Top 10 ten wrestlers of the new millenium

[Guest FeArHaVoC]

Currently these guys rule the roost

 

THE WRESTLING ANGLE

By DAVID ROSENBERG

 

There is no time like the present, so this week I bring you the third and most current installment of my series on who I feel are the best wrestlers "then" and "now."

 

Last week I discussed names such as Steve Austin, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker. While there were few holdovers from the '80s list in the '90s, there are also very few holdovers from the '90s list to the present list. Since the year 2000 very few stars have had what you would call career years, but the ones that have will be ranked very high on this list. I think it's pretty obvious who I am talking about when I say that.

 

Remember that I am judging everyone on their overall qualities and affect they've had on the business in a positive way. I will also give points for a star who has come of age in the last two years who may have been a star in the '90s, but not on a major scale. Just dangerous moves and high flying ability will not win a spot on this list.

 

Also remember that things that have happened in just the last few days affect rankings. This is a list that is basically still evolving. So with all that out of the way I now give you the 10 ten wrestlers of the new millenium.

 

Honorable mention: I feel the most talented in-ring star in the business today is Rob Van Dam. He's a high flyer who's been wowing us since the mid-90s in ECW mainly.Rob had a great run as ECW TV champion in the '90s and used it to springboard him to a WWF(E) contract. His ECW days were great, but perhaps the best days are yet to come.He's been WWE hardcore champion and now he's WWE intercontinental champion for the second time. He's been in the ring with the likes of Steve Austin, Eddie Guerrero, Booker T, The Undertaker, and Jeff Hardy and each time he's come through. His matches with Guerrero have been some of the best in WWE this year and their ladder match has my vote for match of the year so far.Rob was also a big part of the WCW invasion angle. He was constantly cheered while Austin was booed and built a real following during that angle. If anybody got something out of the so-called "failed" WCW invasion it was Rob.By the end of this decade we may be talking about Rob as the top talent of the decade. He just seems to defy gravity and physics. Whatever he accomplishes he's already made his mark in WWE. I feel if he stays true to his main talent, which is very exciting, he will be a top talent for years to come. Right now he's honorable mention.

 

Number 10: Though his career may be coming to an end, I feel he has much more to offer the business. The man I am talking about is "Diamond" Dallas Page. He recently got some news that was not what he wanted to hear. He was told that he should not wrestle anymore due to an injury that could cause him some paralysis in the future with the wrong kind of fall. Before his bad news DDP was one of the biggest stars in the new millenium and the late '90s. He did not have enough time on top in the '90s to make that list so I felt it only fair to include him here.In WWE, Page did not exactly have a stellar career, but in WCW he was a three-time WCW champion.Now it seems as if Page is headed in the direction of another former WWF star who made a name for himself outside the ring, but not away from it. The man I am talking about is Jesse "the Body" Ventura.Jesse became a great wrestling announcer and I feel Page can do the same. He can be a great asset to the WWE in the broadcast booth as he could be a breath of fresh air.It seems that Jesse had to cut his career short for a medical problem. Maybe Page can take the same path and become a great announcer himself. Will he become governor of Minnesota? Probably not, but...Page still has something to offer WWE. What I really like about this guy is that he loves the business.Page belongs at Number 10, but to some he was number 1 from the beginning.

 

Number 9: Booker T is one of the most exciting stars currently in wrestling. He has that certain something that promoters look for when they try and find a superstar.He's funny, physically fit, quick-witted and is currently riding a wave of popularity that's gonna me him an even bigger star in the future.Booker T is also former WCW champion, a former WCW tag-team champion and soon to be WWE champion. I feel that way anyway.Since the year 2000, Booker T has been one of the most entertaining stars in and out of the ring. His TV commercials are drop-dead funny and he's also showed some talent for acting as is evident from his short-lived acting angle.What I feel makes Booker T a member of this list is his ability to move from a starving wrestling organization like WCW to WWE and still keep the same intensity he had all along. I feel the best thing Booker T has going for him is his ability to make others look good while not doing any damage to himself. As Booker progresses as a fan favorite I feel his star will rise even higher. When he does get the WWE title I feel he will carry it with class. He's already done everything else that way. He's the most successful star to come straight from WCW during the merger.

 

Number 8: This was a tough one as the man has not really done much in the last year. The man I am talking about is Jeff Jarrett. Though he's not done much recently, he did enough in the first year on the new millenium to make this list. He was the best WCW champion in quite some time when he held the belt in 2000-2001. Jeff Jarrett had a good shot at being WWF champion one day, but then he left the WWF in late 1999 for WCW. I feel this move was good for him after a while and he proved me wrong. Though he was a big fish in a little pond while in WCW, he made the most of it by being booked as champion on a few occasions. He carried the belt well and proved he did have what it took to be on top of the heap. He did, however, not get a big rub from guys like Hulk Hogan, Goldberg or Kevin Nash as they hardly worked with him.Jeff did not do too much wrestling between the time that WCW was purchased by the WWF, except for a short run in the WWA. I feel he still has what it takes to be a top star and with the new TNA league he has shot at being on top again in a small pond. His best bet would be to come back to WWE.

 

Number 7: Chris Benoit left WCW in early 2000 and never looked back. He finally arrived at the big show in town and nothing was going to stop him from achieving stardom in the "big time." Well almost nothing. He's been out with an injury since the middle of 2001, but he's on the comeback trail.His accomplishments in the new millenium have been large for a small guy. He's been WCW champion, intercontinental champion and tag-team champion. He's had great matches with Triple H, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero and even carried Sid Vicious to a decent match in WCW. In the future he has opponents like Van Dam, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton and Kurt Angle to look forward to.Chris never got the great push in WCW, but his days in WWE have given him that stage to show us he can be a star. I feel he's probably the best combination of power wrestler, high flyer and brawler that there is in wrestling today and for that he resides at number 7.

 

Number 6: Chris Jericho was the first undisputed champion. That enough would qualify him for this list, but there's more.He's worked against Triple H in falls-count-anywhere matches; he's been in ladder matches, been a heel, been a baby face; and has been rumored to be held down by the upper-tier workers. Through all this he's still managed to stay the same person he was when he entered WWE.When he entered WWE in late 1999 he was forecast to be the next superstar in wrestling. I feel they set too high a measuring stick for the man. With that in mind he actually succeeded to some extent. While he is not the biggest star in wrestling currently, he's one of the biggest.Being undisputed champion was a high point for Jericho, but it was also a mess as Stephanie and Triple H's marriage angle totally overshadowed Jericho. Currently some say he's being buried in the story lines, but when they call him up to work a big story line I feel he'll deliver. He's already delivered a lot and I delivered him at number 6.

 

Number 5: The Undertaker has just appeared in his second list. He was a very big tank in the WWF's arsenal in the '90s and in the new millenium he's been there too. The guy has great character behind the scenes as well as in the ring. I did not like the biker gimmick at the start, but since then it has worn on me a little and I actually enjoy his work again. In the '90s the Undertaker was all about a gimmick. In this decade he's been pretty much himself and turned it into an in-ring character. Being that he's currently WWE champion, it helps him a lot in this ranking. I am pretty much placing him fifth due to his persistence and his never-say die attitude. Last year many of us gave his career up for dead, but he did not quit and turned himself around and gained back the respect he had in the '90s without the funeral march.Undertaker is one of the biggest legends in wrestling history and he's still going.

 

Number 4: Some may say that I am ranking Steve Austin too low when I put him at number 4. I say he is high as number 4. Austin was my pick for MVP last year in WWE. This year he has done little to warrant any consideration for that title thus far. All that I have heard Austin do in the year 2002 is whine that he's not getting enough time with Vince McMahon. He's left the company twice while others stayed behind and helped the team. The events of last week play a big role in why I am ranking Austin number 4 instead of maybe 3 or 2. There's no way he was gonna get number 1 as that spot is obviously given to the biggest star in the company, yet to be named here. Leaving a company who pays you is not the right course of action when you're not happy. If I did that I'd be fired.Austin has done some good stuff in the new millenium though. He's been WWE champion; he's led the Alliance angle with some hilarious stuff, but there is one thing he did that now has come back to haunt all wrestling: The "what" chants will not stop and I am getting tired of it. When you're at a WWE show just stop saying "what?," "what?," "what?" It was funny the first 1,000 times, now it's gotten ridiculous. I wrote a column praising it last year and now I may have to write a column condemning it. Austin is a great talent and has done wonders for WWE business, but his time may be past him. Number 4 is as high as I can rank him. Others have done better and are more deserving. By the way, my ranking Austin number 4 had nothing to do with the police call that Debra made about alleged abuse two weeks ago. Until he's been charged and convicted of a crime, he's innocent in my book. When there's proof I will condemn.

 

Number 3: It's true, it's true, ranking Kurt Angle number 3 was very hard because I almost ranked him number 2. But there's two guys I just could not rank behind him. Angle is unlike any other wrestler I have seen since maybe, well never. He's a great athlete, he's very entertaining and he gives everything he's got all the time. What more could you ask? Not much. He's the real total package.Angle started in WWE in late 1999 and nobody gave him much of a chance to succeed. I remember seeing him in a dark match in early 1999 against Owen Hart at the then-Orlando Arena and he was good. I had no idea that a star was about to be born. Since his mega-push in early 2000 he has come a long way in proving he deserved the push. People would cry all the time that he was not an upper-tier worker yet. What some people never realize is that it takes time to produce an upper-tier wrestler. You can not just give someone a monster push right from the start because you will get another Goldberg. Kurt's held every title imaginable in WWE. So what's left for him? Well he's beaten the Rock, Hulk Hogan, Triple H, Steve Austin and now he's just gonna work on his legacy. Kurt Angle is who every wrestler should strive to be. There are only few stars that create themselves and Kurt is one of them. Kurt Angle is number 3 now, but in a few years could be on top. He's just the best athlete in wrestling today. To me he's the MVP in WWE.

 

Number 2: Well there's only two left. Many of you know that I am a huge fan of Triple H and Shawn Michaels. While I cannot rank Michaels in the new millenium due to lack of wrestling, I can rank Triple H at number 2. I toyed with the idea of making Triple H the number 1 wrestler thus far since the year 2000, but I just could not because that part is played by, well I'll get to that later. Triple H missed a big part of 2001 due to a serious injury. To me that was when I started to lose interest in wrestling a little. I still loved it, but without Triple H it was hard to watch with great interest. In the year 2000, Triple H basically ruled WWE. He was on top and with good reason because he would time after time wrestle the greatest matches on the card. He had classics against Mick Foley, Kurt Angle,Steve Austin and Chris Benoit and the list kept going. His match at No Way Out in 2001 is one of my favorite matches of all time. He's been my choice for wrestler of the year already in 2000 and he's in the running for that honor this year. Triple H ranks up there with the stars of the '90s like Michaels, Bret Hart and Austin. He does not have the charisma of Austin or the Rock, but on any given day I'd rather watch a Triple H match against anybody you could possibly choose.

 

Number 1: Well there's one name left and you're right if you guess the Rock as number 1. When I mentioned I toyed with the idea of ranking Triple H number 1, but could not, the reason was because the Rock is the Hulk Hogan of the new millenium. Hogan was ranked number 1 in the '80s by far and the Rock is entrenched at number 1 here. While this is the only list that could change in the future of the three I have done the past three weeks, it's likely his name might not be here next year. Reason being is that his movie career is going to conflict with his appearances in the ring. We may not be seeing the Rock as much in the future, but what we've seen the past 2 years has been unbelievable. He's the biggest star in wrestling right now and his star is also rising in Hollywood after the "Scorpion King's" success in theaters. Another key factor in ranking the Rock number 1 was that since he's been gone the ratings have dipped far enough to make it uncomfortable for WWE management. It's true that the Rock puts butts in the seats. He may not be the best technical wrestler for purists, but he gets the job done. I also ranked the Rock number one because of his heart too. His work ethic is second to none and he's being rewarded for that fact.

 

The Rock is number 1, but will WWE be the same without him?

 

To read the full article go to.....

 

http://www.news-journalonline.com/2002/Jun...un/27/angle.htm

[Guest wolverine]

What a stupid mark list.

[Guest BigTim2002]

I think there is a time where you need to pick between ENTERTAINERS (Rocky, Triple H, Undertaker) and actual wrestlers (Guerrero, Benoit, Kurt Angle)

[Guest Anglesault]

Triple H is considered one of the best wrestlers of the new millennium? WHY?

[Guest FeArHaVoC]

Being undisputed champion was a high point for Jericho, but it was also a mess as Stephanie and Triple H's marriage angle totally overshadowed Jericho. Currently some say he's being buried in the story lines

-----

 

Even a Mark like him can see this......

[Guest Spaceman Spiff]

DDP (retired), Jarrett, UT (old & shadow of former self), & Austin (see UT) are "stars of the new millenium"? All these guys are at the end of their careers.

 

Well, damn, I guess the WWE should just let guys like Helms, Knoble, Kanyon, Bautista, Lesnar, O'Haire, Cena, etc. go.

[Guest cabbageboy]

I found it bizarre he mentions how good he thinks RVD is, then proceeds to list bums like DDP and Jarrett ahead of him.

[Guest Fook_Hing_Ho]

It's too early to make any list for the best of the new millenium for the simple reason that we've only been in it for THREE FREAKING YEARS! Wait until at least the end of the decade before making any list about the best of that era.

[Guest wolverine]

I found it bizarre he mentions how good he thinks RVD is

I found that bizarre too.

 

Then I read the rest of that thing, and it all made sense.

[Guest RickyChosyu]

Most of those guys are way past their primes as draws and decent workers, or they're retired (or out of the business all together). Some list.

[Guest Kinetic]

Someone felt that that article was poorly-written and nonsensical. The man I am talking about is me.

[Guest Prince Paul]

Yeah, that list was pretty far fetched. I mean, Taker? HHH at #2? To each his own I guess.