No Way Out (2004) - Aftermath

Aftermath

At WrestleMania XX, WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero defeated challenger Kurt Angle via pinfall and retained his title. John "Bradshaw" Layfield was scripted at the time to portray a new character after the APA broke up and Faarooq announced his semi-retirement. A storyline was then created in which Layfield challenged Guerrero for the WWE title; at The Great American Bash, Layfield defeated Guerrero to win his first World Heavyweight Championship. Guerrero failed to recapture the title from Layfield in a steel cage match, a match where the ring was enclosed in a steel cage, on the July 15, 2004 episode of SmackDown!. After Guerrero's death in November 2005, WWE held Tribute Shows on Raw and SmackDown!. During these programs, No Way Out was the main highlight of Guerrero's career, as it was where he won his only World Championship. Eventually, John Cena was scripted into a rivalry with The Big Show over his WWE United States Championship. At WrestleMania XX, Cena defeated the Big Show to win the WWE United States title. Goldberg and Lesnar continued their rivalry, leading to a match promoted at WrestleMania XX, in which Goldberg defeated Lesnar. After their match, Goldberg and Lesnar were released from the company, although Lesnar would make his return in April 2012.

Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero's storyline over the WWE Cruiserweight Championship also continued, culminating in a battle royal match at WrestleMania XX involving other wrestlers. Guerrero last eliminated Mysterio to retain his title in this match. After the Draft Lottery, a mock sports draft lottery in which wrestlers switched programs, Rico was drafted to SmackDown!, while Shelton Benjamin was drafted to Raw, in the process splitting up The World's Greatest Tag Team. Afterward, Haas and Rico were written into a storyline that led to them winning the WWE Tag Team Championship from Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty on the April 22, 2004 episode of SmackDown!.