10 WWE PPVs John Cena Main-Evented (But Shouldn't Have)
5. Armageddon 2006 (W/Batista Vs. King Booker And Finlay)
By December of 2006, the original era of brand-exclusive PPVs was on its deathbed. RAW had clearly superseded SmackDown as the A brand in WWE's mind, and between the RAW, SmackDown, and ECW rosters, there was simply not enough talent to justify three brands with their own unique PPVs. Thus, come WrestleMaia 23 onward, all WWE PPVs would feature talent from all brands. Armageddon 2006 represented the start in that change of direction, when RAW's John Cena, the WWE Champion, teamed up with World Heavyweight Champion Batista in a tag team match against King Booker and Fit Finlay.
First off: even in the year 2006, to have just a standard tag team match headline a PPV? Oh, WWE, what are you doing, baby? Even if it's two world champions on one team, you still have two scrubs in Booker and Finlay on the opposing side.
Secondly, it speaks to how the demise of brand-exclusive PPVs was a foregone conclusion when, on the last-ever SmackDown-exlusive PPV, the top star of RAW had to be brought in just to add a little bit of intrigue. If WWE want to wonder why they have trouble making stars or why one brand doesn't do as well as the other, maybe they should want to analyze the message having RAW talent come over to boost SmackDown sends to their average viewer.