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

This one is a little tougher to find on the Network (it takes some careful fast-forwarding), but it's worth it if you can put Benoit's fate out of your mind.

In each edition of Gimmick Some Lovin', we take a look at one iteration of a gimmick match available on the WWE Network. Some are iconic for their success, others for the extent to which they flopped, and some just... happened.

We defined a "gimmick match" as, in any way, adding a rule/stipulation to or removing a rule from a match, changing the physical environment of a match, changing the conditions which define a "win", or in any way moving past the simple requirement of two men/women/teams whose contest must end via a single pinfall, submission, count out, or disqualification.

Last week, we took a look at a time when a triple threat match didn't get the time and attention it needed to flourish, so today, we look at a time when a triple threat match became the best match on the card (and, quite possibly, one of the greatest matches of the aughts, had certain events not transpired later that decade).

Today's match is the main event of Wrestlemania XX, the No Disqualification Triple Threat Match pitting defending World Heavyweight Champion Triple H against perennial foe Shawn Michaels and Royal Rumble winner Chris Benoit.

Let's get this out of the way

Even a decade after the awful end to this man's life, it's hard to settle on a way to describe how I feel about his work before that transpired.

Though this is the second consecutive Gimmick Some Lovin' feature to focus on a Chris Benoit match, the Wrestlemania 2000 wasn't focused as much on Benoit as much as it was focused on...well...nothing, really. Considering that the story leading into this match, and (spoiler for folks who have not seen this match yet) its outcome focus very heavily on the Crippler, there are some things we need to wrestle with before tackling this main event contest.

There are two ways to think about Chris Benoit: the art and the artist. In an era of #MeToo, the question of separating the art from the artist has never been more hotly debated as more and more famous artists of all media are called to answer for various allegations.

This writer has yet to come down firmly on a side; as a peek behind the curtain, these early slides are typically completed long before the match and ratings slides, so these feelings might need to remain unresolved until the final slide.

Benoit's crimes are undoubtedly awful, a horrifying end to a life and career which seemed to be so impressive. The story was troubling when it happened because of the emotional attachment I had to Chris Benoit during his prolific career between the ropes; marriage and fatherhood have only made those events even more incomprehensible to me.

Knowing what medical examiners said about Benoit's brain at the time of his death makes spots like this far harder to enjoy in retrospect.

Today's feature won't delve any further into Benoit's death, the deaths that preceded it; knowing now how much accumulated brain damage played a role in his mental state that weekend, however, might affect some enjoyment of what happens during the match.

Also, because of the heaviness of the subject at hand, expect far fewer shoddy attempts at humour today; we'll try to be funny again with our next Wrestlemania feature.