August 2, 2004 Observer Newsletter: SummerSlam 2004 card finalized, Raw Iron Man match, more
After the first 60:00 singles match on live U.S. TV in 23 years, and the first ever to a national audience, the SummerSlam show for 8/15 in Toronto has finalized its top seven matches.
The Raw brand top matches will be Chris Benoit vs. Randy Orton for the World title, HHH vs. Eugene, Chris Jericho vs. Batista and Kane vs. Matt Hardy. The Smackdown brand matches will be JBL vs. Undertaker for the WWE title, Kurt Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero and John Cena vs. Booker T for the U.S. title.
The long-term plan is to build toward HHH vs. Orton as the big match at Wrestlemania. With Orton garnering so much momentum, this seems like an easy build by putting Orton over as champion and causing dissension in the Evolution group. HHH originally wanted that match for last year’s Mania, but recognized it was too early for Orton, who has really come into his own as a major star in the past two months.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.