Changing History. What could have been?

[AegonTargaryen]

The year 2004 after Wrestlemania. Raw was oversaturated with stars. World title contenders included Shawn michaels, HHH, Chris Benoit(reigning), Kane and Chris Jericho(once a year contenders) , and Edge,Randy Orton and Batista in preparation.
For the mid-card IC title, we had Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin, Edge, Randy Orton trading the title, plus Christian.

Tag team wrestling was moderately good as long as Ric Flair and Batista were champions. Hurricane and Rosey was the most dumb and uninspiring tag team to be featured on Raw.(But this was also a Sunday Night Heat era, thus all these bums were employed for that.)

Smackdown however, lagged. A departing Brock lesnar compelled the powers that be to refashion Bradshaw as JBL, and his WWE title reign was much more impressive/intriguing than Eddie Guerrero's. I can't say I liked babyface Eddie Guerrero as champion. Either ways, Eddie Guerrero's reign was much akin to Rey Mysterio's. Though his matches with Kurt Angle were much more amazing and induced belief that he can beat Kurt Angle, he was a temporary one-time champion. With JBL as champion, smackdown was pretty lacklustre.
The contenders included Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, The Undertaker. That's all? In the year's end, only Big show replaced Guerrero and Guerrero formed a tag-team with Booker T and then Rey Mysterio. The other newly debuted bums were just that, unimpressive bums. Luther Reigns(If only it was Roman Reigns), Heidenreich, Carlito Cabana Cool.

They transformed Booker T from a tag-team star to a US champ. The mid-card mostly had John Cena, Booker T, Rene Dupree(never impressed me). The other randomers like Charlie Haas, Billy Gunn and Bob Holly were never impressive or credible. Haas was reduced to a part comedy part embarrassment tag team with Rico.

Tag-team division was better than raw. Rob van dam and Rey Mysterio, The Dudley Bums, Rene Dupree and Kenzo Suzuki, and finally Eddie Guerrero and Booker T. And Haas and Rico, and Bob Holly and Charlie Haas for Velocity .

Raw stars were far better and well-crafted in comparison. Jericho, Benoit, Edge, Christian. Orton and Batista. HHH and Shawn Michaels. Ric Flair, Shelton Benjamin(he was HOT back then)

Now, if only HHH had joined Smackdown, and either JBL existed as JBL, or he didn't, how would things have been? What matches would've sold pay-per-views? What would your main-event at Wrestlemania 21 have been?

My card for Judgement Day would've included:
HHH vs Eddie Guerrero in a singles match. (I'd have HHH be a tweener and beat 5-6 Smackdown stars in singles matches to prove his worth).
Also, Kurt Angle as General Manager with an ambivalent relationship with HHH due to their past(Stephanie Mcmahon) would've been glorious. He could've made HHH face Spike Dudley on one show, and Luther Reigns on another. Still Rene Dupree and Mark Jindrak in a handicap match on another, much to the fury of HHH. (Evolution star on Raw, and facing these bums on SD).

A newly changed(bold heel, but not babyface) HHH should've beaten Eddie Guerrero clean. He should've thrown Guerrero around like a tiny ragdoll, spinbustered him. Guerrero just wasn't good enough to pin HHH. Though a great wrestler.

Great American Bash '04 have him beat Guerrero again in some gimmick match. Preferrably a 30 min or 60 min Ironman match(to see who's more valiant, to test their fortitude.) . This pay-per-view was a f'n disaster. JBL vs Guerrero in a bullrope match? Was that match ever intriguing? Undertaker vs Dudley Bums for the safety of Paul Bearer. GREAT. More than half the card featured bums from Velocity. Only a 60 min ironman match featuring HHH and Guerrero would've saved the card. Could've been one of the greatest matches ever.

Summerslam '04. I'm not sure. Kurt Angle? Undertaker? Guerrero and Angle vs HHH in a triple threat? For summerslam, Undertaker vs JBL would've been still good without the WWE title .What did Undertaker accomplish by frequently losing title matches only to begin feuds with big tall bums like Heidenreich and Luther Reigns anyway?

How would you have written the year '04 , mostly considering WWE championship pic and the immediate Mid-card title and tag- team titles being the same as it happened? and, don't forget you could've used Rob Van Dam, Booker T, and Rey Mysterio much more than they were used. (Vs HHH? )

It chills my spine to think of a renewed HHH on smackdown, considering everyone and every thing around unworthy and beneath his contempt. The first two weeks, his mere unspoken presence around the locker room, in the ring would've sold the arena. Have him walk the ring slowly, with no evolution, no WHC, his expressions, just hear the reaction of the audience , have him grab the microphone, only to drop it in utter contempt and leave. Have Kurt Angle approach him. T his would've given us dozens of segments featuring HHH-angle at once hilarious and grave. Finally, 2-3 weeks after his arrival, on the 3rd show he beats up some cruiserweight bum, like spike dudley or nunzio in the main-event. And then comes Eddie Guerrero. Money!

The guerrero-HHH feud/story could've lasted 3-6 months depending on the booking. It wouldn't even have been overstretched or boring. Imagine Guerrero and HHH promos in the ring. Have eddie lose to HHH clean thrice in a row. Judgement Day, Bash, and a Steel cage match on Smackdown. And a furious eddie guerrero approaching the ring, cutting a promo saying how he cannot sleep in the night because he has failed to beat HHH and how he won't sleep peacefully until the d ay he beats him. Have Guerrero demand HHH one last shot, or chance. Thus the Summerslam triple threat match featuring Kurt Angle, HHH, and Eddie Guerrero.

What did HHH's stay on Raw accomplish? He ended up overdoing the feud with Randy Orton, overdoing one with Shawn Michaels, and HHH as the WHC constantly wasn't good for Raw. We didn't need HHH to stay one and a half more years until HHH faces all Evolution members till boredom. This did nothing to help Raw. They could've continued with Benoit, or given it to Orton, or Shawn Michaels. Raw had many more stars. Smackdown didn't.

Contrast this Smackdown story with HHH, Guerrero ,Angle with what did happen. JBL, Guerrero, Taker. Which would you choose?

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

It was fine the way it was in my opinion. And I don't think it was boring at all as I liked how they split Evolution. If Triple H would have went to Smackdown we wouldn't have gotten one of the greatest fueds (in my opinion) as the buildup to Wrestlemania 21 - Triple H vs Batista.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

It was fine the way it was in my opinion. And I don't think it was boring at all as I liked how they split Evolution. If Triple H would have went to Smackdown we wouldn't have gotten one of the greatest fueds (in my opinion) as the buildup to Wrestlemania 21 - Triple H vs Batista.

In my opinion, Batista vs HHH is the most contrived and overrated feud from 2002-2005. Sure it was not a disaster unlike HHH-Nash and HHH-Steiner. Everybody wanted Batista to kick HHH's ass. And he did. What's the point in having Batista beat HHH 2 rematches in a row? What a blah storyline. The matches themselves were awful. I remember watching Wrestlemania 21. John Cena won the WWE title within just 10 mins. Didn't have the feel of a WWE title match AT ALL. Batista vs HHH was boring. Sure, everybody wanted to see Batista finally beat his former mentor and friend and become WHC. But it is undeniable that Randy Orton vs The Undertaker as a wrestling contest and story was much more thrilling and satisfying. (In those days the Streak hadn't been bombarded every year). And the match that stole the show was unsurprisingly Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels. What a match!

As far as not seeing how evolution's discord and eventual shattering turning out(had HHH been drafted to Smackdown), we'd have had HHH vs Batista and HHH vs Orton with far greater magnitude , intensity and impressiveness in later years(2006, 2007 , or 2008 perhaps). Sure, there's a trade off. Either you have a hot Batista win a WHC for the first time against his mentor, or you don't. But for Smackdown it should've been done. Meanwhile Batista could still have won the rumble, turned face, and won the title from Orton. (Timing is everything).

My Wrestlemania 21 card would've been:-
Batista(face) vs Orton(ambivalent face/heel) in a match much reminiscent of 2 babyfaces wrestling for the title, like Austin vs Rock. The fans decide whom they want to see. IMO, this match would've been stellar DURING THAT TIME. Today? Not so much. We've all seen Batista's lacklustre WHC reigns numerous times. Randy Orton as champion has been done even more. Timing matters. You can't throw a returning Batista to face a boring and oppresive Randy Orton in 2014 and expect fans to give huge reactions. During Wrestlemania 21
, both Orton and Batista were hot at the time. Fans would've chosen whom they want. Same as Wrestlemania 17 with Austin and Rock.

Meanwhile, HHH's long title reign would've chronologically been like:-

Judgement Day- Wins against Guerrero

Bash- Beats Guerrero in a 30 or 60 min Ironman match

Summerslam- Beats Angle and Guerrero in a triple threat

No Mercy- Beats a newly returned big show to retain(or gets DQ'd or something)

Survivor Series- Team Angle vs Team Guerrero stays
HHH beats Big Show in some sort of a gimmick match, Last man standing or something

Armageddon- HHH vs Big Show vs Angle vs Guerrero vs Booker T
OR
HHH vs Undertaker vs Angle vs Guerrero in a fatal 4 way.

Royal Rumble '05, HHH beats any throwaway opponent like Rey Mysterio or something
Rumble match- (I'd have Undertaker, John Cena and Batista as the final 3. Imagine the intensity. Two ruthless agreesion era rookies, one veteran (Batista's future WM opponent). John Cena and Batista team up, and John Cena eliminates the Undertaker thus culminating into a tournament final feud at No Way Out. Batista wins the rumble, much to the apprehension of Randy Orton

No Way Out- again, complicated. But I'd have a slow feud leading into the payoff at Wrestlemania.
Undertaker beats John Cena in the tournament

Wrestlemania 21:-
HHH vs Undertaker for the WWE championship
Randy Orton vs Batista for the WHC
Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle

 

[AegonTargaryen]

As far as John Cena not having a match on WM 21, I'd have him feud Eddie Guerrero, else have a US championship match involving Rey Mysterio, Guerrero, Booker T, and John Cena.

 

[Zycho32]

Clearly you have an axe to grind.

In my opinion, Batista vs HHH is the most contrived and overrated feud from 2002-2005. Sure it was not a disaster unlike HHH-Nash and HHH-Steiner. Everybody wanted Batista to kick HHH's ass. And he did. What's the point in having Batista beat HHH 2 rematches in a row? What a blah storyline.

Typically, you don't want your really REALLY big grudge rivalries to be just one-offs, where the loser quietly accepts his 'burial' and falls down a rung or two on the card. Once may have been enough for you, but by storytelling standards, it could NEVER have been enough for the loser in this case. From a character standpoint, it's a far greater exception that a losing wrestler will quietly walk away from the loss and never shoot for a rematch.

As far as three victories in a row go, the ultimate aim was to put Batista over as thoroughly as possible, and this is where the extended feud with HHH worked, because that sustained program was going to help him stay as over as he was, since HHH was the reigning Heel on Raw at the time.

The matches themselves were awful. I remember watching Wrestlemania 21. John Cena won the WWE title within just 10 mins. Didn't have the feel of a WWE title match AT ALL.

The 10 minute allocation wasn't the problem. The content within the match was. JBL controlled the match for about ninety percent of the fight and did painfully boring crap throughout. It was only in the final couple of minutes where you got Cena playing bezerker and chewing JBL through his finishing sequence like a meat grinder. Let's be honest, given the reign JBL had, you would NOT have minded a ten minute match if it was a straight-up squash. But the truth is, JBL simply didn't rise to the occasion and deliver.

Batista vs HHH was boring. Sure, everybody wanted to see Batista finally beat his former mentor and friend and become WHC. But it is undeniable that Randy Orton vs The Undertaker as a wrestling contest and story was much more thrilling and satisfying. (In those days the Streak hadn't been bombarded every year).

Dirty little secret about HHH- he can only do everything well, nothing great. Even during this time. Combine that with a debatable issue concerning how motivated he was to put ANYONE over, and you have the makings for a dull matchup. Undertaker, by contrast, really knows how to help elevate younger talent.

And the match that stole the show was unsurprisingly Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels. What a match!

Can't complain with that opinion.

As far as not seeing how evolution's discord and eventual shattering turning out(had HHH been drafted to Smackdown), we'd have had HHH vs Batista and HHH vs Orton with far greater magnitude , intensity and impressiveness in later years(2006, 2007, or 2008 perhaps). Sure, there's a trade off. Either you have a hot Batista win a WHC for the first time against his mentor, or you don't. But for Smackdown it should've been done. Meanwhile Batista could still have won the rumble, turned face, and won the title from Orton. (Timing is everything).

You really don't understand. I'll clarify as I go down your card.

My Wrestlemania 21 card would've been:-
Batista(face) vs Orton(ambivalent face/heel) in a match much reminiscent of 2 babyfaces wrestling for the title, like Austin vs Rock. The fans decide whom they want to see. IMO, this match would've been stellar DURING THAT TIME. Today? Not so much. We've all seen Batista's lacklustre WHC reigns numerous times. Randy Orton as champion has been done even more. Timing matters. You can't throw a returning Batista to face a boring and oppresive Randy Orton in 2014 and expect fans to give huge reactions. During Wrestlemania 21, both Orton and Batista were hot at the time. Fans would've chosen whom they want. Same as Wrestlemania 17 with Austin and Rock.

Here are the problems in a nutshell;
-Batista wasn't going to be elevated in a match against Orton, plain and simple. Young Guy versus Young Guy typically ends in one way; one guy goes up and the other goes down.
-There was a distinct lack of motivation for Batista to go after Orton, nor was there a serious motivation for Orton to go after Batista.
-At the same token, Orton NEEDED Undertaker to regain what he lost by feuding with HHH prior. Having him be fed to Batista- who was the greater rising star- was just going to bury him further, which is something that should be avoided at all costs... y'know, since this is Young Buck #3 of the new generation.

Meanwhile, HHH's long title reign would've chronologically been like:-
-Judgement Day: Wins against Guerrero
-Bash: Beats Guerrero in a 30 or 60 min Ironman match
-Summerslam: Beats Angle and Guerrero in a triple threat
-No Mercy: Beats a newly returned big show to retain(or gets DQ'd or something)
-Survivor Series: Team Angle vs Team Guerrero stays
HHH beats Big Show in some sort of a gimmick match, Last man standing or something
-Armageddon: HHH vs Big Show vs Angle vs Guerrero vs Booker T
OR
HHH vs Undertaker vs Angle vs Guerrero in a fatal 4 way.
-Royal Rumble '05, HHH beats any throwaway opponent like Rey Mysterio or something
Rumble match- (I'd have Undertaker, John Cena and Batista as the final 3. Imagine the intensity. Two ruthless agreesion era rookies, one veteran (Batista's future WM opponent). John Cena and Batista team up, and John Cena eliminates the Undertaker thus culminating into a tournament final feud at No Way Out. Batista wins the rumble, much to the apprehension of Randy Orton
-No Way Out: again, complicated. But I'd have a slow feud leading into the payoff at Wrestlemania.
Undertaker beats John Cena in the tournament
-Wrestlemania 21:
HHH vs Undertaker for the WWE championship
Randy Orton vs Batista for the WHC
Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle

Gotta hit the bullet points again;

-Batista is the #1 hottest guy in WWE at this time, so it makes sense for him to go over, but the feud with Orton actually looks worse for Batista because there's nothing to elevate him. There wasn't any real heat against Orton unlike HHH, and there wasn't any chance Orton could've made Batista look better than he already was. He's just treading water.
-Randy Orton is the #3 guy of the young generation, and you may think this feud will elevate the both of them to superstar status, but Orton was already taken down a rung or two by his earlier feud with HHH and in much the same token as Orton couldn't elevate Batista, Batista sure as shit couldn't elevate Orton, meaning losing to Batista would probably knock him down towards the midcard. He actually gets it worse than what he got with the Undertaker because THAT feud at least salvaged what he lost to HHH.
-John Cena is the #2 hottest guy in WWE at this time, and I don't have a bleeping clue what you have him doing here. What, is he defending the US Title against Chris Benoit? Against JBL? It probably WAS too soon for him, but it was also too soon for Batista as an actual in-ring performer, and you can't hold down a guy as hot as he was in the genuine midcard. You just CAN'T.
-HHH/Undertaker makes no sense for one important reason; you need the vets to elevate the prospects when you can, and at this time, WWE was at a crossroads, with established stars having left and this latest batch of young talent ready to step in and rejuvenate the Main Event bracket. They had to elevate ALL THREE of their biggest young guns at this event, and to their credit, they sure as shit TRIED. Batista did what everyone wanted and took down HHH and his reign of terror. John Cena did the same to JBL albeit in a more boring way. And Undertaker did Orton a solid and gave him a SOLID feud to regain his lost ground (and at least one rumor states that the Streak was going to GO to Orton, but the young guy respectfully declined). But they needed all three of them to get up to the top. Having HHH/Taker for one of the top belts and sacrificing two prospects to elevate one? Bad for business.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

Here are the problems in a nutshell;
-Batista wasn't going to be elevated in a match against Orton, plain and simple. Young Guy versus Young Guy typically ends in one way; one guy goes up and the other goes down.
-There was a distinct lack of motivation for Batista to go after Orton, nor was there a serious motivation for Orton to go after Batista.
-At the same token, Orton NEEDED Undertaker to regain what he lost by feuding with HHH prior. Having him be fed to Batista- who was the greater rising star- was just going to bury him further, which is something that should be avoided at all costs... y'know, since this is Young Buck #3 of the new generation.



Gotta hit the bullet points again;

-Batista is the #1 hottest guy in WWE at this time, so it makes sense for him to go over, but the feud with Orton actually looks worse for Batista because there's nothing to elevate him. There wasn't any real heat against Orton unlike HHH, and there wasn't any chance Orton could've made Batista look better than he already was. He's just treading water.
-Randy Orton is the #3 guy of the young generation, and you may think this feud will elevate the both of them to superstar status, but Orton was already taken down a rung or two by his earlier feud with HHH and in much the same token as Orton couldn't elevate Batista, Batista sure as shit couldn't elevate Orton, meaning losing to Batista would probably knock him down towards the midcard. He actually gets it worse than what he got with the Undertaker because THAT feud at least salvaged what he lost to HHH.
-John Cena is the #2 hottest guy in WWE at this time, and I don't have a bleeping clue what you have him doing here. What, is he defending the US Title against Chris Benoit? Against JBL? It probably WAS too soon for him, but it was also too soon for Batista as an actual in-ring performer, and you can't hold down a guy as hot as he was in the genuine midcard. You just CAN'T.
-HHH/Undertaker makes no sense for one important reason; you need the vets to elevate the prospects when you can, and at this time, WWE was at a crossroads, with established stars having left and this latest batch of young talent ready to step in and rejuvenate the Main Event bracket. They had to elevate ALL THREE of their biggest young guns at this event, and to their credit, they sure as shit TRIED. Batista did what everyone wanted and took down HHH and his reign of terror. John Cena did the same to JBL albeit in a more boring way. And Undertaker did Orton a solid and gave him a SOLID feud to regain his lost ground (and at least one rumor states that the Streak was going to GO to Orton, but the young guy respectfully declined). But they needed all three of them to get up to the top. Having HHH/Taker for one of the top belts and sacrificing two prospects to elevate one? Bad for business.

I agree with your points. I didn't consider it from the business standpoint. Batista needed to be elevated by HHH. Couldn't have happened with Orton vs Batista. Howver, I'd like to propose an alternative:-
There is a trade-off. Smackdown's elevation(in contrast to what we got with JBL) versus Batista's rise as a main-event calibre star.

The trade-off is that an entire lacklustre 2004 for Smackdown(leave aside the Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle feud), is worthier to be saved than one Batista's elevation. The alternate route I propose is this:-
Batista doesn't face HHH at Wrestlemania 21, and Raw won't have HHH after March 2004. However, what we got to be a lacklustre victory in a tiring match for John Cena would now be replaced by a superb main-event in which he wins the title from HHH. They could even have the same rematch on Raw for the WWE title at Wrestlemania 22, with a role reversal. HHH is the challenger, Cena is the defender.
Thus, my chronological development for HHH and Smackdown in 2004 would be:-

Judgement Day:- HHH beats Eddie Guerrero clean to win the WWE title.

Great American Bash:- HHH beats Guerrero in a 60-min ironman match.

Summerslam:- HHH vs Angle vs Guerrero (remember Rock vs HHH vs Angle from '00)

No Mercy:- HHH vs Angle(face). A heel and bitter guerrero helps HHH win thus leading into....

Survivor Series:- Team Angle(face) beats Team Guererro (or otherwise) But the main focus is HHH as champion

HHH vs a newly returned (in September? ) Big Show in some sort of a survival match, or just singles.

Armageddon:- HHH defeats Big Show in a Last Man Standing.

This will be the end of the year with HHH successfully beating everyone in his way. 2005 should lead into an overconfident semi-heel HHH taking John Cena lightly, and losing.

Royal Rumble:- HHH beats Rey Mysterio(or Booker T) and brags on Smackdown how nobody can beat him.

No Way Out:- HHH vs Angle in a last chance match. (Have Shawn Michaels come and superkick him, or some involvement, for Angle costing Michaels the rumble win)

Wrestlemania 21:- John Cena vs HHH for the WWE title, HHH drops to Cena, and doesn't win back the title for a very long time.

Angle vs HBK.

Smackdown getting higher ratings and being a good show and having decent feuds and matches was much more important than Batista vs HHH at Wrestlemania 21. Plus this way, you elevate John Cena , not having him win from Bradshaw. Batista vs HHH could've been hotter in the future too.

Have the draft lottery after Wrestlemania and not in June. However, let HHH miss a few pay-per-views.

 

[Zycho32]

Your outlook is actually starting to look better, mainly for the fact that gives Cena a more competent heel to work against. Not that I think he'd have that much better of a match with HHH (I felt a little underwhelmed seeing their Wrestlemania 22 fight) but just that HHH gives Cena something he couldn't really have since he was drafted into Raw in '05- a genuine Heel that the crowd could in fact easily hate.

Side-tracking for the sake of explanation; Cena's primary feuds during his first title run on Raw were with Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle- on paper great candidates because both were good-to-excellent technical workers that could guide him and matches and that his style better played off of, and both were experienced and able to shift from face to heel and vice versa. Didn't work, because the fans wouldn't fully shift to Cena's side as the babyface because they still liked Jericho and Angle.

But anyways, HHH was in truth the ONLY genuine heel that was good enough to be a serious Main Eventer AND give Cena the proper crowd support-but if the fans rallied behind the Game after two years of stifling dominance just because it was John Cena back then, then FUCK em. Just fuck em hard.

Of course this basically gives Batista a free hand in dominating Raw but who is he going to have to elevate him? Can he really be taken seriously by being fed HBK and Benoit and lesser talents on hand until the inevitable conflict with Orton for the dominant Evolution member of Raw? And given that the conflict ultimately has to have a victor, we're back to the same problem from before; that Batista treads water while Orton sinks- maybe not as much as HHH sunk him, but enough. It also leaves a grave question of how thoroughly you end up pile-driving that particular feud into the ground by Wrestlemania.

As for the claim that boosting Smackdown is worth sacrificing Batista, a few notes;

-Smackdown's overall talent level at the time wasn't any lesser than Raw's. It looked that way because of JBL holding the belt. As easy as it sounds to hinge the prospects of your brand on your title holder, it was a lean year for WWE period. Evolution ground up Raw worse than anything JBL did on Smackdown.
-Batista AND Randy Orton would go to Smackdown in the '05 draft, which would compensate for the loss of Cena and Kurt Angle. Even trade, but that looks a lot worse if you have those two guys get diminished by ripping each other apart in a war.
-Saving a brand that actually didn't quite NEED saving over bringing up one of your newest stars, who happens to be RED HOT with the fans at that particular time. Putting HHH in Smackdown as a what-if, ultimately would've offered a small, brief surge of wrestling drama and quality... but the drop-off wouldn't have been forestalled or even slowed down. But HHH on Raw, despite the dull WM match, provided a long-term benefit that can't be discarded.

By the by, HHH actually did take some time off after he finished putting Batista over at Vengeance.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

Your outlook is actually starting to look better, mainly for the fact that gives Cena a more competent heel to work against. Not that I think he'd have that much better of a match with HHH (I felt a little underwhelmed seeing their Wrestlemania 22 fight) but just that HHH gives Cena something he couldn't really have since he was drafted into Raw in '05- a genuine Heel that the crowd could in fact easily hate.

Side-tracking for the sake of explanation; Cena's primary feuds during his first title run on Raw were with Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle- on paper great candidates because both were good-to-excellent technical workers that could guide him and matches and that his style better played off of, and both were experienced and able to shift from face to heel and vice versa. Didn't work, because the fans wouldn't fully shift to Cena's side as the babyface because they still liked Jericho and Angle.

But anyways, HHH was in truth the ONLY genuine heel that was good enough to be a serious Main Eventer AND give Cena the proper crowd support-but if the fans rallied behind the Game after two years of stifling dominance just because it was John Cena back then, then FUCK em. Just fuck em hard.

Of course this basically gives Batista a free hand in dominating Raw but who is he going to have to elevate him? Can he really be taken seriously by being fed HBK and Benoit and lesser talents on hand until the inevitable conflict with Orton for the dominant Evolution member of Raw? And given that the conflict ultimately has to have a victor, we're back to the same problem from before; that Batista treads water while Orton sinks- maybe not as much as HHH sunk him, but enough. It also leaves a grave question of how thoroughly you end up pile-driving that particular feud into the ground by Wrestlemania.

As for the claim that boosting Smackdown is worth sacrificing Batista, a few notes;

-Smackdown's overall talent level at the time wasn't any lesser than Raw's. It looked that way because of JBL holding the belt. As easy as it sounds to hinge the prospects of your brand on your title holder, it was a lean year for WWE period. Evolution ground up Raw worse than anything JBL did on Smackdown.
-Batista AND Randy Orton would go to Smackdown in the '05 draft, which would compensate for the loss of Cena and Kurt Angle. Even trade, but that looks a lot worse if you have those two guys get diminished by ripping each other apart in a war.
-Saving a brand that actually didn't quite NEED saving over bringing up one of your newest stars, who happens to be RED HOT with the fans at that particular time. Putting HHH in Smackdown as a what-if, ultimately would've offered a small, brief surge of wrestling drama and quality... but the drop-off wouldn't have been forestalled or even slowed down. But HHH on Raw, despite the dull WM match, provided a long-term benefit that can't be discarded.

By the by, HHH actually did take some time off after he finished putting Batista over at Vengeance.

I agree with all these points you made, they're quite perceptive.
But sparing aside Batista and the Raw situation for a moment, I think having HHH as a dominating heel or semi-heel for a full year on Smackdown, having beaten their face/hero Eddie Guerrero, Angle and others , people would've been sickened by the time Wrestlemania came(even a face being champion for that long is sickening, it leaves no room for novelty. There may be exceptions such as C M Punk's recent reign, though even he turned heel after 8 months to freshen up his reign and/or other reasons).

Thus , we would have an audience sickened to death with HHH as reigning champion(I remember being sickened to death of wanting to see JBL lose. My hopes were frustrated twice with Undertaker losing. I even expected Booker T to win the title at Survivor Series because I hardly understood things like kayfabe and wrestling being scripted at then. Armageddon I thought for sure one of the three challengers Guerrero, Booker T or Undertaker would win, and there comes Heidenreich! Then I wanted Angle to win the triple threat at Rumble. FRUSTRATED AGAIN! Big show? I remember counting on the Big show, until the time JBL was declared the winner.) If JBL's reign could cause so much grief and impatience, then HHH is a far more superior performer to cause such a frustration. The continuing pain of a frustrating villain only makes his final fall that much pleasurable and the hero's victory sweeter.

Consider Cena from then(I don't think anybody ever booed him in his Rap Thuganomics time). People loved him, all of them . Cena's entrance music back then meant resounding cheers . It's shocking how from being a rap gimmick character, Cena becomes this babyface talking hustle loyalty respect on Raw. I'm not even sure why they cheered Jericho at Summerslam '05 , if they did. But I digress. Nonetheless, Cena vs HHH at WM 21 would've most certainly had the crowd behind Cena, eagerly waiting for him to win the WWE title, much unlike WM 22.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

After WrestleMania 20, it was pretty clear that Cena was going to be the guy come Mania 21. He got a huge response in MSG and he won the US Title. So in the next year I knew he'd be involved in the US Title picture until the Road to WrestleMania 21 hit, then it would be time to elevate him to the main event level. Establishing a long-term WWE Champion in JBL and having John Cena rise to the top and ultimately be the one that beats him for the Title was pretty smart booking.

Now, had Triple H jumped over to SmackDown after Mania 20, there would be no need for JBL to be that guy (which is a bit of a shame to me, because I enjoyed the JBL character). Triple H would likely be established as the dominant Champion on SmackDown. Basically they would just insert Triple H into the JBL spot. Angle was hurt, so you'd have Triple H feud with Eddie for Title. Eddie would probably retain at Judgement Day, then drop it to Triple H at the Bash (Angle would get involved at some point and screw Eddie over, either at the Bash on on a SmackDown). Then Undertaker would challenge Triple H and we'd see a huge feud between those guys for the WWE Title going into SummerSlam, while Angle and Eddie feud.

At SummerSlam, since it's a joint PPV with RAW and SmackDown, I'd have Evolution help Triple H retain the Title against Taker. They would say that Evolution is going to dominate the entire WWE. Maybe on RAW, you'd have Orton step up as a leader in Triple H's absence, with Batista as his enforcer and Flair as his manager, and he would win the World Heavyweight Title. So with Orton as World Champ on RAW and HHH as WWE Champ on SmackDown, Evolution would control both major Championships.

At No Mercy you could do a re-match between HHH and Taker, and since it's a SmackDown only PPV you could hype how this time HHH would have no one to help him, Evolution is barred from the building. Triple H could use some heel tactic to walk out as Champion. The feud would culminate at Survivor Series, another major-joint PPV. This is where you would do the big Hell in a Cell Match between HHH and Undertaker, with the Cell serving to prevent any outside interference. After a fucking war, HHH retains. However, in classic heel HHH fashion, he still has to be stretchered out of the arena.

The Road to WrestleMania would be interesting, there are lots of ways you could probably go. One thing's for sure though, the Rumble Match would still go down to Cena and Batista, the two guys you are planning to push. In my storyline at this point we would still have HHH as the WWE Champ and Orton as the World Champ. I'd have Batista win the Rumble. He and Orton would be having some tension on RAW so they implode at WrestleMania, with the World Title on the line and Flair caught in the middle as Guest Ref. Meanwhile, Cena challenges Triple H for the WWE Title to try and end his reign of terror. At WrestleMania 21, Batista beats Orton to win the World Title, Cena beats HHH to win the WWE Title.

In the next draft the Champions traded shows. They moved Cena to RAW an Batista to SmackDown. So now we would have Triple H and Batista on SmackDown, and since Batista has turned face you could do a feud between him and HHH for the World Title that could culminate at SummerSlam. Then on RAW you have Cena as the WWE Champion and he could feud with Orton maybe, or any number of guys over there as you build him up as the face of the company.

PPV Match Summary:

JUDGEMENT DAY
Eddie Guerrero def. Triple H to retain the WWE Title

THE GREAT AMERICAN BASH
Triple H def. Eddie Guerrero in a Ladder Match (fuck it) to win the WWE Title thanks to interference from Kurt Angle

SUMMERSLAM
Eddie Guerrero def. Kurt Angle
In the RAW main event, Orton def. Benoit to win the World Title
In our SmackDown main event, Triple H def. Undertaker to retain the WWE Title thanks to interference from Evolution
Show closes with Orton holding the World Title and HHH holding the WWE Title, Evolution dominates both brands

NO MERCY
Undertaker def. Triple H, but Triple H retains the WWE Title because of some bullshit

SURVIVOR SERIES
In the RAW main event, a Team Babyface def. Team Heel (led by Orton and Batista), due to problems between Orton and Batista. Tension is building within Evolution, Flair is trying to hold the team together.
In the SmackDown main event, Triple H def. Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell Match to retain the WWE Title

ARMAGEDDON
Triple H def. whoever (Angle, Guerrero, Booker T, Big Show, take your pick) to retain the WWE Title
Eddie would probably be my choice here, since they have unfinished business from earlier in the year. Insert gimmick match of choice.

ROYAL RUMBLE
Triple H def. whoever (see Armageddon) to retain the WWE Title. Maybe Kurt Angle, and they could reference the old Stephanie feud from back in the day.
Batista wins the Rumble by last eliminating John Cena, but John Cena puts on an impressive performance in the match
Batista decides to challenge Orton, Evolution implodes on RAW

NO WAY OUT
John Cena wins a tournament to become #1 contender for the WWE Title
Triple H def. whoever to retain the WWE Title, in a Steel Cage or some shit since it's No Way Out
Off the top of my head I was thinking you could do HHH vs. Angle in a 2-out-of-3 falls match. The first fall is by pin (won by HHH), the second fall is by submission (won by Angle) and the third fall is by escaping the cage (won by HHH).

WRESTLEMANIA 21
Batista def. Orton w/Ric Flair as Guest Referee to win the World Title
Cena def. Triple H to win the WWE Title
Batista gets drafted to SmackDown, Cena gets drafted to RAW

 

[AegonTargaryen]

After WrestleMania 20, it was pretty clear that Cena was going to be the guy come Mania 21. He got a huge response in MSG and he won the US Title. So in the next year I knew he'd be involved in the US Title picture until the Road to WrestleMania 21 hit, then it would be time to elevate him to the main event level. Establishing a long-term WWE Champion in JBL and having John Cena rise to the top and ultimately be the one that beats him for the Title was pretty smart booking.

Now, had Triple H jumped over to SmackDown after Mania 20, there would be no need for JBL to be that guy (which is a bit of a shame to me, because I enjoyed the JBL character). Triple H would likely be established as the dominant Champion on SmackDown. Basically they would just insert Triple H into the JBL spot. Angle was hurt, so you'd have Triple H feud with Eddie for Title. Eddie would probably retain at Judgement Day, then drop it to Triple H at the Bash (Angle would get involved at some point and screw Eddie over, either at the Bash on on a SmackDown). Then Undertaker would challenge Triple H and we'd see a huge feud between those guys for the WWE Title going into SummerSlam, while Angle and Eddie feud.

At SummerSlam, since it's a joint PPV with RAW and SmackDown, I'd have Evolution help Triple H retain the Title against Taker. They would say that Evolution is going to dominate the entire WWE. Maybe on RAW, you'd have Orton step up as a leader in Triple H's absence, with Batista as his enforcer and Flair as his manager, and he would win the World Heavyweight Title. So with Orton as World Champ on RAW and HHH as WWE Champ on SmackDown, Evolution would control both major Championships.

At No Mercy you could do a re-match between HHH and Taker, and since it's a SmackDown only PPV you could hype how this time HHH would have no one to help him, Evolution is barred from the building. Triple H could use some heel tactic to walk out as Champion. The feud would culminate at Survivor Series, another major-joint PPV. This is where you would do the big Hell in a Cell Match between HHH and Undertaker, with the Cell serving to prevent any outside interference. After a fucking war, HHH retains. However, in classic heel HHH fashion, he still has to be stretchered out of the arena.

The Road to WrestleMania would be interesting, there are lots of ways you could probably go. One things for sure though, the Rumble Match would still go down to Cena and Batista, the two guys you are planning to push. In my storyline at this point we would still have HHH as the WWE Champ and Orton as the World Champ. I'd have Batista win the Rumble. He and Orton would be having some tension on RAW so they implode at WrestleMania, with the World Title on the line and Flair caught in the middle as Guest Ref. Meanwhile, Cena challenges Triple H for the WWE Title and end his reign of terror. At WrestleMania 21, Batista beats Orton to win the World Title, Cena beats HHH to win the WWE Title.

In the next draft the Champions traded shows. They moved Cena to RAW an Batista to SmackDown. So now we would have Triple H and Batista on SmackDown, and since Batista has turned face you could do a feud between him and HHH for the World Title that could culminate at SummerSlam. Then on RAW you have Cena as the WWE Champion and he could feud with Orton maybe, or any number of guys over there as you build him up as the face of the company.

PPV Match Summary:

JUDGEMENT DAY
Eddie Guerrero def. Triple H to retain the WWE Title

THE GREAT AMERICAN BASH
Triple H def. Eddie Guerrero to win the WWE Title thanks to interference form Kurt Angle

SUMMERSLAM
Eddie Guerrero def. Kurt Angle
In the RAW main event, Orton def. Benoit to win the World Title
In our SmackDown main event, Triple H def. Undertaker tor retain the WWE Title thanks to interference from Evolution
Show closes with Orton holding the World Title and HHH holding the WWE Title, Evolution dominates both brands

NO MERCY
Undertaker def. Triple H, but Triple H retisn the WWE Title because of some bullshit

SURVIVOR SERIES
In the RAW main event, a Team Babyface def. Team Heel (led by Orton and Batista), due to problems between Orton and Batista. Tension is building within Evolution, Flair is trying to hold the team together.
In the SmackDown main event, Triple H def. Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell Match to retain the WWE Title

ARMAGEDDON
Triple H def. whoever (Angle, Guerrero, Booker T, Big Show, take your pick) to retain the WWE Title

ROYAL RUMBLE
Triple H def. whoever (see Armageddon) to retain the WWE Title
Batista wins the Rumble by last eliminating John Cena, but John Cena puts on an impressive performance in the match
Batista decides to challenge Orton, Evolution implodes on RAW

NO WAY OUT
John Cena wins a tournament to become #1 contender for the WWE Title
Triple H def. whoever (see Royal Rumble and Armageddon) to retain the WWE Title

WRESTLEMANIA 21
Batista def. Orton to win the World Title
Cena def. Triple H to win the WWE Title
Batista gets drafted to SmackDown, Cena gets drafted to RAW

That's amazing booking. However, HHH vs Undertaker at Summerslam? maybe you're right. I didn't think that. I was thinking of having HHH vs Angle vs Guerrero in a classic triple threat match(same as Summerslam 00 with The Rock and Angle). After Summerslam, both Guerrero and Angle can extend their feud. From No Mercy- Armageddon you could either have HHH feud with the Undertaker, or the ones I posted in my original post. However, I was uncertain about Royal Rumble and No Way Out, and feel like he should face The Undertaker at then. Just 2 matches in a row with somebody screwing The Undertaker on No Way Out. Could be anybody. But if it's Orton, he wouldn't then face Batista for the title. Could it be Ric Flair? or Edge? or Kane?

 

[AegonTargaryen]

Also my 2005 annual draft lottery would go like:-
Rob Van Dam, Carlito, HHH, and John Cena and Big Show from Smackdown to RAW

Batista, Randy Orton, Christian, Chris Benoit, and Shelton Benjamin to Smackdown.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

That's amazing booking. However, HHH vs Undertaker at Summerslam? maybe you're right. I didn't think that. I was thinking of having HHH vs Angle vs Guerrero in a classic triple threat match(same as Summerslam 00 with The Rock and Angle). After Summerslam, both Guerrero and Angle can extend their feud. From No Mercy- Armageddon you could either have HHH feud with the Undertaker, or the ones I posted in my original post. However, I was uncertain about Royal Rumble and No Way Out, and feel like he should face The Undertaker at then. Just 2 matches in a row with somebody screwing The Undertaker on No Way Out. Could be anybody. But if it's Orton, he wouldn't then face Batista for the title. Could it be Ric Flair? or Edge? or Kane?

The reason I did HHH vs. Taker at SummerSlam is because my main storyline is Evolution trying to dominate both brands. Since SummerSlam is a joint PPV it would make sense to have the Evolution guys from RAW interfere to help HHH retain the WWE Title. This would logically lead into the Hell in a Cell Match between HHH and Taker at the next joint PPV, Survivor Series, in order to prevent the same kind of interference from happening.

On a side note, I would close SummerSlam with Orton and HHH holding both Titles and hugging each other, mocking the emotional moment from the end of WrestleMania 20 to draw massive heat.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

The reason I did HHH vs. Taker at SummerSlam is because my main storyline is Evolution trying to dominate both brands. Since SummerSlam is a joint PPV it would make sense to have the Evolution guys from RAW interfere to help HHH retain the WWE Title. This would logically lead into the Hell in a Cell Match between HHH and Taker at the next joint PPV, Survivor Series, in order to prevent the same kind of interference from happening.

On a side note, I would close SummerSlam with Orton and HHH holding both Titles and hugging each other, mocking the emotional moment from the end of WrestleMania 20 to draw massive heat.

The mocking idea is Epic! Sheer Brilliant!