7. Eddie Guerrero Wins WWE Title (No Way Out 2004)
Only a fan of many, many years could truly appreciate the pure shock value of seeing Eddie Guerrero win the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar. Chris Benoits and Rey Mysterios WrestleMania XX and 22 title wins should be considered in the same vein, but Latino Heat did it first. Even though it had been heavily rumored on the internet as far out as a few weeks prior to No Way Out in February 2004, it just seemed so far-fetched to think that WWE would take the title off of the star that they had spent so much time in the previous two years educating the fans to accept as the #1 or #1A guy in the business ahead of the 20th WrestleMania. No one yet knew of the underlying contract circumstances that ultimately drove Lesnar and WWE apart for eight years, but everyone knew it was going to be Kurt Angle vs. Guerrero and Bill Goldberg vs. Lesnar at Mania. To a lot of fans, it was just nice to see Guerrero get a title shot on a PPV, but the rumors of the actual title win? Surely a pipe dream There is a frequently replayed video of Eddie pinning Lesnar, getting up, and almost dancing in place for a second before the camera pans away to the crowd. That was what so many fans were doing around the world. Rumors were one thing, but the real thing was unbelievable!
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
