Here’s Part 20 of our WrestleMania Retrospective series, looking back at past WrestleMania events as we march towards WrestleMania 29 on April 7th
WrestleMania XX (2004)
Tagline: Where it all begins again..
Date:Â March 14, 2004
Venue:Â Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
America the Beautiful: Boys Choir of Harlem
Attendance:Â 18,000
The Undertaker’s Streak: 12-0 (Def. Kane)
WrestleMania XX was the twentieth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It took place on March 14, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The event was a joint-promotion pay-per-view event, featuring performers from the Raw and SmackDown! brands. The card for the event featured two main events. The main match for the Raw brand was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship between champion Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit. Benoit won the match, making Triple H submit via the Crippler Crossface. The main match for the SmackDown! brand featured Eddie Guerrero versus Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship which Guerrero won after a small package. The event featured the return of The Undertaker, who defeated Kane after a Tombstone Piledriver. Also on the card was a match between Goldberg and Brock Lesnar with Stone Cold Steve Austin as the special guest referee. This was Goldberg’s final match with WWE, and Lesnar departed the company to pursue a career in the NFL, and later became a mixed martial artist with UFC before returning to WWE on April 2, 2012. After Goldberg won the match following a Jackhammer, both men were given a Stone Cold Stunner by Austin on their way out.
WrestleMania XX was the third WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden but the fourth to take place in the New York metropolitan area (following WrestleMania I, WrestleMania 2, and WrestleMania X). The event grossed US$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, 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.
The first match that aired was a singles match between The Big Show and John Cena for the WWE United States Championship, the first time the title was ever defended at the event; the match started out with The Big Show beating down on the challenger, not giving him any room. Cena hit an early FU though only secured a 2 count. Cena grabbed his signature chain and tried to attack Big Show with it, however the referee saw Cena with the chain and confiscated it due to it being illegal in the match. With the referee securing the chain with his back turned to the match, Cena hit Big Show with hidden brass knuckles and hoisted The Big Show up onto his shoulders for his finishing move, FU. Cena then immediately pinned The Big Show to win the match and the United States Championship.
The next match was made at the request of Kane, who had been receiving threats from his storyline brother, The Undertaker. This would mark the 2nd WrestleMania event that the Undertaker and Kane would go one-on-one with the first being WrestleMania XIV six years prior. In November 2003 at Survivor Series, Kane defeated Shane McMahon in an Ambulance match then during the latter event, he interfered and buried The Undertaker alive in the Undertaker’s match with Vince McMahon. On the November 20, 2003 edition of SmackDown, Kane appeared to give the Eulogy for the Undertaker. Kane claimed that the man as the Undertaker the world knew, has been dead for a long time because they were monsters and lived to strike fear into the hearts of normal men until the Undertaker portrayed himself (in the American Bad Ass/Big Evil persona) and became one of the fans. Kane stated that he watched Undertaker show compassion by defending Stephanie McMahon (during her feud with Vince McMahon) and show weakness in losing to Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at No Mercy. He then stated that Undertaker was not his brother nor a monster cause’ a monster shows no compassion nor has weaknesses. He referred to Undertaker as an impostor and a fraud that he buried alive and ended the eulogy by saying R.I.P. Two months later, Kane participated in the Royal Rumble match where he heard the bell toll from the Undertaker’s entrance music, distracting and distressing him and enabling Booker T to eliminate him from the ring. Over the following weeks, Kane repeatedly insisted that The Undertaker was “dead”, only to be met with various paranormal incidents such as a rainstorm localized over the ramp on which he stood. On the last edition of Raw, Kane appeared to the ring and saw an empty Casket standing in the ring but as he opened it, he saw an urn inside of it. He then grabbed the microphone and asked if that’s what he’s been looking forward to. He also stated it’s going to take more than an empty casket and an urn to intimidate and beat him. He then stated that the Undertaker’s legacy, his 11–0 WrestleMania streak and his life is coming to an end as he said “it’s back to the grave for you for good”. As he claimed that It’s over and that he’s not afraid of the Undertaker. The lights turned out but this time, the 10,000 pound wrestling ring lifted off the ground with Kane standing in it and tilted side ways, which would be the final message sent from the Undertaker before their match at WrestleMania XX.
The eleventh match of the event was the encounter of The Undertaker and Kane, which would be Undertaker’s first match since he was buried alive at Survivor Series 2003. After Kane made his entrance, he was seen looking toward the entrance ramp saying, “You’re not coming back tonight. You’re not coming back, I buried you alive.” After this, the lights in the arena went out and Paul Bearer, Undertaker’s former manager and Kane’s (storyline) father, was heard screaming gleefully, “oh yes!”, as he had done so numerous times in the past with Undertaker as his charge. Blue light began to fill the arena as Bearer, carrying the Undertaker’s former trademark urn, and several chanting Druids entered the arena carrying torches. Bearer walked to ringside, turned and said to Kane, “you’re no son of mine,” then turned back to the entryway and raised the urn. Moments later The Undertaker returned in the guise of the “Deadman” he had portrayed for years, complete with a black trenchcoat and hat. Before the match officially got underway Kane refused to believe that The Undertaker had returned, shouting at him repeatedly, “you’re not real!”, while Undertaker simply stood staring stoically at Kane. Eventually Kane decided to see if Undertaker was indeed standing in front of him by slowly inching forward with his hand outstretched. Undertaker responded by punching Kane, knocking him down, and the match got underway. The two continued brawling until Kane delivered a Chokeslam to Undertaker, which he sat up from shortly afterward while Kane was taunting Paul Bearer. The Undertaker then retaliated giving a Kane a Chokeslam of his own and executing his deadly finisher Tombstone piledriver into a successful pinfall, thus winning the match and remaining undefeated at WrestleMania with a 12–0 record. This was the second time that Kane faced off against Undertaker at WrestleMania and losing again, like the previous effort at WrestleMania XIV.
The seventh match featured Brock Lesnar and Goldberg with special guest referee, Steve Austin. The beginning of the match began with both men staring each other down, jawing back and forth, with no physical action for several minutes, causing an exasperated Austin at one point to coax them into locking up. The fact that they both were leaving the WWE immediately after the match, as well as the lack of effort brought forth by both Goldberg and Lesnar drew large heat from the fans throughout the match, with fans chanting, “You sold out”, “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye”, “Austin”, “This match sucks”, “We want Bret”, “Boring”, “Goldberg sucks”, and “Hogan”. Goldberg then successfully took Lesnar down with a Spear, that would only draw a two count after a pin attempt. Lesnar then executed the F-5 maneuver on Goldberg, but also resulted in a two-count pin attempt. Afterwards, Lesnar missed an attempt to knock Goldberg down, allowing Goldberg to execute another spear and a successful Jackhammer powerslam that led to a three count for Goldberg, thus winning the match. After the match, Lesnar responded to the fans’ criticism by giving the crowd the finger, followed by a finger to Steve Austin. Austin then executed a Stone Cold Stunner on both competitors to the crowd’s delight and celebrated with beer in the ring.
The seventh match featured Brock Lesnar and Goldberg with special guest referee, Steve Austin. The beginning of the match began with both men staring each other down, jawing back and forth, with no physical action for several minutes, causing an exasperated Austin at one point to coax them into locking up. The fact that they both were leaving the WWE immediately after the match, as well as the lack of effort brought forth by both Goldberg and Lesnar drew large heat from the fans throughout the match, with fans chanting, “You sold out”, “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye”, “Austin”, “This match sucks”, “We want Bret”, “Boring”, “Goldberg sucks”, and “Hogan”. Goldberg then successfully took Lesnar down with a Spear, that would only draw a two count after a pin attempt. Lesnar then executed the F-5 maneuver on Goldberg, but also resulted in a two-count pin attempt. Afterwards, Lesnar missed an attempt to knock Goldberg down, allowing Goldberg to execute another spear and a successful Jackhammer powerslam that led to a three count for Goldberg, thus winning the match. After the match, Lesnar responded to the fans’ criticism by giving the crowd the finger, followed by a finger to Steve Austin. Austin then executed a Stone Cold Stunner on both competitors to the crowd’s delight and celebrated with beer in the ring.
Next up was a Handicap match featuring Evolution (Randy Orton, Batista and Ric Flair) against The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection (The Rock and Mick Foley). Evolution won the match when Orton pinned Foley after successfully executing an RKO. This would be The Rock’s last match until April 2012 at WrestleMania XVIII
The main feud on the SmackDown! brand was between Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship. In the beginning of 2004, Angle and Guerrero were allies while Guerrero feuded with his nephew Chavo Guerrero. On the January 29, 2004 edition of SmackDown!, Eddie Guerrero last eliminated Angle in a 15-man Royal Rumble style match to earn a shot at the WWE Championship. At the prior pay per view, No Way Out, Kurt Angle defeated The Big Show and John Cena in a Triple threat match to earn himself a title shot at WrestleMania on the same event where Guerrero defeated Brock Lesnar for the WWE title. On the February 19, 2004 edition of SmackDown!, Angle was the special guest referee in a match between WWE Champion, Eddie Guerrero and WWE Cruiserweight Champion, Chavo Guerrero. As Eddie was about to close in on the victory, Angle stopped the 3 count and would turn on Guerrero. On the following week’s edition of SmackDown!, Guerrero was eagar to get his revenge on Angle while looking for him 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 on 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 that shouldn’t represent SmackDown! as the WWE Champion and stated that one day people will be thanking him for a champion that they could be proud of. Guerrero then came back to the arena and assaulted Angle until he got arrested by orders of Paul Heyman. As Guerrero got taken out of the building in handcuffs, Angle made some insulting comments to him until the officers drove away with Guerrero in the Police car. On the March 4, 2004 edition 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 nail him with the WWE Championship belt, Angle did so and raised title the belt over-head to show an example for their match Wrestlemania XX.
The match between Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle over the WWE Championship, was centered around both men maneuvering around on the match. Guerrero used a DDT and Frog Splash maneuver on Angle that would result in a pin attempt; Angle then recovered and secured Guerrero with an ankle lock hold. However, Guerrero escaped the hold by rolling through it and throwing Angle out of the ring. As Angle was outside, Guerrero loosened his ring boot to relieve the pain. As Angle returned to the ring, he tried to apply the hold again. This time, Guerrero pushed Angle off with his other foot, allowing him to break free from Angle’s hold and leaving the challenger holding the champion’s boot. With Angle confused, Guerrero executed a Roll-up pin maneuver leading to a successful pinfall, thus winning the match and retaining the WWE Championship.
The main rivalry heading into the pay-per-view was on the Raw brand, with Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit feuding over the World Heavyweight Championship. This would mark the third pay per view event that Triple H would defend a World Championship at Madison Square Garden. The first event was January 2000 at the Royal Rumble, where Triple H retained the then-known WWF Championship over Cactus Jack. The second event at the same arena was in November 2002 at Survivor Series, where Triple H defended the World Championship in the 1st ever Six man Elimination Chamber match, which was won by Shawn Michaels. Triple H was the champion heading into the WrestleMania XX event with the origins of the rivalry beginning on the December 29, 2003 episode of Raw, when Michaels challenged Triple H for the World title in Michaels’ hometown of San Antonio, Texas. As it looked like Michaels was going to win his 5th World title over Triple H, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff got to the ring at the last minute and made the pinfall but stopped at a 2 count, thus screwing Michaels in the process. At the Royal Rumble event on January 25, Triple H and Michaels faced each other again in a Last Man Standing match for the title, which resulted in a draw, and, as a result, Triple H retained the title, leaving question on who was the better of the two. Also at the pay-per-view, in the Royal Rumble match, SmackDown!’s Benoit won the contest by last eliminating The Big Show. The following night, on the January 26 edition of Raw, Michaels and Triple H were involved in an in-ring confrontation when Raw’s authority figure (referred to as the “Sheriff”), Steve Austin, made his way to the ring. He stated that, although Michaels should have a rematch, he had to “enforce the law”. He stated that, in the rules it specifies that the winner of the Royal Rumble may face either the WWE Champion or World Heavyweight Champion.
The winner of the Royal Rumble, Benoit, made his way to the ring, and stated that he would be challenging the World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania XX. On the February 9, 2004 edition of Raw, a contract signing took place between Benoit and World Champion, 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 earning a World title shot but suggested that Benoit could’ve stayed on SmackDown! to take care of business while Michaels, himself, was trying to finish his 10 year issue with Triple H on behalf of the Raw brand. He last stated that he is this close to finishing his rivalry and plans to do so at WrestleMania XX for the World title. Benoit responded by saying that it’s just not going to happen and stated that he’s the one who challenges Triple H for the World title, not Michaels. After Michaels responded by superkicking Benoit, he then signed his own name on the paper as the challenger to Triple H’s World Championship. On the following week’s episode of Raw, Michaels defeated Benoit due to interference by Triple H. Afterwards, Steve Austin appeared and announced that Triple H would be defending his World Championship at WrestleMania against both Michaels and Benoit in a Triple threat match. On the March 1, 2004 edition of Raw, after Michaels and Benoit lost to Randy Orton and Batista in a tag team match, World Champion, Triple H and the rest of Evolution attacked Michaels and Benoit, ending with Triple H nailing them with the Pedigree and rubbing his World title belt into their faces while they were laying motionless in the ring.
The main event was a Triple threat match over the World Heavyweight Championship between Triple H, Chris Benoit, and Shawn Michaels. This match marked the seventh title defense of the night, the most in WrestleMania history. The match started with Benoit and Michaels wanting to face the champion, but would wrestle each other, trying to gain an advantage before Triple H’s intervention leading to the match going back-and-forth between all three men, hitting their signature holds and maneuvers throughout. Benoit soon gained control over Michaels when he applied his signature hold the Crippler Crossface. As Michaels was about to submit, Triple H saved the match, attacking both men, and executing his own finisher, the Pedigree, on Michaels before Benoit halted his attempt to win the match. Triple H and Michaels would team up to suplex Benoit through the announcer’s table, trying to eliminate him from the match. The two continued to wrestle until Benoit made his return to action to save Michaels from getting pinned. Michaels then attempted to hit Benoit again with his signature kick, the Sweet Chin Music, but Benoit countered it, throwing Michaels out of the ring. As this occurred, Triple H attempted to execute the Pedigree again on Benoit, but Benoit countered and locked into the Crippler Crossface, and Triple H submitted. As a result, Benoit won the match and the World Heavyweight Championship. After the match, Eddie Guerrero came to the ring and the two embraced while confetti dropped for the emotional ending of WrestleMania XX.
WrestleMania XX Results
• John Cena defeated Big Show (c) Singles match for the WWE United States Championship
• Booker T and Rob Van Dam (c) defeated Garrison Cade and Mark Jindrak, The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) and La Résistance (René Duprée and Rob Conway) Fatal Four-Way match for the World Tag Team Championship
• Christian defeated Chris Jericho
• Evolution (Randy Orton, Batista, and Ric Flair) defeated Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection (The Rock and Mick Foley) Handicap match
• Torrie Wilson and Sable defeated Stacy Keibler and Miss Jackie Playboy Evening Gown match
• Chavo Guerrero (c) (with Chavo Guerrero Sr.) defeated Último Dragón, Shannon Moore, Jamie Noble, Funaki, Nunzio, Billy Kidman, Rey Mysterio, Tajiri, and Akio Cruiserweight Open for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
• Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar Interpromotional singles match with special guest referee Steve Austin
• Too Cool (Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty) (c) defeated The World’s Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin), The Basham Brothers (Danny and Doug) and The APA (Bradshaw and Faarooq) Fatal Four-Way match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
• Victoria (c) defeated Molly Holly Hair vs. Title match for the WWE Women’s Championship
• Eddie Guerrero (c) defeated Kurt Angle Singles match for the WWE Championship
• The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) defeated Kane
• Chris Benoit defeated Triple H (c) and Shawn Michaels Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship
