10 Biggest Career Hangovers In WrestleMania History

6. Chris Benoit (After WrestleMania XX)

In the early 2000s, there were few wrestlers who could be considered harder workers than Chris Benoit. He was consistent in putting on high-quality matches, and many fans thought that Benoit deserved to be in the main event. He was indeed one of those few guys that had earned that top spot by hard work and skill alone. So when he won the 2004 Royal Rumble, and then the main event of WrestleMania XX in one of the best main-event matches in €˜Mania history, many felt that he finally made it. His first title defense in a WrestleMania rematch was just as good as his title win, if not better. Sadly, Benoit€™s title run seemed to be more of a transitional reign than anything else. It seemed that WWE€™s higher-ups wanted to give Benoit (and his fans) a feel good moment at WrestleMania, before continuing with their own plans. After a 5-month reign, Benoit lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Randy Orton, in what was one of the most unexpected wins in recent memory. It was clear that WWE had plans for Randy Orton in the long run, but his sudden win over Benoit, by then a 19-year wrestling veteran, really made for a surprise booking decision. The fact that Randy would lose the belt to Triple H less than a month later rendered Orton€™s victory over Benoit, and by extension his title reign, rather insignificant. Though Benoit did get a rematch for the World Championship, it was on RAW, instead of on Pay-Per-View, as Orton was put into a major feud with Triple H and Evolution. Benoit would then go back to the midcard, competing for the Tag Team and lesser singles titles. While there were rumors that Benoit was supposed to win the ECW World Championship had his €˜incident€™ not happened, by 2007 most fans were aware that the ECW belt wasn€™t near as prestigious as the World Championship that Benoit once hoisted above his head in celebration at WrestleMania.