And looking back JBL truly was a great heel but WWE was unforgivable for how long they kept him champion. I have no problem with him as champion but I have a problem with how long it lasted in contrast to the year prior.
Keep in mind Smackdown was dominated by Lesnar's heel turn prior to Summer Slam 2003. "Sell out" Lesnar was unarguably the worst booked heel champion I have ever seen. It was so forced. Dude went from destroying Big Show to working with him in a matter of weeks, publicly dissing McMahon to kissing his ass in a matter of weeks and going from destroying guys twice his size to not being able to beat guys smaller than him and weeks of "you tapped out." Add the fact that McMahon and Heyman basically did whatever the hell they wanted and night after night topped off with terrible booking like Gowen getting thrown down staircases and Stephanie fighting in matches, the show was seldom enjoyable. THEN they turn Kurt heel too in time for Mania 20 after being the biggest babyface on the show! Then they put him in charge and you have yet another heel running the show. I know it was because he was rehabbing his neck again but again... the heels ruled the roost. There's no problem with that at all. It's a problem when it's done poorly and heaven knows I felt that way at the time.
Eddie's title run was the one, brief moment of joy fans got to have in their champion from Summer Slam 2003 to Mania 2005 while rest of it consisted of Lesnar and JBL being the biggest chickenshit champions of all time with JBL getting outside interference or divine intervention in no less than 5 or 6 times in his title defenses. Were it not for the rise of John Cena I might've stopped watching all together because JBL got very old, very quickly.
2004 should have been the greatest year in Smackdown history but that will always belong to 2003 regardless of Heyman/McMahon doing whatever they wanted because it treated us to Angle vs Lesnar on 4 separate occasions between 1 on 1 matches and Survivor Series.