For over three decades, WrestleMania has been the most prestigious event in wrestling lore as it has shaped careers and provided the WWE Universe with some of the most memorable matches and moments in the history of the organization.
Countdown to WWE WrestleMania 31: 3 Best Moments From WrestleMania X-8 (18)
As we countdown the days until WrestleMania 31 on March 29 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., Sports World News will delve into the greatest moments at each of the first 30 installments in the history of the WWE's cornerstone event.
As 2004 rolled around, the WWE was set to make some new stars when it came time to celebrate WrestleMania reaching the two-decade mark of existence.
Countdown to WWE WrestleMania 31: 3 Best Moments From WrestleMania XIX (19)
WrestleMania XX went back to where the event originated at Madison Square Garden in New York City, making The World's Most Famous Arena the first venue to host three different WrestleManias. This event took place on March, 14, 2004, in front of a capacity crowd of 18,000 people with the tagline "Where It All Begins...Again."
Note: Due to what happened in real life with Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero in the aftermath of this event, this could be tough for some people to read and it's understandable. Please note that SWN is only taking into account the events that occurred on this night and nothing else.
Here are our three best moments from WWE WrestleMania XX:
Honorable Mention: It's worth noting that this is the event where the infamous match between Brock Lesnar and Goldberg -- two departing Superstars -- which the crowd mercilessly turned on and made into a joke.
3) Golden Moment: This would probably be No. 1 if had a greater long-term effect on the WWE, but with it being difficult to look back on due to what happened in real life, it falls lower on the list.
Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero were ultimate underdogs and had to overcome massive political odds -- due to their size and WCW origins -- to break into the main event scene in the WWE.
Guerrero defeated Lesnar at No Way Out in 2004 to capture the WWE Championship and he met Kurt Angle at WrestleMania XX for the gold. The two ring technicians put on a tremendous back-and-forth match with a clever ending.
After Angle injured Guerrero's ankle with his Ankle Lock, Guerrero loosened his boot. When Angle went to put the hold on again, the boot slipped off, causing Angle to be startled. Guerrero, always lying, cheating and stealing, used the distraction to roll up Angle and retain the title.
Benoit took on Shawn Michaels and World Heavyweight Champion Triple H in a Triple Threat Match in the main event of WrestleMania XX in what is not only one of the best main events in WrestleMania history, but holds up as one of the best three-way bouts of all time.
All three men got their shots in during this well-paced match that had great spots throughout it, which included Triple H and Michaels hitting a double suplex on Benoit through an announce table. After blood was spilled and false-finishes were abound, Benoit eventually made Triple H tap out from the Crippler Crossface after a lengthy, fantastic ending sequence.
Following the match, Benoit celebrated finally winning the big one and his long-time friend Guerrero came down with his belt to embrace him and share in the moment as confetti rained down at Madison Square Garden.
It was an emotional ending to a huge event for the WWE, but these days it unfortunately evokes the wrong emotions.
2) Basic Thuganomics: Before John Cena became the No. 1 face of the WWE and headlined WrestleMania after WrestleMania, he started out on the undercard making his debut in the opening match at the 20th edition of the cornerstone event.
Cena, still in his rapper gimmick, took on The Big Show for the United States Championship at Madison Square Garden, getting the crowd warmed up with a humorous rap about his giant rival.
The future "Cenation" leader's WrestleMania debut was a successful one as he hit Show with brass knuckles behind the referees back and scooped up the big brute in impressive fashion to hit the F-U and win his first of many singles titles in the WWE.
1) Rock 'N Sock Reunion and 'The Legend Killer:' The Rock returned at WrestleMania XX to reunite with tag team partner Mankind and reform The Rock 'N Sock Connection in what proved to be his last WrestleMania bout for eight years.
Opposing the babyface tandem was the trio Evolution, which consisted of Ric Flair (fighting in his third WrestleMania match) and young up-and-comers Batista and Randy Orton, who were each making their WrestleMania debuts and would go on to become top stars in the company down the line.
After a back-and-forth handicap match that consisted of legends in Flair, Foley and The Rock and the young guns in Orton and Batista, the stage was set for "The Legend Killer" to strike.
Orton hit Mankind with an RKO and pinned him to pick up the win for the team and a huge victory for himself as he continued to rise through the ranks. Orton would eventually continue to grow and it would lead to a World Heavyweight Championship win at SummerSlam that August.
Looking Ahead: WrestleMania was ready to go Hollywood in 2005 as WrestleMania 21 emanated from Los Angeles and new stars would continue to thrive and develop, reaching the pinnacle of the WWE.
Rank-O-Mania: As we go through each year, we will rank each WrestleMania as it comes along. WrestleMania XX is an interesting event in retrospect because its big feel-good ending is now a sad reflection on the past while huge future stars in Cena, Orton and Batista began to shine. Still, there is a lot of filler within the tag and cruiserweight divisions and the Goldberg/Lesnar contest was laughable while The Undertaker's return yielded some disappointment. WrestleMania XX is a mixed bag and finds its place in between WrestleManias VIII and VII in eighth place in our rankings.
1) WrestleMania X-7
2) WrestleMania XIX
3) WrestleMania X
4) WrestleMania VI
5) WrestleMania III
6) WrestleMania XIV
7) WrestleMania VIII
8) WrestleMania XX
9) WrestleMania VII
10) WrestleMania X-8
11) WrestleMania V
12) WrestleMania XV
13) WrestleMania 2000
14) WrestleMania XII
15) WrestleMania IV
16) WrestleMania 13
17) WrestleMania I
18) WrestleMania XI
19) WrestleMania IX
20) WrestleMania 2
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