The Road to WrestleMania is usually, not all the time, but usually, a good time to be a WWE fan. After all, WrestleMania is the biggest even in professional wrestling history and the company does go all out, arranging cameos of celebrities and legends and putting on the matches the fans want to see. The road to the mega-event begins at the Royal Rumble and the ride ends when WrestleMania goes off the air.

That being said, the gap between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania is laden with lazy booking and lackluster feuds. The main event of WrestleMania, the top attraction, is usually decided within days and the match is set in advance months beforehand.

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The superstars privy do not normally compete with each other as any extended interaction would ruin the spectacle on the biggest stage of them all. Therefore, in order to kill time and fill the February PPV, the company tends to book filler feuds and matches.

Filler Feuds Are Almost Destined To Be Awful

Filler programs are simple in concept: A lamb is sent to slaughter and the wrestler who is higher up on the WrestleMania card is put over massively, so they can look strong heading into WrestleMania.

Needless to say, these feuds are generally awful but in 2004, a filler feud not only produced one of the greatest matches in the history of PPV but an incredibly epic and memorable culmination to a journey fraught with obstacles. Usually, WrestleMania is the place reserved dreams and miracles come true but in 2004, the stage was No Way Out.

Brock Lesnar was on his way out of the company and he was the champion. WWE needed the title off of Lesnar and luckily, a red-hot superstar was next in line for a shot at the title. Eddie Guerrero was one of the most popular acts not only on SmackDown but across the entire company.

Unlike the majority of the wrestlers that dominated the main-event scene, Guerrero was not larger than life in terms of stature. He was not born and grown in the WWE as he had wrestled around the globe to hone his craft, before finally emerging in the bigger promotions. Eddie Guerrero was a big, big underdog and on the other hand…

Lesnar v Cena Backlash 2003

Brock Lesnar was more like a demon, as he himself had said. The former NCAA champion had all the attributes to hold onto the title as long as he wished. Lesnar had defeated the likes of Hulk Hogan, Undertaker, and The Rock and at the Royal Rumble, he defended his championship against Hardcore Holly.

Meanwhile, Guerrero wrestled his former tag-team partner, Chavo Guerrero on the undercard of the event. Having settled the feud with Chavo, Eddie Guerrero went on to win a 15-man battle royal, with the number one contender ship on the line. Upon eliminating Kurt Angle, the match was set for No Way Out.

The first Lesnar came across Eddie Guerrero, the champion merely laugh, as if the challenger was no threat to him at all. Lesnar had 50 pounds on the former cruiserweight and his resume was light years ahead.

Moreover, being the despicable heel, Lesnar claimed that Guerrero was just not capable of reaching the mountain top, referencing his past issues with drugs and alcohol. In return, Guerrero bared his heart out, admitting that he had lost himself along the way but at the very end, the challenger said that the WWE title, for him, symbolized atonement. This single promo was sufficient to sell this match even as a WrestleMania main event.

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No Way Out 2004 did not feel like a filler PPV whatsoever. The crowd was red-hot all night long and by the time the main event came along, the pitch was nigh-defeating. The psychology of the contest was pure perfection as Lesnar was dominant for a large majority, and he had no problem chucking the smaller challenger halfway across the ring. Meanwhile, Guerrero clung on and escaped danger constantly, but only barely.

The Perfect Short Feud

Towards the end of the match, Bill Goldberg jumped the barricade and nailed the champion with a crushing spear but as expected of the dominant champion, Lesnar got up and hoisted Guerrero for another F-5. The move backfired and Guerrero spiked Lesnar on his head with a DDT.

Seeing the chance, the challenger quickly ascended up the top rope and came crashing down with his signature move, the Frog Splash. Lesnar was finally out, and Eddie Guerrero covered the champion for a three-count, winning the WWE title and eliciting a ridiculously loud pop from the crowd.

Brock Lesnar versus Eddie Guerrero might as well be regarded as one of the best short-feuds of all time, maybe the greatest ever. Usually, the company is known to botch during this time period but the feud, from start to finish, was pure perfection.

You would think that the main objective was to get the title off of Brock Lesnar as he was set to leave. Instead, the focus of this feud was to make Eddie Guerrero look really, really special.

The company surpassed that goal by a country mile. Of course, Eddie, being the special athlete that he was, made the moment even more epic.