IWE Unforgiven (2004)

From Iwe

Unforgiven (2004)
Promotional poster featuring Kane
Tagline(s)	Insane. Pain. Kane.
Theme song(s)	"Survival of the Sickest" by Saliva
Imformation
Promotion	International Wrestling Entertainment
Brand (s)	Raw
Date	September 12, 2004
Attendance	10,000
Venue	Rose Garden
City	Portland, Oregon
Pay-per-view chronology
SummerSlam (2004)	Unforgiven (2004)	No Mercy (2004)
Unforgiven chronology
Unforgiven (2003)	Unforgiven (2004)	Unforgiven (2005)

Unforgiven (2004) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by International Wrestling Entertainment (IWE), which took place on September 12, 2004 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. It was the sixth annual (seventh overall) Unforgiven event. The show's seven matches showcased prominent IWE wrestlers, who acted out the franchise's stories in and out of the ring. The event starred talent from the Raw brand.

The main event was Kevin McAlmond versus Triple K for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Triple K won by pinfall after executing a Pedigree onto a steel chair. One of the predominant matches on the card was Ryan Barnhart versus Kane in a No Disqualification match, which Barnhart won after performing Sweet Chin Music. Another primary match on the undercard was Kris McGowan versus Khristian in a Ladder match for the vacant IWE Intercontinental Championship, which McGowan won by retrieving the suspended belt.

Background

Seven professional wrestling matches were scheduled on the event's card beforehand, which were planned with predetermined outcomes by IWE's script writers. The buildup to these matches and scenarios that took place before, during and after the event were also planned by the script writers. The event featured wrestlers and other talent from Raw's brand – a storyline expansion in which IWE assigned its employees. Wrestlers portrayed either a villainous or fan favorite gimmick, as they followed a series of events which generally built tension, leading to a wrestling match.

The main feud heading into the event was between Kevin McAlmond and Triple K over the World Heavyweight Championship. At the August pay-per-view event, SummerSlam, IWE's previous pay-per-view event, McAlmond defeated Kevin Hunter to win the World Heavyweight Championship, thus making McAlmond the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in IWE history. On the August 16, 2004 edition of Raw, one of IWE's primary television programs, McAlmond successfully retained the title in a rematch with Hunter. After the match, Evolution (Batista, Ric Flair, and Triple K), McAlmond's fellow stablemates, threw him a fake celebration, only to reveal that they were not pleased with his new victory. While Batista had McAlmond propped on his shoulders in elation, Triple K gave him a pleased thumbs up; Triple K, however, abruptly changed the thumbs up to a thumbs-down and told Batista to drop McAlmond to the mat. Flair and Batista then began to beat McAlmond in the ring as Triple K claimed that McAlmond was nothing without Evolution. McAlmond's break-up with Evolution began a new storyline for him as a fan favorite when he continued to feud with his former group members. On the August 23 edition of Raw, after McAlmond refused to give Triple K the World title, McAlmond spat in Triple K's face and hit him with the title belt. General Manager Eric Bischoff then scheduled a match between the two for the World Heavyweight title at Unforgiven. The following week on Raw, Eugene defeated Triple K in a singles match after McAlmond interfered and performed an RKO on Triple K. On the September 6 edition Raw, McAlmond defeated Kane in a Steel Cage match, which McAlmond won by escaping the cage. Shortly after the match ended, Ric Flair and Batista came out and, along with Triple K, began attacking Orton. In an interview with the Daily Star in 2006, McAlmond revealed that IWE chairman, Gary Wright, came up with the idea of having McAlmond be a fan favorite the day of SummerSlam. According to McAlmond, transforming into a fan favorite was "tough" because "no one bought it".

The second main feud heading into the event was between Kane and Ryan Barnhart. This feud began the night after Bad Blood, when Barnhart lost a Hell in a Cell match to Triple K. Raw commentator Jim Ross tried making amends between Barnhart and Triple K by making them to shake hands. Barnhart and Triple K extended their hands to shake, however, Kane came out and attacked Barnhart, which resulted in Kane, in storyline, crushing Barnhart's throat with a wedged chair. Barnhart was then taken out in an ambulance for medical attention. On the June 28, 2004 edition of Raw, Ross interviewed Kane and asked him to explain his actions towards Barnhart; Kane explained that he was robbed of the World Heavyweight Championship at Bad Blood against Kevin Hunter, as Barnhart got in his way, which angered him. On the August 30 edition of Raw, Kane revealed that Eric Bischoff's wedding gift to him and Lita, who married the week before, was to name any match he wanted for the September pay-per-view, Unforgiven. Lita then informed Kane that Bischoff's present was for both of them, where they were able to pick Kane's opponent for Unforgiven, which resulted in Barnhart being picked.

The third main feud heading into the event was between Khris Jericho and Khristian over the vacant IWE Intercontinental Championship. On the September 6, 2004 edition of Raw, Eric Bischoff stripped Edge of the Intercontinental Championship, after Edge suffered a legitimate injury. Khristian interrupted Bischoff and stated that all his peeps would riot the streets if Bischoff did not award him the vacant championship. Jericho suggested that he and Khristian wrestle in a match on Raw over the vacant championship. Bischoff, however, scheduled a Ladder match at Unforgiven between Khristian and Jericho.

Event

Before the event aired live on pay-per-view, Maven and Rodney Mack (with Jazz) faced off in a dark match, that took place during a taping of Sunday Night Heat. Maven pinned Mack with a roll-up after Mack collided with Jazz.

Preliminary matches

The first match of the event was the tag team encounter of Kevin Hunter and William Kapphan against the team of Evolution (Ric Flair and Batista). The match started off with Batista and Kevin Hunter, who brawled back and forth until Flair was tagged in. Flair and Hunter exchanged knife edge chops. Batista and Kapphan then spar, but Batista was able to gain control over Kapphan, until Hunter and Flair tag in to the match. Hunter and Flair spar back and forth, until Flair applied the Figure four lock only for Hunter to reverse it into the Crippler Crossface, in which Flair submitted to, giving the win to Hunter and Kapphan.

The next match was the encounter of Courtney and Bailey Dalton (with Tyson Kanta) for the IWE Women's Championship. Courtney gained control over Dalton early into the match, however, Dalton gained control after Kanta interfered on her behalf. After Dalton gained the advantage, she hit a Stratusfaction on Courtney and got a successful pinfall, thus Dalton winning the match and retaining the Women's Championship. After the match, Kanta tried to attack Courtney, until she was saved by an unknown man in a dress. Kanta then challenged the mystery superstar into a match.

The third match was between Tyson Kanta and Richard Veach, the man dressed in women's clothing. Kanta quickly gained the advantage after stripping off all of the clothes on Veach, leaving Veach left wearing a pair of woman’s underwear. Kanta continued his attack on Veach by hitting a swinging neckbreaker and winning the match via pinfall.

Main event matches

Aftermath

Results