Background in
Los Angeles,
California.
Judgment Day was first held by
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as the
25th In Your House pay-per-view (PPV) in October 1998. It then returned in
May 2000 as its own event, establishing Judgment Day as the promotion's annual May PPV. The 2004 event was the sixth Judgment Day and was held on May 16 at the
Staples Center in
Los Angeles,
California. While the
previous year's event had featured wrestlers from both the
Raw and
SmackDown! brands, the 2004 event featured wrestlers exclusively from the SmackDown! brand.
Storylines The event featured eight
professional wrestling matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the SmackDown! brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television show,
SmackDown!. The
main event at Judgment Day was between
Eddie Guerrero and
John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) over the
WWE Championship. On the March 25 episode of
SmackDown!, recently
drafted Raw superstar
Booker T insulted SmackDown! superstars. The new SmackDown! General Manager
Kurt Angle gave Booker T an opportunity against Guerrero for the WWE Championship. However, JBL, a member of the recently disbanded
APA who turned
heel earlier in the night, interfered in the match and attacked 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, which he gave 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 interference from
Bubba Ray Dudley, and was attacked by JBL after the match. On the May 6 episode of
SmackDown!, it was announced that JBL caused Guerrero's mother to suffer a (
kayfabe)
heart attack during an altercation between the two at a
house show four days prior. The following week on
SmackDown!, Guerrero was arrested after he destroyed JBL's
limousine, and JBL defeated
Rey Mysterio. The other main match on the card was a standard match between Booker T and
The Undertaker. On the April 22 episode of
SmackDown!, after defeating
Rob Van Dam, Booker T bragged about how he was the biggest star on the SmackDown! brand, but then ran away after hearing The Undertaker's
entrance theme. The following week on
SmackDown!, Booker T tried to attack The Undertaker to no avail, leading to Kurt Angle
booking a match between the two at Judgment Day. On the May 6 episode of
SmackDown!, Booker T went to a
cemetery and grabbed
dirt from an unmarked
grave to use against The Undertaker. Another
feud heading into the event was between
John Cena and
René Duprée over the
WWE United States Championship. The feud began after Duprée was drafted to the SmackDown! brand. On the April 22 episode of
SmackDown!, Duprée debuted a talk show segment called "Cafe de René", with
Torrie Wilson as his guest. Duprée insulted Wilson and tried to attack her, only for Cena to save her. The following week on
SmackDown!, Cena interfered in Duprée's match with Wilson, and Kurt Angle announced that Cena would defend the United States Championship against Duprée at Judgment Day. ==Event==