411 Ranks The WrestleManias: #4 – WrestleMania 20

WrestleMania 20 would be dubbed “Where it all begins…again,” and would return to the event’s place of birth, Madison Square Garden. The event was stacked with big names battles like Goldberg vs. Lesnar (atthat time), in what would be their final matches with the company, Steve Austin returning as a special referee, John Cena looking for his first WrestleMania moment and two fan favorites, one looking to stay champion and one looking to become a champion. This was an event universally praised as a great show, and for a short time remembered for a powerful and emotional closing to the event. Has the tragedy that came after WrestleMania 20 completely tarnished the event for everyone?

* WWE US Title Match: John Cena defeated the Big Show to become the NEW WWE US Champion @ 9:13 via pin
* World Tag Team Title Match: Booker T & RVD © defeated La Resistance, Jindrak and Cade and The Dudley Boyz @ 7:49 via pin to retain the World Tag team Titles
* Christian defeated Chris Jericho @ 14:51 via pin
* Evolution (Flair, Orton and Batista) defeated Mick Foley and The Rock @ 17:09 via pin
* Sable & Torrie Wilson defeated Stacy & Jackie @ 2:21 via pin
* WWE Cruiserweight Title Open: Chavo Guerrero © won the Cruiserweight Open to retain his title @ 10:27, pinning Rey Mysterio
* Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar @ 13:41 via pin
* WWE Tag Team Title Match: Rikishi & Scotty 2 Hotty © defeated the APA, The Basham Brothers and The World’s Greatest Tag Team @ 6:00 via pin to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles
* WWE Women’s Title/Hair Match: Victoria © defeated Molly via pin @ 4:53 to retain the Women’s Title
* WWE Title Match: Eddie Guerrero © defeated Kurt Angle @ 21:32 via pin to retain the WWE Title
* The Undertaker defeated Kane @ 7:45 via pin
* World Title Match: Chris Benoit defeated HHH and HBK @ 24:46 via submission to become the NEW WORLD CHAMPION

Scott Rutherford
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: HHH vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit [*****] History and real human tragedy taint this match now but at the time it was a huge mark out moment for me and a terrific match to boot. The hard work of all three men involved was nothing short of amazing and images of Shawn Michaels covered in blood calling out HHH still linger in my mind. The clean tap in the middle of the ring was the perfect end to the match as it left no doubt as to who the winner was and proved you didn’t need screwy booking to have someone win the title. The image of Eddie Guerrero and Benoit holding the two world titles in the ring at nights end was one of those classic images. We just wont mention HHH’s white boots…

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: Both Tag Team title Matches [DUD’s] Both were worthless and only served to get guys on the show to get pay-offs.

Show MVP And Why: Eddie Guerrero. Loved his match with Kurt Angle as it was a contrast to the other matches around it. More psychology based and had greater emphasis on mat wrestling and the timing of the ending and the surprise roll-up for the win was the work of a true master.

Your Thoughts on The Show: If it wasn’t for the fact that it was so long and had so much match-filler, this could have easily been another perfect PPV. Shorten this puppy up by an hour and you would have had gold. Sadly, this PPV gets overlooked now and with good reason. The two main stars died in very different tragedies and have left this show in the dark now. While I would never expect everyone to watch the Benoit match, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the rest of the show…just remember to have the remote handy to fast forward through the dreck.

Steve Cook
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit [****¼] Triple Threat matches have a pretty common formula, and this one didn’t stray too far from it. That doesn’t mean that this wasn’t a great match. The fans were rabid to see Benoit achieve his goal of finally becoming World Champion, and they were definitely into this match. All three guys brought their working boots and there was a certain electricity in the air that you couldn’t help but feel. At the time, I was a huge fan of Benoit’s, and I couldn’t have been happier to see him win the big title on the grandest stage of them all: WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden.

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg [DUD] This should have been a spectacle. Lesnar looked like he was going to become one of wrestling’s all time greats during this time period, and on paper a match with Goldberg sounded like two big ol’ hosses getting it on and throwing down in entertaining fashion. We didn’t get that. We got a match with two guys on their way out that had no interest in doing a whole lot of anything. They didn’t even lock up until a few minutes into the match, and the “action” afterwards was suspect at best. The only good thing about this match was the Madison Square Garden crowd shitting all over it.

Show MVP And Why: Chris Benoit/Eddie Guerrero. WrestleMania ended with the two men who were probably the most popular wrestlers among smart fans at the time holding the World & WWE Championships. Eddie had won his at No Way Out & had a fantastic match with Kurt Angle on this show where he outsmarted Kurt & cheated to win in classic Guerrero fashion. Benoit’s seventeen-year journey to become World Champion came to an end in WrestleMania’s main event as he defeated two of WWE’s most decorated and respected wrestlers of all time. The celebration with Benoit & Guerrero at the end of the show will always be tainted by events that happened in the future, but at the time it felt so right.

Your Thoughts on The Show: This was a really strong show from top to bottom. Your opening match had John Cena winning his first singles’ title in WWE, which is a pretty big deal in hindsight. Chris Jericho & Christian had a fine match that ended with Trish Stratus siding with Christian and looking as hot as she ever did. You had two tag team title matches, a Cruiserweight Open, a Women’s title match…pretty much everybody on the roster was up to something interesting.

Tony Acero
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: CHRIS BENOIT VS. SHAWN MICHAELS VS HHH: [****1/2] This match has been hyped for years, and has been heralded as the best Triple Threat, ever. I’m here to tell you that I will not deny either claims, as this thing was just bell-to-bell action. I will not forget the moment I was watching this Mania, definitely a Top 5 Mania, and being on my feet the entire time. I really enjoyed Benoit’s work and we, as fans, at the time, knew not of the horrific acts he would commit years later. At that moment, all we saw – and all I saw – was a man with a dream, giving his ALL during an amazing main event that saw the Show Stopper, HBK, show exactly why he’s a living legend. An amazing main event that saw The Game, HHH, give one of his greater performances on a big card, and The Wolverine, Chris Benoit, just give a technically, aggressive match that was just…amazing. Seriously, I can’t see how anyone could dislike this match. No restholds, no stalling, no bullshit finishes, no paint by the numbers wrestling, no corner-corner-midring-corner platform here (I call it the NXT flow). Just amazing, even 8 years later.

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: GOLDBERG VS. BROCK LESNAR: [*] One would assume that even with the rumors that both these guys were leaving, they’d stick to the script and produce a legitimate match. I don’t know what happened here, for sure, but it is apparent that the crowd controlled the match, as they shat all over it from the get-go and demolished any motivation that either of the big men had. I loved the berating of the guys. I wasn’t mad that either was leaving, don’t get me wrong, because every man is free to do as he pleases, but it was still a spectacle to see the fans essentially telling both men to just get the F out.

Show MVP And Why: SHAWN MICHAELS: In a main event that saw Chris Benoit have a great showing – and win – it’s hard to call anyone else the MVP, but HBK was at WrestleMania and you can’t expect anything less from the man. First, the way he bled was akin to a fucking 70’s horror flick, and he didn’t miss a beat. Second, he seemed to be the constant thread throughout the match to assure that it was entertaining. I’m sure a match between Benoit and Triple H would have been great, but Michaels brought sooooo much to the match, and it was very, very noticeable. The match was damned near flawless, and I have to assume that it was thanks, in large part, to this man.

Your Thoughts on The Show: This is, by far, one of my favorite WrestleMania’s. This had everything that we could ask for. Tag team action, Cruiserweight action, technical wrestling, brutes looking stupid, an amazing Main Event, an opener spotlighting a new star, great story telling, a Woman’s Match worth watching. This was the 20th WrestleMania, and it FELT like the 20th WrestleMania! Seriously, an amazing show with only minor flaws.

Jack Stevenson
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: Even if the Benoit tragedy hadn’t marred the main event of this show, I still think Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle would have to be considered the best of the two World title matches. It’s such a wonderful bout, and it’s admirable the way it follows its own, very different path from most WWE main event. They spend a sizeable proportion on the bout on the mat, slipping in and out of holds, hunting for tiny little advantages they can exploit. Once they do move away from the mat, big, melodramatic near falls are largely eschewed in favor of lithe stretches of counters and counter counters and counter counter counters. The finish is one of the more inventive in WWE history, a little goofy, but that’s part of the charm. It’s a match that goes places that you don’t expect it to and genuinely does something new with the long established main event formula, and it’s all the better for it!

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: The Undertaker vs. Kane could have got its point across in two minutes- it was the return of Undertaker’s undead character after a three year sojourn as a biker, and once we’d seen ‘Taker come out in black Deadman regalia, Paul Bearer at his side, we only needed him to sit right up after having been hit with some big move, then drop Kane with the Tombstone and we’d be set. Instead, we saw a slow, plodding eight minutes, largely devoid of drama, and sandwiched in between the aforementioned Guerrero-Angle match and the Triple Threat main event, its flaws were only magnified. The last thing a four hour show needs is a match as slow as this, but WrestleMania XX got it, and it was all the worse for it.

Show MVP And Why: Eddie Guerrero was the main driving force behind an absolutely superb match, and it’s heart warming that before his title reign wore him out emotionally, he was able to get a proper WrestleMania moment from it.

Your Thoughts on The Show: A heck of a card that has stood the test of time despite its big emotional hook being rather spoiled. Watching it live might have been a bit of a shock, with its four hour run time and host of middling midcard matches, but with the benefit of a pause button and the ability to watch the show in chunks, its impressive highlights become a lot easier to enjoy- two tremendous World Championship matches, a crazy fun tag match between The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection and Evolution, the magnificent spectacle of the Brock Lesnar-Goldberg implosion, and a very good battle between Chris Jericho and Christian. Even the lowest points aren’t that awful in the grand scheme of things. A high end WrestleMania in front of a great crowd in a historic arena.

The List So Far…
30. WrestleMania 9
29. WrestleMania 2
28. WrestleMania 11
27. WrestleMania 4
26. WrestleMania 15
25. WrestleMania 27
24. WrestleMania 29
23. WrestleMania 25
22. WrestleMania 5
21. WrestleMania 13
20. WrestleMania
19. WrestleMania 6
18. WrestleMania 16
17. WrestleMania 7
16. WrestleMania 12
15. WrestleMania 8
14. WrestleMania 22
13. WrestleMania 28
12. WrestleMania 18
11. WrestleMania 14
10. WrestleMania 26
9. WrestleMania 23
8. WrestleMania 24
7. WrestleMania 21
6. WrestleMania 3
5. WrestleMania 30
4. WrestleMania 20

REMINDER, each 411 writer had the opportunity to rank the WrestleMania events (based on overall quality, historical significance and personal preference), those rankings went into creating the final list.