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Forgotten Favorites 05.18.10: No Way Out 2005 – John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Big Show

May 18, 2010 | Posted by Jim Grimm

Welcome back, wrestling fans. It’s time once again to turn back that wrestling clock and throw some love towards some oft-overlooked action.

Usually I play it safe with the popular IWC-darlings. A little Kurt Angle here, a little Chris Jericho there, and everybody’s happy. This week I’m testing the waters with two guys who aren’t exactly known for their capabilities within the workrate realm. I’m saying now up front that I am indeed a fan of this match (otherwise it wouldn’t be featured), and I think it provides for an entertaining viewing. If that isn’t good enough, read through my reasons for loving this match below. And if that isn’t good enough, destroy me as best you can in the good old comments section.

So, who wants great wrestling?


No Way Out – February 20, 2005
WWE Championship
Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match
John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Big Show

HOW IT WENT DOWN

Nowadays, if Orlando Jordan and the Basham Brothers kept popping up everywhere on television, you might think to yourself, “Why am I watching TNA?” But back in 2005, SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long had a very different reaction, asking himself, “Why am I allowing this to happen to the WWE Title?”

It was the ultimate reign of terror, both to the IWC and the kayfabe-immersed casual fan. The WWE Championship that had been carried with pride by the likes of Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, and Steve Austin, well, that very same championship was now around the waist of John Bradshaw Layfield. You know… that guy who a year earlier had been known for playing cards and beating up punks for beer money. Now he was the cream of the wrestling crop, wearing around his waist what was arguably the most important belt in the history of pro wrestling.

Ever since defeating Eddie Guerrero for the belt at the Great American Bash in June ’04, JBL had managed to pull out every stop imaginable in order to hold onto his gold. From Guerrero to Undertaker to Booker T, JBL faced each of his challengers head on and came out on top, albeit by less-than-decent means. But on the December 16th edition of SmackDown, two new challengers entered the picture, eager to lay claim to JBL’s title. On that night, the title-hungry Kurt Angle began to make his advances towards the championship, taking on the reigning WWE Champ in one on one competition. However, Angle had to settle for a victory via disqualification when JBL’s Cabinet members (the previously mentioned Jordan and Bashams) refused to remain peaceful onlookers. But DQ or not in this heel vs. heel showdown, there was one guy who didn’t care one way or the other; he just wanted to crack skulls. So at the not-quite-a-finish to JBL-Angle, an angry giant named Big Show came down to the ring to bring the pain to anybody in his line of sight.

Show’s interference in the match had a couple of different reasons. First, the big man wanted to throw his hat in the ring for a shot at the WWE Championship, and the best way to do that is usually to find the champion and his top contender for purposes of crushing. The other reason is that Show had a standing beef with the Olympic Gold Medallist, stretching back to an unforunate tranquilizer incident a couple of months prior that saw the big man get his head shaved by Angle and his cronies, Luther Reigns and Mark Jindrak.

Because I consider Big Show’s performance here to be among some of the best acting in wrestling history, I must share this special moment in time with you.

And so a rivalry developed amongst JBL, Big Show, and Kurt Angle, with each man thinking himself the only one worthy of wearing the championship belt. With both heels being sneaktastic and naturally hesitant to have to face the fully focused wrath of Big Show, the Olympian and WWE Champ began a game of oneupsmanship in an effort to divert the majority of the big man’s fury onto one another. First, it was JBL and his Cabinet tricking Angle backstage into walking in on a not-so-clothed Joy Giovanni, who, being Show’s very special lady friend, was not someone you looked at naked unless you were seeking death. One week later, Show was once again at his wit’s end when he learned that Joy had gone missing, only to turn up in the trunk of JBL’s limousine when a curious Kurt Angle took a look inside. Only thing was, JBL had no part in it, and Angle had planned the whole ordeal in order to direct the giant’s fury towards the champion.

On January 30th, 2005, JBL put his WWE Championship on the line in a Triple Threat match, taking on both Big Show and Kurt Angle. Thanks to a steady amount of interference on his behalf by his Cabinet members, JBL was able to successfully defend his title by earning a pinfall over the Olympian. It seemed it was smooth sailing for JBL and his Cabinet when he walked into Teddy Long’s office later that night, celebrating his successful title defense. The only problem was that Teddy, after watching the endless interference on JBL’s behalf, had already decided on the next PPV’s WWE Title match.

Ch-ch-check it out …

And so it was set for No Way Out: WWE Champion JBL would defend the title against the Big Show in a barbed wire steel cage match. The SmackDown following the Rumble saw Big Show squash Cabinet-henchmen Doug and Danny Basham in a Handicap format. But it was one week later on February 10th when SmackDown travelled to Japan that the feud really got kicked into high gear.

Before you watch the following video, here’s a little backstory: JBL, beginning to get a little antsy about his upcoming title defense, decided he wanted to go the same route as the tranquilizer-wielding Kurt Angle. Only thing is, he didn’t seem to prepare for any potential misfires. And sadly, there was quite a misfire when, backstage, JBL’s manager Amy Weber accidentally fired a dart straight into the back of the WWE Champion. However, instead of losing conscious as the Big Show had done months prior, JBL remained conscious, yet definitely…changed. Observe …

“He’s a dinosaur. His name’s Barney. He eats pizza.” Gold.

As you can see in the video, it turns out that the whole tranq-misfire was actually the Cabinet working everyone all along. Unfortunately for JBL and Company, Big Show was not one to be taken advantage of, and he again resumed the feared cracking of the skulls.

And so it all came down to No Way Out. And to make matters even more dramatic, there was a particular Raw Superstar who was going to be on hand at the event, taking a keen interest in the outcome. Royal Rumble winner Dave Batista had yet to choose his WrestleMania XXI opponent, and he was still entertaining the thought of jumping to the blue brand to challenge for the WWE Title.

So could JBL pull out another miracle and retain his WWE Championship without his Cabinet? Or would the Big Show claim his first WWE Championship in over two years? And where did Batista fit into all of this?

WHY IT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED

As I said, this isn’t exactly the workrate lover’s dream match. Neither JBL nor The Big Show are known for being technical wizards or submission specialists. And when you’re counting the number of time-tested in-ring classics involving these two guys, you’re probably only going to need one hand.

So what’s so good about this match?

First off, let’s consider the build going into No Way Out. The feud leading into the PPV was built off of JBL’s inability to retain his title through legitimate and individualized means, relying heavily upon the help of his Cabinet members to secure his championship. As far as SmackDown GM Teddy Long was concerned, JBL’s tainted Royal Rumble title defense was just another in a long line of embarassing stains left upon the prestigious WWE Championship by the Wrestling God. Since JBL had only covered Kurt Angle’s shoulders to the mat, it stood to reason that Big Show should be granted another opportunity at the title. And since that pinfall over Kurt Angle was only earned as a result of Cabinet shenanigans, it also stood to reason that Big Show and JBL should determine a legitimate winner between the two inside the confines of the steel cage. Thus, No Way Out’s title match was a no-brainer.

Of course, I’ve covered all of this already, but I feel like it bears repeating to prove a point. You can love Big Show and JBL or hate them. You can accuse them of being unworthy of duking it out over the WWE Title. You can also make a case for the argument that two guys who’ve never really proven themselves as viable draws don’t exactly deserve the main event spot at a PPV. But you cannot cannot cannot say that this rivalry, given the nature of the characters involved, was not executed exactly as it should have been.

You have the weasel of a champion who’s been barely holding onto the WWE Title for eight months. He always seems outmatched against his opponents, and yet, somehow, he always manages to get the three-count at the end of the night. You have the monstrous giant of a challenger, a guy who could clearly bring the destrucity down on the champ in a fairly fought environment. When it becomes clear that a fair fight isn’t going to be possible in a regular wrestling match, the big guns are forced to be brought out as they always are in these situations, coming in the form of a steel cage. It’s an old booking method, yeah, but it can’t be argued that it’s still effective after all these years. And with the characters we’ve got involved, the pieces couldn’t have fit together better.

And so this brings me onto my next point, although I’m still thinking of Big Show and the idea of logical booking. Admittedly, these two things have not always gone hand in hand, as any fan who witnessed Show riding his father’s coffin can tell you. Then there’s also the number of times the big guys has switched from face to heel and back again, oftentimes in very close spaces of time. But, getting past all that, there are plenty of cases in which Big Show was used properly, and it was those times that his own character and the guys going up against him benefitted the most.


You will fear this man.

I bring up this Big Show Effect this week because at Over The Limit we’ve got Show challenging for a World Title on PPV for the first time in a long time. And I’ll admit that upon hearing that Swagger-Show was the direction SmackDown was going for the next PPV (likely leading to a rematch in June as well), I was a little less than pleased. Show is well past the point of being considered likely for a title run, especially going up against a still recently crowned champion whose latest title defense came at the expense of arguably the company’s hottest star right now. But upon further reflection, I am totally behind this Swagger-Show confrontation and I look forward to the rewards that each guy is going to reap from the match.

When JBL hung in there with Big Show at No Way Out, standing toe to toe and exchanging blows, blood covering his face, the Wrestling God came out looking just that much more badass than he had looked going in. Yeah, he got his ass kicked over the course of the match. And yeah, he got his ass kicked after the match as well. But for as bloodied and battered as the champion had become, he’d brought the fight equally as hard to his gigantic challenger, causing that infamous crimson mask to cover Show’s face just the same as his.

You want more proven examples of a challenging Big Show making the champion look that much better? Well, there’s a certain dude who, while not a pro wrestler anymore, owes a debt of gratitude to the Big Nasty Bastard: Brock Lesnar. When Lesnar turned face in the closing months of 2002 his entire babyface MO was based on earning revenge against his former manager Paul Heyman. Heyman had used Lesnar to get the title onto (surprise!) Big Show, who Heyman had also used in order to get the title onto his true chosen one, Kurt Angle. With Lesnar seeking retribution in the war against Heyman, his babyface run was defined in its beginnings by his chase of Kurt Angle and the WWE Title. At WrestleMania, when Lesnar finally won back his belt and vanquished his foe (who was also going onto the disabled list), the babyface Brock might have been in danger of losing his heroic steam if booked questionably, considering his face-osity was largely determined by his opposition of the much-hated Angle and Heyman. But instead of falling into a post-WrestleMania rut, Lesnar’s faceness flourished as he was thrown into a multi-month renewed rivalry with Big Show. Lesnar’s insane manhandling of the giant in their numerous encounters — including the SUPERPLEX OF DOOM — made Brock into that much more of a fan favorite, as fans were jumping to their feet everytime the former Next Big Thing performed an unimaginable feat of strength with his much larger adversary. Just like JBL at No Way Out, Brock Lesnar walked out of his title defenses against Big Show looking like a warrior. And the same fate hopefully awaits a retaining Jack Swagger at Over The Limit.

Aside from No Way Out’s build and Big Show’s ability to make a champion look that bit tougher, we’ve also got a damn entertaining match on our hands here. JBL and Big Show stepped into the ring on this night in 2005 aiming at delivering a knockdown dragout fight that was truly a throwback to simpler times. It wasn’t about pure wrestling or clever counter-holds inside the steel cage; it was all about merciless and unrelenting violence. Looking back now, I only wish that Jim Ross had been able to call the match, not because Michael Cole sucks the monkey balls (although he does) but more because this was a Battle of the Hosses if there ever was one. Fists were flying and blood was flowing. This was a fight.

And how did this fight end? Well… remember when I talked about how much the logical booking of the rivalry added to the match itself? Bah Gawd, we’ve got ourselves a logical conclusion as well! The challenger, so obsessed with the utter destruction of his opponent, allows his violent tendencies to get the better of him. So focused on obliterating JBL with a Chokeslam through the ring, Big Show fails to recognize the golden opportunity he’s just given the crafty and despicable champion, who easily rolls under the ring before crawling out to the arena floor for the victory. In the end, Big Show focus on destruction gets the better of him, and JBL is able to seize the moment, as always, and walk off with the WWE Title. I love this finish, not just for the way it played perfectly into the characters, but also because it showed that the creative staff was (amazingly) thinking outside the box on this one. They found an effective yet unconventional finish that made both guys (or both characters, to be more accurate) look great while also giving the fans something a little bit different.

WHY IT ISN’T REMEMBERED

John Bradshaw Layfield’s nine month reign as WWE Champion is not the most fondly remembered period in wrestling history. I was one of the many, many fans who, upon hearing the results of 2004’s Great American Bash, thought to myself, ACOLYTE BRADSHAW? This was the same guy who three months earlier only received six minutes of match-time at WrestleMania when he competed as part of a tag team that had peaked four years earlier. And the winners of this throwaway match that featured eight wrestlers in total? Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty.

So the question of “Is it possible to job to Scotty 2 Hotty and then win the WWE Championship three months later?” has been answered with a resounding Yes.

What it all comes down to is WWE gave their most prestigious championship to a guy who, at the time, was considered strictly to be a career midcarder. When JBL shocked the world at the Great American Bash and captured the title, he had still yet to fully flesh out the JBL character, not to mention the fact that he had proven nothing inside the ring that would make fans take him seriously as a singles main event star. JBL’s character and ringwork would improve by leaps and bounds over the course of the next year, but the fact that the E jumped the gun on giving him the belt caused a foul stench of unworthiness to follow JBL through most of 2004. And this wasn’t a “You cheated to win, you baddie!” kind of unworthiness in the heel stylings of a Flair or a Jericho. No, this was a “You belong in tag wrestling, you chump!” kind of unworthiness. It had nothing (at first) to do with the character, and everything to do with the poorly executed booking.


A legit champion eventually, but not quite at first.

I was quite the critic of JBL’s title reign throughout 2004, feeling that his unworthy crowning as champion along with his stale, boring booking and in-ring action (the series with Undertaker comes to mind) made the E’s decision to give him the ball one of their worst mistakes in recent memory. But even my opinion was changed as 2004 came to a close, when with a supporting heel stable established and having finally found his character’s groove, JBL at last looked like the champion WWE thought he could be back in June. The last four months of his title reign were far and away miles head of the five months that had preceded them, and thanks to his interactions with Booker T, Kurt Angle, and Big Show, the Wrestling God had finally realized the potential that many fans never realized was even there to begin with.

However, as is usually the case with wrestling’s history, fans will remember the bad a whole lot clearer than they will the good. No matter how much JBL had improved by the end of his title reign, the fact remains that his first few months as champion were mind numbingly awful and borderline offensive to longtime fans. As much of a JBL mark as I have become in the years since, I still feel exactly the same way about the events of the ’04 Great American Bash: JBL should not have won the WWE Title that night. And since that puts me in the same boat as a large chunk of the wrestling audience, it makes sense that many fans would completely write off JBL’s reign at the top, remembering it only for its greatly criticized first night and for its historically significant ending at the hands of the E’s new golden boy, John Cena.

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Until next time, stay safe and out of Dundalk.

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