9. March 14, 2004 - Brock Lesnar And Bill Goldberg Get Booed Out Of MSG
The battle between Bill Goldberg and Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XX was supposed to be a clash between the two baddest brawlers in all of WWE. Neither man had ever faced an opponent quite like the other, and WWE's hope was that a hot atmosphere for the unique contest would create a WrestleMania moment. It was known for some time that Goldberg, who wasn't happy with how WWE was handling him, would be leaving the company after WrestleMania. Days before the show, though, Brock Lesnar - who was burned out on wrestling and wanted to try out for the NFL - also requested his release. WrestleMania XX would be a swan song for both men... and the net-savvy WWE Universe caught wind of that fact. When the match hit Madison Square Garden, both the heel Lesnar and the babyface Goldberg were soundly booed by the WrestleMania crowd. They only cheered at the end of the bout when special guest referee Steve Austin gave Stunners to both men. In this case, it was the fans who broke kayfabe - they revealed that they knew what went on behind the curtain and that they could always hijack the show if they wanted to. In many ways, it was a turning point for pro wrestling - those in charge had to acknowledge that they no longer held all the cards.
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
