Following up with the best and worst of the 90s thread lets now discuss the best and worst years for the WWE in the 00s.
What a difference a year can make. In the 90s thread I said 1999 was the worst year but here Im saying 2000 was the best year of the 00s. Russo was out and the focus on the in ring product returned with his departure. A lot of great new talent debuted in late 1999 or early 2000, and some others that had been around for a while brought their game to the next level in 2000. Im talking about guys like Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Edge, Christian, The Hardy Boys, and The Dudley Boys. These guys were either not with the WWF in 1999 or did not play a major role. In 2000 they were all big time players. The boring brawls outside the ring were starting to disappear and matches were actually taking place in the ring again. One of my favorite events in 2000 was Fully Loaded. Three veteran superstars, The Rock, Triple H, and Undertaker took on three up and coming wrestlers in Benoit, Jericho, and Angle in singles matches. That event showed me these new guys were to be taken seriously as top stars. Along with new talent and great action the WWF was more entertaining than ever when it came to comedy. Commissioner Foley, Edge & Christian, Kurt Angle, and Triple H made the WWF just as much of a comedy show as an action show and I loved every minute of 2000.
As for the worst year of the 00s, Im going with 2006. 2006 seemed to be a transition year and it was a rough transition at first. The WWF lost Chris Jericho, Christian, and Eddie Guerrero in 2005 and lost Kurt Angle in 2006. Thats a lot of great talent to lose in a short amount of time. We saw some main event angles that just didnt work out. Shawn Michaels and Triple H reunited as DX but it was nothing like it was nine years earlier. DX just didnt clique for me in 2006. It didnt help that theyre main opposition was five rookie male cheerleaders and two non wrestlers. The whole summer was two of the all time best wrestlers against completely inferior competition. Another angle that flopped that summer was Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Orton. The feud started out ok but quickly died before it really got going. What could have been an interesting angle that helped Randy Orton continue his rise was a total bust. 2006 also gave us the unnecessary addition of ECW as a third brand. It looked like it might be promising with Rob Van Dam and Kurt Angle as the main stars on the show but RVD blew his golden opportunity and Angle left the company immediately after ECW debuted. It was doomed from the start and Im shocked it lasted as long as it did. Overall 2006 was a year of bad choices and missed opportunities.
What do you think were the best and worst years of the 00s?
What a difference a year can make. In the 90s thread I said 1999 was the worst year but here Im saying 2000 was the best year of the 00s. Russo was out and the focus on the in ring product returned with his departure. A lot of great new talent debuted in late 1999 or early 2000, and some others that had been around for a while brought their game to the next level in 2000. Im talking about guys like Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Edge, Christian, The Hardy Boys, and The Dudley Boys. These guys were either not with the WWF in 1999 or did not play a major role. In 2000 they were all big time players. The boring brawls outside the ring were starting to disappear and matches were actually taking place in the ring again. One of my favorite events in 2000 was Fully Loaded. Three veteran superstars, The Rock, Triple H, and Undertaker took on three up and coming wrestlers in Benoit, Jericho, and Angle in singles matches. That event showed me these new guys were to be taken seriously as top stars. Along with new talent and great action the WWF was more entertaining than ever when it came to comedy. Commissioner Foley, Edge & Christian, Kurt Angle, and Triple H made the WWF just as much of a comedy show as an action show and I loved every minute of 2000.
As for the worst year of the 00s, Im going with 2006. 2006 seemed to be a transition year and it was a rough transition at first. The WWF lost Chris Jericho, Christian, and Eddie Guerrero in 2005 and lost Kurt Angle in 2006. Thats a lot of great talent to lose in a short amount of time. We saw some main event angles that just didnt work out. Shawn Michaels and Triple H reunited as DX but it was nothing like it was nine years earlier. DX just didnt clique for me in 2006. It didnt help that theyre main opposition was five rookie male cheerleaders and two non wrestlers. The whole summer was two of the all time best wrestlers against completely inferior competition. Another angle that flopped that summer was Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Orton. The feud started out ok but quickly died before it really got going. What could have been an interesting angle that helped Randy Orton continue his rise was a total bust. 2006 also gave us the unnecessary addition of ECW as a third brand. It looked like it might be promising with Rob Van Dam and Kurt Angle as the main stars on the show but RVD blew his golden opportunity and Angle left the company immediately after ECW debuted. It was doomed from the start and Im shocked it lasted as long as it did. Overall 2006 was a year of bad choices and missed opportunities.
What do you think were the best and worst years of the 00s?