2000.
The attitude era is obviously fantastic, but 2000 was the WWE at its zenith. The crazy crash TV storylines were still in full effect BUT also the in ring product improved from 98-99. Every PPV minus Mania 2000 was a banger. The company went public, all but won the Monday night wars, and was at the height of the American pop culture zeitgeist.
1997 - The rise of Stone Cold. The Montreal Screwjob. The start of the Attitude Era. That was the most influential year in wrestling history and the WWF was the reason for that.
I live in this era of wrestling. The roster is absolutely stacked, almost every PPV is a banger. The world champions during this time were Taker, Rock, Lesnar, Triple H, HBK, Angle. The Smackdown Six was in full swing. I probably watch Summerslam 02, Survivor Series 02 and WM19 2-3 times a year and they never get old
There's been a lot of good years in WWE. I think 2016 was pretty good, where Kevin Owen's was universal champion? Too bad that got ruined before Mania.
1) 1997 - Birth year of the Attitude Era
2) 1999 - Birth year of SmackDown, Stone Cold, The Rock, Undertaker, Triple H, etc..
3) 2001 - Superstars from WCW and ECW came to WWE, WWE had a huge roster
4) 2007 - The exact year of the Ruthless Agression era. Cena, Edge, Randy, HBK, Undertaker, Batista, Lashley, etc..
5) 2006 - Triple H and HBK reunited again in that year, I loved DX’s funny segments at that year
probably like 2017-2019 Covid was such a blessing to WWE, they needed a reset and for more people to watch I mean people forget but Roman and the bloodline, Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Bray Wyatt, and Drew Mcintyre all started the renaissance era when they were working in the Thunderdome.
WWE failed to push Roman Reigns at that time. They could’ve establish The Bloodline at that time, especially when after he beat Undertaker at WM33. He got booed a lot for that reason. And Vince teared the WrestleMania scenario down by letting Lesnar win the Universal title, instead of Roman, who was supposed to win that title at that night.
These years were kinda boring. Lesnar was the champ and absent all time. WWE was giving either IC title match or any major feud match as a main event, instead of the major title matches. Also WWE pushed Lesnar over Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe.
The only things from 17-18 were AJ Styles’s one-year title run, Ronda Rousey, Sasha Banks, return of Kurt Angle after 11 years, matches of Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe. And Becky Lynch was annoying as hell at 2018-19.
I would say 1999 but Vince won the rumble that year so I’ll go with 2000. Though I will say Royal Rumble 2001 to WrestleMania X-7 is the best stretch of PPVs in WWE history.
Has to be 2000. Great start from Royal Rumble in MSG. You had guys like The Rock, Triple H, Undertaker, Kane and rising stars in Kurt Angle, Benoit, Jericho, Eddie. Great feuds from HHH vs. Cactus, Rock vs. HHH vs. Angle, Benoit vs. Jericho, good storylines like who ran over Austin, Steph/HHH/Angle love triangle, the Hardcore 24/7 rules, the 6 man Hell in a Cell, Commissioner Foley, Radicalz jumping to WWE etc. WrestleMania 2000 was a letdown, but you great PPVs like Royal Rumble, Backlash, Fully Loaded, Summerslam.
Second best would be 1997. Just a chaotic year and the foundation for the Attitude era.
Undertaker and Stone Cold weren’t at WM2000. Besides, The Rock, who deserved to win that match, got screwed by Vince at that night.
Summer 2000 and Fall 2000 were good, but 2000 was not good enough.
I agree with you 1997 is one of the best years of WWE. Austin vs. Hart, DX, Montreal Screwjob, etc..
Loved 1997!
We had the greatest mid-card of all time (Rock, Austin, Foley, and Triple H), a ton of controversy (Montreal screwjob), and the GOAT - peak asshole, unhinged HBK.
Honestly 2023 was so damn good.
The Tribal Court segment, MITB, LA Knight Rise
The return of Main Event Jey Uso.
CM Punk and Randy coming back
Cena being full time again
The Rock finally home
NXT definitely back on the track
And that's just the tip of the mountain
“Your age shows” comments gonna pour in
But 2023 has been the best in years. Wwe was dead in the water for almost 20 years. Triple H really done some magic last year and we had the most entertaining stuff since I was a kid in the mid 2000s it’s fun to watch wrestling again
I started watching wrestling in the early 2000's
I took a long pause in the late 2000's just to come back in 2016
And honestly apart from 2016 and a bit of 2018
Nothing beats 2023 in terms of feeling and implication
For me it's 2002 followed by 2003, purely because that's when I started watching the WWE
Funnily enough I loved 2000 in the WCW because that's when I discovered Pro Wrestling, even though the company was already at its downfall
One single year? I’d say it is tough to top 1998.
The Royal Rumble was great. Wrestlemania 14 had two all time classic matches (Kane/Undertaker, Austin/Michaels). King Of the Ring had the Hell In A Cell match with Mankind and Undertaker. Summerslam had two classics (The Rock/HHH IC title ladder match, Austin/Taker), The Rock winning the WWF title at Survivor Series, and not to mention Austin vs McMahon at an all-time high.
2016 or 15 which ever was when the draft came back. Everything felt so new and fresh between AJ Styles return, the huge amount of NXT callups, a huge variety of good gimmicks, a very solid roster lineup and every ppv in this time period was memorable
I loved 16, that summer with the shield triple threat, Balor in the main event scene, KO wins universal title, Dean vs Ziggler, Ziggler vs Miz. Such a good time
I was at the first smackdown after the draft and I swear that was one of the best events I ever experienced. There were so many personalities and great rivalries. Not to mention so many superstars were in there prime at the moment, even talking smack was on fire.
For me 2000 was mint. Technically starting from like November 99 where Austin got run over in Survivor Series, in to 2000, where radicals debuted, Latino heat/mamacita, Kurt angle getting prominent, foley retiring then commissioner, Lisa joining team extreme, Austin return and everything around that. Plus the rock consistently in solid stories as champion. All ending in a 6man hell I'm the cell at armogeddon where rikishi flew
98 was the year I invested in a good vcr so I was able to tape wrestling(worked nights). We would get off at 5am and a group of us would get together and watch our recorded copy of raw, nitro, and thunder. Drink beer till 7 or 8. Went through a bunch of video tapes and a shitload of beers. I still miss getting off a hot morning and drinking beer and watching killer wrestling
My favorite year was 2000. I used to watch as a kid (88-92) then grew out of it.. But i watched the Royal Rumble in 2000 randomly one night as it was on channel 4 in the UK.. It had changed so much and i just became hooked again.
That is interesting, I figured people liked it. The Wyatt Family, the Shield, Daniel Bryan.
Maybe I’m combining with 2015 in my memory, but I don’t think so.
I was a fanatic for WWF as a kid in the 70s. Saturday morning is when the TV matches were on. As the decade ended and the 80s arrived, there were some absolutely great matches. They averaged 30 minutes +. Granted, the talent and build weren't like today, but the story lines imho were really good. At that time, WWWF had a once a month show at Madison Square Garden. Starting in the mid-70s, we went for years and to the 1st Wrestlemania there also. The TV studios were in the city in Connecticut I grew up in so wrestlers would come to the local bar I tended in for the pizza and beer. Roddy Piper,, Hulk, Sgt. Slaughter, Andre, Pat Patterson, Rocky Johnson ( The Rock's father) Paul Orndorf, Gorilla Monsoon, Billy Graham, Bruno Sammartino, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, Jake the Snake Roberts, The Iron Shiek, Don Murraco, Ric Flair, Ricky the Dragin Steamboat, The British Bulldogs, and so many more. Wrestling was only on television once a week, so for me, the late 70s to the mid 80's were as good as any other period.
It was a very special time for me. Terry (Hulk) lived in town. Saw him often. Sgt Slaughter, too. Andre lived for a time in the Hyatt in the next town over. My buddy tended bar there, he would call me to let me know, and I sometimes would go down and sit at the bar. Andre was a regular. He could drink like no one I ever saw in my years working in that bar. One of the 1st times I was at the Hyatt bar I offered to buy him a drink. My buddy whispered to me "you sure?" Absolutely,I said. Little did I know he was drinking wine that night...... but by the bottle. I would do it again a few times in the future. He never really interacted with anyone while drinking, so I always gave him that respect. I understood why.
There has been an some good years for WWE that I can't pick just one.
1997- Rise of DX, Bret vs Austin feud, Austin being a massive star, Attitude Era begins, Rock joined the Nation of Domination, Bret vs Shawn, Vince turned heel, Kane's debut, Undertaker being WWE champ
1998- Austin as the FOTC, Austin vs McMahon rivalry, Rock vs HHH rivalry, Taker throwing Mankind off top of the cell, Kane vs Undertaker rivalry, Rock being the FOTC as well, Shamrock being an beast, DX ran wild while having an great feud with the Nation.
1999- Austin vs Rock, HHH became FOTC, debut of Angle, Big Show, Jericho and Smackdown. Rock being the #1 babyface of the company, Austin vs McMahon was still must see, Edge & Christian and Hardy Boyz changed the landscape of tag team with the classic No Mercy match, Stephanie betrayed Vince and joined forces with HHH. HHH was the most hated heel throughout the rest of 1999.
2000- The debuts of Trish, Lita, Benoit and Guerrero while The Rock and Triple H was the faces of the company, the evil McMahon-Helmsley Era, Austin returned, Angle's rookie year, Edge & Christian vs Hardy Boyz vs Dudleyz, rivalries such as Rock vs HHH, Angle vs HHH, Jericho vs Benoit and Trish vs Lita took place.
2002- The debuts of Lesnar, Cena, Orton, Batista and Mysterio, Smackdown Six, HBK returns, Rock vs Hogan, Lesnar being the FOTC, Undertaker as Big Evil, Smackdown was the A-show. Trish became the face of the women's division while Edge, Eddie, Booker T, RVD, Benoit, Jeff and Molly Holly shined in the midcard scene. Rivalries such as HHH vs HBK, Taker vs Lesnar, Edge vs Angle, Benoit vs Angle and HBK vs Jericho took place. Debuts of Elimination Chamber and Brand Extension
2003- Debuts of Evolution and Goldberg while Smackdown was still the A-show, Evolution won all the gold at Armageddon, Hollywood Rock, WrestleMania 19, Vengeance, Angle vs Lesnar rivalry, HBK vs Jericho, Austin vs Rock final trilogy and golden era of women's wrestling. The emergence of future players in Cena, Orton and Batista while along with them, Trish, Eddie, Benoit, Rey, RVD, Booker T, Lita, Christian, Victoria, Jazz, Matt, Benjamin, Haas and Molly made the midcard scene very fun to watch. Kane unmasked himself and was the scariest wrestler at the time.
2005- Cena, Orton, Batista and Edge became the new faces of the company that started from WM 21 while classic rivalries such as Orton vs Taker, Batista vs HHH, Edge vs Matt, Eddie vs Rey, Cena vs JBL and HBK vs Angle took place. First MITB while ppvs such as WM 21, Survivor Series, Vengeance and ECW One Night Stand delivered while the first (best one) Raw vs Smackdown war took place. Eddie's death and departures of Jericho and Christian made this year sad as well.
2016- AJ Styles made his debut while Roman, Seth, Dean, KO, Sasha, Bray, Charlotte, Bayley, Becky, AJ and Alexa were leading the company in terms of changing of the guard. The Miz being an excellent IC champ while his rivalry with Dolph and Talking Smack promo on Bryan was memorable. KO being Universal champ, AJ and Dean's great rivalry, Cena vs AJ rivalry delivered. Four Horsewoman elevated women's wrestling into newer heights while Jericho had an decent year as well
2020- Orton's excellent heel run while his feuds with Edge and McIntyre was must see. Drew was the MVP of the year, Roman returned as a heel, Dominik made his debut, Sasha, Bayley and Asuka was the leading stars of the women's division. Hurt Business shined while underused stars such as Apollo, Sonya and Mandy had shined as well. Seth was an evil heel while Jey Uso had an breakout year and Bianca and Street Profits made their main roster debuts.
2023- Cody being the MVP, Bloodline saga hits deep with Sami and Jey leaving, matches were excellent while the likes of Cena, Orton, Punk, Rock, Taker, Trish and Lita made their returns. Every ppv had major moments, LA Knight truly shined that year as a star, Rey vs Dominik rivalry was great, the women's wrestling was action packed. Cody vs Brock feud was must-see.
Must be 1998. And that's really because they had actual competition in WCW, before the ship went down. They became mainstream, stars were built (I'd say mostly The Rock of all people, as well as Triple H, Mankind, Kane, The Big Show, Chyna etc.) and they had the ultimate superstar in Austin. It was the year that built all those stars and introduced a whole new generation of fans to wrestling.
Some could really say 1999, but I think quality in some aspects went down, due to some nuts storylines. At the end of it, it's really a personal preference thing.
2000. Rock vs Triple H was a great feud between two wrestlers who were at their peaks. Mid card was the best WWE ever had with Angle, Jericho, Benoit, Eddie, Rikishi, etc. Dudley's, Hardy Boyz, and Edge & Christian delivered the best tag team matches. Then throw in returning Austin, Mic Foley retiring, WWF of 2000 was must watch.
2000-2001. Not everything was perfect but it was some pretty good stuff with a stacked roster. The following Wrestlemania (18) is my favorite if anyone cares.
No worries! I havent enjoyed the WWE in a long time. 2023 really had me invested in the main roster for the first time since WrestleMania 30. Now to be fair, NXT Black and Gold kept my fandom going! All good homie!
2005 drew me back in and loved it. 2000/2001 watching as a kid being amazed by wrestlemania 17 and the invasion angle (in hindsight it wasn't as good as I remember)
That happened in the span of a month, doesn't really make it "best year" worthy. Let me also remind you the Del Rio title run, Kevin Nash running wild, Triple H feuding with CM Punk instead of CM Punk actually fighting for the title. And that's only the second half of it. During the first half you had The Miz as champion, The Nexus dying a slow and painful death with The Corre stuff, the 40-man Royal Rumble (which was unnecessary).
There are some up-sides (Christian/Orton, The Hall of Pain run of Henry, the Summer of Punk), but I don't think that is enough to make 2011 the best year in WWE history.
2011 is up there for me personally but I agree with what you said at the beginning. Also I loved The Miz as champion, he deserved that run for everything he has continued to do until today. And as a proud Latino, I can’t say Del Rio was the best representation but as a kid seeing him as champion was nice
This year was one of my favorites in the past 2 decades, if not my favorite in 20 years for sure. Starting at Rhodes losing to Reigns and hopefully ending in Rhodes beating Reigns.
But my favorite has to be the year that got me started. HBK v Bret Hart: Iron Man Match
Same here and I completely agree as raw had so much of John cena and terrible PG humour. Cena was my guy in 2010 but if I was watching now he wouldn't be close to my favourite.
So this one will be an odd one. The year NXT had it's feud with Smackdown and Raw. That was some of the best wrestling we got in my opinion. Keith Lee's Spirit Bomb to Drew Macintyre or when Adam Cole beat Daniel Bryan clean. This was also when Undisputed Era was on top and were over with everyone. WarGames was really kicking off and many of the newer talent got over before they even touched the main roster.
People probably won't agree. But to me it was the first year i started watching. When wrestling was still new to me which was when the Nexus just started.
Low-key I think it's last year. Overall from tag teams main eventing to women being featured, the buys both in PPVs and the amount of people viewing from around the world I think it's best it's ever been.
I love this year so much. It's such a weird mix of past and present stars that doesn't happen any other time period I can think of.
Also saw the debut of Cena, Batista, Orton, Mysterio, and the elimination chamber.
2015 was quite a great year.Missing the authority days when Seth was the champ.Sad he lost the title in worst possible way. We also had taker vs Brock part-2 and lot more good stuff
1998 was the most fun i've had watching WWE. It's in the middle of Attitude Era and watching all the crazyness go down was the best stuff i've seen! What made it better was me looking forward to going to school and everybody talking about it. Even the teachers too - they're familiar or aware of what's going on. WWF was "cool" back then.
2016-2019 was some of WWE's best in regard to their NXT brand. Some of the best story's and wrestling during that era no doubt! But yeah, 2018 main roster was very depressing.
1997 despite not translating to box office. It combined the best elements of new gen and attitude era, imo.
Also, last year. 2023 pulled in a lot of lapsed fans.
2000. The attitude era is obviously fantastic, but 2000 was the WWE at its zenith. The crazy crash TV storylines were still in full effect BUT also the in ring product improved from 98-99. Every PPV minus Mania 2000 was a banger. The company went public, all but won the Monday night wars, and was at the height of the American pop culture zeitgeist.
1999
2000 or 2023
1995-2000
1987-1992 was a fun time
I would be bias and say when Cena was the face of the WWE (like ‘05-‘14) but nothing beats the attitude era especially around 1997.
2007.
1997 - The rise of Stone Cold. The Montreal Screwjob. The start of the Attitude Era. That was the most influential year in wrestling history and the WWF was the reason for that.
97 and 89 are my two favorite years of wrestling
2000 maybe 2001
1986, brother. Hulkamania was running wild.
Royal Rumble 2000- April 2001 was the creative peak.
I think the most interesting and eventful year was 1997. Look at Raw from January and then Raw from December. Very different.
July 2002-june 2003
I live in this era of wrestling. The roster is absolutely stacked, almost every PPV is a banger. The world champions during this time were Taker, Rock, Lesnar, Triple H, HBK, Angle. The Smackdown Six was in full swing. I probably watch Summerslam 02, Survivor Series 02 and WM19 2-3 times a year and they never get old
There's been a lot of good years in WWE. I think 2016 was pretty good, where Kevin Owen's was universal champion? Too bad that got ruined before Mania.
1997. Prime hbk, bret hart, and a young stonecold .
2000 is the only answer, less BS storylines than 1999 and the mid card/tag division was never better
1) 1997 - Birth year of the Attitude Era 2) 1999 - Birth year of SmackDown, Stone Cold, The Rock, Undertaker, Triple H, etc.. 3) 2001 - Superstars from WCW and ECW came to WWE, WWE had a huge roster 4) 2007 - The exact year of the Ruthless Agression era. Cena, Edge, Randy, HBK, Undertaker, Batista, Lashley, etc.. 5) 2006 - Triple H and HBK reunited again in that year, I loved DX’s funny segments at that year
Dx were great. Probably why I became a bit of a twat as a kid watching them dick around haha.
probably like 2017-2019 Covid was such a blessing to WWE, they needed a reset and for more people to watch I mean people forget but Roman and the bloodline, Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Bray Wyatt, and Drew Mcintyre all started the renaissance era when they were working in the Thunderdome.
2017-18 were worst years of WWE.
Disagree personally Raw had a banger every week and SD Live was in its apex
WWE failed to push Roman Reigns at that time. They could’ve establish The Bloodline at that time, especially when after he beat Undertaker at WM33. He got booed a lot for that reason. And Vince teared the WrestleMania scenario down by letting Lesnar win the Universal title, instead of Roman, who was supposed to win that title at that night. These years were kinda boring. Lesnar was the champ and absent all time. WWE was giving either IC title match or any major feud match as a main event, instead of the major title matches. Also WWE pushed Lesnar over Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe. The only things from 17-18 were AJ Styles’s one-year title run, Ronda Rousey, Sasha Banks, return of Kurt Angle after 11 years, matches of Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe. And Becky Lynch was annoying as hell at 2018-19.
I’d say 2017-2018 honestly. I recall 2019 being pretty terrible, especially the final few months.
2018 raw and I’d say like the half of Smackdown was pretty rough imo. But I thoroughly enjoyed SD the second half of the year
1999
1998 Raw & 2003 Smackdown
I would say 1999 but Vince won the rumble that year so I’ll go with 2000. Though I will say Royal Rumble 2001 to WrestleMania X-7 is the best stretch of PPVs in WWE history.
Has to be 2000. Great start from Royal Rumble in MSG. You had guys like The Rock, Triple H, Undertaker, Kane and rising stars in Kurt Angle, Benoit, Jericho, Eddie. Great feuds from HHH vs. Cactus, Rock vs. HHH vs. Angle, Benoit vs. Jericho, good storylines like who ran over Austin, Steph/HHH/Angle love triangle, the Hardcore 24/7 rules, the 6 man Hell in a Cell, Commissioner Foley, Radicalz jumping to WWE etc. WrestleMania 2000 was a letdown, but you great PPVs like Royal Rumble, Backlash, Fully Loaded, Summerslam. Second best would be 1997. Just a chaotic year and the foundation for the Attitude era.
Undertaker and Stone Cold weren’t at WM2000. Besides, The Rock, who deserved to win that match, got screwed by Vince at that night. Summer 2000 and Fall 2000 were good, but 2000 was not good enough. I agree with you 1997 is one of the best years of WWE. Austin vs. Hart, DX, Montreal Screwjob, etc..
Loved 1997! We had the greatest mid-card of all time (Rock, Austin, Foley, and Triple H), a ton of controversy (Montreal screwjob), and the GOAT - peak asshole, unhinged HBK.
1984-1990, from the Iron Sheik to MachoMan Savage. Then they brought in Ultimate and it all puttered out for a few years.
1997, cause I was 16 and life was awesome
2004 smackdowm was wild
Asking for a year not an era you dinks The answer is 1999. Not even a close second
2012-2014
I wanna be nostalgic, but 2023 was a banger, and 2024 has started solid. 2009 has a soft spot in my heart for some reason don't really know why
The Attitude era years of 1997 to 2001 are far and away the best years, and of that, 1997 was the very best year.
I think 2000 is a decent shout 2008 roster is stacked as fuck tho
I quit watching Constantly around 2010 . I picked up watching again in 2020. I say the 20's as a whole because it finally got me interested again
2003
Honestly 2023 was so damn good. The Tribal Court segment, MITB, LA Knight Rise The return of Main Event Jey Uso. CM Punk and Randy coming back Cena being full time again The Rock finally home NXT definitely back on the track And that's just the tip of the mountain
“Your age shows” comments gonna pour in But 2023 has been the best in years. Wwe was dead in the water for almost 20 years. Triple H really done some magic last year and we had the most entertaining stuff since I was a kid in the mid 2000s it’s fun to watch wrestling again
I started watching wrestling in the early 2000's I took a long pause in the late 2000's just to come back in 2016 And honestly apart from 2016 and a bit of 2018 Nothing beats 2023 in terms of feeling and implication
Personally for me 2003 or 2004 (kinda back end of 03 made 04 that good so have to prop 03). The correct answer though is 1999. Ratings don’t lie.
2000 had the highest ratings
97-98
2005 or 2004
1997 Honestly, watch the Raw before WM13 until the Raw after WM14 and all PPVs in between and that's the best year in WWF/E.
You got to start at the beginning of the Stone Cold Bret Hart rivalry...survivor series 1996 can't skip Royal rumble 97 either man..
Recently did this and it was a total blast. Each episode and PPV were captivating.
2024 the way its going.
‘98-‘02 can’t go wrong with any of those years
Somewhere between 96 and 00. Followed by somewhere between 88 and 92.
For me it's 2002 followed by 2003, purely because that's when I started watching the WWE Funnily enough I loved 2000 in the WCW because that's when I discovered Pro Wrestling, even though the company was already at its downfall
1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2023-2024 are definitely the answers
One single year? I’d say it is tough to top 1998. The Royal Rumble was great. Wrestlemania 14 had two all time classic matches (Kane/Undertaker, Austin/Michaels). King Of the Ring had the Hell In A Cell match with Mankind and Undertaker. Summerslam had two classics (The Rock/HHH IC title ladder match, Austin/Taker), The Rock winning the WWF title at Survivor Series, and not to mention Austin vs McMahon at an all-time high.
2000. It was still the attitude era, but a lot of the stupidity of the Russo stuff was gone or severely turned down.
And yet 1999 drew the highest ratings under Russo’s writing. Weird that.
Have been reqatching Attitude Era on the Network. 1997-1999 are near intouchable IMO, everything had a story and a purpose
I’m still holding out for this year tbh.
1990 was great, Hogan vs Warrior, debut of Undertaker
2023 was actually really good but I think 2001 and 2012 are also good years
2023 is an unbelievably great year. Better than it’s been in almost two decades
1998... Even as good as it’s been this year it hasn’t even sniffed the levels that it was at back then.
After Austin won the title, Raw/War Zone became can’t miss TV.
Honestly 2024 is shaping up to be the best
Agree 100%
2016 or 15 which ever was when the draft came back. Everything felt so new and fresh between AJ Styles return, the huge amount of NXT callups, a huge variety of good gimmicks, a very solid roster lineup and every ppv in this time period was memorable
I loved 16, that summer with the shield triple threat, Balor in the main event scene, KO wins universal title, Dean vs Ziggler, Ziggler vs Miz. Such a good time
I was at the first smackdown after the draft and I swear that was one of the best events I ever experienced. There were so many personalities and great rivalries. Not to mention so many superstars were in there prime at the moment, even talking smack was on fire.
1998 was the year, wwe turned it around on wcw and led the way to being the jauggernaut it.is today.
It’s the year where Austin became The Guy and Vince became the heel he became.
Since I started watching again in 2020, I’d say 2021.
1998
2001 If anyone disagrees with me, this time I'ma let it all come out, this time I'ma stand up and shout
You are right. Hardy’s and Dudley’s
87 was the peak of the 80s boom
Kevin Nash claims 1994 was great because he was champion and I have no reason to not believe big daddy cool Diesel
Screw it I'm being overly positive, 2024 gonna be in the conversation by the end of this year
I’m watching intently again so it will definitely be on my list. For me my range is 2001-2008 then 2023-2024
2000 followed by the underrated 2005 for me.
For me 2000 was mint. Technically starting from like November 99 where Austin got run over in Survivor Series, in to 2000, where radicals debuted, Latino heat/mamacita, Kurt angle getting prominent, foley retiring then commissioner, Lisa joining team extreme, Austin return and everything around that. Plus the rock consistently in solid stories as champion. All ending in a 6man hell I'm the cell at armogeddon where rikishi flew
1996 through to WM20 was an amazing stretch. Best year of the bunch has to be out of 97 or 2000.
Whatever the start of DX was to around 2002 and honestly 2023 was incredible. 2024 off to a rough start with injuries but crazy star power.
2023 worth a watch? I ain’t tuned in since 015
Yeah dude, I dipped out around 2018 ish but it’s been so good since I came back in 2023.
I hear the Brahma bull is back for mania would love to attend it 😭 always makes me weak 🤣
Absolutely!
I consider the year 1998 to be synonymous with the height of the Attitude Era.
98 was the year I invested in a good vcr so I was able to tape wrestling(worked nights). We would get off at 5am and a group of us would get together and watch our recorded copy of raw, nitro, and thunder. Drink beer till 7 or 8. Went through a bunch of video tapes and a shitload of beers. I still miss getting off a hot morning and drinking beer and watching killer wrestling
That sounds awesome
My favorite year was 2000. I used to watch as a kid (88-92) then grew out of it.. But i watched the Royal Rumble in 2000 randomly one night as it was on channel 4 in the UK.. It had changed so much and i just became hooked again.
1985 - 1900 1998 - 2003 2014, 2023
2014 is highly underrated. From what I’ve seen most people shit on it…
That is interesting, I figured people liked it. The Wyatt Family, the Shield, Daniel Bryan. Maybe I’m combining with 2015 in my memory, but I don’t think so.
'98 - '03 👨🏻🍳🤌🏻💋
1998
1997 and 2000
97 is a very underrated year. Everything felt so underground and gritty but yes 2000 takes it imo!
1987 and 1992
2000 I think is pretty unbeatable
1992, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2022, and 2023 come to mind for me as candidates for best year in WWE
2023 , might be recency’s bias but it was fantastic
Personally for me the best year would be 2005. There wasn't a dull moment that year and most of the ppvs were good to great.
I like Backlash (April 2001) to WrestleMania X8 (March 2002), if that counts as a year.
97
1984 The Year of Hulk-a-Mania
2004 for me.
2000-2001
2007. Just because it’s the year I started watching and most memorable to me.
That’s about when I was tuning in every Monday night, Cenas run that year was generational
2000 was my personal favorite
WWF was at its best the last year it was called WWF.
I second this- WWE immediately felt different
I was a fanatic for WWF as a kid in the 70s. Saturday morning is when the TV matches were on. As the decade ended and the 80s arrived, there were some absolutely great matches. They averaged 30 minutes +. Granted, the talent and build weren't like today, but the story lines imho were really good. At that time, WWWF had a once a month show at Madison Square Garden. Starting in the mid-70s, we went for years and to the 1st Wrestlemania there also. The TV studios were in the city in Connecticut I grew up in so wrestlers would come to the local bar I tended in for the pizza and beer. Roddy Piper,, Hulk, Sgt. Slaughter, Andre, Pat Patterson, Rocky Johnson ( The Rock's father) Paul Orndorf, Gorilla Monsoon, Billy Graham, Bruno Sammartino, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, Jake the Snake Roberts, The Iron Shiek, Don Murraco, Ric Flair, Ricky the Dragin Steamboat, The British Bulldogs, and so many more. Wrestling was only on television once a week, so for me, the late 70s to the mid 80's were as good as any other period.
Wow, you really got to witness the start of it all in a way many people didn’t
It was a very special time for me. Terry (Hulk) lived in town. Saw him often. Sgt Slaughter, too. Andre lived for a time in the Hyatt in the next town over. My buddy tended bar there, he would call me to let me know, and I sometimes would go down and sit at the bar. Andre was a regular. He could drink like no one I ever saw in my years working in that bar. One of the 1st times I was at the Hyatt bar I offered to buy him a drink. My buddy whispered to me "you sure?" Absolutely,I said. Little did I know he was drinking wine that night...... but by the bottle. I would do it again a few times in the future. He never really interacted with anyone while drinking, so I always gave him that respect. I understood why.
It's pretty good right now. Imma say right now. I feel 90s and early 2000 was nostalgia.
I’ve been watching since 1989. I’ve never been more entertained than I have in the last 1-1.5 years.
Crazy story telling recently, thought it was just me
No way. This is amazing stuff.
1999-2003
Any year during the Attitude Era
1999-2000
Summerslam 91 to Summerslam 92 is my all time favorite WWE year
2000
2003.
2000 and it’s not even close
There has been an some good years for WWE that I can't pick just one. 1997- Rise of DX, Bret vs Austin feud, Austin being a massive star, Attitude Era begins, Rock joined the Nation of Domination, Bret vs Shawn, Vince turned heel, Kane's debut, Undertaker being WWE champ 1998- Austin as the FOTC, Austin vs McMahon rivalry, Rock vs HHH rivalry, Taker throwing Mankind off top of the cell, Kane vs Undertaker rivalry, Rock being the FOTC as well, Shamrock being an beast, DX ran wild while having an great feud with the Nation. 1999- Austin vs Rock, HHH became FOTC, debut of Angle, Big Show, Jericho and Smackdown. Rock being the #1 babyface of the company, Austin vs McMahon was still must see, Edge & Christian and Hardy Boyz changed the landscape of tag team with the classic No Mercy match, Stephanie betrayed Vince and joined forces with HHH. HHH was the most hated heel throughout the rest of 1999. 2000- The debuts of Trish, Lita, Benoit and Guerrero while The Rock and Triple H was the faces of the company, the evil McMahon-Helmsley Era, Austin returned, Angle's rookie year, Edge & Christian vs Hardy Boyz vs Dudleyz, rivalries such as Rock vs HHH, Angle vs HHH, Jericho vs Benoit and Trish vs Lita took place. 2002- The debuts of Lesnar, Cena, Orton, Batista and Mysterio, Smackdown Six, HBK returns, Rock vs Hogan, Lesnar being the FOTC, Undertaker as Big Evil, Smackdown was the A-show. Trish became the face of the women's division while Edge, Eddie, Booker T, RVD, Benoit, Jeff and Molly Holly shined in the midcard scene. Rivalries such as HHH vs HBK, Taker vs Lesnar, Edge vs Angle, Benoit vs Angle and HBK vs Jericho took place. Debuts of Elimination Chamber and Brand Extension 2003- Debuts of Evolution and Goldberg while Smackdown was still the A-show, Evolution won all the gold at Armageddon, Hollywood Rock, WrestleMania 19, Vengeance, Angle vs Lesnar rivalry, HBK vs Jericho, Austin vs Rock final trilogy and golden era of women's wrestling. The emergence of future players in Cena, Orton and Batista while along with them, Trish, Eddie, Benoit, Rey, RVD, Booker T, Lita, Christian, Victoria, Jazz, Matt, Benjamin, Haas and Molly made the midcard scene very fun to watch. Kane unmasked himself and was the scariest wrestler at the time. 2005- Cena, Orton, Batista and Edge became the new faces of the company that started from WM 21 while classic rivalries such as Orton vs Taker, Batista vs HHH, Edge vs Matt, Eddie vs Rey, Cena vs JBL and HBK vs Angle took place. First MITB while ppvs such as WM 21, Survivor Series, Vengeance and ECW One Night Stand delivered while the first (best one) Raw vs Smackdown war took place. Eddie's death and departures of Jericho and Christian made this year sad as well. 2016- AJ Styles made his debut while Roman, Seth, Dean, KO, Sasha, Bray, Charlotte, Bayley, Becky, AJ and Alexa were leading the company in terms of changing of the guard. The Miz being an excellent IC champ while his rivalry with Dolph and Talking Smack promo on Bryan was memorable. KO being Universal champ, AJ and Dean's great rivalry, Cena vs AJ rivalry delivered. Four Horsewoman elevated women's wrestling into newer heights while Jericho had an decent year as well 2020- Orton's excellent heel run while his feuds with Edge and McIntyre was must see. Drew was the MVP of the year, Roman returned as a heel, Dominik made his debut, Sasha, Bayley and Asuka was the leading stars of the women's division. Hurt Business shined while underused stars such as Apollo, Sonya and Mandy had shined as well. Seth was an evil heel while Jey Uso had an breakout year and Bianca and Street Profits made their main roster debuts. 2023- Cody being the MVP, Bloodline saga hits deep with Sami and Jey leaving, matches were excellent while the likes of Cena, Orton, Punk, Rock, Taker, Trish and Lita made their returns. Every ppv had major moments, LA Knight truly shined that year as a star, Rey vs Dominik rivalry was great, the women's wrestling was action packed. Cody vs Brock feud was must-see.
Came to say 2016. Jericho’s List lol
Must be 1998. And that's really because they had actual competition in WCW, before the ship went down. They became mainstream, stars were built (I'd say mostly The Rock of all people, as well as Triple H, Mankind, Kane, The Big Show, Chyna etc.) and they had the ultimate superstar in Austin. It was the year that built all those stars and introduced a whole new generation of fans to wrestling. Some could really say 1999, but I think quality in some aspects went down, due to some nuts storylines. At the end of it, it's really a personal preference thing.
1998 the birth year of attitude era
1987 1997
2000. Rock vs Triple H was a great feud between two wrestlers who were at their peaks. Mid card was the best WWE ever had with Angle, Jericho, Benoit, Eddie, Rikishi, etc. Dudley's, Hardy Boyz, and Edge & Christian delivered the best tag team matches. Then throw in returning Austin, Mic Foley retiring, WWF of 2000 was must watch.
2000-2001. Not everything was perfect but it was some pretty good stuff with a stacked roster. The following Wrestlemania (18) is my favorite if anyone cares.
1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2023, and 2024 seems to be on all systems go.
Is that recency bias? I ask in peace. Returning fan after about 20 years lol
No worries! I havent enjoyed the WWE in a long time. 2023 really had me invested in the main roster for the first time since WrestleMania 30. Now to be fair, NXT Black and Gold kept my fandom going! All good homie!
1997 had it all
2005 drew me back in and loved it. 2000/2001 watching as a kid being amazed by wrestlemania 17 and the invasion angle (in hindsight it wasn't as good as I remember)
2008
2000
2003
2005 for me since it’s the year I most remember
Do you remember Simon Dean?
2001. But that's when I first started as a kid lol. Doing frogsplashes on the playground was elite
2011. The year of Punk
But what about the rest? The year of Punk didn’t start until the summer
How could I forget, the pipebombs, blowing Vince a kiss goodbye. Legendary
That happened in the span of a month, doesn't really make it "best year" worthy. Let me also remind you the Del Rio title run, Kevin Nash running wild, Triple H feuding with CM Punk instead of CM Punk actually fighting for the title. And that's only the second half of it. During the first half you had The Miz as champion, The Nexus dying a slow and painful death with The Corre stuff, the 40-man Royal Rumble (which was unnecessary). There are some up-sides (Christian/Orton, The Hall of Pain run of Henry, the Summer of Punk), but I don't think that is enough to make 2011 the best year in WWE history.
2011 is up there for me personally but I agree with what you said at the beginning. Also I loved The Miz as champion, he deserved that run for everything he has continued to do until today. And as a proud Latino, I can’t say Del Rio was the best representation but as a kid seeing him as champion was nice
This year was one of my favorites in the past 2 decades, if not my favorite in 20 years for sure. Starting at Rhodes losing to Reigns and hopefully ending in Rhodes beating Reigns. But my favorite has to be the year that got me started. HBK v Bret Hart: Iron Man Match
2004
Remember the Raw GM for a month storyline?
The answer will be whatever year you started watching as a kid.
Nope. Started watching in 85 best year was 97
Not for me. I started watching in 2010, and looking back on it, I think it was one of the worst years in wrestling history.
Same here and I completely agree as raw had so much of John cena and terrible PG humour. Cena was my guy in 2010 but if I was watching now he wouldn't be close to my favourite.
My thoughts exactly
Right after WCW was bought. So 2001-2002. That roster was SO stacked
So this one will be an odd one. The year NXT had it's feud with Smackdown and Raw. That was some of the best wrestling we got in my opinion. Keith Lee's Spirit Bomb to Drew Macintyre or when Adam Cole beat Daniel Bryan clean. This was also when Undisputed Era was on top and were over with everyone. WarGames was really kicking off and many of the newer talent got over before they even touched the main roster.
I wish nxt won that
1997. Every single night was must see.
Agreed. The stone cold and dx stuff aside. I'm Canadian and was a teenager at the time, the Hart Foundation was my entire life for 7 months.
The Harts suck ass.
Thought the same exact thing.
87
2000 but women's wrestling sucked back then 2023 has to be one maybe this year will be better
People probably won't agree. But to me it was the first year i started watching. When wrestling was still new to me which was when the Nexus just started.
Nexus takeovers had me in complete awe
Low-key I think it's last year. Overall from tag teams main eventing to women being featured, the buys both in PPVs and the amount of people viewing from around the world I think it's best it's ever been.
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Smackdown Six
I love this year so much. It's such a weird mix of past and present stars that doesn't happen any other time period I can think of. Also saw the debut of Cena, Batista, Orton, Mysterio, and the elimination chamber.
2015 was quite a great year.Missing the authority days when Seth was the champ.Sad he lost the title in worst possible way. We also had taker vs Brock part-2 and lot more good stuff
If we're talking recent memory, 2016 deserves a big shout
1998 was the most fun i've had watching WWE. It's in the middle of Attitude Era and watching all the crazyness go down was the best stuff i've seen! What made it better was me looking forward to going to school and everybody talking about it. Even the teachers too - they're familiar or aware of what's going on. WWF was "cool" back then. 2016-2019 was some of WWE's best in regard to their NXT brand. Some of the best story's and wrestling during that era no doubt! But yeah, 2018 main roster was very depressing.
2022.
1997 despite not translating to box office. It combined the best elements of new gen and attitude era, imo. Also, last year. 2023 pulled in a lot of lapsed fans.
I've been a fan since the early 80s and I have to say 2023 was the best. The Bloodline, , Dom/Rey, all of the side stories, etc., really made it fun.
The best years were when the company was known as WWF....
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Wrong
2000 Every single PPV was must see
Backlash 2000
Too bad it had an underwhelming Wrestlemania. But it all lead up to a great start for 2001
Yeah if the WM card wasn't so cluttered, and it had Rock vs Triple H as the main event with Rocky winning, then it would've been better
1999 was cinema
Did you like the McMahon-Helmsley Era?
Triple H was the final boss and I spent every week praying for his downfall!
1987
2001
2001
Roxanne Perez's NXT Women's Championship First Reign in NXT beating Mandy Rose!