July 5, 2004 Observer Newsletter: Ric Flair autobiography, Great American Bash review
Goose stepping your way to the WWE title, and a storyline homicide were the themes of what was the worst WWE PPV show in a long time.
One of the key reasons WWE business overall, even with popularity falling, looks nothing like WCW, is because WWE has maintained a large percentage of its PPV audience. The reason? Unlike with WCW at the end, WWE PPV shows consistently deliver. But a collection of matches, most of which had no storyline build-up, featuring talent that wasn’t ready for the PPV stage, led to a sad undercard. John Bradshaw Layfield became the most unlikely WWE champion, with the possible exception of Vince McMahon, in company history, by winning a bullrope match over Eddie Guerrero, ending a planned long-term reign that wound up lasting four months.
But the company can’t afford too many shows like the 6/27 Great American Bash at the Norfolk Scope Arena.
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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.