2007-2010: Who was #2?

[aboynameddirt]

In the time period from 2007 to 2010, the rankings within the WWE were a little bit more unclear than they are now, I would say. John Cena was obviously the top guy, but there were many huge names that fell just below him on the food chain. Of these names; Edge, Batista, and Randy Orton stand out to me. You could probably throw veterans like Triple H, The Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels in there somewhere as well. For a very small portion of time, I would say Jeff Hardy would be in the running as well.

My question to you is, from 2007-2010 or any periods in between, who was a distinct number two in the WWE?

Let me hear your thoughts.

 

[Harddyboy77]

I'd say in 07 and 08 it was Batista. He was the John Cena of Smackdown. At the time, he was the guy that you thought of when you thought of Smackdown.
Jeff Hardy was clearly the number 2 guy during his 09 feud with CM Punk over the World Heavyweight title.
After that, it was either Orton or Edge.

 

[The Perfect Max]

I wouldn't say that from 2007 - 2010 the #2 spot was occupied by the same person. If we look in 2007, Batista, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker were all involved in the main events of WrestleMania 23 and remained in top spots throughout the year. Edge and Randy Orton began the short road to superstardom in 2007 also, so in 2007 it is hard to tell. In my own opinion, I would say Triple H. He returned at SummerSlam, so missed half the year, but was inserted into the main event, winning the WWE Championship and having feuds with Randy Orton and Umaga. Whilst Cena was out, Triple H was the guy. Batista is a close #2 as well, as he had that long feud with Undertaker.

In 2008, I would suggest that Triple H was #2 again. He was in the main event of WrestleMania XXIV representing Raw and was drafted to SmackDown as WWE Champion. He feuded with Edge, The Great Khali, Jeff Hardy and Vladimir Kozlov and reigned supreme on SmackDown for 210 days.

In 2009, Randy Orton takes the #2 spot. He feuded with Triple H and the McMahon family for the Road to WrestleMania, and Orton eventually won the WWE Championship at Backlash in April. He led the Legacy and feuded with John Cena over the summer and into the Fall. At this point, Orton had solidified himself as a full time main eventer.

In 2010, it is hard to tell because it was a year which featured a hell of a lot of guys trying to get the title. Other than Cena, you had Randy Orton, Sheamus, Batista, Edge,
Chris Jericho, Wade Barrett, CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, Kane, Jack Swagger and others I can't think of off the top of my head. I would say Randy Orton gets #2 this year as well because his popularity grew all the way from the Royal Rumble to Night of Champions, where his popularity was a reason why he won the WWE Championship.

So, between 2007 and 2010, Triple H gets 2007 and 2008, and Randy Orton gets 2009 and 2010. But, Orton has stuck around longer and done more to help his career, so I am going to say Randy Orton is the #2 overall in this four year period. Again, it is very hard to tell as this was a huge transition period. In 2007 we had tons of superstars who by 2010 had either retired or jumped ship and were main eventing TNA.

 

[Azane]

Near the end I think it was Edge, he made Smackdown really entertaining as he and Vickie did the power couple thing, especially the feuds with Taker.

I think before that it was probably RKO, they were setting him up to be The next face of the company, but he never quite caught Cena.

 

[TheHeartbreakPunk]

I would say that in 2007 it was batista as he was the primary face of smackdown, in 2008 it was probably hhh, in 2009 and 2010 it was probably edge, but when he was injured for awhile, that spot was filled by randy orton

 

[nwo1234life]

In my opinion the number two guy was Batista from 2005-2010 and then Randy Orton from 2010-present. because at Mania 26 they were hyping Cena vs Batista as the match of the two biggest stars since the Attitude era.

 

[PunkTruster91]

Batista has got to be it, he was in the main events at the ppvs next to Cena. WM23 he was in the title match against Taker and was still at the top in 2010. He left at number 2. Edge was definitely in the top 5, as was randy they won the majority of their belts and had their best matches in these three years. Triple H also in the top 5, but was giving the young guys push. Which is why i cant say he is number 2. This one is hard though any of those could be it.

 

[thebarber]

Randy Orton was clearly the number 2 guy to Cena during this time.
Many title reigns, heel foil for most of this time to SuperCena.
Rarelyl ost, and started his own stable.
Orton definitely

 

[sufyaan05]

I'd say Edge.

He carried Smackdown for almost 5 years.

 

[Whostine]

Edge was number two simply for his feud with John Cena. This made Edge the star he was. Edge was the most solid guy besides Cena in 2007-2010.

 

[Dagger Dias]

There was a small group of guys who each could make an argument for being the number two guy in the company. Edge, Batista, and Randy Orton. John Cena was obviously the number one guy, but those three were the biggest stars other than him for the majority of those years. Arguments could be made for Jeff Hardy too, but he was not on top long enough for his case to be considered as strongly.

Orton had a slower rise to the top, but from August 2007 onward, he was a top tier guy and even stepped up as the top guy when Cena was out following a severe injury. Batista was consistently main eventing over on Smackdown ever since Cena got moved to Raw and remained a dominant force there until the Wrestlemania 26 feud with Cena. Then we have Edge. Edge was a main eventer for both brands during this time.

Edge was the top heel on Raw from his MITB cash-in on Cena until he cashed in on Taker in similar fashion two years later. He then ruled Smackdown as a top heel until his Wrestlemania 26 feud with Jericho. While strong arguments can be made in favor of all three, I will go with Edge because he was consistently carrying whichever brand he was on during those years whereas Batista and Orton really only made a difference on one brand each at the time and both seemed more overshadowed by Cena than Edge was.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Batista.

It was either him or Edge to me. I'll cancel out both feuds they had with the Undertaker even though I thought Batista's matches were better than Edge's. They were both injured quite a bit but Batista turning heel and his awesome promos put him over Edge.