10 Greatest WWE Wrestlers Of The 2000s: From Eddie Guerrero To John Cena

WWE has a storied history and featured many of the greatest performers to ever step into a wrestling ring. However, every decade in the company’s history has a different set of legendary characters, and the 2000s had some of the best. With that in mind, let’s look at the 10 greatest wrestlers during the 2000s decade.

10. The Undertaker

The Undertaker took a very bold, and somewhat risky, step in his career at the turn of the century. After a decade of turning a difficult gimmick into something legendary, he chose to ground his supernatural character. Instead of the “Deadman” WWE fans got the “American Bad Ass,” and they were better for it.

It freshened up The Undertaker character in ways no one foresaw and made this version one of the true standouts of the 2000s.

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9. Rob Van Dam

For years, ECW legend Rob Van Dam was seen as one of the very best wrestlers outside WWE. Following the purchase of ECW in 2003 “The Whole F’n Show” finally came to WWE and was able to showcase his amazing talents on the biggest stage. The former TV champion was one of the few ECW alums to reach the peak of the industry and his world title win at ECW One Night Stand was one of the top moments of the decade.

8. Brock Lesnar

In 2002, the WWE universe first put its eyes on Brock Lesnar, and the company was forever changed. The “Next Big Thing” version of Lesnar was a ferocious monster led by ECW mastermind Paul Heyman. He was a true wrecking machine who displayed feats of strength that set a legendary standard of what a pro wrestling beast truly was.

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7. Triple H

While the mid to late 2000s wasn’t a peak moment for Triple H, he was still a main eventer and standard bearer for Raw. Even though he wasn’t at his best in the ring in that decade, his creation of Evolution and molding Bautista and Randy Orton into future legends was not just one of the most important parts of the 2000s, but one of the most pivotal times in WWE history.

6. Edge

Edge went through various incarnations during the 2000s, but his best was the dastardly heel who showed the immense value in a Money in the Bank victory. He was arguably the best heel of the decade and will forever be linked to WWE icon John Cena as his greatest rival.

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5. Bautista

While John Cena was one of the most popular babyface of the 2000s, Dave Bautista offered an alternative for WWE fans who wanted their favorite hero to be a bit more of a bad a**. “The Animal” built his reputation as the enforcer of Evolution and — no pun intended — evolved into a top star via a feud with the faction’s leader Triple H.

Bautista was a major star during the Ruthless Aggression era of WWE but very much was a performer heavily influenced by the Attitude era.

4. Shawn Michaels

Following his loss to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at Wrestlemania in 1998, Shawn Michaels walked away from the business with what seemed to be a career-ending injury. However, the “Heartbreak Kid” made his shocking return to the ring four years later and began an unbelievable second run in the company as an active competitor.

While he wasn’t the same athlete the second time around, an older and smarter Michaels was, arguably, more entertaining than his previous young and brash self. The grey-beard version of HBK was a major highlight of the 2000s in WWE.

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3. Kurt Angle

In the 2000s, Kurt Angle evolved from a main event-level talent that leaned toward being silly and comedic at times to a dominant force that became a wrestler to fear. He went away from winning matches with the Angle Slam to snapping ankles with his ankle lock and mauling foes with his elite wrestling skills.

The 2000s version of Kurt Angle was him at his peak as there was nothing he couldn’t do in and out of the ring.

2. John Cena

While John Cena didn’t win his first world title until midway through the 2000s, he became one of the hottest performers on the roster in the years leading up to that moment through his rapping bad boy persona. After becoming champion, he would mature into the face of the company and the closest thing the industry has seen to Hulk Hogan in the modern era.

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1. Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho quickly grew into a fan favorite after debuting with the company in 1999. However, two years later his career really took off when he beat both Steve Austin and The Rock on the same night to become the first-ever unified WWE World Champion. For the rest of the decade, he would become one of the most reliable and popular performers on the roster.

There was no role he could not fill and he delivered every time. The 2000s was the decade where Jericho built his WWE Hall-of-Fame resume and became a true pro wrestling legend.

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