Judgment Day (2004)

Judgment Day (2004)
Promotional poster featuring The Undertaker
Tagline(s)	Souls will cry.
Information
Promotion	World Wrestling Entertainment
Brand(s)	SmackDown!
Sponsor(s)	PlayStation 2
Date	May 16, 2004
Attendance	18,722
Venue	Staples Center
City	Los Angeles, California
Pay-per-view chronology
Backlash (2004) Judgment Day (2004) Bad Blood (2004)
Judgment Day chronology
Judgment Day (2003) Judgment Day (2004) Judgment Day (2005)

Judgment Day (2004) was the sixth Judgment Day pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). This event was presented by PlayStation and took place on May 16, 2004, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

The main event was for the WWE Championship between Eddie Guerrero and John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), which JBL won by disqualification after Guerrero hit JBL with the WWE Championship belt. Due to WWE regulations, a title can not change hands via a disqualification or countout, so, as a result, Guerrero retained the title. Featured matches on undercard were The Undertaker versus Booker T,John Cena versus René Duprée for the WWE United States Championship and Chavo Guerrero versus Jacqueline for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.

On the March 25, 2004 episode of SmackDown, recently drafted Raw superstar Booker T insulted SmackDown! superstars. The new SmackDown General Manager Kurt Angle gave Booker an opportunity against Eddie Guerrero for the WWE Championship. A member of the recently disbanded APA, John "Bradshaw" Layfield interfered in the match and turned heel by attacking Guerrero with a Clothesline from Hell. On the April 8 episode of SmackDown!, Angle announced that the winner of the Great American Award would become the number one contender for the WWE Championship. He gave the award to JBL, however, Guerrero came out, stole the trophy and broke it. On the April 22 episode of SmackDown, Guerrero lost to D-Von Dudley in a non-title match after another interference by JBL. The next week, JBL cut a promo about Eddie Guerrero's ancestors, saying they were illegal immigrants. On the May 6, 2004 edition of Smackdown, it was announced that JBL caused Guerrero's mother to have a heart attack at a house show when he threatened her and grabbed her by the shoulder. The next week, Guerrero was arrested after he destroyed JBL's limousine, and JBL defeated Guerrero's friend Rey Mysterio.