10 Great Wrestling Matches Hidden On Terrible Pay Per Views
4. John Cena Vs. Sabu - WWE Vengeance 2006
Vengeance 2006 was as disappointing as it was dismal - and sometimes, that's worse.
The opener between Randy Orton and a knackered Kurt Angle delivered far less than its tantalising promise. Ric Flair and Mick Foley wrestled what must be the shortest-ever Two Out of Three Falls match at just 06:57 - a truncated advert for their SummerSlam sequel, barely worthy of television. The main event was passable in terms of content - but the depressing waste of the Spirit Squad's individual talents has compromised its re-watch value.
WWE were in such a creative malaise by the mid-2000s that they even recycled one of their worst ever storylines on this night - Undertaker Vs. Fake Undertaker. Kane's match against his counterfeit counterpart was also dreadful, predictably enough.
Mercifully, one of WWE's best-ever short form compositions imbued it with a surprisingly good element. The John Cena Vs. Sabu match even excuses the eye-rolling Cena-as-underdog trope, beginning as it does with a sideways attack by the ECW lumberjacks. Neither man is (or was) known for their storytelling or psychology; the match, astutely, was all-action and stuffed with diversions.
It still found time to incorporate a dramatic principle - as Cena hoisted Sabu for the match-winning Attitude Adjustment, he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, a table that was propped up earlier in the match. He then smashed Sabu through it.
This winning use of Chekhov's gun elevated a short but sweet match to a novella.