At the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City on 14 March 2004, WrestleMania completed 20 years. Since its inception in 1985, the event has been a grand success and it has successfully produced top quality wrestling matches year after year. WrestleMania 1 started with Hulk Hogan being the face of the company and he carried that legacy for nine long years.
WrestleMania 10 witnessed the birth of Shawn Michaels and at WrestleMania 20 we saw John Cena who is still carrying the decades-old WWE legacy. The match card contained 12 matches and the WWE was in the best of shape during that period.
The roster had all the star power in the world and every PPV under the WWE banner during that time was a big hit. With all this said, let us have a look at some of the best matches from WrestleMania 20 –
Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar
This match was all about boos and chants of WWE legends like Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart by the WWE universe. Given the fact that both the competitors were leaving the company after the match, the crowd never appreciated the match! Austin being the special guest referee also didn’t pay off.
In a match that lasted for 13 and a half minutes, the first 3 and a half minutes were spent staring at each other and wandering inside the ring. Goldberg finally got the win after a successful Spear and Jackhammer on Brock and after the match, Stone Cold delivered stunners to both the competitors and this was the only thing that made the fans happy.
John Cena vs Big Show
This was the first match of the night and this was also the first time the WWE US title was defended at WrestleMania. Big Show defended his title against John Cena, who was on his first Mania outing. Show initially tossed Cena to all sides of the ring and took advantage. Cena gained momentum after delivering an FU on Show but he only managed to get a 2 count.
Cena then tried to hit Show with a steel chain but the referee saw it and asked Cena to give the chain. While the referee was handing it over to someone outside the ring, Cena hit Show with a hidden brass knuckle and delivered another FU for the win. Cena became the new US champ!
The Undertaker vs Kane
This all started at Survivor Series 2003 where Kane buried The Undertaker alive. At WM 20, Kane came out and he looked pretty confident that Taker is never going to return. Just then, the lights went off and Paul Bearer came out and after a few mystical manoeuvres, The Undertaker returned. Kane was still apprehensive and scream “I Killed You! You are not real!”
The Undertaker took the attack to Kane and beat him up viciously. Kane regained lost control and managed to deliver a Chokeslam to his brother but Taker kicked out and conveniently sat up. Taker then delivered his own Chokeslam to Kane and followed it up with a Tombstone piledriver for the win. With this, Taker went to 12-0 at WrestleMania.
Eddie Guerrero vs Kurt Angle
Eddie Guerrero defended his WWE Championship against Kurt Angle and both these guys fought for more than 20 minutes. Eddie had been famous for his Lie-Cheat-Steal principle throughout his WWE career and that helped him a long way in this match.
Angle applied the Ankle lock on Eddie and the champion was screaming in pain. He intelligently rolled and threw Angle out of the ring. Eddie loosened the boot to which the lock was applied earlier. Once again, Angle, after getting into the ring applied the lock for the fourth time and this time, Eddie removed the boot and rolled up Angle for the win.
Chris Benoit vs Triple H vs Shawn Michaels
At WrestleMania 20, three of the best wrestlers the company has ever seen, Chris Benoit, Triple H and Shawn Michaels fought in a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Triple H defended it against his best friend, Shawn and Benoit.
This match, being the last match of the night, lasted for over 24 minutes and during the closing moments of the match, Michaels and Triple H were soaked in blood. When Triple H tried to cover Michaels for the win, Benoit came out of nowhere and broke the 3 count.
Benoit applied the Sharpshooter on Triple H and just when the ‘Game’ was about to tap, Michaels came for the save and delivered Sweet Chin Music on Benoit. All men were down and Michaels covered Benoit for a 2 count.
Michaels got up and tried another Sweet Chin Music but Benoit ducked and sent him outside the ring. Benoit then countered a Pedigree from Triple H and applied the Crippler Crossface on the Game. ‘The Cerebral Assassin’ tapped out and Benoit became the brand new World Heavyweight Champion.
