Welcome to our live coverage of WWE’s Armageddon PPV from Buffalo, NY.

As always, we’re looking for your feedback on tonight’s show of our coverage at phil@ifight365.com or via our MySpace page at www.myspace.com/ifight365 and if you’ve not already read it, we’ve got a preview of tonight’s show up on the front page of the site.

We’ll be updating this page over the next few hours from 8pm EST/1am UK time, so be sure to refresh your browser regularly for all the latest from tonight’s show!

- Matt Hardy vs. Vladimir Kozlov opens the show in a non-title match. Todd Grisham and Matt Striker have their Slammy sat proudly on their announce table. Hardy did his best to get a decent match out of Kozlov, but ultimately this wasn’t particularly good. Hardy dominated early, Kozlov then worked on Hardy’s shoulder and arm before Matt made his comeback and tossed Kozlov to the outside. Kozlov got thrown into a ring post head first, then Hardy hit the Side Effect for a two count. Kozlov blocked a Twist of Fate then hit Hardy with a chop to the head. Hardy then got dumped on top of the ring post, with Kozlov following it up with his battering ram and then some kind of Chokeslam/Rock Bottom-esque move for the pinfall win. Winner: Vladimir Kozlov.

Backstage, Edge, Vickie and Chavo Guerrero were sat laughing at Matt’s loss. Edge said he was going to get ready for his match. He left, and Chavo then asked Vickie how she and Edge took out Jeff Hardy the night before Survivor Series. Vickie denied either of them being involved and told Chavo to stop asking questions and to go make her a coffee.

They’re now running a text vote on who attacked Jeff. The options were Edge, Triple H, Kozlov or ‘other’.

Backstage, Finlay told Hornswoggle not to come to ringside during his match with Mark Henry tonight. The little fella was sad.

In the ring, Lilian Garcia introduced the IC champion, William Regal ahead of our next match. He and Layla are sat ringside.

Winner becomes #1 contender for the Intercontinental Title: Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk. Interesting to see how the crowd reacts in this one. Decent pops for both guys during their entrances. They showed still images of Punk and Kofi losing their tag titles to Miz and Morrison last night in Ontario. Slow start to the match but the pace soon picked up. Tons of near falls and exchanges. Mysterio was backdropped to the outside. Punk then dived over the top rope and pretty much landed on Rey’s head.

Mysterio hit a moonsault and got a two count. Punk then hit a powerslam for another near fall. Crowd are into both guys throughout this. Mysterio got an armbar submission but Punk escaped. Mysterio then hit a springboard dropkick that sent Punk to the outside and followed it up with a cross body off the top rope to the outside. Back in the ring, Mysterio hit a senton and a springboard cross body for another near fall. The two counts continued back and forth before Punk caught Rey with a high knee in the corner and a running bulldog.

Rey set Punk up for the 619 but Punk ducked and went for the GTS. Rey countered and hit the 619 but Punk moved as Rey followed up with a splash. Rey came off the top rope again and ended up sat on Punk’s shoulders. Rey tried to turn it into some kind of head scissors but got caught and Punk turned it into a GTS. He made the cover and got the win. Winner and #1 contender to the IC title: CM Punk.

Really, really good match. Punk bust Rey’s nose open with the GTS by the looks of it. Blood all over the place so chances are he’s broken it.

- Jeff Hardy is sat in the dark wearing face paint. He talks about the mistakes he’s made and how people expect him to fail again. He says he’ll answer all the questions asked of him tonight and will become WWE champion.

- A video package showing the recent events between JBL and Shawn Michaels aired before JBL made his way out to the ring. He introduced his newest employee, HBK, with Michaels coming out to the ring. There’s a couple of Joey Styles signs that security must have missed. Michaels said the economy has hit him hard and he has no money because of big spending in his 20s and injuries in his 30s. He said he doesn’t know how many years he has left in the business and has family and relatives that depend on him, which is why he took up JBL on his offer. Nobody is buying into this promo at all. Michaels said JBL is a smug bully but is very good financially and he’s doing it to put his kids through college. He said he won’t become a wrestling tragedy who limps into a high school gym to wrestle. Hi, Hulk. Chants of “You sold out” started as Michaels said its something he has to do. He and JBL then shook hands. The segment lasted way too long and I just can’t buy into it yet.

- Backstage, Randy Orton is about to be interviewed but is interrupted by Cody Rhodes and Manu. Cody says Batista doesn’t have the natural abilities of a second or third generation star. Manu said Orton will cement his legacy tonight.

- Finlay vs. Mark Henry in a Belfast Brawl is up next. They brawled around ringside to start, going back and forth as Finlay tried to measure Henry for strength. Finlay brought a couple of trash cans into the ring. Tony Atlas distracted him, allowing Henry to level Finlay with a trash can lid. Henry then took control, slowing things down in the process until Finlay nailed him with a trash can to the head and some shots with a kendo stick. Henry fought back with a kick to the head then grabbed Finlay’s shillelagh and broke it in half. He then broke a kendo stick in two and put Finlay in a bear huge. Hornswoggle hit the ring and tried to climb to the top rope but Henry threw Finlay into the corner and he knocked Hornswoggle off the apron.

Hornswoggle went under the ring as Henry bent a trash can over Finlay’s back. Henry then tossed the ring steps into the ring but Finlay hit him with a dropkick. Hornswoggle appeared and passed another shillelagh to Finlay. he nailed Henry with it and got the pin. Winner: Finlay.

- Backstage, some of the divas were putting up a Christmas tree. Santa Haas joined them, followed by Beth and Santino. Santino was trying to make out that Beth’s Slammy was his as well. Santino tried to see if there was a christmas present for him, but instead he got The Boogeyman, followed by Goldust and some mistletoe. Then Jesse, Festus, IRS and some officials joined the party to wish everybody a Merry Christmas.

- Still backstage, Mr. Kennedy reacted to the last segment by saying “Don’t do drugs” then wished everybody a Merry Christmas and shilled his new movie. Pah.

- Batista vs. Randy Orton is up next. Rhodes and Manu are at ringside. Manu really needs a repackage as he just doesn’t look right out there with Cody and Orton. Slow start to the match. Batista got thrown to the outside and jumped on by Rhodes and Manu. The referee sent them to the back rather than calling for a DQ. Orton then started to dominate the match as the crowd got behind Batista. Batista quickly fought back and hit a clotheline and a powerslam. He went for a Batista bomb but Orton countered and hit a neckbreaker.

Orton got dumped to the outside but soon got back in the ring and hit Dave with a huge DDT. Orton stayed in control and slowed the pace down with a chinlock. Batista eventually escaped and hit a side slam before clotheslining Orton over the top to the outside. Back in the ring, Batista got caught on the top rope and Orton hit a superplex. They went through a sequence of countering each others moves, with a Batista Bomb and RKO being blocked. Orton hit Dave with a kick to the head and set up for the RKO. Batista blocked it and got a near fall from a slam.

Orton hit another DDT. He set up for the the running kick to the head but Batista saw it coming. He laid into Orton in the corner with punches then hit the Batista Bomb and got the pin. Winner: Batista.

Good match, the second half of it being very good. It looked as if this wasn’t the end of their program so perhaps they’ll continue this through to the Rumble.

- Michelle McCool, Maria, Mickie James & Kelly Kelly vs. Victoria, Natalya, Jillian & Maryse in a Santa’s Little Helper Match is up next. This being announced got a bigger pop than most of the undercard. We’ve got all announcers calling it to distract us. They didn’t even bother to call the match. We learnt that Kelly Kelly is Jewish, which may or may not be true but it led to her being referred to as a ‘Hot Hebrew.’

Kelly and Mickie James worked most the match against Natalya. Michelle McCool tagged herself in at the end and hit a freakin’ Styles Clash on Jillian for the win.

Afterwards, Khali came out for Christmas Kiss Cam. He has new funky Punjabi music. McCool was chosen to kiss Khali but she bailed to the back. Raijin said Khali had 3 Divas to kiss. Mickie, Kelly and Maria were left in the ring. They weren’t playing along but Raijin said he had a back-up plan. Cue Mae Young dressed in Santa attire. Michael Cole delivered the best line of his career by saying it really was Armageddon for Khali as Mae came to the ring. Khali picked her up and they kissed. I’ve paid for this and its nearly 3am here. Geez.

- John Cena (C) vs. Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Title is up next. I guess if Jeff Hardy was to win the title tonight, going on last would make sense but that triple threat would deserve to close the show regardless, in my opinion.

Back and forth start to the match, which is more of a brawl than a wrestling match. Crowd are split on Cena, which comes as no surprise. Jericho slowed it down with a sleeper hold but Cena eventually powered out. Jericho hit a bulldog off the ring apron onto the ring steps on the outside. They went back in the ring where Jericho slowed things down again. Cena regained control and tried for an FU which Jericho countered. Jericho then hit a dropkick from the second rope.

The match went back and forth some more. Cena went for an FU again but Jericho again countered and hit the codebreaker, only to get a two count. Jericho then charged at Cena, but ran straight into an FU. Cena made the cover but Jericho kicked out on two also. Jericho missed a kick to the head and Cena tried to lock in the STFU. Jericho countered and locked in the Walls of Jericho. Cena struggled towards the ropes but Jericho dragged him back into the centre of the ring. Cena reversed the Walls into the STFU and Jericho quickly tapped.  Winner and still World champion: John Cena.

Good match. The final few minutes were very good with tons of crowd heat.

- In the text vote on who attacked Jeff Hardy prior to Survivor Series, 65% voted Edge, 7% Triple H, 5% Kozlov and 23% voted ‘other’. Interesting to see if they pull the trigger on who is behind it on tonight’s show. If it’s not Edge, I think Tomko would make sense.

- Edge (C) vs. Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Title is up next. Jeff got the first near fall of the match after taking it to both Triple H and Edge. Trips got tossed to the outside, followed by Edge. Hardy then dived over the top onto Edge as Trips moved out of the way and then hit Jeff with a clothesline.

Jeff and Hunter brawled on the outside with Jeff coming off second best. Hunter tried to get back into the ring but Edge took him down with a kick to the head. Edge and Hunter went back and forther, with Hunter htiting a high knee and a neckbreaker. Hunter went for the pedigree but Hardy got back in the ring. Hunter hit him with a high knee as well. All seems a little slow and disjointed so far with little crowd heat Hunter went for a pedigree on Edge again but Jeff broke it up with Whisper in the Wind.

Hunter got Edge up in the Electric Chair but Hardy nailed them both with Whisper in the Wind again which looked cool. Hunter then caught Hardy coming off the second rope and attempted a pedigree but Hardy blocked it. Edge then nailed Hardy from behind and got a two count. Edge went for a spear but Hardy jumped over it and Edge hit Hunter. Hardy tossed Edge out of the ring, then hit a Twist of Fate on Hunter. Hardy went to the top and connected with the Swanton. He made the cover but Edge broke it up on two.

Edge and Hardy fought on the outside with Edge in control. Hardy fought back and stripped the Smackdown announce table ready for use. As he did so, Hunter jumped him from behind. Hunter then tossed Edge over the ECW table, causing Matt Striker to flee (with Slammy in hand!). Hunter laid Jeff on the Raw announce table and climbed on it himself. He went for a pedigree but Jeff blocked it. Jeff went for a Twist of Fate but Hunter blocked that and jumped off the table, just as Edge came out of nowhere and speared Hardy through the Smackdown table. Awesome spot.

Hunter and Edge got back into the ring. Edge hit a DDT. He went for a spear but ran into a spinebuster. Hunter hit the pedigree but Vladmir Kozlov broke up the pin. Matt Hardy then came out to make the save (?). Jeff went to the top to hit the Swanton on Edge but Kozlov pushed him off the turnbuckle. Matt and Kozlov then brawled up the aisle.

Back in the ring, Edge hit the spear on Hunter and made the cover, but only got a two count. Edge went nuts and got two chairs from ringside to set up for a one-man con-chair-to. He went to nail Hunter but Jeff made the save and levelled Edge with a chair. Jeff went to the top but Trips then knocked him off. Hunter then hit the pedigree on Edge and went to make the cover, but Hardy came off the top with a Swanton on Hunter.

Jeff then made the cover on Edge. 1, 2…..3! Winner and new WWE Champion: Jeff Hardy.

Post-match, Hardy celebrated and posed with the belt as the announcers stayed quiet. Either that or the audio feed has been lost somewhere. Overall, a good show and a great reaction to Hardy’s title win which came after a great final few minutes to the match.

Thanks for joining us for our coverage tonight!

Phil Lowe
phil@ifight365.com