Judgment Day 2004 Judgment Day 2004 was the seventh Judgment Day pay - per - view ( PPV ) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) . This event 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 . Background . The main rivalry heading into Judgment Day was between Eddie Guerrero and John " Bradshaw " Layfield ( JBL ) with the two battling over the WWE 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 Guerrero for the WWE title . A member of the recently disbanded APA , John " Bradshaw " Layfield interfered in the match and became a heel by hitting 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 . The other main match on the card was between Booker T and the Undertaker . On March 23 , 2004 Booker was " traded " ( along with the Dudley Boyz ) to the SmackDown ! brand in exchange for Triple H , but as part of a new storyline , he appeared unhappy with the move . Two weeks later , Booker turned heel on his partner Rob Van Dam , and then defeated him next week . The next week , Booker T defeated RVD again and bragged about how he was the biggest star on SmackDown ! , but then ran away as he heard the Undertaker ' s gong . The next week , Booker tried to attack the Undertaker to no avail , making general manager Kurt Angle to book a match between them for Judgement Day . At the next week , Booker went to a Voodo witch in order to try and overcome the Undertaker , and the witch told him to use a dirt from an unmarked grave against his foe . The next week , Booker defeated the F - B - I , and then had a staredown with the Undertaker . Another feud heading into the event was between WWE United States Champion , John Cena , and Rene Dupree . Dupree was drafted to Smackdown ! and confronted John Cena for the next two weeks . At the April 22 , 2004 edition of Smackdown , Dupree had a talk show on SmackDown ! , called " Cafe de René " , with Torrie Wilson . He insulted her and tried to attack her , only for Cena to save her . The next week , Cena interfered in Dupree ' s match with Wilson , and Kurt Angle booked the match for Judgement Day . The next week , both attacked each other during Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson ' s match . On the final Smackdown ! before the event , Dupree said that he will be the first French man to be a United States Champion .