50. Shinjiro Ohtani
The former high flyer was one of the top heavyweights in ZERO-ONE’s last year as a promotion. With ZERO-ONE closing it’s doors, it was generally assumed that a new promotion would come around and Ohtani would play an integral role. As 2004 is closing, ZERO-ONE has indeed started up again, with Ohtani as the booker.
The Inside Pulse: With Ohtani booking himself, it is almost a shoe in that he will have a stellar year.
49. Keiji Muto
Since he and Arashi dropped the AJPW Tag Team Titles to Kojimi and Hayashi on the 18th of January, Muto hasn’t held any titles in All Japan. He has been incredibly valuable to the promotion, however, as his name still has marquee value. His April match against Kensuke Sasaki was probably his best of the year.
The Inside Pulse: The winner of the 2004 Champion’s Carnival should be in line for a Triple Crown Title shot in 2005. There is also the possibility we will see him in an interpromotional Dream Match against Misawa.
48. Rob Van Dam
RVD started the year focused on regaining the Intercontinental Title, something he wouldn’t accomplish before getting drafted to Smackdown! With Booker T, defeated Ric Flair and Batista for the Raw Tag Titles on February 16th. They would hold the belts until the night of the draft lottery, losing them back to Flair and Batista. RVD subsequently was drafted to Smackdown!, where Booker T would soon join him with a new attitude. Teamed early on with Rey Mysterio in a feud with The Dudleyz. After capping that feud, Van Dam set his sights on the US Title, which he was unable to acquire. Soon refocused into the tag division and soon found himself with a willing partner in Rey Mysterio in early September. By December 9th, they would be tag champions, defeating Kenzo Suzuki and Rene Dupree on Smackdown! Retained the titles the following Sunday at Armageddon in a rematch with Suzuki/Dupree, “Flying High” seems to be on a good tag team roll as we head towards the new year.
The Inside Pulse: RVD the tag specialist? Who would’ve thought? “Flying High” is probably the most exciting tag team to watch on any brand right now and can possibly restore some luster to the tag team belts. But will “Flying High” be around much longer? Apparently there were some grumblings last week after RVD decided not to go to “Christmas in Iraq”. Will it be enough to put RVD on the unemployment line? If so, look for NWA:TNA Champion Rob Van Dam at the end of 2005.
47. Toshiaki Kawada
Kawada is well over a year into his fifth Triple Crown Title reign. In addition to being the cornerstone of All Japan Pro Wrestling, Kawada has also made appearances at the top of the card for the satirical HUSTLE promotion. His Triple Crown Title defenses against Hashimoto, Nishimura, and Kea were all among All Japan’s best matches of 2004. That not being enough for a man of his caliber, he also had several high-profile matches in New Japan.
The Inside Pulse: Kawada has already agreed to face Kensuke Sasaki in a much anticipated match in the new year. If he doesn’t drop the strap to Sasaki, then his next likely challengers will be Muto and Kojima. Kojima may well be the one to finally dethrone the record-setting Triple Crown Champion.
46. Jushin Liger
The Junior Heavyweight wrestling had a dominating run as NOAH’s GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion, then he returned to New Japan and formed a heel stable called the Control Terrorism Unit. The high flying legend shows no signs of slowing down in his third decade as a professional wrestler.
The Inside Pulse: 3 decades into his career, Liger looks every bit as fast and crisp as he ever has. To think that a big stink was made out of a “Decade Of Destruction”. We can’t even think of a cool punch line for 3 decades. 2005 should see Liger even better than ever.
45. Yuji Nagata
New Japan’s brilliant technician was unable to regain the IWGP Title that held for over a year in 2002-2003, but he did manage a run with both the All Japan and NOAH tag titles, with Kashin and Tanahashi, respectively.
The Inside Pulse: Nagata should be among the top challengers for the IWGP title again in 2005. Expect him to have good matches with both Tenzan and Tenzan’s successor, whoever that should turn out to be, but don’t count on seeing him win the belt.
44. Jun Akiyama
The Leader of NOAH’s Sternness stable was Kobashi’s top rival through most of the year, but was unable to regain the GHC Title. His match with Kobashi, that headlines NOAH’s first-ever Tokyo Dome Show, was called a match of the year candidate by many including Meltzer, who gave it five stars. The master of the Exploder Suplex also created the Hardcore Openweight Title, which carries a unique stipulation. If a challenger lasts 15 minutes with the champion, the title changes hands. He lost the title to Marufuji.
The Inside Pulse: It’s unlikely that Akiyama will face Kobashi for the GHC title again in 2005, but he may get another shot if Kobashi drops the strap.
43. Kazarian
Kazarian walked into 2004 as the Pro Wrestling Guerilla champion and the UPW LHW champion, but didn’t have a match until retaining his UPW belt on February 20th against Jerry Lynn and Evan Karagias. He entered NWA:TNA on March 3rd and won the vacant X-Division title, taking out Amazing Red on March 31st. He dropped the title to A.J. Styles in early May. He aligned with Michael Shane, Traci and Kid Kash over the summer. All the while he was defending his PWG title against Christopher Daniels, A. J. Styles, Samoa Joe, Colt Cabana and Ricky Reyes. He eventually lost the title to Super Dragon on November 13th.
The Inside Pulse: 2005 is up in the air for Kazarian. He’s a wrestler that can easily get lost in the shuffle of talent in NWA:TNA, or could shine if given the opportunity. His Indy dates continue to be one of his strong suits, and it doesn’t seem to slow yet. Expect to see him in ROH, which is somewhere he hasn’t yet traveled to, but has worked with their talent this year.
42. Undertaker
A return, a murder, and title shots galore,,,this year has been a busy one for the “Original Deadman”. He returned to WWE at Wrestlemania XX, exacting his revenge on Kane after being buried alive by him at Survivor Series 2003. Paul Heyman tried to control him, causing Paul Bearer to try to use the power or the urn to get him back. After defeating the Dudleyz in a “Live Free Or Die” match in which Paul Bearer was encased in cement, Undertaker shocked many by walking to the cement truck lever, telling Bearer he “had no choice” and “killing” him by pouring the cement in. He wrapped up his year by feuding with JBL, losing by disqualification at Summerslam and getting screwed out of the title by Heidenreich at No Mercy. Came up short at Armageddon in a fatal four way for the title involving him, JBL, Eddie Guerrero and Booker T.
The Inside Pulse: At 42 years old, Undertaker is proving that he can still go to an extent with the young bucks. He still receives huge pops for his entrance and shows no signs of going away any time soon. Will his undefeated streak be snapped at Wrestlemania? If so, will it be a catalyst for retirement or a return of the “Ministry” Deadman?
41. CIMA
Along with Magnum Tokyo, CIMA remained the top star in the promotion as Toryumon transformed into Dragon’s Gate. He was awarded the Open the Dream Gate Title, as he had been the last holder of the Ultimo Dragon Gym Title.
The Inside Pulse: It is certain that CIMA will be a top player in Dragon’s Gate for some time to come. It will be interesting to see what direction he takes now that crazy MAX have been disbanded.
40. Rob Conway
Everything good for Conway really didn’t get started until May 31st, the night he and Sylvain Grenier defeated Edge and Chris Benoit. Before then, Conway had pretty much floundered in the tag team division with no significant wins. The five-month title reign that he and Grenier enjoyed was filled with matches against Rhyno and Tajiri and Hurricane and Rosey. Not exactly top flight competition, but Conway always found a way to stand out. He and Grenier dropped the tag titles back to Edge and Benoit at Taboo Tuesday, but regained them less than a month later, defeating a dysfunctional Benoit/Edge tandem. Dropped the titles to Eugene and William Regal on November15th in a triple threat match also involving Rhyno and Tajiri. With the tag team division in shambles and his partner not exactly setting the ring on fire, Conway has picked up the bulk of the team and makes them relevant.
The Inside Pulse: Unless the tag division gets better, Conway should be looking for a way out of La Resistance. A feud between him and Shelton Benjamin seems enticing.
39. Paul London
Paul London really had a quiet year until he and Billy Kidman teamed up on July 8th and captured the Smackdown! Tag Titles from The Dudleyz. They would hold onto the titles until they were bested by Rene Dupree and Kenzo Suzuki on September 9th after Kidman, who had injured Chavo Guerrero with his Shooting Star Press weeks earlier, could not do the move and walked out on London. London and Kidman met at No Mercy, with Kidman getting the win after hitting London in the face with a Shooting Star Press. Post match, Kidman hit London again with the move, this time while London was strapped on a stretcher. London returned on January 2nd, but hasn’t been able to make a splash since.
The Inside Pulse: Talent like London’s is hard to contain, but WWE is doing a good job of it. Don’t expect huge things from London this year. Keep your eyes peeled for one of two things: either a cruiserweight title win or a release from WWE.
38. Tajiri
Tajiri has the dubious distinction of losing the first WWE match of 2004, dropping the Cruiserweight Title to Rey Mysterio. After being drafted to Raw via the lottery after Wrestlemania XX, Tajiri got lost in the shuffle a bit before teaming up with Rhyno to form a solid team. Although they have had their chances, they have yet to come up with the big win, most recently watching Eugene and William Regal walk away with the gold.
The Inside Pulse: Tajiri is stuck in a rut right now. As part of one of 3 or 4 tag teams in the Raw division, he is in a good position to get a bunch of title shots, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything with the state of tag wrestling these days. Tajiri was a perfect fit in the Cruiserweight Division. Should we see another draft this year, don’t be surprised if Tajiri becomes the yearly “bouncing ball”.
37. Big Show
Big Show came thisclose to winning the Royal Rumble, being the last elimination, dropped out by Chris Benoit. His string of unfortunate events would continue at No Way Out, as he wasn’t able to procure the number one contender spot in a Triple Threat match with Kurt Angle and John Cena. He wound up battling Cena at Wrestlemania and losing the strap after hit Show with the F-U..and a chain. Smackdown! on April 15th featured Big Show in a match with Eddie Guerrero. Big Show was forced to quit WWE, as stipulated, due to his loss in that match. He went crazy backstage and wound up choke slamming Kurt Angle off of a loading dock. He had knee surgery the next day. He returned to Smackdown! on September 9th and demolished everyone who stood in his path during a Kurt Angle/Eddie Guererro Lumberjack match. After signing on to face Kurt Angle at No Mercy, Show was shot with a tranquilizer dart and shaved bald by the American hero. He defeated Angle at No Mercy and was part of the winning team at Survivor Series, besting Angle’s squad. He was able to defeat Angle, Mark Jindrak and Luther Reigns at Armageddon as well. Now Big Show is gunning for the WWE Title and sees JBL and his Cabinet in the way.
The Inside Pulse: Big Show is in the midst of another “Big Show” push, where he goes through tons of people, wins a title but winds up worse off character wise every time. In all likelihood we will see Show with some gold around his waist this year. Just which strap is the question mark. Will Show be able to stop JBL’s reign?
36. Booker T
The Booker man had a good first portion of the year, winning the Raw tag titles on February 16th. They would drop the straps on the night of the draft lottery to Ric Flair and Batista, with RVD going to Smackdown! And Booker T later being traded over there. He had a short feud with RVD upon their Smackdown! Arrivals, due to Booker T simply not wanting to be there and turning heel as a result. This led to a feud with Undertaker in which Booker T sought out a psychic on how to defeat the Deadman. Booker T moved from that feud into a feud with John Cena over the United States Title. They had a Best Of 5 series that didn’t quite match up to the Booker/Benoit series in WCW. The fifth match saw Cena taking the gold at No Mercy. Booker T was able to bounce off of that loss into a feud with WWE Champion JBL, turning face in the process. He would lose one-on-one against JBL at Survivor Series and come up short again in a Fatal Four Way at Armageddon.
The Inside Pulse: 2005 may be it for Booker T. Getting up there in age and having a bad back are not a good combination for this sport. Enjoy what he does now, as it may be the end of the road for T. If he decides to stick around, odds are he won’t make a successful run at the WWE Title, simply because if he hasn’t won that title by now, it’s a safe bet that he never will. He will always be a contender, however, because he is still over with the fans.
35. Matt Hardy
V-1 started 2004 saddled with a losing streak gimmick, which didn’t do much for him except hurt his vision looking into the lights night after night. But soon enough he was entering one of the most high profile angles of the year: Daddy Kane. Matt made the save for Lita on the April 19th Raw and soon, the angle was off to the races. We all eventually learned that Lita had agreed to sleep with Kane as long as Kane would stop assaulting Matt. She was impregnated as a result, which caused Matt to lay it all on the line and ask her to marry him. Not to be outdone, Kane worked his way into a match with Matt at Summerslam, with the winner being allowed to marry Lita. Hardy lost the match and was choke slammed off the stage at Raw on August 23rd during the wedding ceremony. Hardy had reconstructive knee surgery three days later and has been out of action since.
The Inside Pulse: Coming back from a big surgery will be hard for V-1, but his dedication to the sport is well documented so expecting anything less wouldn’t be too intelligent. He has the talent and the wrestling knowledge to win the World Title one day. Just don’t expect it for 2005.
34. Eugene
“HELLO! MY NAME IS EUGENE!” Eric Bischoff’s nephew debuted on April 5th with William Regal appointed to watch him. After weeks of shenanigans, he defeated Rob Conway in his first match on May 10th. He had somewhat of a high profile feud with Triple H, where Triple H tried to fool him into thinking he was his friend to get Eugene to do what he wanted. This culminated in a steel cage match between the two on September 6th, which saw Triple H intentionally hurt Eugene’s shoulder. With Regal, Eugene won the World Tag Titles in a three-way match on November 15th, defeating La Resistance and Rhyno and Tajiri. He has recently been the victim of several assaults by Maven as a result of his elimination of Maven in a number one contender battle royal.
The Inside Pulse: 2005 will be tricky for the Eugene character. As a simpleton, he really doesn’t have the opportunity to move up too high on the card because he can’t truly showcase what he is capable of. The only problem he has if they decide to reprogram him is that people know his face. Maybe an errant steel chair shot can be the catalyst for a “new” Eugene.
33. Chris Sabin
2004 started on a high note for Chris Sabin with a win over Chris Daniels, Low Ki, and Michael Shane in an Ultimate X-2 in NWA:TNA to win the X Division championship belt, which he would relinquish due to an ankle injury in late March. He would attempt to regain his title from Petey Williams once he was back from injury, but to no avail. Towards the end of the year, it looked like Sabin was the guy who would be able to defeat Williams and block the Canadian Destroyer, which he did successfully on Impact, but fell to Williams at NWA:TNA’s Turning Point PPV. The year also included marquee matches in independents and in ROH as well.
The Inside Pulse: 2005 could be the year that 2004 was supposed to be for Sabin, with a push past the X Division into larger feuds and spreading himself out with more amongst Indy dates and international bookings.
32. Takehiro Murahama
Takehiro Murahama wrestles for Osaka Pro, run by former Michinoku Pro star Super Delfin. Being only 5 foot 4 and 150 pounds, Murahama’s size doesn’t hold him back, wrestling a very stiff style with great mat work. Using signature moves like his Brainbuster, Kaga Hyakumangoku Uppercut (running uppercut), Juji-Gatame (cross arm breaker) and hit beautiful Tope Con Hilo. Murahama got the finals of the returning Super J-Cup, defeating All Japan’s Taichi Ishikari and New Japan’s Wataru Inoue, before losing to NOAH’s Naomichi Marufuji. He continued his Osaka Pro Title reign this year, which he had held since the 7th of June 2003. He lost the belt to Daio QUALLT in April. Murahama is unlucky he hasn’t been picked up by New Japan. He wrestles a very stiff style with great submissions and mat work, teamed with Jushin Liger to capture the Osaka Pro Tag Titles and get to the finals of the NOAH Junior Tag Title Tournament last year and has wrestled in New Japan quite a bit, facing Minoru Tanaka for the IWGP Junior Title in a classic and wrestling on New Japan’s 1.4 Tokyo Dome Show.
31. Christopher Daniels
2004 has been a busy year for the Fallen Angel. Daniels wrestled for NWA:TNA, ROH, UPW, ECWA, NJPW, 3PW, USA Pro Wrestling, FIP, IWC, IWA Mid South and the Night of Appreciation for Sabu, crossing the country and the globe doing what he does best. Tag Team Victories saw him beat Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, win the IWGP tag titles with the American Dragon, become the first wrestler to win the ECWA tournament for the second time and carry the 3PW heavyweight championship for the second half of the year. IN NWA:TNA, xXx’s feud with America’s Most Wanted dominated the latter part of the year and culminated with one of the top matches of the year, the Six Sides of Steel Match at NWA:TNA’s Turning Point pay per view, which disbanded Daniels and Elix Skipper.
The Inside Pulse: 2005 will be another year for Christopher Daniels to shine internationally. Collecting titles and spreading his name among the wrestling faithful should be the Fallen Angel’s mission for the New Year, and it has been for the past year.
30. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
This was probably a career year for Tenzan, as he held the IWGP Heavyweight Title twice, held the Tag Team Titles with Nishimura, won the IWGP Heavyweight Title Tournament and the G-1 Climax Tournament, and, with Nakamura, won the Ten Million Yen Offer Tag Tournament, which was the significant New Japan tag tournament of the year.
The Inside Pulse: Hopefully Tenzan will hold the IWGP title long enough to face the winner of the G-1 Climax tournament in a big money match. A feud with former tag partner Masa Chono may also be in the works.
29. Chavo Guerrero Jr.
Chavito’s year has been up and down, starting on the up and ending on the down. He feuded with his uncle Eddie early last winter and parlayed that feud into a Cruiserweight Title win over Rey Mysterio at No Way Out in February. He would hold onto the title until losing it to Jaqueline on May 6th. He would recapture the gold 10 days later at Judgement Day, only to lose it to his father four days later. His father would lose the title to Mysterio, closing the odd circle. That is when things started to go down hill for Chavo, as his father was let go from the company and the interesting skits he had done with his father were now over. He then suffered a concussion due to a botched Shooting Star Press from Billy Kidman on August 19th. Chavo’s return didn’t do much for him, and the only one on one match between him and Kidman was placed on B-show Velocity on December 2nd, a match Chavo lost. As the year came to a close, reports of a confrontation between him and Big Show backstage came out, which certainly won’t help his standing if they are true.
The Inside Pulse: Chavo’s 2005 will hinge on the seriousness of his confrontation with Big Show. If it’s that big of a deal, he’ll be in Velocity hell. If not, he has the talent to run at either the Cruiserweight or United States belt. Going back to being a heel would help as well.
28. Monty Brown
He pouuuunced into NWA:TNA in March of this year after more than a year and a half absence, to cause the Insane Clown Posse and Too Tuff Tony a six-man tag match. He went on to beat Sabu in a falls count anywhere match, and tore up the singles wrestlers in NWA:TNA defeating everyone in his path including Pat Kenny, Sonny Siaki (the last person to beat him in 2002 during his last run with the company), Ron Killings, B.G. James, and D-Lo Brown. He made his quest for the title known through his charismatic interviews and actions. He attacked Jeff Jarrett and #1 contender Jeff Hardy, who he claimed stepped ahead of him in line for the title. His quest fell short and he was defeated in a #1 contender’s match by Jeff Hardy both times he tried. In the meantime, he defeated Raven and Abyss in a Monster’s Ball match at Victory Road and Abyss in a Serengeti Survival match at Turning Point. He beat Abyss again at the Sabu Appreciation Night and he has a #1 contender’s shot again at Final Resolution in January against DPP and Kevin Nash.
The Inside Pulse: 2005 will be the year of Monty Brown. He can’t be held back from the World Title for much longer without losing some of his momentum. This heavyweight would look damn good with a title around his waist and 2005 is the year for Monty Brown to fulfill his dream of making the World Champion feel the POUUUUUUUUUUNCE!
27. Mitsuharu Misawa
Misawa and his tag team partner Yoshinari Ogawa took the GHC Tag Titles back from the New Japan Pro Wrestling tandem of Nagata & Tanahashi. They have defended the belts six times in 2004. Misawa still his old favorite moves: The Emerald Frosion, The Rolling Elbow and The Tiger Driver. He has pretty much capped the Tiger Suplex and Tiger Driver ’91, however, except for huge matches such as going against Kobashi. So right now the big ones are Rolling Elbow, Emerald Frosion and Tiger Driver.
The Inside Pulse: It is probably time for Misawa to focus his booking on developing new stars. It might be wise for the Untouchables to drop the tag straps to team of younger wrestlers, but it is just as likely that the 57-year-old Tenryu will be half of the next championship tandem.
26. Raven
Raven has been up and down in 2004. He was screwed in his match on May 5th against AJ Styles, as Chris Harris dressed up as La Parka and interfered, costing Raven the match and quite possibly the NWA:TNA Title. After losing the “King Of The Mountain” title match a month later, Raven began a feud with Sabu, which culminated in a No Hold Barred match on August 4th that Raven won. His most recent feud has come against an unlikely opponent, as he has been battling Diamond Dallas Page. He lost to Page at Turning Point, despite copious amounts of interference by Erik Watts.
The Inside Pulse: At 42 years old, Raven might not want to get “hardcore” that much. But if Raven weren’t hardcore he’d be more of a humming bird than anything else, so bank on him tearing opponents up in TNA and various independents in 2005.
25. Jeff Hardy
The first half of 2004 was a quiet one for Jeff Hardy until June 23rd at the second anniversary show for NWA:TNA, where Hardy made a surprise appearance as a mystery opponent for A.J. Styles to challenge for the X-Division title. The match ended with a run-in, but it spring boarded Hardy’s career in NWA:TNA. The next time we saw him he was signing a contract not only to join NWA:TNA, but also to get at title shot against Jeff Jarrett. He would then go on a tear towards the title, but never would achieve his goal of being the NWA:TNA champion, losing to Jeff Jarrett in a wrestling match, a ladder match and a six sides of steel match. Those three losses and a loss to Michael Shane at the Sabu Appreciation Night would comprise of his only four losses in 2004. He tore up the NWA:TNA roster in singles competition or tagging with A.J. Styles. On his quest for the title, he defeated Abyss to enter a title tournament and Monty Brown to earn his #1 contendership for the title. His impact to the company made a big splash and his marquee status could be one of the reasons NWA:TNA went forward with their Sunday pay per view schedule banking on his stardom.
The Inside Pulse: 2005 could be the year that Jeff Hardy wins it all in NWA:TNA, but he could just as easily be forgotten in NWA:TNA’s attempt to reach for the stars, both literally and figuratively.
24. American Dragon Bryan Danielson
What can be said about the man that is Bryan Danielson? Perhaps the best wrestler in North America right now, Danielson wrestles regularly for ROH and New Japan. This year he had an IWGP Junior Tag Title reign with Curry Man (Christopher Daniels), defeating Gedo and Jado. They were the first Gaijin team to do so. He got to the semi-finals of the Best of Super Juniors tournament, only to be defeated by Koji Kanemoto. When it comes to ROH, Danielson was involved in many classics. The first came with Homicide; next it was the Survival of the Fittest Six Way Elimination final with Samoa Joe, Homicide, Mark Briscoe, Colt Cabana and ROH’s breakout star Austin Aries. When the other four were gone from the match, Danielson and Aries had their own little match, but was still connected to the SOTF match. Aries and Danielson weren’t finished as they went at it next in a 75 min 2/3 falls match. Danielson lost in the end, but it didn’t stop the crowd from chanting his name. The World Title match with Samoa Joe was next, at the Midnight Express Reunion show. Danielson came up short again but took Joe to the limit. He was then involved in Jushin Liger’s weekend in ROH. On the first night he faced Liger and on the second he teamed with Low-Ki to take on Liger and Samoa Joe. He came up short once again but it doesn’t stop the fans from loving him.
The Inside Pulse: 2005 can be Danielson’s year. New Japan has labeled him the new Chris Benoit and at only 23 years old, he looks to have a bright future wherever he goes.
23. Edge
After returning from neck fusion surgery after Wrestlemania, Edge has focused intently on gaining the World Title. His only problem is that he’s won every title on Raw except the World Title. Upon his return, he immediately targeted Evolution, taking the Tag Team Titles from Batista and Ric Flair on April 19th with his partner Chris Benoit. They would lose the belts on May 31st to La Resistance. Edge would then chase Randy Orton’s Intercontinental Title, ending Orton’s long reign at Vengeance. His run with the gold would be short loved, however, as the injury bug hit him again after just a month and half, with a groin tear. He returned on October 4th to ask the fans to vote for him to face Triple H for the title at Taboo Tuesday. When they didn’t comply, Edge started turning heel. With his new “annoying aggravating whining baby” persona, Edge is inching closer to that brass ring as he steps inside the Elimination Chamber at New Year’s Revolution.
The Inside Pulse: This has been said before but applies to Edge in a big way: If he doesn’t win the World Title this year, he never will. It will be an up hill climb, but Edge has got to find a way to return to the person he was before surgery or risk never winning the title.
22. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Rey Rey got 2004 started off right, defeating Tajiri to win the Cruiserweight strap in the first WWE match of 2004. He would hold onto the title until No Way Out, losing to Chavo Guerrero Jr. Rey would regain the title at The Great American Bash, beating Chavo Classic. This particular reign would only last a month, as Spike Dudley upended Mysterio with a little help from his brothers on July 29th. This prompted Rey to take a step up in the ranks and form a tag team with Rob Van Dam. Their biggest success has come recently, with the team dubbed “Flying High” wresting the tag team straps from Rene Dupree and Kenzo Suzuki on December 9th.
The Inside Pulse: If someone ever needed a heel turn, it’s Mysterio. His highflying antics always garner the love and attention from the crowd, but he needs a change of pace. The Tag Team Titles are good, but Mysterio must desire to be fighting the main event players. A heel turn could do him some good, as he could leapfrog, both literally and figuratively, JBL should Bradshaw lose the belt.
21. Shawn Michaels
The “Icon that can still go” proved it in 2004. His feud with former friend Triple H still hasn’t been totally resolved, and we’re mere days from 2005! He started the year gunning for Hunter’s title at the Royal Rumble, going to a draw in a Last Man Standing match. His desire to end it with Triple H had a wrench thrown into it when Chris Benoit jumped ship to Raw and brought his World Title shot with him. HBK needed a way into the World Title match and found it when he hit Benoit with Sweet Chin Music on February 9th and signed the contract for the match. Eric Bischoff settled things by making the match a Triple Threat, setting the stage for a match of the year contender, as the three put on a show at Wrestlemania XX, with Benoit coming out on top. Michaels would go on to face Triple H at Bad Blood in a Hell In A Cell, losing in a long, grueling contest. HBK would be taken out of action the next night by Kane, who Pilmanized his neck, crushing Michaels’ larynx. Michaels returned 3 months later to face off with Kane. After clearing that feud, Michaels once again focused on the World Title, being named one of three contenders, along with Edge and Benoit, to face Triple H at Taboo Tuesday. HBK was voted into the match by the fans, even though he had a torn ACL. He would lose the match and be out of action until this past Monday, as it was announced he would be the special referee for the Elimination Chamber at New Year’s Revolution.
The Inside Pulse: 2005 may just be the year that HBK slows it down a bit. With a successful overall return to professional wrestling completed, he may decide to take a light schedule. He’ll be turning 40 on July 22nd and many doubt he wants to keep beating himself up at that age, especially with children to raise.
20. CM Punk
The man is probably the most moral wrestler in the world, because of his Straight Edge beliefs, meaning he is drug free and he’s alcohol free. The start of his year was not the most successful. He lost in the finals of the Pure Wrestling Title Tournament at ROH’s 2nd Anniversary show, losing to AJ Styles in the final. Then in a bold move that has made ROH fans love CM Punk even more, because of the Rob Feinstein incident, CM Punk decided to quit TNA to support ROH. At Reborn Stage 2, CM Punk captured his first ROH title. With fellow 2nd City Saint Colt Cabana, they defeated one of the top tag teams in the world, the Briscoe Brothers. The moment was made more special because Punk and Cabana did it in their hometown of Chicago. His feud with Ricky Steamboat is well known because even though it never resulted in a match, it had great moments. Punk coming off the top with the ring bell, just like Savage had done 20 years previous was just one of the moments. The feud finished when Steamboat and Punk fought off one of the top stables Generation Next. In IWA Mid South, which is where he got his first real start, he defeated AJ Styles for the Heavyweight Title.
The Inside Pulse: 2005 can be whatever Punk wants, he has all you need to be a star, but will Vince McMahon realize what can be done or will he be another wasted talent?
19. Batista
Big DAVE is ready to break out in a big way. He started the year retaining the tag titles with Ric Flair, defeating The Dudleyz in a table match at Royal Rumble. Heading into Wrestlemania XX, Batista teamed with Evolution mates Randy Orton and Ric Flair to defeat Mick Foley and The Rock. 2 weeks later, Batista regained the Tag Titles on the night of the draft lottery, defeating RVD and Booker T. He and Flair would lose the belts, however, on April 19th to Chris Benoit and Edge. He played an integral part in Evolutions beat down of Randy Orton following Orton’s title win at Summerslam, dropping Orton with an Electric Chair Drop to allow Triple H to consummate the beat down. As 2004 closes, Batista is heading into the Elimination Chamber in his first World Title shot, while seeds of a feud with Triple H are slowly being planted.
The Inside Pulse: It’s time for Batista. Already being pegged around the Internet as the next big star for WWE, 2005 could very well be the year of DAVE. His simmering feud with Triple H will likely burst within the year, probably before Wrestlemania. Don’t be surprised to see plans changed from Orton vs. Triple H to a three way including Batista at Wresltlemania 21. Odds are that if he stays healthy, the big man will wear World Championship gold in 2005.
18. Jeff Jarrett
The man with all the stroke started the year on top of NWA:TNA with the World Heavyweight title, won back in October of 2003 from A.J. Styles. For the duration of the year, Jarrett has had the bull’s eye on his back and has been flaunting it. “The Chosen One’s” reign would last through April, until losing the title to A.J. Styles in a no disqualification cage match. It would be two more months before Jarrett would reclaim the title in a five-man king of the mountain match with Ron Killings, A.J. Styles, Raven, and Chris Harris. For the second half of 2004, Jarrett retained his title against all competitors, most noticeably his feud with Jeff Hardy that came to a head at TNA’s first Sunday pay per view event, Victory Road, in a ladder match. He aligned with ex-WCW buddies Scott Hall and Kevin Nash at Victory Road to form the Kings of Wrestling. He ends his year with three men fighting for the right to face him at the next NWA:TNA PPV in 2005.
The Inside Pulse: In 2005, Jarrett has little to gain in NWA:TNA. Not to say that he won’t be a dominant force and stay in the main events for the year, but it’s hard to follow up another year like 2004 holding the World Title belt for more than 9 months of the year. Jarrett’s success can be measured by TNA’s success and only time will tell on that one.
17. El Hijo Del Santo
Son of the most famous Luchador of all-time, El Santo, is Mexico’s most in-demand performer. El Hijo has defended his mask in countless mask vs. mask matches, and has somehow been able to walk away with mark intact every time. Alternately feuds and teams with Negro Casas, his rival for over ten years. He still uses El Caballo, The Camel Clutch as his finisher.
The Inside Pulse: 2005 may see El Hijo Del Santo’s good fortune with his mask come to an end. A feud with Negro Casas could see unmasking of Santo, which would be huge news.
16. Trish Stratus
The lone female on our list certainly deserves to be here. Throwing an entire division on your back can be hard work, but this lovely lady made it happen in 2004. Trish started the year off as the love interest of Chris Jericho, hounded by Christian, who wanted Jericho to focus less on her and more on their team. After assaulting Trish, Christian was challenged to a match at Wrestlemania XX. Trish arrived late in the match, seemingly coming out to help Jericho. Her “help” turned out to be a hindrance, as Jericho lost the match. Post match, Stratus bitch slapped Jericho, allowing Christian to lay Y2J out with The Unprettier. This shocking heel turn would turn Trish into one of the most entertaining characters on Raw, constantly reminding Jericho how Christian scored with her and managing to evade any physical repercussion with the help of her “Problem Solver”, Tyson Tomko, who was hired by Christian. Trish would go on to win her record 5th Women’s Championship at Bad Blood, defeating Victoria, Gail Kim and Lita. She wouldn’t drop the strap for six months, losing to Lita on December 6th in one of the best women’s matches in recent memory. During her run, she tormented Lita for getting pregnant and was able to use these skits to perfect her heel persona. Her “Matrix Escape” is one of the coolest moves visually and her arsenal of moves seems to grow every time she steps in between the ropes.
The Inside Pulse: Unquestionably the most talented woman on Raw, what can Trish do in 2005 that she hasn’t done already? That’s a scary question. Her record 5 Women’s Championship runs aren’t likely to be surpassed until the next Trish steps up, which may or may not happen. Trish has become The Rock of the women’s division, a staple that everyone wants to see when they show up, simply because they are entertaining and it’s easy to see they bust their ass every time they step out from behind the curtain. It’s no secret that talent this good can’t be harnessed in the wrestling business. We can only hope that Trish doesn’t go the way of past stars and bolt the company for bigger things.
15. Petey Williams
Canadian Destroyer, Canadian Destroyer, Canadian Destroyer. As 2004 ends, the man with one of the most innovative finishers in wrestling holds NWA:TNA’s X-Division championship belt. On August 11th, Williams might have won the belt with the help of Team Canada’s coach Scott D’Amore, but he first survived the 22-man X-Division gauntlet, coming in at #11, with some of the X Division’s best. Since August he’s held onto the strap successfully defending against Chris Sabin, A.J. Styles, and Sonjay Dutt. Outside of NWA:TNA, Williams captured the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight title on May 29th, defeating BJ Whitmer. He held the title through the summer until being beaten by Arik Cannon in September. Not too shabby for a wrestler standing only 5’7″.
The Inside Pulse: 2005 could mark the year that solidifies Petey Williams as not only one of the best X Division wrestlers, but the X Division wrestler, as he could very well hold on to that belt for the entire year. While small in stature, Williams could very well carry the division on his shoulders for the next 12 months. Picture what RVD did for the ECW TV Title belt, but Petey Williams and the X Division belt.
14. Christian
“Captain Charisma” got some serious booty this year, but little else in terms of titles in the squared circle. His bet with Chris Jericho on who could score first with Trish and Lita led to the implosion of their friendship, as Chrsitian seemed to be intent on keeping Jericho’s attention away from Stratus and on their team. A match was set up between the two to settle their differences at Wrestlemania XX, but this wound serve merely as a cannon for their feud to be shot out of, as Trish Stratus turned on Jericho and aligned herself with Christian in a surprise twist. This led to, as told to the fans, copious amounts of Trish booty for Christian, as Stratus let us all know that she liked it rough, and Chris Jericho was too much of a wimp for her. Jericho would get his revenge on Christian in a steel cage match on Raw’s May 10th edition, putting him on the shelf for 3 months with a back injury. Upon his return, Christian went right back after Jericho, but it was more of the same, as Y2J bested him for the Intercontinental Title at Unforgiven. A feud with Shawn Michaels was cut short by HBK’s knee injury, so it was back to the Intercontinental picture, as Christian started feuding with Shelton Benjamin. This feud has been fairly one sided, with Benjamin picking up the wins. As 2004 comes to a close, Christian is still in the IC Title picture and, coming off of one of the top 3 feuds of the year, has heat that can keep him in any title scene for a while.
The Inside Pulse: After the year that he had, Christian’s focus in 2005 has to be on 1 thing and 1 thing only: Titles, and lots of them. Big feuds normally go through the gold belts, but his feud with Jericho only went through the golden booty of Trish Stratus. He is talented on the microphone and capable of garnering heat in almost any situation, but maybe a face turn would help propel him to the next level.
13. Kane
Kane’s year can be broken into two pieces: Deaadman and Daddy. Deadman was the culmination of a feud with his brother (again) that started way back at Survivor Series 2003, when Kane helped Vince McMahon bury his brother alive. As 2004 started, Kane was going along just fine, until he started receiving eerie signs that his brother, and more importantly, the Original Deadman was returning, looking for revenge. This happened at Wrestlemania XX on March 14th, as Undertaker returned and defeated Kane in a grueling slugfest. After that was over, it was Daddy time. On the April 19th edition of Raw, Kane began stalking Lita, seemingly just to intimidate her for fun. After weeks of beating down Matt Hardy, it was revealed that Lita had agreed to sleep with Kane in order to preserve Hardy’s well being and Kane had gotten her pregnant. Matt was none too happy and agreed to a match with Kane called a “‘Til Death Do Us Part” match at Summerslam. The winner of this match would get to marry Lita. Kane won that match and married Lita on August 23rd in “The Wedding From Hell”. This led to the introduction of Gene Snitsky at Raw on September 23rd, a match which ended in a no contest after Kane tried to put Snitsky’s head in between a folding chair and stomp it, a tactic Kane used earlier in the year to take out Shawn Michaels. Lita, who wasn’t exactly enthralled with her marriage, made the save, which allowed Snitsky to hit Kane with the chair. However, Kane fell on top of Lita after being hit, causing a miscarriage. This led to a feud with Snitsky that put Kane out of action, due to Snitsky Pillmanizing Kane’s neck at Taboo Tuesday. While recovering from his injury, Kane also filmed the movie “Eye Scream Man” for WWE Films. We recently learned that Kane will return at New Year’s Revolution to try to exact revenge on Snitsky.
The Inside Pulse: Kane is in a precarious situation. With his size, he can always be considered a viable contender for the Raw title, but with the current landscape it seems as though he might be returning just in time to get lost in the shuffle. New Year’s Revolution should mark the end of his feud with Snitsky, but it is questionable where Kane will go from there. Somehow he was turned face during the Snitsky fiasco, so unless Matt Hardy returns as a heel that angle is dead. Odds say that Kane will have a title sometime this year. If one had to guess, picking the tag title alongside Hardy would be the best bet.
12. Kurt Angle
2004 provided probably the strangest year for Angle since he began his career. All started normally as Angle was providing high quality matches and was providing a good boost for Eddie Guerrero in “Latino Heat’s” first championship defense. A great match a Wrestlemania XX between the two seemed to cap the feud and that is where things went a little south. As is known, Angle’s neck is no great shakes and it was so bad that it was leading to just that, great shakes. He was reprogrammed as the new GM for Smackdown! to give his neck a rest and floundered in that role, most notably getting choke slammed by Big Show off of a loading dock, with the view looking down upon him something that you’ll likely see on WWE Films movies. He returned to agitate John Cena and return to action, shooting Big Show with a tranquilizer and forming an alliance with Luther Reigns and Mark Jindrak, but getting beat by Big Show and sometimes partner Eddie Guerrero on several occasions. As 2004 comes to a close, Angle seems to be close to the title but just far away enough that you worry. His health is always a concern.
The Inside Pulse: NECK NECK NECK. How that fortress holds up is the question. Angle is the man, no doubt, but being the man with no feeling in your legs is not something anybody wants. Depending on the true status of his neck, this could either be a great year for Angle or it could be his last.
11. Shelton Benjamin
This former member of The World’s Greatest Tag Team has been taking leaps to become The World’s Greatest Wrestler. In a short amount of time, like minutes, Benjamin made his impact after being selected by Raw in March’s draft lottery. His upset win over Triple H on his very first night on Raw made people stand up and say “OOOOHHH SNAAAP!”. Voted into the Intercontinental Title match by the fans at Taboo Tuesday, Benjamin made the most of his opportunity and upended Chris Jericho for the title. In between all that, he feuded with Evolution, teaming up with the likes of Benoit and Orton. Not too shabby for a former tag specialist. As the year comes to a close, Benjamin has seemingly capped his feud with Christian over the IC Belt.
The Inside Pulse: 2005 will show if “they’re aint no stoppin’ Benjamin, NOOOOOO!” The Intercontinental Title is once again providing a boost to the main event scene and a talent like Benjamin should have no problem continuing that trend. The only question is how muddled the main event picture will be when Shelton makes his run. If it is as cluttered as it is right now, don’t be surprised to see his head bouncing off the glass ceiling.
BE SURE TO COME BACK TOMORROW AS WE REVEAL THE TOP 10!
