The Top 10 Wrestlers of the Post-Attitude Era (2002-Present)
Beginning around the time that the Rock stopped wresting on a full-time basis (2001 was the first time, but 2002 after Summerslam was when it really began), Austin walking out on the company in June of '02 and the Brand Extension along with the WWF changing to its current WWE name in May of '02, began a new era in the WWE.
With WCW out of the equation, the two biggest superstars in the WWE departing and the brand extension and name giving a new look to the company, people knew that the WWE would never be the same again. It was time for a new era.
Many superstars have come and gone and wrestled in the "Ruthless Aggression" era, but only 10 can make it onto this list. Just who are those 10?
10. Kurt Angle
1 of 10
A lot of you may be wondering how Angle ended up on this list considering he only wrestled in the WWE for four years in the post-attitude era, but the man was amazing.
As John Cena stated in the "Top 50 WWE Superstars" list, Kurt Angle was the definition of a five-tool superstar. He had no weaknesses. He had the in-ring ability, whether he had to slap on submission manuevers like the ankle lock to get the job done, suplexes such as the Angle slam or even high-flying manuevers like moonsaults.
Don't forget the man's ability on the mic. For a guy who started off as a cookie cutter heel, the man developed into one of the greatest promo men in the business.
His many great feuds, but not limited to, include: the Brock Lesnar saga in 2003 that resulted in their match being the main event at Wrestlemania 19. The feud with Edge that finally gave Edge his first true push in the main event scene. The Wrestlemania classic with Shawn Michaels.
Regardless of his personal life problems, there is nobody out there that is like Kurt Angle.
9. Rey Mysterio
2 of 10
"The Biggest Little Man" to ever grace a wrestling ring, Rey Mysterio overcome all of the odds to become the superstar that he is today.
After bringing popularity to cruiserweight wrestling in America mainstream wrestling in WCW, Mysterio arrived in the WWE in the summer of '02 with much fanfare.
Mysterio can have great matches with superstars of all sizes, whether it's with The Big Show, Chris Jericho or Batista, Mysterio's in-ring style can cater to every wrestler you can imagine.
Mysterio is a two-time World Champion, having won his first at WM 22 over Kurt Angle (c) and Randy Orton in a Triple Threat Match.
8. Batista
3 of 10
The monster superstar of the "Ruthless Aggression" era is, no doubt, Dave Batista.
Whether it was winning the World Titles on six seperate occassions, being a four-time tag team champion or being the enforcer of the heel stable, "Evolution," Batista was seemingly always in the spotlight while he was in the WWE.
Batista would win his first WHC at Wrestlemania 21 in the main event over HHH, marking an official "change of the guard" in the main event scene in the WWE.
7. Randy Orton
4 of 10
"The Viper" is a man that people either love or hate. The ones that love him, usually point to his character, which includes the Legend Killer persona and his ability to either be a cocky, arrogant heel or a bad babyface with no regard for human life.
Then there are the ones that hate him. They point to his boring matches that largely consist of sleeper holds and chinlocks. They point to his Wrestlemania 25 snoozefest with HHH, which was a highly anticipated main event.
Regardless of popular opinion, there's no denying Randy Orton's place on this list.
A wrestler seemingly destined for stardom since the moment he first appeared on WWE television in the Spring of '02, Orton, like his fellow Evolution partner Batista, has seemingly been a mainstay in the WWE spotlight since his arrival.
After becoming the youngest WHC in WWE history at the age of 24 at Summerslam in 2004, defeating WHC Chris Benoit, Orton has been involved in three World Title matches at WM, has been a World Champion on eight seperate occassions and has even won a Royal Rumble (2009).
Randy Orton is one of the number of superstars who have benefited from the "Ruthless Aggression" era.
6. HHH
5 of 10
Love him or hate him, HHH's mark on pro wrestling cannot be understated enough.
A 13-time World Champion, a man who was WHC for nine months from Armageddon '02 until Unforgiven '03, a man who has main evented four Wrestlemania in the "RAA," HHH has been a staple of the main event scene for the past 12 years.
HHH has had a lot of great moments since '02, including his classic feud with the returning HBK, his feud with Benoit, his feud with Orton in the Spring of '09, and finally, his now classic match with Taker as recently as Wrestlemania 27.
But he's also had a lot of bad moments. The "Katie Vick" storyline with Kane that nobody wants to remember. The Scott Steiner feud that resulted in some of the worst matches of all time. The feud with Goldberg that wasn't bad, but he should have lost the title to Goldberg alot sooner. The worst main event in WM history with Orton at WM 25.
If HHH wasn't such a hot/cold wrestler in this era, a case could be made for him being No. 1.
5. Chris Jericho
6 of 10
The man known as "Y2J" completely reinvented himself as the narcissistic heel, who no longer wanted to be known as that character any longer in 2008, when he started one of the greatest feuds of all-time with HBK, Shawn Michaels.
After winning the Undisputed Championship in December of '01 and losing it to HHH at WM X-8, Jericho was an upper mid carder comedy act for a three-year span.
After leaving in the Summer of '05 and returning over two years later, Jericho had a career revival.
After a few months as the Y2J character, Jericho realized it was time for a change. This was when he debuted his feel persona during the Highlight Reel, putting HBK through the Jeritron 5000 which caused severe demage to Michaels' eye, which ignited a feud between the two.
Jericho would go on to have great feuds with the likes of John Cena and Rey Mysterio before leaving the WWE once again in 2010.
4. The Undertaker
7 of 10
"The Deadman" has had an illustrious career in pro wrestling.
Starting off the "Ruthless Aggression" era as the American Bad Ass, Taker was Brock Lesnar's first major feud after Brock had won the Undisputed Title at Summerslam '02.
After returning to the WWE as the "Deadman" at WM 20, defeating his brother Kane, Taker, at the age of 40, arguably had the best matches of his career.
Matches/feuds with Orton, Batista, Edge, CM Punk and of course the now legendary matches with HBK at Wrestlemanias 25 and 26, have taken Taker's legacy to a whole 'nother level.
With Taker's active wrestling career looking like it's over, Taker deserves to be remembered not only for his character, but for the amazing matches he put up at a time when he should have been past his prime.
3. Edge
8 of 10
If there was one superstar who benefited the most from this particular era, it was the Rated R superstar.
A mid-card wrestler competing for the IC title and before that, one-half of the E and C duo, Edge was a guy who was destined for the main event scene from day one but had no chance of breaking through that celing with main event scene being as stacked as it was during the "Attitude Era."
As soon as the "RAA" era began, Edge, started a high profile feud with Angle starting the "You Suck" chant that you would hear on WWE TV for the next five years. This would mark the beginning of Edge's push to superstardom.
Edge would go on to have 11 World Title reigns and become the most hated heel in the WWE in this time period, all stemming from the Matt Hardy/Lita love triangle. Sadly, it has not worked out as well for Matt...
2. Shawn Michaels
9 of 10
I'm going to keep this one short because words won't do justice for how good HBK was in his return to wrestling in the Summer of '02.
If you look at my descriptions of the previous wrestler on this list, four of them contain the words "HBK."
The man known as "HBK" was better in his second run in a WWE ring than the first.
Shawn Michaels from a pure wrestler/entertainer standpoint, may just be the greatest wrestler of all time.
1. John Cena
10 of 10
Who else did you think was gonna be No. 1?
The man has been the face, the logo, the brand of the WWE for the past six or seven years.
He kicked off the Ruthless Aggression Era when he debuted and nearly defeated Kurt Angle on an episode of Smackdown in June of '02.
He has been WWE's greatest marketing product since Austin 3:16 shirts were running rampant everywhere.
Love him or hate him, when you think of the WWE in the Brand Extension Era, you think Cena.
