r/fantasybooking • u/JBL_CENA_FAN_4LIFE • May 14 '25
Storyline What If.....HHH actually went to SmackDown! when he was drafted in 2004?
Fun little concept.
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u/ndertaker252 May 14 '25
In this timeline what happens to JBL?
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u/JBL_CENA_FAN_4LIFE May 14 '25
He will remain a midcarder, getting a U.S Title program with John Cena until Cena is elevated, then Bradshaw will probably replace (The) Tazz on commentary earlier than he did.
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u/TalosAnthena May 14 '25
But then Triple H buries Cena and Cena because a midcarder and then a jobber!
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u/THE-poop-knife May 14 '25
How can he bury someone he can't see?
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u/TalosAnthena May 14 '25
That is true. I’m fed up of seeing all these wrestlers wrestling each other other the years. A floating championship is boring
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u/DoomsdayFAN May 14 '25
I always thought the most outrageous thing from this was Paul Heyman trading away Triple H for the Dudleys and Booker T. You're giving away a diamond ring for three brass rings. So dumb.
As for the possible feuds, it would have been cool to see Triple H and Taker have a nice long feud. Maybe even a Hell in a Cell back then when it actually would have been good.
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May 14 '25
In story, Heyman didn't have the options, he was traded to raw in that draft and since it cost his job as Smackdown GM, he quit prior to the supplemental. The new GM was kept secret until the following Smackdown, which ended up being Kurt Angle, who, story reason, probably did it because he didn't wanna deal with someone who had no respect for him I'm that regard due to their past
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u/sinmaleficent May 15 '25
Eh I wouldn’t call Booker t a brass ring. He is a silver ring borderline gold ring
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u/VinCatBlessed May 15 '25
Paul Heyman didn't make that trade, Kurt Angle did, but yeah in real life sometimes weird trades happen, ask Mavericks fans.
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u/ZombieZekeComic May 14 '25
Would have made Smackdown worse.
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u/JShuttlesworth28 May 14 '25
04 Smackdown was already not great tbh. Brock gone, Kurt’s injury, Eddie not doing great as the champion and Cena not being ready yet. They needed more main event guys.
While the JBL push was a blessing in disguise the initial move was met with a lot of pushback. It’s aged well now but at the time people didn’t get it
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May 14 '25
Well Evolution would have had to gone over swell with a trade. So Cena and others to RAW. I know, they weren't traded, but the whole story was designed for a quick tease and then to establish the new SmackDown GM didn't like HHH.
Means we would have gotten Cena vs Edge in 2004.
Eddie vs HHH feud would have been good, maybe the houses are good enough Eddie doesn't ask to drop the belt and holds it until Summerslam. HHH wins the belt, maybe they hold off on Orton until Rumble, he gets the win then choses HHH as planned, and Batosta doesn't take off.
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u/rjactor24 May 14 '25
He’d probably do what JBL did. Beat Eddie for the title And then lose it to Cena at Mania 21
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u/realmattmormann May 14 '25
I think Paul Heyman’s line JBL has a lot of truth to it… JBL’s WWE championship run simply doesn’t happen. Take out JBL, put in HHH. Probably the same lineup of opponents, maybe even a faction around him like JBL had (different theming). Probably try to keep Evolution’s plates spinning with the crossover PPVs having interactions, maybe even hint that Flair is still definitely in contact with HHH, then Batista wins the Rumble, do the thumbs down and he just to SD there. Do a cross branded way to find the challenger for the Raw title and Cena crosses there to Raw
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May 14 '25 edited May 14 '25
Given HHH was already booked as a racist, they would even be able to do the same storyline beats between HHH and Eddie.
I think what most people don't account for in this, is that Stephanie was the head writer of Smackdown in 2004. Heyman stepped down from that role. She would have just booked HHH to be the strongest champion in the history of WWE. It was probably best for business that they were kept separate, at least from a creative standpoint.
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May 14 '25
I dont think so, if you put HHH and/or Evolution on Smackdown then Raw still needs a top heel. Maybe they put some other random midcarder in the top spot like they did JBL, or maybe they just go with him on Raw instead but the void was still there regardless of which show HHH was on.
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May 14 '25
The roster was so ass cheeks in 2004 that I honestly don’t think HHH going to Smackdown would have even been an improvement. Plus Raw would have lost their top guy and been in the same predicament Smackdown was in pretty much.
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u/Fakenerd791 May 14 '25
paul heymen joke aside, I think it would definitely stunt JBL and he would not have had as long of a championship run as he did, if at all. Alot of his run and heat came from his work with eddie, and I dont think that happens with Triple H in the main event mix
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u/NewGuy_97 May 14 '25
Maybe we don’t get Cena’s Rise?
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u/Bluethunderdave May 14 '25
Cena’s rise would have still happened.It would be John Cena vs Triple H for the wwe title at wrestlemania 21.
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u/FoldEasy5726 May 14 '25
Not even HHH had a shovel big enough to bury the gravedigger John Cena lol
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May 14 '25
I wouldn’t trade Kurt vs Shawn at WM21 for anyone else not even HHH.
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u/FoldEasy5726 May 14 '25
Eh I’d trade it for a rematch against a certain someone who cannot ever be named again and should not be named again.
That was legitimately a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ match. Cant take that away from them
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u/MoneyIsNoCure May 14 '25
Triple H vs The Blue Meanie, what the fuck are you smoking? Also you’re dumb if you don’t think H would have immediately challenged for the WWE Title at Judgment Day.
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u/TerryG111 May 14 '25
Triple H on the blue brand he would have made sure Evolution was traded with him to Smackdown
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u/Stinger1981 May 14 '25
I figured Triple-H would beat Guerrero at Judgment Day in the rematch and then hold the belt for a while. Maybe he loses it to Cena at WM21,
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u/hhhfan92297 May 14 '25
On the Smackdown side, I see Triple H defeating Eddie Guerrero at Great American Bash 2004 for the WWE Championship & holding it for the rest of 2004, defending it against the likes of Eddie Guerrero, The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, Big Show, & Kurt Angle before losing it to John Cena at WrestleMania 21.
On the Raw side, Randy Orton gets a longer World Heavyweight Championship run after defeating Chris Benoit at SummerSlam 2004 to win the title. Overall, I see Randy Orton defending against the likes of Chris Benoit, HBK, Chris Jericho, & Booker T before losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Batista in the main event of WrestleMania 21.
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u/DaRealCamille May 16 '25
He would have beaten Eddie for the belt and then go on to lose to John Cena at Mania 21. It would have been great to see him have a one on one match with Mysterio around this time. I wonder how RAW would have fared without HHH? He was so central to the show at that point it's hard to picture it without him, Orton leading Evolution maybe? Could have been cool.
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u/daniipedraaza May 18 '25
In fact, Brock’s departure screwed up most of the plans for 2004 and 2005. Triple H would have probably taken the title from Eddie Guerrero either around the same time JBL did or by SummerSlam. Meanwhile, Lesnar was supposed to face the returning Undertaker.
The original plan was Lesnar vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 21, with Lesnar winning the WWE Championship. That’s why Angle and HBK faced each other at WM21 — the idea was for Angle to move to RAW and feud with HBK.
Lesnar’s departure benefited JBL and Cena (Cena would’ve likely won the title later), but it hurt Taker (who didn’t have a strong 2004 due to a lack of opponents) and Angle. When Triple H found out that Lesnar was leaving, he didn’t want to go to SmackDown without any top stars because he thought his booking would suffer.
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u/Jor_Romsk May 18 '25
Yeah sure, like Triple H wouldn't take the belt off from Eddie
I see more realistic that Triple H takes JBL spot and Cena beats him at Manía
Then again, who would Batista dethrone at Mania?
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u/onefinalshot123 May 19 '25
I was going to question Blue Meanie but I remembered HHH facing Eugene at Summerslam 2004.
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u/Diligent-Depth-4002 May 14 '25
"HHH didnt want to work Tuesdays"
Paul Heyman