10. Kenta Kobashi
Kenta Kobashi has held the NOAH GHC (Global Honored Crown – their version of the world title)since beating Misawa for it in March 2003. The Leader of the “Burning” faction is a dominant champion who has headlined all of NOAH’s biggest shows and wrestled many of the promotions best matches in 2004. He is the master of the Burning Hammer, the Lariat, and the Half-nelson Suplex.
The Inside Pulse: Even though their rivalry was supposed to have ended forever on 3/1/03, a rematch with Misawa will likely draw a lot of money for NOAH in 2005. Kobashi has already beaten every top challenger for the GHC title, and it may be time for him to put one of the young lions over.
9. Samoa Joe
“The Champ is Here” is what many fans think when they hear the name Samoa Joe, and there is a big reason for this. After defeating Xavier on the 22nd of March 2003, Joe carried the ROH title with honor and has built up the prestige to make it one of the top belts in the world. He continued his feud with Homicide, which has yet to finish. By defeating Homicide at Death Before Dishonor II Night 1, he caused Homicide to get no more title shots for 2004. In a feud with CM Punk, Joe showed his size is not a burden, wrestling 60 minutes twice in that feud, before finishing Punk in the third in 31 minutes. The feud is very famous because the second match is the only North American match since Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker Hell in a Cell that Dave Meltzer has given *****. He debuted in IWA Mid South, challenging IWA’s top star Chris Hero and defeating him. He also got the final of IWA’s New Age Revolution Strong Style tournament, defeating long time friend B-Boy in the final. Shockingly, Joe lost the title to Austin Aries at ROH’s Final Battle 2004 on December 26th.
The Inside Pulse: It is not known what 2005 will hold for Samoa Joe, as the picture gets cloudy as to what is going on now that he has dropped the title to Aries. Is he going north or did he simply put over a young buck for the sake of ROH? This much is certain: Whether Joe does or doesn’t have the ROH Title, 2005 will be a great year if he can come close to a repeat of 2004.
8. John Cena
Is there a doctor in the house? FO SHIZZLE. The “Dr. of Thuganomics” is slowly spinning his way up Smackdown!’s card. A big win against the Big Show for the U.S. Title at Wrestlemania showcased Cena’s phenomenal power, as he was able to get Big Show up for the F-U to finish it off. After that, it was a whole mess of being screwed by then-GM Kurt Angle, who eventually stripped Cena of the belt. While a best of five against Booker T for the strap didn’t garner the acclaim that the Booker T/Benoit series for the TV Title did, Cena was still able to move on with a feud to cap the year against an unlikely opponent: newcomer Carlito Caribbean Cool. On Carltio’s first night with Smackdown!, he was able to wrest the title from Cena, using the Doctors own chain/lock to take him out. Later that evening, Cena was partying in a club and was stabbed in the kidney, presumably by Carlito and Jesus, Triple C’s bodyguard. After being discharged from the hospital, Cena whipped himself into shape to film “The Marine” for WWE Films, a role originally slated for Steve Austin before he left the company. Cena then returned to take back his title from Carlito, besting him a few weeks after Survivor Series. As the year comes to a close, Cena has taken out Jesus and Carlito and seems to be almost finished with reshoots on “The Marine”.
The Inside Pulse: Cena’s 2005 as a wrestler depends on Cena’s year as a movie star. If “The Marine” is a hit, don’t count on him rapping in a ring near you for long. If it bombs, it’s a big push to the Smackdown!/WWE Title.
7. Chris Jericho
“The MVP Of Raw” had a dramatic year. Dramatic like Days Of Our Lives. A silly bet with his friend Christian over who could score with Lita or Trish first wound up taking up much of Jericho’s year. Trying to score with the lovely Ms. Stratus turned into genuine feelings for the beauty. Trish seemed to feel the same way, but we would soon find out that she wanted it rough, and the only man rough enough for her was “Captain Charisma”, Christian. Trish turned on Jericho at Wrestlemania and left with her new man, making Jericho seethe with anger and look forward to revenge. This feud would eventually wind up with a steel cage match on Raw, which saw Jericho put Christian out of commission with a back injury. After a short lived feud with Tyson Tomko, Jericho started to get back into a bit of a title hunt, going after the Intercontinental strap. An injury to Edge would provide Jericho the opening, as he bested a returning Christian in a ladder match at Unforgiven, taking the gold back to Canada or Manhattan, your choice.
His reign wouldn’t last long, however, as he would lose the title to Shelton Benjamin at Taboo Tuesday in a match where Benjamin was chosen by the fans to fight Jericho. Y2J wouldn’t be down for long, as he teamed with Randy Orton, Chris Benoit and Maven to win control of Raw for a month. As 2004 comes to a close, Jericho is once again scratching the main event surface as he heads into New Year’s Revolution with the chance to become a champion once again.
The Inside Pulse: Jericho is somewhat of an enigma. It doesn’t really matter if he wins or loses, because his talent on the microphone guarantees that he can get where he needs to be with the crowd. Comparable to The Rock, Jericho could lose 3 title matches in a row and still get fans to care about that fourth one. 2005 can be a championship year for Jericho or he could advance talent, it’s up to him. Either way, he shows no signs of relinquishing the “MVP” title for Raw.
6. AJ Styles
“The Phenomenal One” A.J. Styles is the most consistent wrestler for NWA:TNA. For most wrestlers, winning all the belts in one organization is usually a pipe dream. sometimes it’s a career’s worth of work culminating with a world title victory. But for A.J. Styles it’s simply just another year. Styles held all three of the belts that TNA has to offer within twelve months AND still had time and talent left over to hold the IWA heavyweight championship and did it all in stride. On February 4th, he single handedly defeated the Redshirts after his partner Abyss had brawled to the back leaving him by himself. He earned his second world title reign by defeating Jeff Jarrett on April 22nd on a Wednesday night PPV in steel cage match, and held the title nearly a month through May 19th, successfully defending the title four times in four weeks. In his fifth week of defending the title, he was up against Raven, Ron Killings and “The Wildcat” Chris Harris with the cards stacked against him. With Jeff Jarrett’s interference, the Phenominal One was pinned by Ron Killings to lose the World Title. Within a month he had gone back to what brought him to the dance in TNA: The X Division. On June 2nd’s Wednesday night PPV he made a surprise return to the division beating Chris Sabin, Michael Shane and Primetime Elix Skipper to earn a title shot at the X Division title against Frankie Kazarian, the stage was set for a past vs. present X Division match. And in his second match back in the X Division, he was the three time champion, which started a hot feud with Kid Kash, who cost him the X Division title in his first Ultimate X match to two, yes, two men. Styles fought in a three way against Michael Shane and Frankie Kazarian, where Shane and Kazarian were BOTH declared winners. He won the IWA Heavyweight Championship defeating Samoa Joe and “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson at the Ted Petty Invitational. And he ended the year feuding with the Kings of Wrestling and once again being one of the top contenders for the world title! It’s no wonder that he’s finished higher on our list than any other TNA wrestler.
The Inside Pulse: When you’ve had a year like A.J. Styles has, “more of the same” isn’t a bad thing.
5. JBL
To quote Steve Austin: “WHAT!?” That was the sentiment of many when this tough Texan turned stockbroker beat Eddie Guerrero for the Smackdown!/WWE Title at The Great American Bash. With his “Clothesline From Hell” effectively turning into the “Clothesline From The Trading Floor”, JBL has transformed himself with speed that would make The Flash blush. To be blunt, from beginning to end, JBL has had a “seig heil” of a year. After defeating Guerrero, JBL somehow battled through feuds with Undertaker and Booker T unscathed and eventually took out all three of his nemisi at Armageddon. With his “Cabinet” of Orlando Jordan, The Basham’s and Amy Webber, JBL is a mid-carder no more. After taking on a bull rope match and winning, being put through his own limousine with Undertaker’s Chokeslam and outlasting the Booker Man, JBL is firmly entrenched in Smackdown!’s main event scene.
The Inside Pulse: 2005 is looking up for JBL. Not in a good way. JBL is looking up at 500 pounds of pissed off in Big Show and with all the survival tactics he’s employed over the past 6 months, one has to wonder what he has up his sleeve to deal with this problem.
4. Randy Orton
So what do you think Dad? Grandpa? That’s right, Randy Orton is all grown up and “The Legend Killer” is getting hot. A successful feud with Mick Foley gave Orton all the momentum he needed, besting the hardcore legend at both Wrestlemania in a 3-on-2-handicap match and the next month at Backlash is a hardcore match. After dropping the Intercontinental Title to Edge, Orton moved on to bigger things, winning a title shot against Benoit at Summerslam. Orton did what his mentor, Triple H, couldn’t do and upended The Crippler, taking the Raw Title back to Evolution. Evolution would only share that with Orton for a night, as he was jumped by the three remaining members on Raw the next night. This led to Orton fighting Triple H at Unforgiven and dropping the title after a 1 month run. Subsequently, Orton would lose a match to gain a rematch, losing his right to ever fight Triple H for the title again in the process. With the title currently vacant, Orton looks to sneak in the backdoor at New Year’s Revolution and grab the title in the Elimination Chamber.
The Inside Pulse: Can Orton RKO his way to the title again? Only time will tell. The smart play sees him winning the Royal Rumble and facing off against Triple H for the title at Wrestlemania, but with so many people in the middle of the title picture and the returns of Shawn Michaels and Kane forthcoming, Orton and his “Randy Wear” could very well get lost in the shuffle. Many say WWE is banking on him as the future of the company. WWE had better hope that flea market sold a trusty crystal ball.
3. Triple H
2004 was Game On for Triple H. After dominating Raw during the early months of the year, he came up short in a triple threat match at Wrestlemania XX, tapping out to the Crippler Crossface and making Chris Benoit the Raw Champion. He continued his feud with Benoit, but was bested each time. Enter Randy Orton. The young upstart took the title from Benoit at Summerslam, making Triple H none too happy. Alongside Ric Flair and Batista, he assaulted Orton the night after Summerslam and let it be known that no one would carry his title. He backed up those words with a victory over Orton for the belt the next month at Unforgiven. He held the title until recently, being upended by both Benoit and Edge on Raw. In the confusion, the title was declared vacant and an Elimination Chamber match set for New Year’s Revolution. Triple H walks into that match focused on getting the title back around his waist.
The Inside Pulse: Talk about pulling at straws. Triple H seems the likely candidate to walk out of the Elimination Chamber as champion, as WWE seems to be building to a HHH/Orton title match for Wrestlemania. Be wary of that however, because a swerve isn’t out of the question. Recent seeds of dissent have been planted between Triple H and Batista, making possibilities for the future rather broad. Also, with his movie career starting to get off the ground with Blade:Trinity, one has to wonder whether the pull of more money and less bumps will be a factor in what he does in 2005. And never forget that he hasn’t gotten his win back against Benoit. Count on that one for 2005.
2. Eddie Guerrero
“Latino Heat” burned up Smackdown! in 2004, reaching the pinnacle at No Way Out, defeating Brock Lesnar to win the Smackdown!/WWE Title. A stellar defense of the title at Wrestlemania XX featured Guerrero loosening his boot, which popped off when Kurt Angle locked in his ankle lock. In the confusion, Guerrero was able to small package Angle to retain. He also had an emotional embrace with longtime friend Chris Benoit to close Wrestlemania. The two longtime friends hugged in the center of the ring, both having reached the apex of their careers. Guerrero would have a good title reign, ending (some say prematurely) at The Great American Bash with a loss to John Bradshaw Layfield. Eddie only recently rejoined the main event picture, battling in a fatal four way at Armageddon with Undertaker, Booker T and JBL.
The Inside Pulse: With rumors that Guerrero was extremely hard on himself for a perceived “failed” title run (“didn’t draw”), one has to wonder what the year ahead holds for “Latino Heat” His past battles with demons are no secret, and many wondered if he would fall back into that trap due to depression. If you take a look from the outside, you’ll see that Guerrero’s title run started off phenomenally, going through Lesnar and Angle in the span of a month. In essence, the lack of heat came about during his feud with JBL, which begs this question: Any good ideas on how to take a former mid-card tag specialist and turn him into the number one guy without it being at least a little bit of a drag on the promotion? 2005 can be whatever Guerrero makes of it. If he busts tail like always and doesn’t worry about the past, he can shoot up to and grab the brass ring again.
1. Chris Benoit
2004 was the year for the Crippler. January marked the beginning of Benoit’s march to the Raw Championship. Oddly enough, he was on Smackdown! at the time. Benoit won the Royal Rumble and immediately showed up on Raw the following night, announcing his intention to fight Triple H for Raw’s title. Many thought that this could be it for Benoit, seeing the huge push he was receiving. Skepticism was abound, however, as Shawn Michaels was added to the match, making it a triple threat match for Wrestlemania XX. But in one of the most emotional finishes you will ever witness, Benoit made Triple H tap out to the crossface at Wrestlemania, capturing the title and ending eighteen years of World Championship futility. His embrace with longtime friend Eddie Guerrero after that match made many fans understand just how far and what he had gone through for that moment. The “Rabid Wolverine” followed that win up with a successful five month reign as champion, thwarting Evolution and surviving another triple threat match with Triple H and Michaels. He was also able to overcome Kane’s strength advantage to pull out a win against the red monster during his run. All good things must come to an end though, as Benoit dropped the title to Randy Orton at Summerslam. During his run, Benoit also managed to hold the tag team championship alongside Edge, defending both titles in one night at Bad Blood. As 2004 comes to a close, Benoit is still in the title picture, challenging for the vacant belt in the Elimination Chamber at the upcoming New Year’s Revolution.
The Inside Pulse: Don’t be surprised if you see Benoit with the World Title again in 2005. The only problem is that 2005 is a toss up for Benoit. On one hand he could very well lock up another title run at sometime during the year. He is over with the fans and is capable of blowing the roof off an arena any day of the week. On the other hand WWE is working very hard to make new stars and Benoit could wind up being the one to put them over. The drawback of being a marvel in the ring is that you can make anyone look good. WWE might capitalize on Benoit’s talent to make a bunch of young faces big stars in the upcoming year. However, Benoit still has a variety of feuds he can jump into. Triple H has still never beaten Benoit and the two have proved they could draw together. Who knows? The only thing that is certain is that Benoit will provide unbelievable matches time and time again, television or house show.
Congratulations to Chris Benoit!
So there you have it, 2004’s stars that stood out and made us stand up and cheer. Now we know that you won’t agree with us on every one of our choices, and we relish that. What makes what he do great is our interaction with our readers. Different opinions open different doorways and we respect every opinion we get. Have no doubt that when you speak, we listen. You the readers are the beat if Inside Pulse and if your opinion differs, we’d like to hear it.
In a period where the business is down, the 50 people above have all stepped their games up and put on a show for us that we have enjoyed, there is no denying that. What does 2005 truly have in store for the business? To be completely honest, you never know. Unpredictability is something that is a staple of the squared circle. Day to day, week to week you never truly know what’s going to happen. But when you turn on that television or go to the arena, you know that the 50 people you have just read about will entertain you. At the end of the day, that is all we, as fans, are looking for.
I’d like to thank Gordi for his insight and write-ups on the Japan guys. Thanks to Blatt for being Blatt and covering a bunch of the TNA guys. Big thanks to IP Forumer Crippla, who contributed some Indy bios for us…this little man-child can write. Thanks to Matt Michael for keeping me in line. He bought me Roller Blades. Thanks to the rest of the Inside Pulse staff who voted. And finally thank you to you, the person reading this. Like I said before, you really get us moving here at Inside Pulse and that is something that is not lost on us.
Happy Holidays and here’s to a successful 2005 between the ropes.
