John Bradshaw Layfield and John Cena had a bloody and brutal brawl months removed from their WrestleMania snoozer, and this was perhaps smart considering the state of some of the SmackDown-only pay-per-views at the time. It did however damage 'The Doctor Of Thuganomics' graduation to the top of the card.
The result was telegraphed by months of steady build for Cena as he rose through the ranks on a blue brand dominated by the despicable WWE Champion, but it was almost as if nobody had ever really given consideration to how the actual match would look went the two went to war.
Bleeding buckets in the rematch was everything everybody wanted in May. A moribund semi-main event was all WWE needed to deliver a month earlier.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
