Match of the Debut - Finlay comes to Smackdown to fight

Finlay vs. Matt Hardy - Smackdown! (2006)

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Here's a very Irish debut featuring the seasoned veteran, Finlay in his first televised WWE match.

Match of the Debut - Montel Vontavious Porter

MVP vs. Marty Garner - No Mercy (2006)

In honor of MVP's new roll in TNA.

For weeks a guy named Montel Vontavious Porter appeared on Smackdown to boast that he was the greatest free agent on the planet. When he finally stepped into the squared circle at No Mercy, it was obvious this guy was just heeling it up. So, JBL on commentary did his best at giving the Most Valuable Troller as much criticism as humanly possibly. Granted MVP did come out through a blowup tunnel, had a blue bodysuit on and was cocky as all get out, I think the multiple comparisons to Power Rangers, Battlestar Galatica, and William Shatner (I honestly don't see that one) were a bit over the top. Still, it got MVP over as a guy fans could easily rip on for the rest of his tenure in WWE.

So, who was MVP's first (televised) opponent  in WWE? Why it was Marty Garner, of course. Commentary might have forgotten who he was, but the internet has not. Marty Garner is that guy who took the craziest looking pedigree from Hunter Hearst Helmsley back in '96. Garner was also trained by The Hardy Boyz and one of the other guys from OMEGA, a promotion started by The Hardy's and their friends around North Carolina. Coincidentally, MVP would go on to have a rather amusing feud with Matt Hardy some time after this match which saw Hardy and Porter perform all sorts of challenges to see who was the better man. These challenges included a football throwing contest, an arm wrestling match, a pizza eating contest, and a beer drinking contest.

Match of the Day - The first ever tag team tables match in WWE history

The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz - Tag Team Tables match - Royal Rumble (2000)

From my favorite Royal Rumble comes the double tables match between the red-hot team of The Hardy Boyz and Big Daddy Dudley's baby boys, The Dudley Boyz. These two teams along with Edge and Christian were redefining the tag division like no one else during this time and the desire to put each others' bodies on the line seemed to be the theme that went along with every match. This match was also an early precursor to the teams unforgettable TLC series as all three types of hardware was used during this non stop car crash.

I would also like to point out that the Swanton Bomb spot Jeff Hardy performs at the end of the match was later used again in another tag team tables match that was this time a six-man elimination with Jeff Hardy on the same team as Bubba Ray. The match also happened to take place at Madison Square Garden just as this match did three years prior.

Match of the Day - The Hardy Boyz "I Quit" match

Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy - "I Quit" match - Backlash (2009)

This is the Hardy Boyz feud where Matt Hardy hinted that he was responsible for the fire that burned Jeff's home and killed his dog. Why did Matt do it? Jealousy, of course. This feud first started when Matt lost the ECW title to Jack Swagger (remember that?) and later attacked Jeff with a chair, costing his brother the World Heavyweight title. With the Hardy's title-less, it was the perfect time for the two brothers to finally have a big feud for who's the better Hardy Boy... apparently.

The Hardy Boyz "I Quit" match at Backlash was the final chapter of their four part saga. Ironically, this match included the Hardy's working extensively on the leg for the other to experience enough pain to say "I Quit", but in the end when one Hardy came up with the victory, the other walked away with a broken arm.

Theme results

Family Feud: Brother vs. Brother.