As fond as people seem to be of 2004 in the WWE and especially WrestleMania 20, there were plenty of flaws to be picked at. The midcard and undercard lacked depth and was poorly booked with the talent that was there, the main event scene seemed to go in circles a bit, and they struggled a bit to push newer guys to the top. And for as much praise as WrestleMania 20 has received in the past, I feel that quite a bit of that comes from the two fantastic main events, and not much thought is put into the weakness of the lower card. For a five hour event, this is almost unbearable to sit through in its entirety, which tends to be the case with any five hour wrestling show or any five hour show in general. What I hope to do with this post is simply put out some ideas to think about, obviously just a "what if" scenario, like I did back in January for WrestleMania 18. I'd like to hear feedback on whether or not my version sounds better than the version that actually happened, as well as whether or not I should potentially continue booking my revisionist version of the 2004 PPVs, if that's something people might be interested in. Just let me know on twitter @SaveUsY2Jake or leave a comment on this post. Anyway, here we go with the new and (hopefully improved) version of WrestleMania 20.
Opening Match
The Rock 'N Sock Connection def. Ric Flair and Batista
Obviously this is just a change of a handicap match to a tag team match by removing only one person, but it is probably the person who was most vital to this storyline in real life. So, in order to make up for other changes later in the card, I had to remove Randy Orton from this match. Orton had been targeting Mick Foley for weeks as part of his Legend Killer gimmick. But when The Rock returned to even up the odds, Orton bowed out from this match. So, by virtue of being a huge kiss up to Eric Bischoff, he is removed from the match, with the reasoning being that Foley "hasn't earned an opportunity to get his hands on Orton yet". The Rock 'N Sock Connection wins as Foley pins Flair, leading to Foley finally getting his hands on Orton the following month at Backlash.
Womens Championship Match
Victoria (c) def. Trish Stratus w/ Chris Jericho
While the Hair vs Title match that happened in real life between Victoria and Molly Holly was fine, I'd like to use this match as a storyline building opportunity for, let's face it, a more important match that's occurring later in the night. Midway through the match, Jericho is attacked by an invading Christian. Their brawl distracts Trish, who is left vulnerable to be hit by the Widow's Peak and pinned. Victoria retains as Jericho and Christian are separated at ringside.
Cruiserweight Championship Match
Chavo Guerrero Jr. (c) w/ Chavo Classic def. Rey Mysterio, Ultimo Dragon & Billy Kidman
Although the talent pool as far as the Cruiserweight division was concerned was possibly as deep as it had ever been within the WWE at this point, I would try and narrow it down to who I felt were the four most popular of the bunch. I appreciate what WWE tried to do in fitting anybody and everybody onto the WrestleMania 20 card, but I wouldn't do it at the risk of actual show quality, and this match would be better I think than the complete clusterfuck of a Cruiserweight Open that happened in real life. Chavo wins with help from Chavo Classic and leaves with his Cruiserweight Title intact.
World Tag Team Championship Tables Match
Booker T and Rob Van Dam (c) def. The Dudley Boyz
In yet another title match where the titles don't change hands, RVD and Booker T defeat The Dudleys. As I said earlier, I appreciate what WWE was going for by just cramming people into the card, but I'd much prefer a straight tag team match here, as I was never a huge La Resistance fan and Jindrak and Cade were useless. In front of a MSG crowd that would be crazy hot for this match, the champions retain with a Five-Star Frog Splash through the table.
Stone Cold Steve Austin def. Brock Lesnar
Bear with me here. I am booking with the benefit of hindsight. And the benefit of hindsight tells me that Goldberg vs Lesnar, no matter how logical it would have been at this point in their storyline, CAN NOT HAPPEN. So, as a bit of an ad-lib, this is its replacement. Bischoff, as punishment to Austin, tells Lesnar, who doesn't want to face Goldberg because he's unsure if he'll win (but doesn't say that, it's just implied) that he can face Stone Cold instead since he's the one that sent Goldberg to No Way Out to cost Lesnar the WWE Championship in the first place. Here's the catch with this match: Stone Cold Steve Austin was not in good enough physical shape to have an actual wrestling match. So here's what happens: Austin comes to the ring in his wrestling gear, over as hell. Lesnar comes out and is booed out of the building. Brock and Austin have a staredown, Lesnar is clearly rattled by the fans. Austin flips him off. Lesnar, in a fit of rage, swings at Austin (Sheriff Austin is still not allowed to attack a superstar unless physically provoked to do so, remember) Austin ducks the strike, catches Lesnar with a Stunner. Brock is quick to get back up, and gets Stunnered again. He works his way back to his feet, and eats a third Stunner to a thunderous pop. Austin covers him for three and drowns himself in beer as MSG goes nuts, sending Lesnar off in shame.
United States Championship Match
John Cena def. The Big Show (c)
In what was the opening match of the real show, nothing really changes here except for its placement on the card. It could very easily still be the opener as well. This match did its job wonderfully as far as getting Cena over is concerned, and it was just a good match overall. I mostly moved this match from the opening spot so as to spread out the Evolution matches on the card.
Christian def. Chris Jericho w/ Trish Stratus
In another match that really doesn't change whatsoever, Christian defeats Jericho with help from Trish. The only thing that changes here is Trish has more motivation for her turn, as she pins the blame on Jericho for costing her the Womens Championship earlier in the night.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Too Cool (c) def. World's Greatest Tag Team
At first, I had planned on leaving the WWE Tag Team Titles off the card entirely. But, on a five hour show, there's really no point in leaving any of the belts off the card without a good reason to. So in another short match, Too Cool retains. WGTT beats up on Scotty until Scotty is able to hit The Worm and pop the crowd, hot tag to Rikishi, a few thrust kicks and one Rikishi Driver to Charlie Haas later, Rikishi and Scotty retain the titles as Shelton was soon to be drafted to RAW and thus WGTT was soon to be disbanded, as much as I'd like to put the titles on them here.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Randy Orton (c) def. Goldberg
In a continuation from the earlier Austin/Lesnar situation, when Bischoff forces Austin into a match with Lesnar, Sheriff Austin says that he should then be allowed to put Bischoff into a match of his choosing. Bischoff obviously refutes this, but Vince McMahon intervenes and agrees with Austin's assessment of the situation. He chooses to put Bischoff into a match with Goldberg on RAW. Before the match, though, Austin announces that it is a number one contender's match for the Intercontinental Championship, as he's pissed at Orton for backing out of the match with Rock 'N Sock Connection. Goldberg is about to win the match when Orton runs in and decimates him with a chair. Orton thinks he's dodged a bullet in this situation, but realizes his mistake when Goldberg is announced to have won the match by disqualification. Orton runs scared from Goldberg for weeks to come until he manages to retain his title over Goldberg, who could be considered a "legend" at this point in 2004 to continue on with Orton's Legend Killer gimmick. Orton wins with help from Flair and Batista, and Goldberg is out of the company for good. I do think that the "smart" MSG crowd would flip a little and cheer for Orton in this one, but that's a risk I'm willing to take for the sake of getting Lesnar vs Goldberg the fuck off the card.
World Heavyweight Championship No Holds Barred Match
Triple H (c) def. Shawn Michaels
Now here's where my card may get controversial. Chris Benoit is not in this match, despite the fact that he won the Royal Rumble, and that will be explained in a bit. But what's important for this match is that HBK and HHH had been engaged in a blood feud for the better part of two years at this point, without a real payoff. Instead of delaying that payoff to a non-title HIAC at Bad Blood three months later, this match is that payoff. At Royal Rumble, these two fought to a no contest in a Last Man Standing match. This match is booked to ensure that an end is put to this feud, as it's less of a no holds barred match in the sense that it'll be riddled with weapons and more of a no holds barred match in the sense that somebody has to win by pinfall or submission. Triple H pulls out the victory with the use of his sledgehammer, and HBK receives a standing ovation as he exits the arena after yet another amazing WrestleMania performance.
Streak Match
The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer def. Kane
I would've preferred to put Undertaker in a different match, but with the inherited storyline heading into Mania 20, there's really not much I could have done to change this match. Everything stays the same, in a match that isn't a popcorn match but it is definitely slower paced and a bit of a break for the crowd before we get to the main event.
WWE Championship Match
Chris Benoit def. Eddie Guerrero (c) and Kurt Angle
So let me break ALL of this down. The night after No Way Out, with both World Champions set heading into WrestleMania, Chris Benoit is allowed to make his decision on which World Title to challenge for. It seems like a no-brainer he'll choose Triple H, which he intends to do in his in-ring promo. Until Shawn Michaels comes out, that is. HBK pleads his case to Benoit, imploring The Rabid Wolverine to allow The Showstopper to challenge for the title at WrestleMania, as he claims that the match at Royal Rumble was unfinished business between him and Triple H that needed to be settled one-on-one. He tries to convince Benoit by pointing out that he could headline WrestleMania with his best friend in Eddie Guerrero since Eddie had won the WWE Title at No Way Out. Benoit says he'll sit on it for a week and answer the following Monday on RAW. Eddie comes out on SmackDown and also makes a case for Benoit to challenge him for the WWE Title. Benoit comes out on RAW and officially challenges Eddie Guerrero for WrestleMania. This enrages Kurt Angle, who defeated John Cena at No Way Out to earn a WrestleMania WWE Title shot. Angle takes out his anger with repeated sneak attacks on Eddie Guerrero while Benoit continues to compete on RAW. On the go-home episode of SmackDown, Benoit finally appears, engaging in a stare down with Angle and Eddie that results in Angle being trapped in the Crippler Crossface and hit with the Frog Splash, leading in a stare down between Benoit and Eddie, each of them holding on to one end of the WWE Championship. That brings us to this match, which would be absolutely incredible. Benoit wins the title for the first time, which does make Eddie's reign incredibly short, but he hadn't been handling the pressure of being champion very well in real life anyway. The post-match moment between Benoit and Eddie happens regardless to end the show.
So there it is, revisionist WrestleMania 20. Once again, let me know what you thought of this compared to the actual events of WrestleMania 20, and whether or not you'd be interested in reading a rebooking of the rest of 2004.
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