On the November 25 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Batista was scheduled to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Orton in a

No Holds Barred match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

. Batista retained his title after the Raw roster showed up to the arena and began a fight with the SmackDown! roster. Kane and the Big Show double chokeslammed Batista into the announcer's table.

Event

Pre-show

Prior to the

Jamie Noble James Gibson (born December 23, 1976) is an American retired professional wrestler better known by the ring name Jamie Noble. He is currently signed to WWE as a producer. In addition to his appearances with WWE, Noble is known for his appearan ...

defeated Funaki on '' Sunday Night Heat''.

Main card

The first match was a match between

and

(JBL) (with

Jillian Hall Jillian Faye Hall ( Fletcher; September 6, 1980) is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE. After debuting in 1998, Hall worked on the independent circuit under the name Macaela Mercedes. She won numerous champ ...

). JBL would have most of the offense for the entire match, since at the beginning of the match, Hardy got caught up, neck first, between the top and middle rope, and stayed there for a little while as JBL proceeded to choke, punch and kick his head in. After attacking Hardy for a few minutes, JBL illegally ripped off a turnbuckle pad, sent Hardy into it and executed a

Clothesline From Hell Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional wre ...

for the win. In the second match,

The Mexicools The Mexicools are a professional wrestling stable and tag team, that were signed to World Wrestling Entertainment's SmackDown! brand. The team consisted of three well-known Mexican wrestlers of the late 1990s: Super Crazy, Psicosis and Juventud ...

(

Super Crazy Francisco Islas Rueda (born December 3, 1973), better known by his ring name Super Crazy, is a Mexican ''luchador'' (or professional wrestler). In Mexico, Islas has worked for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) and made appearances f ...

and

Psicosis Dionicio Castellanos Torres (born May 19, 1971) is a Mexican professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Psicosis (sometimes Anglicised as Psychosis) and Nicho el Millonario. He is best known for his appearances with the promotions Luc ...

) faced MNM (

Joey Mercury Adam Birch (born July 18, 1979), better known by the ring names Joey Mercury and Joey Matthews, is an American professional wrestler who is best known for his two tenures in WWE. Birch was most recently signed to Ring of Honor, where he worke ...

and Johnny Nitro) (with Melina). Psicosis and Super Crazy performed many high-flying moves, landing a corkscrew as well as a tope con hilo over the referee's back. Melina got involved, tripping up Psicosis and taking away his momentum. MNM used their double teaming tactics to wear down Psicosis, keeping him isolated from making the tag. Once the tag was made, Super Crazy controlled most of the offense for the rest of the match. Melina tried to get involved again, but was sent down for her troubles. Super Crazy executed a moonsault on Mercury, but Nitro broke the pinfall, leading to the Snapshot for the win. In the third match,

(with

Sharmell Sharmell Sullivan-Huffman (born November 2, 1970) is an American retired professional wrestling valet, dancer, beauty queen, and professional wrestler. As the wife of Booker T, she is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE ...

) faced

in match four of a best of seven series match for the vacant

. There were multiple chops and suplexes from both wrestlers. They seemed to be a little off their game however, floundering a bit at times. Several Crossface attempts, as well as a low blow/scissor kick combination from Sharmell and Booker all failed to win the match for both wrestlers. With Booker down, Benoit executed a Diving headbutt, only for a near-fall. Benoit once again went for the

crossface Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a Submission wrestling, submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ri ...

, but this time Booker rolled through and hit referee

Jim Korderas Demetrius Korderas (born March 19, 1962), better known by his referee name, Jimmy Korderas, is a Canadian professional wrestling referee, commentator and television personality who currently works for Canadian TV sports network Sportsnet. He is ...

. Benoit was quick to apply the

Sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with "marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" i ...

, forcing Booker to submit but the referee was out. Sharmell came in and hit Benoit with the broom, but that did not affect him. As he was distracted, Booker attacked Benoit, setting up for the Book End, which was reversed into a DDT and Benoit forced Booker to submit with a Crossface for the victory. In the fourth match,

faced

William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is known for his over 20 years spent in WWE, as both a performer and an on-screen authority, and for his ti ...

and

Paul Burchill Paul Birchall (born 8 October 1979), better known by his ring name Paul Burchill, is an English retired professional wrestler best known for his time with WWE. Prior to joining WWE, Burchill wrestled for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance and other ...

in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match. Lashley was in control for most of the match. He used the Dominator on Burchill to win the match. In the fifth match, Juventud faced

Kid Kash David Tyler Cash (born July 31, 1969) better known by his ring name Kid Kash, is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, best known for his tenures with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (T ...

for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. In the end, Kash went for a springboard moonsault, but caught a pair of knees to the midsection. Juventud then executed a huricanrana off the top rope, and executed a Juvi Driver for the two count. Kash countered a front flip leg drop with a Dead Level to win the title. In the sixth match, WWE Tag Team Champions

and

faced World Tag Team Champions

Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as an in-ring performer, and as a commentator for its web television show, '' AEW Dark: Elevation,'' under ...

and Kane in an Interpromotional Tag Team Champions vs Champions match. Each team demonstrated their strength, with Mysterio being the only man out of place. The match evolved into a brawl, with Batista and Big Show wrestling over the broadcast table, as Mysterio executed

619 __NOTOC__ Year 619 ( DCXIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 619 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era b ...

to Kane. He went for the West Coast Pop, but Kane caught him in midair, chokeslamming him for the win.

Main event

In the main event,

faced

(with

Bob Orton Robert Keith Orton Sr. (July 21, 1929 – July 16, 2006) was an American professional wrestler. The patriarch of the Orton wrestling family, his two sons Bob Orton Jr. and Barry Orton, and grandson Randy Orton, have all wrestled professionall ...

) inside

. During the match, Undertaker hit Orton with a steel chair, bloodying Orton. Orton hit Undertaker with the steel steps, bloodying Undertaker also. "Cowboy" Bob Orton tried intervening, but Undertaker executed a Big Boot, causing the Cell and Bob to collide, causing a laceration. Orton executed a Diving Splash through a table on Undertaker for a near-fall. Orton ducked a punch from Undertaker that caught referee Nick Patrick, bloodying him as well. As referees and EMTs came down, Bob entered the Cell. Orton executed an

, but there was no referee to make the count. Charles Robinson made the count, but Undertaker kicked out at two. The Undertaker executed a Last Ride on Orton but Bob broke up the pinfall, leading Undertaker to attack Bob. Undertaker attempted a Tombstone Piledriver on Orton but Orton reversed into a Tombstone on Undertaker for a near-fall. Bob tried to get involved again but Undertaker attacked Bob. Undertaker hit Bob and Orton with an Urn and executed a Tombstone on Bob. Undertaker executed a Tombstone Piledriver on Orton to win the match.

Aftermath

In the "Best of Seven" series,

ended up winning the vacant

on the January 13, 2006 edition of

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, with the help of

. The feud between

and

ended in the

match after the feud ran for about nine months.

and

, who were the

WWE Tag Team Championship WWE (formerly the WWF, the WWWF, and Capitol Wrestling) has maintained at least one primary tag team championship for its male performers since 1958 (except for a two year interim between 1967 and 1969). During periods of brand division, separat ...

holders at the time, lost the title to the team of MNM after Batista suffered a legitimate injury in early 2006, sidelining him for up to seven months.

and Kane continued to reign as World Tag Team Champions until April 2006.

Results

References

External links

Official Armageddon 2005 website
{{2005 WWE pay-per-view events

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2005 in Rhode Island Events in Providence, Rhode Island Professional wrestling in Providence, Rhode Island 2005 WWE pay-per-view events December 2005 events in the United States WWE SmackDown