When Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko debuted in WWE in 2000, it was arguably the final nail in the coffin of the antiquated notion that "New York a 'big man' territory." For three decades, the WWF had promoted itself as being the place where tall, jacked up and/or tall and jacked up heavyweights were the norm on top of the card. Even when Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were pushed on top, they wrestled larger competitors, but when the WCW foursome debuted (and Benoit and Guerrero excelled), it spurred a time wherein two smaller competitors could compete against each other in the main event with nary an eyebrow being raised. Benoit and Guererro debuted January 31, 2000. By Wrestlemania XX on March 14, 2004, the duo both held World Wrestling Entertainment Heavyweight Championships aloft amid a shower of confetti to end the event's broadcast.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
