'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#9 Judgement Day 2005
Judgement Day 2005 was the end of a good era for Smackdown, for a couple of years at least. Smackdown had an excellent roster from the beginning of the brand extension until 2005.
The show got a little bit shafted in the 2005 Draft compared to RAW, but the roster was still decent. Over the next year or so they would lose more and more stars, so Judgement Day was the last time for a couple of years where Smackdown had a stacked roster for a pay-per-view card.
The newcomer tag team of Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury, along with manager Melina, MNM, opened the show, defending the Tag Team titles with Charlie Hass and Hardcore Holly. Although Hass and Holly were a thrown together team, this was a nicely paced and energetic match that the crowd was surprisingly into. MNM took the win.
Carlito faced off with the Big Show next. For a big man vs cowardly heel math, this was still pretty good. This was one of those matches where Carlito showed just so much promise and such a shame that WWE didn't capitalize on it. Carlito picked up the win after his enforcer Matt Morgan hit Big Show with an F-5.
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Paul London retained his title over Chavo Guerrero in an enjoyable match.
Booker T beat Kurt Angle in a very good match. I was really happy this was a good one as the feud itself was pretty disturbing as it featured Kurt pursuing Booker's wife Sharmell for a sexual nature, including rape implications and S&M visuals. Thankfully the feud ended here.
Orlando Jordan retained the United States Championship over Jon Heidenreich in a useless match. This had the potential to be even worse, so thankfully it ended at the five-minute mark.
Rey Mysterio pinned Eddie Guerrero in a very exciting match, everything from the psychology to mat wrestling was on point here. Guerrero officially turned heel following the match with a brutal and dramatic beat down on Rey.
The best match of the night was the main event. WWE Champion John Cena retained his title over JBL in a brutal and exciting I Quit match. This was actually Cena's first great wrestling match since the aforementioned No Mercy 2003 clash with Kurt Angle.
