When I started watching WWE it was Smackdown only because they didn't show Raw on British TV. I was an Undertaker fan pretty early on.

As for Triple H, didn't see any of him during that reign of terror period. I only grew to appreciate him years later.

I'm thinking 2007 was the year KENTA first graced my screens through The Fight Network channel. May have been a bit later.

Nice to see Big Pete get in on this. Good amount of overlap between me, you, and N A T H in 2001. If we get enough participants (Shootist I'm looking at you) I'll add up the scores. Emperor I thought you started out as a Rock guy?
==============

2008	2009	Before 1987
1. Shawn Michaels	1. Christian	1. Jerry Lawler
2. Chris Jericho	2. Chris Jericho	2. Ric Flair
3. JBL	3. Goldust	3. Bill Dundee
4. Jeff Hardy	4. John Morrison	4. Eddie Gilbert
5. Santino	5. Mike Knox	5. Michael Hayes
6. Undertaker	6. Shawn Michaels	6. Paul Orndorff
7. Ric Flair	7. Ricky Steamboat	7. Buddy Landel
8. John Morrison	8. Tommy Dreamer	8. Randy Savage
9. Matt Hardy	9. Undertaker	9. Lanny Poffo
10. Triple H	10. JBL	10. Larry Zbyszko

*I had been slowly drifting away from wrestling for years. The process accelerated in late 2008 and after Wrestlemania 25 I wasn't even watching the occasional live show anymore, opting instead to watch stuff involving the handful of wrestlers I was still interested in on Youtube at my own leisure. This went on for a few months until I lost interest altogether. But it made coming up with a 2009 list mighty easy! At work today I had a Eureka moment with the idea to do a pre-1987 list as well.

2008- From 87-00 I had one back to back winner. Best babyface of the 2000s HBK repeating here makes three between 01-08. Stagnation! Peak Chris Jericho finally makes The List after near misses in 02-03 while poor eternal bridesmaid Edge is the final cut for the second time in three years. He did make it teaming with Christian in 00 tho. You Jeff Hardy enthusiasts might want to take a pic because this is the rare occasion where I have the Obsolete Mule over Matt. Jeff briefly becoming the world's biggest babyface was one of those things I just ran with after years of indifference or worse. 

2009- Dreamer finally cracks the list after a whole lot of appearances in the teens and low 20s. Steamboat is another first time entry some 20 years after his prime and 15 after his first retirement. What can I say other than 2000s me respected the veterans? Jericho continued his hot streak while returning veteran babyfaces Christian & Goldust were breaths of fresh air who kept me scrolling through WWECW on Youtube more than I was doing for Raw & Smackdown.

Pre 87- I sure do love my heels. Yet standing atop that hall of fame bad boy brigade is the greatest babyface of all time Jerry "The King" Lawler. Just now realizing that list is very 1986 heavy. Dump Matsumoto & Terry Funk were other wrestlers under consideration. 

Dude weird idea for wrestling game, like weird ass dominos. Like 2008 is the piece and you play it next to another piece and that's your card. Whoever has the better card keeps the other guys card. Santino vs. Mike Knox ORRRR Knox vs. Hayes? Yeah I think we know who won.

Who would watch Under/Shawn when Shawn Orndorff is RIGHT THERE.

I gotta make my pieces. Maybe for the eras of wrestling I've seen. This is the thread I should focus on.

Mar 13, 2023 23:23:00 GMT Baker said:

Nice to see Big Pete get in on this. Good amount of overlap between me, you, and N A T H in 2001. If we get enough participants (Shootist I'm looking at you) I'll add up the scores. Emperor I thought you started out as a Rock guy?
==============

2008	2009	Before 1987
1. Shawn Michaels	1. Christian	1. Jerry Lawler
2. Chris Jericho	2. Chris Jericho	2. Ric Flair
3. JBL	3. Goldust	3. Bill Dundee
4. Jeff Hardy	4. John Morrison	4. Eddie Gilbert
5. Santino	5. Mike Knox	5. Michael Hayes
6. Undertaker	6. Shawn Michaels	6. Paul Orndorff
7. Ric Flair	7. Ricky Steamboat	7. Buddy Landel
8. John Morrison	8. Tommy Dreamer	8. Randy Savage
9. Matt Hardy	9. Undertaker	9. Lanny Poffo
10. Triple H	10. JBL	10. Larry Zbyszko

*I had been slowly drifting away from wrestling for years. The process accelerated in late 2008 and after Wrestlemania 25 I wasn't even watching the occasional live show anymore, opting instead to watch stuff involving the handful of wrestlers I was still interested in on Youtube at my own leisure. This went on for a few months until I lost interest altogether. But it made coming up with a 2009 list mighty easy! At work today I had a Eureka moment with the idea to do a pre-1987 list as well.

2008- From 87-00 I had one back to back winner. Best babyface of the 2000s HBK repeating here makes three between 00-08. Stagnation! Jericho finally makes The List after near misses in 02-03 while poor eternal bridesmaid Edge is the final cut for the second time in three years. He did make it teaming with Christian in 00 tho. You Jeff Hardy enthusiasts might want to take a pic because this is the one time I'll have the Obsolete Mule over Matt. Jeff briefly becoming the world's biggest babyface was one of those things I just ran with after years of indifference or worse. 

2009- Dreamer finally cracks the list after a whole lot of appearances in the teens and low 20s. Steamboat is another first time entry some 20 years after his prime and 15 after his first retirement. What can I say other than 2000s me respected the veterans? Jericho continued his hot streak while returning veteran babyfaces Christian & Goldust were breaths of fresh air who kept me scrolling through WWECW on Youtube more than I was doing for Raw & Smackdown.

Pre 87- I sure do love my heels. Yet standing atop that hall of fame bad boy brigade is the greatest babyface of all time- Jerry "The King" Lawler. Just now realizing that list is very 1986 heavy. Dump Matsumoto & Terry Funk were other wrestlers under consideration. 

I will try and post my 90's lists tonight.

Mar 13, 2023 23:27:16 GMT Baker said:

Emperor I thought you started out as a Rock guy?

It's true. That was before I started watching WWE on a weekly basis in 2003. I had a bunch of VHS tapes of PPVs from 1999-2001. The Rock was my number one. He was around in 2003 if I recall, but on the way out so I didn't see too much of him. Deadman Undertaker was revived somewhere around here as well. I had seen ABA Taker on my VHSs, I neither liked nor disliked him.

Mar 13, 2023 23:34:23 GMT Ness said:

Dude weird idea for wrestling game, like weird ass dominos. Like 2008 is the piece and you play it next to another piece and that's your card. Whoever has the better card keeps the other guys card. Santino vs. Mike Knox ORRRR Knox vs. Hayes? Yeah I think we know who won.

Who would watch Under/Shawn when Shawn Orndorff is RIGHT THERE.

I gotta make my pieces. Maybe for the eras of wrestling I've seen. This is the thread I should focus on.

I love this idea! Too bad 🤯 is no longer with us. This would be right up his alley.

2003	2004	2005	2006
1. Goldberg	1. Chris Benoit	1. Chris Benoit	1. Edge
2. Shawn Michaels	2. Eddie Guerrero	2. Shawn Michaels	2. Mick Foley
3. Rob Van Dam	3. Mick Foley	3. Kurt Angle	3. Rob Van Dam
4. Chris Benoit	4. Rob Van Dam	4. Matt Hardy	4. Chris Benoit
5. The Rock	5. Shawn Michaels	5. Edge	5. Paul London & Brian Kendrick
6. Kurt Angle	6. The Undertaker	6. Carlito Carribean Cool	6. Kurt Angle
7. Brock Lesnar	7. Chris Jericho	7. Rey Mysterio	7. Fit Finlay
8. Trish Stratus	8. Shelton Benjamin	8. Mr. Kennedy	8. Mickie James
9. Ultimo Dragon	9. Randy Orton	9. Eddie Guerrero	9. Mr. Kennedy
10. Eddie Guerrero	10. Akio	10. Hulk Hogan	10. Ric Flair

2003 is one of those years where I don't recall being crazy about anyone. I wanted to believe in a Goldberg renaissance, but even when he won the title, it was just a setback for Evolution to overcome. Meanwhile I was legitimately hooked by the women's division and couldn't get over how much Trish had improved. That Matrix spot was one of my favourites on the show.

I remember being so disappointed that SmackDown vs. RAW wasn't going to include guys like Akio I had to throw him a bone. My issue with SmackDown around this time was how they utilised their roster and how it seemed like there were only 12 or so guys who actually mattered on that roster.

I still believed 'Benoit was 4 real' and was legitimately bummed out when he lost at New Years Revolution even though a title win would have made no sense. If it was up to me, HHH/Batista should have been for the IC title, dammit! Actually I'm not sure what my deal was with Benoit but I remember holding out for a title program with him and Batista that never materialised. Otherwise I was all-in on the Hardy/Edge drama and in a shocking twist actually sided with Team Matt! I thought Carlito was the greatest thing on television for reasons I'm still yet to determine. 05 was the first time I came down with Hulkamania and I used to watch his trashy television show all the time, especially that episode where they were incognito at the Universal Theme Park.

A lot of these years blur together because I wasn't really buying what they were selling at that time. Neither Cena, Batista or Lashley did it for me and I really wanted D-Generation X until they actually gave it to me. Still, Edge & Rob Van Dam both broke their humps and became legitimate stars. Foley had an extended run which was on track to be one of his greatest years until he got entagled with Ric and wrote a sooky memoir. Against all odds, I found Finlay legitimately entertaining and enjoyed his rugged style, especially with the extended absence of Benoit. Finally, The Nature Boy was coming off a fantastic end to 2005 and was legitimately one of the best workers on the roster. I was never a huge Flair guy but he was undeniably great that year.

What was Akio doing in 2004 Big Pete to make your top 10? I can recall him being Tajiri's lackey at some point, and then he played the Jimmy Wang Yang character a few years later.

Sorry there are no women in these years!

2000	2001	2002	2003
1. Chris Jericho	1. Shane Helms/The Hurricane	1. Brock Lesnar	1. Goldberg
2. Christian	2. X-Pac	2. Christian	2. Matt Hardy
3. Edge	3. Christian	3. Chris Jericho	3. The Rock
4. Lance Storm	4. Lance Storm	4. Matt Hardy	4. Christian
5. Jeff Jarrett	5. Kurt Angle	5. The Hurricane	5. The Hurricane
6. Triple H	6. Chris Jericho	6. Raven	6. Eddie Guerrero
7. Kurt Angle	7. Rhyno	7. Maven	7. Chris Jericho
8. X-Pac	8. Raven	8. X-Pac	8. Spanky
9. Road Dogg	9. Rob Van Dam	9. Stevie Richards	9. Big Show
10. Test	10. Edge	10. Tommy Dreamer	10. Raven

Why isn't the table showing?!

@papaya has unlocked a new feature. Tables without borders.

I've either broken PW or helped it ascend to a new level!

Or option 3 - just missed an obvious option! Thank you Baker!

Mar 14, 2023 21:02:00 GMT N A T H said:

What was Akio doing in 2004 Big Pete to make your top 10? I can recall him being Tajiri's lackey at some point, and then he played the Jimmy Wang Yang character a few years later.

Might've been the time he was doing those Velocity classics with London.

Mar 14, 2023 21:34:15 GMT @papaya said:

Why isn't the table showing?!

You have to make sure Border is checked when setting up your table. I made the same mistake first time I tried. 

Had no idea The Hurricane was so popular on PW.

I had the same theory on Akio Ness

Mar 14, 2023 21:51:03 GMT Ness said:

Mar 14, 2023 21:02:00 GMT N A T H said:

What was Akio doing in 2004 Big Pete to make your top 10? I can recall him being Tajiri's lackey at some point, and then he played the Jimmy Wang Yang character a few years later.

Might've been the time he was doing those Velocity classics with London.

I used to tape (onto VHS) Velocity every week and convert them to DVD using my an old digital video card to make " best of " collections of just like Paul London, Kendrick, pretty much Velocity as a whole was the cruiserweight show.

And Baker, I think Shane Helms makes my top 20 every year from 2001 till atleast 2008. He shares clips on his socials of spots and some of the moves he originated, his impact on the business is under rated.

Mar 14, 2023 22:47:59 GMT N A T H said:

Mar 14, 2023 21:51:03 GMT Ness said:

Might've been the time he was doing those Velocity classics with London.

1. I used to tape (onto VHS) Velocity every week and convert them to DVD using my an old digital video card to make " best of " collections of just like Paul London, Kendrick, pretty much Velocity as a whole was the cruiserweight show.

2. And Baker , I think Shane Helms makes my top 20 every year from 2001 till atleast 2008. He shares clips on his socials of spots and some of the moves he originated, his impact on the business is under rated.

1. Nice. I never watched much Velocity. Timeslot killed it for me. It aired on Saturday nights during my party boy phase when I'd be hanging out with my friends. At most we might have it on as background noise (most/all of my guy friends in 02-03 were wrestling fans). 98-99 Shotgun/Jakked was basically my "Velocity" what with the Hardys, Acolytes, Edge & Christian, Too Much, and Kaientai tearing it up.

2. I got a kick out of The Hurricane at first. He edged out Tajiri to make my list for 2001! But I got tired of him real quick. For me The Hurricane was like another Val Venis (#12 in 98) in that the gimmick wore thin pretty quickly, but I found him boring without it, leading to a lose/lose situation. And I realize this is petty, but I really can't stand his voice. 

Also got a kick out of you asking Pete a perfectly valid question about Akio in 04, but neither you nor anyone else bats an eye over me including such luminaries as the Spirit Squad, Black Scorpion, Underfaker, etc. Either PW knows me too well by now or you guys saw what happened when Pete asked me a simple question about 2001 Chris Daniels and nobody wants to run the risk of wading through all those paragraphs again.

Anyway, nice to have you and @papaya on board right here in History of Wrestling. Please stick around!

Baker the real question is, Mike Knox?

Mar 15, 2023 1:44:59 GMT N A T H said:

Baker the real question is, Mike Knox?

 Classic.

Clean shaven Mike Knox was in the running for the most boring wrestler during a boring time in a promotion full of boring wrestlers. Doesn't get much more boring than that. The man could cure insomnia. Then he grew the beard...

It was a match with Evan Bourne on WWECW that won me over. Maybe because Bourne bumped and sold like a champ? Idk. But my take was "Wait? Is Mike Knox good now?" And it just snowballed from there. The wildman beard (Mike Knox doesn't get nearly enough credit for pioneering this now overdone trademark 2010s look)...his awesome big boy crossbody (coolest move in late 2000s wrestling)....the wtf promos (he was a deranged kinesthesiologist! Who didn't know why he attacked Rey Mysterio!)...Mike Knox ruled.

Even I'm not entirely sure why I was so fond of Akio, let me try to unpack.

Firstly, Akio debuted on the main roster right around the release of HCTP. As much as I enjoyed the product, I loved the video games and after spending 100s of hours on SYM I was ready for a brand new season.

Akio had this match with Rey Mysterio

That really left an impression on me. Great dropsault, spinning heel kick and corkscrew moonsault - I thought the Cruiserweight division was in good hands.

Then you can only imagine my disappointment when they put the title on Jacqueline and Chavo Classic. Coming from WCW, I was a huge fan of the Cruiserweights so to see the WWF treat the division like Russo did in 1999 really disappointed me. So Akio was one of those guys I'd constantly push in HCTP.

Then SVR was announced and the game sounded amazing. New and improved Royal Rumble, Create A Title, Create A PPV, improved presentation - I was so in and I couldn't wait to see what my HCTP CAWs looked like. Akio, Mordecai, Paul London etc. I was so ready.

Then they revealed the roster and all we got was JBL, Rene Dupree etc. and I was so bummed out. No Akio, no buys!

Australia actually went without Velocity from 2002-04 so I had to settle for online reports and I'd always hear about their amazing chemistry together. I've only seen the one match where London just about cripples himself on the ropes so I can see why they were relegated but at the time it bothered me they were rarely featured on SmackDown. I liked Spike Dudley but his mini-JBL reign as champion was doing nothing for me.

In short, I wanted to believe in an Akio-led Cruiserweight division filled with dropsaults, man-buns and educated feet.

Plus I didn't have access to NWA-TNA so AJ Styles, Kazarian, Petey Williams etc. weren't on my radar.

Mar 14, 2023 22:47:59 GMT N A T H said:

Mar 14, 2023 21:51:03 GMT Ness said:

Might've been the time he was doing those Velocity classics with London.

I used to tape (onto VHS) Velocity every week and convert them to DVD using my an old digital video card to make " best of " collections of just like Paul London, Kendrick, pretty much Velocity as a whole was the cruiserweight show.

And Baker, I think Shane Helms makes my top 20 every year from 2001 till atleast 2008. He shares clips on his socials of spots and some of the moves he originated, his impact on the business is under rated.

Velocity was awesome, annoying it aired right after replays of Raw and SD so it would recap stuff you just watched but the matches made up for it.

TNA got so much love from Foxtel in the mid-late 2000s, TNA IMPACT was prime time Saturday night on FuelTV at one point. In addition to WWE, we had it all at one point. I should really do a deeper dive into those year as my list would read like a TNA HOF induction.

Mar 15, 2023 5:13:16 GMT System said:

Mar 14, 2023 22:47:59 GMT N A T H said:

I used to tape (onto VHS) Velocity every week and convert them to DVD using my an old digital video card to make " best of " collections of just like Paul London, Kendrick, pretty much Velocity as a whole was the cruiserweight show.

And Baker, I think Shane Helms makes my top 20 every year from 2001 till atleast 2008. He shares clips on his socials of spots and some of the moves he originated, his impact on the business is under rated.

Velocity was awesome, annoying it aired right after replays of Raw and SD so it would recap stuff you just watched but the matches made up for it.

Velocity gave us a fantastic pairing of a juiced up Kid Kash and Jamie Noble as The Pitbulls.

On the cruiserweights - Kendrick and London held those tag titles for 11 months. For two guys that didn't even have a combined weight of 334, they held it for 334 days. In 2006 of all years.

SPOILER: Click to show

{The 90s! (With honorable mentions!)}1990

1. Sting
2. Ultimate Warrior
3. The Steiner Brothers
4. Legion Of Doom
5. Mr. Perfect
6. Jake Roberts
7. Rick Rude
8. Ric Flair
9. The Hart Foundation
10. Lex Luger

Honorable Mentions
The Rockers
Randy Savage
Doom
Texas Tornado

1991

1. Bret Hart
2. Legion Of Doom
3. Ric Flair
4. Sting
5. Jake Roberts
6. Steiner Brothers
7. Undertaker
8. Mr. Perfect
9. Ultimate Warrior
10. Lex Luger

Honorable Mentions
Ron Simmons
Ricky Steamboat
Randy Savage
Sid Justice


1992

1. Bret Hart
2. Ric Flair
3. Sting
4. Vader
5. Ricky Steamboat
6. Dangerous Alliance
7. The Steiner Brothers
8. Undertaker
9. Legion Of Doom
10. Ultimate Warrior

Honorable Mentions
Jake Roberts
Randy Savage
Shawn Michaels
Sid Justice
Ron Simmons
Barry Windham
Brian Pillman
Jushin Liger

1993

1. Bret Hart
2. Vader
3. Sting
4. The Steiner Brothers
5. Mr. Perfect
6. 2 Cold Scorpio
7. Ric Flair
8. Barry Windham
9. Jerry Lawler
10. Undertaker

Honorable Mentions
Bam Bam Bigelow
Lex Luger
Ludvig Borga
Razor Ramon
The Quebecers
Shawn Michaels
Rick Rude
Ricky Steamboat
The Hollywood Blonds
Cactus Jack
Sid Vicious


1994

1. Bret Hart
2. Owen Hart
3. Sting
4. Vader
5. Ric Flair
6. Ricky Steamboat
7. Rick Rude
8. Undertaker
9. Cactus Jack
10. Terry Funk

Honorable Mentions
Bam Bam Bigelow
Razor Ramon



1995

1. Sting
2. Ric Flair
3. Vader
4. Bret Hart
5. Arn Anderson
6. Chris Benoit
7. Harlem Heat
8. Eddy Guerrero
9. Brian Pillman
10. Bam Bam Bigelow

Honorable Mentions
Owen Hart
Randy Savage

1996

1. Chris Benoit
2. Sabu
3. Taz
4. Kenta Kobashi
5. Rey Misterio Jr.
6. RVD
7. The Eliminators
8. Mitsuharu Misawa
9. Ric Flair
10. Eddy Guerrero

Honorable Mentions
Ahmed Johnson
Bret Hart
Owen Hart
Sycho Sid
Vader
Sting
The Steiner Brothers
2 Cold Scorpio
Raven
Jushin Liger
Ultimo Dragon
Tommy Dreamer
Toshiaki Kawada
Sandman
The Road Warriors
The Gangstas

1997

1. The Hart Foundation
2. Chris Benoit
3. Taz
4. Steve Austin
5. Mick Foley
6. Terry Funk
7. RVD
8. Kenta Kobashi
9. Jushin Liger
10. Mitsuharu Misawa

Honorable Mentions
The Road Warriors
Undertaker
Vader
Sting
DDP
Lex Luger
Toshiaki Kawada
Eddie Guerrero
Masa Chono
Rey Misterio Jr.
Sabu 
Ric Flair
Kensuke Sasaki
The Great Muta
Raven
Tommy Dreamer
Jerry Lawler
Sandman
New Jack
Hayabusa

1998

1. Chris Benoit
2. Steve Austin
3. Taz
4. Kenta Kobashi
5. Mick Foley
6. Goldberg
7. RVD
8. DDP
9. Chris Jericho
10. Mitsuharu Misawa

Honorable Mentions
Sable
Scott Steiner
Undertaker
Booker T
Jushin Liger
Sting
Toshiaki Kawada
Kensuke Sasaki
Jun Akiyama
Sabu
Hayabusa
Kevin Nash
Bret Hart
Masa Chono
Bam Bam Bigelow
Ric Flair
Masato Tanaka
Jerry Lynn

1999

1. Chris Benoit
2. Taz
3. RVD
4. Kenta Kobashi
5. Vader
6. Steve Austin
7. The Rock
8. Mitsuharu Misawa
9. Chris Jericho
10. Mick Foley

Honorable Mentions
The Dudley Boyz
The Brood
Scott Steiner
Shane McMahon
DDP
Great Muta
Toshiaki Kawada
Sting
Jushin Liger
Bam Bam Bigelow
Sabu
Jun Akiyama
Hayabusa
Ric Flair
Jerry Lynn
Masa Chono
Bret Hart
Booker T
The Godfather
Masato Tanaka
Mike Awesome
New Jack

The 90's saw so many changes in my fandom. It was two companies strong in the first half, then the nadir of no WWF guys in the 1996 top 10. Come the banner year of 1997 the floodgates really open as I was trying to keep tabs on 5 promotions on two continents firing on all cylinders. It was the most exciting time to be a wrestling fan.

Mar 16, 2023 3:06:31 GMT Shootist said:

SPOILER: Click to show

{The 90s! (With honorable mentions!)}1990

1. Sting
2. Ultimate Warrior
3. The Steiner Brothers
4. Legion Of Doom
5. Mr. Perfect
6. Jake Roberts
7. Rick Rude
8. Ric Flair
9. The Hart Foundation
10. Lex Luger

Honorable Mentions
The Rockers
Randy Savage
Doom
Texas Tornado

1991

1. Bret Hart
2. Legion Of Doom
3. Ric Flair
4. Sting
5. Jake Roberts
6. Steiner Brothers
7. Undertaker
8. Mr. Perfect
9. Ultimate Warrior
10. Lex Luger

Honorable Mentions
Ron Simmons
Ricky Steamboat
Randy Savage
Sid Justice


1992

1. Bret Hart
2. Ric Flair
3. Sting
4. Vader
5. Ricky Steamboat
6. Dangerous Alliance
7. The Steiner Brothers
8. Undertaker
9. Legion Of Doom
10. Ultimate Warrior

Honorable Mentions
Jake Roberts
Randy Savage
Shawn Michaels
Sid Justice
Ron Simmons
Barry Windham
Brian Pillman
Jushin Liger

1993

1. Bret Hart
2. Vader
3. Sting
4. The Steiner Brothers
5. Mr. Perfect
6. 2 Cold Scorpio
7. Ric Flair
8. Barry Windham
9. Jerry Lawler
10. Undertaker

Honorable Mentions
Bam Bam Bigelow
Lex Luger
Ludvig Borga
Razor Ramon
The Quebecers
Shawn Michaels
Rick Rude
Ricky Steamboat
The Hollywood Blonds
Cactus Jack
Sid Vicious


1994

1. Bret Hart
2. Owen Hart
3. Sting
4. Vader
5. Ric Flair
6. Ricky Steamboat
7. Rick Rude
8. Undertaker
9. Cactus Jack
10. Terry Funk

Honorable Mentions
Bam Bam Bigelow
Razor Ramon



1995

1. Sting
2. Ric Flair
3. Vader
4. Bret Hart
5. Arn Anderson
6. Chris Benoit
7. Harlem Heat
8. Eddy Guerrero
9. Brian Pillman
10. Bam Bam Bigelow

Honorable Mentions
Owen Hart
Randy Savage

1996

1. Chris Benoit
2. Sabu
3. Taz
4. Kenta Kobashi
5. Rey Misterio Jr.
6. RVD
7. The Eliminators
8. Mitsuharu Misawa
9. Ric Flair
10. Eddy Guerrero

Honorable Mentions
Ahmed Johnson
Bret Hart
Owen Hart
Sycho Sid
Vader
Sting
The Steiner Brothers
2 Cold Scorpio
Raven
Jushin Liger
Ultimo Dragon
Tommy Dreamer
Toshiaki Kawada
Sandman
The Road Warriors
The Gangstas

1997

1. The Hart Foundation
2. Chris Benoit
3. Taz
4. Steve Austin
5. Mick Foley
6. Terry Funk
7. RVD
8. Kenta Kobashi
9. Jushin Liger
10. Mitsuharu Misawa

Honorable Mentions
The Road Warriors
Undertaker
Vader
Sting
DDP
Lex Luger
Toshiaki Kawada
Eddie Guerrero
Masa Chono
Rey Misterio Jr.
Sabu 
Ric Flair
Kensuke Sasaki
The Great Muta
Raven
Tommy Dreamer
Jerry Lawler
Sandman
New Jack
Hayabusa

1998

1. Chris Benoit
2. Steve Austin
3. Taz
4. Kenta Kobashi
5. Mick Foley
6. Goldberg
7. RVD
8. DDP
9. Chris Jericho
10. Mitsuharu Misawa

Honorable Mentions
Sable
Scott Steiner
Undertaker
Booker T
Jushin Liger
Sting
Toshiaki Kawada
Kensuke Sasaki
Jun Akiyama
Sabu
Hayabusa
Kevin Nash
Bret Hart
Masa Chono
Bam Bam Bigelow
Ric Flair
Masato Tanaka
Jerry Lynn

1999

1. Chris Benoit
2. Taz
3. RVD
4. Kenta Kobashi
5. Vader
6. Steve Austin
7. The Rock
8. Mitsuharu Misawa
9. Chris Jericho
10. Mick Foley

Honorable Mentions
The Dudley Boyz
The Brood
Scott Steiner
Shane McMahon
DDP
Great Muta
Toshiaki Kawada
Sting
Jushin Liger
Bam Bam Bigelow
Sabu
Jun Akiyama
Hayabusa
Ric Flair
Jerry Lynn
Masa Chono
Bret Hart
Booker T
The Godfather
Masato Tanaka
Mike Awesome
New Jack

The 90's saw so many changes in my fandom. It was two companies strong in the first half, then the nadir of no WWF guys in the 1996 top 10. Come the banner year of 1997 the floodgates really open as I was trying to keep tabs on 5 promotions on two continents firing on all cylinders. It was the most exciting time to be a wrestling fan.

Shootist going above and beyond the call of duty with all those glorious honorable mentions has me tempted to do the same. Went down to somewhere between 13-31 for every year from 87-07.

Mar 16, 2023 15:22:40 GMT Baker said:

Shootist going above and beyond the call of duty with all those glorious honorable mentions has me tempted to do the same. Went down to somewhere between 13-31 for every year from 87-07.

I deleted my 80's lists already but I don't think they went that deep. I knew once I got into the late 90's my list were going to be longer so I kind of planned to give everyone some love.

Shootist 95-96 and 98-99 are the years I went really deep.

These two sites are also helpful in jogging my memory for those needing help:

www.thesmackdownhotel.com/roster/?promotion=wwe&date=1997

www.profightdb.com/pwi-500/2021.html

Mar 16, 2023 18:00:23 GMT Baker said:

Shootist 95-96 and 98-99 are the years I went really deep.

Since I teased it and already shared my extended 2000 list in non-table form...

	1995	1996	1998	1999	2000
11	Hunter Hearst Helmsley	Undertaker	Ric Flair	BOBCORE	Rob Van Dam
12	Yokozuna	The Giant	Val Venis	Kurt Angle	Lana Star
13	Undertaker	Chris Benoit	Tom Brandi	Undertaker	Undertaker
14	"British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith	Fire & Ice	Godfather	Hardys	Too Cool
15	Disco Inferno	Steve "MONGO" McMichael	Too Much	Acolytes	Steven Richards
16	Chris Benoit	Disco Inferno	Jeff Jarrett	Kane	William Regal
17	Hakushi	Fake Diesel & Fake Razor	Sabu	Raven	The Rock
18	Sid & The Kid	Salvatore Sincere	Dudleys	Tommy Dreamer	Raven
19	Henry O. Godwinn	John Tenta	Nova & Meanie	New Jack	Tommy Dreamer
20	Arn Anderson	Mankind	Tommy Dreamer	Edge & Christian	Rikishi
21	Mr. Bob Backlund	Furnas & LaFon	New Jack	Too Cool	Tajiri
22	Dean Malenko	Earl Robert Eaton	Hardys	Mean Street Posse	Christopher Daniels
23	Scott Norton	The Gambler	Christopher Daniels	Christopher Daniels	Patti Pizzazz
24	The Gambler	Texas Hangmen	Christian York	Nova	BOBCORE
25	Xanta Klaus	Bret Hart	Bradshaw	Balls Mahoney	Sandman
26	Hugh Morrus	Honkytonk Man	Brood	Rikishi
27	Buddy Landel	Sgt. Slaughter	Sandman	Christian York
28	"Ambassador" Steve Casey	"Gentleman" Chris Adams	Quebecers	D'Lo Brown
29	2 Cold Scorpio	Flash Funk	2 Cold Scorpio	Tom Brandi
30	Dungeon of Doom	Loch Ness	John Kronus	Godfather

2007	2008	2009
1. John Morrison	1. Chris Jericho	1. Christian
2. CM Punk	2. John Cena	2. CM Punk
3. Shawn Michaels	3. Motor City Machine Guns	3. Rey Mysterio
4. Edge	4. AJ Styles	4. Chris Jericho
5. The Undertaker	5. Sting	5. John Morrison
6. Monel Vontavious Porter	6. Matt Hardy	6. AJ Styles
7. Matt Hardy	7. Mark Henry	7. Sting
8. Elijah Burke	8. Taylor Wilde	8. Motor City Machine Guns
9. Deuce & Domino	9. Kofi Kingston	9. Beer Money
10. Batista	10. Evan Bourne	10. Dolph Ziggler

2007 was my most checked out year in Pro Wrestling. I don't remember actively watching or discussing the product that much around the time, but when I did it was predominately about rivalries like Morrison/Punk, Taker/Batista/Edge, M. Hardy/MVP & whatever HBK was doing. Of course there was THAT spear Elijah Burke took, but even before then Burke just had this charisma to him that I liked. The New Breed vs. The Originals was one of the highlights of WWECW as well and he was in the forefront of that.

2008 was my big comeback year. It all started with Jericho's return in 2007 and after an underwhelming start, Jericho came into his own that year and his matches were usually the bright part on every show. This was also the year I joined the C-Nation - it didn't take much. All it took was a genuine surprise return and actually losing the odd match to win me over. He would have been my #1 if he didn't commit the cardinal sin of slandering JBL. In 2008, TNA returned to Australian TV and those were my favourites. ECW continued to be my favourite brand in WWE and I thought Matt was a really underrated ace, Henry finally got over as a monster heel to me and I was genuinely impressed by the newcomers in Kofi & Evan Bourne.

EDIT: I just realised I couldn't find room for Morrison & The Miz. Of all the shows, The Dirt Sheets was appointment viewing for me and while I'm sure it's aged horribly both guys got over huge. They'd probably be around #3 but I don't want to knock anyone else down really.

2009 was a really mixed year over-all. RAW was unwatchable with the celebrity centred shows and gimmick PPVs, but there was a span of a few months where SmackDown was appointment viewing and Christian was killing it as the ace of ECW. TNA was as inconsistent but my favourites had their moments that year. Sting's run in the Main Event Mafia was some of his best character work, AJ could still go in the ring and the Motor City Machine Guns were joined by Beer Money as one of my favourite tags. This was also the year I really came to appreciate Rey in WWE as his television matches just always delivered.

Decent overlap between Pete's list and mine aside from me being almost completely checked out on TNA in 08-09

Apr 3, 2023 9:01:00 GMT Big Pete said:

EDIT: I just realised I couldn't find room for Morrison & The Miz. Of all the shows, The Dirt Sheets was appointment viewing for me 

Their team did raise Miz up in my eyes (from like a 1 to a 4, but it's something!) while causing me to like Morrison a little less. The Dirt Sheet was all the rage for a while there, but why? What was the appeal? Did they do shooty shoot shoot insider commentary? I honestly don't remember.