10 Wrestlers Who Defeated The WWE Machine

9. Chris Benoit

Triple H Mania 31 II
WWE.com

Triple H shrugged off Chris Benoit's debuting efforts on the February 3, 2000 SmackDown with a muted "He's not bad, he's alright." He couldn't very well say he was terrible, given that he was patently excellent - but his assessment spoke to both his savvy politicking and WWE's hostile mentality towards outsiders.

It must have been particularly sweet, then, for Chris Benoit to capture the World Heavyweight Championship from 'The Game' - by tapping him out, no less - at WrestleMania XX. This followed an arduous and painful journey through the midcard - very much Benoit's designated zone as a searing talent devoid of mic skills and natural charisma, for which he compensated with a talent and intensity verging on the unreal. He destroyed WWE's initial perception of him by destroying his own body in unbelievably hard-hitting matches.

He also had an altogether different - and tragically indirect - means of defeating it. The double murder suicide that ended his life and the life of wife Nancy and son Daniel kickstarted a total reboot of the machine, forcing WWE to take seriously the Wellness Policy it instituted with some tentativeness in the wake of Eddie Guerrero's death two years prior.

 
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Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!