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.
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.