The Shimmy 7.14.08: The Chris Benoit Report Card (Part Four)

Greetings, true believers! Welcome to another rollicking edition of The Shimmy. We’ve got some matches to grade so let’s cut the jibber jabber and get to it, shall we? Alright.

2004 Royal Rumble Match (Royal Rumble 2004)

Every year the Royal Rumble manages to produce lasting memories, or at the very least is a fun way to spend an hour. Normally Royal Rumble Matches stand aside on their own, not really able to be compared to the rest of the year’s matches. Royal Rumbles are so unique that even the great ones don’t normally get considered for Match of the Year nominations. The 2004 Royal Rumble has the distinction of being one of the best Royal Rumbles ever, and as such one of the best matches of 2004. There are all kinds of great moments, from Chris Benoit and Randy Orton lasting together for a long time, Mick Foley’s return, Ernest “The Cat” Miller’s dancing and the accompanied singing by Tazz, and Benoit’s big victory are all great individual moments. This Rumble managed to tell a story throughout the entire match, perhaps why it is remembered so fondly. I’m just not a fan of the finish. NO ONE was buying Big Show as one of the final two guys so it really killed any kind of suspense the match had. For historical purposes it was pretty important because the finishing sequence between the two has become a staple of one-on-one big man Battle Royal eliminations. My dislike for the finish aside, this is still a great match and one of the best Royal Rumbles.

My Grade: A

World Heavyweight Title, Triple Threat Match: Triple H© vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania XX)

This is, for my money, one of the top ten (maybe fifteen if you give me a good list) wrestling matches of all time and THE greatest wrestling match of this decade. I have watched this match over a hundred times, including live, and I never get sick of it. It’s a shame that a lot of the magic of this match was killed alongside Daniel and Nancy Benoit, but that still doesn’t erase the magnificent storytelling of these three individuals. This is an edge of your seat ride, a match that can give you goosebumps (perhaps not anymore for some people, unfortunately). Sometimes when I watch it I still expect Triple H to hit that Pedigree at the end and send everyone home mad. Watching Benoit roll through the reversal and keep the Crossface locked on, just waiting for Triple H to tap has me screaming at the TV every time I watch it. The end of that show, with Eddie and Benoit embracing, both world champions, in Madison Square Garden at the biggest show of all time has always been the perfect moment in wrestling to me. I always thought that if the wrestling world had ended right there than that would be OK. I don’t know that I can really feel that way now, but it’s still a special moment regardless.

My Grade: A+

World Heavyweight Title, Final Encounter Triple Threat Match: Chris Benoit© vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels (Backlash 2004)

This match is an interesting proposition. How many times is there a Triple Threat rematch? I wondered at the time which would be a bigger moment, winning the World Title in the main event of WrestleMania or winning the World Title in your hometown? Chris Benoit had already won the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania and now he returned to Edmonton to defend it. If there was one good thing that came out of the Triple H super-reign of 2002-2003 it’s that you always have that doubt in your mind that tonight is the night he wins it back, no matter how improbable it may sound. I love the moment in the match when the referee gets knocked out and Earl Hebner runs out to replace him…just as Shawn Michaels is locking in the Sharpshooter on Benoit. To steal a phrase from Pat Patterson, the Canadian crowds goes absolutely BANANNA. Many people think that this match is just as good as their WrestleMania match, and while I really don’t agree with that, it’s a close second.

My Grade: A+

World Tag Team Title Match: La Resistance© vs. Chris Benoit & Edge (Bad Blood 2004)

When preparing for this column I damn near forgot this match even existed, and for good reason. The match wasn’t much, mainly due to the fact that Benoit had to defend the World Title against Kane later on in the evening. In fact, the finish saw Kane come in to attack Benoit and we didn’t even get a real decision. I will take this time to note that these two teams had a very good match a few weeks prior to this where La Resistance got the shocking clean win over the two and celebrated in the crowd with their French-Canadian audience.

My Grade: N/A

World Heavyweight Title Match: Chris Benoit© vs. Kane (Bad Blood 2004)

It’s a shame really. You know what this match gets remembered for? Going on second to last. That’s it. All the Benoit supporters were all pissed that this match went on second to last on this show and the Triple H-Shawn Michaels Hell in a Cell Match was the main event. That’s too bad because this was a fun little match. Benoit and Kane had an odd kind of chemistry that worked well. Maybe it would have went over in the final spot of the night, maybe it wouldn’t (following that Dullsville of a Hell in a Cell Match it probably wouldn’t have) but they proved to everyone that they could indeed have a competitive match. They also had a fun rematch a few weeks later on Raw that I was in the house for live.

My Grade: B-

World Heavyweight Title Match: Chris Benoit© vs. Triple H (Vengeance 2004)

You know how they had that great match at No Mercy 2000? And you know those two awesome Triple Threats from earlier in the year? This match was not one of those. It was a fine main event, but it was no classic. Perhaps part of the problem was the inclusion of Eugene into what should have just been a big time match. Don’t get me wrong, I was a huge Eugene fan during the summer of ’04, I even think he should have won the World Title at SummerSlam, but his addition to things here didn’t really help. I don’t think Triple H’s plan of using Eugene to win the World Title from Benoit ever really made any sense to begin with. Essentially these two guys went out there and wrestled a standard match and waited for the show closing interference.

My Grade: B

World Heavyweight Title Match: Chris Benoit© vs. Randy Orton (SummerSlam 2004)

This would be Randy Orton: World Champion, Take One. Quite frankly I think the move was a fine one and Benoit was the perfect guy to put him over the top. While the booking of Orton AFTER SummerSlam was certainly questionable, this moment was a good one. These two had great chemistry (something they proved they still had in 2006 when Orton replaced Booker T in the Best of Seven series) and for the first time during Benoit’s title reign his match had a big match feel. This match also had one of the most out-of-nowhere RKOs I’ve ever seen, and you can really tell that Orton was enjoying his moment after he won the title. If only I had sound for the last ten minutes of this match on my DVD.

My Grade: A

Chris Benoit & William Regal vs. Ric Flair & Batista (Unforgiven 2004)

I’m not going to lie, I don’t remember much about this match. Seems like the sort of thing that gets tacked on to get some of the main players on PPV, huh? I mean it makes sense, especially given the beatdown poor Regal got at the hands of Triple H. But the match itself? I got nothing. Looking at the performers in the match though and I say it’s a safe assumption it gets at least a B.

My Grade: B

World Tag Team Title Match: La Resistance© vs. Chris Benoit & Edge (Taboo Tuesday 2004)

This match was essentially a Handicap Match with Edge walking about on Benoit. You know that good match I mentioned between these two teams on Raw? This match that was not. Benoit managed to get the victory here (handicap wins over La Resistance seemed to be the thing to do at this point, right Batista?) and won the tag titles for he and Edge, although he’d just turn around and lose them right back shortly thereafter. These guys tried but the story they were telling was not exactly conducive to a great match.

My Grade: C

Classic Survivor Series Elimination Match (Winners Control Raw for a Month): Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, & Maven vs. Triple H, Batista, Edge, & Snitsky (Survivor Series 2004)

This was a fun match with an eclectic group of talent. This is pretty much where Batista first starting getting some support from the crowd as the guy they’d like to see topple Triple H. Had Triple H’s team won the match Batista should have been the one guy that he didn’t need to worry about defending his title against, or so he thought. With Batista’s intentions unclear the crowd slowly began to respond favorably to the idea of a Triple H-Batista feud. As for the match itself it was your basic, fun, chaotic, Survivor Series Elimination Match. Benoit actually got a pretty nice rub here because even though he was eliminated early on, the commentary team made a big deal about his team losing him.

My Grade: B+

The Shimmy Likes It Raw!

What’s on tap for tonight’s show?

According to Kane, somebody is alive or dead. Who is that somebody? And are they alive or dead? And why would Michael Cole know?

CM Punk and Batista have a date for the World Heavyweight Title at the Great American Bash. They don’t have any real beef with each other so I sense either a tag team match or a contract signing. Since there aren’t a lot of heel tag teams to go up against I’m going to go with contract signing.

John Cena thinks JBL is poopy. Tune in to Raw tonight for some more high quality entertainment. Seriously, that makes “Vince Likes Cock” seem downright Shakespearian.

That’s it for this week, folks. Next week is 2005 in Chris Benoit Land. Until then, don’t die. Clark…out.