WWE decided to revive the Great American Bash in 2004, with the former WCW event becoming Smackdown's July PPV. When the news first became known, WWE fans were optimistic. It would probably be far different from WCW's version of the event, but at least it was a different concept than usual. How disappointed fans must have been, then, with the first incarnation of the WWE Great American Bash. Featuring a card comprised mostly of house show quality matches and featuring one of the most awful WWE main events ever (the Undertaker/Dudley Boys Concrete Crypt match), it was a total washout. Would 2005's version be any better? No, not really. After a very good Judgement Day in May, it was hoped that the Smackdown crew could knock it out of the park, once again. Sadly, they could not. Featuring more poor matches and awful booking decisions, the 2005 Bash was only slightly better than the 2005 version. But it could have been really, really good. Smackdown had a decent roster at the time, a roster that was freshened up in the month-long June WWE draft. Taking into account who was on the Smackdown roster at the time (and trying not to mess with heel/face dynamics), let's go back a decade and try and sort out one of the most disappointing PPVs of 2005.
