10 Biggest Challenges WrestleMania Has Ever Faced

5. The Fingerprints Of Chris Benoit - WrestleMania XX

True Story Of WrestleMania
WWE

With this one, it wasn't so much a challenge at the time, but more a challenge in the years since the event.

Taken on its own and with no context of the tragedy that was to come, WrestleMania XX is one of the all-time great WrestleManias. From top to bottom, the 2004 edition of the Showcase of the Immortals was absolutely stacked.

From John Cena opening the show by winning his first championship, to Chris Jericho and Christian putting on a classic, to the reunion of The Rock 'n' Sock connection to battle Evolution, to the car crash of Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg, to Molly Holly having her head shaved, to The Undertaker returning to his Deadman persona, to Eddie freakin' Guerrero vs. Kurt freakin' Angle, to a main event triple threat that was every bit a five-star contest - WrestleMania XX delivered in a major, major way.

Unfortunately, like several other events and moments in time, WrestleMania XX is one of those which WWE rarely references in any meaningful way when the company reflects back on its storied history. And the single reason for that is that so much of 'Mania XX was all about Chris Benoit.

We all know how things would play out for Benoit, and that jaw-dropping, stunning 'Mania main event is one of a multitude of amazing matches that can never be looked at in the same way since the shocking events of June 2007.

For WWE, the challenge for them is that, in their eyes, this WrestleMania doesn't exist due to it being Chris Benoit's crowning moment.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.