https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkcPu2N38Nw People often wonder when Chris Benoits main event ascent truly began. He was a mid-card wrestler for the majority of his WWE career, yet he was putting on some of the greatest matches on a regular basis while on SmackDown. Because of this determination and impressive workrate, someone in WWEs decision-making process mustve decided to start pushing Benoit as a bigger star. This was done by having Benoit make Lesnar tap out at Survivor Series 2003. In the traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match, Benoit and Lesnar were on opposing sides, with Benoit being part of Team Angle and Brock Lesnar captaining his own team. After Lesnar pinned Angle following an F-5, Benoit came in and after about two minutes, he made Lesnar tap out to the Crippler Crossface. It was a big surprise to see Lesnar lose to someone other than Kurt Angle. Since debuting, Lesnar had rarely lost to anyone, and when he did, it was to someone who had already been established as a major star. At Survivor Series 2003, Benoit became the second person to ever make Lesnar tap out, which was a sign that WWE had high hopes for him. Defeating the man they hoped would carry the company going forward was a clear sign that Benoit was longer meant to be just a midcarder; fans knew that something big was coming just by seeing him make Lesnar tap out.
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.