It's a beautiful and terrible thing...

ON MARCH 14, 2004 - the day after my 37th birthday - I proudly wore my Chris Benoit T-shirt and wept like a child as "The Crippler" became RAW's world champion by defeating both Triple H and Shawn Michaels in the main event at Wrestlemania XX.

After hugging his wife Nancy and son Daniel in the crowd, Benoit went back into the ring, where he was joined by his good friend Eddie Guerrero - who, earlier in the show, had retained his Smackdown! world title.

It was a truly touching moment as these veterans - who had spent years fighting the stigma they were "too small" to be world champs - hugged and cried together having achieved the highest honours possible in the world of professional wrestling.

And now, three years later, they're both gone.

Unbelievable.