The final frontier of brand exclusivity in professional wrestling
In short: On September 17, 2006, WWE hosted its only Unforgiven event outside American soil. This specific night served as a major turning point for the promotion, marking the final time they held an exclusive brand-only pay-per-view before merging their primary storylines into a single unified presentation the following year.
The 2006 Unforgiven pay-per-view took place on September 17 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. It was a landmark event for several reasons: it was the only time the promotion held this specific show outside of the United States, and it represented the final iteration of a 'brand-exclusive' PPV. Following WrestleMania 23 the next year, WWE discontinued the practice of keeping brands entirely separate on these major cards.
The event featured wrestlers exclusively from the Raw brand division, a storyline split where employees were assigned to different programs (Raw and SmackDown!). The card was built around high-stakes scripted feuds, most notably the main event between Edge and John Cena. Their rivalry reached a fever pitch when Edge demanded a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match in his hometown of Toronto. The stakes were personal: if Cena lost, he was forced to leave the Raw brand for SmackDown! permanently.
Beyond the main event, the card featured other significant milestones. Trish Stratus competed in her final full-time wrestling match against Lita, winning the WWE Women's Championship and becoming a record-setting seven-time champion in the process. The night also saw the conclusion of the feud between D-Generation X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) and The McMahons, following a brutal Handicap Hell in a Cell match where Triple H pinned Vince McMahon.
While critics gave the event mixed reviews—ranging from 5 out of 10 for the tag team titles to 9.5 out of 10 for the Hell in a Cell match—it successfully moved several storylines forward. It served as a bridge between the 'Cena era' and new alliances, such as the formation of 'Rated-RKO' by Edge and Randy Orton shortly after the event.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Unforgiven (2006)
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