Background
Outside of the weekly ECW on Sci Fi broadcast, one of WWE's primary television programs, the pay-per-view received little buildup on either the Raw or SmackDown! television shows, as WWE concentrated more on the Survivor Series pay-per-view that aired one week prior to December to Dismember. At this time, the main storyline on the Raw brand featured tag teams D-Generation X and Rated-RKO, and the main storyline on the SmackDown! brand featured Batista and World Heavyweight Champion King Booker. The buildup for December to Dismember began in the middle of October, six weeks before the event occurred. This was the only ECW brand exclusive pay-per-view produced by WWE before the decision was made to include wrestlers from all three brands on all pay-per-views.
The main event at December to Dismember featured an Extreme Elimination Chamber match. On the October 24, 2006 episode of ECW, Rob Van Dam won an opportunity at the ECW World Championship by defeating The Big Show in a ladder match. Van Dam traded in this championship opportunity at the December to Dismember pay-per-view. Authority figure Paul Heyman authorized Van Dam's decision by adding him to the Extreme Elimination Chamber contest along with five other wrestlers, including the champion, The Big Show. The remaining four participants for the match were decided through standard wrestling matches. The first person to qualify for the Elimination Chamber was Sabu, who defeated Kevin Thorn on the October 31, 2006 episode of ECW. The following week, CM Punk and Test qualified by defeating Mike Knox and Tommy Dreamer, respectively. The final place was to be given to Hardcore Holly in a contract signing segment on the November 14, 2006 episode of ECW. As Holly was making his way to the ring, however, Bobby Lashley, a wrestler from the SmackDown! brand, attacked Holly and signed the contract himself to gain the sixth and final place in the Extreme Elimination Chamber. Although the six spots in the bout were filled, Heyman announced a contest between Van Dam and Holly in an Extreme Rules match on the November 21, 2006 episode of ECW, with the stipulation that if Van Dam lost, Holly would get his spot in the Extreme Elimination Chamber; Van Dam however, won the match. Van Dam continued his momentum into December to Dismember as he, along with team members Sabu, Lashley, John Cena and Kane defeated the team of The Big Show, Test, Umaga, Finlay and Montel Vontavious Porter in a 5-on-5 elimination tag team match. The match took place at the Survivor Series event. On the final episode of ECW before December to Dismember, Van Dam defeated Sabu. Later in the show, CM Punk faced Test, but both men were counted out in their bout. In the main event, The Big Show was disqualified in his match against Lashley as Test and Heyman's Security Force (Doug and Danny Basham) assaulted Lashley, causing the disqualification.
The other main rivalry heading into December to Dismember was between brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy and MNM (Joey Mercury, Johnny Nitro and Melina). Unlike the Extreme Elimination Chamber rivalry, this one did not include ECW wrestlers and was only between members of the Raw and SmackDown! brands, making the event span all three WWE brands. The buildup began when Nitro and Jeff began to feud over the Intercontinental Championship on Raw. The two competed in several different types of matches, including a ladder match. The Hardys had just teamed up for the first time since 2002 on ECW, when they defeated Tony Mamaluke and Little Guido Maritato. At Survivor Series, The Hardys, along with D-Generation X and CM Punk defeated the team of Nitro, Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton), Mike Knox and Gregory Helms. The next day at the December to Dismember press conference, The Hardys made an open challenge for the pay-per-view. Later that night on Raw, Nitro accepted the challenge, announcing the return of Mercury and the "one night only" reformation of MNM. That Tuesday on ECW, MNM attacked The Hardys after they won their match against Elijah Burke and Sylvester Terkay. Meanwhile, Voodoo Kin Mafia, a tag team from the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion, issued a statement via the TNA website stating that they accepted The Hardys' open challenge for December to Dismember. Voodoo Kin Mafia did not turn up at the event, and WWE never acknowledged the challenge. Only two matches were officially announced for the pay-per-view before it aired.
Read more about this topic: December To Dismember (2006)
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