Gimmick Some (Wrestlemania) Lovin': Triple Threat Done Right

The Build

It's a bit overused and seems to happen every time Big Show is in the final two of a battle royal, but that didn't make this ending any less special in 2004.

This main event blends two ongoing storylines in a way that seemed frustrating at the time but worked out once the match actually happened.

The Game was the reigning World Heavyweight Champion, having regained the Big Gold Belt from Bill Goldberg in the fall of 2003. His first challenger was a familiar foe in The Heartbreak Kid, and the pair battled to a draw on the December 29 edition of Monday Night RAW.

General Manager Eric Bischoff declared that the issue would be settled at the Royal Rumble in a Last Man Standing Match, an epic bloodbath featuring the Rocky II ending of HBK and HHH simultaneously knocking each other out with chair shots.

It was either the chair shots or blood loss that put both men down for the count.

Benoit, meanwhile, was the property of Smackdown heading into that year's January extravaganza; Benoit had been punished by Smackdown General Manager Paul Heyman with a series of handicap matches in order to retain his entry into the Rumble match, a punishment which continued with a number one entry for the Canadian Crippler.

Benoit would go on to become the Royal Rumble's then-longest competitor, outlasting 29 other men (literally) to last eliminate The Big Show and earn a non-specific world title match; the ambiguity of that title shot would clarify the following evening on RAW as Benoit officially jumped ship to challenge Helmsley for his World Heavyweight Championship on the Red Brand.

During the contract signing for that match, Michaels would interfere, attacking The Crippler and putting his own name in place of Benoit's on the match contract. Stone Cold Steve Austin, serving as the "Sheriff" for RAW, would declare that Benoit had a valid claim to the title, but so did Michaels (due to the blood feud with The Game and the inconclusivity of their previous two championship outings).

Benoit and Michaels wrestled each other to determine which man would challenge for the title at Madison Square Garden on March 14 but, unable to remain on the sidelines, Helmsley would interfere in the match; as punishment, the "Sheriff" decreed that since neither man lost the match, Helmsley would have to defend his title against both men.