10 Best Wrestling Matches That Ever Happened In New York City

4. Triple H Vs. Shawn Michaels Vs. Chris Benoit - WrestleMania XX

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WrestleMania X at Madison Square Garden was widely considered one of the best shows in WWE history, so when WrestleMania XX rolled around and it was announced as being held in the same venue, there was pressure on the company to deliver.

Just like at WrestleMania X, when Bret Hart reigned supreme, wrestling was king. Eddie Guerrero defended the WWE Championship against Kurt Angle in a great match, retaining the title with a bit of chicanery. Still, that was nothing compared to what would happen in the main event.

Triple H was more than a year into his tyrannical reign over Raw, holding the World Heavyweight Championship for the third time. Though Chris Benoit had won the Royal Rumble and decided to jump from Smackdown to challenge "The Game", HHH's longtime foe Shawn Michaels literally kicked Benoit out of the match and signed the contract for the bout. In the end, it was determined that the men would clash in a triple threat match.

The match was an intense showdown that, like most triple threat matches, saw temporary allegiances formed for the sake of ultimate glory. Unlike all the others, though, the wrestling and drama were beyond comparison. Benoit and Michaels both attacked Triple H to start, then turned on each other. HHH saved Michaels from tapping out to the Crippler Crossface, then the two mortal foes teamed up to put Benoit through a table.

When HHH hit HBK with a Pedigree, it was Michaels' turn to make the save. HBK then tried to hit Benoit with Sweet Chin Music, but Benoit dodged it and threw him out of the ring. HHH attempted a Pedigree on Benoit, but "The Crippler" reversed it into the Crippler Crossface and scored the submission victory.

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Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013