As we all know, in 2002-2003 the WWE found itself in somewhat of a slump. Rock and Austin were gone and they couldn't find a face good enough to put at the top of the company. Well there was Lesnar for a while, but he didn't last for long and didn't go out in the most fashionable way.
In 2004 you have Cena as a face getting popular on SmackDown, but still not ready to get the title. Instead you have Eddie and mostly JBL as champions throughout the year. Plus, Cena even takes a bit of time off to shoot The Marine. Then Cena returns and beats the shit out of Carlito's bodyguard, Jesus. As for Raw, by now Orton had won his first ever WHC and turn face, with Evolution kicking him out of the group. And Batista's rise was beginning as the tension between him and HHH was starting to rise. Remember that episode where we're fooled into thinking Batista beat the hell out of HHH? Man what a tease. Oh and before all f this, you had Benoit as WHC thanks to that great Triple Threat match at WMXX. And speaking of WMXX, The Undertaker got back to being the deadman there.
Then comes early 2005 and we see Batista and Cena winning the big ones at WrestleMania 21. As most of you probably know by now, in 2005, WWE saw an increase in house show revenue, PPV sales and show ratings. And, as strange as this might sound, Batista was a bigger star than Cena for a while.
Whether you like Cena and Batista or not, you cant' deny that the product at the time was starting to feel exciting again and attracting some mainstream attention. Not AE level, but higher then in the last few years.
As for the undercard, you had guys like Shelton and Carlito who showed promise at the time. And guys like Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle were on fire. Edge's rise to the main event was building up as well and you knew he was eventually gonna become a main eventer. Orton's first WHC title reign didn't go over so well, but then he turns heel again and people start caring about him again. Pretty much no one doubted he'd be a star someday and that he and Cena would feud someday. Veterans such as Rey Mysterio and Booker T seemed bound to win the big one someday as well. As for JBL, his new character turned out to be more memorable than his Bradshaw one.
And let's not forget that the Womens' Division still had Lita and Trish. And then Mickie James joined. Victoria was sorta misused but wrestled nevertheless.
Ofc not everything was good. I felt Cena's feud with Angle on Raw was not that good. And that was when people began getting fed up with him. Raw started to decline in quality in 2005 after the Raw Homecoming episode, imo. SmackDown, on the other hand, got better after the Draft. I'd still take this time period over 2006 and 2007, though.
What about you? What did you think of this time period in the company?
In 2004 you have Cena as a face getting popular on SmackDown, but still not ready to get the title. Instead you have Eddie and mostly JBL as champions throughout the year. Plus, Cena even takes a bit of time off to shoot The Marine. Then Cena returns and beats the shit out of Carlito's bodyguard, Jesus. As for Raw, by now Orton had won his first ever WHC and turn face, with Evolution kicking him out of the group. And Batista's rise was beginning as the tension between him and HHH was starting to rise. Remember that episode where we're fooled into thinking Batista beat the hell out of HHH? Man what a tease. Oh and before all f this, you had Benoit as WHC thanks to that great Triple Threat match at WMXX. And speaking of WMXX, The Undertaker got back to being the deadman there.
Then comes early 2005 and we see Batista and Cena winning the big ones at WrestleMania 21. As most of you probably know by now, in 2005, WWE saw an increase in house show revenue, PPV sales and show ratings. And, as strange as this might sound, Batista was a bigger star than Cena for a while.
Whether you like Cena and Batista or not, you cant' deny that the product at the time was starting to feel exciting again and attracting some mainstream attention. Not AE level, but higher then in the last few years.
As for the undercard, you had guys like Shelton and Carlito who showed promise at the time. And guys like Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle were on fire. Edge's rise to the main event was building up as well and you knew he was eventually gonna become a main eventer. Orton's first WHC title reign didn't go over so well, but then he turns heel again and people start caring about him again. Pretty much no one doubted he'd be a star someday and that he and Cena would feud someday. Veterans such as Rey Mysterio and Booker T seemed bound to win the big one someday as well. As for JBL, his new character turned out to be more memorable than his Bradshaw one.
And let's not forget that the Womens' Division still had Lita and Trish. And then Mickie James joined. Victoria was sorta misused but wrestled nevertheless.
Ofc not everything was good. I felt Cena's feud with Angle on Raw was not that good. And that was when people began getting fed up with him. Raw started to decline in quality in 2005 after the Raw Homecoming episode, imo. SmackDown, on the other hand, got better after the Draft. I'd still take this time period over 2006 and 2007, though.
What about you? What did you think of this time period in the company?