What was the best, and worst, of 2004?

By Brian Argabright
The News-Herald

Published January 03, 2005


As is customary, I'm wrapping up 2004 with a look back at what some of the Powerbombs and Press Slams fans thought were the best, and worst, moments of 2004 as well as what was 2004's match of the year.

Best Moments of the Year:

Apparently, there was a bunch. Margie Escare–o credited the WWE for introducing the idea of the interactive pay-per-view, Taboo Tuesday, where fans had a say in at least some part of a WWE event. She also cited Shawn Michaels' "thank you" speech to the fans on the Raw following Taboo Tuesday and Lita finally getting to kick Trish Stratus' butt.

Margie's husband, Adan, also liked the idea of Taboo Tuesday, but admitted that the idea still needs some work. He also thought one of the best moments of the year was Chris Benoit finally winning the World Title at Wrestlemania 20. He also liked Randy Orton breaking away from Evolution.

Jose Navarro, who submitted his choices via email, listed the best moments as the Raw/Smackdown! Draft (that allowed Shelton Benjamin to come to Raw and sent Rob Van Dam to Smackdown!), the inter-promotional matches at Raw (oh you will see those matches in this column again) and the Raw Diva Search (Helloooo Christy Hemme).

Another reader who submitted their choices via email, lauren.highly, listed John Cena winning the U.S. Title at Wrestlemania 20, Eddie Guerrero and Benoit's hug after Wrestlemania 20, Orton winning the World Title at SummerSlam, Guerrero winning the WWE Title at No Way Out and Orton vs. Mick Foley in a Hardcore Match at Backlash.

As for my top moments, I have to cite Benoit and Guerrero after Wrestlemania, especially considering the road these two guys traveled to finally get to the top. I also went with the return of the old school Undertaker, though the hat makes him look more like a wrestling Pale Rider than a scary mortician. I also picked the creation of the WWE's 24 hour, seven day a week wrestling channel featuring classic matches and events from its archives, which includes matches from now-defunct companies such as WCW, ECW, AWA, World Class Championship Wrestling and more.

But with the good comes the bad, and fans of the column found plenty that was bad.

lauren.highly gave the "thumbs down" to the entire Lita's pregnancy angle (which was actually nominated by three other people as well), John Bradshaw Layfield winning the WWE Title, Spike Dudley winning the Cruiserweight Title and Carlito Caribbean Cool winning the U.S. Title in his WWE debut (you can do that when you're son of wrestling great Carlos Colon).

Margie disliked everything about Wrestlemania 20 (saying it "bit the big one"). She also hated the Kane and Lita angle and was upset with Michaels' getting injured.

Jose Navarro went with the hype that surrounded the draft, though he approved of the draft itself. He also tagged JBL's goosestep and Nazi salute while the WWE was in Germany as a "black eye" for 2004. I'll mention his third pick in a few paragraphs.

I, too, disliked the Lita and Kane angle because it was a poor attempt to give both those superstars something to do while on Raw. I also hated (with the fire that fills the pits of Hell) the match between Goldberg and Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 20. I was also not a big fan of JBL's title reign, even if wwe.com makes reference to his title reign reaching 200 days soon.

Adan was another Kane and Lita hater (though that probably has more to do with his extreme fondness of Lita more than anything else). He also marked down Lesnar vs. Goldberg as a 2004 disappointment.

But he and Jose both cited that one of the worst moments of the year were the untimely deaths of far too many wrestling superstars. In 2004, we bid goodbye to former WWF President Jack Tunney, wrestler-turned-actor (no jokes about the two being the same) Hard Boiled Haggerty, former Power and Glory member Hercules Hernandez, "The Man with the Iron Stomach" Pepper Gomez, Lucha Libre legend Dr. Wagner and former WWE Hardcore Champion, and future WWE Hall of Famer, The Big Bossman.

So what the readers' choice for Match of the Year? In a close vote, the Triple Threat match between Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Chris Benoit at Wrestlemania 20 won out over matches such as Michaels vs. Triple H at Taboo Tuesday, Lita vs. Trish on Raw and Orton vs. Foley at Backlash.

And the votes have been counted, and the winner of Hunk of the Year is ƒ WWE Smackdown! superstar John Cena. He barely edged out Randy Orton, but a win is a win.

We're running a bit long, so we'll save the crystal ball for next week.

That's all for now. Enjoy tonight's Raw and, as always, STAY TUNED!!



Source: delrionewsherald.com