HBK- HHH Bad Blood 2004

[LBGetBack]

Just watched this for the first time. Good Lord! Have I just been missing it all these years or does nobody really talk about this match compared to how good it was? The hype doesn't seem to match up to the greatness. I think I've seen all their other many matches. And they had a bunch of them between 2002-2004. But how in the world did I not see this one all these years? I think it's their best match?! Thoughts?

I love discovering gems on WWE Network that I've never seen. There probably aren't a ton of them left at this point, so I get extra excited when I come across one.

 

[KBeef]

I think people don't discuss it much because it's a very long match, almost an hour I think and it kills the match for a lot of people.

I think had the match been maybe 15 minutes shorter it would have been a great match.

 

[LBGetBack]

I think people don't discuss it much because it's a very long match, almost an hour I think and it kills the match for a lot of people.

I think had the match been maybe 15 minutes shorter it would have been a great match.

Yeah, it was long as hell. Having never seen it before and not knowing who won, I didn't mind. But I could see that hurting its rewatch value.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

Amazing match, but as KBeef said....15 longer it should have been. Thats one of the reasons we dont have 60min Ironman matches anymore.

As great a match can be, most (not all of us) of the viewers feel that 60min its too much even for a masterpiece match.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Alternatively, it's Triple H and Shawn Michaels and with them involved it should be better. Like a lot, and I mean a lot, of HHH matches it's sound but it's just missing something that makes it great.

 

[legendkiller1979]

The problem with matches like this isn't that they aren't great. It's that they get lost in the shuffle. This match was 12 years ago. That means there have been nearly 150 pay per views since bad blood in 2004. I wanted to watch this match when I got the network but I had to google which event it was on. All I could remember was 2004. It's too bad really. I'm sure there have been several matches we would all like to see from years past but have since forgotten about because there are so many pay per views.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

I remember the match being too long, too slow but not violent enough for a HIAC match. The match was good but I wouldn't call it anything other than that. The problem with the match is that it isn't just because there were other HIAC matches already but this HIAC match at Bad Blood was identical to their Royal Rumble Last Man Standing Match months earlier.

Also beyond the match I think there were other issues people had with this match taking place. The issue being that Chris Benoit was your World Heavyweight Champion and he was pushed down in the card in favor of Triple H and Shawn Michaels over-extended feud. Many felt this was one of the reasons why Benoit's title run felt underwhelming that he played second fiddle to HHH and HBK and people also felt HHH was using his backstage influence to put him on top of the card on RAW over the World Champion.

Of course that would have been fine if the Vengeance match between Triple H and Benoit was actually about Benoit and not Eugene this and how he was positioned at Bad Blood just made the whole situation surrounding the HIAC worse.

 

[Greg4WWE]

Their best match to me was the Summerslam 2002 "non-sanctioned" match. Amazing match that was.

That feud went on and off to 2004. Amazing how these 2 can be bitter rivals one year and best friends the next.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

IMO every match between HHH and HBK fought on ppv was at least 4 stars. I think there are two main reasons why the OP was previously unaware of this match and is wondering why people "dont talk about" this match.

1. It's a big name matchup contested at a small-name ppv - Just think about Austin/Rock. Everyone knows and generally remembers each of the three battles they had at WrestleMania but what about the stellar match they put on at Backlash '99? With feuds that have so many ppv contests between them, the smaller names seem to get lost in the shuffle unless they are significantly better than the other matches in the feud (such as Taker/HBK at Bad Blood '97 or Cena/Punk MitB '11). Hunter and Shawn put on a flawless performance at Bad Blood 2004 but does it really stand out over their 5-star classic at SummerSlam 2002, the double countout finish at Royal Rumble 2004, or the main event of WrestleMania XX?

2. The IWC has such little respect for the in-ring career of Paul Levesque - Thank god he was able to produce a wrestling show that appealed to this demographic, because without it he'd still be mercilessly slandered by an overwhelming majority of the posters on this site. Whether they feel he rode Shawn Michaels, Stephanie McMahon, or Vince himself for his spot everyone seems to unfairly assume that HHH is the last person responsible for his own success. As a result, a lot of his brightest moments are dimmed by the dismissal of bitter fans who say he slept his way to the top. Sure, WWE propaganda helps us remember some of the keys but he's had a lot of memorable matches and moments in WWE history. A lot of his best matches are then forgotten, I put this match on a list with his HiaC classic vs Foley at Nay Way Out 2000, his LMS match vs Jericho at Fully Loaded 2000, and his 3 Stages of Hell match vs Austin at No Way Out 2001. All extremely good matches, but seem to get overlooked simply because HHH is somehow unqualified as a performer in the eyes of the average fan.

I hope my rambling was useful in some way shape or form. It's a great match I'm glad you enjoyed it

 

[THTRobtaylor]

IMO every match between HHH and HBK fought on ppv was at least 4 stars. I think there are two main reasons why the OP was previously unaware of this match and is wondering why people "dont talk about" this match.

1. It's a big name matchup contested at a small-name ppv - Just think about Austin/Rock. Everyone knows and generally remembers each of the three battles they had at WrestleMania but what about the stellar match they put on at Backlash '99? With feuds that have so many ppv contests between them, the smaller names seem to get lost in the shuffle unless they are significantly better than the other matches in the feud (such as Taker/HBK at Bad Blood '97 or Cena/Punk MitB '11). Hunter and Shawn put on a flawless performance at Bad Blood 2004 but does it really stand out over their 5-star classic at SummerSlam 2002, the double countout finish at Royal Rumble 2004, or the main event of WrestleMania XX?

2. The IWC has such little respect for the in-ring career of Paul Levesque - Thank god he was able to produce a wrestling show that appealed to this demographic, because without it he'd still be mercilessly slandered by an overwhelming majority of the posters on this site. Whether they feel he rode Shawn Michaels, Stephanie McMahon, or Vince himself for his spot everyone seems to unfairly assume that HHH is the last person responsible for his own success. As a result, a lot of his brightest moments are dimmed by the dismissal of bitter fans who say he slept his way to the top. Sure, WWE propaganda helps us remember some of the keys but he's had a lot of memorable matches and moments in WWE history. A lot of his best matches are then forgotten, I put this match on a list with his HiaC classic vs Foley at Nay Way Out 2000, his LMS match vs Jericho at Fully Loaded 2000, and his 3 Stages of Hell match vs Austin at No Way Out 2001. All extremely good matches, but seem to get overlooked simply because HHH is somehow unqualified as a performer in the eyes of the average fan.

I hope my rambling was useful in some way shape or form. It's a great match I'm glad you enjoyed it

I don't think the IWC are unfairly shitting on Paul, Bret is maybe. Unfortunately for him, he WAS hindered by the Quad injuries and the preferential pushes he received once he and Steph were official. However good his work was, psychology or the numbers, he was always getting that nepotism label.

By then Shawn had pretty much blown his wad as a returning hero too... it wasn't long after this where they did The Rocker's Reunion match and for a week or so it really seemed like a good idea to keep that going... Yes Shawn was gonna face Angle at Mania, but after that a return to the tags for a bit really did seem his best bet with the newer talents emerging.

The problem this match has isn't so much the length, it's more that this was the start of the "meh" factor with some big matches. The best we only see once or a maximum 3 times ever... from 2002 to that Rocker's match we saw Shawn v Trips 19 TIMES in some form or another (including tags) and this match was number 16...

http://www.cagematch.net/?id=91&nr=18&page=2

That is an INSANE amount of matches to see those two on opposing sides in less than 3 years... It's inevitable a lot of them would be lost in the shuffle, however good they were.

This is the downside of how a lot of bigger names work (and some still do) since the Attitude Era, they find guys who make them look good and keep working them as much as possible. Taker only actually wrestled 3 guys in 5 years remember to keep that streak going (Shawn Twice, Hunter Twice and Punk) as much of that was down to Hunter and Shawn as Taker.

 

[Lowdown]

I only saw bits and pieces of this match after it first aired, and really didn't watch the majority of it until I purchased the HIAC DVD set years ago. Now it was a good match overall, but it did drag on. I found myself forwarding at least three times during the match. Aside from the length of the match itself, my issue was why did it take two years to end this feud. And the match was violent in which both Trips and Michaels bled and weapons were involved minimally. Considering all the other matches the two faced each other in, HIAC had to be the final step. But again, it could've been limited to a half hour.