WWE Wrestlemania XX was a 2004 professional wrestling event put on by World Wrestling Entertainment. It was the 20th annual Wrestlemania show, the 3rd event of 2004, and the 171st event overall in the alternate WWF timeline. It was a joint production of both the Raw and Smackdown brands of WWE. This event was unique in that it was the first Wrestlemania (and first WWE Pay Per View overall) to take place in two separate locations simultaneously, flipping back and forth between the events in two separate cities on Pay Per View broadcast, while live crowds in each venue were shown the other matches taking place across the country on special giant screens installed above the ring. Each brand essentially put on its own Pay Per View, with Raw's Wrestlemania taking place in Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, and Smackdown's taking place inside Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. This would be the only time the event would be split over two locations, though some future Wrestlemania's would be spread out over two days in the same venue.
On the Raw side, the main event was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship between Chris Benoit, Triple H & Shawn Michaels. Other matches included Chris Jericho facing his former friend and tag partner Christian, a No Holds Barred Intercontinental Title match between Randy Orton and Mick Foley, and the finals of a Best of 7 series to crown the new WWE Divas Champion between Trish Stratus and Lita. On the Smackdown side, the main event was a WWE title match between Eddie Guerrero and Brock Lesnar. Other matches included a US Title match between John Cena and A-Train, an interpromotional match between Kane & The Undertaker, and a Special Challenge match between Kurt Angle (managed by Raw GM Eric Bischoff) and Batista (managed by Smackdown GM Paul Heyman), with the losing wrestler's manager being fired as the GM of their respective show.
This was also the first time since 1996 that the WWE Hall of Fame began new inductions (a trend that continues to the present day). As opposed to the 5-7 inductees that would follow in subsequent years, 10 individuals were inducted this year. The headliners were Hulk Hogan & "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, both of whom had main evented the first Wrestlemania in 1985. Other inductees included Harley Race, Sgt. Slaughter, manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, "Superstar" Billy Graham, Mae Young, promoter Eddie Graham [Posthumously] and a celebrity inductee of comedian Andy Kaufman.
Prelude[]
At the Royal Rumble, Triple H's World Title reign had come to an abrupt end at the hands of Chris Benoit, who had joined the Raw roster in October and had been gunning for The Game's title ever since. Triple H had attempted to quickly gain his title back by taking Ric Flair's spot in the Royal Rumble, survivng to the final two only to lose to Eddie Guerrero. Triple H's lack of a title opportunity at Wrestlemania seemed sealed after losing a #1 contenders match to Shawn Michaels a few weeks later on Raw, putting HBK in the driver's seat to Wrestlemania. However, Triple H didn't take it lying down, using Evolution to attack both Benoit and Michaels during a contract signing for their Wrestlemania title match. Triple H then stole the World Heavyweight Title Belt and signed his name to Michaels' contract, agreeing to give the belt back only if the title match at Wrestlemania was made a Triple Threat match, which Raw GM Eric Bischoff agreed to. With both Michaels and Triple H involved and the champion not having to be involved in the decision, the chances of Benoit retaining his title seemed remote.
Brock Lesnar's third reign as WWE champion had largely been protected by his advocate and Smackdown's General Manager, Paul Heyman, since it began in October. This included Heyman attempting to grease the wheels at the Royal Rumble, to use an ally in the Big Show to clear the field of any challengers to Brock's title. This fell by the wayside though when Eddie Guerrero overcame all odds to win the Rumble match from the #1 position. After successfully defending his #1 contendership against his nephew Chavo at No Way Out, Eddie was looking to become WWE champion for the first time at Wrestlemania. In the build, however, Lesnar had attacked Guerrero's family (namely his brothers Hector and Mando) in the leadup to their match, making it far more personal than just about the WWE Title.
Chris Jericho and Christian had formed a union of sorts over the previous year, looking out for one another, teaming up to try and win the World Heavyweight Title, and even winning the World Tag Team Titles together. However their partnership and friendship had seemingly splintered, first when Jericho used a favor he had earned with Christian to try and help them keep the tag team titles--while Christian used his only on himself to try and secure the Royal Rumble match. This was further augmented after Christian eliminated Jericho from said match. The two seemingly patched things up, even challenging AMW for the #1 contendership to the tag titles, but Christian proceeded to turn on Jericho, abandoning him. He also introduced his new Problem Solver, Tyson Tomko, to act as his new bodyguard after Jericho attacked him. The two were set to meet at Wrestlemania, with Jericho vowing revenge.
John Cena had been rising through the ranks of Smackdown for much of 2003, riding the back of his "doctor of Thuganomics" gimmick. He had also been on and off feuding with Heyman's Power Structure, rebelling against authority. He had nearly made the finals of a US Title tournament before No Way Out, only to be undone by the Basham Brothers. After getting revenge on them, Cena subsequently set his sights once more on the US Title, targeting the man who had won the tournament, the A-Train.
Randy Orton and Mick Foley had been engaged in a Cold War of sorts since June, dating back to when Foley had been the Special Guest Referee for Orton's match at Cyber Sunday. The feud had heated up before Survivor Series, when Foley was originally scheduled to be on Team Austin, but had to withdraw after Orton attacked him and threw him down a flight of stairs. Foley challenged Orton to a match in December, but backed out at the last minute to honor his pledge of retirement, leading to Orton spitting in Foley's face and calling him a coward. Foley returned at the Royal Rumble with a vengeance, eliminating Orton from the match and targeting him fully. The two were thus scheduled to meet with the Intercontinental Title on the line in a No Holds Barred Street Fight in front of Foley's hometown fans.
At No Mercy, The Undertaker had literally been buried alive by his own brother Kane (along with Smackdown owner Vince McMahon). Since that time the Monster Kane had gone around claiming to have killed off the Deadman. This changed at the Royal Rumble, when the ominous bells of The Undertaker tolled for the first time since his return as The American Bad Ass in 2000. Undertaker didn't make an appearance, but even the hint of his appearance was enough to see Kane eliminated from the Rumble match. Since then, the Undertaker had apparently been playing Mind Games with his brother, in anticipation for his return at Wrestlemania 20.
Also at the Royal Rumble, Trish Stratus and Lita's Women's title match had ended in a Double Pin, leading to their being a dispute as to who the champion really was. Eventually Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff announced a Best of 7 series to crown a new champion, with the title having been vacated. The two rivals split the first two matches, however Trish then went up 3-1 on Lita. Lita survived elimination twice in subsequent weeks, evening the score at 3 all. On the Go Home episode of Raw, Bischoff also announced that the definitive Match 7 would be for the newly christened WWE Divas Championship, with a new title belt (though retaining the same history as the original WWE Women's Title).
A surreal moment took place on Raw, when Vince McMahon stood in the ring with both Raw GM Eric Bischoff (who until 2003 had been the President of WCW, which was a shell of its former self) and Smackdown GM Paul Heyman (who had owned ECW in the 1990s until it was bought by Vince McMahon and left to run as a developmental territory). McMahon noted this surrealism...and then noted that he was disappointed with how both individuals were running their shows. To shake things up, he ordered a special challenge interpromotional match at Wrestlemania, with Bischoff managing a Smackdown star and Heyman managing a Raw star. Heyman would manage Evolution's animal, Batista, while Bischoff would manage the Olympic Hero Kurt Angle. Whichever superstar lost the match, their manager would be fired live at Wrestlemania 20.
Event[]
Coming Soon...
Results[]
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Show | John Bradshaw Leyfield won a 15 Man Battle Royal | Interpromotional Battle Royal | 8:24 | Los Angeles |
| 1 | John Cena d. A-Train (c) by Pinfall | Singles Match for the WWE United States Title | 10:01 | Los Angeles |
| 2 | Chris Jericho d. Christian w/Tyson Tomko by Disqualification | Singles Match | 12:45 | New York |
| 3 | The Big Show d. Booker T by Pinfall | Singles Match | 8:55 | Los Angeles |
| 4 | The World's Greatest Tag Team [Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin] (c) d. The Basham Brothers [Doug & Danny Basham], The Fashionistas [Rico & Nico], & Paul London & Brian Kendrick by Pinfall | Fatal Fourway Match for the WWE Tag Team Titles | 13:00 | Los Angeles |
| 5 | America's Most Wanted [Chris Harris & James Storm] (c) d. The Dudley Boys [Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley] by Pinfall | Career vs. Title Match for the World Tag Team Titles | 15:20 | New York |
| 6 | Trish Stratus d. Lita by Pinfall | Final of the Best of Seven Series for the WWE Diva's Title | 14:00 | New York |
| 7 | Rey Mysterio d. Chavo Guerrero (c) by Pinfall | Singles Match for the WWE Light Heavyweight Title | 10:03 | Los Angeles |
| 8 | Sara del Ray d. Molly Holly by Pinfall | Hair vs Hair Match | 7:29 | New York |
| 9 | Kurt Angle d. Batista by Submission | Special Challenge Interpromotional Match | 10:29 | Los Angeles |
| 10 | Randy Orton (c) d. Mick Foley by Pinfall | No Disqualification Match for the WWE Intercontinental Title | 12:49 | New York |
| 11 | Edge d. Matt Hardy by Pinfall | Singles Match | 5:32 | Los Angeles |
| 12 | The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer d. Kane by Pinfall | Interpromotional Man | 8:00 | New York |
| 13 | Chris Benoit (c) d. Triple H & Shawn Michaels by Submission | Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship | 15:00 | New York |
| 14 | Eddie Guerrero d. Brock Lesnar by Pinfall | Singles Match for the WWE Championship | 16:31 | Los Angeles |
Aftermath[]
After winning the WWE Title, Eddie Guerrero would first enter a feud with The Big Show, after Brock Lesnar suddenly left the WWE over a contract dispute in March of 2004). He would return a few years later. Benoit would go on to face Triple H once again at Backlash, with the stipulation that it would be Triple H's final shot at the World Heavyweight Title so long as Benoit held the gold. Paul Bearer's return was one night only, and The Undertaker would effectively become more a special attraction than a day to day performer, returning for runs rather than remaining a regular fixture on the roster. D-Von Dudley required neck surgery that would leave him out of action for the remainder of the year, leaving Bubba to have a run as a singles star. Kurt Angle would also take time off to heal nagging injuries as well.