10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE SmackDown From 2005
1. An Evolution Spinoff Feud Was Right There!
How did they miss this?!
Both Batista and Randy Orton jumped to SmackDown in the Draft, but WWE elected not to book them as rivals. At least not rivals who'd have a protracted series of matches on pay-per-view. Instead, Batista warred with JBL then moved into a tag run with Rey Mysterio. Meanwhile, Orton feuded with The Undertaker.
That was great, but it’s baffling that they moved both guys without running Batista vs. Randy for the World Title on a major show. It seemed like a certainty. The pair did collide on countless house shows during the second half of 2005, and they were punched in to work opposite one another on the 25 November episode of SmackDown over in Sheffield, England.
Their match went to a no contest quickly when various Raw wrestlers ran in to brawl and hype what was coming at Survivor Series that weekend. Fair enough, because they had to plug the PPV, but surely WWE would come back to Randy and big Dave later once the dust had settled? Apparently not.
Batista vs. Orton was literally one of the biggest rivalries the company could've gone with on SmackDown, but they had other plans. This sticks out as a real missed opportunity throughout December particularly, because the cancelled November match seemed to be a teaser for more to come.
What else did you learn from watching every episode of WWE SmackDown from 2005? For more wrestling, check out 12 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE SmackDown From 2003 and 9 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE SmackDown From 2004!