In Episode 4 of the Retro Pro Wrestling Show, we go back 21 years for a deep-dive into WWE No Mercy 2004, a show that featured all of the Smackdown brand’s major players yet still failed to deliver.

Coming live from the Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey on October 3rd, 2004, the event showed occasional flashes of good stuff but was largely filled with underwhelming matches and a six-way storyline that just wouldn’t fly in the modern age.

Listen now, and you’ll hear about:

The Road to No Mercy 2004

How Kurt Angle’s brief(ish) run as the Smackdown General Manager saw him involved in almost every major storyline on the show from Eddie Guerrero vs. Luther Reigns, to the culmination of Booker T and John Cena’s ‘Best of Five’ series for the world title, all the way to Angle’s own battle with The Big Show.

The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of the Cruiserweight Division

Why, despite a solid performance, Nunzio and Spike Dudley’s battle for the cruiserweight title proved that Vince McMahon’s attempt to reshape the cruiserweight division for WWE crowds was a bad idea.

Wrestling Stories That Don’t Age Well

How the whole Dawn Marie & The Dudley Boyz vs. Rico, Charlie Hass and Jackie Gayda proves just how far pro wrestling has come in the way it treats women and LGBTQ characters.

The Entire No Mercy 2004 Card

All of the above, plus:

* Paul London and Billy Kidman stealing the show

* WWE Championship Match - The Undertaker battles JBL in a ‘Last Ride’ match

* Tag Team Title Match - Kenzo Suzuki & Renee Duprees (w/ Hiroko) vs. Rob Van Dam & Rey Mysterio

And more.

This episode is based on my original No Mercy 2004 review published on Retro Pro Wrestling:

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In Episode 3 of the Retro Pro Wrestling Show, I talk all about my favorite Survivor Series match of all time, an underappreciated hidden gem pitting The Underdogs against The Bodydonnas.

Emanating live from the USAir Arena in Maryland on November 19, 1995, this traditional 4 vs. 4 elimination match kicked off the ‘95 Survivor Series in tremendous fashion with just the right combination of strong wrestling, storytelling, and entertainment.

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Click play now to hear about:

The World Wrestling Federation at a Creative Low

The Underdogs vs. The Bodydonnas came towards the tail end of what had been a rough year for the WWF and its fans.

This was the year that Mabel was promoted to main event status.

It was the year that Bret Hart, one of the top two most talented guys on the WWF roster at the time, spent the summer battling Jerry Lawler’s demented dentist.

And, it was the time that The Undertaker feuded with Kama Mustafa, resulting in a series of matches that were so horrible I still shudder when I think about them.

Yet this match, featuring a collection of guys at the lower end of the company’s hierarchy, blew all those moments out of the water, proving that the company could still deliver even after a year of creative misfires.

The 123 Kid Heel Turn

After turning his back on long-time friend Razor Ramon, the 123 Kid sold his soul to Ted Dibiase, joined the Million Dollar Corporation, and replaced Jean Piere LaFitte as the fourth man in Team Bodydonnas.

Plus:

* Bob Holly kicking ass

* Veteran Barry Horrowitz making rookie mistakes

* Rad Radford blowing his chance to become a fully-fledged Bodydonna.

And more.

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In Episode 2 of The Retro Pro Wrestling Show, writer and life-long wrestling fan CJ Scholes highlights eight things from the much-maligned WCW vs. WWE Invasion angle that were not actually terrible.

After Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation bought WCW for real, the company launched into a months-long storyline in which Vince’s son, Shane McMahon was revealed to be the true owner of World Championship Wrestling.

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Joined by his sister Stephanie as the owner of ECW, the younger McMahon led a contingent of WCW stars in an ‘invasion’ of the WWF that has been universally panned as terrible.

Yet after rewatching every Pay Per View and episode of Raw and Smackdown from this storyline, I’m here to tell you, there’s some good stuff in there too.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

A Justification for the Lack of Star Power

I hate to be a WWE apologist but hear me out on why the company was in a tough spot when it came to booking WCW’s biggest stars for The Invasion.

Great Matches from The Invasion

From Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy at Invasion 2001 to Chris Jericho vs. The Rock for the WCW Championship at No Mercy, there were some in-ring gems during this time.

Memorable Pros

Paul Heyman shots on Vince McMahon. Stone Cold Steve Austin sings a duet with The Rock. It’s all here.

Plus:

* Kurt Angle

* The Hurricane

And more.

The Retro Pro Wrestling Substack is 100% free. If you enjoy my work and you’d be up for bonus old-school wrestling content as a paid subscriber, click the button below to pledge your future support.

Disclaimer: This show contains strong language. Future episodes won’t!

In the first episode of the brand new Retro Pro Wrestling Show, writer and life-long wrestling fan CJ Scholes takes a deep dive into WWE No Way Out 2004.

The final stop for the Smackdown brand on the road to Wrestlemania, No Way Out came live from The Cow Palace in Daly City, California and is best remembered for Eddie Guerrero’s historic WWE title win over Brock Lesnar.

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In this show, you’ll hear about:

The Build to No Way Out

How this show was really the culmination of a series of events spanning all the way back to the 2003 Royal Rumble.

Wrestling as a Variety Show

Why not every match on every card has to be a five-star banger, and why I still enjoy some of the goofier aspects of ‘sports entertainment.’

The ‘Triple Threat’ Formula

Two people wrestle. Another takes a nap. Swap. Repeat.

It’s the standard WWE triple-threat match formula. This show weighs up the good and bad of this formula in the context of the number-one contenders match between Kurt Angle, John Cena, and The Big Show.

The Entire No Way Out 2004 Card

All of the above, plus:

* A greeting from Tori Wilson

* Did Bill Goldberg go to Alcatraz?

* Tag Team Title Match - Rikishi & Scotty 2 Hotty vs. The Bashams & Shaniqua

* Blindfold Match - Jamie Noble vs. Nidia

* The World’s Greatest Tag Team vs. The APA

* Hardcore Holly vs. Rhyno

* Cruiserweight Title Match - Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero.

This episode is based on my original No Way Out 2004 review published on Retro Pro Wrestling: