Henry's World

Nobody had a tougher time in front of the unruly and antagonistic crowd in Toronto for SummerSlam than JBL and The Undertaker, as the two Texan vets were completely overshadowed by the throngs around them, who took their fun from Mexican waves instead of the plodding WWE Championship match. It didn't help matters that Layfield and Undertaker's exchange ended meekly, though the impossibly lame DQ finish did at least lead to an electric moment to whet the appetite for future meetings, with Layfield Chokeslammed through the roof of his own limousine. While committing a pay-per-view main event to the pair after such a disastrous showing was certainly a risk, at least the stakes had been adequately raised. At No Mercy, one man would be carted out of the arena in the back of a hearse, as the dastardly Layfield was forced to survive another challenge from "The Deadman".  - No Mercy 2004 comes to you from the Continental Airlines (now Meadowlands) Arena in East Rutherford, Ne...

Randy Orton's babyface turn had the ability to be invigorating for the WWE product, with the historic young champion presented as the central star to push the company forward after a stellar showing in his first pay-per-view main event. Instead, Orton's run was immediately cut down by a confounding booking decision just one night later, as his world title win was overshadowed by a shocking betrayal from the rest of Evolution, led by Triple H. The "thumbs down" moment presents excellent imagery, but it permanently harmed Orton in a way Vince McMahon somehow didn't see coming. Instead of playing the conquering hero, learning to be noble after years spent under Hunter's thumb, Orton was a damn fool, and his threat level going against Helmsley in Unforgiven's main event was diminished because of it. There would be an opportunity to course correct on this night, but as we'll see, poor old Randall Keith was hung out to dry once again.  - Unforgiven 2004 come...

Of all the future multi-time world champions in WWE (and wrestling) history, very few have had as modest of a beginning to their tale as Randy Orton's first few months on the SmackDown brand. Orton had obvious potential to be mined, with a great lock and an elegant in-ring style, but he had almost no presence on the mic, and nothing to truly distinguish him from his fellow OVW graduates. After debuting on the blue brand in April of 2002, he was sent packing to Raw in September, and almost immediately went down with a shoulder injury, the first of an unfortunate many that would plague the rest of his career. While recuperating, Orton found his voice, transforming into a smarmy, narcissistic heel that interrupted other segments and matches to put over his recovery, and when he was finally ready to return, a grand future awaited. In one night, the entire landscape of the WWE was permanently altered, as Orton and fellow newcomer Batista linked up with two of the most recognizable heels...

All Elite Wrestling enters 2020 with a return to the organization's roots, as Daily's Place hosts Dynamite for the very first time, commemorating the event that was held to announce the formation of the new promotion in front of TIAA Bank Field, elsewhere on the complex. Behind the scenes, the end of 2019 saw a significant shake-up, one that wouldn't be known to many wrestling fans until months later, but it was central to the evolution of AEW's product. Initially, the thought had been that Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega would collaborate with Tony Khan to control the overall directive of AEW's programming, in addition to the minutia of individual matches and promos. But Khan reacted strongly towards criticism of AEW's current creative work, most notably the closing angle to the last episode of Dynamite , where The Dark Order's minions laid out every member of The Elite and SoCal Uncensored. Khan decided that one vision was necessary, the less...