The Star-Maker Podcast

[jman]

Conrad Thompson: "Hey, hey, it’s Conrad Thompson, and you’re listening to a teaser episode of The Star-Maker Podcast! Today, we've got a special one lined up for you as we dive deep into the world of wrestling. But I’m not doing it alone—joining me every episode will be my co-host, a man who knows more about wrestling than just about anyone else I know. He’s the encyclopedia of wrestling history, the guy with some of the hottest takes in the business, the Star-Maker himself—give it up for Josh Ross! Josh, how are you doing today?"

Josh Ross: "Hey Conrad, I’m doing great! Enjoying retirement but there’s nothing I love more than talking pro wrestling. After 20 years in the business it’s hard not to, and every comic-con I’ve been to over the last year or so has been full of fans asking me to start this podcast with you haha. We’re going to go over my whole career over the last 20 years as one of the head bookers, starting from the very beginning. Let’s get into it!"

Conrad Thompson: “Well, I’ve been in the same boat with everyone clamoring for these weekly sit-downs with one of the greatest minds of the Ruthless Aggression era. A lot has been said behind the scenes over the years, about how much you changed the landscape of the WWE back in the mid-2000’s. A lot of people say you’re the brains behind multiple traditions that are still going on today, such as the Money in the Bank match, Tag Team and Women’s wrestling revolution, NXT etc. as well as the man behind the World Title pushes for superstars such as Shelton Benjamin, Carlito and Rob Van Dam among many others. You earned your Star-Maker nickname in the WWE after 3 straight world champions credited you with trusting them to take things to another level and giving them the boost they needed.”

Josh Ross: “I mean most of these things I get a ton of credit for were collaborations, but I’ll take all the credit I can get. Especially now that my career has wound down haha. Even when you look at how I got my start, a lot of people credited me for bringing back Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble in 2005. But I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere with Brock if it wasn’t for Paul Heyman. I’ve been lucky enough to be someone that is remembered for the good ideas, but I’ve had plenty of bad ideas as well. I was really pushing for a world title run from Maven out of the gate, I wanted him to have the “Ultimate Opportunist” gimmick that took Edge to new heights. He was the first person I tried to make a star and we know how that went haha. I get so much love for bringing some indie stars to the big leagues - the AJ Styles, the Bryan Danielson’s of the world. But very few people know how hard I was pushing behind the scenes for management to stop booking the big beefy wrestlers like Batista and Bobby Lashley. Or that I was trying to turn Triple H into a full time authority figure while he was still wrestling. The good comes with the bad. Plus, I think I got a pass from some of the guys in the back because they just assumed I was Jim Ross’ nephew cause we shared last names haha.”


Conrad Thompson: “Luckily we’ve got plenty of time to get through some episodes and go through your history in the business. We’re going to start with your first couple months with the WWE, but before we start with that life changing decision you made - let’s talk more life changing decisions. Have you been thinking about purchasing a home? Well NOW is a great time, mortgage rates are at a 15-month low and inventory is up 36% this year on Realtor dot com. Whether you’re looking to purchase your first home or want to sell your current home and move into your next one, we want to help make that a reality! #SaveWithConrad”

Conrad Thompson: “Alright folks, let’s get back into it. Josh was talking about some of his early wins and losses backstage. But before we get into that, let’s go to the very beginning. When did you officially start working, and what was your job title when you got hired on?”

Josh Ross: “I got hired in October or November of 2004 as a writer. They already had a ton of writers working, so I was able to kind of come along slowly and just help out all over. Raw and Smackdown had their head writers already, and there were certain superstars like Triple H and The Undertaker who had their own angles going on. It took some time to earn their respect. But I couldn’t even argue with their results, if you remember this is around the time period Triple H had Evolution and led to the big Batista title win at Wrestlemania 21. So my first 2/3 months I didn’t have a ton of responsibility and was just focusing on the lower card - which might explain why I thought someone like Maven could be a star and fit in the Money in the Bank match. I was really wanting to expand Tough Enough, and make winning that a big deal. I wanted to help establish these guys and set them up for success. I remember my first pay per view being Survivor Series in 2004 and that was a very interesting time. Smackdown was chalk full of talented wrestlers and captivating individuals, with JBL as WWE Champion, John Cena as US Champion and Spike Dudley won the Cruiserweight title that night. Raw was similarly stacked with star power. Every week saw fantastic matchups that the audience had been dying to see. The Triple H reign was going on, with Hunter commanding Monday Nights. Shelton Benjamin was on the outskirts of stardom, starting his rise as Intercontinental Champion shortly before I was hired. Trish Stratus was still the top diva in the WWE. There were so many tag teams at this time, you’d think they would be one of the highlights each week. But with Kenzo Suzuki and Rene Dupree treading water as champs on Smackdown, and Rob Conway and Sylvan Grenier doing the same as champs on Raw - it was time to change things up and increase the focus on the tag division. I started there, and was also given instructions to work on a program within the Cruiserweight division.”

Conrad Thompson: “I definitely want to hear about your influence on the tag division, but you brought up the Cruiserweight Title and that program. Is that the Spike Dudley/Maven program? You kept bringing up how you wanted to establish Maven, was that your way of establishing the Tough Enough show?”

Josh Ross: “Absolutely. I came in after Maven had won Tough Enough, but he was sort of just bouncing around with no real direction. He was getting the push, he was in the Main Event of Survivor Series as part of Randy Orton’s team - but with no real plans going forward aside from some losses to Triple H. So I made the pitch for him to come over to the Smackdown brand and run the cruiserweight division as a heel. I wanted people to see Tough Enough as a legit stepping stone into the business. It didn’t matter to me whether he was a face or heel, I just wanted the success of the wrestler to match the vision for the show.”

Conrad Thompson: “That makes sense, Tough Enough stayed around for a few years but was never quite as successful as people hoped. But I'm sure it helped to show the people in charge what kind of decisions you make, and why you would make them.”

Josh Ross: “I had some talks with Vince and the head writers at the time, and they definitely appreciated my thought process and how I was able to build a small picture while preparing for the big picture. It set me apart from the other new writers who were somewhat seasonal and didn’t really comprehend the business haha, we’ve seen that countless times over the years. Then like you talked about earlier, bringing Brock Lesnar back and helping turn some tag teams into stars.. That really helped solidify my spot and gave me some feeling of job security in a business that doesn’t always carry much of it. Once the Royal Rumble happened and Brock returned, it felt like I had to sink or swim. Vince told me I’d be working with Paul and Brock on his angles, so having those first couple of months was huge. Then with Vince getting injured at the Rumble, and having legal troubles all throughout the year causing him to step away from the business - that REALLY shoved me to one of the top writing gigs. And I feel like I showed them I learned a thing or two from Mr. McMahon by turning his retirement into a huge angle for Wrestlemania 22. Shane and Stephanie really trusted my mind for the business at that point and I truly had creative freedom to “become the Starmaker” so to speak, you know I always hated that nickname because-”

Conrad Thompson: “What?! Buddy, that’s one of the best nicknames in the business, ESPECIALLY for someone who’s never been in a match. You didn’t feel some sort of pride being deemed that by the people you’re actively trying to make stars?”

Josh Ross: “I mean that’s the thing, you just nailed it. I’ve never been in a match. It feels crazy to me that a WWE Superstar would call me a “Starmaker” when they’re the ones out there putting their bodies on the line. They were the ones working their asses off, I was just having fun trying to put them in their best possible situations. But as the years have gone on I’ve come to admire the nickname. It means a lot that these guys see me as someone who helped them along the way. But I always want to give all the credit to the actual Stars, ”

Conrad Thompson: “We’ll have plenty of time to do that. We talked about this a little off microphone, but I think the way this podcast will go is we’ll run through the lead up to a pay per view, then do a watch through of the pay per view the following episode. Starting with that first month and working our way to the end of your career. Maybe with some special guests every now and then. What say you? Sure, we’ll touch on your backstage work behind the scenes of course, and any insight you may have on what was going on or why you did things the way you did them - but we’ll focus on the stuff that happened in the ring and how it’s shaped the WWE into the global titan it remains today. Today is just the ten minute teaser episode, and on our next episode we’ll really get the ball rolling talking about the WWE post-Survivor Series in 2004 on the Road to Wrestlemania 21. I’d like to thank Josh Ross for joining me today, and agreeing to give the wrestling fans across the world a journey into the mind of one of the greatest this business has seen. If you’d like to join the LIVE Q&A’s we’ll be doing on patreon, head over to adfreeshows.com! We’ll see you next week on ‘The Starmaker Podcast’.”

OOC: So this BTB is going to be a little different than most, and I hope I can do it justice for the ideas I have come up with. It’s going to be a retelling of WWE History like a normal BTB, but I’m going to be using a Conrad Thompson podcast to navigate and move through a little quicker without having to write weekly shows while giving my reasoning for the booking decisions through a discussion with Conrad or whoever we have as a guest on the podcast. As stated in the podcast dialogue (which I’ll hopefully get better at writing. Some of the dialogue may be clunky and repetitive but maybe that’s realistic? Who knows, but I’ll take any advice or constructive criticism) - this isn’t a BTB where I am just randomly the head booker. A lot of WWE’s main storylines in 2005 will still happen, as if my career as a writer started on a smaller scale. Triple H vs. Batista will still headline Wrestlemania 21, there will still be some moments in WWE history that will unfold similarly to the way they did in real life BUT also plenty of moments that are different. I’m trying to make some stars that didn’t fully pan out in WWE, without taking too much away from the stars they DID make. Vince McMahon won’t really be a part of this, as in my universe he still gets hurt at the Royal Rumble, and then faces legal troubles that cause him to step down in 05 which we will use in a Shane/Stephanie storyline for Mania 23. So hopefully you guys find it a fun ride to see what changes and what stays the same in this universe.

 

[Roy Mustang]

This is a really cool and unique idea for a BTB. Looking forward to reading it

 

[Chairman Jay]

Looking forward to reading this. Good idea dude. Kudos.

 

[Stojy]

A cool concept here mate for sure. Something new and exciting. The retelling of history angle is a good one, and with things like Brock returning in 2005, and a potential Shelton Benjamin world title run in his prime, you definitely have my attention. Looking forward to this, and wishing you good luck.

 

[jman]

Conrad Thompson: Hello ladies and gentlemen! We’re back with the first full length episode of our newest podcast over on Adfreeshows, The Star-Maker podcast! With my co-host, the “StarMaker” himself Josh Ross! Our teaser episode we discussed how Josh got his start, starting at the Survivor Series Pay Per View in 2004. Josh talked about starting out as a writer, and being tasked with bringing in some new ideas to the midcard and lower card programs.


And on this first episode, we’re talking about the buildup to the Armageddon pay per view on December 12th, 2004; this pay per view came to us from the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Georgia. 5000 people in attendance for a show that wasn’t the most memorable - but also wasn’t bad for a pay per view during the “brand split” era. You usually want the matches to stand out on your pay per views, or the big finish or something like that. But the matches on this one were pretty ho-hum and the most memorable moments were two, uhh I mean technically they were matches, but you had Daniel Puder taking on Mike Mizanin in a Dixie Dog Fight as part of Tough Enough 2, and Kurt Angle in a squash match against Santa Claus.


Josh Ross: *laughs* is that what people remember from this show? I mean, I was actually a fan of that Kurt Angle.. spot, I’ll call it. It wasn’t a match, but definitely more acceptable in the sports entertainment world than the good ol’-fashioned, Dixie Dog Fight. The boxing match being what it was disappointed me, especially on a show where I was trying to make the Tough Enough winner seem like he mattered. It felt like that segment took away from one of the few segments I worked on for this show.



Conrad Thompson: Kurt and Santa Claus is a classic match, you can revisit it every year. But I get what you’re saying about that Tough Enough segment pulling from your segment with Maven later on. What made them do this on pay per view, was it just a chance to spotlight the competitors?


Josh Ross: That’s 100% what it was, and I couldn’t fault them for it. In theory, it would’ve worked in unison with everything else we cooked up, tonight just wasn’t the night for that. Plus as you said, we were in the brand split era, and with some injuries - as well as most of the star power on Raw, we had to get creative. They had actually planned to do two different tag matches, but I turned that into a tag team turmoil match to extend the time and I just felt like that one told a better story for the title chase.


Conrad Thompson: What were your opinions on the brand split pay per views? The idea seemed to be generally liked, the consensus from the fans was always positive on that - although the execution was always in question as well. I’m sure some of the guys in the back liked it, as it gave more people opportunities.


Josh Ross: You’re absolutely right Conrad. The reality is you can only have about 6-8 matches on a card before it really feels oversaturated. We’ve had our fair share of stacked cards over the years, but we’ve found the premium live events get better reactions with smaller cards - where we’re able to let those matches really shine. That’s when the brand split pay per views are at the best. If we just took the top 3 matches from Raw and 3 from Smackdown every month and threw them on a pay per view - there would be a lot of the same guys competing every month. With the brand split, we had to get creative to give as many people the chance to uhh, grab the brass ring, as they used to say.


*Insert obligatory #SaveWithConrad commercial*


Conrad Thompson: It’s always interesting to me when you see a card with 10, 11, 12 matches on it - and you can just kind of scan the card and know which ones are going to probably get cut on time. On tonight’s card for Armageddon, including the Kurt Angle/Santa match and the tough enough match; you guys had 8 matches. And those two matches totaled 4 minutes of ring time, maybe 12 minutes total. So the other 6 matches really had some time to work. You guys open with a cruiserweight tag team match. You had Billy Kidman and Chavo Guerrero teaming up to take on Funaki and Akio.. A little bit different of a match, it’s not unusual for cruiserweights to open the show, but to open with a strange bedfellows match of sorts stands out to me. What was the story here?


Josh Ross: This is what we were just talking about, getting creative for these events. We wanted to do a cruiserweight match apart from the title match to help add meaning to the title in a way, up until then a lot of our pay per views opened with a cruiserweight title match and that was the only one on the card. I wanted to open with a fatal 4 way between these guys, but since we closed the show with a fatal 4 way, Vince wanted to do something different. Easiest option with 4 competitors is a tag match and normally I would’ve just put the Heels with the Heels and Faces with Faces - but I decided to switch things up a bit. The cruiser division was always about one upmanship and showcasing your skills. It was always a fast paced, entertaining match. On an episode of Smackdown I’m sure we’ll talk about later, We had all the cruiserweights in the ring and Billy Kidman and Chavo Guerrero started jawing back and forth. Kidman said something-


Conrad Thompson: Kidman told Chavo “you should go back to riding Eddie’s coattails! You can’t even lie, cheat and steal good!” Which is corny but it got a huge pop, and Chavo said he didn’t need Eddie, he could carry even someone like Billy Kidman to places he could never dream of.


Josh Ross: Yeah we should’ve scripted that one a little better, but that was a quick hook for the match. Then on the other side you had Akio and Funaki - two proven hands in the ring who had their own battle of trying to one up the other, but the focus was on Kidman and Guerrero’s side for sure.


Conrad Thompson: Next up we had Kurt Angle come out to the ring and call out that he needs a warm up opponent, and he ends up going against Santa Claus. Hahaha, why?


Josh Means: Kurt said it himself, he needed a warm up. That’s not kayfabe. He was coming back off an injury, so every way he could loosen up was a bonus. He had a big 2005 coming up including the huge matches at Wrestlemania and Summerslam. We needed him sharp. Plus it was a way to get some star power out early, we needed that too. This led straight into the handicap match between Team Angle and The Big Show, and speaking of big years! One of those guys had a huge 2005.


Conrad Thompson: Yes he did, with John Cena’s big WWE title match coming at Wrestlemania there had to be a way to get the US Title off of him - and I thought he was a good choice. John Cena defended his US Title against Jesus here


Josh Ross: The plan was always Carlito keeping the title, but with his injury we hot-shotted it back to Cena and then we’re stuck in this limbo, we need him to drop a title without looking bad. Mark Jindrak was an option, Big Show was always the favorite but I didn’t like the idea of him losing to the guy he just overcame last Wrestlemania. So while he didn’t lose the title tonight, I felt like we had to start setting it up and lift his possible opponents.


Conrad Thompson: I heard over on my podcast with Kurt Angle that he was pushing you or Vince for him to be added to this match, but that “creative didn’t agree with it” in his words. Why not add Kurt Angle to the match in a minimal role if you’re trying to get him back into shape?


Josh Ross: It just wasn’t his match, he wasn’t physically ready and we were trying to build Jindrak and Luther Reigns as credible guys without always having them rely on Kurt. Plus winning a three on one Is just less impressive than a two on one, so it wasn’t for him tonight. We gave in to a lot of requests, when we didn’t there was fair reasons at least in my opinion.


Conrad Thompson: Moving along we’ve got the tag team turmoil match for the Smackdown tag titles next, and before we get into what Meltzer had to say about this.. You mentioned how when you started out, you were tasked with focusing on the Cruiserweight and tag team division. We’ll get to the Cruiser division later- talk a little bit about your hand in the tag team division.

Josh Ross: I’ve always been a huge fan of tag wrestling myself, and the two years before I arrived at WWE- the tag teams were full of star power and great wrestling. We had teams like Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio and Edge, the Los Guerreros and World’s Greatest Tag Team. However those teams were no longer teaming up, and it was time to introduce some fresh blood into the scene. Not to mention losing Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero’s hall of fame careers each to injury in early 05. So I looked around the roster, and took note of people who were stagnant or not making any waves, before trying to find reasons to partner people up. That’s when I came up with the Gold Rush Tournament in 2005, now known as the Dusty Classic. We used this as an excuse to partner up some new teammates, some old teammates and some rivals. Some of those random teams showed such great chemistry they ended up staying together a little longer than we might have planned. One of those teams ended up becoming one of the best teams in WWE history - with both men holding the World title as well, and of course I’m talking about..

Conrad Thompson: “Well I don’t mean to cut you off, and you did help turn those two into World Champions in the WWE but we’ve got so many episodes to cover your near-20 year career, let’s not steamroll into all the talks about when you were an established writer.. So let’s get back into the build up to your first pay per view Armageddon.

*Yet another Save with Conrad commercial*


Conrad Thompson: Alright so Meltzer says in the Wrestling Observer that RVD and Rey Mysterio are leagues above their counterparts here in terms of star power and in-ring talent. He’s complaining about a match they had on Smackdown leading up to Armageddon, let’s watch the end of that here and then we’ll discuss it.
​

We join the match from the December 3rd edition of Smackdown with Tazz and Michael Cole discussing how Rey Mysterio needs to make a tag to his partner RVD if they’re going to want to win the tag titles. Commentary is discussing how well the team of Kenzo Suzuki and Rene Dupree have been gelling until Rey counters a backdrop with a sunset flip into a dropkick on Dupree.

But before he can make the tag, Kenzo comes in to prevent the tag, but gets caught with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors which allows Rey to make the hot tag! RVD comes in and cleans shop, running through some signature offense on both opponents. Van Dam sends Suzuki out of the ring and turns around into a kick to the gut - No! Caught! RVD steps over with a spinning wheel kick! Rolling Thunder follows!

Rey heads to the outside to keep Suzuki away and RVD ascends the top rope as Michael Cole hypes up the tag title change incoming.. FIVE STAR FROG SPLASH CONNECTS!!!

…… 1

…… 2

….-

The referee is pulled out of the ring!!

BY LA RESISTANCE!!

Cole asks what the hell the Raw tag team champs are doing on Smackdown? The referee calls for the bell to end the match in a disqualification but the action isn’t over - Conway and Grenier slide into the ring and begin putting the boots to RVD, who fights back valiantly and even gets help when Rey comes back in but with Dupree and Suzuki back in the fold as well, the numbers game turns out to be too much for RVD and Rey as both men get laid out with the Au Revoir!

The four men currently atop the tag division then shake hands and raise their titles as Michael Cole states that we need to get some security out here and get these Raw superstars out of the building!​

Josh Ross: Well I can understand why Meltzer is complaining they should have won the title here - of course they’re more talented and popular, they are now and they were back then! Haha, however we were trying to improve the tag division so if we were going to be throwing two random singles guys in a team; in my opinion the story is in their chase for the titles. The problem was.. our champions were also a thrown together tag team of Rene Dupree and Kenzo Suzuki, but to show some cohesion and tag team experience we had Dupree’s former tag partners La Resistance interfere from Raw and help Rene keep his titles. Which also led to Dupree and Suzuki helping Grenier and Conway on an episode of Raw before the big 4 on 4 match at the Rumble.


Conrad Thompson: So you already had a story set up here, why make it a tag turmoil match instead of just a straight up tag match for the titles? Why add in the Bashams and Paul London & Hardcore Holly?


Josh Ross: Well we’re going to probably discuss more about that next week when we watch the pay per view. But again, it was about the title chase and we wanted to really show RVD and Rey becoming an actual team before they won the titles. So we had the Bashams win a qualifying match to build them up a bit before we sent them to Raw. Holly and London was a team we threw together randomly, and was always a fun story because Holly wanted nothing to do with teaming with a rookie - but it was the most success he’d found in recent months


Conrad Thompson: Speaking of rookies, the Tough Enough Dixie Dog Fight match was the following match.


Josh Ross: Next.


Conrad Thompson: Haha come on, you don’t want to spend 5 minutes on this? That’s what you guys gave it in the ring.


Josh Ross: We’ve already covered it enough haha, I’d rather focus on the last two matches.


Conrad Thompson: Okay so let’s get to them, and from Tough Enough season 2, to the season 1 winner. We’ve got Spike Dudley defending his Cruiserweight title in a No Disqualification match against Maven who-


Josh Ross: Maven Huffman.


Conrad Thompson: That’s right! Haha! Maven Huffman, this was his big come out moment. Technically he was part of the winning team the month before at Survivor Series, but was barely in the match and basically thrown in just to make the odds seem even greater when his partner Randy Orton was the sole survivor. But tonight was his real crowning moment, and we could kind of see glimpses of it on some episodes of Smackdown leading up to Armageddon.


Josh Ross: I think the first glimpse we saw came on Raw the night after Survivor Series. He won the right to be GM for a night and let the power go to his head. He was getting sweet talked into setting up title matches, adjusted some matches before telling the fans that he’s had enough. He’s watched them boo Evolution out of every Raw for the last 6 months, but that night he realized they were just booing out of jealousy. He had that line about “now it’s my time to evolve” and announced that his final move as Raw GM was trading himself to Smackdown.


Conrad Thompson: He had these two promos when he moved to Smackdown that really reset his potential in my opinion, it got the fans to start looking at him a little more seriously. This first one is from the first Smackdown AFTER he traded himself there.

​

Tazz and Michael Cole welcome us back from commercial break when some new music to the Smackdown audience plays, and Maven strides out, his usual fan-friendly smile replaced by a cold, calculating sneer. The crowd lightly buzzes with confusion as Maven grabs the mic, his demeanor signaling a darker side. Commentary lets us know Maven recently traded himself to Smackdown while acting as Raw GM for the night.

Maven: You know, for the past few years, I've done everything they told me to do. I smiled when I was told to smile. I worked hard, kept my head down, and waited for my moment. I waited... and waited... thinking the fans, you people, would support me the way you do everyone else. I thought you had my back. But I see now that I was just fooling myself.

The crowd boos louder, but Maven looks around with a smirk.

Maven: Oh, you don't like that, huh? You don't like the truth? Let me tell you something—I’ve been overlooked, underappreciated, and ignored for far too long. Every time I’ve stepped into this ring, I’ve given you my best, and what did I get in return? Nothing! No respect. No recognition. I was just another guy to you all. Another face in the background.

He points at the fans in the front row, shaking his head.

Maven: You cheered for the guys that were already on top. You threw your support behind every so-called 'legend,' every 'superstar,' and left me in the dust. Well, I’m done waiting for you people to notice me. I’m done playing nice. From now on, I’m not fighting for your approval. I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this for me.

The crowd continues to boo, but Maven’s voice grows more intense, his eyes narrowing with determination.

Maven: I’ve been through tough enough to know one thing: success doesn’t come to those who wait for it—it comes to those who take it. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’m done with the 'underdog' story, done being the guy everyone overlooks. You won’t like this new Maven, but that’s not my problem. I’m focused on one thing and one thing only—getting to the top. Whether you cheer me, boo me, or ignore me, it doesn’t matter anymore.

Maven steps closer to the ropes, leaning over them and staring out at the crowd.

Maven: You can keep turning your back on me. But when I’m standing in this ring as a champion, as a star, you’ll all realize that I didn’t need your cheers to get there. I didn’t need your support. I just needed to take what’s mine. Then everyone will remember the name.. Maven Huffman!

Maven Huffman drops the mic and steps out of the ring, no playing to the crowd. He came out with a mission and completed it. Cole and Tazz discuss the new side of the first ever Tough Enough winner.
​

Conrad Thompson: And then the next week, a Cruiserweight open challenge was announced for that night when a bunch of Cruiserweight were in the ring arguing - and Maven showed back up to let everyone know his intentions.


​

We join in mid-promo as Maven pauses, letting the crowd's mixed reactions build before continuing.

Maven Huffman: You all keep talking about the cruiserweights here, huh? Chavo Guerrero, Paul London, Spike Dudley... like they’re the future of this brand. Like they represent the real talent. But let me tell you something—those guys? They’re nothing. They flip, they fly, they’re pretty to watch... but when it comes down to it, they can’t hang with someone like me. They’ve had their spotlight too long, and now I’m here to take it.

Maven paces the ramp, glaring at the wrestlers in the ring, his voice growing darker and more intense.

Maven Huffman: See, this isn’t the same Maven you all knew from 'Tough Enough.' No. That guy? He’s gone. I’m here to destroy anyone who stands in my way, starting with the cruiserweight division. I’ll crush your heroes. Paul London, your little fairy tale ends when you step in the ring with me. Chavo Guerrero, your family’s name won’t save you from the beating I’m going to give you. And BOTH of those threats go to you too Spike Dudley… Spike you took the only title I’ve ever held from me, so after I win this title shot me and you are going to get hardcore.

And as for the rest of you? You’re all just speed bumps on my road to dominance.

He pauses, letting the weight of his words sink in.

Maven Huffman: You may fly high, but I’ll make sure you crash hard. The Cruiserweight division belongs to me now. And I’ll tear through anyone that thinks otherwise. So go ahead, cheer your cruiserweights while you can. Because when Maven Huffman steps in the ring, you’ll realize... no amount of flips can save you from the real star on this show.

Maven drops the mic and walks backstage with a cold intensity, his new attitude sending shockwaves through the Cruiserweight division.​

Conrad Thompson: Now we know this moment isn’t one of the biggest in wrestling history, it probably isn’t remembered by most outside of Maven and maybe yourself; but I will say those were each a damn good promo! Maven did a fantastic job of setting up his program until Wrestlemania and even following, the mentions of all the Cruiserweights and showing a more intense side - which he would be able to showcase in a lot of No DQ title matches.



Josh Ross: Ya hit the nail on the head there Connie, it wasn’t the most memorable thing I’ve been a part of - but it was my first real addition to the company outside of some thoughts I had when I got hired, but those thoughts wouldn’t come to fruition for a while.. So I had a lot riding on this at the time, and hindsight is 20/20, that wasn’t the best promo around but like you said - it set up his feuds for the next year - and gave him some MUCH needed personality for the WWE universe to latch onto. If they love you or hate you, at least they care. Maven had been at a point where most people just didn’t care what he was up to. Now that he was going to be going after some fan favorites, it was a supercharged heat generator. Fans turned on him immediately, but it wasn’t “Go away heat” like some guys got around that time. The fans were invested in the story, and I think a lot of that came from that first Cruiserweight title match.


Conrad Thompson: I always thought that was a nice touch having Maven call out the fact that Spike Dudley had taken the hardcore title from him, the only title he had ever held. So for him to get a little more “Hardcore” in the cruiserweight division made sense.

Josh Ross: Absolutely! Before we quickly discuss the main event, let’s watch Maven’s real breakout in my opinion. After winning the cruiserweight open, he attacked Spike Dudley who was at the commentary table.​

Maven gets off of Shannon Moore, as the referee goes to raise his hand he yanks it away and stares at Spike Dudley. Spike is telling Tazz and Cole how he’s ready for the challenge, and that the challenge to make it a hardcore match will only work in Spike’s favor. Maven makes his way out to ringside, still staring at Spike who now tells him to walk to the back and he’ll see him at Armageddon. Maven SLAPS Spike across the face! The headset goes flying! Spike goes to tackle Maven but Huffman blasts him with a monitor!!!

Huffman stands over Spike before dragging him near the ring, where he looks under the apron. Maven brings out a trash can! And as we get another look at Spike Dudley he is busted open! Maven blasts him with the trash can, which is now covered in blood. Maven sets the trash can up, and seats Spike Dudley in there ass first so he’s trapped, dripping blood. Maven then grabs the cruiserweight title, kisses it… and SMASHES it over the bloody head of the cruiserweight champion!!! The trash can and Spike’s lifeless body crash at ringside, and Maven Huffman poses with the title, oozing with confidence and looking like a brand new person.​

Conrad Thompson: There are some guys over the years who have just been gifted at taking a beating, and getting someone over. Spike Dudley is one of the most underrated wrestlers of all time in that role, for a month long program, these two really brought some fire in each of their promos, but the real cherry on top was that Hardcore match for the Cruiserweight Championship. And we’ll talk more about it when we watch the show. We’ve got one more match left. Our main event of the evening was JBL defending his WWE Heavyweight Championship in a Fatal 4 Way match against Eddie Guerrero, The Undertaker and Booker T. A lot of people had JBL penciled in to hold onto that title all the way until Wrestlemania, but things ended up going a little differently.


Josh Ross: Now who’s getting ahead of themselves Connie? We’ll talk about that when it’s time. Besides, JBL’s second run was always the more impressive run in my opinion. As far as this match goes, it was just a way to get 4 of our best in the ring with each other. When you look at the talent we put in that match, it’s hard to go wrong. Especially when there’s no clear cut #1 contender.


Conrad Thompson: So that’s that, we’ve wrapped up the build up for Armageddon in 2004 - or at least the Smackdown side of things. Not the best card but a fun one, and definitely one I’m looking forward to watching and breaking down with you next week, right here on the Starmaker podcast.


Josh Ross: Thanks Conrad, I’m looking forward to it.








WWE Armageddon
Dec. 12, 2004

WWE Heavyweight Championship
JBL (c) vs. Eddie Guerrero vs. Booker T vs. The Undertaker

WWE United States Championship
John Cena (c) vs. Jesus w/ Carlito

WWE Cruiserweight Championship - Hardcore Match
Spike Dudley (c) vs. Maven Huffman

WWE Tag Team Championships- Tag Team Turmoil
La Resistance (c) vs. Hardcore Holly and Paul London vs. The Bashams vs. RVD and Rey Mysterio

The Big Show vs. Mark Jindrak & Luther Reigns

Billy Kidman & Chavo Guerrero vs. Akio & Funaki
​

 

[rant]

This is a really unique way of doing BTB, and one I think will be really cool to follow, given my love of wrestling podcasts.

I like the small changes you’ve made so far, like the tag title match, and especially Maven coming to the Cruiserweight division.

I can’t wait to see how things start to take shape as you put your own spin of the main card as you get deeper into this!

 

[Stojy]

This is honestly so much fun. Enjoying the read so far, and the changes you've made in terms of removing Angle from the Handicap match and the Maven turn are both good. Actually, the Maven stuff was really good, enjoyed that.

I'm not as sold on the La Resistance stuff in the tag title scene. Just feels like a real waste of some dual brand stuff on what feels like a relatively lower card angle, until you further build up the division.

Intrigued that it seems JBL will lose the title here as well. I'm going with Undertaker getting the win.

But yeah, really enjoying the writing style here and the way you're getting this across. Looking forward to more.

 

[DTP]

This is a unique concept that I'm surprised hasn't really been done before from anything I've seen. In the age of podcasting, I do like the idea of that as an overarching look back at events that have happened. From reading weekly Wrestling Observer Newsletter issues from 2004/5 in recent months it is very peculiar a time period to go with. In the years following the end of the Monday Night Wars and lack of competition, the latter stages of 2004 really struck me as a time where Vince McMahon was trying to model the WWE to be the way he wanted it to be had it not been for the presence of WCW. We saw John Laurinaitis's influence as Head of Talent Relations grow, and the occasionally baffling rotating door of talentless undercard stiffs brought in. Not to mention the puzzling wackiness of gimmicks once again prevail on weekly television. Factor in the SmackDown dressing room of the time, and it was all designed to terrorize anybody stepping foot into the dragon's den for the first time.

I can't physically stand listening to Conrad Thompson, but I will say the attention to detail is clearly of someone well-versed with his presentational style. I can envision his annoying-ass voice saying all of these things. I look forward to seeing what we get once Armageddon comes around. I myself, personally loved the product in late 2004 as a nine year-old kid.

 

[jman]

Conrad Thompson: Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another episode of The Starmaker Podcast. I am your host Conrad Thompson joined as always by the Starmaker himself, former WWE head of creative, Josh Ross.


Josh Ross: Thanks for having me again Connie, last week was a lot of fun. I can tell I’m really going to enjoy these podcasts the further along we get into my career.


Conrad Thompson: I’m glad you’re enjoying them cause we’ve got plenty of years to go. Today is going to be our first watch along episode, where we do commentary on some of the matches you helped bring to the WWE Universe and discuss the happenings around the business. We’re going back to December of 2004 for Armageddon! Last week we discussed the build up to the show, and today we’re going to see how the show actually turned out.


Josh Ross: I was technically a part of the company for Survivor Series the month before, but that was moreso as a guest, and this Armageddon Pay Per View is where it all started for me. It’s been fun to try and remember all of the things that were going on back then.


Conrad Thompson: Now we’re not going to sit here and watch the whole 3 or 4 hour show, but there’s a few matches that you played a hand in and we’re going to focus on those. As we’ve got the WWE intro playing, let me fast forward to that first match.


Josh Ross: I remember that first matchup of the night being pretty much a dud. The day of the show, they wanted to bump it down to Sunday Night Heat but there were a couple promos that took too long that we went back to having them open the show, and that might have been the wrong idea. Kidman and Chavo being the rivals teaming up didn’t generate the type of heat we were looking for and the fans really didn’t care about the story behind the match. Luckily for us, fans always enjoy some Cruiserweight action - and Billy Kidman’s shooting star press which he’s setting up right now!


As we join the match which has been a fast paced, back and forth affair that the fans just haven’t connected with; is climbing to the top rope with Akio in the perfect position! BUT CHAVO TAGS HIMSELF IN!! Shooting Star Press connects!!!

Chavo comes barreling into the ring and knocks Funaki off the apron! Kidman is going for the cover but the referee is explaining he’s no longer the legal man! Kidman gets up to confront Chavo who pushes him aside and makes the cover! But Kidman pulls Guerrero off of Akio and they start arguing which allows Akio to tag in Funaki unbeknownst to their opponents!

Guerrero shoves Kidman, who bounces back and pushes Chavo right back!! Into a roll up by Funaki!! And Funaki gets the win for his team as Kidman laughs and walks away. Chavo complains with the ref, but to no avail as Akio comes in and the often stoic Cruiserweight cracks a smile as he shakes hands with Funaki and Guerrero jaws at Kidman who’s walking up the ramp.


Conrad Thompson: Fun little ending there, with Funaki sneaking in as the legal man just like Chavo tried to sneak in albeit more successfully. But Funaki and Akio get the win and I always forgot this is where they started teaming up. They had a nice little run as a tag team on Smackdown for a while.


Josh Ross: Never the tag champs but a staple on Smackdown for the next year or so. Funaki was always a favorite, for the fans and with the boys. So to get him on a team that would extend his run a little was fun. Getting something for Akio too was just a bonus. And at least they teamed up, because do you know my big problem with this match?


Conrad Thompson: No payoff?


Josh Ross: No payoff! Chavo and Billy could’ve easily had a program to decide the #1 contender for the Cruiserweight title - which was my plan. But creative had other plans, and Chavo just kind of moved into the program setting up Eddie’s last match at Wrestlemania and Kidman did end up challenging for the title but it just felt rushed.


Conrad Thompson: We’re missing Kurt Angle kicking the crap out of Santa Clause right now ya know?


Josh Ross: I’m okay with that.


Conrad Thompson: You know what you shouldn’t be okay with? Paying a high mortgage. #SavewithConrad


Josh Ross: When do our blue chew ads start?


Conrad Thompson: Now that this handicap is starting, let’s catch the end of this one too. This one had big ramifications for the next few pay per views will talk about. Well, at least for Royal Rumble and No Way Out, not so much New Years Revolution next week.


Josh Ross: It’s Big Show vs Team Angle consisting of Mark Jindrak and Luther Reigns, with Kurt Angle at ringside!


As we join in, the giant Big Show is on a roll - having just chopped the hell out of Mark Jindrak, causing him to stumble across the ring and tagging his partner in. But Show catches Reigns with a big knee, followed by a double axe handle to the back taking him down. Jindrak tries to sneak a shot in, but Big Show catches him with a sidewalk slam!! And Luther Reigns eats another knee as he starts getting up!

Reigns and Jindrak roll to the outside, and regroup next to their leader. Kurt is giving them some advice while Show is showing off in the ring. They re-enter and start double-teaming Big Show, using quick tags to keep each other fresh. They work on his legs, trying to bring the giant down to their level. Reigns manages to land a chop block to Show’s knee, and Jindrak follows up with a dropkick to the same knee, finally dropping Big Show to one knee.

With Big Show down, Jindrak and Reigns focus on wearing him down. Jindrak locks in a sleeper hold while Reigns lands some heavy kicks. But Big Show powers out, throwing Jindrak to the mat and swatting Reigns away like a fly. The crowd erupts as Big Show stands back up and rallies, delivering a huge clothesline to both opponents.

Sensing trouble, Angle jumps up onto the apron, drawing Big Show’s attention. Big Show goes after Angle, who quickly drops back to the floor, smirking. This brief distraction is enough for Reigns to capitalize, hitting Big Show with a low blow from behind as the referee’s view is blocked by Angle.

With Big Show stunned, Jindrak and Reigns lift him up and manage to deliver a double suplex that shakes the ring. The crowd gasps as the giant goes down. Angle yells instructions from ringside, urging Jindrak to cover. He hooks Big Show's leg, but Big Show powers out at two, launching Jindrak off him.

Desperate, Jindrak and Reigns continue the assault, but Big Show fights back, grabbing both by the throat for a double chokeslam. Angle, however, has other plans. He jumps up onto the apron again, but this time Big Show pulls him into the ring, grabbing him by the throat too. Just as he’s about to chokeslam Angle, Jindrak and Reigns attack his knee from behind, dropping him.

Angle, quick to recover, slips brass knuckles out of his bootd and tosses them to Jindrak. The referee is still distracted by Reigns, allowing Jindrak to deliver a loaded punch to Big Show's jaw. Big Show collapses to the mat, and Jindrak quickly covers him as Angle shoves the referee back into position.

1... 2... 3!

The bell rings, and Jindrak secures the victory with the help of Angle’s interference. The crowd erupts in boos as Angle, Jindrak, and Reigns celebrate in the ring, taunting the downed Big Show.


Conrad Thompson: A huge win for Jindrak and Reigns here, and I think even though Kurt helped them get the win - this went a long way in establishing Jindrak specifically for the big year he was going to have in 2005.


Josh Ross: Yeah, I mean, the good thing about heels is that they don’t necessarily have to win clean to get the rub like a babyface does. If a babyface wins by hook or by crook - the win is tainted. But for Jindrak and team Angle here, a win is a win.


Conrad Thompson: Big Show was a major star for the company at this point, and even though he left for TNA the next year, he went out putting newer guys over and that’s what you’d want from a veteran.


Josh Ross: Oh absolutely, Big Show was great. True professional, always a tremendous guy to work with. Which is why we brought him back after his TNA run. Mark Jindrak was quite the opposite. Jindrak was somebody who once he started getting some success behind him, tried running the show


Conrad Thompson: We’ll get to that point of his career soon, as he had a huge first half of 2005 before falling off. It’s gotta be difficult to manage all the personalities in the back, especially when they can always be changing like that.


Josh Ross: If’s a tough business, and to be fair to Mark; he was making a smart move by advocating for himself. That can go a long way in helping you stick around. I don’t want to give off the wrong impression, it was how he did it. But we’ve got a few months before we get to that. So let’s move on to the next match.


Conrad Thompson: Well we are going to fast forward through this next match, The rumors and innuendo actually said that this man, John Cena, had a hand in making sure Jindrak was following orders so to speak.


Josh Ross: Oh definitely, by this point next year John was one of our biggest locker room leaders, which is probably why he had such a great career as well. Good choice to skip this match, Cena wins, Jesus loses. There’s not much more to it.


Conrad Thompson: Well we’ve got the tag team turmoil match coming up, but while RVD and Rey make their entrances against Hardcore Holly and Paul London - I want to ask about Carlito. Almost nobody in WWE history up until that point has started out so strongly. Winning the US title in his first matchup against Cena. Obviously he was one of the reasons you got your nickname The Starmaker. What did you see in Carlito when you got the job, and how difficult was this time period where he started out with so much hype and success only to be stopped in its tracks and forced to get over with feuds outside the ring.


Josh Ross: I love Carlito, one of the best athletes we had when I got signed. When I got signed I looked at the midcard to see who I could keep pushing up or revamp et cetera, Carlito was someone I knew was going to make it. I was just lucky enough to work with him and also come up with some fun ideas on how to get there. I think it was very difficult to keep the same heat he had with fans, while keeping him interesting and threatening once he got injured. You know when most wrestlers get injured they’re off screen for a little while so the hype kinda resets. I don’t think you can really do that with someone who just debuted. Let alone won a championship on the debut. But, we’ve got a few more months of him being injured so let’s see if any other stars are made in this match.


Conrad Thompson: Well, probably not but it does include one of everyone’s favorite tag teams at the time - Hardcore Holly and Paul London! Haha, what was this team about? I gotta be honest, I loved Holly, I love how Paul London’s career shaped up. I do not for the life of me ever remember them teaming up?


Josh Ross: Really? I don’t blame you cause it was only a few times but I felt like the story we told for them in this match was a fun one, and one I actually went back to just a couple years ago with a different tag team. And unlike the Kidman-Chavo story earlier, the fallout from this one had a decent payoff and helped give London some more character.


Conrad Thompson: Alright well let’s check it out


Holly is in the ring with Rey Mysterio, using his strength to work him over. The veteran stays on the offensive, but tags in his partner. Holly is coaching London from the corner, instructing him to keep Rey closer to their side. But Rey slips away, trying to utilize his speed to get some offense rolling. But London gets a chance to showcase that he may be just as quick as Mysterio, countering a tilt a whirl headscissors into a Hurricanrana of his own! But as he pulls Rey towards his corner to tag Hardcore back in - Mysterio slips free and almost makes the tag! But London just barely grabs the foot of Mysterio, and drags him back before tagging in Holly. Holly with some stiff shots takes down Mysterio, while Holly keeps coaching London - showing him that THIS is how you keep Rey grounded and on one side of the ring, away from his partner. Holly goes for the pinfall after some offense, but Rey kicks out and Hardcore tags London in. Paul climbs to the top, looking for a big time high risk move BUT REY MOVES!! London rolls through and is up to his feet, but Rey is quick with a dropkick that sends London into Rey’s corner! Holly is livid on the outside as London once again was unable to follow his coaching, but Paul continues to fight! As Rey runs at him, London moves and pushed RVD out of the corner as well so no tag can be made! London crawls over to his corner and tags in Holly - RIGHT AS RVD GETS TAGGED IN!!

Holly is pissed, and berates London - tagging London immediately back in and telling him to work over RVD now that he made the mistake and allowed the tag. London reluctantly gets in the ring as RVD seems a little confused, but RVD and London go back and forth with London seemingly getting the upper hand! RVD looks for a clothesline but London ducks and hits a HUGE running forearm off the rebound!! BUT HOLLY TAGGED HIMSELF IN!! London looks a little confused, asking Holly what’s going on. Hardcore Holly tells his partner to follow his orders, and to get back on the apron, but you can’t take your eyes off RVD for that long because HE CATCHES HOLLY WITH A BACKSLIDE

1..2..3!!!

RVD and Rey Mysterio get the win in surprising fashion, as Holly looks outraged he got pinned. RVD and Rey are announced as the winners as The Bashams music hits and down come their next opponents. The winner of this match will go straight into a title match with the champions La Resistance.


Josh Ross: Simple story; you’ve got Hardcore Holly - the smash-mouth, old school veteran who should know what he’s talking about. Trying to coach up Paul London - the Uber quick athlete rookie who’s probably going to go farther than you did.


Conrad Thompson: I did like that after Holly was complaining so much, he ended up being the one who cost his team. Just wish there was some more build up to it.


Josh Ross: Me too, but those tag team turmoil matches are fast. RVD and Rey still have two more matches so we didn’t want to spend too much time on these first ones. I mean we’ve spent all this time talking and we’re approaching the finish of this second matchup right now.


That we are. This match is another quick one, and it follows the same format as the last with the heel team trying to single out their opponent (RVD this time). Van Dam is struggling to get any offense going, as any time he starts to gain some steam the illegal man makes his presence felt and stops RVD in his tracks. Finally the referee has had enough, as Danny tries to come back in from the apron the referee starts telling him he will disqualify the Bashams if they continue to meter the ring illegally. Which is enough of a distraction for the legal Doug Basham to allow RVD to make the tag!!


But the referee didn’t see it!! He was too busy talking to the Basham’s that he missed the tag! And Doug makes the visible tag, allowing Danny to come in and begin double teaming Mr. Thursday Night while the referee for some reason pleads with Mysterio to follow the rules - as if the Basham’s haven’t been doing it this whole time! Doug and Danny utilize some more quick tags and double team maneuvers to keep RVD grounded. Doug comes in looking for a kick to the midsection BUT ITS CAUGHT! RVD steps over and catches Basham with a rolling kick!! RVD rolls to the other side of the ring and leaps - AND TAGS IN MYSTERIO!!


Rey comes in like a caged animal being set free on some lower-midcard prey. Rey runs through some signature offense before a hurricanrana leaves the legal Doug Basham hanging across the middle rope! Rey dials it up… 619 CONNECTS!!

Doug Basham is staggering to his feet, but Danny climbs back into the ring and starts walking towards Rey - BEFORE BEING TAKEN OUT BY A TOP ROPE KICK FROM RVD!!

WEST COAST POP FROM REY TO DOUG!!

1..2..3!!!


Conrad Thompson: Basham’s are always fun to me, but it wa obvious who was going over here. What did you think of the Basham’s?

Josh Ross: I thought it was funny we passed those two off as twins, and I thought the way were decent enough hands to keep around for a little while. I always thought they were better when they were teamed up with JBL like this point in time, but their run on Raw in 05-06 wasn’t bad. Now here we’ve got Rene Dupree and Kenzo Suzuki coming to the ring flanked by La Resistance from Raw.


All four men holding their respective tag title belt, with Michael Cole defending his brand “Those Raw superstars have already directly affected the outcome of a title match, they shouldn’t be allowed out here!”

The four superstars walk out with a swagger but quickly get in attack mode as Dupree and Suzuki slide into the ring and begin trading blows with Rey and RVD! The two fan favorites are starting to get the upper hand until Suzuki pulls the referee in between himself and RVD to halt Van Dam - and this allows Dupree to catch Mysterio with a low blow!!!!

Referee Chad Patton didn’t see the low blow, but he’s had enough of the 2 on 2 action and forced Suzuki and Van Dam to the outside. Dupree now has Mysterio right where he wants him, and lays into him with stomps and an elbow drop. Dupree and Suzuki now exchange quick tags while executing double team maneuvers. The fans are getting behind Rey as RVD is slamming his hand on the turnbuckle trying to rally his partner.

But once Rey finally catches a break, and counters a power bomb into a hurricanrana, RVD is pulled off the apron by Rob Conway!! The fans are booing La Resistance, and the referee has had enough! He’s quick to make his way outside - And he throws Rob Conway and Sylvain Grenier out!! But what the referee doesn’t see is Rene Dupree back in the ring with a title belt in hand!! He smashes Rey in the head with the belt!! RVD slides back in, but Dupree lifts him up with Suzuki in tow, BONSOIR!!! RVD gets kicked to ringside as Suzuki makes the cover!

1…2..3!!!


Josh Means: It’s all about the title chase! I can’t believe we let Dupree and Suzuki go over RVD and Rey at this or any point in their careers. But I will say we had some big things planned coming out of it and it led to that fun match at Royal Rumble.


Conrad Thompson: Well Dupree and Suzuki, also going by La Resistance for some reason, retain their tag titles and extend their reign against two absolute fan favorites who put in a heck of an effort, lasting through three matches before finally being taken down. We’ve got officially three more matches to go, but only one we’re going to discuss. So before we officially skip over it, do you want to give your thoughts on the Dixie Dog Fight?


Josh Means: Uhh, The Miz turned out much better than this angle foreshadowed. It’s hard because you want to wait until these guys are ready to put them on TV or a pay per view but also you kinda want to throw them out there and see how they do. I just do not think they were set up in the best way to do that.


Conrad Thompson: Next up we’ve got the Cruiserweight championship on the line as Spike Dudley defends against Maven Huffman in a No DQ match


Maven is out first, and he’s got a mean look on his face signifying things are changing for the rookie. He takes a cold, calculated march down to the ring where he awaits his opponent. Scrappy Spike Dudley makes his way out next - AND HE’S GOT A SHOPPING CART OF TOYS!! He leaves the cart near the ring, takes out a kendo stick and slides into the ring.


As soon as the bell rings, Maven charges at Spike, catching him off guard with a hard right hand. Spike stumbles back, dropping the kendo stick he just grabbed. Maven doesn’t let up, aggressively hammering Spike with punches, showcasing his newfound ruthlessness. He whips Spike into the ropes and hits a vicious clothesline, knocking Spike down hard.

Maven pulls Spike up and tosses him outside the ring, following close behind. He picks up the kendo stick Spike dropped and starts laying into the champion with brutal strikes to the back and legs. The crowd boos, shocked at Maven's intensity, but Maven just smirks, enjoying the reaction.

Spike crawls toward his shopping cart and grabs a trash can lid, swinging it wildly as Maven approaches. He catches Maven on the side of the head, momentarily dazing him. Seizing the opportunity, Spike unloads on Maven with the trash can lid, rallying the crowd. He then grabs the trash can itself, lifts it over his head, and slams it down onto Maven, sending him reeling.

Spike rolls Maven back into the ring, bringing a steel chair along. As Maven struggles to get up, Spike raises the chair high and brings it down across Maven’s back. The impact echoes through the arena, and the fans cheer as Spike looks to maintain control. Spike sets the chair up in the middle of the ring and attempts to DDT Maven onto it, but Maven counters with a back body drop, sending Spike crashing onto the steel!

With Spike writhing in pain, Maven takes control again. He sets up the chair in the corner and whips Spike hard into it, the steel bending from the impact. Maven’s aggressive side continues to show as he drags Spike out of the corner and hits a snap suplex, keeping hold to deliver a second, and then a third. He rolls out of the ring, grabbing a stop sign from Spike’s cart, and returns to the ring with a wicked smile on his face.

Maven lines up Spike, waiting for him to get to his feet, then slams the stop sign across Spike’s head, flattening him. He goes for a pin—1… 2… Spike kicks out! The crowd erupts, rallying behind the resilient champion.

Frustrated, Maven drags Spike to his feet, taunting him, but Spike fights back with a sudden burst of punches, desperation fueling every shot. Spike grabs the kendo stick and swings wildly, catching Maven across the arms and legs, and finally, a brutal shot to the head that sends Maven crashing to the mat. Spike climbs the ropes, looking for the Dudley Dog! But Maven counters by catching him mid-air and dropping him onto a chair with a spinebuster!


Maven goes for the cover again—1… 2… Spike kicks out! Furious, Maven rolls out of the ring, pulling a table from beneath it. The crowd cheers, anticipating the chaos. He sets it up in the ring, clearly looking to put Spike away for good. He drags Spike over, setting him up for a powerbomb through the table. But Spike, in a last-ditch effort, punches his way free, slips behind Maven, and delivers a low blow, bringing Maven to his knees.

Spike then grabs the steel chair and cracks it across Maven’s back again before setting him up on the table. The crowd goes wild as Spike ascends the top rope and leaps off, crashing down with a diving double foot stomp that sends Maven through the table!

Spike covers Maven amidst the wreckage—1… 2… Maven kicks out! The crowd is stunned as Maven shows his own resilience. Spike, exhausted and desperate, reaches into his cart one last time, pulling out a bag of thumbtacks. He scatters them across the ring, the crowd roaring in anticipation.

He tries to lift Maven onto his shoulders, aiming to drop him onto the tacks, but Maven fights back, elbowing Spike in the side of the head. He scoops Spike up and, in a shocking display, powerbombs him onto the thumbtacks! Spike screams in agony, tacks embedded in his back, but Maven isn’t done. He yanks Spike to the center of the ring and hooks the leg—1… 2… 3!

The crowd is in shock as Maven stands tall, holding the Cruiserweight Championship high. Spike lies motionless on the mat, the thumbtacks scattered around him, as Maven celebrates his victory. Tazz on commentary mentions how his aggressive, no-nonsense side has earned him gold, and sent a message to the rest of the Cruiserweight division.



Conrad Thompson: A fantastic, albeit different style of Cruiserweight match right there. Maybe it’s just because Spike was involved but very much an ECW feel to it.

Josh Means: Well, that is why we used Spike for this but to his credit Maven rose to the occasion. The fans seemed invested, and that is part of the reason he was assigned to the ECW third brand when it started up.


Conrad Thompson: Spike was always someone I wish was still with WWE when WWECW was a thing because he would’ve fit in perfect.


Josh Means: Absolutely, he just upped the level of hardcore in every match he was in. This was one of his last memorable matches, definitely his last memorable singles match with the company - but as always he did the job in spectacular fashion.


Conrad Thompson: But the real winner here is Mr. Huffman. Maven won the gold yeah, and obviously a title is a big deal BUT was that what was most important here? It seems like the reaction he got was next level compared to anything since winning Tough Enough.


Josh Means: One hundred percent man, I mean obviously it’s a great feeling to win the title and know that the company has some level of trust with you, but it’s gotta really suck to win the title and none of the fans give a damn, so I feel like this was massive for Maven. The heel turn paid off.


Conrad Thompson: Now there’s only one match left but we’re not going to watch the main event here in studio as you didn’t take part in this match at all. If you’re following along at home and want to watch the match, it’s a decent Fatal Four Way as JBL retains his WWE Championship against Booker T, Eddie Guerrero and The Undertaker playa. Before we wrap up let’s talk about these 4 men. Some of WWE’s main players at the time. What do you have on these men going into 2005?


Josh Means: Well unfortunately as you know I didn’t get that much time with Guerrero, who I was a huge fan of. As he had his retirement match at Wrestlemania 21. Booker was someone I had some big plans for but tonight just wasn’t his time. It was my idea for him to move to Raw after this though. The Undertaker, I mean what can I say? He’s The Undertaker. This was about the time his streak started getting some recognition and his Wrestlemania 21 opponent really brought him to another level. As for JBL, this was his last successful title defense for his first run. Things began changing for him at the Royal Rumble, and quick.


Conrad Thompson: Well folks that’s are show! We’ll be back next week to recap the build up to New Years Revolution! We’ll be talking about a Raw branded Pay Per View next, and get your thoughts on a whole new cast of characters right here, on the Starmaker Podcast.




Armageddon 2004 Results
Dec. 12, 2004

WWE Heavyweight Championship
JBL (c) def. Eddie Guerrero, Booker T & The Undertaker

WWE United States Championship
John Cena (c) def. Jesus w/ Carlito

WWE Cruiserweight Championship - Hardcore Match
Maven Huffman def. Spike Dudley (c)

WWE Tag Team Championships- Tag Team Turmoil
La Resistance (c) def. Hardcore Holly and Paul London, The Bashams & RVD and Rey Mysterio

Mark Jindrak & Luther Reigns def. The Big Show

Akio & Funaki def. Billy Kidman & Chavo Guerrero
​

 

[Stojy]

The styles you're writing with makes this a real breeze to read through. Enjoying it so far. Will mainly focus on the changes here. The push of Maven sounds like a good one so far, and I like the way he became champion here.

I understand the idea of starting angles between Holly and London, and also Chavo and Kidman, but it felt a little too similar to have two tag teams basically fall apart on the same show. That's really my only bit of feedback here.

Love Jindrak and Reigns beating Show to, even with Angle's help it's still a big thing for them. Show leaving to TNA is said, but I can't wait for Jindrak to get himself in trouble.

Looking forward to hopefully seeing more of this soon.