The formation of Evolution wasn't a bad idea at all. It made the careers of two legitimate main-eventers who became huge stars of the modern era, brought Ric Flair back to relevance, and resulted in two memorable face turns - one terrible (Randy Orton) and one brilliant (Batista). It did, however, utterly ruin Raw's summer of 2003. The roster split saw the establishment of brand-specific Pay Per Views, and Raw's were consistently robbed of suspense and drama by one man: Triple H. When people talk today of The Game's inability to put anybody over other than himself, they're referring specifically to this era. For much of 2003/04, great swathes of Raw programming would be taken up by rambling Triple H promos, proclaiming himself the greatest wrestler ever, and ramming his dominance down the audience's throats. It went beyond effective heel work; fans weren't desperate to see him lose because they hated the character, they just wanted to see someone else get a chance. The summer of 2003 was dominated by Triple H. Flanked by Evolution, he defended his World Heavyweight Championship (a belt that was merely awarded to him by Eric Bischoff) against all-comers. He beat old friend Kevin Nash in an uninspiring Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood, won the SummerSlam Elimination Chamber at the expense of molten fan favourites Goldberg and Shawn Michaels, and slowed the company's post-WrestleMania momentum to a crawl.
