S.J. Maximus
Championship Contender
There are many people out there with a lot of different perspectives on how this decade of WWF/E programming played out. Most people would say it was worse than the 90's and 80's but for some people on here this is the only decade they've ever seen. Basically I want to know how you would rank the years within this decade. Which one was your favorite? Which one was your least? Give me a list of your rankings for every year from 2000-2009, starting from best to worst.
1. 2002 - Everyone can talk about how stacked the WWE roster was in 2000, 1992, and 1988 but no roster for any company has ever had bigger names than the roster of 2002. Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Triple H, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair and many many more people electrified us every night and there was so much talent on the roster that they had to split the product into RAW and SD (which is something they should've changed back when the roster thinned in 2010). This is also the year that the WWF became the WWE, the year when The Elimination Chamber match was created, and the year that Shawn Michaels finally returned to the ring and proved that he was better then than ever before.
2. 2001 - For months the WWF lacked its top face (The Rock), their top heel (HHH), and one of the best announcers ever (Jerry Lawler) but a lot of people came in to make up for the loss. People like Paul Heyman, Booker T, RVD, and Ric Flair helped carry the load as well as the emergence of Kurt Angle as a top face. I thought the invasion storyline was great, I loved Austin's heel turn, and a lot of people on this thread would agree that WM X-7 was the best ever so it's pretty obvious that this year should be ranked high.
3. 2000 - Due to the fact that either Triple H or The Rock performed in the main event of just about every ppv this year, I can understand if a Rock or HHH hater doesn't like this year too much. Seeing as their 2 of my all-time favorites, I loved this year and their feud as well as the feud between Angle and Triple H. Seeing Undertaker came back as the American Bad Ass wasn't fun for me but he grew on me and by the end of the year I was loving him. Austin's return was fun and although Rikishi turned out to be a dud I still like what they tried to do with that storyline and eventually turned it into HHH-Austin part II.
4. 2003 - I wanted to put 2004 here but 2003 was a bigger year because of the arrivals of Goldberg and Scott Steiner. Despite what everyone says about Goldberg's run, his debut and match with the Rock was highly anticipated and definitely went over well with the fans that night. Rock/Austin for one last time was legendary, just like HBK/Y2J that year and Lesnar/Angle which helped solidify Lesnar's elite status. Unfortunately, Lesnar left the next year but at WM XIX I thought that Lesnar would be main-eventing WrestleManias till at least 28. This is also the year that Kane unmasked (which was huge) and Evolution was created, which is a big reason why Orton is carrying SD right now and Batista main-evented 2 WMs.
5. 2004 - This was a fun year for me, mostly because I was a big Evolution fan. At this point I didn't watch SD at all, so the only thing I was exposed to was Orton's legendary feud with Foley and their match at WrestleMania with Flair, Batista, and The Rock (in his last match for 8 years). WrestleMania XX also saw the return of Undertaker's deadman character, and one of the greatest WM main events of all-time - where ____ _____ (we can't say his name) beat HHH and HBK in what many call the greatest triple threat match ever. I don't have any opinions on JBL's reign that started in this year or anything SD related but many people said that SD was better than RAW from 03-05 so if RAW was that good I could only imagine how SD enhanced the 2004 product.
6. 2008 - Probably the most underrated year in WWE history. This year was the most important Undertaker was to the roster since 2002 seeing how he was the in the World Title picture for just about the whole year and put over Edge as a top heel. Edge's feud with Taker this year solidified him as a HOF-caliber superstar and gave him the momentum to be in the World Title match for every following WrestleMania until he retired this year. Jericho, who came back in Dec '07, reinvented himself and proved all throughout this year that he is a legend. He won multiple IC titles, a World Title, and had a feud with HBK that was a whole better than the feud they had in 2003. Seeing Triple H get drafted to SD was a nice (and necessary) surprise that let guys like Orton, Cena, and Y2J carry the RAW brand as Triple H and Edge helped turn SD into the better show once again. How about the classic moment of seeing Jeff Hardy win his first WWE title?
7. 2005 - We lost Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, and saw people like Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper for the last time (so far) on a WWE pay-per-view. I didn't really like anything this year and hated to see people like Triple H, Big Show, and Undertaker do silly things instead of be on top like they've always been. I understand they were trying to put over new talent and look out for the future of this business but I think the only pluses out of this year was Batista and John Cena, as well as the Angle/HBK feud. Even so, I would've liked Triple H to pick up some W's against Batista instead of losing 3 times in a row.
8. 2007 - I thought that WrestleMania 23 was good. I was hoping HBK would win that RR but Undertaker won (becoming the first man to win at #30) and they both got title shots at WM against the future (and present) - Batista and John Cena. Of of those matches were great matches and those rematches were solid but I think the best thing about 2007 was the way it ended. Triple H was back, Orton was finally getting a solid title run, Y2J was back, and Edge-Vickie were on their way to becoming the biggest heels in the WWE.
9. 2009 I actually think the midcard was at its best in 2009 since 2003 but I had too many problems with the main event to give this year a higher rank. While Jericho, Punk, Rey, and Morrison all put on classics in the ring battling for the IC title with each other, Big Show was in the world title match of WrestleMania. Jeff Hardy was also wasted at WM that year in a feud with his fat brother. What about the decision to put Christian on ECW? We saw a Batista heel turn this year, which was actually a good decision but poorly executed (he should've attacked John Cena or Triple H instead of Rey). Randy Orton solidified his status as a top star and overtook Edge as the biggest heel while teams like Edge & Jericho, JeriShow, DX, Miz/Morrison, Cryme Tyme, Rhodes& Dibiase, The Colons, and many more battled for the Tag Team Titles and made them important. Legacy was a solid group but like I said, the midcard was amazing but the main event lacked on both shows too much for me to put this year higher.
10. 2006 The DX reunion didn't save this year at all. IMO, it's the worst year ever in the WWE and I don't know how it could get worse (even though 2010 to being worse) than this year. The midcard sucked, they stretched the talent (that had diminished significantly since 2002) over three brands instead of two and the whole ECW revival concept was stupid and terribly executed. WM 22 sucked and Rey Mysterio should've never been the WHC. His push as a result of Eddie's death is not only an insult to Chavo but an insult to the fans who want to see quality WM main events. How about Taker's worst WM match of all time, vs Mark Henry? It should've been Taker/Angle and then HHH/Cena (in a more exciting match) and Orton/HBK or something for the WHC.
1. 2002 - Everyone can talk about how stacked the WWE roster was in 2000, 1992, and 1988 but no roster for any company has ever had bigger names than the roster of 2002. Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Triple H, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair and many many more people electrified us every night and there was so much talent on the roster that they had to split the product into RAW and SD (which is something they should've changed back when the roster thinned in 2010). This is also the year that the WWF became the WWE, the year when The Elimination Chamber match was created, and the year that Shawn Michaels finally returned to the ring and proved that he was better then than ever before.
2. 2001 - For months the WWF lacked its top face (The Rock), their top heel (HHH), and one of the best announcers ever (Jerry Lawler) but a lot of people came in to make up for the loss. People like Paul Heyman, Booker T, RVD, and Ric Flair helped carry the load as well as the emergence of Kurt Angle as a top face. I thought the invasion storyline was great, I loved Austin's heel turn, and a lot of people on this thread would agree that WM X-7 was the best ever so it's pretty obvious that this year should be ranked high.
3. 2000 - Due to the fact that either Triple H or The Rock performed in the main event of just about every ppv this year, I can understand if a Rock or HHH hater doesn't like this year too much. Seeing as their 2 of my all-time favorites, I loved this year and their feud as well as the feud between Angle and Triple H. Seeing Undertaker came back as the American Bad Ass wasn't fun for me but he grew on me and by the end of the year I was loving him. Austin's return was fun and although Rikishi turned out to be a dud I still like what they tried to do with that storyline and eventually turned it into HHH-Austin part II.
4. 2003 - I wanted to put 2004 here but 2003 was a bigger year because of the arrivals of Goldberg and Scott Steiner. Despite what everyone says about Goldberg's run, his debut and match with the Rock was highly anticipated and definitely went over well with the fans that night. Rock/Austin for one last time was legendary, just like HBK/Y2J that year and Lesnar/Angle which helped solidify Lesnar's elite status. Unfortunately, Lesnar left the next year but at WM XIX I thought that Lesnar would be main-eventing WrestleManias till at least 28. This is also the year that Kane unmasked (which was huge) and Evolution was created, which is a big reason why Orton is carrying SD right now and Batista main-evented 2 WMs.
5. 2004 - This was a fun year for me, mostly because I was a big Evolution fan. At this point I didn't watch SD at all, so the only thing I was exposed to was Orton's legendary feud with Foley and their match at WrestleMania with Flair, Batista, and The Rock (in his last match for 8 years). WrestleMania XX also saw the return of Undertaker's deadman character, and one of the greatest WM main events of all-time - where ____ _____ (we can't say his name) beat HHH and HBK in what many call the greatest triple threat match ever. I don't have any opinions on JBL's reign that started in this year or anything SD related but many people said that SD was better than RAW from 03-05 so if RAW was that good I could only imagine how SD enhanced the 2004 product.
6. 2008 - Probably the most underrated year in WWE history. This year was the most important Undertaker was to the roster since 2002 seeing how he was the in the World Title picture for just about the whole year and put over Edge as a top heel. Edge's feud with Taker this year solidified him as a HOF-caliber superstar and gave him the momentum to be in the World Title match for every following WrestleMania until he retired this year. Jericho, who came back in Dec '07, reinvented himself and proved all throughout this year that he is a legend. He won multiple IC titles, a World Title, and had a feud with HBK that was a whole better than the feud they had in 2003. Seeing Triple H get drafted to SD was a nice (and necessary) surprise that let guys like Orton, Cena, and Y2J carry the RAW brand as Triple H and Edge helped turn SD into the better show once again. How about the classic moment of seeing Jeff Hardy win his first WWE title?
7. 2005 - We lost Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, and saw people like Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper for the last time (so far) on a WWE pay-per-view. I didn't really like anything this year and hated to see people like Triple H, Big Show, and Undertaker do silly things instead of be on top like they've always been. I understand they were trying to put over new talent and look out for the future of this business but I think the only pluses out of this year was Batista and John Cena, as well as the Angle/HBK feud. Even so, I would've liked Triple H to pick up some W's against Batista instead of losing 3 times in a row.
8. 2007 - I thought that WrestleMania 23 was good. I was hoping HBK would win that RR but Undertaker won (becoming the first man to win at #30) and they both got title shots at WM against the future (and present) - Batista and John Cena. Of of those matches were great matches and those rematches were solid but I think the best thing about 2007 was the way it ended. Triple H was back, Orton was finally getting a solid title run, Y2J was back, and Edge-Vickie were on their way to becoming the biggest heels in the WWE.
9. 2009 I actually think the midcard was at its best in 2009 since 2003 but I had too many problems with the main event to give this year a higher rank. While Jericho, Punk, Rey, and Morrison all put on classics in the ring battling for the IC title with each other, Big Show was in the world title match of WrestleMania. Jeff Hardy was also wasted at WM that year in a feud with his fat brother. What about the decision to put Christian on ECW? We saw a Batista heel turn this year, which was actually a good decision but poorly executed (he should've attacked John Cena or Triple H instead of Rey). Randy Orton solidified his status as a top star and overtook Edge as the biggest heel while teams like Edge & Jericho, JeriShow, DX, Miz/Morrison, Cryme Tyme, Rhodes& Dibiase, The Colons, and many more battled for the Tag Team Titles and made them important. Legacy was a solid group but like I said, the midcard was amazing but the main event lacked on both shows too much for me to put this year higher.
10. 2006 The DX reunion didn't save this year at all. IMO, it's the worst year ever in the WWE and I don't know how it could get worse (even though 2010 to being worse) than this year. The midcard sucked, they stretched the talent (that had diminished significantly since 2002) over three brands instead of two and the whole ECW revival concept was stupid and terribly executed. WM 22 sucked and Rey Mysterio should've never been the WHC. His push as a result of Eddie's death is not only an insult to Chavo but an insult to the fans who want to see quality WM main events. How about Taker's worst WM match of all time, vs Mark Henry? It should've been Taker/Angle and then HHH/Cena (in a more exciting match) and Orton/HBK or something for the WHC.