It was an okay year but a lot of feuds are highly overrated by fans. Just my thoughts from a few top moments/feuds from 2008...
The bad:
- Orton's reign came into the year lacking any credibility and didn't gain any from the rest of his reign. In 2007 Orton was handed the tite by Vince, lost and won it back in the same night to HHH, and failed to defeat HBK or Jericho clean during the last few months of the year. Coming into 2008 he beat Hardy at the Rumble but that was Hardy's first real taste at the main event. Orton then finished up his reign not being able to defeat Cena or HHH decisively, and his win at WM24 was presented more as a fluke than anything.
- Edge/Taker never had great chemistry. Just my opinion but I've never been blown away by any Taker/Edge match. There drawn out feud produced average but mostly overbooked matches. I can honestly say I loved every Batista/Taker match from 2007, but didn't find any Edge/Taker match that entertaining.
- HHH not putting over Hardy. When Jeff and HHH were moved to SD Jeff was given the push of a lifetime and fans were dying for him to take the title. I've never been a big Jeff fan but enjoyed his underdog storyline. Sadly he never got that big win over HHH who he had been chasing for most of the year. Yes the WWE couldn't trust Jeff but with as over as he was they had to take the chance. Instead, HHH's ego was likely boosted by not having to drop the title cleanly to Edge and Jeff had to wait another month to pin Edge for the title.
- CM Punk's main event push. It was simply too early for Punk to be pushed to the main event. It was crowded at the time and before his MITB win the WWE gave Punk no push that would make the fans believe he could be a top player. Jericho should have won MITB instead that year.
Cena/Batista being booked with almost no hype or buildup time. Cena and Batista were the top dogs from WM21 until this point. They had never fought before and deserved months of buildup. Instead, the WWE tried booking this match in about 3/4 weeks and it simply didn't feel nearly as big as it should have been. Good match but the lack of build was a huge letdown.
The Good:
- Jericho/HBK's fed. While I enjoyed their 2003 feud more than the 2008 one, it was still entertaining and was the boost in the arm Jericho needed. The one big feud I enjoyed.
- HHH's title reign. As much as I couldn't stand his 2003 title reign, I thought his long title reign in 2008 was pretty entertaining. He feuded with a variety a guys and while he should have put over Hardy in the end, it was cool seeing him exclusive to SD and work with a lot of the younger guys. I especially love the scramble match with all of the younger guys gunning for his title. The story of all the younger guys trying to topple the veteran worked really well.
Overall I was disappointed with 2008.
