10 Most Crowd-Pleasing Victories In WWE History
8. From Vanilla Midget To World Heavyweight Champion - WrestleMania 20
During his days in WCW, Chris Benoit and friends Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero were oftentimes referred to by industry giants like Kevin Nash and Scott Hall as "vanilla midgets", i.e. guys who were extraordinary between the ropes but lacked personality and size to really make it big in the world of professional wrestling.
Fast-forward a few years and Benoit was coming off of a victory in the 2004 Royal Rumble and was the No. 1 contender going into WrestleMania XX, where he would challenge Triple H and Shawn Michaels for the World Heavyweight Championship in the night's marquee match.
With the eyes of the wrestling world watching, the competitor known affectionately as The Rabid Wolverine overcame the opposition of two future Hall of Famers, forced Triple H to tap out to his Crossface submission and stood in the centre of the ring, confetti falling, the biggest star in the industry.
Even if just for one night, the 20-year journey of wrestling's greatest technician culminated in championship glory and the fans inside New York's Madison Square Garden erupted appropriately, the victory meaning as much to them as it did to the man holding the gold.