Reflecting On WWE WrestleMania XX - Obscured By Tragedy

13 years ago today WWE held WrestleMania XX from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The event, 20 years after it's debut in The Garden in 1985 was touted as being "Where It All Begins Again." It featured one of the most grueling, bloodiest and emotional main events in WrestleMania history, yet WWE will never acknowledge it due to the events that come in the years after. The main event featured Chris Benoit vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels.

It was clear from outset how desperate each man wanted to win. It escalated into a fluid and hard-hitting fight strewn with crimson masks and violence.

For one man, Chris Benoit It was the culmination of a long journey for a wrestler who's purists fans loved. It was the conclusion of 20 years of wrestling across the globe. It was a journey that was about to be rewarded with a fairytale ending and one which will forever be etched in our mind but at the same time erased.

The excitement was palpable as the conclusion of the match drew near, with a series of near finishes. Michaels looked poised for victory attempting to hit sweet chin music on Benoit who ducked, hurling Michaels out of the ring.

Triple H then tried to pedigree Benoit, but he reversed it into a devastating crippler crossface which seemed to last forever. HHH eventually pain stricken tapped to the roar of the MSG crowd and Jim Ross, who had all but lost his voice, "Year after year, mile after mile, continent after continent, but Benoit never gave up."

Benoit's lifelong friend Eddie Guerrero entered the ring to celebrate with his friend in an embrace that has become the synonyms with WrestleMania XX.

Both tearful, they raised their respective championship titles in the air as a blizzard of confetti rained down on them.

A fairytale ending was complete, one that still gives me goosebumps and makes me weep, but will forever remain a match obscured by tragedy. A memory that should be celebrated as one of the greatest moments in professional wrestling history but instead will remain a ghost that only those who lived through it can resight with some passion.