August 15th 2004 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto saw Summerslam tank violently with the Canadian fans in attendance. Now, the experienced and enthusiastic Toronto wrestling audience has given WWF and WWE some of the most motivated and excited crowds in history. Think Wrestlemania 18, and the reaction throughout the entire Rock versus Hogan match, or the still astonishing 74,000 fans in attendance at WWFs Big Event in 1986. Summerslam 2004 was not the greatest experience for the WWE that year, however. Fans were bored and restless throughout the majority of the card, having been sent to sleep early by the rushed six man tag match, where the exciting high-flying antics of Billy Kidman, Rey Mysterio and Paul London were crushed by the heel tactics of the recently-turned Dudleys. Mostly dead throughout the majority of the pay-per-view, the crowd woke up during Edges three-way defense of the Intercontinental championship against Batista and Chris Jericho but not in a good way. Bear in mind, Edge was an up-and-coming babyface at the time, and the hometown hero (he was born and raised in Orangeville ninety miles or so away, which in Canada is like being the boy next door). The fans viciously booed nearly everything he did, which completely flattened the match: they didnt appreciate his bland fan favourite mannerisms, which hadnt appreciably changed since the last time he was a babyface, or the fact that his rise to the top was being shoved down their throats rather than happening organically. The WWE would learn from this reaction, turning Edge heel a few weeks after his return from injury in late 2004, and the real life Matt Hardy/Lita controversy would cement his villainy for years to come. It got worse, though the crowd was so irritated with Nick Dinsmores Eugene character (a babyface wrestler with severe learning difficulties, if you can believe they got away with that) that they were cheering superheel Triple H as he methodically took him to pieces, despite his attempts to garner cheap pops by using the Rock Bottom, the Stunner and Hogans Hulking up babyface comeback. Then there was a pre-taped Divas Dodgeball segment, about which the less said, the better. The insolent crowd even began a Mexican wave during the Undertakers WWE championship match against JBL, earning the Dead Mans most ferocious glare but they werent paying attention, so they didnt notice. For the last ten years, the only thing that anyones ever remembered about Summerslam 2004 is how badly the fans in attendance crapped all over it.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
