10 Biggest Main Events In WWE SmackDown History
7. Brock Lesnar Vs. Chris Benoit (4 December 2003)
If 2002 was the year that Brock Lesnar announced himself on the WWE stage, 2003 was the year he proved to all who doubted him that he was truly a phenomenal wrestler, and not just a pretty face.
One of the ways he proved it was by putting on one of the year's best matches alongside Chris Benoit, part of the Rabid Wolverine's slow-burning push that culminated at the next year's WrestleMania, when he defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels for World Heavyweight Title glory.
Remarkably, this was the second time in the space of three weeks that the 'Next Big Thing' was made to tap out (the first of them at Survivor Series, where he was eliminated by Kurt Angle). This time, however, the referee was down and out, denying Benoit his moment in the sun.
That's what made this match so perfect: the sense that, however deep he dug, the Canadian was simply never going to be able to put Lesnar away. Sure enough, he was eventually ruled unable to continue after his opponent applied his a rarely-seen body-contorting submission move that saw him pass out. Heartbreaking.