2. Chris Benoit & Eddie Guerrero As World Champions - Wrestlemania XX
It was a moment that should have ushered in a new era for WWE. Two best friends stood tall in the center of the ring of the biggest show of the year and held their world titles for everyone to see. At the end of Wrestlemania XX, everyone thought that Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero had just changed wrestling forever. Benoit and Guerrero had long been victims of the same criticisms. They were looked at as too small to be world champion, they were told their in-ring work was great but they simply weren't world champion material. But, against all odds, both men rose to the top of their profession at the same time. Eddie Guerrero was never appreciated by WCW. One of the best workers in the ring, he was kept firmly in the midcard even though his charisma and talent were evident. A move to WWE helped but it wasn't until he and his nephew Chavo discovered that lying, cheating, and stealing were the tickets to success. Unbelievably, Guerrero managed to draw money to house shows when absolutely no one in WWE (not even established main event players) were doing that. He defeated Brock Lesnar for the WWE title at No Way Out to become champion and then retained against Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania XX in a great match. Chris Benoit was part of the group that Kevin Nash referred to as "vanilla midgets". Possibly the best wrestler in the world, Benoit always seemed to be on the cusp of the main event before being pushed back down the card. Thanks to Paul Heyman working behind the scenes, Benoit was positioned as the top babyface on Smackdown and won the Royal Rumble after entering at #1. At Wrestlemania, Benoit faced off against Triple H and Shawn Michaels in the first-ever triple threat main event match. What followed was simply the best triple threat match in wrestling history, with all three men working a fantastic match and working the Madison Square Garden crowd into a frenzy. In the end, Triple H tapped out to the Cripple Crossface, giving Chris Benoit the biggest moment in his professional career. The two friends celebrated in the ring as the show went off the air and it should have changed wrestling forever. Tragically, both men passed away only a few years later.
