10 Best Split-Brand Pay-Per-Views In WWE History

8. Judgment Day 2005 (Smackdown)

Trish Stratus Chris Jericho Backlash 2004
WWE.com

John Cena became the face of Raw in 2005, but he cut his teeth on Smackdown. He defeated JBL to win the WWE World Championship at WrestleMania 21, then in his final PPV with the blue brand, defended the belt against the former champ in a rematch.

That bout, an "I Quit" match, headlined Judgment Day 2005 and was easily the best match of JBL's career. Even though Cena would go on to become the face of the PG movement, it was a brutal, bloody battle that saw Cena and Bradshaw both destroy each other. They fought up to a truck that Cena had ridden into the arena for his entrance, and the champion tore a steam pipe off it. Before Cena could hit JBL with it, the challenger quit, but Cena smashed him through a window anyway.

The undercard was also strong, with the highlight being a bout between Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio. That was the first encounter in a feud that would come to include Mysterio's son, Dominick.

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Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013