WWE held their Armageddon pay-per-view last night live from the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. Unlike Survivor Series I was not really looking forward to the event as this event was more or less “another day at the office” for me. Last night’s show featured some good wrestling with some questionable finishes. I thought it was a decent effort by WWE but by no means was it worth the hefty $40 price tag. I, unlike all of you, do not have the option of choosing which events to order as I type WWE live pay-per-view coverage for the site. With that being said I will also warn you that I watched last night’s event after a late night out Saturday and I was extremely tried, even slightly grouchy. Forgive me in advance if I seem overly critical at times as I do not mean to come off as someone that is always negative. Let’s take a look at the matches.

Rey Mysterio challenging MVP for the US Title was a good match and exactly what the event needed to open up. I would have preferred a different finish but I understand why it was done. WWE wanted to keep heat on MVP without burying him to Mysterio. I’m not sure what WWE has planned for this feud or for the US Title but I would like to see it continue. Mysterio and MVP seemed to have good chemistry together as their styles almost complement one another. It is almost impossible for a performer as talented as Mysterio to have a bad match.

WWE did a good job with the booking of Kane & CM Punk vs. Big Daddy V & Mark Henry. Some fans may not like the fact that ECW Champion CM Punk was pinned by Big Daddy V but the way that they have been building V it was inevitable. Kane proved that he is still capable of working a decent bout as I felt like he had several spots that came across very well.

There has been a lot of criticism of Ken Kennedy as some say that sometimes he shows up, sometimes he doesn’t. Well last night Kennedy showed up in what was not only one of his best matches of the year but one of the best matches of his young career. Kennedy did a wonderful job of executing and selling maneuvers from Michaels who worked very sold. Kennedy lost clean but he will have his time when an established veteran puts him over. Like the MVP/Mysterio angle, I hope that we see another showdown between these two.

The best part of Armageddon was the fact that Triple H put over Jeff Hardy. I think everyone felt like Hardy going over was the right call from a booking standpoint, however, if you are like me you probably had your doubts. They didn’t let Hardy dominate by any means but I’ll still commend Triple H and WWE creative for doing the right thing. Jeff Hardy has earned this shot and I hope that he doesn’t mess it up. This was the match of the night from a wrestling standpoint as well. Hardy and Triple H work two completely different styles but when they both bring their “A game” it makes for an incredible matchup. Does anyone else think there is a Triple H heel turn coming?

The next match, Finlay vs. The Great Khali is when I started to get grouchy. I hate The Great Khali – there, I said it. The guy has no talent and unlike someone like Umaga, he has not improved. His promos are terrible, he has no wrestling ability, and the shock value of his size is over. Finlay did all that he could to make this entertaining but it was a sleeper. There was a hilarious sign in the crowd that said “get a beer match” and I could have not agreed more. Did Khali’s “nerve hold” get on your nerves as bad as it did mine? For those that didn’t see it, Khali simply grabbed the shoulder of Finlay as JBL described to us that it was a nerve hold that was numbing the arm and hand of Finlay. I don’t care if in it numbed his private parts; it was boring as hell to watch!

Chris Jericho and Randy Orton had a great wrestling match in what I feel like would have been the match of the night had it not been for the screwy finish. Jericho showed no signs of ring rust as he was on point with all of his moves. Orton has proved that he is a dependable worker and is worthy of holding the WWE Championship. He has become more than a “time feeler” for John Cena and Triple H as he has proved that in the ring, he is as good as anyone. Orton’s dropkick is the best in the business and maybe the best ever. I loved how the match went to the outside for some intense moments but for the life of me, I don’t understand the finish.

Apparently JBL is returning to the ring for a feud with Jericho, however, I am completely against setting up angles on a pay-per-view. This is the same gripe that I had with TNA and their “Feast or Fired” stipulation. We did not pay $40 to see JBL begin a feud with Chris Jericho. We waited through months of Save_US videos and eager moments to see Jericho “save us” from Randy Orton and have a good wrestling match with the WWE Champion on pay-per-view. They had an excellent match until JBL got in the ring to break up the Walls of Jericho, ending the match in disqualification. There are 10,000 better ways to start this feud than end a pay-per-view match with a DQ stipulation that doesn't make sense. Sure, Jericho moved JBL out of the way but did you really think that deserved to be screwed out of the WWE Championship? I expected Orton to win dirty but not like that. The live crowd (which was dead for most of the night) showed WWE creative their displeasure with the finish with very loud booing. Why did JBL stop commentating after he screwed Jericho? I didn’t understand that either.

Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix was a disappointment. Mickie and Beth are the two best female workers in the company but this match could have been a lot better. Maybe it was the placement of this match that killed it as I knew with the remaining amount of time that they were going to be limited. Mickie hung in there well until out of nowhere Beth hit a fisherman’s supplex for the clean pin. They should have held this feud off until WrestleMania but we haven’t seen the last of Beth vs. Mickie. I just hope the next time they face one another they get more time and aren’t following a WWE Championship match.

The main event was just what I expected. There was nothing overly spectacular about the match but it was solid nonetheless. I figured that Edge would win the belt as they wouldn’t have let him return in that angle if they had just planned to job him out. Now Edge will go on to feud with Undertaker and Batista is going to be left searching. I wouldn’t be surprised if he somehow ended up on RAW, but you never know. I liked how the Major Brothers interfered in the match. As confusing as it was it was something different and the company is ready for a heel faction. I have to give Vickie Guerrero props. She is really turning out to be an excellent on-screen character and I’m sure that Eddie would be very proud of her.

All and all WWE Armageddon was a decent pay-per-view. If I were to recommend one match it would be Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy but Kennedy vs. Michaels, Orton vs. Jericho, MVP vs. Mysterio, and the main event were all very decent matches. If you enjoy a lot of good wrestling but can overlook some screwy finishes, you will like this pay-per-view. Was it worth $40? No, but most WWE pay-per-views are not.

Richard can be contacted at richard [at] grayinternet.com

Richard Gray is a professional wrestling journalist and frequent contributor to Rajah.com. He has been covering the world of professional wrestling since 1999 and has had the opportunity to cover ground breaking stories such as the demise of ECW, the WCW buyout, the Benoit tragedy, and more. For more on Richard check out his web site, Wrestling News World.