Wrestler of the Decade
- Thread starter Mr. TM
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What a long decade this has been, with the Rock and Stone Cold exiting stage left, to a new breed of talent entering the squared circle. We had some people rise out of the 90s and become talent. We had a man from a lesser company move up to be regarded as one of the best of the decade.
But we had one man who has done more than the rest. His name is Edge, and he is the Rated R Superstar, in an era of PG. He has become quite popular to the IWC as a person who looks to move away from the hated PG era and with his rage towards the top faces of the company, he looks to dominant sports entertainment. No one thought that Triple H could be caught for title reigns, but Edge looks to do so in the WWE. At one time he was the reason why people tuned into SmackDown. Whether it was Keyfabe or real life, this guy has been dominant in the WWE.
But we had one man who has done more than the rest. His name is Edge, and he is the Rated R Superstar, in an era of PG. He has become quite popular to the IWC as a person who looks to move away from the hated PG era and with his rage towards the top faces of the company, he looks to dominant sports entertainment. No one thought that Triple H could be caught for title reigns, but Edge looks to do so in the WWE. At one time he was the reason why people tuned into SmackDown. Whether it was Keyfabe or real life, this guy has been dominant in the WWE.
My vote is for the man who has proven to be the BEST in-ring performer of all time, and one of the top two wrestlers ever: HBK Shawn Michaels. Here's why:
Lets see here, he came back after a 4 years of healing, and has wrestled better than or as good as anyone has this decade, He has consistently put over the younger talent (Shelton Benjamin, Batista, Randy Orton, Chris Masters, Carlito, The Legacy), he has won the PWI Match of the Year award the last 4 years (soon to be 5 when his match with Undertaker wins this year) he has had some amazingly awesome promos, either in DX or on his own, he has constantly stolen the show at Wrestlemania this decade, he has had some of the best feuds this decade (vs HHH, vs The McMahons, vs Jericho, vs Kurt Angle) and his matches have been some of the most memorable:
Unsanctioned Match with HHH (Summerslam 2002)
First Elimination Chamber (Survivor Series 2002)
Three Stages of Hell with HHH (Armageddon 2002)
vs Chris Jericho (WrestleMania 19)
Last Man Standing Match vs HHH (Royal Rumble 2003)
Triple Threat vs HHH and Beniot (Wrestlemania 20)
Hell in a Cell Match vs HHH (Badd Blood 2003)
Team Austin vs Team Bischoff (Survivor Series 2003)
vs Kurt Angle (Wrestlemania 21)
vs Shelton Benjamin (Raw) (Who will ever forget that Super Kick at the end!?)
vs McMahon (Wrestlemania 22)
The God Match (Backlash 2006)
Hell In A Cell vs The McMahons & Big Show
The Royal Rumble Match 2007 (I will always believe that the ending to that match with HBK and Taker going at it for I believe to be 10 minutes will always be one of the three best endings to a Rumble ever)
vs John Cena (WrestleMania 23 & The Hour Long Match in London)
vs Ric Flair (WrestleMania 24)
His entire Feud with Chris Jericho in 2008
vs Undertaker (Wrestlemania 25)
Submission Match vs The Legacy (Breaking Point 2009)
HBK was heading into the Hall of Fame before he got hurt, and left, but what he proved when he came back is that he is one of, if not THE best of all time. HBK is definitely my pick for Wrestler of the Decade.
Lets see here, he came back after a 4 years of healing, and has wrestled better than or as good as anyone has this decade, He has consistently put over the younger talent (Shelton Benjamin, Batista, Randy Orton, Chris Masters, Carlito, The Legacy), he has won the PWI Match of the Year award the last 4 years (soon to be 5 when his match with Undertaker wins this year) he has had some amazingly awesome promos, either in DX or on his own, he has constantly stolen the show at Wrestlemania this decade, he has had some of the best feuds this decade (vs HHH, vs The McMahons, vs Jericho, vs Kurt Angle) and his matches have been some of the most memorable:
Unsanctioned Match with HHH (Summerslam 2002)
First Elimination Chamber (Survivor Series 2002)
Three Stages of Hell with HHH (Armageddon 2002)
vs Chris Jericho (WrestleMania 19)
Last Man Standing Match vs HHH (Royal Rumble 2003)
Triple Threat vs HHH and Beniot (Wrestlemania 20)
Hell in a Cell Match vs HHH (Badd Blood 2003)
Team Austin vs Team Bischoff (Survivor Series 2003)
vs Kurt Angle (Wrestlemania 21)
vs Shelton Benjamin (Raw) (Who will ever forget that Super Kick at the end!?)
vs McMahon (Wrestlemania 22)
The God Match (Backlash 2006)
Hell In A Cell vs The McMahons & Big Show
The Royal Rumble Match 2007 (I will always believe that the ending to that match with HBK and Taker going at it for I believe to be 10 minutes will always be one of the three best endings to a Rumble ever)
vs John Cena (WrestleMania 23 & The Hour Long Match in London)
vs Ric Flair (WrestleMania 24)
His entire Feud with Chris Jericho in 2008
vs Undertaker (Wrestlemania 25)
Submission Match vs The Legacy (Breaking Point 2009)
HBK was heading into the Hall of Fame before he got hurt, and left, but what he proved when he came back is that he is one of, if not THE best of all time. HBK is definitely my pick for Wrestler of the Decade.
DiscipleofWrestling
Getting Noticed By Management
I think there's a good case for Edge, Shawn Michaels, or Kurt Angle to be anyone's choice for Wrestler of the Decade. But I went with Chris Jericho because the WWE without Chris Jericho was a lower quality, in my personal opinion, than the WWE with Chris Jericho. Look at the stats:
-9 Time Intercontinental Champion
- 1st Ever Undisputed Champion
- Multi-time Tag Team Champion
- World Heavyweight Champion
- WCW Champion
Also, WWE had him on two (or even three) shows in a week at a time. This shows trust and belief in Jericho's ability to draw and have great matches on whatever show he is on. Jericho's performances have been stellar, especially in the last couple years. He's had awesome matches with the likes of Jeff Hardy, Shawn Michaels, Batista, Rey Mysterio, and others. He also helped do something that WWE has failed to do in years: put importance on the tag team titles with the formation of Jerishow (with Big Show).
Whether you like him better as the "Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah" and the "Saved Man above the Masses of the Germ Incubators," Chris Jericho defined excellence in the top wrestling company in the 2000s. He is the wrestler of the decade, and we, the audience, are better off for having him than we would be without him.
-9 Time Intercontinental Champion
- 1st Ever Undisputed Champion
- Multi-time Tag Team Champion
- World Heavyweight Champion
- WCW Champion
Also, WWE had him on two (or even three) shows in a week at a time. This shows trust and belief in Jericho's ability to draw and have great matches on whatever show he is on. Jericho's performances have been stellar, especially in the last couple years. He's had awesome matches with the likes of Jeff Hardy, Shawn Michaels, Batista, Rey Mysterio, and others. He also helped do something that WWE has failed to do in years: put importance on the tag team titles with the formation of Jerishow (with Big Show).
Whether you like him better as the "Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah" and the "Saved Man above the Masses of the Germ Incubators," Chris Jericho defined excellence in the top wrestling company in the 2000s. He is the wrestler of the decade, and we, the audience, are better off for having him than we would be without him.
I chose Edge only because of a very little, yet good explanations.
Edge from 2000-2001/2 along with the Hardy's and the Dudleys carried the tag team division. Now you may say yeah but so there were still 5 other wrestlers that helped, Yes you have a point but the fact that Edge was basically the leader of his team and constantly putting on good matches with the Hardy's and/or the Dudley's speaks for itself.Then when him and Christain split up, he had a very memorbale feud with his "brother" over the IC title, putting on a great ladder match and cage match with him.
Move on a few years ( too 2005) and Edge is finally getting the push he deserves, He wins Money in the bank, putting everyone on there toes to see when he was going to cash it in. But before he does make any move with that. He has the Feud of the year with Matt Hardy, Not letting one of his matches with Matt Hardy short of GREAT. Ok maybe for execption of the SummerSlam one but everyother match was great.
Then at New Years resoultion he stole the show, cashing in his money in the bank, defeating John Cena for the WWE championship and then continueing many title runs in the next 3 years.
Whether you like it or not Edge carried Smackdown from 2007 and beyond, he has been the best heel in the business since 2006 ( you can say Jericho but I disagree), he hsa had so many title runs, made so many good matches. I dont see why he shouldn't get it...
Edge from 2000-2001/2 along with the Hardy's and the Dudleys carried the tag team division. Now you may say yeah but so there were still 5 other wrestlers that helped, Yes you have a point but the fact that Edge was basically the leader of his team and constantly putting on good matches with the Hardy's and/or the Dudley's speaks for itself.Then when him and Christain split up, he had a very memorbale feud with his "brother" over the IC title, putting on a great ladder match and cage match with him.
Move on a few years ( too 2005) and Edge is finally getting the push he deserves, He wins Money in the bank, putting everyone on there toes to see when he was going to cash it in. But before he does make any move with that. He has the Feud of the year with Matt Hardy, Not letting one of his matches with Matt Hardy short of GREAT. Ok maybe for execption of the SummerSlam one but everyother match was great.
Then at New Years resoultion he stole the show, cashing in his money in the bank, defeating John Cena for the WWE championship and then continueing many title runs in the next 3 years.
Whether you like it or not Edge carried Smackdown from 2007 and beyond, he has been the best heel in the business since 2006 ( you can say Jericho but I disagree), he hsa had so many title runs, made so many good matches. I dont see why he shouldn't get it...
There are so many people that I could go with on that list, but I have to go with one that has been there the whole decade. So that rules out some of the names listed. (Cena, Batista, Rock, Michaels, and even Jericho with his hiatus.)
Really it was between 'Taker, Edge, and Trips for me. Then I saw one name on there that I always forget about. Kurt Angle. Angle has been putting on some of the best matches that we've seen this decade. Really when you look at he has had great matches with just about everyone on that list. He's had great matches and feuds with the likes of The Rock, 'Taker, Jericho, Edge, Trips, Austin, Beniot, Lesnar, and Cena. That was all in the WWE.
I honestly thought that he was done when he left, but he proved me wrong when he went to TNA. He put on the same caliber matches with lesser known talent and tore the house down on several occasions. He had some great matches with Joe and the likes of Styles, Sting, Christian, Nash, and others. Even recently having great matches with Morgan, and then Wolfe.
The man has MOTY candidates every year this decade. In some case multiple matches. He really has out shined every other wrestler in my opinion this decade. That's why he's my wrestler of the decade.
Really it was between 'Taker, Edge, and Trips for me. Then I saw one name on there that I always forget about. Kurt Angle. Angle has been putting on some of the best matches that we've seen this decade. Really when you look at he has had great matches with just about everyone on that list. He's had great matches and feuds with the likes of The Rock, 'Taker, Jericho, Edge, Trips, Austin, Beniot, Lesnar, and Cena. That was all in the WWE.
I honestly thought that he was done when he left, but he proved me wrong when he went to TNA. He put on the same caliber matches with lesser known talent and tore the house down on several occasions. He had some great matches with Joe and the likes of Styles, Sting, Christian, Nash, and others. Even recently having great matches with Morgan, and then Wolfe.
The man has MOTY candidates every year this decade. In some case multiple matches. He really has out shined every other wrestler in my opinion this decade. That's why he's my wrestler of the decade.
Kurt Angle.
One of the only wrestlers to be around for a whole decade who's produced consistently good matches throughout that time. He hasn't been an overall great performer since about 2005, but neither has HBK, the only other wrestler who could possibly take the award. While Shawn Michaels has a classic or two each year, he's also working with some of the best talent in the business and on TV he phones it in. Kurt Angle on the other hand has got good matches out of most of the talentless guys he's faced in recent years, and even though his ability has diminished greatly over the past couple of years, he still has good matches in a poorly booked promotion like TNA.
One of the only wrestlers to be around for a whole decade who's produced consistently good matches throughout that time. He hasn't been an overall great performer since about 2005, but neither has HBK, the only other wrestler who could possibly take the award. While Shawn Michaels has a classic or two each year, he's also working with some of the best talent in the business and on TV he phones it in. Kurt Angle on the other hand has got good matches out of most of the talentless guys he's faced in recent years, and even though his ability has diminished greatly over the past couple of years, he still has good matches in a poorly booked promotion like TNA.
Kurt Angle.
One of the only wrestlers to be around for a whole decade who's produced consistently good matches throughout that time. He hasn't been an overall great performer since about 2005, but neither has HBK, the only other wrestler who could possibly take the award. While Shawn Michaels has a classic or two each year, he's also working with some of the best talent in the business and on TV he phones it in. Kurt Angle on the other hand has got good matches out of most of the talentless guys he's faced in recent years, and even though his ability has diminished greatly over the past couple of years, he still has good matches in a poorly booked promotion like TNA.
One of the only wrestlers to be around for a whole decade who's produced consistently good matches throughout that time. He hasn't been an overall great performer since about 2005, but neither has HBK, the only other wrestler who could possibly take the award. While Shawn Michaels has a classic or two each year, he's also working with some of the best talent in the business and on TV he phones it in. Kurt Angle on the other hand has got good matches out of most of the talentless guys he's faced in recent years, and even though his ability has diminished greatly over the past couple of years, he still has good matches in a poorly booked promotion like TNA.
Kurt Angle.
One of the only wrestlers to be around for a whole decade who's produced consistently good matches throughout that time. He hasn't been an overall great performer since about 2005, but neither has HBK, the only other wrestler who could possibly take the award. While Shawn Michaels has a classic or two each year, he's also working with some of the best talent in the business and on TV he phones it in. Kurt Angle on the other hand has got good matches out of most of the talentless guys he's faced in recent years, and even though his ability has diminished greatly over the past couple of years, he still has good matches in a poorly booked promotion like TNA.
One of the only wrestlers to be around for a whole decade who's produced consistently good matches throughout that time. He hasn't been an overall great performer since about 2005, but neither has HBK, the only other wrestler who could possibly take the award. While Shawn Michaels has a classic or two each year, he's also working with some of the best talent in the business and on TV he phones it in. Kurt Angle on the other hand has got good matches out of most of the talentless guys he's faced in recent years, and even though his ability has diminished greatly over the past couple of years, he still has good matches in a poorly booked promotion like TNA.
I voted for John Cena, that should come as no surprise what with me being a Cena mark and all. However, I definitely think he is the Wrestler of the decade. He might not have been a main eventer all 10 years, but he has been relevant for nearly the whole decade. Ever since his debut in 2002, he has continued to have a lot of success. Shortly after winning his first WWE title at Wrestlemania 21, he became the face of the company. That's almost 5 years, and almost half the decade of being the face of WWE.
In this decade he went from being in developmental, to making his debut, to becoming a popular character as the rapper, to debuting the current version of the WWE title, to becoming "the champ", to becoming the face of WWE for several years. He's a fantastic run so far, hasn't he?
John Cena is the wrestler of the decade because he has had a bigger and longer lasting impact than the other choices on the poll.
In this decade he went from being in developmental, to making his debut, to becoming a popular character as the rapper, to debuting the current version of the WWE title, to becoming "the champ", to becoming the face of WWE for several years. He's a fantastic run so far, hasn't he?
John Cena is the wrestler of the decade because he has had a bigger and longer lasting impact than the other choices on the poll.
i am a huge cena mark, but even i have to admit that HBK is the wrestler of the decade. HBK has had so many memorable matches and has regularly delivered. How many times was he involved in the indisputably best match of a wrestlemania? At least three times (vs flair, vs taker and vs angle) and maybe more (vs Jericho, vs McMahon and the 04 triple threat).
Another question, with the exception of the Rock has anyone made Hogan look better than HBK this decade? HBK is great because he doesnt need to carry the match to make it great (which make his battles with Jericho so epic). The question was wrestler or the decade, not champion of the decade or most accomplished. because of his library of matches my vote goes to michaels
Another question, with the exception of the Rock has anyone made Hogan look better than HBK this decade? HBK is great because he doesnt need to carry the match to make it great (which make his battles with Jericho so epic). The question was wrestler or the decade, not champion of the decade or most accomplished. because of his library of matches my vote goes to michaels
Little Jerry Lawler
Sigmund Freud On Ritalin And Roids
HBK made that match against Hogan a total joke and everyone knows it. HBK has had three of four decent matches this whole decade so I'm not going to consider him.
Even though I don't like Angle, I'm going to have to go with him. He has good matches almost every year and one every year that you can say was the best. He managed to get good matches out of most of the TNA roster which is surprising. He arguably had the match of the decade with Benoit in 2003 and the best Wrestemania match of all time with HBK in 2005. If HHH would have a couple of great matches these past three of four years I would have went him but he hasn't produced consistently since 2004.
Well that's one of the stupidest fucking things I've ever heard. HBK has had three or four decent matches this decade? Try three or four good matches this YEAR alone. His match with 'Taker, though overrated, is one of the best matches the WWE has had in fucking years. His feud with Jericho in 2008 produced several great matches, and for years before that he was putting on great matches with guys like Hunter, Angle, Jericho, Shelton Benjamin and several others. I mean, seriously, that statement was just capital D DUMB.
My wrestler of the decade? Kenta Kobashi, easily. If we're talking in terms of who has worked the hardest this decade and consistently put on great performance after great performance this decade, Kobashi is my easy choice. Even in middle age Kobashi still goes out and works a tougher schedule and busts his ass a hundred times harder than just about any American wrestler I can think of right now. If it weren't for himself, Misawa, and Jun Akiyama, NOAH would never have been successful and without NOAH's success, who knows where the hell Japanese wrestling would be right now. He also had what I consider to be the match of the decade in his encounter with Misawa on March 1st 2003, one of the greatest wrestling matches I have ever had the pleasure of watching.
Kobashi gets my vote easily here. No one has been as consistently amazing as he has this decade, even Misawa started to regress a bit over the last few years before his death, but Kobashi is like an Iron Man. A true legend in this business and my vote for wrestler of the decade, no doubt about it.
IrishCanadian25
Going on 10 years with WrestleZone
Czena only haz five votez!
And mine is one of them.
How can you deny him? He burst onto the scene with a brilliant debut, got himself over on the white rapper gimmick (coming out with actually a very passable album in the process), feuded with top stars like The Undertaker as a heel, and pushed his way to superstardom.
When Brock Lesnar left for football / MMA, there was some question regarding whose 'era' this would be. Sammartino to Hogan to Hart to Michaels to Austin to Rock to...
Cena.
He's the top draw, runs terrific storylines, busts his ass in the community - he's the new Hogan, he's still young, and his first decade has been nothing short of remarkable. Plus, unlike some other names on the list, no real scandals and no major, life-altering injuries.
And mine is one of them.
How can you deny him? He burst onto the scene with a brilliant debut, got himself over on the white rapper gimmick (coming out with actually a very passable album in the process), feuded with top stars like The Undertaker as a heel, and pushed his way to superstardom.
When Brock Lesnar left for football / MMA, there was some question regarding whose 'era' this would be. Sammartino to Hogan to Hart to Michaels to Austin to Rock to...
Cena.
He's the top draw, runs terrific storylines, busts his ass in the community - he's the new Hogan, he's still young, and his first decade has been nothing short of remarkable. Plus, unlike some other names on the list, no real scandals and no major, life-altering injuries.
Little Jerry Lawler
Sigmund Freud On Ritalin And Roids
HBK has wrestled about eight or nine matches this year alone. I'll take any of the Mysterio/Jericho matches over HBK's match with Taker. Last HBK match I liked was his 2008 match with Jeff Hardy which I was surprised he let Hardy beat him clean.
His 2008 feud with Jericho produced an average ladder match and two matches stopped by the referee including an unsanctioned match.
His WM 21 match with Angle was good until halfway through before it became a "top this" kind of match. I'll blame Angle more than I do HBK although HBK didn't do himself any favors by being in the Ankle Lock for five minutes.
His only good match with Hunter was in 2002. The rest of their matches couldn't live up to that first one especially that horrible Hell in a Cell match that took almost an hour.
That one good match with Shelton Benjamin. It was good but too bad it didn't do anything for Shelton. You would think a great match with HBK would get you somewhere but he didn't.
SavageTaker
Everybody Has A Price!
My vote is going to either Chris Jericho or AJ Styles.
Both men have been phenomenal this decade. They have put on some classic matches and have had great feuds. Both have been entertaining, but I’m going to have to give my vote to Jericho. Even though he was gone for a while, I think he had more great matches and better feuds than Styles. Now, that’s not meant to take away from AJ because he had a wonderful decade too. I just feel Jericho was slightly better this decade.
A close third (since Jericho is 1st for me and AJ 2nd) would be Kurt Angle. He too had a phenomenal year. He had some amazing matches with the likes of Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, AJ Styles, e.t.c.
Both men have been phenomenal this decade. They have put on some classic matches and have had great feuds. Both have been entertaining, but I’m going to have to give my vote to Jericho. Even though he was gone for a while, I think he had more great matches and better feuds than Styles. Now, that’s not meant to take away from AJ because he had a wonderful decade too. I just feel Jericho was slightly better this decade.
A close third (since Jericho is 1st for me and AJ 2nd) would be Kurt Angle. He too had a phenomenal year. He had some amazing matches with the likes of Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, AJ Styles, e.t.c.
The Roid Rage
Getting Noticed By Management
WOW, I know I am an admitted, enjoying, and irrecoverable mark for him, But how could you not vote for Triple H. The only guy I would even consider next to him would be either Angle or Cena, and I'd still take Triple H, fandom aside.
Cena is a great worker, and so is Angle, you can't take that away from those guys, but that's what they are, workers. Triple H is a fucking Ring General ok. This guy commands attention, emotion, drama, everything when he is in the ring, and he has the best ring presence of anyone I've seen. He can do it all, and has. Look at the titles he's racked up, look at the DX runs, look at the feuds he's had, the Wrestlemania matches, everything.
He has easily the most solid resume of all these guys, and he wants it more than any of them all the time, day and night. No one loves this business, lives it, or enjoys it like Triple H, and he is truly a Master Student of the game. You have to understand, being a student of the game, this guy learned from Nash, Hall, Flair, Michaels, Taker, originally Killer Kowalski, and a slew of the greats. He is the culmination of all that combined knowledge wrapped into one. The epitome of what a wrestler is suppsed to be all about.
He has consistently delivered for the WWE, and been at the top the whole time never really slumping, becoming irrelevant, or losing any stock. He has been dominant over the years, beat the best, put over the best, and established himself as one of the greatest of all time. Not to mention, this motherfucker has come back from not 1 but 2 quad injuries that would have ended the careers of lesser men and come back stronger each time. Other than those 2 serious injuries he has been in full swing for the WWE and put over the past, current and future stars of the decade. His contributions helped keep the company strong, and do to this day. I could go on and on and on about why he is without a doubt the wrestler of the decade.
Cena is a great worker, and so is Angle, you can't take that away from those guys, but that's what they are, workers. Triple H is a fucking Ring General ok. This guy commands attention, emotion, drama, everything when he is in the ring, and he has the best ring presence of anyone I've seen. He can do it all, and has. Look at the titles he's racked up, look at the DX runs, look at the feuds he's had, the Wrestlemania matches, everything.
He has easily the most solid resume of all these guys, and he wants it more than any of them all the time, day and night. No one loves this business, lives it, or enjoys it like Triple H, and he is truly a Master Student of the game. You have to understand, being a student of the game, this guy learned from Nash, Hall, Flair, Michaels, Taker, originally Killer Kowalski, and a slew of the greats. He is the culmination of all that combined knowledge wrapped into one. The epitome of what a wrestler is suppsed to be all about.
He has consistently delivered for the WWE, and been at the top the whole time never really slumping, becoming irrelevant, or losing any stock. He has been dominant over the years, beat the best, put over the best, and established himself as one of the greatest of all time. Not to mention, this motherfucker has come back from not 1 but 2 quad injuries that would have ended the careers of lesser men and come back stronger each time. Other than those 2 serious injuries he has been in full swing for the WWE and put over the past, current and future stars of the decade. His contributions helped keep the company strong, and do to this day. I could go on and on and on about why he is without a doubt the wrestler of the decade.
Despite seeing such favorites on the list as The Rock, Edge and Chris Jericho, I had to go with John Cena.
Let's start with why I didn't pick some of the obvious choices.
Sure, guys like Stone Cold and The Rock changed wrestling forever (or so we hope), but this is Wrestler of the Decade, not Wrestler that did the most for the sport of the Decade. They did very little in the way of wrestling in the 2000's, and I feel that John Cena's achievements in this decade outweigh theirs. Additionally, guys like Edge, Y2J, HBK, and HHH all have been just as successful in the ring as Cena, but none have managed to be a pop icon like he has.
Now to why Cena is the wrestler of the decade.
In a relatively short time, Cena has accomplished a lot with his wrestling career. He debuted in 2002, nearly beating Kurt Angle, something many wrestlers could never dream of. I will spare you a feud by feud recap of his (almost) 8 years in the WWE, but let's look at championships. He is a 7 time world championship, nearly one reign per year. While a few of his title reigns were short, he has held the gold for oveir a year at other points. He also had a fairly memorable tag team run with Shawn Michaels (and one not so memorable run with Batista), as well as three runs with the US title early in his career.
Those are pretty damn impressive stats. Even Edge and his 9 title reigns can't claim they held the belt for over a year.
On top of all this, John Cena is also a huge success outside of the WWE. He has starred in two movies, appeared as a guest on numerous prominent television shows, and even made an appearance on Saturday Night Live, proving his pop culture relevance in a way few other superstars have been able to do. He has had numerous endorsements from such companies as Subway and Gillette. He even released an album that ranked as high as number 15 on the US Billboard 200.
John Cena's prominence in and out of the ring make him the Superstar of the decade for me. I think that no other superstar has managed to accomplish as much as he in such a short amount of time.
Let's start with why I didn't pick some of the obvious choices.
Sure, guys like Stone Cold and The Rock changed wrestling forever (or so we hope), but this is Wrestler of the Decade, not Wrestler that did the most for the sport of the Decade. They did very little in the way of wrestling in the 2000's, and I feel that John Cena's achievements in this decade outweigh theirs. Additionally, guys like Edge, Y2J, HBK, and HHH all have been just as successful in the ring as Cena, but none have managed to be a pop icon like he has.
Now to why Cena is the wrestler of the decade.
In a relatively short time, Cena has accomplished a lot with his wrestling career. He debuted in 2002, nearly beating Kurt Angle, something many wrestlers could never dream of. I will spare you a feud by feud recap of his (almost) 8 years in the WWE, but let's look at championships. He is a 7 time world championship, nearly one reign per year. While a few of his title reigns were short, he has held the gold for oveir a year at other points. He also had a fairly memorable tag team run with Shawn Michaels (and one not so memorable run with Batista), as well as three runs with the US title early in his career.
Those are pretty damn impressive stats. Even Edge and his 9 title reigns can't claim they held the belt for over a year.
On top of all this, John Cena is also a huge success outside of the WWE. He has starred in two movies, appeared as a guest on numerous prominent television shows, and even made an appearance on Saturday Night Live, proving his pop culture relevance in a way few other superstars have been able to do. He has had numerous endorsements from such companies as Subway and Gillette. He even released an album that ranked as high as number 15 on the US Billboard 200.
John Cena's prominence in and out of the ring make him the Superstar of the decade for me. I think that no other superstar has managed to accomplish as much as he in such a short amount of time.
hArdyPUNKmArk
I'm better than you!
Wow, now this was a hard one to pick. I couldnt decide between Jericho and Angle. Yeah the Rock and Stone Cold were in this decade but their better moments were spent in 98-99. Jericho and Angle have outshined anyone in wrestling in the past 10 years. Theyve both had great feuds and awesome matchs. They both continue to show improvement and consistently cut amazing promos.
I picked Angle over Jericho in the end as I feel hes the better wrestler of the 2. Angle FTW here and its good to see him and Jericho both up the top of the votes. Cena and Orton obviously deserve to be up there too but I give Angle the nod in this one.
I picked Angle over Jericho in the end as I feel hes the better wrestler of the 2. Angle FTW here and its good to see him and Jericho both up the top of the votes. Cena and Orton obviously deserve to be up there too but I give Angle the nod in this one.
I'm going with Chris Jericho as well he made his debut in the wwf in the beginning of the new decade and has been if not one of the best promo men in the industry today in my opinon. He also won the the Intercontinental title for a unprecedented 9th time been a tag champion good couple of times and rarely has a bad match and never gets hurt. A case can also be made for John Cena because he is the rock or Hulk hogan of this decade.
posterboyforperfection
Dark Match Jobber
although Im not the biggest Triple H fan, he was my pick as wrestler of the decade because he is really the only wrestler who has consistently been a top player the entire decade, The Undertaker has been but since Wrestlemania XX he has had a tendency to take long intervals off. Triple H was also the leader of the greatest faction of the Decade in Evolution
I give the nod to HBK. While I agree he definately phones alot of television in, he has still entertained me more the past 8 years than anyone else. The fact that he phones it in makes that statement even more ridiculous. To me the Shawn Michaels matches, which many call overrated, are the perfect type of match. Even if it is his typicaly run of the mill Raw match with the same routine I enjoy it. There are too many great matches and storylines he was apart of for me to not vote shawn. In response to something I read above, I loved his play on Hogan at SS. The match was a joke, but a good one. He made Hogan look like a total ass, all while making him actually look good in the ring. Few could do that, a very small few.
Close second goes to Angle and Jericho. Jericho has been almost good enough on his current run to win it just of those years. If he had been around long enough in this character he would easily get my vote.
Close second goes to Angle and Jericho. Jericho has been almost good enough on his current run to win it just of those years. If he had been around long enough in this character he would easily get my vote.
Little Jerry Lawler
Sigmund Freud On Ritalin And Roids
That match was a joke mainly because of HBK's blantant overselling because he couldn't take the fact that he was booked to lose against Hogan. Hogan did his best to make that match watchable but the old whining HBK was shown in that match.
My vote still goes to Angle because he has plenty of good matches almost every year.
2000- WM 16 vs. Jericho and Benoit
2001- WM 17 vs. Benoit
2002- Vengeance vs. Undertaker and Rock
2003- Royal Rumble vs. Benoit
2005- WM 21 vs. HBK (still overrated)
2006- No Way Out vs. Taker and Vengeance vs. Orton
2008-2009: Jeff Jarrett, Styles, and Morgan
Throughout this decade, Angle has gotten a decent match out of everybody he has faced and he has been one of the most consistent performers. He's still getting good matches out of the TNA roster which not too may others can do. He can play the serious character very well and the comedic character very well. He's good as a face and a heel character and can transition between the two very easily.
Wow, this was a tough one. But when I skimmed over Jericho's name, all of those great matches instantly popped into my head. Jericho debuted in WWE in 1999, but he really came into his own in 2000. At his first Mania he was in a great match with Angle and Benoit. He then was launched into a great feud with HHH which culminated with one of the best Last Man Standing matches. In 01 Jericho was launched into the main event and had great matches with the likes of Austin and Rock. He even beat both of them in the same night to become the first Undisputed Champ.
In my opinion, Jericho has accomplished the most this decade. He's been in great matches with guys like Rock, Austin, HBK, HHH, Benoit, Angle, Mysterio, etc. He's been in great ladder matches, submission matches, he had a great last man standing match, and recently he's been a dominate tag team wrestler. He's done so much this decade it's hard to talk about all of it, but even just looking at this year you'll find a great feud with Mysterio over the IC title and his dominate run as tag champs with Big Show.
In my opinion, Jericho has accomplished the most this decade. He's been in great matches with guys like Rock, Austin, HBK, HHH, Benoit, Angle, Mysterio, etc. He's been in great ladder matches, submission matches, he had a great last man standing match, and recently he's been a dominate tag team wrestler. He's done so much this decade it's hard to talk about all of it, but even just looking at this year you'll find a great feud with Mysterio over the IC title and his dominate run as tag champs with Big Show.
TotalFranchise
Dark Match Jobber
For me this was a tough decision, John Cena has seen the biggest transformation going from a white rapper to now(not sure what he could be classified as). His workrate has always stayed consistent, and whether you boo'ed him or cheered him, you made a reaction none the less.
However, I decided to go with Triple H, mainly because of the impact he has had over WW(F). Sure, he is banging the bosses daughter and all that good stuff, but even before then. He got over, and let's be honest, his intial gimmick was a sleeper, how he got heat feuding with the Godwinns, is a testemant. His feuds with Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Randy Orton, and The Undertaker kinda revitalized the WWE, and his mic skills have vastly improved.
However, I decided to go with Triple H, mainly because of the impact he has had over WW(F). Sure, he is banging the bosses daughter and all that good stuff, but even before then. He got over, and let's be honest, his intial gimmick was a sleeper, how he got heat feuding with the Godwinns, is a testemant. His feuds with Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Randy Orton, and The Undertaker kinda revitalized the WWE, and his mic skills have vastly improved.
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