Benoit's 2004 Rumble Win/Title Reign

[inrogers29]

I was just randomly watching a RAW from 2004, and it was the RAW after the Rumble. It just seems like looking back, it would have been better for Benoit to have just stayed on SD and won the WWE title. While making HHH tap was huge, he could have still had that moment by making maybe Brock or Angle tap at Mania. You could have still given Eddie the belt with a feud with Benoit on SD post-Mania, which would have really helped SD because it was really struggling psot WM20.

And if you look at it, RAW really never wanted anything to do with Benoit. They wouldn't let him have 1-on-1 build to the belt, it was basically HHH vs. HBK with Benoit on the side, and Benoit went on to have lame feuds with Kane and be semi main with HHH feuding with Eugene. I think SD would have showcased Benoit and it would have really been better for him in the long run, since SD was more wrestling focused anyway and RAW was gimmicks.

Thoughts?

[Deleted]

Chris who?

[ToastMaster General]

Ehh, it really wouldn't have mattered in the long run which belt Benoit got at WM XX because it was clear that he wasn't the "main" guy no matter how many good main event title matches he had. It was always going to be about the Game and how we played it.

[inrogers29]

Mar 13, 2012 8:41:58 GMT -5 ToastMaster General said:

Ehh, it really wouldn't have mattered in the long run which belt Benoit got at WM XX because it was clear that he wasn't the "main" guy no matter how many good main event title matches he had. It was always going to be about the Game and how we played it.

That's what I'm saying. I think if he would have stayed on SD, he would have been showcased and been used great. RAW wanted nothing to do with him.

[pxkgotosleep]

My thoughts are that two matches that where the two Best matches of the entire year make him going to Raw worth it. (WM/Backlash)

[Edge618]

I think he would have been used way better on SD! as well. Guerrero vs. Benoit and HBK vs. HHH at the time would have worked for Mania 20. And then Benoit could have went on to have feuds with Angle, and we could of got a Benoit vs. Angle vs. Guerrero triple threat. I think that a Benoit vs. Lesnar match would of worked at Mania. Here's Lesnar, this 6 ft 5' beast, whose leaving WWE after Mania 20. He's too good for WWE. And he basically came in and got pushed to the moon, getting basically everything a WWE wrestler could ever want in the company within his first year. And then here's Benoit, a smash mouth, 5 ft 10' wrestler's wrestler, who had worked 18 years and never ever got the big one. It would have been David vs. Goliath, and had Benoit broken him down and made him tap on his way out, it would of gotten over huge i think.

[Deleted]

He really did seem like a fish out of water on Raw.

[Deleted]

its such a pity HBK never wanted the belt.the original plan called for HBK to relieve ol Champ In law of the title at WM20.

but yeah Benoits ENTIRE title run was overshadowed by HBK vs HHH and also Foley vs Evolution/Orton.

[koreygunz]

I think Vince really wanted the Brock/Goldberg match to happen, and since both were leaving, he had to make it happen at Mania if it was to happen at all, hence why Brock dropped the title. I think Brock/Benoit would have been a great match and gotten Benoit over big, but once he dropped the title to Eddie, it wouldnt have made sense to give Eddie only a 1-month reign as champion since they were kinda doing the same "finally wins the big one after so long" type of story with him as they were with Benoit. And since HBK didnt want the title (shame) it would seem the only thing they could do (if they wanted Benoit to get a title) was what we got.

[Deleted]

Having Benoit beat Brock would have been amazing IMHO.

At this point, I'm happy Benoit won it at all, as his window for doing so was smaller than sadly anyone could have guessed.

[cordless2016]

That's what I'm saying. I think if he would have stayed on SD, he would have been showcased and been used great. RAW wanted nothing to do with him.

It had nothing to do w/ RAW not wanting him. Triple H wanted nothing to do w/ him. Fans were sick of his dominance by the end of 2003, and creative probably thought fans would be satisfied if HHH simply was not holding the world title. Benoit came in and was the world champ, but HHH was always the main focus on the show. Hell, Eugene had a bigger role on RAW than Benoit did during his title reign. I remember when HHH had been sent to SD for a few days and Bischoff announced Benoit vs HBK at Backlash. That could have easily been a 5-star match, but then HHH had to interject his character into the feud for a WM rematch. Their WM20 match was great, but fans wanted something new on RAW, and an HBK/Benoit feud was just what we wanted. Yet HHH could never play second fiddle to anyone, even for a month during his dominance from 2002-2005, so he was the main focus as usual while Benoit and the world title suffered.

Vince desperatly needed some new stars after 2003. Kane, RVD, Steiner, and Booker T had all been killed off on RAW, and SD was lacking top names after Lesnar, Angle, and Taker. Because of Paul Heyman, Benoit and Eddie got their title wins. Moving Benoit to Raw was the right move in the long run though. Sure, Benoit vs Lesnar would have been great, but that just means that Eddie would have continued to be stuck in mid-card hell even though he was one of the most over guys on the roster. Had Benoit remained on SD, him and Eddie would have been considered as nothing more than a mid-card feud while RAW would have continued to have been stale w/ the same old HHH/HBK feud. Benoit needed to be moved to RAW, because feuding w/ HHH and HBK, even if he played a second fiddler role, gave him more credibility than staying on SD and feuding w/ Eddie and JBL would have. Remember, Eddie's credibility suffered because he never beat Lesnar cleanly, cheated to defeat Angle at WM, and then failed to even win against JBL, who was still viewed as a high mid-card at most when he first won the WWE Title. Had Benoit stayed on SD, both of their credibility would have suffered rather than just one.