WWE held their final pay-per-view of 2008 last night in Armageddon from the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. The show was very newsworthy as WWE Creative pulled the trigger on Jeff Hardy’s WWE Championship reign that many considered imminent. In addition to the WWE Championship being on the line, the World Heavyweight Championship was on the line, while the ECW Championship was not defended. Below are my thoughts on last night’s pay-per-view on a match-by-match basis:

The opening match between ECW Champion Matt Hardy and Vladimir Kozlov went just how I had feared. It seems like Vince McMahon (or someone with a tremendous amount of stroke in WWE) has made it a priority to get Vladimir Kozlov over. Matt Striker and Todd Grisham constantly put Kozlov over as Matt Hardy’s toughest opponent ever and talked about what a fight that Hardy gave the unique and powerful Kozlov. They also sold him as undefeated. In the end, Hardy jobbed out to Kozlov, not only looking weak but completely devaluing the ECW Championship. I have not completely given up on Kozlov but I do not agree with the decision to feed him Matt Hardy when he has not proven himself. Bad move by Creative, especially if Kozlov ends up being another Snitsky.

Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk in the finals of the Intercontinental Championship Tournament was an outstanding match. It was a quick fast-paced bout that went how just about any fan of Mysterio or Punk had expected. Punk stiffed Mysterio with the GTS on the finish, busting Rey’s nose open, and possibly breaking it. It seemed that Punk was concerned about hurting Rey, as he was visibly shaken up by the stiff finish. William Regal and Layla were at ringside for the bout but they were a non-factor. Expect a Punk vs. Regal program and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Punk come out the Intercontinental Champion now that he is no longer one half of the World Tag Team Champions.

Next they did a promo with Jeff Hardy in a back room, pushing the fact that he snapped. I really like the direction that Jeff Hardy’s character has taken. Hardy is so over and this is the perfect gimmick to capitalize him as the new WWE Champion. Up next on the pay-per-view was what appears to be a Shawn Michaels heel turn. JBL came out and introduced his newest employee, Shawn Michaels. Shawn came to the ring and explained because of hard economic times that he had joined forces with JBL. This drew a lot of heat from the live crowd, with “you sold out” chants. The in-ring segment was long and sluggish at first, but it ended up getting Shawn a lot of heat and finished well. It will be very interesting to see where they take this tonight on Raw.

The Belfast Brawl match between Finlay and Mark Henry was nothing more than a forgettable gimmick match. I was impressed with the unbelievable strength of Mark Henry as well as the agility that he showed; however, there was nothing that made this match must-see. Finlay barred Hornswoggle from ringside before the match, so Hornswoggle predictably assisted in Finlay’s win by throwing him a Shillelagh. This was nothing more than a filler match on a throwaway pay-per-view.

Things got a little weird with a backstage segment involving the WWE Divas, Charlie Haas as Santa Clause, Santino Marella, Goldust, and The Boogeyman. The segment was meant to be comedy, with Marella running into Goldust under mistletoe but it failed miserably. They did a Ken Kennedy “public service announcement” after the segment, with Kennedy telling everyone not to drink and drive or do drugs but be sure and see Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia on DVD January 6th… 6th. It failed miserably as well and was one of those “what the heck were they thinking” moments.

The next match on the card was Batista vs. Randy Orton and it was a big disappointment. Cody Rhodes and Manu came to the ring with Orton and ended up getting ejected early on for interfering. It seemed that Orton and Batista just couldn’t get things going as the work rate moved along far too sluggish. There was one move that was botched so badly, I didn’t even know what to call it in my live coverage. The finish was equally as sluggish with Batista hitting the Batista Bomb and pinning Orton for the three count. The outcome was predictable with Batista avenging the job that he did to Orton at Survivor Series. The way the match was booked, it looks like this program might continue, but both need to step it up if they get another singles match.

The pay-per-view took a turn for the worse with the 8 Diva Santa’s Helper Tag Team Match. I actually think that it is stretching a little too far to even call this a match. Michelle McCool pinned Jillian to get the win for the babyface Divas but the match was basically a lead up to a Great Khali Kiss Cam segment. I have a real problem paying for something that used to be included during the commercial breaks at TV tapings. Mae Young and Khali ended up making out and instead of being disgusted, it just irritated me.

John Cena and Chris Jericho had a good match to save me from wanting to turn the pay-per-view off with Cena retaining the World Heavyweight Championship. The highlight of this match was the go-home sequence which featured Cena powering out of the Walls of Jericho and hooking in the STFU, causing Jericho to tap out. I love the occasional submission finish and the way that it was booked, it didn’t make Jericho look weak, but made Cena look really good.

WWE saved the triple-threat match for the WWE Championship for the main event and now we all know why – Creative pulled the trigger on a Jeff Hardy title reign. The match was very well done and was the match of the night which says something considering this card featured a stellar match between CM Punk and Rey Mysterio. There was one sport where Edge, Jeff Hardy, and Triple H were working on the announce tables where Edge came out of nowhere and speared Hardy through the SmackDown announce table. The work out of the ring was just as good as the work inside the ring, where everyone hit a finisher in some capacity. The go-home sequence was perfect for the title change as Triple H hit the Pedigree on Edge only for Hardy to come out of nowhere with the Swanton off the top rope, causing Hunter to roll out of the ring and Edge get pinned for the three count. I like how Hardy pinned Edge, so there is no disputing his win, giving him what he deserves. This decision will not come without controversy as some believe that WWE should have waited until WrestleMania to give Jeff Hardy the WWE Championship, however, they ran the risk of Hardy losing steam four months into 2009. It will be interesting to see where they go with Hardy as Champion but there is no doubting that he is as over as anyone in the company.

The final two matches along with Punk vs. Mysterio made Armageddon a decent effort for the company. Had WWE not done the title change in the main event, I believe that fans would have been a lot harder on the show. Jeff Hardy is not only over with the diehard fans, but he is over with the casual fans as well. Insane crowd reactions accompanied with phenomenal ring work have propelled Jeff Hardy to being the top guy in the wrestling business. Hardy’s legacy is in his hands and I believe that he will not disappoint everyone this time. This was his night; Vince McMahon has put a lot of trust in him. The only thing that I ask of Jeff Hardy is that he does not screw up and let everyone that has believed in him down. If he is able to stay out of trouble, Hardy has the opportunity to start getting mentioned in the same breath as Triple H, Edge, Steve Austin, and The Rock.

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, Bobby Lashley leaving WWE, and more. For more on Richard check out his web site, Wrestling News World.

– “Richard Reacts” Archive By WrestlingNewsWorld.com’s Richard Gray