12 Times WWE Broke Its Own Golden Rules

1. Triple H Retains The WWE Championship At WrestleMania 2000

Even when WWE started to take more chances with heel champions in the 1990s, one tradition remained holy - at WrestleMania, the babyface would always reign supreme. No matter what had happened in the year since the last show of shows, it was guaranteed that fans would be sent home happy as the company's top hero celebrated a hard-fought victory. Triple H rolled into WrestleMania 2000 as WWE Champion, riding the wave of momentum that came from dominating (and retiring) Mick Foley, but of course, The Rock - who despite being the top babyface in the company had only held the WWE Championship as a heel - was expected to win the title and usher in his own era as the official top star in the wrestling world. Mick Foley (who came back for one night) and The Big Show were also part of the match, but they were eliminated from competition and it came down to The Rock and Triple H. As The Rock closed in on the WWE Title, Vince McMahon - who had accompanied him to ringside - took a steel chair and, shockingly, hit The People's Champion with it. After that, Rock fell victim to the Pedigree and was defeated by Triple H. It couldn't be happening - babyfaces always won at WrestleMania. While The Rock would gain a measure of revenge by attacking the McMahon family, the result was set in stone - Triple H had become the first heel to close out WrestleMania with a victory. Nothing could ever been taken for granted in WWE again.