I could go on for pages and pages about the past few weeks in WWE, but I promised any fans of mine that I would give an extended look at the best and worst in 2004 in WWE, as well as showcase the best talent the WWE had to offer this year, in the special section entitled “The MVPs of WWE in 2004”. First off, I loved the Toronto crowd this past week on Raw. Not much else to say, except WOW, Christian is really popular in his hometown. Batista is really shaping up well to be a strong player in WWE. The turn is coming, but when? I guess it may be a PPV, but it couldn’t be Royal Rumble. Will they give Batista the win at Royal Rumble, and just play off that? That just sounds anti-climatic. I’m not really sure where WWE plans to go, or if Randy Orton’s push has hit the skids completely, for now. I would say Orton’s best bet is to be drafted to Smackdown, but I don’t know right now.
But, enough on Raw. In the coming days, I’ll talk about this week’s Raw, and the forthcoming Royal Rumble. But with 2005 in like a lion, depending on where you live, I thought 2004 was just about gone for good. So, here now, is my special promised second part of my look back at 2004 in WWE.
The Most Valuable Players in WWE, 2004
5. Eddie Guerrero - After years of being a mid-card kind of guy, taking the best of the mediocre titles in wrestling organizations, Eddie Guerrero caught a huge break in February, when Brock Lesnar was sidetracked by Goldberg leading in to Wrestlemania, and Eddie took advantage, winning his first World Title ever. Guerrero celebrated by retaining the title over Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania 20, which lead to one of the greatest feuds of the year and of all time in WWE.
Behind the scenes, Eddie felt the stress and tension of being a top player and put much of the blame on his shoulders for a slump in WWE, and I have to say that Eddie was one of the few shining stars in the company for the entire year. To blame him would be like blaming Australia for the lockout in the NHL. It doesn’t make sense to blame Eddie for any slump, because he had a strong run in WWE as champion, and I would love to see him as champion again someday soon. He lost the title at The Great American Bash to JBL, who currently is STILL the champion, seven months later.
4. Shelton Benjamin - We all knew the potential of young Shelton when he was teamed with Charlie Haas in Team Angle, but it really showed on March 29th, when Shelton was trying to enjoy his first official week on Raw, and was attacked by Triple H and Evolution, which lead to a huge showdown later that night in the main event. Shelton and Hunter put on a great match, that ended with a huge upset, as Shelton pulled off the win over Triple H. Hunter was beside himself, as that night was “all about the Benjamins, Shelton Benjamin”. He has since won the IC title, and currently got some pretty strong pops from the crowd. Shelton is here to stay for a while.
3. Triple H - Say what you will. Let me hear it, from morning till noon to night. It doesn’t matter, because Triple H deserves to be on this list, no matter what. Know why? He is the game. He is an icon. A legendary status is what Triple H finds himself in already. He created one of the best stables that any wrestling company has EVER offered. The New World Order had the idea, but it didn’t have the right guys backing it up. Scott Hall was fired, Hulk Hogan broke off as a babyface, and Kevin Nash had some serious injuries to contend with. What was left? Shawn Michaels, Booker T, Big Show and X-Pac. Sounds more like The Outsiders. In any event, Triple H is one of the best in WWE. He has held the title 10 times, and he is great in the ring. I don’t know what more to say. His attitude of the internet fans could change, but I’ve told that story already.
2. Randy Orton - Last year was THE year for Randy Orton. I don’t know if it could get any better than that. Randy Orton held the IC title for seven months. In March, he began a feud with one of the greats, Mick Foley, and had a big match at Wrestlemania with Batista and Ric Flair against Foley and The Rock. In April, he was in one of those legendary hardcore matches with Foley, that you may have only heard about in Foley’s books. In August, he won a Battle Royal, and went on to face Chris Benoit at Summerslam and win the World Title. The very next night, his reign as champion was soured by being ousted from Evolution, in a shock that fooled everyone.
In September, Randy Orton had his first big match with Triple H, where he lost the World Title, after nearly one month as the champion. Since then, he has been in hot pursuit of both Triple H and the World Title. In November, he won a match for Team Orton at the Survivor Series, when he pinned Triple H and became General Manager for a week, along with Benoit, Jericho and Maven. And now, this coming Royal Rumble, Triple H will defend the World Title against Randy Orton, even if the chances of Orton winning are rather slim.
1. Chris Benoit - He is for real. No questions asked, Chris Benoit is for real. Call him the Rabid Wolverine, call him Toothless Aggression, but whatever you call him, remember that he is one of the greatest wrestlers alive today, and for this year, was THE best wrestler. Giving Bret Hart a run for his money, Benoit proved time and time again that he can make the blandest pairings in a match extraordinary (remember back when Batista was still just below the radar?). There are quite a few matches that I will not watch completely, or I’ll skip altogether. But Benoit is a guy I enjoy to watch, no matter what.
As it stands, his best matches last year were spread out. His performance in the Royal Rumble was great, where he won the entire Rumble. Taking on both Triple H and HBK at Wrestlemania 20 was one of my favorite matches of all time. Then, on RAW, Benoit defended his title in August against Hunter in an Iron Man Match, another personal favorite, that I actually watched right through. That’s amazing for me. Benoit was definitely, in my eyes, the Most Valuable Player in 2004.
Well, that is the MVP list for last year in WWE. And now, let’s just get right to it. The Top 10 Best and Top 5 Worst in 2004 for WWE. Let’s start off on a bit of a low note with the Top 10 Worst of 2004 list.
The Top Five Worst of 2004 in WWE
5. Bradshaw and the Germany Adventure - As much as I like the heel that JBL has developed since creating the role last year, the biggest mistake he could have made was going to Germany, and performing a gesture that can have you fined or arrested in Germany. JBL’s intentions were undoubtedly harmless, but his actions were inexcusable. This was just wrong on so many levels.
4. Jericho/Christian Overkill - After their encounter at Wrestlemania, I didn’t want anything else to do with Jericho and Christian. These two have played out one of the longest feuds in WWE history, and while their in-ring skills are great, I was happy when I heard “Last Encounter” for their steel cage match in May. They still have had a few encounters since, but hopefully we won’t witness any more in this chapter for both talented guys.
3. Promos Promos Promos - Quite possibly the first sign that a new wrestler is going to fail is a promo. Do you remember those clever, yet atrocious Simon Dean “infomercials”? It was an original idea, but it just came off poorly after the second infomercial. It wasn’t the greatest idea for a wrestler, either. I have not seen much of ECW, but as I understand it, the guy who plays Simon was much better in ECW. Well, he has the heel qualities down, but the whole character is just bad. Mohammed Hassan relied HEAVILY on an anti-US campaign, to mixed results. Hardly anyone supported the idea or character, but he really built a heel monster, and I hope it doesn’t fizzle out quickly. It has potential. Either way, all of the promos rarely ever work, and only set high bars for these wrestlers, and the majority of the time, they cannot deliver on their hype.
2. WWE Kills the Women’s Division - It’s a tragedy that talented divas are being pushed away for the eye candy divas that the WWE has currently invested in. It’s a terrible idea. All the divas are now are cheerleaders, with only three or four actually talented divas. The Diva Search was a sham, and was only to get more of this blatant eye candy crap that WWE is going for. The one Diva Search contestant that wasn’t a one-dimensional character was Carmella. Some will disagree, but she had the most potential, and the fans already were booing her throughout the contest. I don’t care about backstage crap. We all hear about the stuff from the guys, so why are the girls any different? Anyone who openly supports Ric Flair (with all of his unneeded comments about Foley, Hart, Sammartino) and bashes Carmella are hypocrites. Do I want Carmella there? No. I want ALL of the Diva Search contestants gone, especially Christy… but, that segways into…
1. WWE Diva Search/Tough Enough 4 - WWE makes some amazing decisions. Taboo Tuesday was the most innovative idea WWE has spawned in a long time. But, for every great idea comes two bad ones… two really bad ones. Vince decided to begin a worldwide Diva Search for Raw. Interesting idea, may have worked well in a 30 minute reality series format. But no… he decided to place it IN Raw for a few weeks, taking up time that could be used pushing The Simon System or giving Maven an extra long period to prepare himself to be squashed by Batista. See what I’m saying?
Tough Enough 4: another bad idea. A terrible idea. No, not the competition, but placing it on the already struggling Smackdown. It was a terrible thing to do, and I hope we don’t see it again. Now, we’re going to be graced with the company of Christy Hemme and Daniel Puder, along with the majority of the Diva Search contestants (I wonder why they got their jobs…). Christy is full of enthusiasm, but she will never be a real wrestler. If I wanted more eye candy (don’t worry, I am also sick of using the term eye candy), I would have wrote a whole column asking for it. Sure, no one from WWE would read it, but I tell you what I want and what I hate. To me, Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler are the ultimate in eye candy in WWE. We don’t need more. But, now we’re overrun with it, to the point that they killed the entire women’s division for it. Too bad.
Well, we got that ALL out of the way, and now it’s time… Mr. X’s look at The Very Best in 2004 for WWE… just a month or so too late.
10. The Dead Man Returneth (Pre-Wrestlemania Build-Up) - WWE knows how to tease us, but they don’t do it a lot. They tease about teasing, I guess. Either way, the time leading up to Undertaker’s return, where we were given a ton of build-up, from the Taker gong to the “Ring-esque” videos to the mystery rain pouring down on Kane. I loved The Dead Man, and I was so happy to see him back. Unfortunately, the image itself wasn’t the same, and I was a tad under-whelmed by it. But, the build-up itself was phenomenal, and that entire segment with the druids and Paul Bearer at Wrestlemania XX? That was one time that Michael Cole’s description of “spine-chilling” was absolutely true for the fans at home. That was a moment I’ll never forget.
9. The Big Con - Before the New Year, I had already chosen my Top 10. When I chose the night when Batista pretended to turn on Hunter, I had no idea that Batista was going to go over HUGE with the crowds and find himself in a possible match against Hunter at Wrestlemania 21. Either way, hearing the crowd chanting “BA-TIS-TA!” over and over was really thrilling, and I can’t wait until he turns on Hunter.
8. Not-So-Friendly Feud: Guerrero and Angle - Was there a better feud this year than Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero? It started at Wrestlemania, went on for a few matches, Angle screwed Eddie out of the WWE Title, and you have yourself the best feud of the year. It wasn’t overplayed, and the matches were ALL top notch. Heck, if they thought about another Guerrero/Angle match at Wrestlemania, I wouldn’t be upset at all. I know they’ll bring their best.
7. Team Orton vs. Team Evolution (Survivor Series) - I loved watching this match. It was a really work of art, and it had a lot riding on it that I actually cared about. I was really hoping that Orton, Jericho, Benoit and Maven would win, and it came down to an awesome confrontation between Orton and Hunter, and that one last major reversal by Orton was a classic. It shocked the hell out of me, and it made me want to see a one-on-one between the two. Sadly, that’s off in favor of Batista and Hunter, but maybe we’ll see Orton at the top again someday.
6. Eugene and Evolution - This is that love it or hate it angle. I thought it was a brilliant story that the crowds never accepted. I thought it strongly built up Eugene, but it just was too much for the average audience in WWE, so it sadly fell by the waste side, and they benched Eugene. Now, Nick Dinsmore (or Eugene) is out of action thanks to a knee injury. I think Nick should really consider some new things for Eugene while he’s out, because if they play it out right, it could work in a big way once Eugene is back.
5. Chris Benoit vs. Triple H (Iron Man Match) - 60 minutes that I watched each and every minute of. We received a PPV match for free on Raw, and I’ll be forever grateful for it. Sure, the Diva Search was still ruining the show at the time, but nothing could ruin this Grade-A main event, that brought an end to the long-running Benoit/Hunter feud. Kudos to both men for putting on an instant classic that night.
4. Eugene and Rock - Set aside all of those comments about Rock selling out for Hollywood. Set aside the fact that Eugene was only just up-and-coming and never meant originally to be a huge star. Put yourself back into that Monday night, when history was made. It was a phenomenal 13 minute segment, that I will never ever forget. It stuck with me for months after, and I still smile thinking about the banter between Rock, Eugene and The Coach. All were at the top of their game, and no other in-ring segment topped it last year.
3. Shelton vs. Triple H (Raw – 3/29/04) - You’ll see some repetition in my wording. What can I say, other than phenomenal? I was glued to the screen, even when I thought Shelton’s chances were next to zero. We all thought it was over when Ric took a cheap shot to Shelton’s head, but lo and behold, he came back with a flying vengeance, and pulled off an upset win. This was also a special night for Shelton, because he got to share Steve Austin’s last moment in WWE, when Austin gave him some good advice. Okay, Austin is probably coming back in some sort of way soon, but Shelton Benjamin can still enjoy the idea.
2. Evolution Turns on Randy Orton - What a shock. I was speechless at the time. I’m still speechless. No matter how many times it was rumored, it still came out of left field. You could sense the shock that was in the air in the arena. A surreal moment, for sure.
1. Triple H vs. Chris Benoit vs. HBK (Wrestlemania 20) - I couldn’t give the top spot to any other match. It was a real match for the ages. Clearly, the match of the year, and clearly a match that I could watch a few times over and over. That’s saying a lot. It also created the new age of Benoit’s attitude of being “for real”. And to add to this match, the post-match celebration of two old friends, Benoit and Guerrero, was one of those moments you had to see to believe. They really outdid themselves at Wrestlemania 20.
Well, that is that, folks. The Best and Worst of 2004. Now, for a little announcement of my own. I am officially writing for THREE wrestling sites, which I take a lot of pride in. NoDQ, The Wrestling Voice, and Wrestling Pain. So, here’s a hello to any new readers that will check my column out. You can all come back tomorrow or Sunday for a guaranteed column, talking about WWE in Japan, Batista’s On-Going Push, and some thoughts on Wrestlemania rumors. And then, I’ll be back on Wednesday with my official return to the weekly wrestling column world, where I’ll talk about Monday Night Raw. Have a great weekend everyone, and I’m Mr. X saying if it’s broken, someone else will surely fix it (should I stop with the lame send-offs? Maybe…) Buh-bye, everyone.
Copyright © 2005; TheWrestlingVoice.com & Douglas Nunnally.
All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer & Privacy Statement
| What Did You Think About WWE Backlash 2008? |
|
|