Feuds that were perfect from start to finish
Jan 13, 2022 14:29:33 GMT -5
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Post by Jindrak Mark on Jan 13, 2022 14:29:33 GMT -5
Batista v Triple H
This might be the gold standard of wrestling storylines since the turn of the century. The seeds were planted in the fall of 2004 when we were led to believe that Batista got pissed at HHH and took him out off-screen. It turned out to be an Evolution ruse to trick the babyfaces but the huge pop Batista got in that moment made them realize maybe they had something there and we could do this for real so slowly but surely over the next few months Batista starts becoming more of his own man and tires of simply being the bodyguard.
Triple H wins the title at New Year's Revolution due to Batista taking out Orton and Batista glares at the title afterwards. It's a matter of when not if Batista is going to turn on him at this point and fans are begging him to do it. Raw's ratings skyrocket in anticipation after 4-5 years straight of decline. Batista wins the Royal Rumble and a clearly worried HHH does everything he can to convince him to face JBL at Wrestlemania. Batista makes his decision and fans finally get their wish during the famous contract signing segment when Batista gives HHH the thumbs down and puts him through the table.
So the moment that was originally meant to be Randy Orton's if things worked out is now Batista's as he defeats HHH in the main event of Wrestlemania 21 for the World title. Batista wins a rematch at Backlash to prove it wasn't a fluke then they wisely have HHH take a month off so the feud doesn't get stale. He returns and violently beats down Batista before announcing it will come to an end in Hell in a Cell. Batista convincingly wins again in a bloody war to end the rivalry. I'm not sure it's actually canon in storyline because it was just a DVD extra that wasn't shown on TV but there was a perfect moment afterwards too when they're both bloodied and battered in the back being attended to by doctors when they notice each other and give a nod of respect for the battle they went through.
It's also the biggest drawing match ever that was sold purely on two full-timers with no outside help. It broke Wrestlemania 17's PPV record and the only two Wrestlemanias to beat it since (23, 28) needed celebrity/part-timer help with Donald Trump and The Rock. The blow off at Vengeance also did monster business with over 400,000 buys which was crazy at the time for a non big-four show and almost 200,000 more than the previous years show did.
AJ Styles v John Cena
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMUuRuesWqI
You know it's probably going to be good when this is how it starts. They cut off a lot at the start too so this isn't even the whole thing. The fans actually chanted for 3-4 minutes straigh. You can even see them look at each other and laugh like damn, this is going to be easy. Imagine when we actually talk or wrestle. This was years in the making with Mr. WWE v Mr. TNA and any fears that fans wouldn't consider it that big of a deal were put to bed immediately when the first time they ever stood in the ring together got this reaction.
Styles turned heel which was the correct move as it allowed his personality to shine. #BeatUpJohnCena. The story of their first match at MITB was that Cena was rusty due to it being his first match in 6 months so Styles is always one step ahead. He needs help from his cronies Gallows and Anderson to win though so there's still doubt as to whether he's really the better man.
The next month is probably the least famous part of the feud but highly enjoyable as instead of rushing into the rematch at the next PPV Cena enlists Enzo and Cass to help battle The Club. Cena even makes the save for his babyface friends for once!
It's kind of jarring watching that because even though it was only 5 years ago you rarely see crowds that hot on Raw today. That reaction was nothing unusual to Cena and Styles at the time though as anytime these two touched in any capacity the crowd was always super hot. Cena, Enzo and Cass then beat The Club at Battleground. Styles says Cena can't beat him one-on-one though. Cena points out that Styles needed help to beat him at MITB and can he do it again now that his henchmen Gallows and Anderson have been drafted to Raw. We got ourselves that rematch at Summerslam. Cena isn't rusty this time though. Can Styles beat him twice in a row? Yes, he can. Styles again beats Cena in a classic match and more importantly, proves that he can do it by himself this time. A dejected Cena gets a standing ovation after the match as he leaves, leaving his armband in the ring. Cena is gone for a couple of months and the next week we find that Styles is now in possession of Cena's armband, which is a headband on Styles. Styles is now "the champ that runs the camp" and spends the next year or so reminding people of this win. Styles wins the WWE title from Ambrose at Backlash and a triple threat with Styles/Ambrose/Cena is set for No Mercy. All three men cut some great promos then on the night Styles wins by pinning Cena for the third straight time. Cena disappears again and Styles seems like the one foe he can't quite overcome.
After another couple of months of Styles mocking Cena and claiming he drove him out of the company Cena returns on the final Smackdown of the year and challenges Styles to one more match at the Royal Rumble. In a bit of an unusual move they shake hands. Styles is still a heel but it's clear he's going to be turning soon and does after Wrestlemania. At the Royal Rumble in front of 52,000 people at the Alamodome Styles and Cena put on another great match. They wrestle for 25 minutes and don't leave the ring once. Cena finally gets the win over Styles and gets his record equalling 16th, and to date, final World title win. It was a rare perfect storm that had almost everything. Huge crowd, hot crowd, great wrestling, feud ending and historically significant.
They even used the residual heat of their feud to put over Bray Wyatt the following month when they both lost clean to him in the Elimination Chamber and handed him his first world title then lost to him again in a triple threat on Smackdown.
This might be the gold standard of wrestling storylines since the turn of the century. The seeds were planted in the fall of 2004 when we were led to believe that Batista got pissed at HHH and took him out off-screen. It turned out to be an Evolution ruse to trick the babyfaces but the huge pop Batista got in that moment made them realize maybe they had something there and we could do this for real so slowly but surely over the next few months Batista starts becoming more of his own man and tires of simply being the bodyguard.
Triple H wins the title at New Year's Revolution due to Batista taking out Orton and Batista glares at the title afterwards. It's a matter of when not if Batista is going to turn on him at this point and fans are begging him to do it. Raw's ratings skyrocket in anticipation after 4-5 years straight of decline. Batista wins the Royal Rumble and a clearly worried HHH does everything he can to convince him to face JBL at Wrestlemania. Batista makes his decision and fans finally get their wish during the famous contract signing segment when Batista gives HHH the thumbs down and puts him through the table.
So the moment that was originally meant to be Randy Orton's if things worked out is now Batista's as he defeats HHH in the main event of Wrestlemania 21 for the World title. Batista wins a rematch at Backlash to prove it wasn't a fluke then they wisely have HHH take a month off so the feud doesn't get stale. He returns and violently beats down Batista before announcing it will come to an end in Hell in a Cell. Batista convincingly wins again in a bloody war to end the rivalry. I'm not sure it's actually canon in storyline because it was just a DVD extra that wasn't shown on TV but there was a perfect moment afterwards too when they're both bloodied and battered in the back being attended to by doctors when they notice each other and give a nod of respect for the battle they went through.
It's also the biggest drawing match ever that was sold purely on two full-timers with no outside help. It broke Wrestlemania 17's PPV record and the only two Wrestlemanias to beat it since (23, 28) needed celebrity/part-timer help with Donald Trump and The Rock. The blow off at Vengeance also did monster business with over 400,000 buys which was crazy at the time for a non big-four show and almost 200,000 more than the previous years show did.
AJ Styles v John Cena
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMUuRuesWqI
You know it's probably going to be good when this is how it starts. They cut off a lot at the start too so this isn't even the whole thing. The fans actually chanted for 3-4 minutes straigh. You can even see them look at each other and laugh like damn, this is going to be easy. Imagine when we actually talk or wrestle. This was years in the making with Mr. WWE v Mr. TNA and any fears that fans wouldn't consider it that big of a deal were put to bed immediately when the first time they ever stood in the ring together got this reaction.
Styles turned heel which was the correct move as it allowed his personality to shine. #BeatUpJohnCena. The story of their first match at MITB was that Cena was rusty due to it being his first match in 6 months so Styles is always one step ahead. He needs help from his cronies Gallows and Anderson to win though so there's still doubt as to whether he's really the better man.
The next month is probably the least famous part of the feud but highly enjoyable as instead of rushing into the rematch at the next PPV Cena enlists Enzo and Cass to help battle The Club. Cena even makes the save for his babyface friends for once!
It's kind of jarring watching that because even though it was only 5 years ago you rarely see crowds that hot on Raw today. That reaction was nothing unusual to Cena and Styles at the time though as anytime these two touched in any capacity the crowd was always super hot. Cena, Enzo and Cass then beat The Club at Battleground. Styles says Cena can't beat him one-on-one though. Cena points out that Styles needed help to beat him at MITB and can he do it again now that his henchmen Gallows and Anderson have been drafted to Raw. We got ourselves that rematch at Summerslam. Cena isn't rusty this time though. Can Styles beat him twice in a row? Yes, he can. Styles again beats Cena in a classic match and more importantly, proves that he can do it by himself this time. A dejected Cena gets a standing ovation after the match as he leaves, leaving his armband in the ring. Cena is gone for a couple of months and the next week we find that Styles is now in possession of Cena's armband, which is a headband on Styles. Styles is now "the champ that runs the camp" and spends the next year or so reminding people of this win. Styles wins the WWE title from Ambrose at Backlash and a triple threat with Styles/Ambrose/Cena is set for No Mercy. All three men cut some great promos then on the night Styles wins by pinning Cena for the third straight time. Cena disappears again and Styles seems like the one foe he can't quite overcome.
After another couple of months of Styles mocking Cena and claiming he drove him out of the company Cena returns on the final Smackdown of the year and challenges Styles to one more match at the Royal Rumble. In a bit of an unusual move they shake hands. Styles is still a heel but it's clear he's going to be turning soon and does after Wrestlemania. At the Royal Rumble in front of 52,000 people at the Alamodome Styles and Cena put on another great match. They wrestle for 25 minutes and don't leave the ring once. Cena finally gets the win over Styles and gets his record equalling 16th, and to date, final World title win. It was a rare perfect storm that had almost everything. Huge crowd, hot crowd, great wrestling, feud ending and historically significant.
They even used the residual heat of their feud to put over Bray Wyatt the following month when they both lost clean to him in the Elimination Chamber and handed him his first world title then lost to him again in a triple threat on Smackdown.
