I would say that column I did last was nothing short of controversial with some people. Half the people liked it, half hated it. I was actually going to type up a few paragraphs explaining my words, and then I was going to do an entire column, but I’ll leave it at this: it was my column, and it’s in the past, now. I don’t have anything to explain, and nothing to be sorry about. I meant every word, and hopefully anyone who had a problem has already e-mailed me.
And now, onto my column on the best of 2004! This is a mini X-Factor awards for some of the crowning achievements in this year’s many programs on WWE, ranging from Wrestlemania to Summerslam, Raw to Smackdown, and everything in between. We had some great matches, great feuds, great angles, and even one wedding and a baby. This year introduced us to Carlito Caribbean Cool, Heidenreich and Simon Dean. This year revisited the years of amazing work that Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero have given us, as they won the top titles of each show. No one will quite forget seeing Eugene become an unofficial member of Evolution, nor will we forget seeing the moster Big Show return to Smackdown, and literally take down the entire Smackdown locker room. A fifth anniversary of Smackdown, a 20th anniversary of Wrestlemania, and the five time WCW Champion became the United States Champion, and nearly became a six time champion.
JBL introduced us to the Heil Bradshaw, while Katie Vick remains in our memories, sadly. Edge spent a good two to three months in a major identity crisis, not knowing if he was a babyface or a heel. In the end, it turned out the young Canadian boy is a bad guy at heart, and continues his pursuit of the World Title. Speaking of World Title, Randy Orton became the youngest champion in WWE history, when he did what Triple H has never done: defeated Chris Benoit. That reign was short-lived when Evolution kicked Mr. RKO out of the team, and Triple H won the title back a short three weeks later. Now, Randy Orton wants what is his back, but Batista, Chris Benoit, Edge, and Chris Jericho all have something to say about that.
The decision to introduce fans to the WWE Raw Diva Search was a kick in the face to those who come to watch wrestling, but things finally heated up, when Carmella became the target of all remaining Diva Search contestants. Carmella and Christy became the final two, and in the end, Christy Hemme became the winner of the Diva Search, and has since heralded in the debut of at least one dozen new “divas”, as well as the departure of women who could actually wrestle (Nidia, Jazz, Gail Kim).
It was a year unlike any other, and now the very best will shine through. Here now are several high points in the year of 2004 for WWE.
Best Entrance Song: Evolution - Say what you will about Triple H or Ric Flair, but when it comes to a good theme song, Evolution had it. It represented a powerful beat, that showed us how strong Evolution was. In recent weeks, Motorhead’s song has not been heard as prominently, as the powerful stable has showed signs of falling apart, since they decided to kick Randy Orton out. In any event, the song was a great theme to an already great stable. Runner-Up: Triple H
Best In-Ring Work: Chris Benoit - You can have your Kurt Angles, Eddie Guerreros and Shelton Benjamins, but when you want to watch one man have an excellent match, Chris Benoit is who you come to for that. Most times, I can become a tad bored with a wrestling match, but with Chris Benoit, you can feel the sheer intensity flowing through his veins. Benoit received a much-deserved title reign in 2004, when he defeated both Triple H and Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 20. He went on to defeat Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kane, Batista, Ric Flair, and many other greats on the Raw roster, before losing the gold to Randy Orton.
Chris Benoit made good matches great, and he made great matches excellent. Some of the greatest matches in 2004 were with Chris Benoit. The aforementioned triple threat main event at Wrestlemania was something to see. It had everything that anyone would want from a match, and then some. Later on, in August of 2004, Chris Benoit went face to face with Triple H one last time, in a sixty-minute Iron Man match. A grueling battle that had my eyes glued to the screen for 60 minutes (when you take out the commercials) and I felt that this match could have been one of the best Raw matches of all time. Chris Benoit knows how to wrestle, and proves it in every match. Runner-Up: Kurt Angle
Best PPV: Wrestlemania 20 - This is a bit of a no-brainer. The Triple Threat Main-Event, Kurt Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero, The Rock and Sock vs. Evolution (minus Triple H), a Cruiserweight Battle Royal, Kane vs. The Undertaker, and John Cena vs. Big Show. Wrestlemania truly was where it all began… again. Runner-Up: Summerslam 2004
Best Title Reign: (tie) Chris Benoit AND John Bradshaw Layfield - If you want a greatly deserved title reign, Chris Benoit had it in 2004. But, what many forget is, is that the WWE Title has solidified JBL as a top heel and top performer in the company. Not since Shawn Michaels seven years ago has anyone held the WWE Title for that long. Bradshaw was a mid-card tag team competitor with Faarooq, and he showed signs of being bigger when the New World Order was around, but he was put out with an injury, and we will never know what plans WWE had for Bradshaw then.
Both men have fought some great competitors and beat them in their time as champions. Like I said, Benoit went on to beat Triple H, HBK, Kane, Batista, and Flair and many more on Raw, while JBL took down three of the greatest performers in WWE history: Eddie Guerrero, The Undertaker and Booker T. Now with a strong stable (The Cabinet), JBL looks to make a big impact in 2005.
Best Diva: Trish Stratus - Some will tell you Lita was the top diva in WWE, others might say Victoria, and who knows? There may be some who say Stacy Keibler, for that rare three week feud with Trish Stratus in 2004. But, when you come down to it, no diva was stronger than Trish in 2004. Then again, there wasn’t many real divas to choose from, even before the Spring Cleaning in WWE.
Best Moment of the Year: Eugene and Rock’s In-Ring Bit - Now, last year created a flurry of great moments. How about Austin’s last appearance in WWE, where he gave advice to the up-and-comer Shelton Benjamin, who later that night defeated Triple H? Perhaps seeing Eric Bischoff stand up against Evolution really got you excited? The building tension between Hunter and Batista caused for some truly tense moments, too. And who can forget Kurt Angle shooting a tranquilizer dart into Big Show, then shaving him bald?
But when it comes to the full package (putting someone over, getting big pops, returning cameo, comedy, wrestling), seeing Eugene and The Rock in May of 2004 was amazing. The Coach was berated by Rock and Eugene, in a segment that I will never forget. It gave Eugene a push that many felt was rushed, but some will argue that a certain angle (which I deemed a huge success) never clicked with the fans at all. Either way, this segment lived on as a great moment in 2004, where a rookie and a veteran interacted in a classic segment. Runner-Up: Shelton Benjamin’s surprise win over Hunter
Best Promo: Mick Foley’s Barbed Wire Bat Speech - You remember this, right? For the life of me, I could not remember exactly what was said, so I had to try and find someone who had it. I came up short, but I remember a classic Mick Foley promo, where he gave a speech on his barbed wire bat, that he would use in his match against Randy Orton. The intensity and excitement was overwhelming, and it provided for a great build-up to Orton and Foley at Backlash.
Best Mic Work: Triple H - Like I said before, love him or hate him, Triple H does a lot for WWE. And his mic work is impeccable. Ric Flair’s protégé has it down pat, and he really gives a lot of great intensity in his mic work. Whether he was demanding Eugene come to the ring, giving a teary-eyed speech to Bischoff, or just man-handling anyone who gets in his way, Hunter has a way with words. You feel like he really feels what he is saying, and few can stand next to him in this particular sense. Runner-Up: Mohammed Hassan (I have put Hassan on this list after some incredible mic work that left me speechless. Say what you will about what he has to say, or about the whole Arab angle, but he really puts a lot into what he says.)
Best Feud: Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero – It’s hard not to name Guerrero and Angle as the best feuders in 2004. Their feud built slowly, and grew throughout the year, culminating in matches at Wrestlemania, Summerslam and a Best 2 out of 3 falls match on Smackdown. All of their matches were top notch, and to choose one match over the others would be quite a difficult task. Runner-Up: Chris Benoit and Triple H
Most Likely To Be Huge in 2005: Batista - This is just one big no-brainer. After watching Raw this week, and hearing the eruption from the crowd when he told Hunter “Now you’re starting to piss me off.”, you can tell he will be easy to put over with the fans. Building his turn on Hunter only adds more intensity to Batista. Whenever I see him in the ring after a match he has won, you can see a hint of shock in his eye, because I’m sure we’re not the only ones to be surprised by this popularity for Batista. Runner-Up: Shelton Benjamin
Best Tag Team: La Resistance - I was almost going to name William Regal and Eugene the best tag team, but La Resistance was one of the few tag teams to stick together the entire year, despite losing Renee Dupree to Smackdown back in March. They were tag team champions most of the year, and they remained a strong tag team, in a division that has been dying for the last few years, ever since the teams of The Dudleys, The Hardys, and Edge & Christian have all either gone past their prime (that’s you, Bubba Ray and D-Von) or split up altogether. Runner-Up: Eugene and William Regal
Best Newcomer: Eugene - I’ll keep this short and sweet. We got Heidenreich, Simon Dean, Mohammed Hassan, Mordecai, Christy Hemme, the rest of the Deadhead Divas, Daniel Puder, and Tyson Tomko. Eugene is a no-brainer here. The only possible future star (of the heels) would be Hassan, but he has just started. Eugene had a huge push that was taken wrong, but he still is a popular guy. Kudos to Eugene. Maybe we’ll see a World Champion Eugene in the future… or maybe not. Runner-Up: Umm… judging by that list, I’m coming up blank.
Best Television Match: Shelton Benjamin vs. Triple H (3/29) - I was pumped for this match. Everything clicked with these two, and I was really exciting to experience this encounter. Sure, I knew in the back of my head that Hunter would get a win in the end, but I was enjoying myself. Imagine my surprise to see Shelton soaring through the air, landing against Triple H, and rolling him up for the win. Shelton has continued to have a STRONG popularity with the fans, and I’m glad. He really deserves it, and I can sense a possible World Title run in the future. Possibly not till 2006, but it will come eventually. Runner-Up: Chris Benoit vs. Triple H (60 Minute Iron Man Match)
Best PPV Match: HBK vs. Triple H vs. Benoit (WMXX) - This is a match that cannot be experienced through words. You need to see this match to believe it. When I saw it replayed a week ago on the Best of special, my father finally got to see it. Even he was glued to this match for the entire duration. It’s a match that really made Wrestlemania a classic PPV, rather than just great. You could call it a legendary PPV. I know I am not the only one literally screaming with anticipation, as that Crippler Crossface was slapped on, and then Triple H turned himself over, only to be caught in the Crossface once more. A brilliant match. Runner-Up: Team Orton vs. Team Evolution (Survivor Series)
Best Shock: Evolution Turns on Randy Orton - I thought the show was over. Evolution was celebrating again, as Orton was the youngest champion in history of the company. The thumbs up from Hunter proved all was fair in Evolution. Then, the thumbs up went down. Not good. Orton mouthed the f-word, and down he went to the ground, hard. Hunter beat Orton into oblivion, and this began a feud that still burns strong today. Runner-Up: Shelton’s Roll-up on Hunter
Best Heel: JBL - I know, there is going to be a bit of a mixed feeling on this. But picture this: Bradshaw has been pretty low on the company’s food chain for years. He has been with Faarooq for a long time. They break up early in 2004, and this spawns a brand new Bradshaw: JBL. People hate this new character, and basically that’s what he wants. He wants us to hate him. He performs possibly the biggest mistake in his life, by doing a Hitler wave sign to the crowds in Germany. Sure, you got to admire his courage to build his heel character, but that was the wrong thing to do. Since then, he was been insulting all the hometowns he has been to, and proved to be a strong heel. And, I love that signature worried face he puts on, whenever he is in danger. It’s purely priceless, and makes him that much more enjoyable to watch. Rumor has it that JBL could be champion for a little while longer, which I have no beef with. Smackdown only has JBL as their strong heel, so this could be the best thing. Runner-Up: Triple H
Best Babyface: Chris Benoit - I am going on a lot of things. On pops, Benoit may not be at the top of the list. That would go to The Undertaker, John Cena, Chris Jericho, or Randy Orton. But, I’m basing this on pops, fan respect, fan admiration, and overall appeal to the fans. Benoit never has to play to the crowds, ever. He doesn’t need to, because they like him the way he is. That is what makes him so great. His title run was one of the greatest of all time, and he really added a lot to the title, which used to be just “Hunter’s Title”. Runner-Up: Eddie Guerrero
Well, that is the end of the first of a three-part Best Of Series. Coming up next (tomorrow) is the MVPs of 2004, a little review of this week’s Raw, and possibly some dishonourable mentions of the year, leading up to my Top 10 Best and Top 5 Worst of 2004 in WWE. As always, I’m Mr. X saying to have a happy new year. Buh-bye, everyone!
Copyright © 2005; TheWrestlingVoice.com & Douglas Nunnally.
All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer & Privacy Statement
| What Did You Think About WWE Backlash 2008? |
|
|