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So, we're almost at the end of the 2000's. Who do you think has been consistently the best wrestler/has had the most impact over the last, er, nine years?

 

The biggest WWE stars such as Stone Cold and The Rock only wrestled for the first few years of the decade, so it can't really be them.

 

Triple H is a possible contender I suppose, although I personally wouldn't consider him as he's had some horrendous years this decade (his 2003 was worse than Sally's posting), he's dull on the microphone in general and his matches aren't of a high enough average quality imo.

 

Undertaker is another who might be mentioned, and he has had some very good matches of late, but he wasn't exactly stellar 2000-2006 for the most part. Not consistently good enough in my view.

 

While Shawn Michaels has had enough excellent matches to be considered a strong contender, he missed the first two and a half years of the decade through injury. And some of his act is embarrassing.

 

Jericho is very talented in all areas, but has also missed over two years and wasn't exactly magnificent in the 2003-2005 period (also somehow failed to get over upon his big return!). Would probably make my top five though.

 

I still maintain Edge is the less talented of E & C, but I guess he has enough credentials for some people to consider him. He was part of one of the best tag teams of the decade and is a very over heel, but there's no way his work is strong enough over the course of the decade to justify WOTD. Remember his disasterous 2004 face run for example? He's quite overrated as a wrestler, he can't act, he doesn't even have a respectable moveset. But I suppose some would consider him.

 

Orton, again, has had some strong periods but a) face run was a total failure, b) was mediocre for the most part in 02-03 and 05-06 and c) isn't a great promo.

 

Rey has had some great matches, and draws the Hispanics, but I don't think he has the all round quality to be WOTD. He's not a great promo and I think he can only play one character (not saying he should change his gimmick or anything, but still, doesn't show much versatility). His last two years haven't been good and his run was champion was laughable, granted most of this was down to booking, but there's still too many negative marks against him I think.

 

Cena ... I really don't think there should be any arguments for him being wrestler of the decade, but just in case any WWE fanboys take up the cause. He's not a great wrestler by any stretch of the imagination. Passable now but he completely stunk the joint out until last year. He can deliver a good serious promo, but rarely gets the chance, more often than not he's doing gay jokes or shilling merchandise or something. There's also the obvious point that he's a babyface despised by a significant proportion of the audience. Some evidence points to him being a bit of a draw, but it's hardly Austin/Hogan level stuff. The years of terrible ring work should disqualify him anyway.

 

Lesnar had a phenomenal two years but ... it was only two years.

 

Eddie would've been a strong contender, but sadly only was able to wrestle half the decade. Would still probably make my top five though.

 

So who do I pick? Well, my top three would be:

 

3) AJ Styles - has been in some of the greatest matches of the decade, and probably THE best match at Unbreakable. Consistently fantastic all decade and would win this if I was judging solely on ring work. Can work with all kinds of opponents, he's great whether face or heel, he's great whether serious or a comedy character. There are some flaws in his all-round persona - he isn't the best promo about, though he has gotten tons better over the last two years and maybe hasn't had the overall impact that some of the others have had. Still good enough to be top three in everybody's list I think.

 

2) Jeff Jarrett - will be a controversial choice I'm sure, but he is very, very underrated. He's had classic main event matches and excellent bouts with undercarders too (he once had an entire building convinced that Jay Lethal was going to be world champion - this match makes the famed Triple H vs. Taka match pale in comparison). Cannot remember one single bad match of his off the top of my head. He even shone in WCW in 2000, including one match with Goldberg which was at least four stars. He's undeniably had the greatest impact of any wrestler in the 21st century so far simply by creating the second biggest company in wrestling. Some of you may dispute that TNA has been a success, but surviving at that level for over six years is no mean feat. Jeff had an absolutely brilliant feud with Raven in TNA's first year. It was seriously one of the best rivalries of the decade, maybe only outdone by Michaels vs. Jericho. He carried TNA on his back for three years, managing to generate interest in the company despite there being no other real stars at the time. Sting and Christian then came in and Jarrett had superb matches and feuds with both. Sadly, he has missed two years due to his wife's illness and death, which, harsh as it may seem, is one of the reasons why he doesn't get first place. His only match in the last two years was superb too, illustrating Jarrett's excellence. He is an outstanding promo man, very charismatic and has gotten over as both face and heel. He's also my favourite wrestler which helps!

 

1) Kurt Angle - this guy is just amazing. He was the best wrestler in the world for a number of years, and is still amongst the best today. Every match he has is filled with pure excitement. I don't think I need to list all of his epic matches and feuds because if I did, I'd still be typing tomorrow morning. He has a great sense of how to get the crowd involved in his matches and he has perfect timing. Kurt is also able to generate a 'big time feel' to his important matches, which is invaluable. He's a great promo, he's an excellent face, an even better heel. One of the best serious characters about, and the best comedic character when booked as such. Basically, he's terrific at everything and has been for the entire decade in both major promotions. A no-brainer in my view.

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So, we're almost at the end of the 2000's. Who do you think has been consistently the best wrestler/has had the most impact over the last, er, nine years?
I can understand your choices if you were only going on best wrestler, but you also asked for most impact of the last nine years, so I am unsure why you've chosen AJ Styles, who has had little to no impact on the wrestling scene overall.

 

I honestly feel that Chris Benoit would be a shoo-in for the accolade.

It's a combination of both, with good wrestling being valued slightly higher. Benoit was definitely a great wrestler but I didn't really want to mention him for obvious reasons.

Well, there's still a full year left, but I'll go for it anyway.

 

1. The Rock, for his 2000-2002, then 2003 work is still the best overall worker and entertainer this decade has ever seen, and possibly ever.

 

2. John Cena, since 2003 has been great at getting a crowd reaction, has had some amazing matches and great promos, rivalries, he's been great overall.

 

Honourable mentions to Triple H, John Morrison & The Miz, Randy Orton and Chris Jericho.

Morrison and Miz? I like them both, but I don't think either are among the top 20 of this decade - both have only had two or three good years at best (Morrison possibly longer as MNM were a good team, but even still).
It's more of an honourable mention for making this particular year so great, my third favourite wrestling year of the decade, behind 2006 and 2000.

In before the argument starts.

 

I pick Taker. His Mania streak of 16 wins, plus his return from the dead and his ability (not always popular) to change up his character puts him near the top for me.:)

Eddies death had quite a big impact on the wrestling industry. Afterall, it was his death that lead to the Wellness Policy we have in place today.

I wonder if he would have gone for Kurt Angle is he was still in WWE?

 

Saying that though, I'm going to do a top 5 and one of them is definitely going to be Kurt Angle, because the guy is simply astonishing. In fact, I'm going to make him my number 1.

 

1/ Kurt Angle Pound for pound the best wrestler over this decade. Okay, he's been a bit iffy and a touch injured these past couple of years, and this has curbed him for a while, but you still cannot argue with the man's commitment and dedication to his craft. Not to mention his immense skill.

 

Wrestling just looks and feels right when you see Kurt Angle in the ring. His Roman-Greco grappling, his shoot(ish) style, his suplexes and locks; he makes it all look so easy, whilst at the same time is also happy to take a hit to make his opponent look good.

 

His mic-skills, and promo cutting are top-notch as well. I don't think he's the most naturally gifted on the mic, but the more he practices, the more natural he sounds. He's very, very funny too. His "Sexy Kurt" skit still makes me laugh.

 

Easily, easily the best wrestler of the decade.

 

2/ Eddy Guerrero A wrestler who is, of course, sorely missed; but also, in my opinion the probable number 1 for this accolade should he have remained alive. In my opinion he was the only man (and Benoit had his moments, too) who could match Kurt Angle and even out-perform him during the last decade. The single most natural showman on this list; Eddy allowed us to get up close and personal, invited us in to his life, and also loved being a parody of himself too.

 

His "lying, cheating, stealing" gimmick paved the way for countless other generic Mexi-Gimmicks (Mexi-Cools, I'm looking at you) and even LAX are just Los Guererros in bandanas.

 

Eddy's moveset; including the Frog Splash, the 3 Amigos and the sumptuous armdrags have been made his. If someone does a Frog Splash now it's not long you hear the word "Eddy" following it.

 

As has been said by Cross The Line; he only wrestled for half a decade, but in my opinion he generally out-performed everyone else, including Kurt Angle.

 

3/ John Cena Yeah, another obvious choice, but you just cannot argue that this guy hasn't been the single biggest star in wrestling. A post-modern Hulk Hogan, in my opinion. Or at least a Hulk Hogan for the noughties.

 

A big strong man, not the most technical, not the most graceful; in fact, a bit of a brawler. However, what Cena has which hardly any wrestler alive today has, is that undeniable ability to make the crowd invest themselves in him, to believe in him, to truly be enraptured by what he does in the ring.

 

His matches aren't technical masterpieces, but they are masterpieces of drama, suspense, audience participation, and debate. Few can argue that Cena dropping Edge off a ladder through two sets of tables wasn't one of the most jaw-dropping events in recent WWE history.

 

Plus he sells merchandise by the boat-load :P.

 

4/ Rey Misterio Jr For me, probably the wrestler who was the least likely out of the crop of talent that WWE inherited in the early noughties to achieve the success that he did. WWE had just signed Benoit, Eddy G, Malenko, Y2J, Angle and Perry Saturn...along with Rey...and he fitted their stereotype the least. He's not big, he's not muscular, he's not tall, he's not a great speaker...and he wears a mask.

 

How many WWE champions have worn a mask over the years? Not many. Hardly any, in fact.

 

The other thing about Misterio that always makes me appreciate what he's done even more is that he is clearly not changed his identity, even when Vince gave him a push. He kept his lucha mask, he kept his high-flying style (he bulked up a bit, but that's about it)....strangely, for WWE, he hasn't yet been unmasked.

 

Of course, the biggest selling point, and biggest inclusion for him on this list of 5 is the fact that he is immensely talented in the ring, and a real pleasure to watch. Fantastic. I love watching Rey Misterio Jr, and he clearly loves what he does, too; and that shows.

 

5/ Mistico Yeah, I've gone for a bit of a curveball here. Mistico is basically the best thing to happen to Mexican wrestling in the past decade. He is a luchadore that wears a silver mask with a gold explosion on it. He is just a shade smaller than Eddy Guerrero, but right now is probably in possession of the greatest, and most original, arsenal of aerial moves known to man.

 

He is almost single-handedly reviving the long-floundering CMLL (along with notable contributions from Shocker, Black Warrior, Blue Panther and Ultima Guerrero) and is now involved in a bidding war between TNA and WWE for his services.

 

Just as it's largely truth to say that any hot new hold or lock comes from MMA or Japanese wrestling, then it's also fair to say that almost any new high-flying move you see for the first time in TNA or ROH, actually came from CMLL first. Not just that, it's fair to say that Mistico is at the forefront of pioneering the extreme lucha style.

 

The level of aerial influence he has on the entire wrestling industry is very large. If you see a hot new move attempted in the Ultimate X match next month, then it's fair to say that Mistico probably invented it.

 

Once he hits mainstream US wrestling, and he will, then I wouldn't be surprised to find that Mistico will be the wrestler of the next decade.

 

Cheers!

Still have a year to go, don't we mate? Haha, yes. Ah well. No harm done I suppose.:lol

 

The past nine years sure have been very eventful for the world of professional wrestling, have they not? Why, it was just 4 years ago Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit were World Champions, 7 years ago we had Steve Austin and The Rock both still active, albeit coming to an end on their careers. 6 years ago, Undertaker was still a biker, and the names John Cena and Batista meant nothing.

 

It's really very hard to say just exactly who the ONE wrestler of the decade would be. Whether basing soley on wrestling experience or just biggest star power, it's very hard to pinpoint. The Rock, for example, had perhaps the biggest drawing year of any wrestler this entire decade, but as stated earlier, his career ended largely in 2003. Surely, a case should still be made for him though, right? Very few could argue that The Rock wasn't at the very least a good wrestler, and was more than capable of putting on exciting main events that would captivate the entire audience, in the arena and on TV alike. His drawing power is something that most others should measured upon, and in just those few couple of years, The Rock managed to have not 1, but 2 of the biggest matches in wrestling history, let alone his career, those being with Steve Austin at WrestleMania 17, and with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 18.

 

But, again, he was only active this decade for a total of maybe 3 years, with breaks during that entire 3 years for movies.

 

Steve Austin's best drawing years were in 98-99, but 2001 was arguably the best creatively for him. Several amazing matches, such as the aforementioned Rock match. Technical masterpieces with Chris Benoit, legendary title matches with Angle, and who could ever forget the evolving Austin character? Him turning heel just to keep the title, and slowly but surely going into insanity and relying on Vince for everything was a very creative, if subtle, storyline that should be mentioned. 2002 was a somewhat uneventful year for Austin, but his return in 2003 showed him in a new light, with the GM. Unfortunately, this ended all too soon for Austin, and he began making annual appearances, with his pops dwindling each appearance. But surely, Austin should at least be considered for this accolade.

 

Triple H is a peculiar one, for sure. On one hand, it's hard to argue with some of his in ring success, especially the year 2000. However, he has the stigma of being married to the boss' daughter and he has certainly received some shortcuts, at the very least, as a result of this marriage. Despite a horrible 2003, almost every active year for The Game this decade has resulted in a couple of very memorable matches and feuds, and his drawing ability, espcially as part of DX cannot be argued with. To say he's anything less than a superstar is, quite frankly, ridiculous. But again, with the marriage, you have to wonder if it wasn't for that, would he have accomplished as much and been given the oppurtunity to have the biggest feuds, the biggest matches, etc. That decision is up to you, my friends.

 

John Cena, I believe, debuted in wrestling in 2001, and started on WWE television in the year 2002. He had a very plain gimmick, but certainly showed fire, and star potential. Little did we know, just a couple of years after this, John Cena would become by far the most controversial superstar in all of wrestling, and be the WWE's number 1 guy. However, other than 2007, has he had any real strong years in ring? Sure, in 2007 he provided several Match of the Year candidates, with a variety of opponents ranging from the Samoan Bulldozer Umaga, to the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels, to even Bobby Lashley. His drawing ability is certainly something to be praised as well, even if WWE itself is more of a draw than any 1 wrestler, Cena is by far the biggest star and just brings an aura and big time feel to all of his main event matches. A feat very few on the roster are able to do, and that's a credit to John Cena. But from 2002 to 2005, Cena had an absolutely horrible in ring year. Ironically, his best promo work was during those same years, as his worst promo work has been most recently, with him making "second rate" Rock promos almost weekly. Cena is a contender, but sadly for the Chain Gang, not THE CHAMP.

 

The Animal Batista will not win this award, but should at least be mentioned. No one man in all of wrestling was as big as Batista was in the early part of the year 2005. His title program with Triple H, especially pre-Mania, was absolutely spectacular and had perhaps the best slow build to any match in history. Batista's in ring work, however, wasn't as good as well received as his popularity, but at least was able to be carried. His move to Smackdown ruined the superstar aura, and his injury completely killed it. It wasn't until he started his legendary series with The Undertaker did Batista really start to show promise, and has continued to impress since then, with matches against Edge, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, CM Punk, and Chris Jericho all giving smarks a reason to pull out a few of those *'s. Batista's promo work leaves a lot to be desired, but it the best of anyone at delivering short one liners to get his point across. Unfortunately, Batista being perceived as JUST BELOW the top guys such as Undertaker, Triple H, and John Cena is going to cost him, and he is not The Wrestler Of The Decade, unfortunately.

 

Shawn Michaels returned to professional wrestling in the year 2002, and immediately started where he left off. He gave the fans a reason to care, and performed in legendary match after legendary match. His SummerSlam return match with Triple H, his WrestleMania 19 match with Chris Jericho, his WrestleMania 20 Triple Threat, his brutal Hell in a Cell with Triple H, his WrestleMania 21 classic with Kurt Angle and subsequent rematches. His DX run provided a lot of light hearted humour that did wonders to refresh HBK's career, and he followed it up with spectactular matches with John Cena at WrestleMania, and Randy Orton at several events. This particular year of 2008, HBK has been wonderful. Having a good little feud with Ken Kennedy to start the year off, and following it up with Ric Flair's final feud, the amazing Batista feud which led into the Jericho feud, and currently the very unique, but intriguing JBL feud that could go lots of places. However, the Heartbreak Kid has never been known for his drawing prowess, and even the excellent Jericho program didn't deliver as far as ratings and buyrates go, at least as one would have hoped, and you have to think that hurts Shawn Michaels' chances at being wrestler of the decade.

 

Chris Jericho has had a wonderful year, but I think everyone is forgetting his mediocre years before his absence. He was stuck in the midcard, only giving the fans glimpses of his greatness with the original HBK feud, and very little else. However, his return and subsequent character change was a masterstroke of genius, and could singlehandedly put him among the elite of professional wrestlers. The character's motives, and Jericho's portrayal of this character, are done absolutely perfectly. He's managed to change his match style up just enough, adding an excellent new finisher with the OUT OF NOWHERE factor that just gives it that extra umph. He's also managed to win a total of 5 World titles, and who could forget Jericho beating Stone Cold and The Rock on the same damn night to become the very first Undisputed Champion of the Wrestling World. I know I won't, and I'm sure Jericho won't either.

 

Randy Orton will go down in history as one of the most versatile wrestlers, having several different character changes, from cocky babyface, to cocky heel, to sadistic heel, to leader of a faction, to essentially the lesser half of an amazing tag team, to chickenshit world champion and so on. His ringwork has, for the most part, been very strong with some memorable matches with the likes of John Cena, Undertaker, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio among several others that I'm quite sure I'm forgetting. Unfortunately, I feel that young Randall's notorious bad attitude as well as his until recently, distinct lack of star power and drawing ability, will hurt him in this competition, and prevent him from being considered the very best of this decade. Perhaps next decade, Randy.

 

Rey Mysterio has had a bad couple of years, due to injuries, poor feuds with bad workers, and just general bad booking, but this doesn't discount his VERY strong ringwork fo the most part of this decade, as well as his very strong drawing ability as far as Hispanics go. Rey may be a one dimensional character, but a one dimension it is, as Rey has managed to keep himself fresh and change his style up often enough that he never becomes stale. Very few wrestlers have the same grasp of psychology that Rey has. Unfortunately, I don't believe that he's been a big enough star to warrant being considered the best of this decade, and thus, he is disqualified.

 

Ric Flair should be in for a shout, delivering one of the greatest match finishes in the history of wrestling, but unfortunately, that is essentially all Flair has done this decade, bar an amazing TLC with Edge, and a brutal old school style Cage match with Triple H.

 

Eddie Guerrero's death was a tragedy, but it did make a huge impact on the business, including perhaps effecting the death of another wrestler, whom I'll get to next. Eddie's in ring work was magnificent, rarely having an average match, let alone a bad one. His chemistry with essentially everyone was legendary, and is, rightfully so, considered one of the best all arounders of all time. Sadly, as is usually the case, Eddie Guerrero died in the prime of his career, in the middle of a unique feud with Batista that saw Eddie pretend to be a babyface so well, that WWE was considering turning him babyface fulltime. On the night he died, he was meant to win the World title, at least, according to speculation. And with the way the program was going, with Batista's recent severe back injury, it's somewhat believable. Rest in peace Eduardo we all miss you dearly.

 

Chris Benoit, rightfully or wrongfully, will not be considered for this award largely due to his actions outside of it. And while that IS fair, as the acts were heinous and disgusting, Benoit should at least be remembered for his amazing technical prowess. In 2001, he had an amazing series of matches with both Kurt Angle and Stone Cold Steve Austin, and in 2002, would be part of the legendary Smackdown Six, a group of wrestlers consisting of Benoit, Angle, Edge, Rey, Eddie, and Chavo, that every week on Smackdown would put on a masterpiece of a match. Benoit played a large role in this, participating in what I still consider the greatest tag match I've ever seen, teaming with Angle at the 2002 No Mercy to become the first ever WWE Tag Team Champions, defeating Edge and Rey Mysterio. Benoit and Angle would eventually split, with Angle going on to win the WWE title, and at the 2003 Royal Rumble, Benoit paticipated in perhaps his most famous match, coming oh so close to winning the belt and receiving a tremendous standing ovation. This would set the plans for next year's Rumble, where Benoit would win as the number 1 entrant, going, at the time, the longest amount of time, and win a legendary Triple Threat over Triple H and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XX to become World Heavyweight Champion. Despite paying a backseat largly to Triple H during his entire reign, and never being considered a draw during, Benoit put together a very respectable reign, before going to Smackdown th enext year and reinvigorating the all but dead US title division, where he would remain until a brief switch to ECW. Plans were set for Benoit to become ECW Champion, but due to the double murder-suicide, that was not to be.

 

Big Show should be considered as well. One of, if not THE very best big man to ever lace up a pair of boots, Big Show has accomplished quite a bit. Being the only man in history to win the WWF, WCW, and ECW titles, and particpating in the biggest draw match at last year's WrestleMania with Floyd Mayweather. Big Show is, however, a rather odd one as there are times where greatness just seems to ooze from his work, but then other times where he does nothing and an absence from the big man would go largly unnoticed. That being said, his drawing power isn't really all that great, with the WrestleMania match drawing mainly due to Floyd Mayweather, who IS a proven draw. This is more of an honourable mention than an outright nomination, than anything.

 

Undertaker seems to get better the older he gets, which is a rather unique trait to say the least. From the year 2000, to the year 2008, his matches have progresively gotten better. His star power is unquestionable, and the aura he brings to his big matches rivals that of John Cena's. His entrances are legendary, and his WrestleMania streak hosts some of the best WrestleMania matches throughout it's illustrious history, with the likes of Ric Flair, Triple H, Batista, and Edge. He seems to keep his gimmick fresh by adding to his repetoire and removing older moves each year, with the aptly named Hell's Gate being an example. Definitely a top contender for Wrestle of the Decade, with his series with Batista by itself being plenty of proof for this testament.

 

Edge should be regarded as a monumental success, going from stale midcarder to legit main event draw. In 2001, Edge won the King of the Ring, and kickstarted his singles career. in 2002, he had a memorable series with Kurt Angle, and took part in the Smackdown Six. 2003, he was largely out of action due to a neck injury, and in 2004 had a rather lackluster face run, before turning heel. The heel turn took off in 2005, when he won Money in the Bank and began a blood feud with Matt Hardy. 2006 started off wonderfully for the Rated R superstar, as he was able to win his first WWE Championship, go on to have a legendary hardcore match with Mick Foley, and once again win the WWE title that same year. He main evented quite a few PPVs, most notably SummerSlam, where he defeated John Cena in Cena's hometown. Edge then ended the year with Rated RKO, and after taking part in the Money in the Bank at WrestleMania the next year, went to Smackdown and won the World Champion. Unfortunately, an injury sidelined Edge for most of the rest of the year, before he made a surprise return interfering in the Hell in a Cell between Undertaker and Batista, and later winning the World title at Armageddon. At WrestleMania 24, he main evented in a losing effort to Undertaker. He would then go on to have a series of matches with Undertaker, in some of the best work of his career. His relationship with Vickie only served as a way for Edge to garner even more heat than he would on his own, and as of right now, Edge is once again WWE Champion, feuding with Triple H and Jeff Hardy.

 

Unfortunately, I haven't watched much TNA, but can tell you that Jeff Jarrett is a good candidate. He started up a company that is still alive to this day, and is the clear number 2 promotion, having it's own weekly television show as well as monthly PPVs. Jarrett carried the company in it's early years, with an amazingly built up feud with Raven. His wife's death took him out for a couple of years, as Jarrett humbly sat out and let the others carry the company. Upon his return he was able to have a great match with Kurt Angle, and pardon the pun, but perhaps no one has made a bigger impact this decade than Jeff Jarrett.

 

Kurt Angle is a very good pick for number 1. In 2000, Angle had the best year of any rookie perhaps ever, winning the Intercontinental title, the King of the Ring, and even the WWE title from The Rock. In 2001, he began his rivalry with Benoit that would go on to last for years, and played a major part in the Invasion, including having a couple Match of the Year contenders with Steve Austin. In 2002, Angle took somewhat of a backseat in the midcard, but was a large part of the reason Smackdown was can't miss TV, having great match with almost everyone on the roster. He ended the year as WWE Champion, and main evented WrestleMania 19 against Brock Lesnar in a legendary match with a legendary ending. After a brief hiatus, he returned to win back the WWE title, and continue his feud with Brock Lesnar. In 2004, he took part in one of the main events of WrestleMania XX, in a losing effort to WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero in what many consider the match of the night. Angle took some time off from wrestling and became the GM of Smackdown, before returning to the active roster and feuding with Eddie Guerrero and Big Show respectively. In 2005, he had the classic with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 21, and later that year entered a title feud with John Cena that led to Angle's face turn and return to Smackdown to win the World title. After losing the belt to Rey Mysterio in a Triple Threat at WrestleMania 22 that also included Randy Orton, Angle went to ECW for a while, before leaving WWE and headlining TNA, where has been for the past couple of years. In TNA, he has main evented countless PPVs, is seen as their biggest star, has helped put them on the map, and has won every title there is to win. Currently, he's building up a match with Jarrett, and perhaps later on, one with Mick Foley.A very strong case for wrestler of the decade.

 

Sting was able to come back and restart his career in TNA. He has main evented virtually all the Bound for Glory PPV events, TNA's version of WrestleMania and is the current TNA World Champion. He'd had countless match of the year contenders with Jeff JArrett, Sting, Samoa Joe, and AJ Styles, and is certainly someone to be mentioned for this award, at least for restarting his career and being mildely successful.

 

And lets not forget several others that you could perhaps make a case for, and could potentially be Wrestler of the Decade next decade. CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Bryan Danielson, MVP, Kofi Kingston, Santino Marella, Ken Kennedy, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, the list is virtually endless, and the possibilities for the next decade are just as endless. It's a great time to be a wrestling fan, and what a 10 years we've had. I'll leave it up to you, the TWO posters to decide who is Wrestle of the Decade.

 

But for now, this has been cuellar. Have a good one.

The past nine years sure have been very eventful for the world of professional wrestling, have they not? Why, it was just 4 years ago Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit were World Champions, 7 years ago we had Steve Austin and The Rock both still active, albeit coming to an end on their careers. 6 years ago, Undertaker was still a biker, and the names John Cena and Batista meant nothing.And lets not forget several others that you could perhaps make a case for, and could potentially be Wrestler of the Decade next decade. CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Bryan Danielson, MVP, Kofi Kingston, Santino Marella, Ken Kennedy, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, the list is virtually endless, and the possibilities for the next decade are just as endless. It's a great time to be a wrestling fan, and what a 10 years we've had. I'll leave it up to you, the TWO posters to decide who is Wrestle of the Decade.

 

But for now, this has been cuellar. Have a good one.

Looks like someone has dropped their "naive mark" gimmick pretty quickly. :lol

Wrestler Of The Decade. My top 7....

 

1.HHH-Who has had more success than"The cerebral assassin"? He's had the best runs as a champion than anyone else currently in the sport.(12 times now I believe)Not to mention the"King Of Kings" has been in just about every high-profile match you can think of from cage matches to HITC to the Elimination Chamber to last man standing;etc. Even from countless injuries that would've normally finished most he kept coming back giving even more to the sport. No doubt hes proven to be the top of the sport IMO.

 

2. HBK-Love em or hate em nobody can deny that nobody puts on a better show than Shawn Michaels.Just about every title thats been for the taking HBK has worned them. Not to mention he was in the very 1st high profile Ladder match. He was in the 1st HITC match with The Undertaker. He was in the first high profile Ironman Match with Bret Hart.

 

Even though hes only held the title once over the last 5-6 years now hes just about been in every high-profile World title match with just about every main-eventer in the WWE from HHH to John Cena to Randy Orton to Christ Jericho;etc.Just about every wrestling great over the last two decades thats graced WWE soil has crossed paths with the Heatbreak Kid. Plus his stint with Ric Flair this year really cemented his lagacy IMO. Nobody gave you more than HBK.(Still doesnt)

 

3.Undertaker-Undefeated at Wrestlemania for over a decade. One of the few superstars of wrestling that continues to not only re-invent himself but in addition continues to add to his array of lethal finishers making him even more dangerous.(Tombstone piledriver, last ride powerbomb,cross-arm breaker, chokeslam, and now a new deadly submission hold that chokes you out and makes you bleed) Hes still entertaining to watch after debuting 18 years ago at the Survivor series.From matches to promos The "Dead Man" definately is one of the all time greats that truly made wrestling fun to watch over the last decade.

 

4.Nature Boy Ric Flair-Whats left to say? The greatest of all time. You name it Flair has done it. 16-times The World champion. Held more titles overall than any man pretty much in the sport today.(And Yes I'm talking about all the titles hes held in addition to those 16 World chamionships) Him retiring this year was truly one of the biggest most emotional moments in pro wrestlinghistory period. From the catchpharases to the promos to his matches he definately desrves to be among the list of some of the greatests wrestlers of this past decade.

 

5.Kurt Angle-Our Olympic Hero no doubt deserves to be on this A-list. Hes been a multiple time World champion in the WWE. Hes had some of the best feuds with every major player in the sport:Stone Cold, The Rock, HBK, Kane, Taker,Hogan,Benoit,Eddie Guerrero,Brock Lesner;etc World championships to tag team championships you name it Kurt held it.

 

Like HBK Angle had great matches with just about everyone that stood out in the sport. Even with his jump to TNA two years ago hes held every title in their promotion as well. Angle continues to show why he is one of the best wrestlers thats ever laced up a pair of boots.

 

6.The Dudley Boys/ Team 3-D-They are indeed the last of the great tag teams that remain in the sport. From ECW to the WWE to TNA they have time and time again shown us the fundementals of what makes a great tag team so great. 20 times they've been World tag team championships. Who else can say that? Nobody! From personality to the brutality of their matches they indeed carved their niche in tag team history.

 

Not to mention IMO the one moment that truly cemented their legacy while they were in the WWE was when they publicly paid their respects to The RoadWarriors as being the greatest team of all time shortly after Hawk passed away many years ago.(They did more for them than the WWE did)

 

They even went as far as not just wearing arm bands to show their support but finishing off a match with the legendary"Doomsday Device" the Warriors used time and time again to opponents. They were IMO one of the best tag teams of this decade. Without question.

 

7.Booker T-Over the last decade very few stars has truly shined quite like Booker T. From the days of WCW he held every title form tag team to the TV championship to the World championship on more than one occassion.

 

And who can forget his legendary best of seven series with the late Chris Benoit? One of the most athletically gifted athletes thats ever been in the ring.(Not to mention was a member of one of the very few african-american tag teams to made it to World tag team title status with Harlem Heat.Booker T & Stevie Ray)

 

Even when WCW folded he was simultaneously holding both the US title and the World championship. Over the years Booker T continued that same success while in the WWE. From Tag champion to World champion to King Of The Ring Booker T did it all. Now that hes in TNA he continues to cement his legacy as well as the current"self proclaimed" legends champion.

 

*Honorable mentions:The late Chris Benoit & Eddie Guerrero* Even though both men died tragically nobody can deny the impact they both had on the sport. Their contributions to pro wrestling will never be forgotten.

So, we're almost at the end of the 2000's.

 

...Yeh, only another 992 years to go and we'll be at the end of the 2000's..

 

:lol

Wrestler of the decade for me is Edge.

 

2000 was excellent with great tag feuds with Dudleys and Hardys, plus really launched himself and Christian as characters.

2001 followed that up and of course he won the KOTR that year too and got a decent IC title run.

2002 had a great feud with Angle, part of the Smackdown 6 series, great feud with Eddie too.

2003 was injured

2004 great IC title win over Randy Orton then injury

2005 MITB winner, heel turn, major feuds with Matt Hardy and HBK

2006 top matches with Foley, Cena, Flair, wins his first top title

2007 top stuff with Batista, HBK, injury problems though

2008 excellent stuff with Undertaker

 

So yeah Edge wins for me, simply for consistency and development. Went from being a tag wrestler with bags of potential to being one of their top heels.

 

Honourable mentions to many, but virtually everyone else had barriers stopping them.

 

Austin and Rock stopped full-time in 2002/2003, Benoit & Eddie died, HBK missed the first 2 years, Orton did nothing until 2003/2004, same really with Cena, RVD had some dodgy booking, same with Samoa Joe, AJ Styles etc, Kurt Angle's been excellent but his erratic behaviour and shoddy TNA booking has tarnished him, both Hardys had their various problems, Christian got lost in the shuffle at TNA, Booker T had booking problems and HHH hasn't been the same since 2001.

 

So yeah Edge for me.

...Yeh, only another 992 years to go and we'll be at the end of the 2000's..

 

:lol

 

I just noticed that.:lol:lol Good thing I posted I probably won't be around at the end of the 2000's.:P

I just noticed that.:lol:lol Good thing I posted I probably won't be around at the end of the 2000's.:P

 

Its only 992 years, it'll fly by.

Looks like someone has dropped their "naive mark" gimmick pretty quickly. :lol

 

Yeah, I mean, Jesus, where'd that come from? A day ago he thought Orson Welles was the first Kane in wrestling and now this? Blew your load way too early with the gimmick change, man. Have to let it settle in for a while and start to get over first before swerving us, Hogan at BATB style.

Overall all-rounder has to be Kurt Angle. Best in-ring, great out of ring since he started and despite his recent flaws, is still great. Eddie too was fantastic; Can't believe it's been three years. Benoit is great in-ring, but boring as hell out of it, so if this is pro-wrestling, then he cannot, in my opinion be considered. Trish Stratus should be a contender. She has made an incredible impact on Womens wrestling. And Rey Mysterio has made a huge impact on younger fans that will be loyal for a long time to come.

 

Anyone who considers Cena should get out. Leave. The same goes for Batista too. Sorry, but I just think that they really do not deserve a place in any 'best' list, for any reason.

Anyone who considers Cena should get out. Leave. The same goes for Batista too. Sorry, but I just think that they really do not deserve a place in any 'best' list, for any reason.

 

In YOUR opinion. Seriously, this is at least the second time I've read "If you say Cena you're an idiot" in this thread, like we have to up our smark cred by dissing him or something. If YOU dont think he deserves a place thats fine, insulting anyone else who even considers him is not fine.

 

I mean I'm not putting him down, I wasnt even going to reply to the thread because I dont have an answer, but I can at least understand Cena being considered, for all he's done for the past 5-6 years.

In YOUR opinion. Seriously, this is at least the second time I've read "If you say Cena you're an idiot" in this thread, like we have to up our smark cred by dissing him or something. If YOU dont think he deserves a place thats fine, insulting anyone else who even considers him is not fine.

 

I mean I'm not putting him down, I wasnt even going to reply to the thread because I dont have an answer, but I can at least understand Cena being considered, for all he's done for the past 5-6 years.

 

Relax mate. I've not called anyone an idiot and it's simply my opinion.:xyx

I've not called anyone an idiot.
True... you simply told them to f*ck off instead. ;)

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