The Top 10 WWE Wrestlers of 2003

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

Curious, who do you rate as the Top Ten WWE Wrestlers of 2003?

 

Take the following into account:

 

1)Workrate (Busting your ass constantly)

 

2)Missing time due to injury hurts rankings. Kurt Angle missed a few months, Steven Richards spent a few months getting dropped on his head by Heidenreich...which deserves a better ranking (Angle obviously due to other factors...but just saying, injuries take you down a few notches)

 

3)Working house shows. Being a "top wrestler" doesn't necessarily mean you're the top wrestler in the company. It also reflects performance off television to the fans.

 

4)Mainstream appeal. Media appearences and representation of the company make a superstar appear more valuable. Although the only people doing book tours, etc. are non-wrestlers...

 

5)Television exposure. If a wrestler is given the chance to perform weekly, he better bust his ass with good matches, psychology, workrate, selling, and making his opponent look good.

 

So don't bash the usual suspects...take Mark Henry (who has NO place near this list). He sucks...but he did his job well the best he could (menacing attacks, looked credible in the ring, some-what). Henry's like #44 though, for me. I just don't want to see, say, Ultimo Dragon (who's had an awful year, exposure and IMO ring-wise) put over say, Christian, who has had a breakout year.

 

Who is your OVERALL (RAW & SMACKDOWN) TOP TEN?

 

Mine:

 

1. BROCK LESNAR. He's been totally healthy all year, and besides his great matches with Angle, he's gotten good (and energetic) singles bouts out of The Big Show and The Undertaker. He's represented the company as the top face at Rumble and WrestleMania, and was a monster heel at SummerSlam. He's put guys over (Benoit at SSeries), worked a clinic with Angle on TV (Smackdown Iron Man), worked nearly all house shows, and won 2 WWE World Titles.

 

2. EDDIE GUERRERO. He's been involved in some fantastic bouts all year, on PPV (WM 3-way, Backlash tag, Judgment Day tag, Vs. Benoit at Vengeance, got a decent match outta Show at NoMercy) and on TV (multiple tags Vs. TWGTT w/ Tajiri, Parking Lot Fight Vs. Cena, etc.) He's stayed pretty healthy, and established the U.S. title as a respected title (then Big Show destroyed it...sigh.) He's gotten great crowd responses, worked most house shows, and made the fans care about his character. He's put over The Bashams, and gotten people to care about Chavo.

 

3. KURT ANGLE. Was booked horribly during first 3 months of 2003, but put on ***** bout with Benoit at Rumble, and worked with a severely injured neck at Mania MAIN EVENT, putting over Brock. Returned with a face push and unexpectedly did not turn heel, putting on a serious face, delivering good promos, and working great bouts with Cena, Lesnar, Big Show, Lesnar/Show together, and a good bout on Smackdown Vs. Taker. Won WWE Title, and defended in good SSlam bout Vs. Lesnar. Got a really great effort against John Cena, and helped him gain notoriety with the fans despite HORRIBLE buildup. Angle's injuries have hurt him though, taking about 5 months total from him by year's end.

 

4. THE BIG SHOW. Show has had his best year ever, in terms of workrate, and has appeared everywhere for the Smackdown brand. His bout with Lesnar at the Rumble was quick, but served a purpose, and his Undertaker match at No Way Out was shockingly pretty decent. Show was booked pretty stagnantly until Judgment Day, where he put in a good performance in the Main Event with Lesnar. Helped bring Mysterio back out of the cruiserweight division for a bit by attacking him...Mysterio's involvement with Lesnar helped elevate him. Show has worked nearly all house shows, and Main evented in another stellar match with Lesnar/Angle. He may not have the workrate of the next guys on the list, but he's had MORE MEANINGFUL APPEARENCES, easily, and done quite well during them.

 

5. CHRIS JERICHO. Jericho and the next guy, Chris Benoit, were pretty close, but I gave the edge to Jericho solely based on more meaningful appearences, and uh...having to single-handedly carry RAW as the top heel while Triple H recovered from injuries or worked boring feuds with Nash/Steiner. Jericho added greatness to the Royal Rumble, before the hosses took over. His performance was better than Flair's in 1992, although the 1992 Rumble overall was better/more star-powered. He got a decent match out of f'n Jeff Hardy, on PPV! He rocked an awesome feud with Michaels, leading to a great "2nd place MOTY" bout with HBK at Mania. Y2J was the glue that held the HHH/Flair/Y2J V. Booker/Nash/Michaels feud together, and he was Goldberg's first real "on the roster" feud, helping Bill look good with a decent match. EVERYONE wanted Jericho to take the belt at SummerSlam, likely increasing buyrates somewhat. Jericho and Christian's iinvolvement with Austin led to an awesome 10-Man at SSeries. Jericho is easily the MVP of RAW...plus...he's gonna nail Trish, in some of RAW's best (or the only good...) segments lately.

 

6. CHRIS BENOIT. Benoit put on a clinic at the Rumble, a ***** encounter with Angle that was just great. Benoit then entered a period of awful writing, either being LEFT OF THE PPV ALTOGETHER, or put in opening 6-man bouts, or triple threat tag title matches. His work still shined on TV and PPV, despite the pathetic lack of match importance. Benoit put Big Show over in May, helping get Show back to Main Event status. He put over Cena in April, helping Cena get a WWE Title shot at Backlash. He also worked an exciting U.S. tourney final, allowing some prestige to go to the title. Benoit finally started to get things on track, DOMINATING A-Train in a series of bouts that made Train look less shitty, and culminating with Benoit's making WWE Champ Brock Lesnar tap cleanly at the Survivor Series. He could very well be the next WWE Champion.

 

7. SHAWN MICHAELS. Despite being semi-active both on TV and HOUSE SHOWs throughout the early half of 2003, Michaels ring-work has led to some brilliant bouts, including w/ Jericho at Mania and the Survivor Series 10-man. Michaels put over Y2J on RAW (although there was a lot of interference), Michaels put over Orton on pay-per-view, and also worked a good bout Vs. Flair at Bad Blood. He's a great live performer, always popping the crowd and generally being in exciting bouts. He even dragged a somewhat-decent bout out of Mark Henry. 1996 Michaels returned for the 2003 Survivor Series, and he has to be considered (along with Jericho) as RAW's elite.

 

8. THE UNDERTAKER. Taker has had up's and down's in 2003, but his ringwork has gotten much better. He wrestled Big Show to a decent contest on PPV, and helped put over The FBI as a serious stable (before they were depushed to Velocity...). Taker has missed some time due to nagging injuries, but in his return he worked a damn good old-school battle on PPV with John Cena, put him over twice on TV (perhaps it should have been on PPV, though...?), gotten trim, and had one of his best in-ring years. He couldn't possibly get higher than #9 due to feuding with oafs like A-Train repeatedly, ridiculous angles like "Kanyon as Boy George", "Brother Love Returns", and recently, the Buried Alive mess with Mr. McMahon. Still, a good year for The Deadman.

 

9. REY MYSTERIO. Rey's had a tremendous 2003, with some exciting stuff in the Rumble alongside Edge, a too-short but energetic effort Vs. Matt Hardy in the Mania opener, and a tremendous bout on Smackdown against Hardy where he took the Cruiserweight Title. Rey has helped make less-over talents get their due, as Tajiri has benefited from taking his title, and subsequent title defenses. Rey's "stretcher into ringpost" spot at Judgment Day was unique, if not disturbing when Show dropped him. Mysterio has even put over Ultimo Dragon in recent weeks.

 

10. JOHN CENA. Cena's ringwork is improving, and his charisma is rivaled by only Jericho and Michaels. Cena's ranking at #10 is due to his character development, from thug alongside Bull Buchanon to heel rapper to popular face rapper. Cena's worked most events, live or non-televised, and looked impressive in PPV matches against future hall of famers Undertaker and Kurt Angle. Cena's F-U of Big Show at SSeries was a "holy shit!" moment, and started the show well. Cena's matches Vs. U.S. Champ Eddie Guerrero were deliberate and entertaining, and his Parking Lot Brawl was exctiting. Hopefully, Cena's success will be rewarded slowly, with a capture of the U.S. Title before just throwing him in against Lesnar.

 

Thanks...

 

Let's see your comments or own lists.

[Guest JRE]

Hmm, nice work. My only disagreement is on Angle being so high. I haven't been a fan of his face mic work. I might put Jericho a little higher too, due to his contributions with the Highlight Reel. I'll post mine later, gotta run now

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

TEN MOST IMPORTANT WORKERS OF 2003

 

1. BROCK LESNAR

2. HUNTER HEARST HELMSLEY

3. BILL GOLDBERG

4. KURT ANGLE

5. KANE

6. UNDERTAKER

7. CHRIS JERICHO

8. EDDY GUERRERO

9. ROB VAN DAM

10. JOHN CENA

[Guest Anglesault]

^Angle and HHH are certainly high for guys who missed gratuitous amounts of time.

[Guest Choken One]

1. Eddy Guerrero

2. Chris Benoit

3. Chris Jericho

4. Brock Lesnar

5. HBK

6. Kurt Angle

7. The Undertaker

8. The Big Show

9. Rob Van Dam

10. Tajiri

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

Anglesault, with all due respect to that guy's list, I think he took a different approach...he posted a Top 10 "important" list or something...I guess Trips would rank high for his World Title list.

 

I posted based on the criteria listed on who the true "Top 10" (MVPs...) of the WWE were this year.

 

Angle, though injured (and noted), was certainly one of the biggest players for me.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

^Angle and HHH are certainly high for guys who missed gratuitous amounts of time.

I posted them in relation to their screentime and importance in storylines. They were the Ten most important workers of the year, not necessarily the ten best.

[SamoaRowe 0]

1) Brock Lesnar

 

2) Kurt Angle

 

3) Chris Jericho

 

4) Chris Benoit

 

5) Big Show

 

6) Trish Stratus

 

7) Eddie Guerrero

 

8) John Cena

 

9) Triple H

 

10) Undertaker

[Guest The Midnight Rocking Warrior]

In no particular order:

 

Eddie G. ( Great in tag teams and great as a single, this was his breakout year)

 

Chris Benoit ( Hopefully the next smackdown champ)

 

Brock Lesnar ( If he stays healthy, a definite future hall of famer)

 

Kurt Angle ( Some people might call him over-rated, but I'm not one of them)

 

Chris Jericho ( Most entertaining wrestler on raw)

 

Shawn Michaels ( Stole the show at Badd Blood, Wrestlemania, survivor series, and Unforgiven)

 

Big Show ( Has improved a lot)

 

Rob Van Dam ( Over and is to the I-c title what Magnum TA was to the Us title........ I hope that doesn't jinx him)

 

John Cena ( Hopefully the next Us champ)

 

Kane ( I'm gonna get lynched)

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

RVD compared to Magnum T.A.?

 

That's gonna open up a gigantic can of worms bigger than Yokozuna's casket.

[Guest JMA]

1: Brock Lesnar

2: Chris Jericho

3: Eddie Guerrero

4: Chris Benoit

5: Kurt Angle

6: Rob Van Dam

7: John Cena

8: The Undertaker

9: Yoshihiro Tajiri

10: Rey Mysterio

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Wow, so we shouldn't take into account MATCHES?

[Guest JRE]

Wow, so we shouldn't take into account MATCHES?

It wasn't necessarily on his list....but I'm sure we're all taking it into account. Worry not.

[Guest unleashedfury]

1- Brock Lesnar : a future legend of wrestling,and he's getting better in all aspects, scary.

2- Chris Jericho : God doen't do justice for Y2J, he's the true total package and yet booked like a jobber.

3- Eddie Gerruero : he has comeback better than ever, and totally won me over.

4-Kurt Angle : Angle's time to retire is getting close.If he was smart in the ring he wouldn't have to get injured every 2 months.

5- Cheris Benoit : his time to shine has FINALLY come.hopefully he will have an all-time classice feud with Brock.

6-The Big Show : He did with his push better than we expected didn't he.

7-John Cena : he's not much in the ring but he's getting over which the most important thing.

8-HHH : as hard as it's for me to admit it, he should be in the list.

9-Rey Mysterio : always over, always a beauty to watch.

10-Undertaker : he's only in the list because there's no one left.

Edited November 30, 2003 by unleashedfury

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

8. THE UNDERTAKER (((snip))) helped put over The FBI as a serious stable (before they were depushed to Velocity...).

You could argue he only did that so he could look strong by coming back and single-handedly squashing each of them. Good work, Taker.

 

but in his return he worked a damn good old-school battle on PPV with John Cena, put him over twice on TV (perhaps it should have been on PPV, though...?)

I wouldn't call that putting him over. Each Cena win came from outside interference (1st - FBI run-in, ref bump, and chairshot; 2nd - A-Train interference, which is what the announcers mentioned post-match, rather than Cena's win).

[DCMaximo 0]

1. Chris Jericho (imagine Raw without Y2J this year..shudder)

2. Eddy Guerrero (supreme talent-check. good mic skills-check, even more over AFTER his heel turn-check)

3.Chris Benoit (always reliable, had 2 excellent PPV matches- Angle at Rumble and Eddy at Vengeance, and is still over despite misuse)

4. Kurt Angle (he may have spent some time injured, but his bravery in completing the WM match vs Lesnar deserves credit and his ring work was, as always, stellar)

5. Brock Lesnar (the most able big man in the company, involved in almost every big storyline on Smackdown and certainly proved himself to me as a good worker this year)

6. John Cena (in January, I was worried he'd be a lackey to Bull Buchanan. Now he's one of the biggest stars on Smackdown. Well done that man)

7.Christian (his breakout year as a solo star. Looked like he belonged in the big time and became more over than at any time since the E&C split)

8. Charlie Haas (debuts at start of year- becomes half of the greatest tag team in the company, helps legitimise the tag team division on Smackdown and was 1/4 of my favourite match of the year- vs Kidman and Mysterio-, BUT has better singles matches than Shelton- check out Angle's reurn match vs Haas in May- and displays much more ability on the mic than his partner. Plus I've got £5 riding on him becoming world champion by 2007)

9. Matt Hardy V1.0 (well, I enjoyed his work more than anyone else I can think of, barring numbers 1-8)

10. HHH ( well SOMEONE carried Hell in the Cell out of negative stars. Plus was included in every big storyline on Raw which, sadly, makes his inclusion certain)

[Fökai 0]

1. Brock Lesnar.

2. Chris Jericho.

3. Chris Benoit.

4. Eddie Guerrero.

5. John Cena.

6. The Big Show.

7. Kurt Angle.

8. Shawn Michaels.

9. Goldberg.

10. Christian.