OAO Great American Bash Thread

[algrim 0]

If they don't want the SD ME to get cluttered, Taker and JBL should have a match to see who challenges Batista later that night. It's a longshot, I know.

[cabbageboy 0]

Is Orton even going to be back for SS anyway? Besides, how many times are they going to have him cost UT a match? Further, I know they are expecting UT to put Orton over in the rematch but isn't that a bit absurd considering they would have jobbed UT out via Ortonference to both JBL and Batista?

 

Does Orlando Jordan have his own secret over Vince? Documents proving guilt in the 94 steroid trial? Pics of Vince with a chicken? There has to be SOME reason for his continued employment and push.

[fazzle 0]

Uhm, what the fuck? WWE.com's Smackdown superstars page has JBL as the world heavyweight champ, and Benoit as the US champ.

[BorneAgain 0]

Uhm, what the fuck?  WWE.com's Smackdown superstars page has JBL as the world heavyweight champ, and Benoit as the US champ.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Original plans perhaps?

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Benoit was robbed.

 

So I predict Batista / JBL II for SummerSlam and Batista / Undertaker for No Mercy.

[Masked Man of Mystery 0]

Uhm, what the fuck?  WWE.com's Smackdown superstars page has JBL as the world heavyweight champ, and Benoit as the US champ.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Original plans perhaps?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's fixed now

[cabbageboy 0]

Yeah but he wasn't really ROBBED. In fact as far as jobbing to Orlando Jordan goes, he didn't get protected nearly enough. I mean what is this, 1992? Removing the turnbuckle is that lethal these days? For Jordan to beat Benoit it should take a friggin army of run ins from JBL, the 10 guys who put UT in the casket, and the NWO Wolfpac.

 

There are certain times when jobbing a guy out doesn't help someone, but just hurts the other guy. Jordan gained nothing tonight because he still sucks a dick and no one cares about him, and it just made Benoit look horrible for not being able to beat a total scrub.

[fazzle 0]

Well, that was fast.

 

 

They're obviously trying to hide something.

[SuperJerk 0]

Yeah but he wasn't really ROBBED.  In fact as far as jobbing to Orlando Jordan goes, he didn't get protected nearly enough.  I mean what is this, 1992?  Removing the turnbuckle is that lethal these days?  For Jordan to beat Benoit it should take a friggin army of run ins from JBL, the 10 guys who put UT in the casket, and the NWO Wolfpac.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

It also means Orlando Jordan beat the guy who scored multiple clean wins over Triple H last year.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Did anybody call RRR to check if he didn't hang himself?

[cabbageboy 0]

Well if you watched the match Jordan also got most of the alleged offense. So not only did Benoit job to a totally talentless and heatless piece of shit, but he didn't just DESTROY him for most of the match leading up to a fluke win.

 

This show was 1999 WCW level bad, it really was. Actually it might be worse, since while they might have jobbed guys like Benoit out to David Flair that was at least meant to be a joke. I mean it was never presented in a way that anyone was expected to believe David could beat Benoit or Malenko without copious Ric and Arn run ins. We're actually expected to believe motherfucking ORLANDO JORDAN can beat Chris Benoit pretty much 1 on 1.

 

And quite frankly, I'd take the hasbeen WCW main event scene of 99 with Nash, Macho, etc. over friggin Bradshaw. At least those guys seemed like actual stars, rather than a career midcard bum getting a push from nowhere.

 

It's hard to believe this was the same brand that had as good of a show as Judgment Day. Of course guys like Cena and Angle who made that show good are now on Raw.

[Kardo 0]

The only good thing about GAB2004 was the insanely underated MOTY candidate between Rey and Chavo. Underated match if there ever were one.

[Guest Evolution]

The only good thing about GAB2004 was the insanely underated MOTY candidate between Rey and Chavo. Underated match if there ever were one.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Texas Bullrope Match is also slightly underrated, in my opinion.

[Dogbert 0]

I got the impression that they're going to go with Batista/Undertaker at SS, but that they don't want a face vs. face matchup.

 

Both did things after their matches that seemed heelish, so I'm thinking that they want to turn one of them, but can't decide, so they let the crowd reaction make the decision for them.

[Just John 0]

So where does this show rank in terms of worst booked ppv ever?

 

Seriously, from the new "Has-been and never-will-be" tag champs, to the secret not being revealed, to OJ going over Benoit, to UT beating up 7 guys at once... Just, wow. This had potential to be one of the better single-brand shows in a while, but this was just a mess.

[CBright7831 0]

Surely it was better than last year's catastrophe known as the Great American Bash.

[claydude14 0]

I remember how pissed I was at the ending of Unforgiven 2002.  This is worse.  Hey, McMahon, some people actually paid money for this crap.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I was there live, and no matter how much I bitched about the DQ ending being bullshit and the whole card being booked the opposite sensical way in every way, everyone there loved it. Man I hate Buffalo crowds.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Did anybody call RRR to check if he didn't hang himself?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You didn't get the memo.

 

I wanted OJ to win, because Benoit winning the US title and being US champion would _hurt_ him, not help (something most posters here can't seem to understand). If OJ won, he'd at least gain something (something that the WWE obviously didn't understand by giving him a tainted win).

 

It looks like they might be setting Benoit up in the World Title feud, given the fact that Hassan is now out. It's not that Taker/Batista/JBL couldn't last until Summerslam, it's just that they wouldn't last very long after. Benoit, JBL, Taker, Batista in a 4 way at Summerslam. Benoit/JBL, Taker/Batista at No Mercy, perhaps. Benoit/Batista at Survivor Series. Maybe even put Orton in there, you could make it till maybe Royal Rumble with those 5 cycling around the top of the card.

[iggymcfly 0]

RRR, you are dreaming if you think that Benoit is going to be main eventing anytime soon. He's going to be curtain jerking at Summerslam if he's even on the card, and after that he'll just move back to the upper midcard.

 

Honestly, I can't foresee Benoit in another main event until after Lesnar gets the belt and even that would just be as the odd man out in a triple threat match or something.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

I can't really explain them not giving him the US title if they aren't going to elevate him afterwards. OJ winning in that fashion didn't help him, so it wasn't for him, and it didn't really hurt Benoit because it was a nothing feud, for a nothing belt, and his loss wasn't clean.

 

How else would you explain it? I am certainly open to different opinions here, I just can't explain it any other way. "They're fucking idiots who don't know what they're doing" is another one I'll buy, but I think the latter is more likely. You brought up Brock... Maybe they're saving him for Brock Lesnars return? I could see that as well. Brock shouldn't be going after the US champion upon his return, he's had good matches with Benoit in the past, it's a "safe" return feud. But I heard Brock isn't in the best conditioning right now and I don't think that deal is even signed.

[iggymcfly 0]

I do think they're in a position where they think that Benoit might be slightly above the US Title, but they're certainly not pushing Benoit for the World Title.

 

Basically, the fact that Benoit was in the US Title match means they have no plans for him whatsoever, and that they just threw him in their to fill out the card. For now, they're likely to continue throwing him into random PPV matches to fill out cards, until such time as it's convenient to use him in a upper-tier match again. (Say Brock's return if Taker's busy.)

 

As I speculated in the other thread, they'll probably put Booker and Benoit on the card at Summerslam, just because they feel obligated to, but it'll probably be something completely throwaway like a handicap match against the Mexicools. I think that the WWE sees pushing Benoit as somewhat of a "cute phase" that they're through with now, and they'll continue to let him flounder in the midcard until they find it convenient to use him as enhancement talent.

 

Basically, think of him as a Smackdown version of Chris Jericho that wins occasionally.

[snuffbox 0]

I wonder how many people bought this gem....

 

Would it have been a better idea financially to just replay Great American Bash 1989 on ppv?

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

Okay so the WWE booked horrible again. HOW HARD IS IT TO BOOK A GOOD SHOW? For every frigging wrestler I can pull a decent storyline out of my ass. Vince is such a moron, he hires guys who know NOTHING about this industry and they don't know how to book a good show.

 

Batista/JBL: Batista should have won, no doubt about it. They could have done a 10 minute match where Batista dominates most of the match and it looks like JBL just can't cut it anymore in the main event.

 

Jordan/Benoit: Benoit should have won and after that started a feud with JBL over the US Title. I wouldn't be surprised if Benoit beat OJ next SD! for the belt anyways.

 

Christian/Booker T: Christian deserves a normal push for once, Booker T needs to be in the tag team scene.

 

Eddie/Rey: Eddie should have won because now he has no credibility left. Hell they could even have done that Eddie wins and he says the secret is too "hard" for the fans and then Rey says "you don't even have a secret do ya?" and then Eddie goes ballistic and we will never know the secret Rey has.

 

MNM/Heidenreich and Animal: I saw this one coming a mile away but MNM should have won because they are the future and LOD 2005 sucks.

[SuperJerk 0]

I can't really explain them not giving him the US title if they aren't going to elevate him afterwards.  OJ winning in that fashion didn't help him, so it wasn't for him, and it didn't really hurt Benoit because it was a nothing feud, for a nothing belt, and his loss wasn't clean. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

As much as I want to argue with this, there's actually precedent for this line of reasoning. Cena lost to Jordan prior to Wrestlemania without it hurting him.

[Guest seth86]

I can't believe Vince still thinks that JBL should be in the main event. The guy had the title for so long but didn't draw at all. Just put him in the US title scene where he belongs Vince!

[Guest Ransome]

I watched it. I can only imagine the show's crumbiness was due to a frantic reshuffling after UPN's removal of Hassan.

 

Most likely, Hassan was supposed to beat the Undertaker via RKO (Orton hiding as one of the masked terrorists. Clearly, the only reason they brought them in the first place two weeks ago was for this purpose).

 

I imagine Batista was to beat JBL cleanly to begin a Hassan feud leading into Summerslam, while Benoit was to win by DQ over Orlando Jordan (which had to be rebooked lest they use two DQs for title matches).

 

I can think of no excuse, however, for the Eddie-Rey conclusion. I'm surprised the crowd were restrained enough not to boo the finish outright if it meant denying them from hearing the secret that had been building up for weeks. Even if Eddie reveals the secret anyway come SD, what good does it do? Logically, they have to conclude at Summerslam, but unless a heel wins the feud, it means that Rey wins every encounter they've had; why create such a one-sided feud ?

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

I do think they're in a position where they think that Benoit might be slightly above the US Title, but they're certainly not pushing Benoit for the World Title.

 

I never said that Benoit was going to _get_ the title, I said that it looks like they might put him in with JBL, Taker, and Batista. JBL and Batista isn't finished, Taker is the number 1 contender. That suggests a 3 way at Summerslam. Do we see the problem in that? BRADSHAW is the biggest bumper there. It's not very balanced, it needs someone to carry the workload. This is pretty good reasoning for putting Benoit in there.

 

 

Basically, the fact that Benoit was in the US Title match means they have no plans for him whatsoever, and that they just threw him in their to fill out the card.

 

Or they wanted to put a midcard title on Benoit as they _always do_ because they have no plans for him whatsoever but still want him on the card and are too lazy to think of reasons. It's pretty obvious that this match was to give Benoit the title - if they wanted OJ to "go over" Benoit, then the win would have been clean as Benoit is willing to job clean and put over just about any young guy.

 

However, the Hassan thing happened and Batista didn't have an opponent for Summerslam. Blow off Batista/Taker right now? That might hurt Big Dave. Throw in JBL for a threeway, that way you can put the heat on him and not make it a battle for the fans to choose between Smackdowns #1 star and the deadman. The problem with that was outlined above. So they need a worker. Well, Eddie is feuding with Rey and it appears they want to blow that off at Summerslam. Benoit is the next likely guy to be put in there (Christian would be another odd-ball pick, a heel worker who can stooge for the big men, but he lost to Booker T). If Benoit had won by DQ then I'd be sure he would be put up in the ME, but since they had a DQ finish for the main and it's not good to repeat finishes especially title finishes, they opted for the cheap win for OJ instead.

 

For now, they're likely to continue throwing him into random PPV matches to fill out cards, until such time as it's convenient to use him in a upper-tier match again. (Say Brock's return if Taker's busy.)

 

Wouldn't you say it's convenient to use him now given the current title picture?

[Dr. Zaius 0]

So rather than just grooming another heel for the main event, they decide to drag out a feud nobody cares about? There's last minute, then there's last minute and lazy. I can't beleive this company sometimes. There are people who are paid to do nothing but come up with storylines, and they can't even do that given several days to work with? These people are idiots.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

You have to look at their long term planning. Orton/Batista was probably scheduled for their fall programming - perhaps headlining their single ppv after Summerslam, Orton taking the title, Batista winning the rematch at Survivor Series (Hell, the rubber match could take place at Armageddon - then you have Brock/Batista leading all the way from RR to WM). They had (most of that) all planned out. So what they're doing now is a stall tactic. They obviously thought Batista/JBL was enough of a draw since they had it headlining, so in their mind it's not a step down by having it continue. It's not a step up, but it's not a step down.

[King Cucaracha 0]

The fact some of you people WANTED Muhammed Hassan to main event the 2nd biggest PPV of the year kinda nullifies your opinions a little.

 

Batista/Hassan would have been worse than Taker vs. Taker. Hell, Hassan would make JBL look like The Rock in terms of effective main eventers. So, Taker beat up a few useless masked guys, destroyed a manager and got rid of a wrestler who made Chris Benoit look bad. GOOD! Good riddance to a terrible gimmick, put on a mediocre at best wrestler and then turned into a publicity magnet.

 

 

I can still see them doing Taker/Batista and Benoit/JBL at Summerslam. Face vs. Face would usually be a bad decision, but the match isn't going to main event. Jericho/Cena is the big title match, Hogan/HBK is the big selling point for the PPV. Taker is Taker, he'll always be popular. Batista will be over because it's his hometown crowd. So, they can get away with Face vs. Face.