WWE Taboo Tuesday 2004 Review

For this first time in WWE History, the fate of the superstars is in the hands of the fans. The Raw-exclusive Tuesday PPV saw the fans vote online on who they wanted to see challenge champions and what type of matches they wanted to see the superstars compete in. Was the first Taboo Tuesday a success or a flop?

Match 1: WWE Intercontinental Championship - Chris Jericho (c) vs. Shelton Benjamin
Aside from a couple, the list of guys that fans had to choose from to face Chris Jericho was pretty laughable. Shelton Benjamin ended up beating out the guys and scored an opportunity. Jericho has gone on to mention that he didn't even know who he was facing until it got revealed as he was waiting in the ring. At this point, Benjamin looked to be getting molded as a main eventer as he scored big wins over Triple H on Monday Night Raw. Crowd was certainly behind him here in a pretty good opening contest that saw him pick up the win and the Intercontinental Championship in the process. Great show of sportsmanship afterwards as Jericho handed the championship to Benjamin.
Winner: Shelton Benjamin
Rating: ***

Match 2: WWE Women's Championship - Fulfill Your Fantasy Battle Royal - Trish Stratus (c) vs. Jazz vs. Nidia vs. Gail Kim vs. Molly Holly vs. Victoria vs. Stacy Keibler
The fans voted on what attire they wanted to see the Divas wear and it was decided that they would dress up as schoolgirls. Just think of the WWE doing this in 2017. Really dumb battle royal with Trish Stratus last eliminating Molly Holly to win and retain her title. Please give me my time back.
Winner: Trish Stratus
Rating: 1/4*

Match 3: Weapon of Choice - Gene Snitsky vs. Kane
Poor Kane, always wrapped up in some of the dumbest possible storylines imaginable. The fans had the options of choosing which weapon would be legal for the match in a lead pipe, a steel chair or a steel chain. However, this proved to be pointless when Gene Snitsky brought in a steel chair and started hitting Kane with it. Prior to that, Snitsky was beating down Kane with some of the lamest chain shots you could ever imagine. Snitsky was able to win the match after placing the chair between Kane's neck and crushing it off the top rope. Blood starting pouring out of Kane's neck, nice touch. Afterwards, Kane gets stretchered to the back before Snitsky makes another appearance and drops Kane to the floor. Not a bad match and Jim Ross on commentary was brilliant in making this seem more serious with the ridiculous storyline hanging around in the background.
Winner: Gene Snitsky
Rating: **3/4

Match 4: Eric Bischoff vs. Eugene
The fans are able to decided the punishment for the loser with the choices being the loser being their servant, the loser wearing a dress or the loser getting shaved bald. You can just pretty much imagine what this match was... Eric Bischoff beating up Eugene for a little bit before Eugene gets angry and hits a leg drop on his uncle to score the win. However, Jonathon Coachman runs down and basically tosses out Bischoff's penalty until Mr. McMahon comes out and forces Bischoff to get his head shaved by Eugene while also forcing Coachman to wear the dress. Bischoff getting his head shaved was funny for a quick second but this shtick got old pretty fast.
Winner: Eugene
Rating: 1/2*

Match 5: WWE World Tag Team Championship - La Resistance (c) vs. Chris Benoit & Edge
Since Shawn Michaels won the vote to challenge Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship later on, the other two nominees in Chris Benoit and Edge were then forced to team with each other to challenge La Resistance for the World Tag Team Championships. Always thought that the team of La Resistance were fairly overlooked and much of that had to do with the way they were booked, like chumps. The two teams had a pretty strong match here with Edge leaving his partner high and dry before driving out of the arena. However, Benoit was able to lock in a Crippler Crossface on Rob Conway to seal the win for himself and Edge. Another example of La Resistance being booked like chumps in what was a pretty damn good match.
Winners: Chris Benoit & Edge
Rating: ***1/4

Match 6: Lingerie Pillow Fight - Carmella vs. Christy
Wonderful! A second Divas match for the night. The fans vote to see these two in a lingerie pillow fight because there really wasn't any other option. The two get dressed in front of the crowd behind dressing rooms that showed their shadows. Afterwards, they fought int the ring with pillows before Christy tackled Carmella down and pinned her for the win. If I could rate this any lower, I would. That is two 1/4* Divas matches for the night. Wow.
Winner: Christy
Rating: 1/4*

Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Triple H (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
Although Shawn Michaels was nursing a knee injury, the fans still selected him to challenge his old partner in Triple H. These two faced off numerous times throughout the year for the World Heavyweight Championship and it looks as if the fans didn't mind seeing it again. With that being said, a really good portion of the match just saw Triple H dominating handily and focusing on that injured knee of Michaels. I get that they wanted to do something different since they had so many matches throughout the course of the year, but it just didn't make for a very exciting match. Finally, Michaels is able to hit a Sweet Chin Music on Triple H but a distraction from Batista leads to the referee turning his back on Edge running in and hitting a Spear on Michaels before The Game was able to cover for the win. Predictable winner along with a dull match makes this the weakest match between the two that I have ever watched. Very disappointing considering they could really have had something special here.
Winner: Triple H
Rating: **1/4

Match 8: Steel Cage - Ric Flair vs. Randy Orton
Loved the feud these two were having headed up to this match with Ric Flair feeling like Randy Orton was disrespecting him with his comments about being Triple H's bitch. Although this felt pretty short, they definitely made the most out of it and managed to tell a good story out of it, especially with the blood that poured out of both men. They were bleeding buckets and it certainly added another layer to the match. Great action throughout and fun to see the desperateness of Flair as he even pulled out the brass knuckles and a steel chair. However, a sweet RKO on a bloody Flair was enough for Orton to capture the win to close out the night. Afterwards, the two embrace each other as the blood continues to run down their faces.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***1/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Easily one of the worst PPVs of the year. The Divas matches were just plain terrible and everything else was either good or just acceptable. If there was a saving grace for the show, it was the main event which isn't even really a good enough reason for me to go back and watch. Very disappointing start ot a PPV concept that would only last one more year. Would be interesting to see WWE bring this back for something on The WWE Network or even an episode of SmackDown Live.
Rating: 4/10