11 Best WWE PPV Matches Of 2004

5. Randy Orton vs. Chris Benoit – SummerSlam

SummerSlam 2004 is remembered for Randy Orton winning his first World Heavyweight Championship in WWE. A monumental moment for his career, yes, but WWE won’t promote the match because of Chris Benoit’s involvement. Fair play to that.

The match, if you choose to watch it, is quite great. Orton had yet to really come into his own as a main eventer but was more than capable of having a classic match.

Benoit brought the gold into Canada and Orton walked out with it. Benoit could carry anyone to a great match and Orton was better than most at the time. A good combination this was indeed.

---

4. Randy Orton vs. Edge – Vengeance

Long before their rivalry in 2007, and 2010, and 2020, Randy Orton and Edge wrestled in 2004. At Vengeance, they had perhaps their best pay-per-view match.

Aside from the edited Greatest Wrestling Match Ever, this has to be the clear favorite. This is also one of those rare times the Intercontinental Championship was defended in a fantastic match in the Ruthless Aggression era.

Orton and Edge were both on their way towards the main event scene at the time and were perfect opponents for the other. They had a 26-minute classic with Edge capturing the Intercontinental title for the fifth time.

This is one of the best matches of either man’s career and that is a hill I am willing to die on.

---

3. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit – Backlash

What do you do when you have one of the best WrestleMania main events ever? You run the exact same match back a month later. That is exactly what happened at Backlash 2004.

Chris Benoit had won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XX, beating Triple H and Shawn Michaels to win the title. Triple H would not let this happen and a rematch was set for Backlash.

Sure enough, the match was once again fantastic. How could it not be? This time taking place in Benoit’s hometown of Edmonton, the crowd was on equal par with the rapid WrestleMania crowd at Madison Square Garden.

Another match that doesn’t get mentioned much for obvious reasons but there is a lot to learn about how to make a great Triple Threat match from these performances.

• PPV
• 2004
• Chris Benoit
• wwe

Share this article with friends