20 WWE matches that should be rated 5 stars (10-1)

#4 Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit (WWE Title match, Royal Rumble 2003)

Benoit and Angle

Going into the 2003 Royal Rumble pay-per-view as ex-tag team partners, the tension between Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit was high. With Benoit never having held the WWE Championship up until that point, he seemed determined to upstage the one man that stood in his way.

Though the first half of the match seemed relatively ordinary, Angle and Benoit turned up the heat in the latter portion, hitting a series of suplexes and applied submission holds until the climactic finish.

When Benoit locked Angle in the Crippler Crossface finishing move for the last time, a determined Angle rolled through and reversed it into his own trademark ankle lock, reinforcing it with a kneebar that prevented Benoit from escaping. Thus the 'Canadian Crippler' was forced to tap out and concede the loss, but not without earning the respect of having put on an incredible performance.