Connor McGrath
When it comes to discussing the History of WWE, a lot has been said about the Rock N’ Wrestling Era of the mid to late ’80s and perhaps even more has been said about the Attitude Era of the late ’90s and early ’00s. The New Generation era that bridged the gap between those eras will always get a fair amount of discussion and even though the memories of the era grow foggier and foggier with each passing year, the ’60s and ’70s will always get some mention for starting it all.
But what about the mid ’00s? Nobody really considers the era too much. It was kind of an awkward bridge between the Attitude Era and the TV PG era of the late ’00s/early ’10s. And even though many of the guys who mainevented during that era are still headliners in WWE to this day, other stars of the era have fallen out of sight, for various reasons; age/retirement/death (Edge, JBL, Booker T, Shawn Michaels), leaving the company (Kurt Angle,Rey Mysterio, Shelton Benjamin, Carlito), and other more nefarious reasons (*cough*BENOIT*cough*).
2005 was a transition era in the company. They used a lot of the elements of Attitude era storytelling with breakneck pacing and Jerry Springer-esque plot lines (Who is Dominic Mysterio’s daddy?) But it was also an era where the top heels were Triple H and JBL, two guys who had gimmicks, that at that point, were total throwbacks to two old school ’80s rasslin villains. It was also the year where the two dominant stars of the second half of the 2000s, John Cena and Batista, began their runs as main eventers in earnest.
Over the next 12 months, I’ll look back at the 15 pay per views that WWE produced in 2005. Let’s go back in time. To an era where we were in the midst of the widely maligned brand split where RAW & Smackdown were shows with separate rosters. An era where ECW nostalgia began. When Triple H began the slooooow transition from dominant heel to elder statesman, When Evolution ended, when Randy Orton continued his run as a Legend Killer. When Eddie Guerrero tragically passed away, when Eddiesploitation was tragically born.
I’ll also take brief peeks outside WWE. After all, 2005 also saw the original Summer of Punk and it was also the year where TNA began its inexplicable near decade long run on SpikeTV. We’re gonna take a fun look back at the not quite recent past to see how WWE ended up the way it is today.
New Year’s Revolution (Elimination Chamber III)
Royal Rumble ’05
No Way Out ’05 (JBL/Big Show Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match)
WrestleMania 21 (Batista/Triple H, John Cena/JBL, Shawn Michaels/Kurt Angle, The Undertaker/Randy Orton)
Backlash ’05 (Batista/Triple H)
Judgment Day ’05 (John Cena/JBL I Quit Match)
Vengeance ’05 (Batista/Triple H in Hell in a Cell)
ECW One Night Stand (The Dudley Boyz/Tommy Dreamer & Sandman)
The Great American Bash ’05 (Batista/JBL)
SummerSlam ’05 (Hogan/Michaels)
Unforgiven ’05 (Cena/Angle)
No Mercy ’05 (Batista/Eddie Guerrero)
Taboo Tuesday ’05 (Cena/Angle/Shawn Michaels)
Survivor Series ’05 (Team RAW Vs Team Smackdown!)
Armageddon ’05 (The Undertaker/Randy Orton Hell in a Cell)
