WrestleMania XX was a 2004 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 20th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 14, 2004, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. This was the third WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden, after WrestleMania I in 1985 and WrestleMania X in 1994, and the fourth of six WrestleManias in the New York metropolitan area, alongside WrestleMania I, 2, X, 29, and 35. The calendar date of March 14 is the earliest date for a WrestleMania.

The match card featured two billed main events. The card's final match, which was the main event for the Raw brand, was a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship, which saw champion Triple H defending the title against Shawn Michaels, and that year's Royal Rumble match winner, Chris Benoit, who won the match, making Triple H submit via the Crippler Crossface, resulting in his first and only world championship in WWE. The main event for the SmackDown! brand featured Eddie Guerrero versus Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship, which Guerrero won by a Small Package pin. The event also featured the return of The Undertaker in his Deadman persona, who defeated Kane after a Tombstone Piledriver. John Cena made his in-ring WrestleMania debut at the event, defeating Big Show to win his first title in WWE, the WWE United States Championship.

Also on the card was a match between Goldberg and Brock Lesnar with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin as the special guest referee. This was both Lesnar's and Goldberg's final match in WWE until Extreme Rules 2012 and Survivor Series 2016, respectively. After Goldberg won the match following a Jackhammer, both men were given a Stone Cold Stunner by Austin on their way out. The event also featured the in-ring return of The Rock, teaming up with Mick Foley and reuniting the Rock 'n' Sock Connection to take on Evolution (Randy Orton, Batista, and Ric Flair) in a 3-on-2 Handicap match, in which Evolution were victorious. This would be The Rock's final match in WWE until Survivor Series 2011.

The event grossed $2.4 million in ticket sales, making the pay-per-view the highest grossing event ever for WWE at Madison Square Garden. More than 20,000 people from 16 countries and 48 states attended the event, which was also televised in more than 90 countries. The event generated an estimated $13.5 million of economic activity for New York City and created an equivalent of 96 full-year jobs.

Production

Background

thumb|The event was held at [[Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.]]

WrestleMania is considered World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) flagship professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event, having first been held in 1985. It has become the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. It was the first of WWE's original four pay-per-views – which includes Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series – referred to as the "Big Four". WrestleMania XX was scheduled to be held on March 14, 2004, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, the third time at this venue, after WrestleMania I in 1985 and WrestleMania X in 1994. The event featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Raw and SmackDown!.

The main feud heading into the pay-per-view was for the Raw brand, with Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Chris Benoit feuding over the World Heavyweight Championship. The rivalry began on the December 29 episode of Raw, when Michaels challenged Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship in Michaels' hometown of San Antonio, Texas. It appeared as if Michaels would win, with the then-Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff coming into the ring at the last minute and making the pinfall, counting to three for what appeared to be Michaels winning the title. However, as Michaels' shoulders were on the mat at the same time as Triple H's, the match was later declared a draw, and Triple H retained the championship. At the Royal Rumble, Triple H and Michaels again faced each other in a Last Man Standing match for the title, which resulted in another draw. As a result, Triple H retained the title yet again, but leaving open the question as to which of the two truly deserved the championship. Later that night, during the Royal Rumble match, SmackDown!'s Benoit won the match by last eliminating Big Show, after being the first entrant to the event (a feat that, at the time, had only been achieved by Shawn Michaels). The following night on Raw, Michaels and Triple H were involved in an in-ring confrontation when Raw's Sheriff Steve Austin made his way to the ring. He stated that, although Michaels should have a rematch, he had to "enforce the law", and that even though the Royal Rumble rules gave the winner of the match a shot at "the (world) championship", there was not any specification as to which world title that was. Benoit, who at the time was a member of the SmackDown! brand, then came to the ring and said he was taking advantage of the loophole, joining the Raw brand and challenging Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XX. On the February 9 episode of Raw, a contract signing took place between Benoit and Triple H. As Triple H signed his name on the paper, Michaels came out to inform Benoit that the last thing he wanted to do is "rain on [his] parade". He then stated that he, more than anybody, can respect Benoit's effort to win the Royal Rumble match and earn a World title shot, but suggested that Benoit should've stayed on SmackDown! to take care of business while Michaels, himself, was trying to finish his feud with Triple H. Benoit refused to relinquish his guaranteed title shot, resulting in Michaels hitting Benoit with Sweet Chin Music and signing the contract himself. After the two men wrestled a match marred by interference from the champion on the February 16 episode of Raw, Austin decided to make Triple H's title defense a triple threat match. On the March 1 episode of Raw, after Michaels and Benoit lost to Randy Orton and Batista, Triple H's stablemates in Evolution, the entire group attacked Michaels and Benoit, ending with Triple H hitting both with the Pedigree and rubbing his World title belt into their faces while they lied motionless in the ring.

The main feud for the SmackDown! brand was between Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship. Angle and Guerrero were initially allies while Guerrero feuded with his nephew Chavo Guerrero. This changed when, on the January 29 episode of SmackDown!, Guerrero last eliminated Angle in a 15-man Royal Rumble match, to earn a shot at the WWE Championship. At No Way Out, Kurt Angle defeated The Big Show and John Cena in a triple threat match to earn a title shot at WrestleMania, and Guerrero defeated Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. On the February 19 episode of SmackDown!, Angle was the special guest referee in a WWE Championship match between Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero. As Eddie was about to gain the victory, Angle stopped the 3-count and turned on Guerrero. On the February 26 episode of SmackDown!, Guerrero was eager to get his revenge on Angle, but when he finally saw Angle, he shoved SmackDown! General Manager Paul Heyman and his assistant Dawn Marie out of his way, only for Heyman to have Guerrero escorted out of the arena by security. Guerrero was scheduled to team with John Cena to take on Chavo Guerrero and the Big Show in a tag team match that night, but due to Guerrero being escorted out of the arena, he was replaced by Rey Mysterio for the tag match, which Mysterio and Cena won. Later that night, Angle appeared and stated that he attacked Guerrero for the SmackDown! fans and for the WWE. He then referred to Guerrero as a former drug addict who should not represent SmackDown! as the WWE Champion, and stated that, one day, people would be thanking him for giving them a champion to be proud of. Guerrero then re-entered the arena and assaulted Angle until he was arrested on the orders of Heyman. As Guerrero got taken out of the building in handcuffs, Angle made some insulting comments to him, before the officers drove away with Guerrero in the police car. On the March 4 episode of SmackDown!, during Guerrero's match with Heyman (while he was handcuffed), Angle interfered and knocked him down a few times, until Guerrero defended himself by spitting on Angle. As Guerrero begged Angle to hit him with the WWE Championship belt, Angle did so and raised the title belt over his head to hype their match at Wrestlemania XX.

This was the first WrestleMania to have matches billed as "inter-promotional", which means that a party from Raw would wrestle a party from SmackDown!. WWE owner Vince McMahon named three matches to be inter-promotional on the February 16 episode of Raw. The first was a tag team match featuring SmackDown!'s Torrie Wilson and Sable, who had recently been featured in a pictorial in Playboy magazine, against Raw's Stacy Keibler and Miss Jackie, who had protested the decision made by Hugh Hefner not to feature them in his magazine.

On the January 26 episode of Raw, Goldberg came to the ring, and demanded a match between himself and Brock Lesnar, with whom he had problems over the past two months. At the Royal Rumble, Goldberg was entered in the Royal Rumble match, only to have Lesnar (who, as the reigning WWE Champion, was not entered into the match) interfere and execute an F-5, causing Goldberg to be eliminated by Kurt Angle. On the February 2 episode of Raw, as a result of the rivalry between the two wrestlers, Sheriff Steve Austin gave Goldberg the option of attending No Way Out by giving him a front-row ticket. At No Way Out, Goldberg was seen arriving at the arena and being escorted to his front seat by security. SmackDown! General Manager Paul Heyman then gave a promotional in-ring speech on how SmackDown! was the better program than Raw. Lesnar then came down to the ring to promote his match and to insult Goldberg. Goldberg immediately jumped over the barricade and entered the ring, where Lesnar performed a running shoulder block to Goldberg's stomach and tried to perform another F-5 on him. However, Goldberg countered it and lifted Lesnar vertically in the air before slamming him down in a Jackhammer. Goldberg was then escorted out of the arena by security. During Lesnar's WWE title defense against Eddie Guerrero later that night, Goldberg returned to the arena and interfered by executing a Spear, which caused Lesnar to lose the title after Guerrero nailed him with a Frog splash. On the February 23 episode of Raw, Vince McMahon set the interpromotional singles match as pitting Lesnar versus Goldberg for WrestleMania XX, with Austin as the special guest referee. Later that night during the match between McMahon and Eric Bischoff, Lesnar appeared and nailed Austin with an F-5, before stealing Austin's four-wheeler. The first match that aired was a singles match between Big Show and John Cena for the WWE United States Championship, the first time the title was ever defended at the event. The match began with Big Show beating down Cena, who then came back, executing an FU for a near-fall against Big Show. Cena grabbed his signature chain and tried to attack Big Show with it, however, the referee saw the chain and confiscated it due to its being illegal in the match. With the referee distracted, Cena hit Big Show with hidden brass knuckles and executed another FU to win the match and the title.

The next match was a fatal four-way tag team match – involving Rob Van Dam and Booker T, Garrison Cade, and Mark Jindrak, the Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley), and La Résistance (René Duprée and Rob Conway) – for the World Tag Team Championship. The match saw quick action between all four teams, and ended when Conway was pinned by Van Dam after Booker T performed a scissor kick on him, which was then followed by Van Dam's Five-Star Frog Splash, leading to the two retaining the titles.

</blockquote>

The triple threat match between Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit, and Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship received critical acclaim, with many wrestling publications and websites calling this match one of the greatest wrestling matches of all time. Leighty wrote that the main event was, "The greatest three-way match in the history of professional wrestling. Everything was perfect about this match including the finish." The match was #2 on IGN's list of Top 20 Matches in WrestleMania History. However, due to the events surrounding the death of Chris Benoit, the match is rarely, if ever, mentioned by the WWE.

John Powell of Canadian Online Explorers professional wrestling section rated the entire event 4 out of 10 stars, which was a lower rating than he gave to the previous year's event. The Triple Threat match between Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit, and Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship receiving the highest rating of 7.5 out of 10 stars; the match between Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship was rated 7 out of 10 stars; the match between The Undertaker and Kane was rated 2 out of 10 stars; and the match between Bill Goldberg and Brock Lesnar received the lowest rating, 0 out of 10 stars. The match was also inducted into WrestleCrap.

Aftermath

thumb|right|[[Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit walked out of WrestleMania XX as World Champions.]]

Brock Lesnar and Goldberg left the WWE after their event, This would set up a rematch between the two at the 2016 Survivor Series, which Goldberg won in one minute and 26 seconds. After Goldberg entered himself into the 2017 Royal Rumble match the next night on Raw, Lesnar's advocate Paul Heyman said that Lesnar would also be in the match after being embarrassed at Survivor Series; however, Goldberg eliminated Lesnar. Lesnar challenged Goldberg to a final match at WrestleMania 33 which Goldberg accepted. The match then became a championship match after Goldberg defeated Kevin Owens at Fastlane to win the Universal Championship. At WrestleMania 33, Lesnar defeated Goldberg to win the championship and end the feud.

At Backlash, the original main event match was between Chris Benoit and Shawn Michaels for the World Heavyweight Championship. Triple H appeared to be out of the picture, as the annual WWE Draft Lottery took place eight days after WrestleMania; and he was drafted to SmackDown!. and on March 29 he demanded that the intended match at Backlash be changed to Benoit and Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. Raw general manager Eric Bischoff liked the idea of the match, but concluded that he had promised Michaels a World title match at Backlash. Benoit went on to hold the title until August 2004, losing it to Randy Orton at SummerSlam.

The feud between Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero continued. Angle, however, went in for surgery on his neck shortly after WrestleMania and was not scheduled to return to action for some time. To cover this in storyline, Angle was made the on-screen General Manager of SmackDown! after previous General Manager Paul Heyman was drafted off the brand and promptly quit rather than work for his hated rival Bischoff. On the April 15 episode of SmackDown!, Angle's legitimate neck problems were further incorporated into the story by having Big Show chokeslam Angle off a ledge and render him crippled to the point where he could not walk without crutches and required a wheelchair. At The Great American Bash, Guerrero defended his title in a Texas Bull Rope match against John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL). The match ended with Guerrero appearing to have won, but Angle reversed the decision and awarded the match and WWE Championship to JBL.

Shortly after The Great American Bash, Angle interfered in a steel cage match for the WWE Championship between JBL and Guerrero on the July 15 episode of SmackDown! under the guise of a masked wrestler named "El Gran Luchador" and cost Guerrero the match, but was exposed by Guerrero. On the July 22 episode of SmackDown!, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon confronted Angle, who was still using crutches and the wheelchair, demanding his resignation for faking his handicap. When Angle would not do so, McMahon fired him and began attacking him with one of the crutches. McMahon saw that Angle was completely healthy as he fended off the attack and thus put him back on the active roster and ordered Angle to wrestle Guerrero at SummerSlam. Angle defeated Guerrero after he forced Guerrero to submit to the ankle lock. At Survivor Series their feud finally ended in a Four-on-Four Traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Match, with Guerrero's team (composed of Eddie Guerrero, The Big Show, Rob Van Dam, and John Cena) being victorious against Team Angle (composed of Kurt Angle, Luther Reigns, Mark Jindrak, and Carlito).

After WrestleMania XX, Trish Stratus teamed with Christian in a losing effort against Chris Jericho in a handicap match at Backlash. Elsewhere in the Divas Division, Victoria retained her WWE Women's Championship against Lita at the same event. On the SmackDown! side, Sable reverted to her heel persona and engaged in a short feud with Torrie Wilson.

Cactus Jack and Randy Orton continued their feud at Backlash, with Jack challenging Orton to a hardcore match for the Intercontinental Championship. Orton won after performing an RKO to slam Cactus Jack onto a barbed wire baseball bat.

After WrestleMania, Kane and The Undertaker went their separate ways. Before the year was out, both men would receive shots at their respective brands' top championships. Kane faced Chris Benoit at Bad Blood for the World Heavyweight Championship, while The Undertaker received multiple shots at John "Bradshaw" Layfield for the WWE Championship, the last of which came at Armageddon in December. Kane spent the rest of his time in a feud with Lita and Matt Hardy, which led to the debut of Gene Snitsky and a feud with him.

Results

References

  • The Official Website of WrestleMania XX