We tackled this on the old board and a few weeks ago Baker and I discussed reviving this topic. I'm doing a top 10 myself going by real time fandom which means for a bulk of the 80's it will be almost all babyfaces. It is an interesting exercise to see how people's fandoms have change. By the end of the decade I caught on to just cheering for guys that were entertaining, even if they did dastardly things. It started for me when Savage turned on Hogan during SNME, Hogan's promos about Elizabeth were creeping me out. I'll be splitting my posts up by decade.

SPOILER: Click to show

1984

1. Hulk Hogan
2. Jimmy Snuka
3. Andre The Giant
4. Junkyard Dog
5. Dynamite Kid
6. Tito Santana
7. The US Express
8. Sgt. Slaughter
9. Bret Hart
10. Davey Boy Smith

1985

1. Hulk Hogan
2. Junkyard Dog
3. Ricky Steamboat
4. Paul Orndorff
5. Dusty Rhodes
6. Andre The Giant
7. The British Bulldogs
8. The Road Warriors
9. Tito Santana
10. Magnum TA

1986

1. Hulk Hogan
2. Junkyard Dog
3. Ricky Steamboat
4. Dusty Rhodes
5. The Road Warriors
6. Nikita Koloff
7. The British Bulldogs
8. Tito Santana
9. Magnum TA
10. Andre The Giant

1987

1. Hulk Hogan
2. Ricky Steamboat
3. The Road Warriors
4. Randy Savage
5. Bam Bam Bigelow
6. Jake Roberts
7. Dusty Rhodes
8. Owen Hart
9. Barry Windham
10. Brian Pillman

1988

1. Sting
2. The Road Warriors
3. Hulk Hogan
4. Randy Savage
5. Ultimate Warrior
6. Owen Hart
7. Jake Roberts
8. The Rockers
9. Brian Pillman
10. Chris Benoit

1989

1. Ricky Steamboat
2. Ric Flair
3. Terry Funk
4. Sting
5. The Road Warriors
6. Ultimate Warrior
7. Jake Roberts
8. The Great Muta
9. Rick Rude
10. Randy Savage

Shootist giving me the kick in the pants I needed. Had a few years saved but refrained from posting because I bounced around. Some years are tougher than others! I'm also going with real time thoughts as best I can remember. With two exceptions, because I'll need to help to reach 10 those years, I'm only including wrestlers I watched in real time. Meaning no ECW wrestlers prior to 1997 or late 90s WCW wrestlers will be on my list. Sometimes I'll include tag teams or even stables. Interestingly I was the anti-Shoot in that I rooted almost exclusively for heels during my first decade of fandom. Edited in a few explanations. In the unlikely scenario we get enough participants to make it worthwhile I'll add up the scores at the end. Here's what I had saved...

1987	1993	1995	1996	1998
1. Honkytonk Man	1. Jerry Lawler	1. Goldust	1. Vader	1. The Rock
2. Hart Foundation	2. Narcissist**	2. Jeff Jarrett	2. Goldust	2. Mick Foley
3. Andre The Giant	3. Ludvig Borga	3. Owen Hart	3. Owen Hart	3. Al Snow
4. Danny Davis	4. Quebecers	4. Barry Horowitz	4. Ric Flair	4. Owen Hart
5. King Harley Race	5. Lord Steven Regal	5. Dean Douglas	5. "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith	5. Terry Funk
6. Midnight Express	6. Yokozuna	6. Jean Pierre Lafitte	6. New Rockers	6. Undertaker
7. New Breed	7. Doink	7. 'Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff	7. Jerry Lawler	7. Taz
8. King Kong Bundy	8. Cactus Jack	8. Blue Bloods	8. Arn Anderson	8. D'Lo Brown
9. "Dr. Death" Steve Williams	9. Shawn Michaels	9. Jerry Lawler	9. Dean Malenko	9. RVD
10. Ted Dibiase*	10. IRS	10. Ric Flair	10. Lord Steven Regal	10. Kane***

*Had him at #4 last time. Then during my 1987 WWF binge a few years back I was reminded I actually couldn't stand that jerk for most of the year. But once he started beefing with Hogan....That gave him the nod over Savage since Mach was trending down by beefing with my hero HTM. It's always better to finish strong unless you're...

**"Made In The USA" Lex Luger was my least favorite wrestler over the second half of the year, but The Narcissist was my favorite during the first half of the year. So I'm basically pretending they are two different people.

***Had Flair in this spot last time since I did see his triumphant return on tape not long after it happened. But I technically never saw him wrestle a match. So this time around I gave Kane the nod over Naitch.

First reply is a masterful TABLE. It's a PW pay it forward. Do we?

Mar 9, 2023 1:53:11 GMT @ness said:

First reply is a masterful TABLE. 

1994	1997	1999	2000
1. Owen Hart	1. Bret Hart	1. Mick Foley	1. Kurt Angle
2. Mr. Bob Backlund	2. Owen Hart	2. Taz	2. Mick Foley
3. Undertaker	3. "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith	3. RVD	3. HHH
4. Lord Steven Regal	4. Mick Foley	4. Jeff Jarrett	4. Steve Corino
5. Jeff Jarrett	5. Undertaker	5. Steve Corino	5. Jeff Jarrett
6. Ric Flair	6. Terry Funk	6. The Rock	6. Hardys
7. Underfaker	7. Taz	7. Owen Hart	7. Dudleys
8. Jerry Lawler	8. Kane	8. Sabu	8. APA
9. Quebecers	9. Jerry Lawler	9. Dudleys	9. Edge & Christian
10. Shawn Michaels	10. Brian Christopher	10. Sandman	10. Tazz

                                                                                       11. BOBCORE

1994- Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz would have cracked the Top 10 if I had seen his lone Superstars match in real time. What a tragic week to miss it! 

1997- I was tempted to put Flair at #10 despite not watching a single second of WCW in 97 just because I did root for him from afar.

1999- Last time I had Undertaker on there which is too high for his hit or miss 99. Sandman replaced him this time around because I WAS THERE. Giving BOBCORE a shoutout because of course I am.

2000- This was a tough one to settle on for multiple reasons...
-First I did a heel turn halfway through the year. Couldn't stand HHH and E&C until some time between August-October. Then I did a 180 and they suddenly became Baker Boys who finished the year strong. Especially HHH.
-JJ I followed online, popped for all his success, and did see 1 match of his (where he lost the title to Flair) which means he qualifies.
-Foley was only around the first two months, but it was a hell of a two month run, and I was definitely one of those "Foley Is God" types from 97-00.
-Tazz was a one night wonder a la 1999 Sandman. But, again, it was a hell of a night. Plus he could coast for a while on residual goodwill built up from his epic 96-99 ECW run.

1988	1989	1990	1991	1992
1. Ted Dibiase	1. Mr. Perfect	1. Mr. Perfect	1. Undertaker	1. Ric Flair
2. Honkytonk Man	2. Ric Flair	2. Larry Zbyszko	2. Ric Flair	2. Papa Shango
3. Andre The Giant	3. Terry Funk	3. Earthquake	3. The Mountie	3. Undertaker
4. Midnight Express	4. Fabulous Rougeau Brothers	4. Undertaker	4. Sgt. Slaughter	4. The Mountie
5. Barry Windham	5. The Genius	5. Black Scorpion	5. Mr. Perfect	5. Dangerous Alliance**
6. Fabulous Rougeau Brothers	6. Brainbusters	6. Demolition	6. Ted Dibiase
7. Dino Bravo	7. Larry Zbyszko	7. Dino Bravo	7. Jake "The Snake" Roberts
8. Varsity Club	8. Ted Dibiase	8. Jake "The Milkman" Milliman	8. Natural Disasters	8. Shawn Michaels
9. Big Bossman	9. Twin Towers	9. Destruction Crew	9. Enforcers*	9. Money Inc.
10. Demolition	10. Midnight Express	10. Rick "The Model" Martel	10. Rick "The Model" Martel	10. Rick "The Model" Martel

-These are the ones I'm least committed to so far, especially once you get towards the bottom. 88 & 89 aren't too bad, but 90-92 has long been kind of a blur for me once you get beyond the Top 4 or 5. Those must have been the years sports and other activities most cut into muh rasslin' time. Didn't watch much NWA/WCW from 90-92 either. Just a few weeks on either side of Starrcade 90 and a weekend or two in May 91. Might have cheated a bit with the AWA guys as well. Maybe The Milkman & Destruction Crew peaked in 1989, but that year was stronger overall, so I gave them credit in 90 instead so I could more easily get to 10. It was a non-WWF promotion over 30 years ago! You can't expect me to recall what happened when!

*Retroactive recognition. Never actually saw The Enforcers in real time, but I needed to reach 10, and there's no way 1991 me wouldn't have loved the dream team of Larry Legend & Double A.

**Same deal as above for the Dangerous Alliance and I'm just using funny math to skip 6-7 altogether since 8-9-10 seems more right for HBK, Money Inc, Model in 1992.

-First overlap with Shootist comes in 89 where we both had Flair-Funk at 2-3. We also came close in 87 where I had Savage-Windham just off the table at 11-12.

This is brilliant work, fellas you guys keep the history forum energized along with Kilgore & Wendell Cooley. We feed off of the greatness here.

2001	2002	2003
1. Kurt Angle	1. Kurt Angle	1. Matt Hardy
2. RVD	2. RVD	2. Kurt Angle
3. HHH	3. Ric Flair	3. Raven
4. Ric Flair	4. Christopher Daniels	4. Christopher Daniels
5. Christopher Daniels	5. Matt Hardy	5. Jeff Jarrett
6. Steve Austin	6. Billy & Chuck	6. John Cena
7. William Regal	7. BookDust	7. Team Angle/WGTT
8. Booker T	8. Undertaker	8. America's Most Wanted
9. Christian	9. HHH	9. Undertaker
10. Hurricane	10. Mr. Perfect	10. Ric Flair

2001- First year there was a real debate over the #1 spot. I did root for RVD over Angle (and Austin) at No Mercy, but ultimately gave Kurt the nod because he had already spent 6 months as my top guy before Van Dam arrived on the scene. Spoiler Alert: Angle from 00-02 is my only threepeat. Hurricane was another dumb flavor of the month like 1998 Al Snow that even I cringe looking back on, but I've got to stay true to myself.

2002- Matt Hardy was my favorite wrestler by September or October, but I couldn't put him higher than #5 because the four guys in front of him jumped out to big leads when Matt was still a stale Hardy Boy. Matt will get his reward next year. Perfect was another one night wonder (Royal Rumble) + residual goodwill case. Ditto for Triple H who I turned on later than most people- September. No TNA wrestlers because I wasn't watching the promotion yet. 

2003- Only debate here was for the #10 spot. It came down to Flair & RVD with both coasting by on years of built up goodwill. Ultimately gave Flair the nod over Rob because of that one memorable Raw match with Triple H.

Baker being a King Kurt fan makes me think the Kurt thread I've been sitting on might not flop.

Mar 9, 2023 23:15:53 GMT @ness said:

Baker being a King Kurt fan makes me think the Kurt thread I've been sitting on might not flop.

No Kurt Angle thread will ever flop on my watch.

Mar 9, 2023 18:07:22 GMT Ed said:

This is brilliant work, fellas you guys keep the history forum energized along with Kilgore & Wendell Cooley. We feed off of the greatness here.

I have definitely been sucked back into the world of pro wrestling, love all of you guys. 

1991- Bret Hart-Ultimate Warrior-Ricky Steamboat-LOD-British Bulldog-Texas Tornado
1992- Bret Hart-Ultimate Warrior-Undertaker-LOD-British Bulldog-SID
1993- Bret Hart-Undertaker-123 Kid-Adam Bomb-Razor Ramon
1994- Bret Hart-Undertaker-123 Kid-Razor Ramon-Diesel-Adam Bomb
1995- Bret Hart-Undertaker-123 Kid-Razor Ramon-Diesel-
1996- Bret Hart-Undertaker-Ultimate Warrior-Ahmed Johnson-Sid
1997- Bret Hart-Undertaker-Sabu-LOD-Stone Cold-Mankind
1998- Bret Hart-Undertaker-Sabu-Taz-RVD-Wrath-Ken Shamrock-New Jack-Dean Malenko
1999- Bret Hart-Sabu-Taz-RVD-New Jack-Benoit/Malenko
2000- Taz-RVD-New Jack-Sabu-Yoshihiro Tajiri-Super Crazy

Juvy should be pretty high for me in 1998. I also really loved Austin and Golberg but was too cool to consider them my favorites, I was going underground ECW by that point. Hipster. I never got a Wolfpac shirt. 

I see we're organising this list like the Oscars because there is no way that Baker would keep Lana Star off his Top 10 in 2000-01.

What was Christopher Daniels doing in 2001 to make you a fan? Was that all internet buzz mixed in with a couple of fun C-show performances?

Can a wrestler be your favorite if you only ever read about them in a magazine? Like having never actually seen a live action match of theirs in that calendar year? The answer is yes; The Eliminators late 96 into 97ish

Mar 10, 2023 2:05:41 GMT Neo Zeed said:

1993- Bret Hart-Undertaker-123 Kid-Adam Bomb-Razor Ramon
1994- Bret Hart-Undertaker-123 Kid-Razor Ramon-Diesel-Adam Bomb

I knew you were a Wrath fan. I did not know you were also an Adam Bomb fan. Interesting.

Mar 10, 2023 4:16:40 GMT Neo Zeed said:

Juvy should be pretty high for me in 1998. I also really loved Austin and Golberg but was too cool to consider them my favorites, I was going underground ECW by that point. Hipster. I never got a Wolfpac shirt. 

Good idea considering NC State has been strictly midcard since the glory days of Charles Shackleford, Rodney Monroe, Chris Corchiani, Vinny Del Negro, Tom Gugliotta, and Jimmy V.

Mar 10, 2023 6:15:55 GMT Neo Zeed said:

Can a wrestler be your favorite if you only ever read about them in a magazine? Like having never actually seen a live action match of theirs in that calendar year? The answer is yes; The Eliminators late 96 into 97ish

The Apter Mags are a big reason Brian Christopher eeked out Flair (who I didn't even see in 97 lol) and fellow Brian, Pillman for my #10 spot in 97. Finally an Apter Mag darling who didn't completely lay an egg like Tracy Smothers, Tony Anthony, and the Human Botch Machine Sabu who jobbed clean as a sheet to his bad guy nemesis and then had a confusing heel turn after 17 months of OVERhype as Jesus in genie pants (Editor's Note: He would grow on me the next year).

Mar 10, 2023 6:00:56 GMT Big Pete said:

1. I see we're organising this list like the Oscars because there is no way that Baker would keep Lana Star off his Top 10 in 2000-01.

2. What was Christopher Daniels doing in 2001 to make you a fan? Was that all internet buzz mixed in with a couple of fun C-show performances?

1. I'm glad you mentioned Lana because leaving her off did hurt. Plus it gives me a chance to namedrop some other tough cuts. I had Lana Star at #12 in 2000- one spot behind RVD. There is no shame in that! Tough choices must be made when you can only choose 10. Here is the murderer's row of wrestlers Lana finished ahead of that year roughly in order- Undertaker, Too Cool, Steven Richards, Regal, Rock, Raven, Dreamer, Rikishi, Tajiri, Daniels, Lana's lackey Patti Pizzazz, BOBCORE, and Sandman.

Other Baker Guys who failed to crack the Top 10 for any year include Norton, Tom Brandi, MONGO, Disco, Eddie Gilbert, Prince Nana, ol' BOBCORE himself, and all those cool Sid tag teams. The Gambler never even cracks my Top 20! More proof it sucked to peak during the stacked years of 95 & 96. ECW guys? It took Raven until 2003 to crack the Top 10. Dreamer still hasn't. Stevie, New Jack, and Tajiri never will. You want big names? Randy Savage never even made it! Benoit & Jericho still haven't either and I'm not sure Edge ever does make it as a singles competitor. 

Honestly didn't even consider Lana for 2001. WOW was dead by February or March of that year. It's not like I was sitting around in December 01 thinking about how much I missed Lana Star & WOW. Out of sight, out of mind. Mentioned before it's better to finish a year strong than to start strong and fizzle. 
==============
2. Daniels had been a Baker Guy since the 9/19/98 episode of Shotgun where he stole the show against Taka (another guy who never cracked my Top 10! despite Kaientai getting a modicum of consideration in 98 and cracking the Top 20 in 01) as this complete unknown breaking out Slingshot Jackhammers and elevated sitout Pedigrees. Remembered Cornette on commentary saying he worked for APW in California so I looked up APW online first chance I got (we were in between internet service at home). That one Daniels match is really what got me into indie wrestling. A month later I went to my first indie show- MCW right here in Maryland. By the end of 98 Daniels and local guys Tom Brandi & Christian York comprised my Holy Trinity of indie wrestling. I'd lose interest in Brandi & York by 2000, but Daniels still had that hype going into this century... 

Yet I didn't actually get to see Daniels in action outside of slow loading kewl move clips on the APW website (Kilgore knows), that one 1999 ECW Arena show I went to where he jobbed to stupid Rhino, and the occasional spot of WWF job duty (and I was barely, if ever, watching those shows anymore once we get a few months into 2000). So from 98-00 he was kind of like Nobi with the Eliminators in that I considered myself a fan, but couldn't rank him too high because I rarely saw him wrestle. 

That all changed on 11/3/01 when I finally bit the bullet and went to my first ECWA show an hour away in Delaware to see Daniels battle fellow indie darling Low Ki. Thought about going to the 99 & 00 ECWA Super 8s where Daniels ended up losing in the finals one year and winning the other, but never pulled the trigger. Anyway, Daniels stole the show against Low Ki. The hype was real. Goodbye Bret/Diesel & RVD/Sabu. This was now the best match I ever saw live. There's a moment in that match where Low Ki shoot kicks Daniels in the head. I swear Daniels was looking right at me and I saw his eyes roll back into his head. I was like "OMG. He's knocked out for real." Then Daniels kicks out at 2.9. In that moment I decided Christopher Daniels was the best wrestler in the world (at least until the next time I saw Angle and/or RVD). A short time later this happens and I jump out of my seat yet again...



Now I'm all in on Daniels, ECWA, and anywhere else Daniels is wrestling. Got a few tapes featuring Daniels matches and an admittedly awful Daniels shirt I wore to a ton of indie shows over the next few years. Ended up going to at least 5 ECWA shows in a row. Followed ROH from the very beginning. And it's really all because of Daniels. By the end of 2001 he had finally progressed from interesting internet darling to top tier Baker Guy. 

Mar 10, 2023 6:15:55 GMT Neo Zeed said:

Can a wrestler be your favorite if you only ever read about them in a magazine? 

YES. I was a Sting fan before I ever saw WCW. Surfer Sting just looked so fucking rad to me as a little kid. Pretty sure seeing Sting in magazines is what made me want to check out WCW in the first place. 

I'll try to limit it to 5 peak years, as a guy like me could sit here for hours putting together +20 years of lists

2001 is where my fandom really begins to take off. Summer of 95/96 I started taking note of wrestling, and then during the Attitude Era I became a casual fan, but it's late 2000 where I really become obsessed with wrestling. 2004, is sort of a new generation for me. I'm obsessed with early ROH and watching TNA. 2012 feels like a sort of forgot time in WWE - there's a tonne of great stuff going on, Punk's 434, AJ Lee, the debuts of The Shield, Hell-No and The Wyatt Family. 2018 is sort of where " independent wrestling " hits it's peak in a sense, NXT is a super-indie at this point and we're a year away from The Elite forming AEW.  

2001	2004	2012	2018	2023
Triple H	AJ Styles	CM Punk	Johnny Gargano	Sami Zayn
Chris Jericho	Triple H	AJ Lee	Tommaso Ciampa	Roman Reigns
The Rock	Chris Benoit	Austin Aries	Adam Cole	Kevin Owens
Stone Cold	Eddie Guerrero	Bobby Roode	Aleister Black	Jey Uso
Kurt Angle	Christopher Daniels	Dolph Ziggler	Marty Scurll	GUNTHER
Edge	John Cena	Brooke Tessmacher	Finn Bálor	Finn Bálor
Chris Benoit	Paul London	Dean Ambrose	Kenny Omega	Becky Lynch
Booker T	Matt Hardy	Bray Wyatt	AJ Styles	Cody Rhodes
Shane Helms	Chris Sabin	Daniel Bryan	Cody Rhodes	Austin Theory
Stacy Keibler	Billy Kidman	Kane	Becky Lynch	Dom Mysterio

Are you guys going off memory or are you using an archive of alumni talent? If you are, what are you searching? Promotion and year? I wanna contribute but can't think of 10 off the top.

Mar 12, 2023 0:10:55 GMT @ness said:

Are you guys going off memory or are you using an archive of alumni talent? If you are, what are you searching? Promotion and year? I wanna contribute but can't think of 10 off the top.

I'm going by memory because I'm basically Rainman when it comes to old school wrestling. World's lamest superpower.

Nice to see some new blood in here NATH45. 

I still have to cover 04-09. Got bogged down with 04 & 05. Still haven't decided what I'm going to do for 2010-Present. Maybe an overall Top 10 for that whole period or some Top 3s or 5s for the years I watched a little bit with a bunch of years being skipped altogether? We'll see...

Mar 12, 2023 0:10:55 GMT @ness said:

Are you guys going off memory or are you using an archive of alumni talent? If you are, what are you searching? Promotion and year? I wanna contribute but can't think of 10 off the top.

I initially looked at the PWI lists for " Wrestler of the Year, Most Popular " etc, as a guide to show who was " working " that year, and then double checked a few dates to ensure I wasn't confusing 2012 for 2011 as an example. There's a couple of odd ones on my list, Ambrose doesn't debut until November with The Shield, and their debut match isn't until December, but it's an awesome TLC match to debut in. And for 45 odd days in 2012, Ambrose achieves more than some guys do in 10 years, as do the rest The Shield. 

Mar 12, 2023 1:13:12 GMT NATH45 said:

Ambrose doesn't debut until November with The Shield, and their debut match isn't until December, but it's an awesome TLC match to debut in. And for 45 odd days in 2012, Ambrose achieves more than some guys do in 10 years, as do the rest The Shield. 

I had a few like this as well. Undertaker in 1990 springs to mind. 1990 Black Scorpion was another short but memorable run. 1995 Mr. Wonderful's great run only lasted 3 months. Goldust was my #1 in 95 and he only wrestled a little over two months + another two months of all important vignettes.

I am not ignoring this thread. I tried to make lists! Impossible. This is why I'm not a list guy.

Mar 12, 2023 0:23:31 GMT Baker said:

Mar 12, 2023 0:10:55 GMT @ness said:

Are you guys going off memory or are you using an archive of alumni talent? If you are, what are you searching? Promotion and year? I wanna contribute but can't think of 10 off the top.

I'm going by memory because I'm basically Rainman when it comes to old school wrestling. World's lamest superpower.

I don't believe this. I'm convinced you were looking at NOTEBOOKS listing them with each year having it's own page!

Mar 12, 2023 12:56:51 GMT @ness said:

I don't believe this. I'm convinced you were looking at NOTEBOOKS listing them with each year having it's own page!

Nope. All right up here, brother...


====================

2004	2005	2006	2007
1. JBL	1. JBL	1. King Booker	1. Shawn Michaels
2. Kurt Angle	2. Kurt Angle	2. Kurt Angle	2. Undertaker
3. Chris Benoit	3. Matt Hardy	3. JBL	3. Matt Hardy
4. Mick Foley	4. Jimmy Rave	4. Spirit Squad	4. MVP
5. Teddy Hart	5. Johnny Jeter	5. Sabu	5. John Morrison
6. Christopher Daniels	6. Christopher Daniels	6. RVD	6. King Booker
7. Shawn Michaels	7. Shawn Michaels	7. Mick Foley	7. Santino
8. Undertaker	8. Ric Flair	8. Ric Flair	8. Triple H
9. Triple H	9. Undertaker	9. Undertaker	9. Kurt Angle
10. Ric Flair	10. Triple H	10. Jeff Jarrett	10. America's Most Wanted

*This is the period where I stagnated as a wrestling fan. Up to this point I was always fairly fickle. Now we're at a stage where half a dozen wrestlers are legacy locks so long as they remain active and don't do anything stupid like reform DX or hog the NWA Championship a little too much.

2004- Most notable thing aside from the Wrestling God ascending Mt. Olympus is seeing Shawn Michaels return to the top 10 for the first time in a decade. 95-03 me would be appalled at what became of his future self. Benoit's first and only time cracking the Top 10 after multiple years in the teens. JJ & Mordecai were tough cuts. JJ because I didn't watch (much?) TNA after March and Mordecai because I just preferred 10 other wrestlers, even if they were coasting like Flair. HHH is back because all I really wanted was for him to lose from time to time and start having some good matches again. Taker's WM 20 return to The Deadman was huge even if most of his subsequent feuds did suck. This was honestly a pretty weak year. 2000 Lana Star would have ranked 6 or 7 this year.

2005- Deepest year since 99 or 2000 with TNA, ROH, and OVW all having perhaps their best years while WWE also had their moments as always. JJ & Sabu were tough cuts.

2006- Longtime favorites JBL retiring and Angle leaving back to back was a double punch to the gut but thankfully King Booker stepped up to save the day. Edge & Alex Shelley were not-so-tough final cuts.

2007- The comeback of the millennium is complete as the once hated Shawn Michaels has gone from the outhouse to the penthouse. 95-03 me would undoubtedly think 2007 me had gone soft in the head. The Curse of TNA strikes as Angle finally drops down from the 1-2 spot he occupied every previous year of the decade. AMW is a bit of a cheat. I know they broke up early in the year, but I still liked both guys for different reasons and therefore decided they were both deserving of representation. Absence once again made the heart grow fonder in regards to Triple H, though admittedly not to the extent of his 2002 return. Late cuts this year were Ric Flair and the ECW Originals. Flair didn't do much aside from amusingly bury Carlito until literally the last day of the year when his "Win or Retire" storyline started.

People forget just how brilliant JBL was during his run as Champion.

Mar 13, 2023 1:57:16 GMT NATH45 said:

People forget just how brilliant JBL was during his run as Champion.

1999	2000	2001	2002
1. Bill Goldberg	1. Bill Goldberg	1. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin	1. Shawn Michaels
2. Mankind	2. Cactus Jack/Mick Foley	2. Rob Van Dam	2. Rob Van Dam
3. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin	3. The Rock	3. Chris Jericho	3. Edge
4. Kidman	4. Edge & Christian	4. Booker T	4. Rey Mysterio
5. Diamond Dallas Page	5. Booker T	5. Edge	5. Goldust
6. Chris Benoit	6. Chris Benoit	6. Chris Benoit	6. Chris Benoit
7. Sting	7. Chris Jericho	7. Shane Helms/The Hurricane	7. Kurt Angle
8. Kane	8. Lance Storm	8. Kane	8. Three Minute Warning
9. The Brood	9. Terry Funk	9. Christian	9. Amazing Red
10. 'Y2J' Chris Jericho	10. Kronik	10. Triple H	10. 'Sick' Nick Mondo

In the defence of Shane Helms, he was the face of the Cruiserweight division when it was going out with a bang. The Vertebreaker was the greatest finisher in all of Pro Wrestling and he had enough charisma to survive the WWF shark tank.

2002 was a stacked year and I once again had to give c a shout out with my #10. I began lurking PW in 2002 and I loved the thought of these underground promotions filled with up and coming talent that went harder than the big leagues. It just made the profession feel more alive and I wanted to believe in Mondo.

I was watching actively from 2003-2004 onwards but there's no way I could go back in time and give you 10 favourite wrestlers from each year. I can only remember a handful of moments here and there and maybe the general climate. I'd even struggle with that task for the past few years.

@ness must be drowning in ecstasy at all THE TABLES.

When does KENTA start popping up on your lists, Emperor?

I can't remember were you a HHH or Undertaker fan first?