Monday Night Raw in the spring and summer of 2004 charged full speed ahead into making Eugene the biggest character on the roster, which is as bold a call as the creative team had made in years. On one hand, I can see where WWE was coming from; Nick Dinsmore is a talented performer, the character had gotten over in limited showings in the past, and you had the opportunity for a more outgoing top babyface than Chris Benoit, who was simply never going to be able to handle his end of the main event theatrics. But WWE, making the same mistake they tend to always make, pushed Eugene far beyond where he should've reasonably been, far too quickly. Making him the GM for a night, and tossing him right into the center of Triple H and Benoit's program over the world title was always going to backfire, as fans would were guaranteed to get annoyed with this childish adult taking precedence over beloved, legitimate wrestlers. It hasn't happened quite yet, but the Eugene backlash would be fierce, and Vengeance's main event took a significant step towards that reality.
- Vengeance 2004, now Raw branded after being a SmackDown exclusive the previous year, comes to you from the Hartford Civic (now XL) Center in Hartford, Connecticut, the site of Survivor Series 1990, WrestleMania 11, and No Way Out 2000 in the past. Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler are on the call.
- Our opening contest sees Rhyno and Tajiri rekindle an old ECW friendship, as the "Man Beast" assists Tajiri in getting some revenge on "The Coach", with the two defeating Jonathan Coachman and Garrison Cade in a tag match. This was entertaining enough for what it was, with the two heels running at every opportunity before the faces fire up after a tag to Rhyno. Rhyno gets in some big suplexes, and Coach tosses Cade to the wolves, allowing his lackey to be misted and take a Gore to save his own hide. But Coach can't hide forever, as Tajiri lands a roundhouse kick to pick up the win.
- Chris Jericho is once again tasked with elevating a young big man, as after working with Tomko at Bad Blood, he draws Batista on this night. Jericho puts in another solid effort, getting Batista a pop by running into a massive Spinebuster, although the future multi-time world champion didn't have much else in his repertoire yet. Jericho looks competitive in defeat, as he has Batista down on an enzuigiri, but can't capitalize, and after falling to the Batista Bomb, the replay catches Jericho's foot getting to the bottom rope, unnoticed by the official.
- In his first involvement in Evolution business on the night, Eugene teams with one of his many wrestling idols, Ric Flair, to challenge La Resistance for the World Tag Team Championships. The oddball pairing works well, as Eugene mimicking Flair's act, to the increasing annoyance of Ric himself, was hilarious, and made me wish WWE had rolled with these two as champs, even for just a month or two. Instead, Robert Conway and Sylvain Grenier retain, as after several dull minutes of Flair being worked over, Eugene gets a little too eager on his hot tag and is disqualified shoving the official. It's the lamest finish possible, and a massive waste of potential on this duo, which should've the direction for Eugene's character moving forward. This was an excellent opportunity for Flair to turn face, and set-up the inevitable Eugene-Triple H match without Eric Bischoff's kayfabe nephew needing to do anything in the main event. Keeping him in the midcard should've always been the plan, but in a familiar refrain, WWE couldn't recognize a good thing staring them right in the face.
- Kane's character has reached super uncomfortable levels following his loss to The Undertaker at WrestleMania, as an infatuation with Lita lead to, of all things, a rape angle, which is definitely not okay, and now Kane and Matt Hardy are having a No Disqualification match as a result. The feud might be distasteful, but at least the crowd was into Matt, popping huge for whatever offense he could get in. All in all, it was a tame hardcore match, but it did include a silky smooth counter of a powerslam into a Twist of Fate, and Matt got a big win, as Lita caused a distraction, and a chair shot by Matt into the steps Kane was holding proved to be enough to put the monster down for now. I was certainly taken aback by that finish, as Kane, coming off a world title loss last month and embracing his demonic side seemed like a shoe-in to beat little old Matt Hardy, but it's nice to see something positive come out of this mess.
- I always love it when an Intercontinental Championship match gives you a window into a glimpse of the WWE's future, as we get here with Randy Orton defending against Edge. I can't say these two are anything approaching the performers they would become, as evidenced by a lackluster first 15-20 minutes of action, but it picks up down the stretch, with several electric near falls. Edge kicks out after being dropped on an exposed turnbuckle, Orton leaps over a Spear, Edge counters an RKO into a backslide, and finally wins it after Orton is whipped into said turnbuckle, then cut down with the Spear. I could've used about 95% less restholds, but those last few minutes were truly special, and the Hartford crowd treated these two young midcarders like decorated veterans, setting the stage for what each would become.
- Our one women's match of the night isn't even for the belt, as champion Trish Stratus is currently out with a hand injury, with Victoria and Molly Holly fighting over the number one contendership instead. This was a solid outing, aside from Victoria's scary crossbody to the outside, as Molly works over the arm and the two trade reversals well. Victoria lands a big powerslam, but can't complete the Widow's Peak with her injured shoulder, instead blasting Molly on the chin with a ferocious superkick to secure the three count.
- Main event time, as Chris Benoit defends the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H in a rematch of their underrated clash at No Mercy 2000. I didn't give that match quite the respect it deserved, so I'm here today to make up for it to some extent, which wasn't difficult as this was a quality show closer. Benoit is relentless on offense with his chops and suplexes, and while Hunter did lose the crowd to some extent by working the abdominal stretch and a sleeper hold, he did bring out some unique offense for the occasion, attempting to collapse Benoit's chest with release forward suplexes. Benoit's selling and bumping are S-tier, and I love the fact that he's taken Bret's sternum turnbuckle spot, that bump never fails to get a reaction out the audience. Benoit landing on his feet on a backdrop, then countering the Pedigree into a Sharpshooter was a gorgeous slice of wrestling pie, but it's after his triple rolling Germans that this match does start to fall off the rails. It's neither man's fault, as Eugene sticks his nose in their business, antagonized by Triple H to get revenge on Benoit after Eugene took a chair shot from the champ on Raw. The match devolves into amateur theater, as Eugene goes into hysterics trying to figure out which man he should support. Both end up attacking him on the apron, Benoit for Eugene's refusal to rouse the ref while the Crippler Crossface was applied, Triple H for Eugene snatching a chair away after handing it to Hunter. WWE is handed the glorious chance to do something impactful with the Eugene character, as after Benoit fights off Evolution and drops Hunter with a low blow, Eugene is left standing over both champion and challenger, wielding the chair. The crowd went nuts for him hinting at hitting either man, and if he just makes a decision, I think they would've gone right along for the ride, but instead, he gets nuclear heat for backing down and taking no ownership of his own fate. Triple H still gets steel to the face, but it's on accident, as Benoit and Eugene have a Tug of War over the chair, so Eugene is still technically innocent, though his actions result in a Benoit retention, with the "Rabid Wolverine" pinning Helmsley via the school boy. This was an obvious mis-read of the fanbase, and ran antithesis to wrestling as a whole. Cowards are always heels, and Eugene sobbing over his mistake made him look pathetic, not endearing. All in all, despite the willfully obtuse booking, this was still an entertaining final half-hour, a huge step up for both Triple H and the Raw main event scene over the way Bad Blood closed.
6/10
Vengeance 2004 was a capable B-tier event by the Raw brand, highlighted by quality work in the two titles matches, and a hot crowd. It's really not the worst way for WWE to build to SummerSlam, although there continue to be a lot of flaws in the world title picture.
- Henry
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