10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE In 2005
Matt Hardy finds out firsthand why it's a bad idea to cross JBL and The Undertaker.
2004 was a pretty bad year all-round for WWE. Business was falling and, creatively, the company was definitely struggling. Worse, for hardcore fans, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit were supplanted as champions by Triple H and JBL and then shunted back down the card, never again to truly enter the main event scene. 2005 was a much better year for WWE. Deciding to focus on elevating promising up-and-comers like John Cena and Batista, WWE was preparing for the future. It was a decision that definitely paid off, since Cena and Batista continued to headline WWE for years to come. In the ring WWE produced more great matches in 2005 than they did in 04. Highlights included the brutal and bloody Hell in a Cell match between Batista and Triple H, the first two PPV outings between Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels and the lengthy series between Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. Business was up, WWE was firing on all cylinders in the ring and people were enthusiastic about the burgeoning youth movement. Of course, there were bad moments, too. The axing of Muhammad Hassan following a controversial angle was a blow, Viscera the love machine was pure WrestleCrap and Orlando Jordan's push simply baffling. As usual, however, the most interesting stuff happened behind-the-scenes. 2005 was another eventful year in terms of backstage incidents. Let's take a look at some you might not know about.