What is the most impressive wrestling accomplishment of the last 15 years?

[Shocky]

Pretty Much the title says it all. Since, as some would say, we are in the middle of something impressive in the WWE, it inspired this thread. What has been the best accomplishment of a wrestler over the last 15 years? I'm sure I've forgotten something, so go ahead and use that other and let people know what I forgot.


1. John Cenas Domination, including a near year long title reign since WM 21. 28 Months have passed since WM 21 and the Birth of the John Cena Era, and for more then two years, John Cena has held onto the WWE Championship. Whether people love him or hate him, his list of victims include Jericho, Angle, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, and Edge to name a few.

2. Samoa Joe's 645 day reign as Ring of Honor Champion and 18 Month Undefeated Streak in TNA. Some people may disagree with this choice, because they feel Ring Of Honor is not a legit company. This is besides the point. Samoa Joe is a god and for good reason in Ring of Honor due to this lengthy title reign. Upon Entering TNA, Joe dominates all put in his path for 18 months before finally losing to Kurt Angle.

3. The Undertaker's 15-0 Streak at Wrestlemania. While some will argue the value of this record due to his opponents, no one comes close to scratching this record. The Undertaker's list includes Ric Flair, Triple H, Batista, Randy Orton, Kane Twice, and Kevin Nash.

4. Kurt Angle wins all the gold in TNA. Kurt Angle becomes the first man to hold all the belts at one time in one company. Angle wins the TNA championship, and then within a month, wins the X-Division and Tag Team titles from Samoa Joe. Not only does he have all the TNA Gold, but he also holds onto the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

5. Goldberg's "172"-0: The Streak, that's all you have to say and most wrestling fans know what you are talking about. Like Goldberg or not, there was no denying the streak in 98 was either the top or second most talked about story of the year. Goldberg destroyed anyone that WCW put in front of him.

6. Shawn Michaels becomes the first Grand Slam Champion: The first man to hold all the gold in the WWE. Shawn Michaels won this award when it actually meant something to hold a championship belt. Before the IC belt and World titles were thrown around like candy, WWE's titles used to be prestigious. Shawn Michaels accomplished something that wasn't accomplished for nearly another four years afterward.

7. Brock Lesnar's Rookie Year: Within 4 months, Brock Lesnar as a rookie not only became the top heel in the company, but won the King of the Ring, and the WWE Undisputed Championship. Within a year, he was not only the most over heel, but became the most over face and won the WWE Title in the Main Event at WM, all as a rookie. His first year victims included Hulk Hogan, The Rock, The Undertaker, The Big Show, and Kurt Angle.

8. Chris Benoit's Royal Rumble mark: Chris Benoit enters #1 in the 2004 Royal Rumble, and goes onto win the event. The Next year, Benoit starts off the Rumble as Number 2, and last over 47 minutes. In Consecutive Years, Benoit lasted longer then 1 hour and 47 Minutes in the Royal Rumble.

9. Rob Van Dam's TV Title Reign: 23 Months. That's how long the most impressive title reign of the 90's lasted. That's right, Rob Van Dam's TV title reign was the best title reign of the decade, including everything from the big two during the monday Night Wars. RVD's TV Title matches were match of the night each and every night he was on television.

 

[RatedR_HBK11]

I went with HBK being the 1st ever Grand Slam Champ, not just because he won all the titles, but they were ALL stretched out throughout his entire career. Not compacted into 3-4 years.

 

[Attack]

I think Somoa Joe comes in second for most impressive accomplishment because his title reign and streak were in two different wrestling leagues. That's harder to do than have both accomplishments in the same league.

But I think the most impressive accomplishment is John Cena's 28 month title reigns. Think about it, whether or not you like him or despise him his title reigns are physically hard to do. Every night he goes out into the ring and gets tormented by the fans; He gets the finger, he's booed constantly, and he's chanted against all the time. And to think this whole time he's a face wrestler, not a heel, which means the fans really mean it. And the whole time he continues to do his angles and matches all the time, plus he rarely takes off. Imagine if at your job, every day you showed up, half of your co-workers screamed at you and gave you the finger. Would you enjoy going to work and go every day? I don't think so. And while the accomplishments of Somoa Joe and Undertaker are great, they get cheered for their accomplishments, Cena deals with the exact opposite. So even if you hate Cena, what he does is hard to do, in any profession, not just wrestling. That to me is impressive.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

I voted for "the dreaded other." To me, there is no greater accomplishment than what Mick Foley has done for the world of wrestling. The man is where he is today because he decided that he was going to do a bunch of crazy stuff. HIAC vs. the Undertaker totally revamped American wrestling.

 

[klunderbunker]

I went with Taker's Wrestlemania streak. While all of these are great, the 2nd longest is cena's, at just over 2 years. Taker has been doing this for nearly 20! How many people are big enough stars are big enough taht when they are at their first mania they win, and aren't so far buried at all ever? Truly remarkable.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I voted for Samoa Joe's 645 days as ROH Champion, then his undefeated streak in T.N.A. - I thought Cena's reign was awful, but damn.. 645 days straight?! I realize ROH is right below the main scene & right above the indy scene, but regardless thats impressive to have. Now then, allow me to address the others..

John Cena's 28 Month Domination of the WWE Title: While this has to be impressive, just because its so absurd. I don't count it as the best, just because W.W.E. is trying its hardest to make their Championships worth something & not pass them around to everyone, every other month.

The Undertaker's 15-0 Wrestlemania Streak: Another very impressive achievement, but not worth the best. During his first couple of Wrestlemania's when the streak wasn't really anything.. it might of been impressive to know he got passed some of them.. but his streak started getting "known" from Wrestlemania 17 on. Him beating Triple H., at WM, was the most impressive feat out of all his wins.

Kurt Angle Wins all of the TNA Gold: T.N.A. needed a face, this isn't impressive so much as stupid to me. Angle has more health related problems/issues than anyone on their roster.. including Scott Steiner. T.N.A. needed a face, they got one.. lets just hope it doesn't turn bad for them.

Goldberg's 172 - 0 Record: This shouldn't even be ON here. This is the worst achievement EVER! His streak is bullshit, look at who all he beat. How many times did 1-80 happen against jobbers, no names, & cruiserweights? Are you kidding me..

Shawn Michaels becomes the First WWF Grand Slam Winner: Because H.B.K. won the European Championship, this makes everything possible. I'm honestly surprised they gave him that Championship, because all it did was bring the title back into the spotlight.

Brock Lesnar's Rookie Year: Okay, and? Kurt Angle had a greater "rookie" year than Lesnar. So I don't get why this is on here.

Chris Benoit goes 1 Hour and 47 Minutes in two consecutive Royal Rumbles: Another "Okay, and?" thought.. So Chris Benoit collectively goes an hour & 47 minutes. What about H.B.K., or Steve Austin, or Kane, or any number of stars that didn't win the rumble? I'll give Chris Benoit all the credit in the world, as this was impressive.. but its not something anyone else could've or possibly has done.

Rob Van Dam's 23 Month Television Title Reign: I think this is similar to Cena/W.W.E. -- E.C.W. wanted to place their secondary Championship on a face figure. R.V.D. got so over, that the T.V. Championship was headlining p.p.v's over their World Heavyweight Championship.. but.. in looking back, how many other guys could've had what it took (outside of Jerry Lynn) to beat R.V.D. for this Championship, at that point in time?

 

[wmxix]

RVD should run away with this poll for one reason: his title reign happened while the company he was with was at the height of its success. All these other promotions (with the exception of Undertaker's streak, which has transcended several eras now) were (or are) in the shitter at the time of whatever feat was accomplished.

Why's this important? Well think about it: if Cena, for example, came along during the WWF Attitude era, is there any way he would have held the title for this long? No way. There were too many top guys around and the wealth had to be spread. These days? Not so much. Say what you will about the love/hate relationship with Cena and the fans, no one--NO ONE--in WWE today has more mainstream exposure than John Cena. That's why he's champion.

 

[Uncle Sam]

If Kurt Angle winning all the TNA gold is on here, why not "AJ Styles winning all the TNA gold three times over"? OK, so it wasn't simultaneously, but that's still impressive and I think it's a lot more meaningful than Kurt Angle's inevitable dominance. Another interesting one, and one I will most certainly be crapped on for would be "Edge and Christian holding the record for most WWE Tag Title Reigns, then going on to both be multi-time World Champions in singles competition". Or can it just be for one wrestler? Personally though, I'm going to go for Joe. ROH in its prime blew me away, and Joe had some absolutely fantastic title matches during his record-breaking reign. Factor in his TNA streak, which featured the famous Unbreakable match vs. AJ Styles and Chris Daniels, and I think his is the most meaningful of all. It would appear that the sky is the limit for this guy if he plays his cards right, he's already had incredible success that he should be content with. Should be.

Hot damn, I'm Mrs. Sam!!

 

[Colamania]

That is by far the most sensible post ever to end with someone proclaming "Hot damn!".

But in all seriousness, I actually agree with him. Some may argue that is it wasn't for AJ Styles, TNA wouldn't be the company it is today. Actually, may not have been the company it was 9 months ago, it seems to have sucked recently. But still, TNA's massive popularity was birthed with the help of AJ Styles, and he should be on there.

However, I did not say other. I said...

The Rookie Year

Come on. Who else has had a rookie year like that? Angle's was good, but Lesnar had the most amazing rookie year I have ever seen. He got massively over, destroyed legends like Hogan and The Rock, and then becomes face and wins his second title at the main event of WM. That is amazing success. It's such a shame he pulled out of his WWE comeback at the last minute. That would have got butts in seats. (Monday night wars reference).

 

[Uncle Sam]

RVD should run away with this poll for one reason: his title reign happened while the company he was with was at the height of its success. All these other promotions (with the exception of Undertaker's streak, which has transcended several eras now) were (or are) in the shitter at the time of whatever feat was accomplished.

Why's this important? Well think about it: if Cena, for example, came along during the WWF Attitude era, is there any way he would have held the title for this long? No way. There were too many top guys around and the wealth had to be spread. These days? Not so much. Say what you will about the love/hate relationship with Cena and the fans, no one--NO ONE--in WWE today has more mainstream exposure than John Cena. That's why he's champion.

I wouldn't say any of those companies were in the shitter at the time. Perhaps in comparison when they were at their peaks, but most of them were accomplished at times that their respective companies were more popular and succesful than ECW ever was before going defunct.

 

[Dj Martyn]

I shot with....

The Rookie Year

The big thing was for me, as impressive as all those feat's are, i love the fact that Brock was actually damm good in the ring. He was believable as a champ, as a hot shot rookie, he was deserving. I mean the john cena run is impressive and his rise is impressive, but its all booked, he doesn't have the fan support or just the sheer industry approval that brock was gaining faster than anyone else ever has.

Close Second was Samoa Joe's domination of anything that isnt WWE. Joe is an in ring hero and its make me happy to know that just because he hasn't been in "the big league" he can still be recognized for his talent.

 

[FlairFan2003]

How could any list of the past 15 years (1992-2007) not include WCW overtakes WWE as America's most watched wrestling company 1996-1998 ? Vince McMahon hadn't had any real competition on a national scale since Jim Crockett Promotions sold the NWA to Ted Turner in 1988 and the company slowly spiraled downward. Even if Eric Bischoff made some bad moves he made enough good ones to catapult WCW to the top of the wrestling world for most of two years, effectively making wrestling "in" and "cool" again. I'm no fan of Bischoff's, but the WCW/Monday Nitro/New World Order saga was one heck of an accomplishment, not only making superstars out of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall but leading WWE into the controversial (but successful) "Attitude Era", much of which is still influencing the product we see today.

In terms of individual accomplishments during the last 15 years, Ric Flair leaving WCW and winning the WWE Championship in a 60 minute performance in the Royal Rumble has to rank high on the list. Back then wrestler's didn't move freely from promotion to promotion and superstars moved less frequently. Moreover, while Vince McMahon had pushed mid carders and lesser known talent he raided from other promotions most of the established stars who came into his company found themselves as second teamers (Dusty Rhodes) or had to completely change their gimmick to get a big push (Ted DiBiase, Mike Rotuda aka IRS). Flair was never asked to change anything and in fact he was the first wrestler Vince brought in after his national expansion that WWE television actually admitted had wrestled elsewhere. Not DiBiase, not Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard, not Rhodes. Flair was the first one WWE ever acknowledged on their programs as having been a "decorated international champion", of having a career outside WWE. In and of itself this was a huge accomplishment. As for Rumble, how many other wrestler's have lasted over an hour in a Rumble match, not many. Flair was the first in as star studded a Rumble as their ever was featuring 7 former or future World Champions (Hogan, Slaughter, Von Erich, Michaels, Savage, Undertaker, Sid) plus legends like Roddy Piper and Jake Roberts. It set the standard for all Rumble matches and is still considered one of if not the best one of all time. Flair was also the first wrestler ever to win both the NWA and WWE championships (Buddy Rogers was named WWE Champ when the promotion started but he didn't actually wrestle a match to be crowned champ). If you count the WCW Title separate from the NWA title Flair is the only wrestler to have held all three (on multiple occassions) and other than Hulk Hogan it was almost 7 years before anyone else would be able to say they had title runs in both WWE and WCW (Kevin Nash). A huge accomplishment indeed

 

[Shocky]

1. The John Cena Title Reign: Meh. I think People are giving this title reign way too much credit. If this happened in the 80's, that's one thing, or if he did it in the Attitude Era, sure. We're talking about a guy holding onto a belt while the main event talent is spread over three brands, and the main eventers in 2007 being on the shelf at one point or another. Triple H was injured for 8 months, the Steroid Scandals going on, and all of that. This isn't a very impressive title reign in my opinion. The matches he has been in have been average, at best. It's not a horrible title reign, but its far from great.

2. Samoa Joe: Quite simply, this is amazing. You're talking about a guy that simply dominated two federations for a combined 3 years. Sure, TNA/ROH may have had a working relationship with one another, but the fact remains that Joe destroyed talent in both companies, that is impressive.

3. The Undertaker at Wrestlemania: I mark out for the Undertaker, but this streak is highly over rated in my opinion. IT's impressive, don't get me wrong, but the way Michael Cole,and he is a terrible announcer, hypes it is horrible. Imagine a team going to the Super Bowl and winning 15 times, um no. Hulk Hogan going 5-1 in WWF Title Matches at Wrestlmania fits that billing more nicely. The Undertaker's streak is more like being selected to 15 straight All Star games. It shows the fans appreciate the man, and the man has been able to stay over for that long of a time period.

4. Kurt Angle wins all the Gold: I hate fans sometimes. I can't believe that TNA fans don't appreciate how good Kurt Angle is. He is trying to bring a sense of Realism back to the sport that has been muddled by crap storylines for years now. Kurt Angle is legit. Just think about it, a company trust a guy enough to put all of their gold on him, that's saying something. I feel that the WWE has spread that nasty pain killer rumor around to try and hurt Angles credibility, and I for one don't buy into it.

5. Goldberg's Streak. Let me start this by saying, while it happened, I hated it. I hate Goldberg, and too me, he symbolizes everything that went wrong with WCW in its latter years. The man was a giant no talent, and was the Stone Cold rip off WWF fan's claimed him to be. That being said, looking back, it was huge for WCW for a time. The crowd bought into it, and, it was the one storyline that kept WCW in the War against Raw in 98. Hell, people tuned in more to Goldberg's title reign then Austins, and that is a fact.

6. Shawn Michaels as the Grand Slam Winner: People don't realize how hard it used to be for guys to win multiple titles. It simply didn't happen. I think before this, only 6 or 7 guys were Triple Crown winners in the history of the WWE. In the ten years since that number has ballooned into the 30's if not 40's. This was a big deal, because it simply wasn't done, and to put a 4th tier belt on Michaels said a lot about it. Now, we have I think 5 Grand Slam Winners, and that is it. Triple H, Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam, and Eddie Guerrero. A WWE Grand Slam Winner is the WWE Title, IC Title, Euro Title, and World Tag Team Titles, so I don't want to hear Chris Benoit and crap like that.

7. Brock Lesnar's Rookie Campaign. This is it right here. The man was unstoppable since his debut. In 2002, with all of the big names returning, one guy made you stop and say Damn and take notice immediately, and no, it wasn't John Cena in green trunks vs. Kurt Angle. Brock Freaking Lesnar owned the WWF his rookie year. While Kurt's rookie year was impressive, it took him 11 months to get to the top, Brock was on top in 4. He smeared Hogan's blood on his chest, that is an iconic image I never thought I would see. Simply put, Brock Lesnar is a fucking beast and we will never see anything like that again.

8. Chris Benoit 2 Consecutive Rumbles: Most people don't really think about htis one, but I just found it amazing how long he went before being eliminated. Benoit broke the traditional big guy domination in the Rumble. Single handedly he eliminated all of the monsters in the 2004 Rumble, going over an hour in that match. Then the WWE puts the faith in him the next year to start the thing again, and he goes another 45 minutes. All the things surrounding his death aside, the WWE invested and trusted in this man, and he delivered. Put it this way, there is no one in the WWE that will come close to touching this mark of consecutive minutes in a Royal Rumble, this record is untouchable.

9. RVD's 23 months TV Title Reign. The man put on match of the night time and time again. PWI recognized him as an elite wrestler, not too bad for some bingo hall spot monkey. People that hate on RVD simply never saw him when he was allowed to be himself, and not a guy with a limited vocabulary and limited move set to go along with it. RVD's Title Reign saw some of the best matches of the 90's come out of it. RVD is vastly under appreciated, and i'm glad I got to see this while it happened. Going off topic, it's amazing how RVD was the most over guy in 2001 during the Invasion, without being fine tuned by McMahon himself, but in 2002 when Triple H shows back up, the character needs a change and is strangled. Despite being strangled by the WWE, RVD still manages to stay one of the most over guys on the roster.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Shawn Michaels wins Grand Slam

My #1 reason why is simple. If you read Shawn's autobiography, he never should have even come CLOSE to being the star he is today. He was far too undersized to be considered a top Intercontinental Title contender, let along World Title Contender. He and Jannetty actually got FIRED from WWF at first, and that could have ended his career right there!

Shawn's size was always in question, as was his attitude. The fact that he overcame that, being jumped in Syracuse, depression, and back surgery to become a Tag Team, Intercontinental, European, and World Champion is remarkable. He did something I don't think many others will ever do again.

 

[Mad Metal]

The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak. It's been going on for a decade and a half and the accomplishment grows year after year. Knowing the end could be near for The Undertaker really questions his streak currently if the end of the deadman will begin by passing the torch which would get MANY people talking and indeed would become a big deal. Without of a doubt, because of the streak, it catches many people's interest.

The one I feel is over rated is Kurt Angle's TNA title wins. In all honesty, despite how much I truly hate Kurt Angle, credit must be given for being an excellent athlete but I'd expect someone that's becoming a fresh/new rising star in TNA to get the win over all titles to get them over which is a huge career push while Kurt Angle feels the desperate need to not be #2, but #1 and to always good good. I seen him win world titles and get a fast push when he first started in the WWE. He doesn't need to win every title to get himself over or to get a push at all. He already had the fame and already is a huge name, there's nothing more to prove other than feeding his ego.

The second most impressive must be Samoa Joe's domination, like said. Majority of the times, in order to become an actual name or a superstar, you have to be able to be successful in the WWE which Joe still yet to step inside a WWE ring and is already a big name. No doubt that is impressive.

 

[RVDgurl]

Shocky, you came up with a very good poll. For a minute I actually debated my answer. However, I had to vote for RVD and his tremendous 23 month reign in ECW. This was the longest title reign of the decade and during those 23 months, the TV belt was more prestigious than the world title. RVD was headlining all the shows as the TV champ. Now that's what I call being over.

 

[Slim Pickns]

The one I feel is over rated is Kurt Angle's TNA title wins. In all honesty, despite how much I truly hate Kurt Angle, credit must be given for being an excellent athlete but I'd expect someone that's becoming a fresh/new rising star in TNA to get the win over all titles to get them over which is a huge career push while Kurt Angle feels the desperate need to not be #2, but #1 and to always good good. I seen him win world titles and get a fast push when he first started in the WWE. He doesn't need to win every title to get himself over or to get a push at all. He already had the fame and already is a huge name, there's nothing more to prove other than feeding his ego.

I will have to disagree with you there. I think TNA wanted Angle to bring creditabilty to all of the belts in TNA by making them all the focal point of the main event. Now, Angle cleanly dropped the X belt to Jay Lethal bringing his status up, and he has dropped the tag belts (unfortunately to Team Pacman).

As for my vote, RVD's TV title reign. Honestly, how awesome is it that he brought the mid card belt to the main event, making it more coveted, at the time, than the ECW World Title. He put on great matches for almost two years and made the ECE TV title the best mid card belt in wrestling.

Think of that when you see Jeff Hardy vs. Carlito for the IC belt on RAW.

 

[wwe1581]

I went with Shawn Michaels' being the first grand slam winner because until about 1998 titles weren't switching every other week there was longevity with champions and it was a tough task to be a champion in the WWE they only had three titles from 1979 to 1997 and then added the European unlike other promotions that had several champions WWE only had four and added more after Michaels had retired due to his back injury, so his was the most impressive

 

[I'm GaGa]

The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak

i voted for taker's streak because is the only thing in the list that hasn't been
broken nor reached and i think that this won't be reached anytime soon.
and he might not have great match every year like michaels but he can put a great match when he's facing the right oponent(wmx7 vs hhh) and his streak will grow for at least one year more!!

 

[MR.SCOTT]

i would say the benoit rumble moment, simple fact it proved two things 1 smaller guys can get pushed by the company, 2 the wwe was getting behind ability rather then physic.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

i would say the benoit rumble moment, simple fact it proved two things 1 smaller guys can get pushed by the company, 2 the wwe was getting behind ability rather then physic.

Silly post dont you think. Benoit wasn't exactly a midget. He was the same size as Mike Tyson. He's not a smally guy is he? And his physique was massive. He was on steroids y'know.

 

[BooCocky]

Shocky, you came up with a very good poll. For a minute I actually debated my answer. However, I had to vote for RVD and his tremendous 23 month reign in ECW. This was the longest title reign of the decade and during those 23 months, the TV belt was more prestigious than the world title. RVD was headlining all the shows as the TV champ. Now that's what I call being over.

I agree, he has to be one of the most over guys in wrestling. He had the longest title reign of the decade i believe. RVD was headlining events with a mid card championship belt. At that time like most people that voted for this knew that at that time the tv belt was more prestigious than the world title. He was recognized as an elite wrestler by PWI, like someone said before it wasnt to bad for a guy who wrestled in a bingo hall and was a glorified spot monkey. Seeing as RVD put on some of the greatest matches in that decade should have ran away with this poll and at that time he was the whole F***** show.

 

[MR.SCOTT]

Silly post dont you think. Benoit wasn't exactly a midget. He was the same size as Mike Tyson. He's not a smally guy is he? And his physique was massive. He was on steroids y'know.

not really silly post, the biggest guys the wwe pushed where 6ft the most, guys like hhh, austin, and guys like benoit who had talent but not size wasnt able to get world title status, so again jake it wasnt a silly post it just proves that the wwe made a u turn in their ability over size policy

 

[MR.SCOTT]

I agree, he has to be one of the most over guys in wrestling. He had the longest title reign of the decade i believe. RVD was headlining events with a mid card championship belt. At that time like most people that voted for this knew that at that time the tv belt was more prestigious than the world title. He was recognized as an elite wrestler by PWI, like someone said before it wasnt to bad for a guy who wrestled in a bingo hall and was a glorified spot monkey. Seeing as RVD put on some of the greatest matches in that decade should have ran away with this poll and at that time he was the whole F***** show.

you see thats where i get torn in regards to polls like these, as unlike triple h's reeign of doom, i loved rvd's tv title reign and was dissapointed that he got injured, soo many top moments in wrestling history only one to pick

 

[shadowjones]

I truly say that The Undertaker's 15-0 winning streak at Wrestlemania is truly the best accomplishment because Wrestlemania is the biggest stage of em all so that says the phenom is truly awesome.