The TPWW Readers' Era Awards

[NeanderCarl]

I got a bit of time on my hands so I decided bore you all with my opinions (and naturally ask you for yours).

This is based on WWF/WWE (Modern era from 1984 onwards) and I have divided this time into the following eras:

Hulkamania (1984-1988)
What The World Is Watching (1989-1992)
The New Generation (1993-1996)
Attitude (1997-2001)
Ruthless Aggression/The Power Is Back (2002-Present)

Categories are:
Wrestler Of The Era
The overall best in-ring performer of the era, by your own criteria
Champion Of The Era
Not neccessarily the same choice as your best wrestler, but the wrestler or team that brought the most prestige to their particular title (Any title of your choosing)
Tag Team Of The Era
Babyface Of The Era
Heel Of The Era
Card Of The Era
Match Of The Era
Character/Gimmick Of The Era
Angle Of The Era
Worst Wrestler Of The Era

Choose one winner for each category, for each of the five eras. Give a brief explaination of why you have chosen who you chose, but the criteria should be based on your own personal opinion and preferences (eg. workrate, charisma, popularity, interview skills or even a combination of factors)

Yeah, I know this will take a while, but if you're bored, it's quite thought provoking when you start.

My choices will follow....

[NeanderCarl]

Hulkamania Era 1984-1988
I was not watching at the time, so my opinion is based on the back catalogue of cards and matches I have seen since.

Wrestler Of The Era
Randy Savage
Intense, agile, larger than life with a penchant for bringing the best out of his opponents and even having exciting matches with goons like Greg Valentine and Butch Reed, plus the most captivating interview in the biz at the time. Savage was years ahead of the pack.

Champion Of The Era
Hulk Hogan.
Took the WWF title and catapulted the belt and the company to a level of mainstream popularity nobody ever thought possible. Never an amazing worker in the ring, Hogan may be the greatest of all time outside of it.

Tag Team Of The Era
The Hart Foundation
Just pipped the British Bulldogs to the post, because the Harts were the complete package, whereas the Bulldogs were more straight laced. The Harts had charisma, could carry interviews, had heat magnet Jimmy Hart in their corner and were the focus of several memorable angles, and many great matches. Although when his weaknesses were exposed in solo action, the Anvil was truly abysmal, when paired with Hart his power-based technique and hot-tag house clearing (when they were faces) complemented rather than detracted from the Hitman's smooth wrestling skills.

Babyface Of The Era
Hulk Hogan
Although there were many great babyfaces during this period, nobody could touch Hogan for popularity (although Jake Roberts and Randy Savage came very close at times.)

Heel Of The Era
Ted DiBiase
I struggled to justify not giving my heel of the era award to the man who stood opposite Hogan at the biggest match of the era, Andre The Giant. But Andre was not the best man on the stick, and relied on Bobby Heenan for a lot of his heat. DiBiase, on the other hand, was a tremendous interview, a great character, and could deliver in the ring when the bell rang. Andre and Roddy Piper were both strong contenders for this award.

Card Of The Era
Survivor Series 1988
For the most part, WWE pay-per-views around this time were pretty weak. WM3 was the biggest, but match quality sucked for most of it. WM4 is a personal favourite of mine, but Survivor Series 88 had that 10-team tag team match which was tremendous, and a lot of action and big stars elsewhere on the card. Barely a bad match on the card, but too many jobbers involved for a pay-per-view. WrestleMania 4 came close second.

Match Of The Era
Powers of Pain, Hart Foundation, Young Stallions, The Rockers and British Bulldogs vs. Demolition, Conquistadors, Brain Busters, Bolsheviks and The Fabulous Rougeaus.
The aforementioned ten-team elimination match from Survivor Series 1988. A personal favourite of mine, which was action packed and featured a Demolition and Powers of Pain/Mr Fuji double-turn (which was confusingly executed, but led to a face run for the Demos so all good.)

Character/Gimmick Of The Era
"The Million Dollar Man"
Turned Ted DiBiase into a super-heel and led to some of the most memorable angles and interviews in wrestling history. And DiBiase must have had a ball living the gimmick.

Angle Of The Era
Andre Turns On Hogan on Piper's Pit.
The old friend turns on Hogan routine had already been done, but never with so much success as when Andre aligned with Bobby Heenan and tore Hogan's crucifix from around his neck on Piper's Pit. Pity the match turned out to be the pits (no pun intended).

Worst Wrestler Of The Era
Andre The Giant
Okay, I know he was in bad physical shape by this time, and that he only came back into wrestling because Vince McMahon begged him to, so I'm not blaming him, but he was atrocious from around 1986 onwards. He could have walked away, he chose not to. So he's fair game for this award.

-----------------------------------------

What The World Is Watching 1989-1992

Wrestler Of The Era
Mr. Perfect
Basing this on match quality and character, rather than position on the card, I have to say my favourite in-ring performer from this era was Curt Hennig. From human powerball bump machine opposite Hulk Hogan, to the pride of the Heenan Family as the perfect Intercontinental champion, to my personal match of the era in which he single-handedly established Bret Hart as a singles force, to his babyface comeback at Survivor Series 1992. Even a 15 month layoff due to a back injury didn't convince me to hand this award elsewhere.

Champion Of The Era
Mr. Perfect
While Ultimate Warrior was dragging the WWF World title through the mud, and teams like The Nasty Boys and Money Inc. were stripping the World tag team titles of all the prestige in had gained in the hands of the Harts and Demos, Curt Hennig was busy establishing the WWF Intercontinental championship as the worker's title, where the real wrestling action could be found. Probably the best Intercontinental champion never to take that next step to main event-dom.

Tag Team Of The Era
Demolition
They started as a Road Warriors rip-off. It is to Ax and Smash's credit, then, that they are now remembered as a legendary team in their own right. They were great Tag Team Champs, although they couldn't hold a candle to the Harts, Rockers or Brain Busters from an in-ring standpoint. But a memorable gimmick, and a great title run make the popular Demolition my tag team of the era. The addition of Crush, and the arrival of the Legion of Doom, killed the team dead in 1991. But that 1988-1990 period was golden for the "Walking Disasters".

Babyface Of The Era
Hulk Hogan
Hogan clings on to the Babyface of the Era award, simply because of a lack of competition. He was called upon to rescue the WWF when Ultimate Warrior flopped in the role, despite his enthusiasm waning by the turn of the decade. Warrior and Randy Savage were his only contenders for this award.

Heel Of The Era
Ric Flair
Man, what a stir this guy caused. It's just a pity that his emergence as the WWF's number one heel led to a massive ratings and houseshow attendance drop (not single-handedly, of course, but he didn't do a lot to stop the rot in his time in Stamford.) His arrival as the "Real World Champion", followed by his stunning Royal Rumble championship win, and classic matches against Savage and Hart, coupled with several brilliant angles ("She was mine before she was yours, Randy!") led Ric to my Heel of the Era award.

Card Of The Era
Royal Rumble 1992
A fine opening match between The New Foundation and The Orient Express, an entertaining title match which saw Roddy Piper win his first taste of WWF gold off The Mountie, and the greatest Royal Rumble match in history, in which Bobby Heenan cheered Ric Flair to victory over the most star studded Rumble roster ever, in Flair's last GREAT moment. SummerSlams '91 and '92, and WM8 were all in the running, but overall didn't come close. The aforementioned matches were so good, I conveniently forgot about the awful Beverly Brothers vs Bushwhackers and Legion of Doom vs Natural Disasters matches on the card.

Match Of The Era
Bret "Hitman" Hart vs Mr. Perfect, SummerSlam 1991
The fact that Hennig was suffering a debilitating back injury and still managed to contest one of the greatest matches ever seen in a WWF ring should say all you need to know about his abilities. Putting the previously mid-card-at-best Bret Hart over as a credible Intercontinental champion, in a tremendous match, this was Hennig's peak. Hart would struggle to top it too.

Character/Gimmick Of The Era
"Real World Champion" Ric Flair
Having Ric Flair stroll into WWF with the NWA/WCW World title, and proclaiming himself the REAL World Champion, was a stroke of genius. It was a moment wrestling fans at the time could not believe. (Imagine John Cena showing up on Impact! with his spinner title.) Flair was still in his prime as a worker, and at his best as a heel, and this shocking character was the buzz of the wrestling world in 1991/1992.

Angle Of The Era
The Cobra Attack
When Jake The Snake Roberts unleashed his cobra on Randy Savage on WWF Superstars in late 1991, it was perhaps the most graphic (and creative) sneak attack ever seen in the WWF. Battering Savage, slapping Elizabeth and scaring the shit out of the audience and fellow wrestlers alike, Jake The Heel was never any better than at this point in time. Plus this angle brought Savage out of retirement with a level of popularity, thanks to Roberts, which would take him all the way to another WWF championship run.

Worst Wrestler Of The Era
Fred "Tugboat/Typhoon" Ottman
As Andre pretty much retired during this period, I gave the award to the atrocious Ottman. He beat out some stiff competition in Zeus, The Warlord and Hercules, amongst others. This was the era of the awful power wrestler.

This is pretty time consuming. Back with the next era in a bit...

[Avenger]

Brilliant topic. I always like these. :y:

Here we go...

Wrestler Of The Era

Shawn Michaels. In the ring there has never been anyone who can tell a story or keep the crowd on the edge of their seats like HBK. From his revolutionary tag matches with Marty as the Rockers through to his awesome IC title and World Title runs of 'the New Generation' era. No-one provided a better match every single night than HBK.

Champion Of The Era

This is really tough. Like really, really tough. So many great champions are coming to mind right now. I guess if you are going to say who did the most for their company as the champion, the top guy, the number one face... it has to be Hulk Hogan in the WWF. Did more for wrestling's mainstream popularity than anyone. As far as bringing credibility to the WWF Heavyweight Title, well he made half the world look up and take notice of the WWF Title.

Tag Team Of The Era

My personal preferences are coming in here. The New Age Outlaws. The charisma, the crowd support, the numerous title reigns etc. etc. They were awesome.

Babyface of the Era

Had to be Hulk Hogan again. Could have been The Rock or Austin, but this was too easy to pick.

Heel of the Era

This one is not easy either. There has been so many great heels. Roddy Piper was always a guy I despised as a mark. Although I want to try and shy away from landing all my awards in the Attitude Era onwards however... I have to go with Triple H. This guy has done some of the most despicable things in wrestling history in the ring and out of the ring. Marrying the bosses daughter was the icing on the cake.

Card Of The Era

Wrestlemania X-7. This is when it peaked.

Match Of The Era

HBK/Bret. Iron Man.

Character/Gimmick Of The Era

'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. How the hell this guy, coming off the heels of the New Generation era, managed to be the biggest, baddest son of a bitch in the company. He flipped the middle fingers, swilled beer, hit anyone and everyone heel or face with the Stunner, Stunned Santa 'fucking' Claus, swore and generally caused mayhem everywhere, managed to become the most cheered superstar since Hulk Hogan, sold more merchandise and pulled more buy-rates and TV ratings is beyond me. What a character. So unique.

Angle Of The Era

Angles only really becoming so multi-layered etc. in the Attitude Era and so forth. Therefore I have to go with one from this time. McMahon/Austin comes to mind, the HHH/Steph/Angle love triangle, the DX angles etc. are all up there. However my favourite angle was the Higher Power angle. It revealed Vince as the Undertaker's master and set up the bad-ass Corporate Ministry. The culmination of this angle, but not the end of it, was when Vince was revealed only to be thwarted by his wife who appointed Stone Cold as the CEO. This angle had everything. Brilliant.

Worst Wrestler Of The Era

X-Pac, lol.

[Avenger]

after some HTML problems my answers are now there for all to enjoy.

BTW NeanderCarl I actually posted my answers, or at least wrote them, at the same time as you. Before I had seen any of your's. Interesting to see we both picked Hogan for 2 awards. says a lot about what he has done in the industry.

[NeanderCarl]

Well, a lot of people knock him, but you have to Hulk Hogan a LOT of credit when it comes to his impact on the wrestling business, and every company he ever worked for.

[Gertner]

Hulkamania (1984-1988)

Categories are:
Wrestler Of The Era
Ricky Steamboat

Champion Of The Era
Hogan

Tag Team Of The Era
Windham and Rotundo

Babyface Of The Era

Hogan

Heel Of The Era
Andre

Card Of The Era
Wrestle mania 3

Match Of The Era
Savage vs Steamboat

Character/Gimmick Of The Era

Hogan

Angle Of The Era

Hogan vs andre

Worst Wrestler Of The Era

Andre the Giant was awful

[NeanderCarl]

The New Generation 1993-1996

Wrestler Of The Era
Bret 'Hitman' Hart
When you think about it, Bret Hart is often synonymous with the New Generation period, yet he barely wore the WWF World title during this period, acting more as a transitional champion whilst the likes of Yokozuna, Diesel, Mabel, Psycho Sid and The Undertaker filled the main event scene. Bret was usually second-to-last, providing the wrestling action before the big men came out to stink up the joint.

Champion Of The Era
Shawn Michaels
Not for the WWF World title, though... Shawn takes the award for his contributions to the Intercontinental title from late 1992 through to his final run with the belt in 1995. Of course, all the prestige he would bring to each title run would dissolve when he would fail to drop the belt in the ring on several occasions. But his Ladder matches with Razor Ramon, plus bouts with Marty Jannetty, Jeff Jarrett and Mr Perfect continued the tradition Hennig himself began of the I-C gold being the worker's belt.

Tag Team Of The Era
The Quebecers
Hmm... there wasn't a huge amount of choice for this award really. The golden era of tag team wrestling was over by this point, but the Quebecers were an exciting team from the old Hart Foundation mould, with an entertaining gimmick and some innovative double team moves. It's just a shame that they disappeared almost as soon as they arrived. By the time they were reunited in WCW in 1997, they were sadly unable to recapture their 1994 form and sank without trace.

Babyface Of The Era
Bret 'Hitman' Hart
For his popularity in Canada and overseas, which helped WWF through some rough periods during this era. Razor, Diesel and 'HBK' were all contenders for this award.

Heel Of The Era
Owen Hart
Again due to a lack of competitors really. Owen Hart, the jealous bitter younger brother, was a great angle and Owen produced some excellent matches with Bret, but he was never accepted as a genuine main eventer by the fans, mainly because he'd always been portrayed as a jobber in the past. However, heel Owen was involved in enough memorable interviews, matches and angles to be considered the heel of the era. Steve Austin came close due to his run as a heel in 1996, but he was always more of a tweener so I gave it to Owen. If you ever want to know how a colour commentator SHOULD sound, watch King of the Ring 1996. Owen's performance on the mic is nearly flawless, and put fellow orator Curt Hennig to shame.

Card Of The Era
King of The Ring 1996
The rise of 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, a great main event between Shawn Michaels and Davey Boy Smith, several more great matches and an eye-opening commentary from Owen Hart, filling in for Curt Hennig who was assigned referee in the World title match. This is here as much for historical significance as it is for quality. Without KOTR'96, there may have been no Attitude era.

Match Of The Era
Bret 'Hitman' Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin, Survivor Series 1996
Just edging out the two Intercontinental title Ladder Matches between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels, this was a scientific masterpiece between the returning 'Hitman' and the rising star Austin. This tends to be a forgotten classic, due to their superior match at the following year's WrestleMania, but Hart and Austin stole the show on a card where Shawn Michaels even managed to drag a good match out of Sid!

Character/Gimmick Of The Era
Mister Bob Backlund
A controversial choice maybe, but that crazy old Bob Backlund is my choice for the character of the era. Razor Ramon and Goldust, among others, were strong contenders, but Bob takes it in my book based on the sheer transformation from straight-laced, middle-aged fallen star to absolutely bonkers WWF World Champion. Littering his interviews with Ultimate Warrior-esque gobbledygook, and putting everybody in the Cross-Face Chicken Wing, including Jim Ross and WWF Magazine writer Lou Gianffrido, this mid-life crisis gimmick was not without its humour and top-notch interviews. The only real setback was that Bob Backlund was absolutely washed up as wrestler by this point, and his matches sent the crowds to sleep. But what a character, and what a portrayal! NB. I'm not counting 'The Loose Cannon' Brian Pillman, as this originated in WCW.

Angle Of The Era
Brian Pillman pulls a gun on Steve Austin
The pre-cursor to Vince Russo's Shock TV of 1998, and the earliest taster of the Attitude era, this took place at the tail end of 1996 when Austin, having injured Brian Pillman in the storyline, broke into the Loose Cannon's home and attempted to attack him. Pillman proceded to drop the F-bomb on live TV, and then pull a gun on Stone Cold, before the live feed was lost just as we heard a gunshot ring out. One of those "is this real?" angles, that just pipped the Shawn Michaels In-Ring Collapse on 1995 as Angle of the Era.

Worst Wrestler Of The Era
Ultimate Warrior
Having played hardball with the WWF for months, Ultimate Warrior finally agreed to a price for his return in early 1996 and he did so, demanding to squash rising heel Hunter Hearst-Helmsly at WrestleMania XII, arsing around with Goldust in a non-match at In Your House VII, wrestling an atrocious match with Jerry Lawler which was marred by Warrior's refusal to co-operate during the angle, and then no-showed a bunch of house shows before Vince finally canned him. What a waste of time this guy proved to be. He managed to win this award, having only wrestled for 4 months of the entire era.

Back with the rest in a couple hours...

[M-A-G]

Wrestler Of The Era
1. Hulk Hogan, hands down
2. Still Hogan unfortunately
3. Bret Hart
4. Steve Austin
5. There really hasn't been like one sole major star but if I had to pick I'd go with John Cena

The overall best in-ring performer of the era, by your own criteria
1. Ricky Steamboat
2. Bret Hart
3. Bret Hart
4. The Rock
5. Chris Jericho

Champion Of The Era
1. Hulk Hogan
2. Ric Flair
3. Bret Hart
4. Steve Austin
5. Chris Benoit

Tag Team Of The Era
1. The British Bulldogs
2. Legion of Doom
3. Camp Cornette
4. Rock and Sock Connection
5. The World's Greatest Tag Team

Babyface Of The Era
1. Hulk Hogan
2. Hulk Hogan
3. Bret Hart
4. Steve Austin
5. John Cena

Heel Of The Era
1. Roddy Piper
2. Ric Flair
3. Shawn Michaels
4. The Rock
5. Triple H

Card Of The Era
1. WrestleMania 3
2. WrestleMania 6
3. WrestleMania 10
4. WrestleMania 17
5. WrestleMania 20

Match Of The Era
1. Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage
2. The British Bulldog vs. Bret Hart
3. Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart
4. TLC 2
5. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit

Character/Gimmick Of The Era
1. Jake Roberts
2. Ultimate Warrior
3. Undertaker
4. D-X
5. Eddie Guerrero

Angle Of The Era
1. Steamboat gets his throat crushed
2. She was mine before she was yours
3. Owen vs. Bret
4. Austin vs. McMahon
5. The roster split

Worst Wrestler Of The Era
1. Take your pick
2. Ultimate Warrior
3. Diesel
4. Viscera
5. The Great Khali

[Avenger]

I didn't realise you meant a vote for every era. I thought you meant the TPWW reader's era which encompasses all of these erasn

[The One]

Wrestler Of The Era
(1984-1988) = "Hot Rod" Roddy Piper
(1989-1992) = "Macho Man" Randy Savage
(1993-1996) = Bret "Hitman" Hart
(1997-2001) = "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
(2002-____) = Chris Jericho

Champion Of The Era
(1984-1988) = Hulk Hogan - WWE Championship (I am disgusted by this)
(1989-1992) = Ric Flair - WWE Championship
(1993-1996) = Shawn Michaels - Intercontinental Championship
(1997-2001) = Steve Austin - WWE Championship
(2002-____) = Kurt Angle - WWE Championship

Tag Team Of The Era
(1984-1988) = British Bulldogs
(1989-1992) = Brain Busters
(1993-1996) = Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith (only tagged together at the tail end of the time frame, but still...)
(1997-2001) = New Age Outlaws
(2002-____) = Los Guerreros

Babyface Of The Era
(1984-1988) = Andre The Giant
(1989-1992) = The Ultimate Warrior
(1993-1996) = Bret Hart
(1997-2001) = Steve Austin
(2002-____) = Eddie Guerrero

Heel Of The Era
(1984-1988) = Roddy Piper
(1989-1992) = Ric Flair
(1993-1996) = Shawn Michaels
(1997-2001) = Vince McMahon
(2002-____) = Triple H

Card Of The Era
(1984-1988) = WrestleMania IV
(1989-1992) = SummerSlam '92
(1993-1996) = WrestleMania XII
(1997-2001) = WrestleMania X-Seven
(2002-____) = WrestleMania XIX

Match Of The Era
(1984-1988) = Andre/Hogan @ Mania III
(1989-1992) = Smith/Hart @ SS'92
(1993-1996) = Michaels/Hart - Iron Man Match @ Mania XII
(1997-2001) = Austin/Hart - I Quit Match @ Mania 13
(2002-____) = Jericho/Michaels @ Mania XIX

Character/Gimmick Of The Era
(1984-1988) = Macho Man
(1989-1992) = Ultimate Warrior
(1993-1996) = Doink The Clown
(1997-2001) = Undertaker
(2002-____) = John Cena

Angle Of The Era
(1984-1988) = Andre heel turn
(1989-1992) = Sgt. Slaughter heel turn
(1993-1996) = Million Dollar Corperation
(1997-2001) = Austin/McMahon
(2002-____) = Paul Heyman's on screen career

Worst Wrestler Of The Era
(1984-1988) = King Kong Bundy
(1989-1992) = Sid
(1993-1996) = Yokozuna
(1997-2001) = Big Show
(2002-____) = John Cena

TOVO Fact: Tovo's favorite era in wrestling was mid 80's NWA, but for WWE programming Attitude was the best.

[Tb1]

Ruthless Aggression/The Power Is Back (2002-Present)


Wrestler Of The Era
That's tough, there's so many great wrestlers. But I'm judging on skill and accomplishments, so it's a tie; Kurt Angle, Triple H
Champion Of The Era
Chris Benoit.
Tag Team Of The Era
America's Most Wanted. Not much to choose from.
Babyface Of The Era
Eddie Guerrero
Heel Of The Era
Muhammad Hassan, John Cena, Triple H
Card Of The Era
Wrestlemania XIX
Match Of The Era
Rock vs. Hogan, WM X8
Character/Gimmick Of The Era
Carlito, Mr. Kennedy
Angle Of The Era
Evolution's entire run
Worst Wrestler Of The Era
John Cena, Boogeyman

[CSL]

Wrestler Of The Era
Hulkamania (1984-1988) Randy Savage
What The World Is Watching (1989-1992) Mr. Perfect
The New Generation (1993-1996) Shawn Michaels
Attitude (1997-2001) Steve Austin
Ruthless Aggression/The Power Is Back (2002-Present) Kurt Angle

Champion Of The Era
Hulkamania (1984-1988) Hulk Hogan
What The World Is Watching (1989-1992) Hulk Hogan
The New Generation (1993-1996) Bret Hart
Attitude (1997-2001) Steve Austin
Ruthless Aggression/The Power Is Back (2002-Present) Edge

Tag Team Of The Era
Hulkamania (1984-1988) British Bulldogs
What The World Is Watching (1989-1992) Brainbusters
The New Generation (1993-1996) Owen & Davey
Attitude (1997-2001) New Age Outlaws
Ruthless Aggression/The Power Is Back (2002-Present) Los Guerreros

Babyface Of The Era
Hulkamania (1984-1988) Hulk Hogan
What The World Is Watching (1989-1992) Hulk Hogan
The New Generation (1993-1996) Bret Hart
Attitude (1997-2001) Steve Austin
Ruthless Aggression/The Power Is Back (2002-Present) Shawn Michaels

Heel Of The Era
Hulkamania (1984-1988) Ted DiBiase
What The World Is Watching (1989-1992) Rick Rude
The New Generation (1993-1996) Owen Hart
Attitude (1997-2001) Vince McMahon
Ruthless Aggression/The Power Is Back (2002-Present) JBL

Card Of The Era
Hulkamania (1984-1988) Survivor Series '88
What The World Is Watching (1989-1992) Royal Rumble '91
The New Generation (1993-1996) Survivor Series '96
Attitude (1997-2001) Wrestlemania X-7
Ruthless Aggression/The Power Is Back (2002-Present) One Night Stand '05

Match Of The Era
Hulkamania (1984-1988) Savage/Steamboat (WM III)
What The World Is Watching (1989-1992) Hogan/Warrior (WM VI)
The New Generation (1993-1996) Michaels/Mankind (Mind Games '96)
Attitude (1997-2001) Rock/Austin (WM X7)
Ruthless Aggression/The Power Is Back (2002-Present) HBK/Angle (WM 21)

Character/Gimmick Of The Era
Hulkamania (1984-1988) Ted DiBiase
What The World Is Watching (1989-1992) Mr.Perfect
The New Generation (1993-1996) Owen Hart
Attitude (1997-2001) The Rock
Ruthless Aggression/The Power Is Back (2002-Present) Eddie Guerrero

Angle Of The Era
Hulkamania (1984-1988) The coconut shot
What The World Is Watching (1989-1992) Jannetty through a window
The New Generation (1993-1996) Shawn Michaels 'collapses' vs. Owen Hart
Attitude (1997-2001) Austin/McMahon
Ruthless Aggression/The Power Is Back (2002-Present) The Batista/Triple H build up

Worst Wrestler Of The Era
Hulkamania (1984-1988) Andre The Giant
What The World Is Watching (1989-1992) Zeus
The New Generation (1993-1996) Giant Gonzalez
Attitude (1997-2001) Kurrgan
Ruthless Aggression/The Power Is Back (2002-Present) Great Khali

[Loose Cannon]

I just started watching wrestling this year.

[James Steele]

I'll do it like The One did...

`````````````````````````````````````

Wrestler Of The Era
(1984-1988) = Rowdy Roddy Piper
(1989-1992) = "Nature Boy" Ric Flair
(1993-1996) = "HBK" Shawn Michaels
(1997-2001) = "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
(2002-____) = Triple H

Champion Of The Era
(1984-1988) = Hulk Hogan - WWE Championship
(1989-1992) = Ric Flair - WWE Championship
(1993-1996) = Shawn Michaels - Intercontinental Championship
(1997-2001) = Steve Austin - WWE Championship
(2002-____) = Triple H - World Heavyweight Championship

Tag Team Of The Era
(1984-1988) = British Bulldogs
(1989-1992) = Money Inc.
(1993-1996) = Owen Hart & British Bulldog
(1997-2001) = New Age Outlaws
(2002-____) = The Dudley Boyz

Babyface Of The Era
(1984-1988) = Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka
(1989-1992) = Ricky Steamboat
(1993-1996) = Bret "The Hitman" Hart
(1997-2001) = "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
(2002-____) = Eddie Guerrero

Heel Of The Era
(1984-1988) = Roddy Piper
(1989-1992) = Ric Flair
(1993-1996) = Shawn Michaels
(1997-2001) = Vince McMahon
(2002-____) = Triple H

Card Of The Era
(1984-1988) = WrestleMania III
(1989-1992) = SummerSlam '92
(1993-1996) = WrestleMania XII
(1997-2001) = WrestleMania X-Seven
(2002-____) = WrestleMania XIX

Match Of The Era
(1984-1988) = Andre The Giant vs. Hulk Hogan @ WrestleMania III
(1989-1992) = The 1992 Royal Rumble Match
(1993-1996) = Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart - Iron Man Match @ WrestleMania XII
(1997-2001) = Steve Austin vs. The Rock @ WrestleMania X-Seven
(2002-____) = Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H @ SummerSlam 2002

Character/Gimmick Of The Era
(1984-1988) = "Ravishing" Rick Rude
(1989-1992) = "Mr. Perfect" Curt Henning
(1993-1996) = "HBK" Shawn Michaels
(1997-2001) = The Undertaker
(2002-____) = Triple H

Angle Of The Era
(1984-1988) = Roddy Piper vs. Mr. T.
(1989-1992) = The Heenan Family vs. Hulk Hogan
(1993-1996) = Bret Hart's Rise To The Top
(1997-2001) = Austin vs. McMahon
(2002-____) = Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels

Worst Wrestler Of The Era
(1984-1988) = King Kong Bundy
(1989-1992) = Sid Vicious
(1993-1996) = Yokozuna
(1997-2001) = Goldberg
(2002-____) = John Cena

[NeanderCarl]

And my final two Era Awards....

Attitude 1997-2001

Wrestler Of The Era
'Stone Cold' Steve Austin
There really was no other choice for this award. For the first time the WWF had a main eventer, a World Champion, who was wildly popular, a huge worldwide draw, a mainstream celebrity AND could deliver between the ropes. Even though he suffered a neck injury in 1997 which would ultimately cut his career short, he managed to develop a new brawling style which suited the WWF's new "Attitude" to a T. Between 1997 and 2001, the Rattlesnake was THE man. His closest contenders were The Rock, Triple H and Mick Foley

Champion Of The Era
Triple H
A surprising choice maybe, but consider that Steve Austin was usually in the hunt for the belt, not wearing it. Triple H on the other hand was not considered a top liner when he managed to snare the gold from Mick Foley, but through some top-notch performances (and with a lot of help from Foley) he got over as the WWF Champion, became the first heel to leave WrestleMania with the belt, and draw enormous buy rates against The Rock. He made Chris Jericho, Taka Michinoku and even the Brooklyn Brawler look like they were about to become the next champion, yet never looked like a weak champion along the way, a Ric Flair-worthy feat. And in the year 2000, while Austin and Undertaker were injured, and Foley had retired, Trips was the top dog in the company and, unlike now, he actually deserved it. Top contenders were D'Lo Brown (European Champion), The Rock (Intercontinental Champion) and Kurt Angle (for winning all the major singles titles within a year of his debut).

Tag Team Of The Era
Edge and Christian
The New Age Outlaws are an old favourite of mine, but the truth is that their matches were usually lacklustre, and they never had much strong competition in the tag team division. When the WWF's top team are defending their belts against makeshift tandems, and teams like The New Midnight Express, it's hard to justify the Outlaws as the greatest team of the era. By 2000, the tag team division was at its healthiest in years. The Dudley Boyz, The Hardy Boyz, Too Cool, The Hollys and my pick for team of the era, Edge and Christian. Although less spectacular than the Hardy brothers, Edge and Christian take it for the side-splitting dude characters they developed, along with the old five-second pose "for the benefit of those with flash photography", and for their match-winning performances in the three TLC matches between WrestleMania 2000 and WrestleMania X-Seven. The glory days of modern tag team wrestling.

Babyface Of The Era
The Rock
While it was hard not to give this one to Austin, its undisputable that by the time Austin returned from his injury layoff in late 2000, the Rock had equalled or maybe even surpassed 'Stone Cold's popularity. The king of the catchphrase, lord of the merchandise stand, and overall crowd pleaser.

Heel Of The Era
Triple H
The despicable "Game" turned his back on DX, wormed his way to the top of the Corporation, took the World crown from Mankind, drugged Stephanie McMahon and married her against her will, then formed The McMahon-Helmsly Faction which ruled Raw for several months (and still does, behind the scenes), intimidated referees to keep hold of his title, turned out to be responsible for Austin's year long hiatus after organising a hit and run, and generally acted like a thuggish, posh bully. It was a career turnaround, and the heat he received at this time was genuine heat (not "Fuck Off" heat like in 2002/2003). What's more, when the bell rang, Triple H could GO. Vince McMahon only came in second place for this award because he rarely got into the ring and wrestled, therfore his heat did not often translate into financial success.

Card Of The Era
WrestleMania X-Seven
Something for everyone on this one. A technical display from Angle vs Benoit. Brawling from Shane vs Vince, and Kane vs Raven vs Big Show. (Can you believe Raven's name between those two?) High spot mania in TLC II. A fun Gimmick Battle Royal featuring legends from the days of yore. And two very good wrestling matches in Undertaker vs HHH and Austin vs Rock. Great atmosphere, big event feel, the wrestling world was buzzing (I believe this was the first PPV since both ECW and WCW had gone out of business) and many of the matches are all-time classics. Plus it featured the return of The Repo Man!!

Match Of The Era
The Undertaker vs Mankind, King Of The Ring 1998
This is here for its iconic status more than for the action itself. Those shots of Mick 'Mankind' Foley spilling off the top of the Hell In A Cell structure not once, but twice, are still played on a loop to this day. In addition, a bag of thumb tacks made their WWF debut. I believe that this match helped seal WCW's fate. They could not compete with a product that was putting out a match like this. Not long after this show, WCW would take their last ever win in the ratings war, and fizzle out.

Character/Gimmick Of The Era
"Your Olympic Hero" Kurt Angle
I remember the first time I became a fan of Kurt Angle. WWF had a UK pay-per-view in late '99/early 2000, and Angle was seen walking around the streets (it may have been Manchester) introducing himself to fans as "Kurt Angle, your Olympic Hero". Unlike his boastful "broken freakin' neck" spiel from later years, the early Kurt Angle played it ultra-straight and dorky, and it was brilliant. This goof-ball Angle was around for his first year or so, and this has to be my personal favourite period to watch Kurt. He was a natural.

Angle Of The Era
The Love Triangle
This was a classic angle, with a deflating climax, which was the earliest sign of Triple H's backstage power plays. The attraction between Kurt Angle and Stephanie McMahon was subtly built up almost from Angle's debut, and by the summer of 2000 they were fully embroiled in a close friendship. Triple H's actions, including being caught in compromising positions with Trish Stratus, drove them closer together. Trips and Angle, both heels, despised each other but tried to get along for Steph's sake. Then they started fighting. It was so well-built, the crowd loved it, ratings were big, the performances were fantastic (yes, even from Stephanie), the two were involved in a super heated SummerSlam main event with The Rock and then.... nothing. The whole thing just sort of disappeared. The two men had a disappointing match at Unforgiven 2000, which didn't resolve the feud at all. Steph chose to side with HHH. Then Triple H decided he didn't want to turn face after all, and ended up feuding with Steve Austin instead. What may have evolved into the best WWF storyline of all time just faded away because Triple H felt threatened by Angle. What a shame, but knowing Triple H's ways now, that isn't a surprise. The runner-up for this award was the OTHER Love Triangle storyline... Steve Austin and Kurt Angle's guitar-playing, cowboy hat-wearing battle for Vince hugs in 2001. Hilarious.

Worst Wrestler Of The Era
Mark Henry
Shortlist included Mideon, Chyna, Viscera and Dan Severn. Since debuting in 1996, Mark Henry has never shown any potential, nor improvement, yet continues to be pushed. In 1998, he began romantically pursuing Chyna, and so began the amusing Sexual Chocolate gimmick, which turned into a nightmare when WWF began using the gimmick to abuse Henry, shacking him up with a transvestite and Mae Young, among others. All the while, one thing has remained consistant about The World's Strongest Man... his matches have sucked.

-------------------------------------

Ruthless Aggression/The Power Is Back 2002-Present

Wrestler Of The Era
Shawn Michaels
Shortlist included Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero. Michaels takes it because nobody has had more classic matches in this timescale, in my opinion, than Michaels. From his Streetfight against Triple H at SummerSlam '02, to his World title win in the first Elimination Chamber, to his all-time great against Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XIX, to more great matches against Triple H, those Triple Threats with HHH and Benoit, his match against Angle at WM21 and even Vince McMahon at WM22. Despite being older than most of the roster, and physically battered, 'HBK' is still the real MVP of the WWE.

Champion Of The Era
Randy Orton
I am loathe to give this award to Triple H for being awarded the World title and then clutching onto it at all costs, on screen and off. Therefore I looked at Randy Orton's Intercontinental title reign as the best title run of the current era so far. One of the longest title runs in recent memory, Orton brought more prestige and stability to the title than it had prior to his reign, and as part of Evolution, he was involved in top feud, including one with Mick Foley, before dropping the title to Edge after an 8-month run.

Tag Team Of The Era
Los Guerreros
"We lie, we cheat, we steal". Eddie and Chavo Guerrero were about the most solid, consistant tag team over this time period, plus were very entertaining in their cheeky, albiet slightly stereotyped, role as the sneaky tweeners who loved to cheat their way to victories. Eddie would continue to play this role in singles after the team split, and it led him to the WWE Heavyweight championship.

Babyface Of The Era
Eddie Guerrero
After a career in the midcard, it seemed that Eddie Guerrero was never destined to take that final step to the main event level. However, a tweaked "Lie, Cheat and Steal" gimmick (an extension of his previous 'Latino Heat' persona) which was aimed at the growing Hispanic audience proved a major hit and Guerrero became the WWE Heavyweight champion, something most in the business NEVER thought possible. And not just a one-trick pony, after getting Bradshaw (fucking BRADSHAW!!) over as a credible WWE Champion, Eddie was due another run with the belt before his untimely death. The outpouring of grief and sympathy from the fans in the crowd and on the internet after his demise just cements the fact that Eddie was probably the most beloved babyface of this era. The contenders for the award were Shawn Michaels, John Cena and Chris Benoit.

Heel Of The Era
The Rock
I know he was only around for a few months but I am basing this on the insane heat the 'Great One' mustered up after turning heel in early 2003. His new attitude, coupled with his new look, just proved that Rock is one of the most versatile performers in WWE history. Just look at the infamous Rock Concert as an example of how Duane Johnson could hold the audience in the palm of his hand, and manipulate them as he pleased. Rematch with Hogan was not so hot, but matches against Austin and Goldberg, plus segments with The Hurricane and just general all-round quality makes The Rock my choice for best heel of the era. Contenders included Eric Bischoff, Brock Lesnar and JBL.

Card Of The Era
WrestleMania 21
The crazy six-way Money In The Bank Ladder Match, a surprisingly thrilling match between The Undertaker and Randy Orton, a good but short match between Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio. A better than expected main event which saw Batista drop Triple H clean for the WWE World title. And the best match held on WWE soil in the modern era, Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels Part 1. Plus appearances by Steve Austin, Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan and the rest of the Hall Of Fame Class of 2005. With only a couple of matches ranging from bad (Akebono vs Big Show) to okay (Cena vs JBL) this was a very good PPV.

Match Of The Era
Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels, WrestleMania 21
Two men showing the rest of the roster how it should be done. One of the best, most unpredictable and gripping matches I have ever seen. Incredible.

Character/Gimmick Of The Era
JBL
The transformation of stiff cowboy alcoholic Bradshaw into slick Wall Street media mogul John Bradshaw Layfield was startling but very effective. With plenty of help from Eddie Guerrero, JBL actually got over for possibly the first time in his career, and was holding the WWE Heavyweight championship within months. He takes the award for sheer diversity in changing his gimmick to such a degree, plus for the characters longevity in converting from the ring to the commentary booth.

Angle Of The Era
Raw vs. SmackDown
Although the so-called "Brand Extention" is often panned by critics, it has led to some memorable cross-brand moments and battles, including the 2005 Royal Rumble where the ring seperated into brands and the crowd went nuts. To be honest, this is a bit of a lame choice for the award but I really am racking my brains to think of a really memorable single angle or moment from the last four years, and I really can't. What does that say? The only other contenders were the night Kurt Angle dressed as Shawn Michaels and brought Sensational Sherri to the ring, but even that was more of a skit than a memorable angle, and the interaction between Ric Flair and Mick Foley on Raw earlier this year.

Worst Wrestler Of The Era
The Big Show
Beating off a looooong list of contenders, including John Heidenreich, The Great Khali, Scott Steiner, Road Warrior Animal, Nathan Jones, Tatanka, Billy Gunn, A-Train (deep breath...), Vader, Rene Dupree, Rikishi, Mark Henry (couldn't give it to him two eras in a row, could I??), Bull Buchanan, Rosey... my God, there have been some abysmal wrestlers on the roster the last few years, no? Anyway, the broken down Big Show now fits into that category that Andre The Giant filled several eras ago. The chain-smoking, McDonalds-guzzling Big Show boasts of never bothering to work out and eating a daily diet of junk food, and now complains that his 500lb body is falling apart. Bless. In his early days, Paul Wight was a tremendous wrestler for somebody of his size and with his inexperience. Nowadays, an extra 200lbs of flab later, Show is a wreck and so are his matches.

Man that was all pretty time consuming!

[NeanderCarl]

Oh come on I spent ages on this!! Where's everyone elses two cents, huh???

[Avenger]

I want to try but I don't think I'm qualified to talk about the first two era's as I wasn't around.

Only wrestler's matches whom I religiously searched out from that era are Flair, Steamboat, Terry Funk.

[NeanderCarl]

If you are not well versed on any particular era, then just omit it and focus on the ones you do remember well/watched at the time.

[Avenger]

FINE THEN.

Nah, it is a very good topic and I'll do a couple soon, I enjoy the nostalgia these topics provide.

It's sad that a nostalgiac topic is the most interesting thing on a wrestling forum these days.

[Avenger]

nostalgic*

[NeanderCarl]

Grrr that's three hours I'm never getting back....

[Jeritron]

I'll get to the others, but for now I'm gonna do the Attitude Era

Wrestler of the Era:
The Rock. I'm gonna have to go with him on this one, not because hes the best technical wrestler, or even the best star (Austin). Its because of his ability to tell a story with his matches. Virtually all of his matches were entertaining within themselves, even bouts with billy gunn and al snow. Even with a stint away from the main event he managed to keep the crowd in the palm of his hands and with memorable bouts against and along side Foley, and the ongoing fued up the ranks with HHH, when he was in the ring it meant something.
Honorable Mention: Triple H, Mick Foley

Champion of the Era:
Stone Cold Steve Austin. If ever anyone encompassed the role of "champion of the company" it was Austin, just like Hogan before him. As someone said, he was usually in the hunt and not always the Champion. However you always got the feeling it was his belt. It was all about him holding it and getting it back when he wasn't. His initial reign was one of greatness and the quest to regain it was even better. Winning the title at 3 wrestlemanias of the 4 of the era, and the other he was injured during. After a long time out of action, he came back and worked right back to the title resulting in one of the longest reigns of the Era and probably the last.

Tag Team of the Era:
The Hardy Boyz. Much like Austin, they weren't always the champion, but it was always their territory. They were way over with the crowd and ushered in a new breed of tag team wrestling along with their rivals in the TLC matches. Team Xtreme was probably the crowds favorite tag team, and displayed the best team presence in the ring with great tandum moves and classic spots. They differ from Edge and Christian by having more of a team feel.
Honorable Mention: The New Age Outlaws, Edge and Christian.

Babyface of the Era:
Stone Cold Steve Austin. It was all about Austin. He ushered in a new era and was an amazing draw. His crowd support and reactions were unreal and he shines as the babyface of the era for the reasons stated in the championship department. He also managed to become a face sheerly by crowd affection, breaking the mold and going from heel to face just because of crowd support making him a true anti-hero.

Heel of the Era:
Triple H. I would say Vince McMahon, but I decided to stick to just wrestlers on this one. Triple H was a unique heel because he was so damn ruthless and so hateable. He went from one of the top fan favorites of DX to this vile, dominant champion. Another unique quality was he wasnt your typical sneaky, wiseass cowardly heel. He was just damn good and knew it and would stop at nothing to win.

Card of the Era:
Wrestlemania 17. The apex of the attitude era. Everyone was on it. Great matches. Triple H vs Undertaker is one of the better second main events of Wrestlemania history as it was a fresh matchup, Austin/Rock clashed both at the height of their popularity.

Match of the Era:
Hell In A Cell: Mankind vs Undertaker
There were dozens and dozens of great matches during this time. King of the Ring 98s hell in a cell may not have been the most well wrestled, talent driven match, but it certainly stands out as the greatest to me. The entire match was one big holy shit chant to end all holy shit chants. The events that took place defined Foley and defined the company for years to follow. Its hard to explain it as my choice much further than this. It just is Hell in a Cell 98. Its a match that you can show to any person and they just go, wow. You know a match is something when the guy who loses is the true winner.

Character of the Era:
Mick Foley
Foley managed to capture the imaginations and hearts of the fans in a truly unique way. With his 3 characters he was memorable as hell. And his gritty, bloody bouts weren't the prettiest thing in the world but they were fun to watch. People actually cared about him in a way that was certainly unrivaled. He was so interesting that he was the subject of a groundbreaking best selling autobiography and various spots on 60 minutes and news programs. If Stone Cold was the face of Attitude, and The Rock was the mouth, then Mick Foley was the heart. The fans loved Mick in his 3 great gimmicks before king of the ring, but after this he was just Mick Foley.


Angle of the Era:
Austin vs McMahon. This isn't just the best angle of the era, but probably of all time. It never got old and it was always getting more interesting. It was groundbreaking and it gave people a reason to rush to the television by 8:59 every monday night. Its the angle to end all angles and it had more twists and turns than chubby checker in a blender. From its inital start, to its finish more than a year later it remains the defining angle in the industry and is what saved the WWF.

Worst Wrestler:
After talking about all this greatness, its hard to want to think about the crap. In this era, there wasnt a whole bunch of crap. There were some bad wrestlers but they certainly weren't forced upon us. Probably some peice of trash like Viscera or something.

[Jeritron]

The New Generation (1993-1996)

Wrestler of the Era-Bret "The Hitman" Hart. The years of 1993-1996 are the years where the legend of Bret Hart took its identity. From his classic bouts with Owen, his title reigns, and his storied fued with Shawn Michaels to end the era; Bret's matches told stories and were always entertaining.

Champion of the Era- Shawn Michaels.
Shawn Michaels is the champion of the era for two reasons. His time as World Champion and his prior reign as Intercontinental Champion. He was a classic intercontinental champion and brought a lot of attention to the belt, helping make it into the mid-card career launcher that it has become and carried on the tradition of the belt that led it to be called "the second most important belt in the industry"-as a great wrestler once said. He was in many ways the last of the old and the first of the new in the intercontinental division which he reigned.
2. His world championship reign. Shawn Michaels winning the belt was one of the great moments of WWE history, but his tenure as champion was an equally memorable period. He was the main attraction and the main event. Though naysayers have doubted his ability as a draw, I think thats bs. It was anything but the case seeing as he was the sole draw for a long time and what kept the business alive for a year or two there. His title reign wasn't just a storyline or part of a fued or angle. It was just a straightforward title reign in which he was a straightforward, fighting champ. The title wasn't used to propel a particular fued, whereas the fueds were used to propel the title. He had a new opponent lined up virtually every month and he kept knocking them down. This gave the belt a lot of credibility. It wasn't boring or transitional, it was incredibly legitimate. He also never really lost the belt, initially letting it slip away to tend to his mentor, and the second time around forfeiting it. This is a prime example of what a world title reign can and should be.

Tag Team of the Era- Owen Hart and the British Bulldog. There wasn't a wealth of memorable tag teams during this time, but this was a good one. It was two established stars who had great contrast yet similarity. They complimented eachother in the ring and had a good chemistry making for a memorable team.

Babyface of the Era-Tie. Bret Hart and Undertaker. Shawn Michaels emerged as a great babyface late in the era, but Bret was the fan favorite for the entire time and was beloved by them. Basically its the same reasons why I gave him the first award. However I tie him with Undertaker for this award. Why? Because this is a time where the Undertaker really went from being a gimmick, to a fan favorite and larger than life icon. Even though being booked in crappy fueds with a lack of good competition, he managed to capture the fans imaginations even further, all on his own. This is a true merit to his character and the fans appreciation for him as a performer and favorite.

Heel of the Era- Yokozuna for lack of competition. This was a weird time when it seemed all the big names were faces.

Card of the Era-Wrestlemania X. The Bret/Owen match, a double main event, and the amazing ladder match for the IC title, all in MSG. Really enough said.

Match of the Era- Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels Iron Man Match WM12. This was one of the last great matches of the era, but surely the greatest. It was the culmination of the era as a whole as the up and coming star of the time in Shawn Michaels went against the holder of the torch, Bret Hart. In one of the greatest matches of all time they summed up the era and moved it forward at the same time.

Character of the Era- Goldust. He emerged late but he was certainly a character...

Angle of the Era- Bret vs Owen. The brotherly fued. This fued made for some great bouts and had a realistic quality to it that the brothers were able to convey.

Worst Wrestler-plenty to choose from.

[NeanderCarl]

* bump* do we think there's been another era since this was written?

[#1-norm-fan]

The... PG era?

[Avenger]

Hmm

Last few years pretty much defined by Cena.

Now we are entering a post-kayfabe weird era.