Ruthless Aggression

[stavros241000]

Ah, the Ruthless Aggression era. My favorite era of wrestling, ever. Let me start off by saying I don't think the Ruthless Aggression era is from 2001-2008. I believe it ran from 2001-2005, when Eddie died. He was the top draw on all of SmackDown for that era and if he hadn't died, he would have received the push that CENA got. Cena would have been Guerrero, except Guerrero would have been AT LEAST 10x better. Anyway, back to the topic at hand here. How did you guys feel about the ruthless aggression era. What era, if any do you rank ahead of it and why? Who was the greatest superstar of that era from each brand? Top 10? I say the top 10 from the era were: Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, HBK, HHH, Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, Y2J, Chris Benoit, Big Show, and Kane. My favorite from SmackDown!: Eddie Guerrero. Favorite from RAW: HBK. Let me know what you think.

 

[BeWater]

I have a soft spot for the Attitude Era, but I love Ruthless Aggression for being the evolution of that era and the last breath of it. Like you said we had guys like Eddie and Angle being great technical wrestlers while being able to sell a feud with their charisma, Benoit and Lesnar were no "silver tongue devils" but he got over with his ability and became huge. HHH rocked the Raw side of things rocking one of the best heel characters of all time while at the same time making Batista and Orton, not to mention HBK getting back into the swing of things. We saw amazing matches, and the program was still a bit edgy and engaging. Three cheers for Ruthless Aggression.

 

[The Brain]

2001-2005 was a fun time. We saw a lot of big names debut or take the next step to the main event level. Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Triple H, Eddie Guerrero, etc. were giving us some good matches. While there were definitely still traces of the attitude era, things were toned down a bit which was nice.

One thing I have to point out is this thought of Eddie Guerrero getting John Cena's push. Where did that idea come from? First of all, they were on different shows in 2005 and this was a time when the shows were mostly seperated. Also Cena was already WWE Champion for seven months by the time Eddie died. He was clearly being pushed as the top guy in the company before Eddie died and would have had his spot even if Eddie was still alive today. I think the idea of Eddie having Cena's spot is a made up story by some IWC memebers that love Guerrero and hate Cena.

 

[WWEvsJosh]

I believe it ran from 2001-2005, when Eddie died. He was the top draw on all of SmackDown for that era and if he hadn't died, he would have received the push that CENA got. Cena would have been Guerrero, except Guerrero would have been AT LEAST 10x better. Anyway, back to the topic at hand here. How did you guys feel about the ruthless aggression era.

I think you are a little bias here. Why would you say Eddie was the top draw? The guy only was on top for about 5 to 6 months in that whole time period. I dont remember hearing about any PPV numbers or Tv ratings going up when he was champ. If anybody was the top draw for SmackDown it would have been Brock.

Also the idea of him getting the Cena push is not true. I usually dont say things are not true if i dont have 100% proof of somthing, but with this I just cant see it.

 

[Wald]

Smackdown from 2002-2005 has a great case for being the best wrestling show of all time. I'd honestly have it up against Nitro 95-98 & Raw 97-98 as the best of all time.

Just looking back at the card from Lesner, Eddie, Benoit, Rey, Angle, Hogan, Taker, Cena, Show, Edge, Billy & Chuck etc. it was sensational. You had great stories mixed in with interesting use of talent (Torrie & Dawn Marie espeically...) with Stephanie & Heyman thrown in for good measure.

Raw during that time frame was garbage though. The nWo return was terrible, Triple H was far too dominant, Katie Vick was in there, nothing really just came together until Evolution. Even then I think people look back at Evolution with rose tinted glasses because of Batista catching fire.

 

[Merkin353]

I stopped watching from 2004 from 2010 so I'd have to rank the attitude over this as many would. I just got bored of it I guess. I'm probably the only one but once I knew the attitude era was truly over I spent my nights skateboarding & getting girls. It felt more important. So with everyone saying it was a great era it did make a once die hard fan who has been to 8 states to see events stop watching.

Side note: Comrade mentioned the Torrie & Dawn storyline. On Halloween Torrie Wilson threw a carrot into the crowd & I kept that carrot in the freezer for almost 2 years... Maybe it was a good thing I quit being such a die hard fan.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

Yes. Ruthless Aggression Era was great. WWE had the best roster and some of the best matches happened during 2002-2005. In my opinion it was better than the Attitude Era because it had better wrestling matches.

RAW had established stars like Goldberg, HHH, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Chris Jericho, Kane etc while Smackdown had Kurt Angle, John Cena, Undertaker, Benoit, Rey Mysterio, JBL etc.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

The Ruthless Aggression Era was mostly terrible.

Raw was god-awful in 2002 and 2003. HHH was a FAR cry from the wrestler he was in 2000 when he was unquestionably the best wrestler in the WWE. Smackdown became watchable in late 2002 but quickly became shit in 2004. 2005 was a transitional period as Cena and Batista became the new stars of WWE and that was cool to see.

So basically my best highlights of the RE era were Benoit, Batista's path to the title, and Benoit. Everything else can go fuck itself.

 

[WWEvsJosh]

It for the most part was overrated I think. We got some good matches here and there but alot of crap went down around that time. The only thing i see that really was good was the rising stars that came out of that era.(Cena, Batista, Edge, and Orton) all of them had some good stuff during that time.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Batista's path to the title

Perhaps my favorite part of an era. All that "Evolution breaking up" with "thumbs down" to Orton and later Batistas turn was epic...

WWE in the era maked the transition from "attitude" and Stone Cold and Rock and it worked to them. It was memorable era where they build some new stars who would lead the company where it is now.

Btw I also dont agree with Eddie part. Loved the guy, but he wasnt much of a draw and I think Cena would definitly get his place even if Eddie was around...

 

[Chicago1989]

The Ruthless Aggression Era was a fantastic time in WWE. Many great matches, storylines, feuds, and wrestlers were made at that time. I also believe that era ended when the Benoit tragedy happened, in my opinion.

The WWE roster at that time was SO packed with star power, that they had to create the Brand Extension. On Raw, Triple H and Goldberg were the top dogs. On Smackdown, Brock Lesnar and Undertaker were the top dogs. Both brands gave you a reason to watch both every week. It worked at that time.

The days of The Rock, Stone Cold, and Mick Foley were ending. Torches were being passed and veterans had to start stepping up their game to stay relevant. Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Goldberg, Undertaker, and Kurt Angle made their comebacks and worked as hard as the younger guys that were coming up.

Storylines weren't about sex and violence like in The Attitude Era. Most of them were about passing the torch, title hunting, domination, betrayal, and revenge. These storylines created many great matches with the right wrestlers.

My favorite memories of that era - Evolution, Brock Lesnar's path to the top, the Undertaker Vs. Jeff Hardy Ladder match, the Brock Lesnar Vs. Kurt Angle Ironman match, and Eddie Guerrero winning the WWE Title.