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Hello and welcome to Part 2 of Grandprix’s WWE PPV review of 2004. A very impressive 3 months were behind them with at least a few match of the year candidates already on the list. The next period of PPVs are usually the weakest, most notably Judgment Day and Bad Blood in 2003 to name a couple.
In this part, we’ll be looking at Backlash, Judgment Day, Bad Blood and The Great American Bash. The champions after Wrestlemania look like this:
Raw World title: Chris Benoit
Raw Tag Titles: Booker T and RVD
Women’s title: Victoria
Smackdown World title: Eddie Guerrero
Smackdown Tag titles: Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty
Cruiserweight title: Chavo Guerrero
Intercontinental title: Randy Orton
US title: John Cena
Before Backlash, there were a few major changes to the rosters on Raw and Smackdown. I use the word ‘major’ loosely. A week after Wrestlemania came a draft lottery. Basically, Heyman (SD) picked 6 wrestlers from a drum containing Raw names (like bingo really) and Bischoff (Raw) picked 6 from a Smackdown drum, thus giving the impression of randomness.
Heyman drafted Rene Dupree (splitting La Resistance from a 3 man faction to a tag team), Jindrak (splitting a recently formed tag team), Triple H (who ended up staying on Raw), RVD (just after losing the Raw tag titles to Batista and Flair), Teddy Long and Spike Dudley.
Bischoff drafted Shelton Benjamin (splitting the Haas and Benjamin tag team), Nidia (in a vain attempt to add life to the women’s division), Rhyno, Tajiri, Edge (returning after neck and arm injuries) and Paul Heyman.
Heyman quits meaning there is an opening for a commissioner on Smackdown, which was filled by Kurt Angle. HHH was traded back to Raw for Booker T and the Dudley Boyz. A-Train was silently traded to Raw but we barely saw him there. Austin was also ‘released’, although it was believed to be a contract dispute. The only title change before Backlash was the aforementioned Raw tag title switch from RVD and Booker T to Flair and Batista.
Backlash was on the 18th April and it opens with Flair V Shelton Benjamin. Flair wanted a match with Benjamin after a pin and countout victories over Triple H in successive weeks. Yes, Triple H actually put a new guy over clean in the first match. It was a solid match and Benjamin was certainly getting some kind of push here as he beats Flair with a flying clothesline. At this point, Benjamin doesn’t have a decent finisher.
Next up, The Coach faces Tajiri. This match happened because Tajiri misted The Coach after his trade and The Coach used a few tactics for a bit of revenge. I’m not sure Al Snow as a ninja was such a great idea though. For a Coach match, it wasn’t too bad but I don’t see why The Coach should go over anyone, as The Coach pins Tajiri after some Garrison Cade interference.
The Trish & Christian/Jericho angle that has run for months continues as Jericho takes on Christian and Trish. I’m not sure whether to class it as a handicap match or not because I can’t say for sure which team is handicapped. Jericho exacts some revenge for Wrestlemania by pinning Christian after an enziguri. Not as good as the Wrestlemania match, but good nonetheless.
Lita won the right to face the Women’s champion after her return from neck surgery and she faced Victoria next. It was probably not a good idea because the match was sloppy and uneventful. Victoria wins with the small package to retain.
The Foley/Orton legend killer angle reached its conclusion in the next match as Orton puts the Intercontinental title on the line against Mick Foley. It was less like a wrestling match and more like smacking 7 bells out of each other with anything close to hand. The crowd certainly appreciated the work rate, as it was a typical Foley weapons match. Thumbtacks, barbed wire bats and boards and tables were on show as Orton picked up the win to retain after an RKO on a barbed wire bat finished Foley finally. Great match, Orton won a few fans after this typical Foley match. It’s, in my opinion, Orton’s best match to date.
La Resistance (now just Grenier and Conway) face Hurricane and Rosey in what can only be described as filler at best. Terrible match and near the end, Eugene (a ‘retard’ with gifted wrestling ability gimmick) pointlessly runs the ropes and during the confusion, the Hurricane hits the eye of the Hurricane on Conway for the win.
Edge (with a cast on his arm) makes his return after injury against Kane. It was a weak match with Edge picking up the victory after using the cast while the ref was down and then spearing Kane. I thought the whole idea behind taking the mask off of Kane was to get back to being the monster he was supposed to be. Instead, he acts like a wuss against Taker and loses cheaply to Edge in 2 months. I know Kane isn’t great but at least have some character consistency. Oh wait, this the WWE…
The main event is a rematch of the Wrestlemania main event between Benoit, Triple H and Shawn Michaels. The only differences are that it’s Backlash and Benoit is now the Champion. The crowd are right behind Benoit, being in Canada, and they still hate Shawn Michaels. Yet again, another stunning PPV main event encounter, not as good as the Wrestlemania triple threat, but still great. The crowd go absolutely nuts as Benoit locks in the Sharpshooter and makes Shawn Michaels tap to retain the title.
Well, Backlash was easily the 2nd best PPV of the year so far behind Wrestlemania at this point and if Benoit winning the title wasn’t enough for Benoit fans, he teams with Edge the next night and wins the tag titles off of Flair and Batista. Benoit’s push can only be described as meteoric at the moment! The only disappointing thing about it is the tag titles mean nothing because they constantly throw teams together. On the subject of throwing tag teams together, Smackdown get new tag team champions the week after Backlash, as thrown together tag team 1,674, Charlie Haas and Rico, beat Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty.
Speaking of titles losing their meaning, the Cruiserweight title loses all meaning when Jacqueline pins Chavo Guerrero a couple of Smackdowns before Judgment Day. You might as well have handed the title to someone in the crowd. They would do a better job at least…
Judgment Day – a card thrown together and I smell the end of the recent hot streak. It’s the 16th May, it’s a Smackdown only PPV and the first match is RVD and Rey Mysterio teaming up to take on the Dudley Boyz. Pretty standard stuff with some decent highflying stuff makes this a solid match. RVD picks up the win with the frog splash on D-Von.
Dawn Marie faces Torrie Wilson in the next match, set up by Angle. Angle blamed Torrie for the Big Show putting him in a wheelchair, so if Torrie loses, she has to retire. The Big Show lost a match against Eddie Guerrero the week before Backlash and was forced to quit, he went psycho on Torrie and threw Angle off a ledge, supposedly about 20 foot. Anyway, Torrie wins with a backslide and we all die a little inside as this match and this sentence drags on and on and on and on and on and on…
It’s the wrestling debut of Mordecai next as he faces Scotty 2 Hotty. Squash anyone? I’ve got orange, lemon and possibly some mango. Anyone ever tried mango? Typically awful squash match as Mordecai picks up the win with a copy of the Razor’s Edge finisher. Has no place on a PPV card. Save it for Smackdown and build for something bigger.
How many thrown together teams have we seen so far this year? Well, it seems to be as popular as the handicap match was in 2003. Two recently thrown together teams face off for the tag titles as Haas and Rico take on Hardcore Holly and Billy Gunn. It’s exactly what you would think from these guys, boring and a bit queer, thanks to Rico’s character traits. Surprisingly, there was no mention of Billy Gunn’s teaming with Chuck Palumbo during the match. Rico superkicks Hardcore Holly and Haas rolls him up to retain the titles.
Next, Jacqueline defends the Cruiserweight title (WHY? Someone explain why they bothered putting the title on her) against Chavo Guerrero Junior. If you thought this couldn’t sound any worse as a wrestling match, Chavo Junior has to have one hand tied behind his back. Chavo Classic unties the tied hand and Chavo Junior hits the Gory Bomb for the title. Stupid and ultimately pointless.
The US title is on the line as Cena defends against Rene Dupree. They tried really hard to put on a good match but it was average at best. Cena wins with the FU to retain. Texas Ranger, The Undertaker, is hunting down Booker T and they face off in the next match. Urgh, really slow and really dull. Booker T had been consulting the underworld in a bid to get an advantage. All that consulting meant nothing because it didn’t work. Tombstone ends it for an Undertaker victory. Everyone should know that dirt won’t stop the Texas Ranger!
The main event sees Eddie Guerrero come up against chartered accountant Bradshaw for the Smackdown World Title. Bradshaw saw Faarooq get fired so he gets repackaged as John Bradshaw Layfield, someone with a sack full of money and bullhorns on his limos. Apparently, that entitles him to a title shot so here it goes. I think this match is mostly remembered for the insane blood loss from Eddie Guerrero. He was bleeding ‘like a sieve’ according to Michael Cole. The end saw JBL bring the title into the ring; Eddie takes it off him and hits him with it for the DQ. Eddie tried his best to drag a match out of JBL and succeeded to an extent. Average.
Judgment Day ends the hot streak at 4 with a really lacklustre performance; a jigsaw like card with all the pieces from different puzzles. Only 3 matches reached the average mark and Eddie’s bleeding couldn’t save the show. It only went to show Smackdown’s consistent decline in its product and Eddie really hasn’t got anyone to work with at his level.
Bad Blood is the next PPV and it was a Raw only PPV on June 13th. Before then, Benoit’s recent monster push had died down a bit when La Resistance (probably the only tag team in the tag division on Raw) beat Benoit and Edge to win the Raw Tag Titles. Also, the Cruiserweight title dies a little more when Chavo Classic pins Chavo Guerrero in a triple threat match the Smackdown after Judgment Day.
So, Bad Blood kicks off with La Resistance defending their recently won Tag Titles against Benoit and Edge. Benoit is on double duty as he defends the World title later against Kane. It was a decent opener before Kane walked down to the ring and caused a DQ when Benoit had Grenier in the Crossface. La Resistance retained, obviously.
Next up, Jericho takes on Christian’s new minion, Tyson Tomko. All you need to know about him is that he is tall, big and useless. Well, not totally useless as Jericho makes him look half decent. I think that is Jericho’s strong point. He has the knack of getting a decent match out of the useless big guys the WWE produce. They kept it short (a good thing) and the finish saw Trish’s interference backfire and Jericho hits Tomko with an enziguiri followed by a rollup for the victory.
Orton, on the back of renewing the life on the Intercontinental title after his match with Foley at Backlash, takes on Shelton Benjamin. It certainly was an entertaining encounter between two ‘rookies’ and Orton came out the winner after reversing a flying crossbody into a pin. Orton does rely on chinlocks way too much though.
The Women’s title is on the line next as Victoria defends against Lita, Gail Kim and Trish in a fatal 4-way match. Lita does a DDT on Gail Kim, Trish comes from nowhere and rolls Lita up to win the title. It was a bit messy in places. When you look at the Women’s division, it’s very weak but it’s the strongest I’ve seen in the WWE in recent years. How something can be strong but weak is beyond my comprehension.
The Coach continues his recent run of PPV matches (surely they could find an actual wrestler to fill 10 minutes or so) by facing Eugene. When you have a match that features someone tempting their opponent with cookies and getting your run in buddy to try and steal your opponent’s teddy bear, you’ve got a complete waste of time. Eugene wins with the Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow because with matches like this, Eugene is going to need all the help he can get.
Benoit defends the Raw World Title in the next match against Kane. This is an interesting choice of competitor because Kane’s last PPV match was the defeat to Edge. Just something I was thinking about there. Anyway, this was Kane’s best match for a long time as Benoit gets a good match out of him. This match had a good story to it and had good psychology too. Benoit retains the title after catching Kane in the Crossface after Kane attempted a flying clothesline, Kane fights out but Benoit uses that to pin him. Very good.
The main event features Triple H trying to end his feud once and for all against Shawn Michaels by using the Hell in a Cell match. An interesting side note to this: This is the first time, since Triple H was handed the World title after Summerslam in 2002, that Triple H has not been either the champ or the challenger to the World title at a PPV. He still manages to steal the main event slot though. They tried hard and the match was okay but it really dragged on and it felt like a couple of hours had passed, even though it was only 45-50 minutes. It was still a solid effort but not the greatest example of a Hell in a Cell match. Better than Triple H V Nash anyway. Triple H hits HBK with 3 Pedigrees, each one followed by a gap big enough to make a cup of tea and perhaps a toilet break, for the pinfall victory.
So, where does this PPV stand? The words ‘decent’ and ‘solid’ appeared quite a bit so I would say it was average. Good effort but just missing that one killer match that would really make it worth watching. There is still enough here to watch it, but it’s not outstanding. A definite improvement on Smackdown’s Judgment Day though.
The next PPV was the Smackdown offering of The Great American Bash on June 27th. A couple of weeks before this, the Dudley Boyz win the Smackdown Tag Titles off of Charlie Haas and Rico. The same night, Rey Mysterio wins the Cruiserweight title off of Chavo Classic, redeeming the title a bit, and it was the last time we were to see Chavo Classic.
The Great American Bash – the first time it’s been used as a WWE PPV and Smackdown have a bit of improving to do after Judgment Day. First up, Cena defends the US title against RVD, Booker T and Rene Dupree in an elimination match. RVD was first to go when Cena rolled him up. The match probably should have ended there but it continued as Booker pins Dupree after a Cena FU. The FU finishes off Booker T so Cena defends the title. Decent match that would have been better if it wasn’t elimination and dragging the match out.
Charlie Haas had been getting on the wrong side of Kurt Angle so his punishment is a match against Angle’s right hand man, Luther Reigns. Luther Reigns is in the same mould as Tyson Tomko, useless. Come to think of it, the fans were probably being punished here too. Reigns wins, because there is no midcard to speak of, with Test’s ‘Roll the Dice’ finisher. Horrible match.
The Cruiserweight title is on the line next as Rey Mysterio takes on Chavo Guerrero. It was a typically decent Cruiserweight match, as Rey Mysterio reverses Chavo’s Gory Bomb for the pinfall to retain. Next up, new boy Kenzo Suzuki takes on Billy Gunn. Urgh, avoid with all your might because this was bad. Suzuki wins with Christian’s backbreaker in what felt like an eternity.
The next match isn’t really worth mentioning as Sable beat Torrie in a 5-minute borefest. Mordecai was next as he faced Hardcore Holly. Again, it was a really poor match as Mordecai beats Hardcore Holly with the Razor’s Edge.
Well, we’re really shifting through the rubbish at a fair rate of knots but we’ve now reached Eddie Guerrero defending his Smackdown World title against JBL once again. This time, it’s a bullrope match. You’ve got to touch the four turnbuckles before your opponent, apparently. It was actually a better match than their Judgment Day one, although Michael Cole’s analogies aren’t getting better. Michael Cole says that tables are ‘concrete-like’. You keep thinking that, Cole. JBL got shoved into the final corner to win the title, after a replay ordered by Kurt Angle. The replay showed that JBL won fair and square, which doesn’t make it easier to swallow.
The main event is Undertaker taking on the Dudleyz. The addition to this is that Heyman (who has been trying to get Taker) had kidnapped Paul Bearer and threatens to bury him in concrete. Dull, dull, dull, and dull as Taker wins the match, destroying the Smackdown tag champions I might add, by tombstoning both and pinning D-Von. Taker then encases Paul Bearer in concrete anyway. I think it’s supposed to symbolise Taker burying his one weakness but that really is complete balls.
You might want to check out the Cruiserweight match and ‘history’ that is JBL’s victory but I’d avoid the rest like the plague. Smackdown’s weaknesses were just getting more and more exposed and JBL winning the World title was a bizarre decision, as the extent of his drawing power is a few flies after a drinking session, if he’s lucky. JBL was also supposed to be punished for a Nazi salute in Germany, which is illegal, apparently. So, there you go kids, do an illegal act and win the World title! – Standards set by the WWE.
A steady decline in the product since Wrestlemania and Backlash was getting apparent and the Great American Bash was a really weak point, in terms of matches and buyrates. Can the WWE recover it’s decent performances with Summerslam a couple of months away?
Be sure to check out Part 3 of the review of the year 2004, as I rip into more shoddy work and praise the little glimpses of decent material!
In this part, we’ll be looking at Backlash, Judgment Day, Bad Blood and The Great American Bash. The champions after Wrestlemania look like this:
Raw World title: Chris Benoit
Raw Tag Titles: Booker T and RVD
Women’s title: Victoria
Smackdown World title: Eddie Guerrero
Smackdown Tag titles: Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty
Cruiserweight title: Chavo Guerrero
Intercontinental title: Randy Orton
US title: John Cena
Before Backlash, there were a few major changes to the rosters on Raw and Smackdown. I use the word ‘major’ loosely. A week after Wrestlemania came a draft lottery. Basically, Heyman (SD) picked 6 wrestlers from a drum containing Raw names (like bingo really) and Bischoff (Raw) picked 6 from a Smackdown drum, thus giving the impression of randomness.
Heyman drafted Rene Dupree (splitting La Resistance from a 3 man faction to a tag team), Jindrak (splitting a recently formed tag team), Triple H (who ended up staying on Raw), RVD (just after losing the Raw tag titles to Batista and Flair), Teddy Long and Spike Dudley.
Bischoff drafted Shelton Benjamin (splitting the Haas and Benjamin tag team), Nidia (in a vain attempt to add life to the women’s division), Rhyno, Tajiri, Edge (returning after neck and arm injuries) and Paul Heyman.
Heyman quits meaning there is an opening for a commissioner on Smackdown, which was filled by Kurt Angle. HHH was traded back to Raw for Booker T and the Dudley Boyz. A-Train was silently traded to Raw but we barely saw him there. Austin was also ‘released’, although it was believed to be a contract dispute. The only title change before Backlash was the aforementioned Raw tag title switch from RVD and Booker T to Flair and Batista.
Backlash was on the 18th April and it opens with Flair V Shelton Benjamin. Flair wanted a match with Benjamin after a pin and countout victories over Triple H in successive weeks. Yes, Triple H actually put a new guy over clean in the first match. It was a solid match and Benjamin was certainly getting some kind of push here as he beats Flair with a flying clothesline. At this point, Benjamin doesn’t have a decent finisher.
Next up, The Coach faces Tajiri. This match happened because Tajiri misted The Coach after his trade and The Coach used a few tactics for a bit of revenge. I’m not sure Al Snow as a ninja was such a great idea though. For a Coach match, it wasn’t too bad but I don’t see why The Coach should go over anyone, as The Coach pins Tajiri after some Garrison Cade interference.
The Trish & Christian/Jericho angle that has run for months continues as Jericho takes on Christian and Trish. I’m not sure whether to class it as a handicap match or not because I can’t say for sure which team is handicapped. Jericho exacts some revenge for Wrestlemania by pinning Christian after an enziguri. Not as good as the Wrestlemania match, but good nonetheless.
Lita won the right to face the Women’s champion after her return from neck surgery and she faced Victoria next. It was probably not a good idea because the match was sloppy and uneventful. Victoria wins with the small package to retain.
The Foley/Orton legend killer angle reached its conclusion in the next match as Orton puts the Intercontinental title on the line against Mick Foley. It was less like a wrestling match and more like smacking 7 bells out of each other with anything close to hand. The crowd certainly appreciated the work rate, as it was a typical Foley weapons match. Thumbtacks, barbed wire bats and boards and tables were on show as Orton picked up the win to retain after an RKO on a barbed wire bat finished Foley finally. Great match, Orton won a few fans after this typical Foley match. It’s, in my opinion, Orton’s best match to date.
La Resistance (now just Grenier and Conway) face Hurricane and Rosey in what can only be described as filler at best. Terrible match and near the end, Eugene (a ‘retard’ with gifted wrestling ability gimmick) pointlessly runs the ropes and during the confusion, the Hurricane hits the eye of the Hurricane on Conway for the win.
Edge (with a cast on his arm) makes his return after injury against Kane. It was a weak match with Edge picking up the victory after using the cast while the ref was down and then spearing Kane. I thought the whole idea behind taking the mask off of Kane was to get back to being the monster he was supposed to be. Instead, he acts like a wuss against Taker and loses cheaply to Edge in 2 months. I know Kane isn’t great but at least have some character consistency. Oh wait, this the WWE…
The main event is a rematch of the Wrestlemania main event between Benoit, Triple H and Shawn Michaels. The only differences are that it’s Backlash and Benoit is now the Champion. The crowd are right behind Benoit, being in Canada, and they still hate Shawn Michaels. Yet again, another stunning PPV main event encounter, not as good as the Wrestlemania triple threat, but still great. The crowd go absolutely nuts as Benoit locks in the Sharpshooter and makes Shawn Michaels tap to retain the title.
Well, Backlash was easily the 2nd best PPV of the year so far behind Wrestlemania at this point and if Benoit winning the title wasn’t enough for Benoit fans, he teams with Edge the next night and wins the tag titles off of Flair and Batista. Benoit’s push can only be described as meteoric at the moment! The only disappointing thing about it is the tag titles mean nothing because they constantly throw teams together. On the subject of throwing tag teams together, Smackdown get new tag team champions the week after Backlash, as thrown together tag team 1,674, Charlie Haas and Rico, beat Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty.
Speaking of titles losing their meaning, the Cruiserweight title loses all meaning when Jacqueline pins Chavo Guerrero a couple of Smackdowns before Judgment Day. You might as well have handed the title to someone in the crowd. They would do a better job at least…
Judgment Day – a card thrown together and I smell the end of the recent hot streak. It’s the 16th May, it’s a Smackdown only PPV and the first match is RVD and Rey Mysterio teaming up to take on the Dudley Boyz. Pretty standard stuff with some decent highflying stuff makes this a solid match. RVD picks up the win with the frog splash on D-Von.
Dawn Marie faces Torrie Wilson in the next match, set up by Angle. Angle blamed Torrie for the Big Show putting him in a wheelchair, so if Torrie loses, she has to retire. The Big Show lost a match against Eddie Guerrero the week before Backlash and was forced to quit, he went psycho on Torrie and threw Angle off a ledge, supposedly about 20 foot. Anyway, Torrie wins with a backslide and we all die a little inside as this match and this sentence drags on and on and on and on and on and on…
It’s the wrestling debut of Mordecai next as he faces Scotty 2 Hotty. Squash anyone? I’ve got orange, lemon and possibly some mango. Anyone ever tried mango? Typically awful squash match as Mordecai picks up the win with a copy of the Razor’s Edge finisher. Has no place on a PPV card. Save it for Smackdown and build for something bigger.
How many thrown together teams have we seen so far this year? Well, it seems to be as popular as the handicap match was in 2003. Two recently thrown together teams face off for the tag titles as Haas and Rico take on Hardcore Holly and Billy Gunn. It’s exactly what you would think from these guys, boring and a bit queer, thanks to Rico’s character traits. Surprisingly, there was no mention of Billy Gunn’s teaming with Chuck Palumbo during the match. Rico superkicks Hardcore Holly and Haas rolls him up to retain the titles.
Next, Jacqueline defends the Cruiserweight title (WHY? Someone explain why they bothered putting the title on her) against Chavo Guerrero Junior. If you thought this couldn’t sound any worse as a wrestling match, Chavo Junior has to have one hand tied behind his back. Chavo Classic unties the tied hand and Chavo Junior hits the Gory Bomb for the title. Stupid and ultimately pointless.
The US title is on the line as Cena defends against Rene Dupree. They tried really hard to put on a good match but it was average at best. Cena wins with the FU to retain. Texas Ranger, The Undertaker, is hunting down Booker T and they face off in the next match. Urgh, really slow and really dull. Booker T had been consulting the underworld in a bid to get an advantage. All that consulting meant nothing because it didn’t work. Tombstone ends it for an Undertaker victory. Everyone should know that dirt won’t stop the Texas Ranger!
The main event sees Eddie Guerrero come up against chartered accountant Bradshaw for the Smackdown World Title. Bradshaw saw Faarooq get fired so he gets repackaged as John Bradshaw Layfield, someone with a sack full of money and bullhorns on his limos. Apparently, that entitles him to a title shot so here it goes. I think this match is mostly remembered for the insane blood loss from Eddie Guerrero. He was bleeding ‘like a sieve’ according to Michael Cole. The end saw JBL bring the title into the ring; Eddie takes it off him and hits him with it for the DQ. Eddie tried his best to drag a match out of JBL and succeeded to an extent. Average.
Judgment Day ends the hot streak at 4 with a really lacklustre performance; a jigsaw like card with all the pieces from different puzzles. Only 3 matches reached the average mark and Eddie’s bleeding couldn’t save the show. It only went to show Smackdown’s consistent decline in its product and Eddie really hasn’t got anyone to work with at his level.
Bad Blood is the next PPV and it was a Raw only PPV on June 13th. Before then, Benoit’s recent monster push had died down a bit when La Resistance (probably the only tag team in the tag division on Raw) beat Benoit and Edge to win the Raw Tag Titles. Also, the Cruiserweight title dies a little more when Chavo Classic pins Chavo Guerrero in a triple threat match the Smackdown after Judgment Day.
So, Bad Blood kicks off with La Resistance defending their recently won Tag Titles against Benoit and Edge. Benoit is on double duty as he defends the World title later against Kane. It was a decent opener before Kane walked down to the ring and caused a DQ when Benoit had Grenier in the Crossface. La Resistance retained, obviously.
Next up, Jericho takes on Christian’s new minion, Tyson Tomko. All you need to know about him is that he is tall, big and useless. Well, not totally useless as Jericho makes him look half decent. I think that is Jericho’s strong point. He has the knack of getting a decent match out of the useless big guys the WWE produce. They kept it short (a good thing) and the finish saw Trish’s interference backfire and Jericho hits Tomko with an enziguiri followed by a rollup for the victory.
Orton, on the back of renewing the life on the Intercontinental title after his match with Foley at Backlash, takes on Shelton Benjamin. It certainly was an entertaining encounter between two ‘rookies’ and Orton came out the winner after reversing a flying crossbody into a pin. Orton does rely on chinlocks way too much though.
The Women’s title is on the line next as Victoria defends against Lita, Gail Kim and Trish in a fatal 4-way match. Lita does a DDT on Gail Kim, Trish comes from nowhere and rolls Lita up to win the title. It was a bit messy in places. When you look at the Women’s division, it’s very weak but it’s the strongest I’ve seen in the WWE in recent years. How something can be strong but weak is beyond my comprehension.
The Coach continues his recent run of PPV matches (surely they could find an actual wrestler to fill 10 minutes or so) by facing Eugene. When you have a match that features someone tempting their opponent with cookies and getting your run in buddy to try and steal your opponent’s teddy bear, you’ve got a complete waste of time. Eugene wins with the Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow because with matches like this, Eugene is going to need all the help he can get.
Benoit defends the Raw World Title in the next match against Kane. This is an interesting choice of competitor because Kane’s last PPV match was the defeat to Edge. Just something I was thinking about there. Anyway, this was Kane’s best match for a long time as Benoit gets a good match out of him. This match had a good story to it and had good psychology too. Benoit retains the title after catching Kane in the Crossface after Kane attempted a flying clothesline, Kane fights out but Benoit uses that to pin him. Very good.
The main event features Triple H trying to end his feud once and for all against Shawn Michaels by using the Hell in a Cell match. An interesting side note to this: This is the first time, since Triple H was handed the World title after Summerslam in 2002, that Triple H has not been either the champ or the challenger to the World title at a PPV. He still manages to steal the main event slot though. They tried hard and the match was okay but it really dragged on and it felt like a couple of hours had passed, even though it was only 45-50 minutes. It was still a solid effort but not the greatest example of a Hell in a Cell match. Better than Triple H V Nash anyway. Triple H hits HBK with 3 Pedigrees, each one followed by a gap big enough to make a cup of tea and perhaps a toilet break, for the pinfall victory.
So, where does this PPV stand? The words ‘decent’ and ‘solid’ appeared quite a bit so I would say it was average. Good effort but just missing that one killer match that would really make it worth watching. There is still enough here to watch it, but it’s not outstanding. A definite improvement on Smackdown’s Judgment Day though.
The next PPV was the Smackdown offering of The Great American Bash on June 27th. A couple of weeks before this, the Dudley Boyz win the Smackdown Tag Titles off of Charlie Haas and Rico. The same night, Rey Mysterio wins the Cruiserweight title off of Chavo Classic, redeeming the title a bit, and it was the last time we were to see Chavo Classic.
The Great American Bash – the first time it’s been used as a WWE PPV and Smackdown have a bit of improving to do after Judgment Day. First up, Cena defends the US title against RVD, Booker T and Rene Dupree in an elimination match. RVD was first to go when Cena rolled him up. The match probably should have ended there but it continued as Booker pins Dupree after a Cena FU. The FU finishes off Booker T so Cena defends the title. Decent match that would have been better if it wasn’t elimination and dragging the match out.
Charlie Haas had been getting on the wrong side of Kurt Angle so his punishment is a match against Angle’s right hand man, Luther Reigns. Luther Reigns is in the same mould as Tyson Tomko, useless. Come to think of it, the fans were probably being punished here too. Reigns wins, because there is no midcard to speak of, with Test’s ‘Roll the Dice’ finisher. Horrible match.
The Cruiserweight title is on the line next as Rey Mysterio takes on Chavo Guerrero. It was a typically decent Cruiserweight match, as Rey Mysterio reverses Chavo’s Gory Bomb for the pinfall to retain. Next up, new boy Kenzo Suzuki takes on Billy Gunn. Urgh, avoid with all your might because this was bad. Suzuki wins with Christian’s backbreaker in what felt like an eternity.
The next match isn’t really worth mentioning as Sable beat Torrie in a 5-minute borefest. Mordecai was next as he faced Hardcore Holly. Again, it was a really poor match as Mordecai beats Hardcore Holly with the Razor’s Edge.
Well, we’re really shifting through the rubbish at a fair rate of knots but we’ve now reached Eddie Guerrero defending his Smackdown World title against JBL once again. This time, it’s a bullrope match. You’ve got to touch the four turnbuckles before your opponent, apparently. It was actually a better match than their Judgment Day one, although Michael Cole’s analogies aren’t getting better. Michael Cole says that tables are ‘concrete-like’. You keep thinking that, Cole. JBL got shoved into the final corner to win the title, after a replay ordered by Kurt Angle. The replay showed that JBL won fair and square, which doesn’t make it easier to swallow.
The main event is Undertaker taking on the Dudleyz. The addition to this is that Heyman (who has been trying to get Taker) had kidnapped Paul Bearer and threatens to bury him in concrete. Dull, dull, dull, and dull as Taker wins the match, destroying the Smackdown tag champions I might add, by tombstoning both and pinning D-Von. Taker then encases Paul Bearer in concrete anyway. I think it’s supposed to symbolise Taker burying his one weakness but that really is complete balls.
You might want to check out the Cruiserweight match and ‘history’ that is JBL’s victory but I’d avoid the rest like the plague. Smackdown’s weaknesses were just getting more and more exposed and JBL winning the World title was a bizarre decision, as the extent of his drawing power is a few flies after a drinking session, if he’s lucky. JBL was also supposed to be punished for a Nazi salute in Germany, which is illegal, apparently. So, there you go kids, do an illegal act and win the World title! – Standards set by the WWE.
A steady decline in the product since Wrestlemania and Backlash was getting apparent and the Great American Bash was a really weak point, in terms of matches and buyrates. Can the WWE recover it’s decent performances with Summerslam a couple of months away?
Be sure to check out Part 3 of the review of the year 2004, as I rip into more shoddy work and praise the little glimpses of decent material!
Yep. Great 2nd part to the review. I agreed with it all. It was a weak point of the year for the WWE. Definately. :)
I said I wouldn't read part two, but it's pre-9 and I'm already bored. More excellent work from Mr.GP.
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Hello and welcome to Part 2 of Grandprix’s WWE PPV review of 2004. A very impressive 3 months were behind them with at least a few match of the year candidates already on the list. The next period of PPVs are usually the weakest, most notably Judgment Day and Bad Blood in 2003 to name a couple.
In this part, we’ll be looking at Backlash, Judgment Day, Bad Blood and The Great American Bash. The champions after Wrestlemania look like this:
Raw World title: Chris Benoit
Raw Tag Titles: Booker T and RVD
Women’s title: Victoria
Smackdown World title: Eddie Guerrero
Smackdown Tag titles: Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty
Cruiserweight title: Chavo Guerrero
Intercontinental title: Randy Orton
US title: John Cena
Before Backlash, there were a few major changes to the rosters on Raw and Smackdown. I use the word ‘major’ loosely. A week after Wrestlemania came a draft lottery. Basically, Heyman (SD) picked 6 wrestlers from a drum containing Raw names (like bingo really) and Bischoff (Raw) picked 6 from a Smackdown drum, thus giving the impression of randomness.
Heyman drafted Rene Dupree (splitting La Resistance from a 3 man faction to a tag team), Jindrak (splitting a recently formed tag team), Triple H (who ended up staying on Raw), RVD (just after losing the Raw tag titles to Batista and Flair), Teddy Long and Spike Dudley.
Bischoff drafted Shelton Benjamin (splitting the Haas and Benjamin tag team), Nidia (in a vain attempt to add life to the women’s division), Rhyno, Tajiri, Edge (returning after neck and arm injuries) and Paul Heyman.
Heyman quits meaning there is an opening for a commissioner on Smackdown, which was filled by Kurt Angle. HHH was traded back to Raw for Booker T and the Dudley Boyz. A-Train was silently traded to Raw but we barely saw him there. Austin was also ‘released’, although it was believed to be a contract dispute. The only title change before Backlash was the aforementioned Raw tag title switch from RVD and Booker T to Flair and Batista.
Backlash was on the 18th April and it opens with Flair V Shelton Benjamin. Flair wanted a match with Benjamin after a pin and countout victories over Triple H in successive weeks. Yes, Triple H actually put a new guy over clean in the first match. It was a solid match and Benjamin was certainly getting some kind of push here as he beats Flair with a flying clothesline. At this point, Benjamin doesn’t have a decent finisher.
Next up, The Coach faces Tajiri. This match happened because Tajiri misted The Coach after his trade and The Coach used a few tactics for a bit of revenge. I’m not sure Al Snow as a ninja was such a great idea though. For a Coach match, it wasn’t too bad but I don’t see why The Coach should go over anyone, as The Coach pins Tajiri after some Garrison Cade interference.
The Trish & Christian/Jericho angle that has run for months continues as Jericho takes on Christian and Trish. I’m not sure whether to class it as a handicap match or not because I can’t say for sure which team is handicapped. Jericho exacts some revenge for Wrestlemania by pinning Christian after an enziguri. Not as good as the Wrestlemania match, but good nonetheless.
Lita won the right to face the Women’s champion after her return from neck surgery and she faced Victoria next. It was probably not a good idea because the match was sloppy and uneventful. Victoria wins with the small package to retain.
The Foley/Orton legend killer angle reached its conclusion in the next match as Orton puts the Intercontinental title on the line against Mick Foley. It was less like a wrestling match and more like smacking 7 bells out of each other with anything close to hand. The crowd certainly appreciated the work rate, as it was a typical Foley weapons match. Thumbtacks, barbed wire bats and boards and tables were on show as Orton picked up the win to retain after an RKO on a barbed wire bat finished Foley finally. Great match, Orton won a few fans after this typical Foley match. It’s, in my opinion, Orton’s best match to date.
La Resistance (now just Grenier and Conway) face Hurricane and Rosey in what can only be described as filler at best. Terrible match and near the end, Eugene (a ‘retard’ with gifted wrestling ability gimmick) pointlessly runs the ropes and during the confusion, the Hurricane hits the eye of the Hurricane on Conway for the win.
Edge (with a cast on his arm) makes his return after injury against Kane. It was a weak match with Edge picking up the victory after using the cast while the ref was down and then spearing Kane. I thought the whole idea behind taking the mask off of Kane was to get back to being the monster he was supposed to be. Instead, he acts like a wuss against Taker and loses cheaply to Edge in 2 months. I know Kane isn’t great but at least have some character consistency. Oh wait, this the WWE…
The main event is a rematch of the Wrestlemania main event between Benoit, Triple H and Shawn Michaels. The only differences are that it’s Backlash and Benoit is now the Champion. The crowd are right behind Benoit, being in Canada, and they still hate Shawn Michaels. Yet again, another stunning PPV main event encounter, not as good as the Wrestlemania triple threat, but still great. The crowd go absolutely nuts as Benoit locks in the Sharpshooter and makes Shawn Michaels tap to retain the title.
Well, Backlash was easily the 2nd best PPV of the year so far behind Wrestlemania at this point and if Benoit winning the title wasn’t enough for Benoit fans, he teams with Edge the next night and wins the tag titles off of Flair and Batista. Benoit’s push can only be described as meteoric at the moment! The only disappointing thing about it is the tag titles mean nothing because they constantly throw teams together. On the subject of throwing tag teams together, Smackdown get new tag team champions the week after Backlash, as thrown together tag team 1,674, Charlie Haas and Rico, beat Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty.
Speaking of titles losing their meaning, the Cruiserweight title loses all meaning when Jacqueline pins Chavo Guerrero a couple of Smackdowns before Judgment Day. You might as well have handed the title to someone in the crowd. They would do a better job at least…
Judgment Day – a card thrown together and I smell the end of the recent hot streak. It’s the 16th May, it’s a Smackdown only PPV and the first match is RVD and Rey Mysterio teaming up to take on the Dudley Boyz. Pretty standard stuff with some decent highflying stuff makes this a solid match. RVD picks up the win with the frog splash on D-Von.
Dawn Marie faces Torrie Wilson in the next match, set up by Angle. Angle blamed Torrie for the Big Show putting him in a wheelchair, so if Torrie loses, she has to retire. The Big Show lost a match against Eddie Guerrero the week before Backlash and was forced to quit, he went psycho on Torrie and threw Angle off a ledge, supposedly about 20 foot. Anyway, Torrie wins with a backslide and we all die a little inside as this match and this sentence drags on and on and on and on and on and on…
It’s the wrestling debut of Mordecai next as he faces Scotty 2 Hotty. Squash anyone? I’ve got orange, lemon and possibly some mango. Anyone ever tried mango? Typically awful squash match as Mordecai picks up the win with a copy of the Razor’s Edge finisher. Has no place on a PPV card. Save it for Smackdown and build for something bigger.
How many thrown together teams have we seen so far this year? Well, it seems to be as popular as the handicap match was in 2003. Two recently thrown together teams face off for the tag titles as Haas and Rico take on Hardcore Holly and Billy Gunn. It’s exactly what you would think from these guys, boring and a bit queer, thanks to Rico’s character traits. Surprisingly, there was no mention of Billy Gunn’s teaming with Chuck Palumbo during the match. Rico superkicks Hardcore Holly and Haas rolls him up to retain the titles.
Next, Jacqueline defends the Cruiserweight title (WHY? Someone explain why they bothered putting the title on her) against Chavo Guerrero Junior. If you thought this couldn’t sound any worse as a wrestling match, Chavo Junior has to have one hand tied behind his back. Chavo Classic unties the tied hand and Chavo Junior hits the Gory Bomb for the title. Stupid and ultimately pointless.
The US title is on the line as Cena defends against Rene Dupree. They tried really hard to put on a good match but it was average at best. Cena wins with the FU to retain. Texas Ranger, The Undertaker, is hunting down Booker T and they face off in the next match. Urgh, really slow and really dull. Booker T had been consulting the underworld in a bid to get an advantage. All that consulting meant nothing because it didn’t work. Tombstone ends it for an Undertaker victory. Everyone should know that dirt won’t stop the Texas Ranger!
The main event sees Eddie Guerrero come up against chartered accountant Bradshaw for the Smackdown World Title. Bradshaw saw Faarooq get fired so he gets repackaged as John Bradshaw Layfield, someone with a sack full of money and bullhorns on his limos. Apparently, that entitles him to a title shot so here it goes. I think this match is mostly remembered for the insane blood loss from Eddie Guerrero. He was bleeding ‘like a sieve’ according to Michael Cole. The end saw JBL bring the title into the ring; Eddie takes it off him and hits him with it for the DQ. Eddie tried his best to drag a match out of JBL and succeeded to an extent. Average.
Judgment Day ends the hot streak at 4 with a really lacklustre performance; a jigsaw like card with all the pieces from different puzzles. Only 3 matches reached the average mark and Eddie’s bleeding couldn’t save the show. It only went to show Smackdown’s consistent decline in its product and Eddie really hasn’t got anyone to work with at his level.
Bad Blood is the next PPV and it was a Raw only PPV on June 13th. Before then, Benoit’s recent monster push had died down a bit when La Resistance (probably the only tag team in the tag division on Raw) beat Benoit and Edge to win the Raw Tag Titles. Also, the Cruiserweight title dies a little more when Chavo Classic pins Chavo Guerrero in a triple threat match the Smackdown after Judgment Day.
So, Bad Blood kicks off with La Resistance defending their recently won Tag Titles against Benoit and Edge. Benoit is on double duty as he defends the World title later against Kane. It was a decent opener before Kane walked down to the ring and caused a DQ when Benoit had Grenier in the Crossface. La Resistance retained, obviously.
Next up, Jericho takes on Christian’s new minion, Tyson Tomko. All you need to know about him is that he is tall, big and useless. Well, not totally useless as Jericho makes him look half decent. I think that is Jericho’s strong point. He has the knack of getting a decent match out of the useless big guys the WWE produce. They kept it short (a good thing) and the finish saw Trish’s interference backfire and Jericho hits Tomko with an enziguiri followed by a rollup for the victory.
Orton, on the back of renewing the life on the Intercontinental title after his match with Foley at Backlash, takes on Shelton Benjamin. It certainly was an entertaining encounter between two ‘rookies’ and Orton came out the winner after reversing a flying crossbody into a pin. Orton does rely on chinlocks way too much though.
The Women’s title is on the line next as Victoria defends against Lita, Gail Kim and Trish in a fatal 4-way match. Lita does a DDT on Gail Kim, Trish comes from nowhere and rolls Lita up to win the title. It was a bit messy in places. When you look at the Women’s division, it’s very weak but it’s the strongest I’ve seen in the WWE in recent years. How something can be strong but weak is beyond my comprehension.
The Coach continues his recent run of PPV matches (surely they could find an actual wrestler to fill 10 minutes or so) by facing Eugene. When you have a match that features someone tempting their opponent with cookies and getting your run in buddy to try and steal your opponent’s teddy bear, you’ve got a complete waste of time. Eugene wins with the Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow because with matches like this, Eugene is going to need all the help he can get.
Benoit defends the Raw World Title in the next match against Kane. This is an interesting choice of competitor because Kane’s last PPV match was the defeat to Edge. Just something I was thinking about there. Anyway, this was Kane’s best match for a long time as Benoit gets a good match out of him. This match had a good story to it and had good psychology too. Benoit retains the title after catching Kane in the Crossface after Kane attempted a flying clothesline, Kane fights out but Benoit uses that to pin him. Very good.
The main event features Triple H trying to end his feud once and for all against Shawn Michaels by using the Hell in a Cell match. An interesting side note to this: This is the first time, since Triple H was handed the World title after Summerslam in 2002, that Triple H has not been either the champ or the challenger to the World title at a PPV. He still manages to steal the main event slot though. They tried hard and the match was okay but it really dragged on and it felt like a couple of hours had passed, even though it was only 45-50 minutes. It was still a solid effort but not the greatest example of a Hell in a Cell match. Better than Triple H V Nash anyway. Triple H hits HBK with 3 Pedigrees, each one followed by a gap big enough to make a cup of tea and perhaps a toilet break, for the pinfall victory.
So, where does this PPV stand? The words ‘decent’ and ‘solid’ appeared quite a bit so I would say it was average. Good effort but just missing that one killer match that would really make it worth watching. There is still enough here to watch it, but it’s not outstanding. A definite improvement on Smackdown’s Judgment Day though.
The next PPV was the Smackdown offering of The Great American Bash on June 27th. A couple of weeks before this, the Dudley Boyz win the Smackdown Tag Titles off of Charlie Haas and Rico. The same night, Rey Mysterio wins the Cruiserweight title off of Chavo Classic, redeeming the title a bit, and it was the last time we were to see Chavo Classic.
The Great American Bash – the first time it’s been used as a WWE PPV and Smackdown have a bit of improving to do after Judgment Day. First up, Cena defends the US title against RVD, Booker T and Rene Dupree in an elimination match. RVD was first to go when Cena rolled him up. The match probably should have ended there but it continued as Booker pins Dupree after a Cena FU. The FU finishes off Booker T so Cena defends the title. Decent match that would have been better if it wasn’t elimination and dragging the match out.
Charlie Haas had been getting on the wrong side of Kurt Angle so his punishment is a match against Angle’s right hand man, Luther Reigns. Luther Reigns is in the same mould as Tyson Tomko, useless. Come to think of it, the fans were probably being punished here too. Reigns wins, because there is no midcard to speak of, with Test’s ‘Roll the Dice’ finisher. Horrible match.
The Cruiserweight title is on the line next as Rey Mysterio takes on Chavo Guerrero. It was a typically decent Cruiserweight match, as Rey Mysterio reverses Chavo’s Gory Bomb for the pinfall to retain. Next up, new boy Kenzo Suzuki takes on Billy Gunn. Urgh, avoid with all your might because this was bad. Suzuki wins with Christian’s backbreaker in what felt like an eternity.
The next match isn’t really worth mentioning as Sable beat Torrie in a 5-minute borefest. Mordecai was next as he faced Hardcore Holly. Again, it was a really poor match as Mordecai beats Hardcore Holly with the Razor’s Edge.
Well, we’re really shifting through the rubbish at a fair rate of knots but we’ve now reached Eddie Guerrero defending his Smackdown World title against JBL once again. This time, it’s a bullrope match. You’ve got to touch the four turnbuckles before your opponent, apparently. It was actually a better match than their Judgment Day one, although Michael Cole’s analogies aren’t getting better. Michael Cole says that tables are ‘concrete-like’. You keep thinking that, Cole. JBL got shoved into the final corner to win the title, after a replay ordered by Kurt Angle. The replay showed that JBL won fair and square, which doesn’t make it easier to swallow.
The main event is Undertaker taking on the Dudleyz. The addition to this is that Heyman (who has been trying to get Taker) had kidnapped Paul Bearer and threatens to bury him in concrete. Dull, dull, dull, and dull as Taker wins the match, destroying the Smackdown tag champions I might add, by tombstoning both and pinning D-Von. Taker then encases Paul Bearer in concrete anyway. I think it’s supposed to symbolise Taker burying his one weakness but that really is complete balls.
You might want to check out the Cruiserweight match and ‘history’ that is JBL’s victory but I’d avoid the rest like the plague. Smackdown’s weaknesses were just getting more and more exposed and JBL winning the World title was a bizarre decision, as the extent of his drawing power is a few flies after a drinking session, if he’s lucky. JBL was also supposed to be punished for a Nazi salute in Germany, which is illegal, apparently. So, there you go kids, do an illegal act and win the World title! – Standards set by the WWE.
A steady decline in the product since Wrestlemania and Backlash was getting apparent and the Great American Bash was a really weak point, in terms of matches and buyrates. Can the WWE recover it’s decent performances with Summerslam a couple of months away?
Be sure to check out Part 3 of the review of the year 2004, as I rip into more shoddy work and praise the little glimpses of decent material!
In this part, we’ll be looking at Backlash, Judgment Day, Bad Blood and The Great American Bash. The champions after Wrestlemania look like this:
Raw World title: Chris Benoit
Raw Tag Titles: Booker T and RVD
Women’s title: Victoria
Smackdown World title: Eddie Guerrero
Smackdown Tag titles: Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty
Cruiserweight title: Chavo Guerrero
Intercontinental title: Randy Orton
US title: John Cena
Before Backlash, there were a few major changes to the rosters on Raw and Smackdown. I use the word ‘major’ loosely. A week after Wrestlemania came a draft lottery. Basically, Heyman (SD) picked 6 wrestlers from a drum containing Raw names (like bingo really) and Bischoff (Raw) picked 6 from a Smackdown drum, thus giving the impression of randomness.
Heyman drafted Rene Dupree (splitting La Resistance from a 3 man faction to a tag team), Jindrak (splitting a recently formed tag team), Triple H (who ended up staying on Raw), RVD (just after losing the Raw tag titles to Batista and Flair), Teddy Long and Spike Dudley.
Bischoff drafted Shelton Benjamin (splitting the Haas and Benjamin tag team), Nidia (in a vain attempt to add life to the women’s division), Rhyno, Tajiri, Edge (returning after neck and arm injuries) and Paul Heyman.
Heyman quits meaning there is an opening for a commissioner on Smackdown, which was filled by Kurt Angle. HHH was traded back to Raw for Booker T and the Dudley Boyz. A-Train was silently traded to Raw but we barely saw him there. Austin was also ‘released’, although it was believed to be a contract dispute. The only title change before Backlash was the aforementioned Raw tag title switch from RVD and Booker T to Flair and Batista.
Backlash was on the 18th April and it opens with Flair V Shelton Benjamin. Flair wanted a match with Benjamin after a pin and countout victories over Triple H in successive weeks. Yes, Triple H actually put a new guy over clean in the first match. It was a solid match and Benjamin was certainly getting some kind of push here as he beats Flair with a flying clothesline. At this point, Benjamin doesn’t have a decent finisher.
Next up, The Coach faces Tajiri. This match happened because Tajiri misted The Coach after his trade and The Coach used a few tactics for a bit of revenge. I’m not sure Al Snow as a ninja was such a great idea though. For a Coach match, it wasn’t too bad but I don’t see why The Coach should go over anyone, as The Coach pins Tajiri after some Garrison Cade interference.
The Trish & Christian/Jericho angle that has run for months continues as Jericho takes on Christian and Trish. I’m not sure whether to class it as a handicap match or not because I can’t say for sure which team is handicapped. Jericho exacts some revenge for Wrestlemania by pinning Christian after an enziguri. Not as good as the Wrestlemania match, but good nonetheless.
Lita won the right to face the Women’s champion after her return from neck surgery and she faced Victoria next. It was probably not a good idea because the match was sloppy and uneventful. Victoria wins with the small package to retain.
The Foley/Orton legend killer angle reached its conclusion in the next match as Orton puts the Intercontinental title on the line against Mick Foley. It was less like a wrestling match and more like smacking 7 bells out of each other with anything close to hand. The crowd certainly appreciated the work rate, as it was a typical Foley weapons match. Thumbtacks, barbed wire bats and boards and tables were on show as Orton picked up the win to retain after an RKO on a barbed wire bat finished Foley finally. Great match, Orton won a few fans after this typical Foley match. It’s, in my opinion, Orton’s best match to date.
La Resistance (now just Grenier and Conway) face Hurricane and Rosey in what can only be described as filler at best. Terrible match and near the end, Eugene (a ‘retard’ with gifted wrestling ability gimmick) pointlessly runs the ropes and during the confusion, the Hurricane hits the eye of the Hurricane on Conway for the win.
Edge (with a cast on his arm) makes his return after injury against Kane. It was a weak match with Edge picking up the victory after using the cast while the ref was down and then spearing Kane. I thought the whole idea behind taking the mask off of Kane was to get back to being the monster he was supposed to be. Instead, he acts like a wuss against Taker and loses cheaply to Edge in 2 months. I know Kane isn’t great but at least have some character consistency. Oh wait, this the WWE…
The main event is a rematch of the Wrestlemania main event between Benoit, Triple H and Shawn Michaels. The only differences are that it’s Backlash and Benoit is now the Champion. The crowd are right behind Benoit, being in Canada, and they still hate Shawn Michaels. Yet again, another stunning PPV main event encounter, not as good as the Wrestlemania triple threat, but still great. The crowd go absolutely nuts as Benoit locks in the Sharpshooter and makes Shawn Michaels tap to retain the title.
Well, Backlash was easily the 2nd best PPV of the year so far behind Wrestlemania at this point and if Benoit winning the title wasn’t enough for Benoit fans, he teams with Edge the next night and wins the tag titles off of Flair and Batista. Benoit’s push can only be described as meteoric at the moment! The only disappointing thing about it is the tag titles mean nothing because they constantly throw teams together. On the subject of throwing tag teams together, Smackdown get new tag team champions the week after Backlash, as thrown together tag team 1,674, Charlie Haas and Rico, beat Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty.
Speaking of titles losing their meaning, the Cruiserweight title loses all meaning when Jacqueline pins Chavo Guerrero a couple of Smackdowns before Judgment Day. You might as well have handed the title to someone in the crowd. They would do a better job at least…
Judgment Day – a card thrown together and I smell the end of the recent hot streak. It’s the 16th May, it’s a Smackdown only PPV and the first match is RVD and Rey Mysterio teaming up to take on the Dudley Boyz. Pretty standard stuff with some decent highflying stuff makes this a solid match. RVD picks up the win with the frog splash on D-Von.
Dawn Marie faces Torrie Wilson in the next match, set up by Angle. Angle blamed Torrie for the Big Show putting him in a wheelchair, so if Torrie loses, she has to retire. The Big Show lost a match against Eddie Guerrero the week before Backlash and was forced to quit, he went psycho on Torrie and threw Angle off a ledge, supposedly about 20 foot. Anyway, Torrie wins with a backslide and we all die a little inside as this match and this sentence drags on and on and on and on and on and on…
It’s the wrestling debut of Mordecai next as he faces Scotty 2 Hotty. Squash anyone? I’ve got orange, lemon and possibly some mango. Anyone ever tried mango? Typically awful squash match as Mordecai picks up the win with a copy of the Razor’s Edge finisher. Has no place on a PPV card. Save it for Smackdown and build for something bigger.
How many thrown together teams have we seen so far this year? Well, it seems to be as popular as the handicap match was in 2003. Two recently thrown together teams face off for the tag titles as Haas and Rico take on Hardcore Holly and Billy Gunn. It’s exactly what you would think from these guys, boring and a bit queer, thanks to Rico’s character traits. Surprisingly, there was no mention of Billy Gunn’s teaming with Chuck Palumbo during the match. Rico superkicks Hardcore Holly and Haas rolls him up to retain the titles.
Next, Jacqueline defends the Cruiserweight title (WHY? Someone explain why they bothered putting the title on her) against Chavo Guerrero Junior. If you thought this couldn’t sound any worse as a wrestling match, Chavo Junior has to have one hand tied behind his back. Chavo Classic unties the tied hand and Chavo Junior hits the Gory Bomb for the title. Stupid and ultimately pointless.
The US title is on the line as Cena defends against Rene Dupree. They tried really hard to put on a good match but it was average at best. Cena wins with the FU to retain. Texas Ranger, The Undertaker, is hunting down Booker T and they face off in the next match. Urgh, really slow and really dull. Booker T had been consulting the underworld in a bid to get an advantage. All that consulting meant nothing because it didn’t work. Tombstone ends it for an Undertaker victory. Everyone should know that dirt won’t stop the Texas Ranger!
The main event sees Eddie Guerrero come up against chartered accountant Bradshaw for the Smackdown World Title. Bradshaw saw Faarooq get fired so he gets repackaged as John Bradshaw Layfield, someone with a sack full of money and bullhorns on his limos. Apparently, that entitles him to a title shot so here it goes. I think this match is mostly remembered for the insane blood loss from Eddie Guerrero. He was bleeding ‘like a sieve’ according to Michael Cole. The end saw JBL bring the title into the ring; Eddie takes it off him and hits him with it for the DQ. Eddie tried his best to drag a match out of JBL and succeeded to an extent. Average.
Judgment Day ends the hot streak at 4 with a really lacklustre performance; a jigsaw like card with all the pieces from different puzzles. Only 3 matches reached the average mark and Eddie’s bleeding couldn’t save the show. It only went to show Smackdown’s consistent decline in its product and Eddie really hasn’t got anyone to work with at his level.
Bad Blood is the next PPV and it was a Raw only PPV on June 13th. Before then, Benoit’s recent monster push had died down a bit when La Resistance (probably the only tag team in the tag division on Raw) beat Benoit and Edge to win the Raw Tag Titles. Also, the Cruiserweight title dies a little more when Chavo Classic pins Chavo Guerrero in a triple threat match the Smackdown after Judgment Day.
So, Bad Blood kicks off with La Resistance defending their recently won Tag Titles against Benoit and Edge. Benoit is on double duty as he defends the World title later against Kane. It was a decent opener before Kane walked down to the ring and caused a DQ when Benoit had Grenier in the Crossface. La Resistance retained, obviously.
Next up, Jericho takes on Christian’s new minion, Tyson Tomko. All you need to know about him is that he is tall, big and useless. Well, not totally useless as Jericho makes him look half decent. I think that is Jericho’s strong point. He has the knack of getting a decent match out of the useless big guys the WWE produce. They kept it short (a good thing) and the finish saw Trish’s interference backfire and Jericho hits Tomko with an enziguiri followed by a rollup for the victory.
Orton, on the back of renewing the life on the Intercontinental title after his match with Foley at Backlash, takes on Shelton Benjamin. It certainly was an entertaining encounter between two ‘rookies’ and Orton came out the winner after reversing a flying crossbody into a pin. Orton does rely on chinlocks way too much though.
The Women’s title is on the line next as Victoria defends against Lita, Gail Kim and Trish in a fatal 4-way match. Lita does a DDT on Gail Kim, Trish comes from nowhere and rolls Lita up to win the title. It was a bit messy in places. When you look at the Women’s division, it’s very weak but it’s the strongest I’ve seen in the WWE in recent years. How something can be strong but weak is beyond my comprehension.
The Coach continues his recent run of PPV matches (surely they could find an actual wrestler to fill 10 minutes or so) by facing Eugene. When you have a match that features someone tempting their opponent with cookies and getting your run in buddy to try and steal your opponent’s teddy bear, you’ve got a complete waste of time. Eugene wins with the Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow because with matches like this, Eugene is going to need all the help he can get.
Benoit defends the Raw World Title in the next match against Kane. This is an interesting choice of competitor because Kane’s last PPV match was the defeat to Edge. Just something I was thinking about there. Anyway, this was Kane’s best match for a long time as Benoit gets a good match out of him. This match had a good story to it and had good psychology too. Benoit retains the title after catching Kane in the Crossface after Kane attempted a flying clothesline, Kane fights out but Benoit uses that to pin him. Very good.
The main event features Triple H trying to end his feud once and for all against Shawn Michaels by using the Hell in a Cell match. An interesting side note to this: This is the first time, since Triple H was handed the World title after Summerslam in 2002, that Triple H has not been either the champ or the challenger to the World title at a PPV. He still manages to steal the main event slot though. They tried hard and the match was okay but it really dragged on and it felt like a couple of hours had passed, even though it was only 45-50 minutes. It was still a solid effort but not the greatest example of a Hell in a Cell match. Better than Triple H V Nash anyway. Triple H hits HBK with 3 Pedigrees, each one followed by a gap big enough to make a cup of tea and perhaps a toilet break, for the pinfall victory.
So, where does this PPV stand? The words ‘decent’ and ‘solid’ appeared quite a bit so I would say it was average. Good effort but just missing that one killer match that would really make it worth watching. There is still enough here to watch it, but it’s not outstanding. A definite improvement on Smackdown’s Judgment Day though.
The next PPV was the Smackdown offering of The Great American Bash on June 27th. A couple of weeks before this, the Dudley Boyz win the Smackdown Tag Titles off of Charlie Haas and Rico. The same night, Rey Mysterio wins the Cruiserweight title off of Chavo Classic, redeeming the title a bit, and it was the last time we were to see Chavo Classic.
The Great American Bash – the first time it’s been used as a WWE PPV and Smackdown have a bit of improving to do after Judgment Day. First up, Cena defends the US title against RVD, Booker T and Rene Dupree in an elimination match. RVD was first to go when Cena rolled him up. The match probably should have ended there but it continued as Booker pins Dupree after a Cena FU. The FU finishes off Booker T so Cena defends the title. Decent match that would have been better if it wasn’t elimination and dragging the match out.
Charlie Haas had been getting on the wrong side of Kurt Angle so his punishment is a match against Angle’s right hand man, Luther Reigns. Luther Reigns is in the same mould as Tyson Tomko, useless. Come to think of it, the fans were probably being punished here too. Reigns wins, because there is no midcard to speak of, with Test’s ‘Roll the Dice’ finisher. Horrible match.
The Cruiserweight title is on the line next as Rey Mysterio takes on Chavo Guerrero. It was a typically decent Cruiserweight match, as Rey Mysterio reverses Chavo’s Gory Bomb for the pinfall to retain. Next up, new boy Kenzo Suzuki takes on Billy Gunn. Urgh, avoid with all your might because this was bad. Suzuki wins with Christian’s backbreaker in what felt like an eternity.
The next match isn’t really worth mentioning as Sable beat Torrie in a 5-minute borefest. Mordecai was next as he faced Hardcore Holly. Again, it was a really poor match as Mordecai beats Hardcore Holly with the Razor’s Edge.
Well, we’re really shifting through the rubbish at a fair rate of knots but we’ve now reached Eddie Guerrero defending his Smackdown World title against JBL once again. This time, it’s a bullrope match. You’ve got to touch the four turnbuckles before your opponent, apparently. It was actually a better match than their Judgment Day one, although Michael Cole’s analogies aren’t getting better. Michael Cole says that tables are ‘concrete-like’. You keep thinking that, Cole. JBL got shoved into the final corner to win the title, after a replay ordered by Kurt Angle. The replay showed that JBL won fair and square, which doesn’t make it easier to swallow.
The main event is Undertaker taking on the Dudleyz. The addition to this is that Heyman (who has been trying to get Taker) had kidnapped Paul Bearer and threatens to bury him in concrete. Dull, dull, dull, and dull as Taker wins the match, destroying the Smackdown tag champions I might add, by tombstoning both and pinning D-Von. Taker then encases Paul Bearer in concrete anyway. I think it’s supposed to symbolise Taker burying his one weakness but that really is complete balls.
You might want to check out the Cruiserweight match and ‘history’ that is JBL’s victory but I’d avoid the rest like the plague. Smackdown’s weaknesses were just getting more and more exposed and JBL winning the World title was a bizarre decision, as the extent of his drawing power is a few flies after a drinking session, if he’s lucky. JBL was also supposed to be punished for a Nazi salute in Germany, which is illegal, apparently. So, there you go kids, do an illegal act and win the World title! – Standards set by the WWE.
A steady decline in the product since Wrestlemania and Backlash was getting apparent and the Great American Bash was a really weak point, in terms of matches and buyrates. Can the WWE recover it’s decent performances with Summerslam a couple of months away?
Be sure to check out Part 3 of the review of the year 2004, as I rip into more shoddy work and praise the little glimpses of decent material!