Yes, we’re contradicting the introduction with the inclusion of Chris Benoit here—and while his superb shift connected the spots into a proper match, this was the blueprint to guaranteed excitement. It demands inclusion in spite of him.
It demands inclusion because this remains the most hermetic version of a genre that, while consistently intoxicating, has grown lazy and cheap in its choreography. When Kane pulled off his unlikely high spot, the mass of bodies didn’t just stand there, savaging suspension of disbelief. If anything, Shelton Benjamin timed his role so well that it was as if he was trying to run away.
Shelton starred throughout, but that proved his undoing. You don’t star in a ladder match, if you want to win it. Edge won because of this mentality.
He was well-practised…
