The Year in PPV- 2004, Part II

2004 continues by bringing the Ruthless Aggression Era's greatest rivalry to an end...


6. Bad Blood

This show's undercard was fine, but it really boils down to how well two different feuds performed. The first was the feud between Chris Benoit and Kane. Centered on their World Heavyweight Championship match towards the end of the evening, the feud spilled over to the opening contest that saw Benoit and Edge challenge La Resistance for the World Tag Team Championships. The feud really worked out well for Benoit and Kane. Benoit was the proper wrestler to challenge Kane to have one of the greatest matches in his career, while Kane provided the Goliath to Benoit's David in another test of Benoit's legitimacy. Some extra credit should be given to the psychology involving Benoit's Crippler Crossface and whether he'd be able to put it on the Big Red Machine.

The main event, however, was much more important than the World Heavyweight Championship, as it brought the greatest rivalry of the Aggression Era to a close. Triple H and Shawn Michaels stepped inside Hell in a Cell to finally settle their differences. Battling for almost 50 minutes, this match is very polarizing among fans. Many appreciate the match for what it is, while others consider it too long and drawn out to be entertaining. I agree that it could've been shorter, but I still enjoy the brutality of the Hell in a Cell match and it's the best match to end their epic feud. That being said, the casual viewer (and even some die-hard fans) will have a tough time sitting through this one, so it does lose a few points for that.

Mild Recommendation


7. The Great American Bash

This show was main evented by a Concrete Crypt match. The concept being that the Undertaker would fight the Dudley Boyz and if Taker didn't do the "right thing" in Paul Heyman's eyes, Heyman would continue to pour cement in a glass crypt with Paul Bearer inside it. It's a truly idiotic idea in hindsight, but if you at least acknowledge that, you can laugh and enjoy yourself. But the main event is not enough to deteriorate from the fun I had watching this show.

This show featured 3 very unique and entertaining championship matches, and that's definitely worthy of some recognition. John Cena defended his United States Championship in a 4-Way Elimination match against Rene Dupree, Booker T, and Rob Van Dam. This was a main event worthy concept with the talent involved, and when it goes on first, that's a very good sign for your midcard. Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero absolutely tore it up in a Cruiserweight Championship match that went on for nearly 20 minutes. Talk about endurance from 2 of the greatest Cruiserweight competitors wrestling has ever seen. Then, in what should have been the main event, Eddie Guerrero defended his WWE Championship in a Texas Bullrope match against JBL. I'm not the biggest fan of strap match gimmicks, but these two make the most of it. Their feud had become so bitter, that it really didn't matter what match they had to settle their differences. Plus, the ending result did leave a lasting mark on history and perfectly shows how a superstar can have two feuds going on at once.

Recommended


8. Vengeance

A show can have good matches on the undercard and even a decent main event, but if the main storyline is an atrocity to professional wrestling, then it leaves a haunting shadow over the rest of the show. Case in point the feeling of ridiculousness that Eugene brought to Vengeance. Yes, at the height of the Ruthless Aggression Era, after the success of WrestleMania XX, the WWE thought it would be a great idea to introduce the character of Eugene, Eric Bischoff's mentally challenged nephew. Do I even need to explain why this shouldn't have been approved? As politically incorrect of a gimmick you'll ever see. A gimmick that would probably (and does) evoke a backlash response from the fans. And most importantly, a gimmick that brings all momentum for his opponents to a screeching halt. He's been around since Backlash, but I decided to leave him off because he wasn't harming anyone. But then he harmed Evolution and Chris Benoit. Thanks to the booking of Vengeance and the storyline going on with Triple H using Eugene to reclaim the World Heavyweight Championship, Eugene actually had an impact on two different matches on the card. To the horror of many, there was potential of Eugene become World Tag Team Champions with Ric Flair. Oh my goodness. Then, Eugene had a looming presence over the World Heavyweight Championship match between Chris Benoit and Triple H. Now, that match was a bit too much pure wrestling if you ask me, but Eugene was NOT the personality that needed to be injected into the feud.

Even if the show has a fun No Disqualification match with Kane and Matt Hardy, and an instant classic Intercontinental Championship match featuring Randy Orton and Edge, the momentum is almost completely killed with the idea of this show being built around Eugene. Seriously though, go find the Orton/Edge match anywhere else, but stay away from the rest of this show. Keep this match as far away from the Eugene context as possible. As far as Vengeance is concerned, you can call this the first disaster show of 2004. Hopefully the company learned from their mistakes.

Skip It


9. SummerSlam

I'm going to go ahead and split this review up between the SmackDown and RAW segments of the show. Let's start with SmackDown, as they opened the show with a 6-man tag that saw the Dudley Boyz take on the team of Rey Mysterio, Paul London, and Billy Kidman. This was a very exciting match to get the Toronto crowd excited for SummerSlam, as it had good tag team psychology and tons of Cruiserweight action as well. Then Booker T and John Cena squared off in the first match in a Best of 5 Series for the United States Championship. These two had a solid amount of chemistry together and the series really helped legitimize the value of the US title for SmackDown. Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero had a WrestleMania rematch that was a lot quicker in pace, but still had all the quality these two could put on a big stage environment. And to end the SmackDown portion of the show, JBL defended the WWE Championship against the Undertaker. These two put on more of a brawl than a wrestling match, so while some may show some dissatisfaction with the ending, I didn't mind it because it played out like anyone would expect.

For RAW, their matches were kicked off with a Till Death Do Us Part Match. Kane and Matt Hardy fought in a match where the winner would marry Lita on RAW. Yeah, they actually had a match like that. Anyways, we then had the Intercontinental Championship on the line in a Triple Threat (Edge vs. Chris Jericho vs. Batista). It is here where it became exceptionally noticeable that the fans were reacting very strangely to the show, when they began booing hometown superstar Edge. Later on, the fans proved to be hostile again by booing the Diva Dodgeball segment. In reality, I probably would've booed that too, but Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler believed it to be hostile, so who am I to argue with JR and the King? We also had Triple H square off against Eugene. To know how I feel about this, I redirect you to my Vengeance review. Now put that on the second biggest show of the year, and you have my exact thoughts on why this is ludicrous to watch. At least it was against someone like Triple H, who still worked his butt off to keep the match compelling and entertaining. In the main event, Chris Benoit and Randy Orton faced off for the World Heavyweight Championship. This match was a great way to end the show, and with the amount of chemistry these two had, I wish their paths would've crossed more often afterwards. But still, the moment was a really memorable way to end a fantastic SummerSlam.

Highly Recommended


10. Unforgiven

The undercard for Unforgiven actually had 3 really solid matches (seems to be a pattern with this year). The show opened with Ric Flair and Batista taking on William Regal and Chris Benoit in a tag team match. They only mentioned Eugene on commentary, so I wasn't as bothered by his involvement. I instead focused on seeing the good tag team action between these 4 competitors. Then, the vacant Intercontinental Championship was decided in a ladder match between Christian and Chris Jericho. I'll go on record to call this match underrated, as I felt it not only delivered in quality, but also brought some closure to their memorable rivalry. And in a surprisingly good match, Kane took on the returning Shawn Michaels in a No Disqualification match. It may have been tied together with the silly Kane/Lita married storyline, but with Michaels involved, I was easily entertained.

While nearly every fan could argue with the decision of the World Heavyweight Championship match, it can't be denied that they really built up the feud between Randy Orton and Triple H as something special and intense. After winning the title at SummerSlam, Orton was kicked out of Evolution by Triple H. Rather than cower in fear of The Game, Orton fought back and vowed to put Triple H in his place. The match is pretty solid as well. I've gone on record to hate on most of their encounters, but this one had the right buildup and booking. Just wish the end result would've happened at a later time.

Recommended


Thoughts: The change in scenery was good while it lasted. Not to sound like I'm hating on these PPVs, which I'm not, but it really does feel like they were dangling the Benoit and Guerrero pushes in front of the fans only to take them away months later. Even more so, the fact that Unforgiven ended with Evolution back on top put things back into the regular routine for the company. It's as if Benoit's push was a nice little vacation for Triple H and when he was ready to come back to work (so to speak), he was able to take his spot back without any problems. How a superstar can go from ending his greatest rivalry, to wrestling a mentally challenged character, to becoming World Heavyweight Champion once again is beyond me. As for the SmackDown side of things, I really enjoyed seeing the rising stock for both JBL and John Cena, with them taking on legends like Eddie, Taker, Booker, and RVD to boost their credibility, good character development all around. I didn't hate seeing Eddie out of the WWE title picture because he was kept in a high profile rivalry with Kurt Angle. Shows at this point are mixed bags with high quality main events. Occasionally, the midcard delivered one or two matches that really impressed me so the chain of momentum was kept at a decent level. Hopefully things can end on a high note for 2004.

Concluded in Part III...


All rights and images are copyrighted and owned by World Wrestling Entertainment

The Year in PPV- 2004, Part I

If you're a frequent reader of this blog, you know I'm very fond of the Ruthless Aggression Era, and 2004 is a very important year for the Era. This was a year that saw a lot of change in the company direction. This year saw some big main event draws on their way out like Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, and The Rock, needing their spots to be filled by rising talents like John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, and Edge. We also got to see established main eventers like Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Booker T, and the Undertaker continue to do their thing on their shows, and even saw some established tag team competitors like Shelton Benjamin and Bradshaw (soon to be known in 2004 as JBL) receive some new direction and success as they tried out singles competition. But if there was anything about 2004 that truly stuck out as special, it would be the culmination of two careers, as two best friends achieved their dreams to simultaneously become world champions on both RAW and SmackDown.

While this might be arguably my favorite year of the Ruthless Aggression Era, it comes with a very heavy precaution. This is the year in which Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit were given the pedestal of being the top faces of their respective brands, particularly in this first section of PPVs. Nearly 10 years later, it's still difficult to watch these two men achieve their dreams and not get overwhelmed with emotion over how they are no longer with us. For Guerrero, he was an amazing in-ring talent with an astonishing level of charisma. He was something special that fans could look up to and live their dreams through, and his presence is still missed to this day. Going through his matches are always a treat as they feel like a celebration of his life in the ring and as a person. As for Benoit, there's an uncomfortable factor in watching his matches due to the obvious. While it is hard to forgive or even understand the actions of Chris Benoit the person, keep in mind that I will be (and always have been) looking at his iconic matches and moments with the mindset of seeing Chris Benoit the wrestler. I've often believed if you're able to separate the two, it will make watching the PPVs he's featured in easier, and hopefully that proves true here in arguably the greatest year of his wrestling career.

With all that in mind, let's begin this journey by looking at the 2004 Royal Rumble...


1. Royal Rumble

The first hour of this show feels really rushed with short midcard matches, so this show shouldn't be regarded as an all-time favorite right? WRONG! It's understandable why it's kept short in hindsight: teasing the fans about the World Tag Team and Cruiserweight divisions without taking away the focus from the main event matches. The match that saw Eddie Guerrero take on his backstabbing nephew Chavo Guerrero, as well as the WWE Championship match between Brock Lesnar and Hardcore Holly could be regarded as filler for the blue brand and nothing more right? Again, absolutely wrong. These two matches were painting a much bigger picture that would come into fruition at No Way Out. It may look here like Lesnar is in need of bigger competition than Holly, and that's the point: he had NO competition at the time. And the match with the Guerreros was to show their value as single superstars with both receiving big pushes heading into the next PPV. It all works so well once you're able to look at the grand scheme of things. Things really pick up heading into the Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Intended to bring an end to the Triple H and Shawn Michaels rivalry, this match had the big epic feel that a WrestleMania main event would have. Many fans despised the ending at the time, probably figuring it was a cop out, but again, it had people wondering what was going to happen next. That's a genius way to build intrigue heading into WrestleMania.

And then we have what I would call the greatest Royal Rumble match of all-time. The superstar roster, the stories that are told, the pacing, the spots. It's all near perfection. Considering that they gave a good amount of booking to Chris Benoit, Randy Orton, Goldberg, Big Show, Chris Jericho, John Cena, Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, Kane, and a few more surprises that I don't dare give away, it made the Royal Rumble match and the desire to go to WrestleMania feel like something worth winning. I'm sure everyone knows who wins this one, and if you factor in all their history as a wrestler, and all the adversity they had going into the match, the ending result is one of the most satisfying victories in the history of wrestling. And the Road to WrestleMania has only just begun.

Highly Recommended


2. No Way Out

On the surface, this may look like your generic filler PPV, and in all rights it should be. However, there's something very special about No Way Out 2004. Sure, the undercard leaves a little to be desired. Not that it's bad, it's just nothing out of the ordinary. The Cruiserweight Championship match between Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero had a good amount of big fight feel behind it, and the Triple Threat between John Cena, Kurt Angle, and Big Show felt important because it determined the number one contender for the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania, but even the good moments on the card feel like footnotes compared to the main event.

By now, most fans would regard the WWE Championship match between Brock Lesnar and Eddie Guerrero as one of the most heartwarming and emotional moments in WWE history. I doubt this would constitute as a spoiler, since it's common knowledge to most people what happened at this event, so I'll just go ahead and talk about it. At the time, I'm sure no one saw Eddie Guerrero beating Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship, but boy were they happy when he did. The match itself is one of the best told stories I've ever seen in the ring. Heading into Mania, Lesnar was looking at Eddie Guerrero and No Way Out as child's play. He thought this was going to be a walk in the park, and Eddie was determined to show him that he should not be overlooked. Eddie believed that he could overcome all his adversities and win the WWE Championship and he did just that. This is Eddie Guerrero's career defining moment, but the rest of the show doesn't live up to the standard. I'm going to slap the Mild rating on this one simply because you check out this match and all its glory on its own via DVD's. Heck, you could watch the PPV on the WWE Network and pass every match up, just make sure you stick around to watch this match.

Mild Recommendation


3. WrestleMania XX

I've gone on record to say that I think WrestleMania XIX is the best Mania of all-time, and I still stand by that. However, we've come to my absolute favorite WrestleMania to watch. This show was treated with the utmost respect for wrestling. This was the 20th Mania, taking place in the historic Madison Square Garden. It had an amazingly stacked Hall of Fame Class that was honored at the event. It had Mr. McMahon come out and thank all the fans. This had all the pomp and circumstance that a show like this deserved. And now on to the moments that always leave me entertained. Now, there are a few matches on here that feel rushed in time or cluster matches to get as many superstars on the card, or both, but none of them become offensively bad. While the Women's Championship match was a bit on the short side, it was at least heightened in intrigue with a Title vs. Hair stipulation for Victoria and Molly Holly. While a hyped dream match like Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar ended up being a colossal disaster, it was at least entertaining thanks to Stone Cold Steve Austin as the guest referee and the chants from the MSG crowd. And while the match between Kane and the Undertaker wasn't the greatest, the real moment of that match was seeing the Deadman return to his roots with the hooded druids, the creepy atmosphere, and Paul Bearer by his side.

But now onto the great matches on the card. The opening match saw John Cena challenge Big Show for the United States Championship. First off, it's very interesting to see Cena this young in his career opening a Mania for a midcard title (especially since he challenged for the same title at Mania 11 years later). Secondly, this match is a very solid David and Goliath story that got MSG pumped for the rest of the card. In a forgotten Mania gem, Chris Jericho and Christian squared off in a battle of ex-best friends over the love of Trish Stratus. Not only is this match very good, but the ending was truly a shocker that very few saw coming. And to add to the awesomeness of this card, the Rock n Sock Connection reunited to take on Evolution in a handicap match. From the satisfaction of seeing Mick Foley take on Randy Orton, to The Rock and Ric Flair mocking each other in the ring, to Batista dominating everything that comes in his way, this match is packed full of action featuring 5 of the best WWE superstars of all-time.

Then, we get to the world title matches. Eddie Guerrero defended his WWE Championship against Kurt Angle in an amazing match that featured grappling, submissions, high flying action, and tons of near falls. The chemistry and psychology these two display is off the charts and I really wish we could see this match get some of the recognition it deserves (can you believe it's never been released on a compilation DVD?) as one of the best WWE title matches in Mania history. In the main event, Triple H defended the World Heavyweight Championship in a Triple Threat against Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit. What can I say about this match? It's my absolute favorite match of all-time. The storytelling and match quality are both perfect. You've got Benoit trying to silence his critics and prove that he can win the big one. You've got Triple H and Shawn Michaels trying to resolve their storied rivalry on the Grandest Stage of Them All. People bleed, go through tables, and get hit with finisher after finisher. These are three of my all-time favorite superstars busting their butts to put on the greatest main event WrestleMania had ever seen, and in my opinion, they succeeded. And if that wasn't enough, stick around for what happens after the match. Trust me, there will be tears shed.

Highly Recommended


4. Backlash

What works best for me when it comes to Backlash is that I can find at least 4 things that utilize the post-Mania season to its fullest for the RAW brand. The opening bout between Shelton Benjamin and Ric Flair perfectly shows how much stock the company was putting in the new RAW sensation. While Benjamin never grasped his full potential on charisma, he always showed his amazing athleticism and here he had a great test in taking on the legendary Ric Flair. It's just such a good boost to his career that fans could tell Benjamin was a star on the rise at the time. Fast forward a bit to a handicap match that saw Chris Jericho looking for revenge on Christian and Trish Stratus. Handicap matches are always a mixed bag in terms of execution, but this one works pretty well in favor. It was primarily Jericho and Christian going at it, with enough satisfying moments that saw Jericho even the score with Trish. Then, Randy Orton defended the Intercontinental Championship against Cactus Jack in a very memorable No Holds Barred match. This match was a HUGE test for Orton to see if he was gonna be one of the next main eventers, and he more than proved he'd be up to the challenge. With Evolution banned from ringside, it was just Orton and Cactus Jack destroying each other with barbed wire, thumbtacks, and other weapons to see who would walk away victorious. By the end of the match, BOTH men had earned the crowd's respect and rightfully so.

In the main event, Chris Benoit defended his World Heavyweight Championship in a WrestleMania rematch against Triple H and Shawn Michaels. To make it even more interesting, the match took place in Benoit's hometown, in front of Benoit's entire family, on Chris Benoit Day. I'm sure there's a bunch of fans watching this now feeling uncomfortable by the amount of celebration given to Benoit in hindsight, but watching it with a pair of 2004 eyes, it's a feel good moment for Benoit and all his supporters. It's very projected who's going to win, but it doesn't really matter. The way Benoit wins the match and the celebration he has is very satisfying to see. It proved that Mania wasn't a fluke and Benoit was for real. I'd even admit that the match and moment is on par with the Mania match, but of course I favor the Mania match for the grandiose spectacle of the event, but this show is an excellent follow up.

Highly Recommended


5. Judgment Day

This show starts off very well and ends very well, you just gotta know your limits when watching everything in between. By that I mean, do you enjoy watching a women's match where the only "excitement" comes in the hands of a wardrobe malfunction? Knock yourself out then, because this show has that. Ever want to see Scotty 2 Hotty squashed by an Undertaker knock off named Mordecai? This show has that. Want to see a comedic Cruiserweight Championship match where Jacqueline defends against Chavo Guerrero with one arm tied behind his back? You've got it here. Admittedly, those three debacles are really the only thing stopping this show from being a grand slam show.

The show does open with a solid tag team match between the Dudley Boyz and the team of Rey Mysterio and Rob Van Dam, and has another good tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship (Rico and Charlie Haas vs. Billy Gunn and Hardcore Holly). The United States Championship is defended in a fine match (John Cena vs. Rene Dupree), and a blockbuster upper midcard main event is attempted in the Undertaker vs. Booker T, so at this point it's about an even playing field in quality. The saving grace for this show is the main event WWE Championship match between Eddie Guerrero and JBL. Quickly rising up the ranks after WrestleMania, the former APA member was repackaged as John "Bradshaw" Layfield and headed into a controversial and personal feud with Eddie Guerrero. This match really helped cement JBL as the top main event heel thanks to all of his tactics, and benefited Eddie Guerrero by putting him in another situation where he is considered an underdog fighting for all the fans (even more specifically, his Latino culture). This match is most famous for a very brutal chair shot and blade job that left Guerrero bleeding buckets. While an accident, it really elevated the story this match was telling: both men were hungry to walk away WWE Champion, fighting by any means necessary to do so. I love main event storytelling like this, if you didn't already know, so give the event the same treatment for viewing as No Way Out.

Mild Recommendation


Initial Thoughts: If it wasn't painfully obvious before, this section of PPVs was phenomenal to binge through. With 3 shows getting the highest recommendations and the other 2 receiving praise for their main events, it's easy to see I'm having a blast watching these. There are so many layers of the shows that work: the main event booking of Benoit and Guerrero, the continuing storylines involving Evolution (particularly the rise in Orton's stock), Cena's run as the midcard babyface, Bradshaw's transformation into JBL, the hype revolving around Taker's return, and those are just to name a few. Momentum couldn't be higher going into the next string of PPVs.

Continued in Part II...


All rights and images are copyrighted and owned by World Wrestling Entertainment

The Year in PPV- 2009, Part III

Let's close 2009 with a look at a criminally underrated PPV concept...


10. Breaking Point

In a year where we saw many different gimmick PPVs established, we come across the only show that didn't get a sequel. However, I believe Breaking Point had one of the more interesting gimmicks that could've survived as a longstanding PPV franchise. Instead of paying to see three Hell in a Cell matches, or two Money in the Bank ladder matches, or two Elimination Chamber matches, I think it's much more interesting to see different types of matches that all fall under a similar concept: a match is won when your opponent cannot take the pain anymore.

Among the many unique matches offered at this show include a traditional Submission match (CM Punk vs. Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship), an emotional "I Quit" match (Randy Orton vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship), and a unique Submissions Count Anywhere match (D-Generation X vs. Legacy). I'm not 100% sure why this one wasn't received well, but I wouldn't mind seeing it make a resurgence in the calendar down the road. Heck, many of the undercard matches were on par with the rest of the show, so shouldn't the show be considered a success? Apparently not.

Mild Recommendation


11. Hell in a Cell

In another attempt at introducing a gimmick PPV, the company put on the first Hell in a Cell PPV. Now, not every match took place inside the Cell, but that doesn't mean the undercard wasn't a lot of fun to watch as well. John Morrison had an entertaining Intercontinental Championship match against Dolph Ziggler, Mickie James had a solid Divas Championship match against Alicia Fox, Drew McIntyre made his PPV debut by taking on R-Truth, a Triple Threat was held for the United States Championship pitting Kofi Kingston, The Miz, and Jack Swagger against each other, and Rey Mysterio returned to help Batista challenge Jeri-Show for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championships (in a match that SHOULD have been inside Hell in a Cell).

However, the Hell in a Cell matches are a bit of a mixed bag, and since they are the selling point of the PPV, they decide the show's fate. The opening match saw CM Punk defend the World Heavyweight Championship against the Undertaker, in a match that went on a little short for my taste. Then, we had the WWE Championship match between John Cena and Randy Orton that went on a little long for my taste. Even though the Cell match between D-Generation X and Legacy was a good match, it probably shouldn't have been the main event since it wasn't for a world title. So, all of the matches had problems with them, but did they at least entertain? If you're a purist of the Hell in a Cell match, none of these come close to being a classic. If you're the casual wrestling fan, you may enjoy one or two of them.

Skip It


12. Bragging Rights

Here we have another unique PPV concept, but it's not surrounded by gimmick matches. Bragging Rights takes the classic idea of SmackDown vs. RAW (in an OBVIOUS tie-in to the video game) and presents a battle for brand supremacy. In a best of 3 series, the first match of the competition is a match between RAW's United States Champion (The Miz) and SmackDown's Intercontinental Champion (John Morrison). Not only did this match give us a showdown between the midcard champions of their respective brands, but also created intrigue around which member of the Miz and Morrison tag team would be considered the superior superstar (and who would end up like Marty Jannetty). Then, the SmackDown Divas (Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, and Natalya) took on the RAW Divas (Melina, Kelly Kelly, and Gail Kim) in a match that obviously saw who would win since we needed to get to the tie-breaker match. The tie-breaking match was an epic 7-on-7 tag team match saw Team RAW (D-Generation X, Big Show, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, and Mark Henry) and Team SmackDown (Chris Jericho, Kane, Matt Hardy, R-Truth, Finlay, and the Hart Dynasty) go at it for the Bragging Rights trophy.

Fans can come for the tournament and stay for the world championship matches, since we have two blockbuster encounters on one event. The World Heavyweight Championship match looks for quantity with a Fatal 4-Way match between the Undertaker, Batista, Rey Mysterio, and CM Punk. This match is a very fun bout between 4 of SmackDown's top superstars, and features a conclusion that leads to a VERY interesting turn of events. The WWE Championship saw Randy Orton defend the WWE Championship against John Cena in a 60-minute Iron Man match. By this point, fans were sick of seeing these two fight and trade belts back and forth between PPVs, so this match needed to deliver the goods to bring their feud to an end, and thankfully it did. Much like their "I Quit" match at Breaking Point, the match shows Orton's ruthlessness and Cena's never say die attitude. Both work out really well, and bring this surprisingly good show on a high note.

Highly Recommended


13. Survivor Series

The landscape of the PG Era was showing some serious changes by the time we got to Survivor Series. Just by looking at the traditional elimination matches, you can see that they were looking at the next batch of superstars that could step up to the plate. Pay attention to Team Miz (The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre, and Sheamus) vs. Team Morrison (John Morrison, Evan Bourne, Finlay, Matt Hardy, and Shelton Benjamin), and Team Kingston (Kofi Kingston, MVP, R-Truth, Mark Henry, and Christian) vs. Team Orton (Randy Orton, Legacy, William Regal, and CM Punk) and you'll know what I'm talking about. Another change in landscape was the attitude change in Batista. After destroying Rey Mysterio at Bragging Rights, the two former friends faced each other at Survivor Series in a match that really helped get the new heel Batista over with the crowd. Even the Divas elimination tag match wasn't that awful, with Team McCool (Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall, Layla, and Alicia Fox) taking on Team Mickie (Mickie James, Melina, Eve Torres, Kelly Kelly, and Gail Kim).

The world title matches were presented in the form of a pair of Triple Threat matches. The Undertaker defended his World Heavyweight Championship against Chris Jericho and Big Show, and John Cena defended his WWE Championship against Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Both matches are good, but I'd give a slight edge to the WWE Title match simply for the star power. No disrespect against Taker, Jericho, and Big Show, but it's Cena, Triple H, and Michaels. Of course it's going to be the better big time encounter. And I find it ironic that the title matches featured six of the best superstars from the previous era, since the new superstars of the new era were on the horizon of making their big breaks in the PG Era.

Highly Recommended


14. TLC: Tables, Ladders, & Chairs

Now, while I'm not the biggest fan of a night being dedicated to one specific match, I have no issues with nights dedicated to a variety of match types held together by a common theme, like Breaking Point. The first TLC PPV had a bunch of midcard matches, but also knew how to capitalize on matches held together by the concepts of tables, ladders, and chairs. The Chairs match may not have been the greatest idea in the world (still isn't), but at least it was used in a match like the Undertaker vs. Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship. It had enough of a focus on heel Batista, and Undertaker's championship reign to the point where the chairs gimmick wasn't a necessity. The main event for the evening was a TLC match for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championships, and while the match wasn't the greatest or most memorable moment of the evening, Jeri-Show and D-Generation X certainly had the experience and star power to entertain.

The best match on the card was the Ladder match for the ECW Championship. Christian and Shelton Benjamin were ECW's brightest talents at the time, and felt passed over on the last few PPVs. They had one goal in mind: steal the show. They certainly did that in terms of match quality, but once you steal the show in an opening match, you've got to have some big moment to keep the momentum going. That came in the form of the WWE Championship match. In a Tables match, John Cena put the belt on the line against Sheamus, a relative newcomer on the roster who had dominated his way to a number one contender's spot. Like I said in my review of Survivor Series, times were changing, and it was important to see who would be the superstars of tomorrow. This match was a HUGE indicator of the changes fans should expect to see as the decade came to an end.

Mild Recommendation


Final Thoughts: With the exception of Hell in a Cell, I actually believe the end of 2009 was a complete success. New stars were established, changes were made that had fans reacting in some form, and there were still a number of good matches and solid character development. If you're the WWE, you couldn't ask for a more ideal way to end your first year of a new Era. Granted, fans have grown resentful towards the gimmick PPVs, but at the time, the experiments were new and considered revolutionary, and that was the whole idea of heading into the PG Era: shaking up the landscape for years to come.


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