10 Fun Facts About My Trip To WWE WrestleMania XX

5. Meeting Chris Benoit

I swayed back and forth on including this entry now it isn€™t really a fun fact, but I feel like it has to be included because it was a major moment.

One of the Superstars I got to meet at the Hall of Fame banquet was Chris Benoit. He signed my program for me, shook my hand and was perfectly pleasant. There was no reason for me to think anything more about it.

The next night, I watched him win the World Heavyweight Championship and the New York crowd went crazy, not because they thought we€™d just seen the crowning of a new Steve Austin or Rock, but because a guy who€™d given his all to wrestling for years had finally been rewarded for all of his hard work.

The post-match scene with Eddie Guerrero and Benoit embracing was one of the most iconic images in WrestleMania history. Sadly, Benoit€™s actions in 2007 are too much to overlook so these memories are now swept under the carpet (for what it's worth I tend to agree with WWE's stance on Benoit).

It€™s hard to look back at my WrestleMania XX trip and not think about Chris Benoit. I€™m not too sure I can seperate the performer from the man who murdered his wife and son. Sometimes I like to revisit the main event of the show and I can watch it and enjoy it for the great contest it was. But the post-match celebration with Nancy and Daniel Benoit is just too much for me.

Contributor
Contributor

Kenny is a successful podcast host with Inside The Ropes, promotes exciting Q&A events in the UK with the likes of Sting and DDP, has interviewed the big guns like Foley, Jericho, Bruno and Austin and enjoys cheese a great deal.