10 Topics "Crossface" Movie Needs To Address

3. WrestleMania XX

Chris Benoit WMXX
WWE

The first four years of Benoit's WWE career were characterised by typical pro wrestling ups and downs. Though Benoit was largely booked well - typically as a upper midcard star contending for the Intercontinental or United States Titles - he suffered a neck injury in 2001 that kept him on the shelf for over a year.

By early 2004, though, Benoit was in the best spot of his career - he was healthy, popular, and the company was ready to invest in him. He won the 2004 Royal Rumble, then jumped to Raw to start a feud with World Heavyweight Champion Triple H.

Though WrestleMania's main event typically involves the champion and the Rumble winner, this time, there was a third party involved - Shawn Michaels. Michaels had been feuding with HHH for over a year, and he joined the program seamlessly. In the end, a triple threat match was signed for WrestleMania's main event.

That classic bout saw Benoit submit Triple H to win the World Heavyweight Championship in Madison Square Garden. Despite the fact that Benoit never achieved the popularity of someone like The Rock, for that one evening, he was on top of the wrestling world. Nancy and his son, Daniel, joined him in celebration in the ring.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013