9 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE SmackDown From 2004

In 2002, John Cena thought he was about to be fired. In 2003, Cena gained some confidence thanks to feuds with Eddie Guerrero, Brock Lesnar and others. By 2004, John wasn't quite 'Super Cena', but he was well on his way. WWE needed fresh stars too, especially on the SmackDown side. Still ailing from Brock Lesnar's snap decision to leave the company, they didn't have a linchpin on the blue side.

Eddie Guerrero stepped up, an unlikely tag-team star morphed into one of the hottest heels in the business, Cena pinned down the midcard and proved popular doing it, and there was the not so small matter of The Undertaker turning clocks back to pre-2000. He waved goodbye to his biker gimmick, but maybe not as readily as you might recall.

That's what makes this kind of binge-watching experience so satisfying; you often see things that were hidden in plain sight at the time. For example, did you know that 'Taker bridged the gap between 'American Badass' and 'Deadman' without setting said bridge ablaze and going full scale 'Phenom' after WrestleMania XX. It's true, and that's not the only thing learned when looking back on SmackDown in '04.

A hugely impressive spot has been roundly ignored for decades, the Draft made SmackDown look totally second rate, there were some thrilling matches few ever talk about now, and one of Vince McMahon's bright new hopefuls faded away almost immediately. At least McMahon didn't get the chance to offend an entire nation before that happened!

Let's go back in time to WWE in 2004.

WWE producers: 'OK, so we're gonna train hard all day then run up and down the arena steps to gas you guys out before this segment with Kurt Angle'. Daniel Puder: 'Hahahahahahaha no'. Seriously, the logic behind a Tough Enough segment on the 4 November 2004 episode of SmackDown wasn't just flawed, it was also crazy.

Angle was scripted to challenge some of the rookies to get inside the ring and take him down. In theory, nobody was going to manage it. They'd be shattered after being put through their paces all day, and this was Kurt f'n Angle - he was an Olympic champion and one of the most notoriously well conditioned workers on the entire roster.

Stepping up, Puder took Angle down and stuck him in a Kimura Lock which nearly broke the gold medal winner's arm. Humbled, Kurt had to wait for referees to awkwardly pretend that Dan's shoulders were down so they could 3 count him and end the chaos. Then, he got right in Puder's face and called the rook "stupid" for going into business for himself.

Nah, the only thing stupid here was the fact that WWE left things to chance. Daniel might've been bold, but he was only following instructions on his end and trying to make a name for himself. If officials wanted to make the Tough Enough crew look out of their depth, then they should've worked the entire thing.

It would’ve been disastrous for everyone had Angle ended up hurt. He'd have been humiliated for a start, and SmackDown would also be down one of its top stars for the final few months of the year.