WWE:1998 vs 2002

[Paralyzer Z]

Unlike the comparrison of years that did not go well for WWE (1993 vs 1995) we have the oposite . Today we have two of the most critically aclaimed years in the history of WWF/E.

IM going to pick 1998 simply because it birhted the attitude era which is the reason WWE is still around to this day. Had it not been for 1998 we would be watching "The WCW monday night nitro supershow featuring superstars from both thunder and NITRO!!!" 2002 was a quality year as well buit no uear has attributed to the survivial of vince mcmahons creation like 1998.

In which year was the product better? Why?

 

[Mr.Fortuna]

easily 2002 was the far superior product. It was the best year for actual in ring product, no matter what the ratings were or how bad certain storylines were the ppsv were always great and the wrestler always performed in ring action. 2002 had one of the most stacked rosters of all time.

1998 was more of shock value for me lots of entertaining crash television with poor in ring quality and a very sub par in ring action. We had the awesome Austin promos, the great Taker-Kane and an entertaining Rock

 

[King Patrick Star]

Following my formula...

1998 – On the WWF World Title scene, we had Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kane, The Rock and Mankind (technically) holding Winged Eagle Belt / Attitude Era Belt.

2002 – On the Undisputed WWE / WCW World Title scene, we had Chris Jericho, Triple H, Hulk Hogan, Undertaker, The Rock, and Brock Lesnar, holding the Undisputed Title Belt(s). Then when the Titles became disputed again, we had Brock Lesnar, Big Show, and Kurt Angle holding my favorite WWE Title Belt design ever, while on the World Title side, we had “D-Generation X Explodes”, Triple H and Shawn Michaels holding the Big Gold Belt.

Look, my favorite era in the WWE started with Jericho’s Undisputed reign and ended when Brock Lesnar split the WWE and World Titles. I’m going to go with 2002, with the assist from the very end of 2001, by a very close margin. I understand the importance of 1998, but I’m sure there will be enough votes for that year to win this battle.

 

[frostbite2819]

02 gets it for me.
'98 was great in entertainment value with the rock exploding and of course the infamous mcmahon/austin feud.
but really its not even close, i would even go as far as to say that smackdown 02 was better than raw 98 just because the red hot tag team division back then.

we had angle, lesnar, the long awaited emergence of benoit as a top contribiuter, the awakening of a beast in edge, the best year of kane's career imo, a beautifully bad-ass taker, rvd's crazy antics, rey shining, hbk's return, the birth of shelton benjamin, the hilarious booker t, the debut's of the future of wwe in orton and cena, the list goes on and on.
'02 is definitely more nostalgic for me and i found it overall more entertaining than 98 where yes there were a lot of top stars but after that the drop-off in talent was steep all the way down to a pretty boring mid- and lower-card.
so yeah i will say 02 takes the cake, probably my favorite year in wrestling besides 89 what with the macho man running amok and such.

 

[relentless1]

id agree that wwf was better in 2002 with the matches and the talent, you had, brock, rock, taker hhh, jericho, autin, angle, nWo, hogan rvd, booker t, shawn michaels, benoit, gurerro....

1998 gets it for me though for the simple reasoning that it was arguably the better TV and for all intents and purposes the WWF dies in early 2002 with the rebranding...WWE just isnt the same and IMO never will be.

 

[RJJ]

As great as 1998 was, it was a one man show. It was austin's show. Ever since Wm 14, austin was the by far the best star they had. Taker was in his way down, foley didn't hit his peak yet, and rock and HHH were raising stars, midcarders at best. It was only about vince vs austin.

2002 had the best roster period. Lesnar, HHH, HBK, Austin, Rock, Taker, RVD, Booker T, Benoit, Kane, Y2J, Hogan, Angle, and the list goes on. The in-ring quality was great. But storyline wise, I don't think it was better than 1998.

It depends on you, If you like in ring action then 2002 will be the right choice, but if you like shocking moments and extreme wrestling then 1998 will be the one.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

2002 was boring as ever to me. Undertaker got slow and fat and just didn't seem to care anymore. We all know about Austin. The Rock was there half the time. HHH just didn't seem to have it as he did before his quad injury. Big Show was Big Show. Take that however way you want it. Lesnar was a bright spot but not enough for me to save 2002 even with the emergence of Edge and the return of Benoit and Guerrero.

Who cares that 1998 was a one-man show? It was the best damn one-man show there was? You also had the feud between Undertaker and Kane with a great Inferno match. You had Undertaker vs. Mankind. You had the great DX vs. Nation battle culminating in a classic ladder match between Rock and HHH. You could really see the new generation of stars improving and slowly building and developing into what you would see in the next few years.

 

[Gunnar]

I'm going to have to go with 2002, Benoit and Guerrero, the Guerrero vs RVD feud had some good matches, the WWE Tag Team Title Tournament, Triple H vs Shawn Michaels, Elimination Chamber #1, Brock Lesnar vs The Rock (even though the Rock kinda didn't care) Hogan was terrible, Hogan vs Triple H was terrible, Hoan vs Undertaker was terrible, and he most horribly taken chokeslam of all time.

1998 was amazing, but in it's own way, it had the story, 2002 had the talent and great in-ring action.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

98 was special. Every week was must see because the Austin/McMahon fued was that interesting. I can conceed that the wrestling in 2002 (and probably many other years) was better then 98, but taking into account overall product, 98 can't be touched.

It also had what could be considered the best mid card fued with The Rock and Trips in the summer. The DX/Nation stuff played out perfectly, and there match at SummerSlam was the best match of the year.

 

[Owen 3:16 says I just stole your Slammy!!]

1998 was the best. Austin-McMahon rival is the best of all time. Undertaker and Kane feud was great and they joined together for couple of months. D-X was in its highest with their feud with the Nation. I could not wait to see the next Raw. Hell, I still get excited when i watch it on WWE Classics on Demand.

2002 was a good year too. They had Brock! nWo came back! Rock vs Hogan! HBK vs HHH at SummerSlam!

2002 was awesome but no way can top 1998.

 

[HBsam31]

For me it was 98. 2002 may have had better wrestling, but 98 may be my personal favorite year ever. Raw was must see tv then, and with Austin/Mcmahon I was running to my tv every Monday night. The Monday night wars were alive and well, and WWE was really pushing the envelope to entertain us. As far as excitement goes I have to pick 98.