The "Legends" Of Ruthless Aggression Era

[5000]

I KNOW I SAID I WOULD QUIT USING THE WORD "LEGEND" BUT THIS ERA IS GREATLY UNDERAPPRECIATED JUST LIKE WE HAD AUSTIN,ROCK,DX,MANKIND,UNDERTAKER,KANE,Y2J,SHOW,VINCE,ETC. FOR THE ATTITUDE ERA WHO WOULD YOU CONSIDER THE LEGENDS OF THE RA ERA I SAY LESNAR,CENA,ORTON,BATISTA,ANGLE,BENIOT,RVD,BOOKER T,EDGE,ETC. WHO DO YOU BELIEVE IS IT AND IF YOU DON'T AGREE TELL ME WHY THIS FOURM IS IDIOTIC

 

[MCMG]

The Ruthless Agression Era was roughly 03 - 07/8. If we are going on that basis then the stand-out stars were Cena, Brock, Batista, Orton, Lesnar, Taker, HHH, HBK, Eddie, Edge, Benoit, Angle. A very strong group that were fantastic in this era. As for "legends" of the era then I can't say that any of them were/or became legends in this era alone. Not one had the influence that Austin or The Rock did during the Attitude era.

Cena, Taker, HHH, HBK, Edge and possibly Orton are legends of the business. That is in part due to their work during this era but not solely down to it. They all had success after and the majority made their name before.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

There were no legends in the Ruthless Aggression Era, unless you counted the appearances of Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Triple H, Mr. McMahon, Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Big Show and Stone Cold Steve Austin. There were only performers who kept the place afloat. Now, they are legends in their own right, but Edge, John Cena, and a guy like Rey Mysterio at the time were definitely not that.

Edge was barely upper midcard, and by the time he became WWE Champion that Era was drawing to a close. Deacon Batista aligned himself with Triple H and then turned on him for his first run as champion. I don't think that warrants a legend status. Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit were solid performers at that time, but I wouldn't call any of them legends in that particular time, either.

I believe what makes a "legend" is what they did, not what they are doing at the moment. If we call Edge a legend at the time we may as well call Christian one, and Matt Hardy. All were very over, but none in my opinion gained that mantle, unless you bring up what they did in the Attitude Era.

Only going by where they came along today can we think back and consider Ruthless Aggression stars legendary. I remember when Randy Orton was a 3rd Generation jobber in that time.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I think really of that era you're looking at guys like Kurt Angle and JBL as being the only real "legends" that appeared. While I was never a fan of JBL, what he did was pretty special when you think of it - for a start the mainstream publicity he was generating was massive. He was on serious talk shows regularly discussing business and not as "wrestler JBL" but as a serious analyst. His in ring change of character just clicked at that time and that elevated his performances. Maybe he wasn't the best or most colourful but he was very much that guy that Chris Jericho now is - putting on a good match with just about anyone. Some parts let him down terribly, notably his conduct at One Night Stand and the goosestepping in Germany...but no one else really rose in that era to the kind of level that you'd look back and say "wow, look at them now".

 

[MCMG]

I think really of that era you're looking at guys like Kurt Angle and JBL as being the only real "legends" that appeared. While I was never a fan of JBL, what he did was pretty special when you think of it - for a start the mainstream publicity he was generating was massive. He was on serious talk shows regularly discussing business and not as "wrestler JBL" but as a serious analyst. His in ring change of character just clicked at that time and that elevated his performances. Maybe he wasn't the best or most colourful but he was very much that guy that Chris Jericho now is - putting on a good match with just about anyone. Some parts let him down terribly, notably his conduct at One Night Stand and the goosestepping in Germany...but no one else really rose in that era to the kind of level that you'd look back and say "wow, look at them now".

I completely forgot about JBL. His WWE title run was fantastic and he was carrying Smackdown for a while. One of the best heel title runs since the turn of the century. Definitely top 3.

 

[armageddon99]

When I think Ruthless Aggression, I think Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero. This is the era where they both broke their own glass ceilings. The image of the two of them standing in the ring at Wrestlemania XX as the two Heavyweight Champions of the company is iconic.
I think it was the size factor for the both of them. They both had to fight, big time, for their push. Of course the rest of them have their place as icons in the era as well, I just think the deck was a little more stacked against these two and when they died they were both main eventers and Heavyweight Champion contenders.

These two became "legends" in this era.

 

[Kris Benwa]

I'd say you got John Cena, Batista, Orton, HHH, HBK, Undertaker, Kane, Brock Lesnar, Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, JBL, Edge, Rey Mysterio and Booker T to a certain extent. There were a lot and actually I've always been more of a fan of that era than Attitude Era even though I loved both but maybe because I was more "aware" during that era but that's the era I'd call my home era.

 

[the_peoples_adam]

SIMPLY ITS GOT TO BE GOLDBERG....... HIS DEBUT WAS SO HOT AND HE PROVED THAT HE IS ONE OF THE GREATEST YOU HAVE SEEN IN THE HISTORY OF WRESTLING....

 

[jameyt2003]

Rock n Wrestling: Hogan, Macho, Andre, Warrior

New Era: Bret Hart, Undertaker, HBK

Attitude: Stone Cold, Rock, HHH, Kane, Foley

Ruthless Aggression: Lesnar, Cena, Angle, Edge, Jericho, Batista, Orton

PG: Punk, Bryan, eh name some others if u must

That's my instinctive opinion on who made a synonymous and enduring name with that particular time in WWF/E. We could go into 2nd tier guys that may have drawn just as well as the names listed above, but for reasons I previously mentioned (my gut), those guys went elsewhere and/or succeeded at another time.

I considered men like Steamboat, Rude, Million Dollar Man, certain tag teams I believed deserve some mention in the legendary category.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

There's only one legend of this era. A man who's ring work was consistently exceptional yet did that with an awful drug habit, brain full of mush, and killed his family and himself. Now he's somewhat whitewashed from WWE's catalog of references. Benoit's legendary status is built for year's to come. What he did and who he was is and will always be unrelateable, undefineable, and the theories, misunderstandings, and flat out lies are already written and debated. For years to come wrestling fans may look down old match cards and results, they may watch old video but when it comes down to it no one will be discussed and debated from that era more than Chris Benoit.

 

[Sundar]

Brock Lesnar was by far the biggest star of that era. Although he was only around for 2 years he was pushed right from the start and did practically everything there was to do in wrestling at the time. He won the WWE title 3 times, won the Royal Rumble, King of the Ring, beat the Rock, destroyed Hulk Hogan, beat the Undertaker, Angle, Edge, Hardcore Holly, Test, RVD, Benoit, Big Show, Mark Henry, Hardy's, Cena, and Orton and had some of the most memorable matches of the era such as the one against the Rock at SS 2002, Hell in a Cell with Taker, the ring breaking match with Big Show and a number of awesome matches with Angle at WM19, Summerslam 2003 and the Iron Man. Only after Brock left the company did guys like Edge, Orton, Batista, Benoit, Eddie and Cena become main eventers, not to take anything away from those guys but had Lesnar stayed with the WWE I'm not sure if those guys would have gone on to get as many title reigns as they did.

The only guy Lesnar feuded with and didn't get the better of was Goldberg who also actually had a very good run for a guy that was only around for a year. Despite the fact that he never lost a single match cleanly during his WWE run he was not a star of this era and this run paled in comparison to his WCW run.

Benoit won the Royal Rumble after entering first and managed to take the belt off HHH for a significant period during which he beat all the top guys on Raw at the time such as HBK, HHH and Kane. It was a memorable reign but not legendary and besides he wasn't a star of this era.

HBK probably was the best performer of this era. Although HBK was probably already Hall of Fame worthy before he made his return in 2002 he put on so many awesome matches during this period and won the world title just once and helped put a lot of guys over. This is seen as his redemption run for being a dick during his first run.