2. vs Chris Benoit - Number 1 Contendership For WWE Title (SmackDown! December 4 2003)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU7fFoJhT_0 Again, the WWE will be hoping that you forget this one. But considering it involves He Who Must Not Be Named, its perhaps less surprising that theyve tried to cover this one up. After a stunningly inconclusive finish to the previous weeks no. 1 contendership Battle Royale, Chris Benoit and John Cena met one-on-one to determine who would face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. Benoit was handed a lifeline after Brian Hebner rightfully overturned Nick Patricks decision to award Cena the victory, and the Canadian duly capitalised on this. Locking in the Crippler Crossface from out of nowhere, Benoit forced Cena to tap, clean in the middle of the ring in a mere matter of seconds. Incidentally, Benoit would go on to be unsuccessful in his attempt to capture Lesnars titlepassing out from the Beasts innovative Brock Lock submission. But like the previous entry, this one of course came during Cenas Thuganomics days, long before he had ever donned any garish variant of the Never Give Up tee. Add to that the involvement of Chris Benoit, and its clear to see why the WWE have skirted over this piece of history.