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...


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