The WWE world is currently gearing up for what has been dubbed “the biggest Wrestlemania ever” in just three weeks’ time, but today marks the official 10 year anniversary since Wrestlemania 20. Time to look at how much the business has changed.

The final image from Wrestlemania 20 saw the WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero (who had just beaten Kurt Angle to retain his title) and World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit (who had just won a triple threat match against Triple H and Shawn Michaels to win the title) celebrating together in the ring.

Along with “The irresistible force meets the immovable object” at Wrestlemania 3 or The Ultimate Warrior’s return at Wrestlemania 8, this has become one of the most iconic moments in Wrestlemania history, for perhaps all the wrong reasons.

Eddie and Chris were the best of friends, inside and outside the ring. Along with Rey Mysterio, fans referred to them as “the three amigos” which is why them embracing in the ring after Benoit’s first ever world title win made so much sense back then.

But who could have known that seven years on both would be gone? Eddie was taken away so tragically in November 2005 before Chris followed in even worse circumstances less than two years later. The two were on top of the world that night in March 2004, but just over a year later the landscape of WWE would change forever.

Eddie was one of the greatest personalities WWE have ever possessed, he had something about him that made you cheer for him even when he was lying and cheating. He knew how to play a crowd and was so much fun to watch. WWE even dedicated the Raw that was filmed live the day he died to him, which saw most of the WWE roster give emotional interviews about him and their love for him.

Chris was one of the people visibly effected by the passing of his good friend, but it seemed after that he had tried to move on with his life and 18 months later was set to face CM Punk at Night Of Champions in June 2007. When he didn’t show up to the pay-per-view the alarm was raised and Benoit was found hanged with his wife and son at their home both dead.

The former United States Champion could have gone onto win the ECW World Championship that night which happened two days after his “double murder suicide” but since the media blamed it on steroid use, the WWE have since tightened their wellness policy and handled steroid taking with harsher consequences.

So Chris managed to change the business in a good way, even if he will forever be thought of in a bad light, his matches are now available on the network but with a disclaimer. One of the greatest technical wrestlers of our generation goes from hero to villain in 25 months.

Since Eddie’s departure, his real life wife Vickie has become a formidable figure on WWE TV whilst his daughter Shaul has also signed a WWE contract and is currently performing on its NXT brand.

Ten years have gone by since that iconic moment, how much has changed? How much effect did these two best friends have on the WWE and what it has become today?

Very little. Yes everyone knew who they were, they knew the circumstances behind their deaths and they will never forget them, but as for playing a part in the WWE today? No. WWE has become a very different place from the one they would have walked out of even as little as seven years ago. I think a lot of it was a change for the better with wrestlers like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan becoming a massive part of the new era.

At the same time WWE doesn’t feel the same without their sorts of people, there is still a little Benoit inside Jack Swagger and Cesaro and even Daniel Bryan just like I guess there is a little bit of Eddie inside everyone, the heart of a champion and the determination to succeed but will it ever feel the same without them?

Wrestlemania is just three weeks away, Andre the Giant is about to be remembered in his very own 30-man battle royale, but don’t forget – Every wrestler shaped the business into what it is today, whether WWE want to remember them or not. Ten years ago today two man stood tall above all the others. Who will stand tall on April 6th?

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