Dark match Before the event went live on pay-per-view,
Finlay defeated
Brian Kendrick in a match that aired on
Heat.
Preliminary matches The opening match was a
6-Way Cruiserweight Open match for the
WWE Cruiserweight Championship which was held by
Kid Kash at the time.
Funaki,
Jamie Noble,
Nunzio,
Paul London, and Raw superstar
Gregory Helms joined the match to challenge Kash for the Cruiserweight Championship. A memorable
spot from this match was Paul London executing a
shooting star press onto all of the challengers. Gregory Helms executed a
flying neckbreaker on London. Kid Kash nailed London with a
Dead Level. He covered London but Nunzio and Funaki broke up the
count. Noble held Funaki in the
dragon sleeper. Helms attempted a
shining wizard on Noble, but he avoided the move. Helms threw Noble out of the ring and then pinned Funaki after a shining wizard to win the Cruiserweight title. The second match was a
divas match between
Mickie James and
Ashley Massaro.
Trish Stratus was the
special guest referee for this match. Before the match started, James told Stratus backstage that she loved her. While the match started, Massaro worked over James's arm. While Massaro pounded James into the corner, Stratus pulled James. James would later up work out on Massaro's back and neck. Massaro made a comeback in the match, but finally, James
powerbombed her to win the match. In the third match,
The Boogeyman faced
John "Bradshaw" Layfield (with his
valet Jillian Hall). In the match, JBL tried to do everything to measure out Boogeyman. Finally, JBL had Boogeyman measured and went for the
Clothesline from Hell but he missed the move and was sent crashing shoulder first into the post. Boogeyman nailed JBL with a
pumphandle slam to win the match. After the match, he tried to throw worms in JBL's mouth but JBL threw his valet Jillian into the ring and Boogeyman threw worms in her mouth. , the first
Royal Rumble match entrant. The fourth match was the 2006 Royal Rumble match.
Triple H drew as the No. 1 entrant while
Rey Mysterio drew No. 2. Mysterio and Triple H fought off each other in the beginning of the match. Later on, the two teamed up to eliminate No. 3 entrant
Simon Dean. Mysterio eliminated No. 4 entrant
Psicosis on his own.
Ric Flair drew No. 5 but he made a mistake by charging Triple H near the ropes. Triple H simply sidestepped the charge and eliminated Flair from the match. No. 6 entrant was
Big Show and No. 7 entrant was
Jonathan Coachman. Coach was quickly eliminated with a swat of Big Show's hand.
Bobby Lashley drew No. 8 while Big Show's
World Tag Team Championship partner at the time,
Kane drew No. 9, while making made his tenth appearance in a Royal Rumble match, tying the record for most Royal Rumble appearances with
Rikishi. It also marked his eighth consecutive appearance in the Royal Rumble as Kane, breaking the previous record of seven consecutive appearances held by himself,
Owen Hart and
Rick Martel. lasted 62 minutes in the Royal Rumble match to win it at the #2 spot. Big Show and Kane teamed up to eliminate Lashley and then the two targeted each other trying to eliminate each other at the ropes. Triple H took the advantage and eliminated both men from behind. In addition,
Tatanka and
Rob Van Dam returned to WWE television in this Royal Rumble match with Tatanka drawing No. 15 while Van Dam drawing No. 20. Van Dam took down all superstars in the ring (except Mysterio). He went to eliminate
Road Warrior Animal,
Goldust, and later
Carlito.
Shawn Michaels entered No. 25 into the match and started attacking his enemies. He went on to eliminate
Trevor Murdoch,
Johnny Nitro, and
Shelton Benjamin. As Michaels eliminated Benjamin from the match,
Mr. McMahon's music played which distracted Michaels. McMahon made his way to the ring while
Shane McMahon (not an official entrant) eliminated Michaels from behind. Michaels returned to the ring and tried to attack Shane until Triple H beat him and Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to Triple H. As a result, Triple H, Mysterio, Carlito, Van Dam and
Randy Orton remained the final five participants. Carlito worked on Van Dam but Van Dam countered and threw him out of the ring with the final four participants remaining. Mysterio and Van Dam formed an alliance against two former
Evolution partners Triple H and Orton. Van Dam tried to perform a
five-star frog splash on Orton, but Triple H attacked Van Dam and then threw Mysterio into Van Dam which sent Van Dam crashing to the floor. Triple H, Mysterio and Orton were the final three participants. Triple H and Orton teamed to eliminate Mysterio but failed to do so, instead, Mysterio performed a
619 on both men, and then eliminated Triple H from the match. As retaliation, Triple H assaulted Mysterio and threw him into the steel steps, before rolling him back into the ring for Orton to eliminate. Orton tried to eliminate Mysterio, but Mysterio countered and was able to eliminate Orton to win the 2006 Royal Rumble match. Mysterio paid tribute to Guerrero by winning the match saying that he had won the match for Guerrero. challenged
Kurt Angle for the
World Heavyweight Championship. The
main event was between
Kurt Angle and
Mark Henry for the
World Heavyweight Championship. Angle defended the title in this match against Henry. The match marked the first time that two former Olympians battled for a world title in history. Angle began the match in trying to put Henry down but instead, Henry dumped him to the floor, where Angle was beaten by former manager
Daivari. Henry controlled Angle using his power but Angle managed to apply the
ankle lock. After Henry kicked out after an
Angle Slam, Angle locked in an ankle lock once more. Daivari distracted the
referee and when Henry broke the hold again, he sent Angle crashing into the referee. At that point, Kurt got a chair. Daivari tried to stop him but Angle hit Daivari with the chair. When Angle tried to use the chair, Henry blocked the attempt and
tossed Angle to the mat. As Henry advanced though, Angle
low blowed Henry, which was followed by two
chair shots. Angle went for the pin, but Henry kicked out. Angle untied one of the turnbuckle pads on the middle rope. Angle ended up in that corner, but as Henry charged, Angle sidestepped and tripped him into the exposed steel. Angle
rolled up Henry to retain the World Heavyweight Championship but as Angle celebrated, there was all darkness and
The Undertaker's music played. The Undertaker made his return to WWE television, in his first appearance since
Armageddon, entering on a horse-drawn chariot. He intimidated Angle and then the ropes went down and the ring collapsed. ==Aftermath==