Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H - Wrestlemania 20
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x108hxa_chris-benoit-vs-shawn-michaels-vs-triple-h-wrestlemania-20_sport Chris Benoit, the winner of the 2004 Royal Rumble match, became the second person to win the Royal Rumble from entry #1, and established what was (at the time) the longest time ever spent in a single Royal Rumble match. Before the Rumble, Benoit had been pursuing Smackdown's WWE Championship for several months, but Smackdown GM Paul Heyman did everything he could to prevent Benoit from winning the title. As a result, Benoit used his Royal Rumble prize to jump ship and challenge Raw's World Heavyweight Champion Triple H instead, taking advantage of a contractual loophole. This was a big deal at the time, as it was a time that the brand extension was actually meaningful, and people switching brands was rare. Triple H was still in the midst of his mega-feud with Shawn Michaels however, so on the night that Benoit was signing the contract for Wrestlemania, HBK attacked him and signed in his place. Whilst I'm sure that that's not exactly legal and binding, the match went ahead as a triple threat match instead, and it was the better for it. The match was well paced, had great spots, and allowed each of the three men to shine at different stages in the match. It had great high spots - such as Shawn's moonsault to the outside, or Benoit being doubles suplexed through a table - but mostly it had great drama. The crowd, while still liking Shawn, was firmly behind Benoit and wanted him to win. Although there was a small DX reunion, Benoit fought his way back into the match, and won by getting rid of Michaels and trapping Triple H in the Crippler Crossface, forcing him to tap. Benoit's win over two established veterans was a significant moment, and the submission victory was the first of it's kind at a Wrestlemania main event. Regardless of whether or not you believe Chris Benoit's career should be recognised, there's no doubting that at the time, this was a memorable and heartfelt moment, which the Royal Rumble & Wrestlemania are there to create. It's still one of the best Rumble winner's matches ever.