15 Biggest Stars The WWE Ruthless Aggression Era Produced

10. Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle is another star that already began making waves in the early 2000s, before becoming one of the pillars of the WWE during the Ruthless Aggression Era.

However, much like Big Show, the Olympic hero would not be a true legend today if it wasn’t for the years 2002 to 2006, where Angle was on his highest of highs.

During this time he went face to face with a debuting John Cena, who would go on to become one of the biggest stars the business has ever seen.

When questioned by Angle what makes him think he could go head to head with a Kurt Angle, Cena’s answer was simply: ‘Ruthless Aggression’.

After a short WWE Tag Team Title run with Chris Benoit, Angle entered 2003 as the WWE Champion. He was set to square of against the Royal Rumble winner: a young and hungry Brock Lesnar.

In the spectacular main event of WrestleMania XIX Angle dropped the title to Lesnar, dropping out of competition with a neck injury.

Angle would win the WWE Title one more time later that year, before entering a WrestleMania XX program for the strap against Eddie Guerrero.

The following year Angle had an incredible match against Shawn Michaels at the show of shows, before entering WrestleMania 22 a year later as World Heavyweight Champion.

This would be his last title run with the company. He would leave WWE in the summer of 2006.


9. Chris Jericho

You can not spell ‘Ruthless Aggression Era’ without Y2J.

Following his historic one-night victory over both The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin to capture both the WWF and WCW World Titles, he ushered in the Ruthless Aggression Era as the first ever Undisputed Champion.

Jericho would dominate the television screens during this time, featuring heavily in both the midcard and main event scenes over the years.

The ‘Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla’ became a record nine-time Intercontinental Champion, held the Tag Titles with Christian and also won another two World Titles in 2008.

His legacy has him also come up with the concept of the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, first held in 2008.

Jericho remains a top star of the business to this day.


8. Rey Mysterio

The master of the 619 was always destined for greatness.

However, WWE’s initial plans did not see him as a Heavyweight Champion. Mysterio came to the WWE when the Ruthless Aggression Era has just started.

He won tag team gold with Edge, before being the face of the cruiserweight division. He won the Cruiserweight Title three times during the first incarnation of the championship.

After that he was only able to reach championship success in tag teams. Capturing the titles alongside RVD, Eddie Guerrero and Batista. However, this did not stop Mysterio becoming highly popular among fans as a singles star.

Being named the ‘the best luchador ever’ by many in the business, he became one of the top merchandise sellers of the era. When Eddie Guerrero tragically passed away, WWE decided on Mysterio as their new Hispanic top star.

In 2006, Mysterio won the Royal Rumble match, lasting an incredible 62 minutes.

At WrestleMania 22, Rey beat both Randy Orton and Kurt Angle to capture his first World Heavyweight Title, making him immortal.

To this day Rey Mysterio is considered one of the very best to ever do it and he can still be seen seen every Monday night on Raw.


7. Chris Benoit

Benoit was also a name in the business before entering the era of ruthless aggression.

However, his biggest claim to fame only opened up due to Vince McMahon wanting new hungry men to step up.

The former Horseman kicked off the era by winning his fourth Intercontinental Championship. However, the fans wanted more.

Even a short Tag Team Title run with Kurt Angle was not enough anymore. People wanted more. Benoit wanted more.

His exceptional skill inside the squared circle had few doubting that this man was up to something remarkable.

In 2004, Benoit did the unthinkable and won the Royal Rumble match. In the main event of WrestleMania XX he ushered in a new time for WWE.

Not only did his friend Eddie Guerrero defend the WWE Championship earlier that night – Benoit captured the World Heavyweight Championship from both Shawn Michaels and Triple H in the main event.

He later built a short-lived tag team with Edge, with whom he won the tag titles two times. He also captured the United States Championship three times.


6. Edge

Much like with Jericho and Angle, you can hardly picture a Ruthless Aggression Era without the ‘Rated-R Superstar’.

But it’s not only the live sex celebration that put Edge in one of the top spots of this era.

Edge became a multi-time champion and owned this era like few others. He won so many titles, you can’t list them all here.

He did win six World Titles during the period, and also memorably faced The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXIV, but was unable to beat the streak.

Edge is a Hall of Famer these days, and his ruthless aggression certainly did open the doors to WWE’s holy halls.

4 years ago by Daniel Schachtmeier

@Walu2go

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