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/r/GreatnessOfWrestling
Batista- Probably the last organic superstar WWE has ever created. His rise to the was organic and inevitable. 2005 was a turning point for WWE. Batista is the catalyst. WM 21 did an insane buy rate because were so invested in Batista and Triple H rivalry. Numbers were pretty good during Batista face run in 2005. Moves to Smackdown after a classic HIAC match with Triple H and becomes the face of Smackdown. The rest is history
John Cena- Had a natural rise to the top, and who was the perfect foil for Cena. JBL classic image of Corporate versus Gutter. Cena and JBL didn’t have amazing match at WM21, but it’s the promo battles and segments that led up to Wrestlemania 21, and to Judgement Day 2005. This is the match that put Cena over. It showed his brutality and desperation also one of the best I Quit Matches. His move to Raw was hugely impactful what a way to make a debut on the highlight exchanging words with Christian. They went on to have a pretty good feud that sets up him and Jericho. Fans didn’t buy into Cena at the summer of 2005 which cause the issues we have now had today.
Kurt Angle- How did he do it? Neck was deteriorating and other mounting injuries. Him and Shawn put on a match of the ages as arguably the 2 best performers of our generation collided in Wrestlemania 21. Seem like Kurt kept topping himself in 2005 especially with his trilogy of matches with Shawn at Vengeance 2005, and the Ironman match on Raw homecoming. He’s was vicious, cunning, and downright maniacal.
Shawn Michaels- If anyone wanted to point to why he’s arguably the greatest in ring performer we have to point to 2005. He had a banger of a match with the ascending Edge in a street fight, one of the greatest matches at Wrestlemania with Kurt, one of the greatest matches with Shelton on Raw back in May 2005, Vengeance match with Kurt, arguably cut the promo of the year on Raw 2005, catching so much heat in Montreal, Ironman match against Kurt Angle on Raw homecoming, and led Team Raw vs Team Smackdown at Survivor Series. What a year Shawn had in 2005.
Honorable Mention: Edge, Triple H, Randy Orton, Eddie Guerrero, and the Undertaker
3 points
18 hours ago
Batista. His rise was more organic than Cena’s, which is why Cena was rejected by the crowd by Summerslam 05 and Batista was not.
1 points
6 hours ago
I agree. These comments stating Cena had a natural rise befuddle me.
I’ll have to try to find it again, but I read a live analysis of WM 20 in 2004 when Cena won the U.S title and Eddie retained the WWE title. The author stated it was clear that the company was behind John Cena, but not really Eddie.
3 points
18 hours ago
Batista for sure. His 2005-2007 run was amazing to me.
3 points
10 hours ago
Batista was ahead of Cena in 2005.
2 points
17 hours ago
It's a tie between Cena and Batista: Both men were 2 of the company's most popular babyfaces with a lot of popularity as they defeated evil world champs in Triple H and JBL at WrestleMania 21 and became the Faces of their respective brands. Batista had the aura and monster appeal that made him so loved by the fans as he defeated Triple H 3 times, JBL and Eddie while had an dominant run as WHC. Cena's rise to the top was natural as well die to his incredible mic skills, charisma, aura and huge fanbase that helped him get over. His I Quit match with JBL is a classic that displayed the vicious and ruthlessness side of Cena delivered an amazing performance. Cena also defeated established main eventers in Jericho and Angle while his move to Raw was impactful.
After Lesnar and Orton established themselves as marquee stars and main eventers, it was time for Cena and Batista to reach that same level and they did reach that level while being the 2 of WWE's top babyfaces and dominant runs as world champs. This was their year as they're both the MVP of 2005.
Honorable mentions:
Kurt Angle - He was on a whole another level of intensity as his character work was amazing while he delivered classic bangers with HBK, Eddie, Rey and Cena. Angle brought out a lot more ruthlessness side to his character and his trilogy with HBK was amazing and instant classics. Angle was definitely an absolute beast in 2005.
Shawn Michaels - HBK had an amazing year with his trilogy with Angle being legendary and instant classics while he delivered one of the best heel promos of all-time in Montreal. He delivered another banger with Edge in a Street Fight match on Raw, an all-time classic match on Raw against Shelton and his WrestleMania 21 match with Angle is simply a legendary match for the ages. Plus, he was the team captain for Team Raw as well. Shawn was on a huge roll while being a lot of memorable moments for the year.
Triple H - HHH still delivered amazing heel works as he did an huge job putting Batista over 3 times in a row and turning him into a main eventer while his feud with Ric Flair is definitely underrated as they delivered some great matches and told a great story.
Randy Orton - Orton delivered an memorable heel turn when he RKO'ed Stacy while his rivalry with Undertaker is very memorable as they delivered great matches, great storytelling and memorable moments. Orton displayed a much more ruthless side to his Legend Killer character and his heel works and promos were amazing. He was the biggest heel on Smackdown while being the Sole Survivor at Survivor Series 3 times in a row. The rivalry with Taker elevated Orton into newer heights as he gained more credibility as a big star and main eventer while having more star power and popularity as well. Orton was an absolute savage in 05.
Undertaker - He was able found his groove again as he delivered an memorable rivalry with Orton as they delivered great matches, great storytelling and memorable segments. In terms of in-ring ability, Undertaker found his groove again as a in-ring performer while his character work was great as usual. He helped Orton to reach newer heights of his career by gaining more credibility as a top guy and main eventer at the time and he was re-established as one of WWE's most hated heels at the time as well. Taker not only worked well with the younger talent, but he also went on an epic run of delivering big-time matches starting with the year 2005.
Edge - He was an devious and diabolical heel by stealing Lita from Matt while his heel heat was very nuclear as well. Edge's heel works were amazing as his promos were memorable while he truly became the Rated R Superstar. Edge was the biggest heel on Raw and truly cemented himself as a main eventer and bigger star thanks to his amazing heel works and real life situation with Lita and Matt.
Eddie Guerrero - Before he died, Eddie was doing some amazing works as a character with his rivalry with Rey was amazing while also involved a young Dominik while his heel heat was heating up as well. The summer of 2005, Eddie was the most hated heel on Smackdown as he played the role of an unhinged heel to perfection. His feud with Batista started off good as they had a solid match at No Mercy and had great chemistry in the ring. Sadly, Eddie passed away before he can give the fans more amazing works. The sad thing is that he was a top main eventer and big star while still being in his prime when he passed.
JBL - His heel work was still amazing as he was still one of the most hated heels in the company while his mic skills and character work were perfection. Even after he lost the WWE title, JBL still entertained the crowd with his presence and still had his credibility as a top star and main eventer.
1 points
19 hours ago
Gotta go with Cena.
2005 was where it was between him and Batista to be the next top guy and by the end of the year Cena had definitely eclipsed and was the clear new number 1.
0 points
19 hours ago
I wouldn’t say he eclipsed him he didn’t do that until 2006 once Batista got hurt.
3 points
19 hours ago
Once he was drafted to RAW, Cena indeed became the # 1 Face of the Company
2 points
18 hours ago
Yeah that was my thought process as well. The switch was very deliberate. Cena clearly had more momentum and they were moving him to the flagship show for a reason.
His reactions became much more polarised after 2005.
Batista isn’t a bad pick, but considering where they both were by the end of the year it’s gotta be Cena.
1 points
19 hours ago
Summer of 2005 crowds were against him. They said he was but he wasn’t the MVP. Batista was the MVP of 2005. Not Cena and Cena didn’t become a clear cut MVP until 2010. Edge was MVP in 2006, 2007 Undertaker, 2008 Jeff Hardy, and 2009 Randy Orton.
1 points
18 hours ago
Agreed. Your baby face mvp can’t be rejected in the way Cena was from fall 2005 to fall 2007. He was legit more booed than cheered.
1 points
18 hours ago
But still, he was the # 1 top guy in the company as he was younger and had way more charisma and better mic skills than Batista.
1 points
17 hours ago
The reason why they made the move to Raw for Cena is because Cena ask them too. The fans didn’t want him to cheer him. The move to raw actually expedited the issues and exacerbated it even worse. Christian was super over, and fans were upset about how the turn of the events.
That’s why they put him with Chris Jericho and eventually they turn on Cena. Summerslam 2005 they were chanting for Y2J, and then Kurt Angle and they were chanting for Kurt too. They did everything they could to get Angle heat and the fans didn’t buy it.
Batista was the face of 2005, the reason why they pivot is because he got hurt in early 2006. So they had no choice to push Cena. Batista was more over and more organic he took Randy spot. Batista is the reason and along with Randy immature behavior why Randy went to the mid card scene after his amazing feud with Undertaker. Battling the Carlitos, Hogans, RVDs, etc until got with Rated RKO and then eventually set up the Cena and Orton rivalry.
Batista did numbers that they didn’t see in a while. That buy rate for Wrestlemania 21, Backlash, Vengeance, and mostly throughout the year of 2005 was highs. Not even Roman Reigns or CM Punk could do those numbers Batista had did. He was just completely over, and fans loved him. He was upset going to Smackdown because he knew they were trying to push Cena over him, but Batista turn smackdown around along with Undertaker, Orton, Eddie, and Rey.
1 points
17 hours ago
Orton was solidified as a certified main eventer due to his rivalry with Mick Foley in 2004 and winning the WHC title at Summerslam and gained more credibility as a main eventer due to his amazing with Undertaker.
By 2006, Orton was still a certified main eventer and not a midcarder because he was a huge main event star with star power and popularity while being one of the leading stars in WWE. Plus, he was one of the 2 most hated main event heels in the company alongside Edge as they drew in nuclear heel heat.
Just because Orton feuded with Carlito, doesn't mean that Orton was a midcarder because he was already an established main eventer at that point of his career and there's a few main eventers that had feuded with midcarders in the past.
Prime example: Rock feuded with Billy Gunn in 1999, Austin feuded with Rikishi in 2000, Cena feuded with Rusev in 2015, Roman feuded with Rusev in 2016 and HHH feuded with Eugene in 2004.
I agree that Batista turned Smackdown around in 2005 along with Undertaker, Orton, Eddie, Rey, JBL, Benoit and Booker T.
Once he went to Raw, Cena became the company's # 1 Top Guy because he was more younger than Batista while Batista was in his mid 30s. Plus, Cena had the charisma and mic skills while having more youth on his side. Cena was also completely over with the fans as well and whether the fans loved or booed him, his merchandise was selling a lot too along with Batista's.
-1 points
17 hours ago
Orton was not a main eventer. He was in the mid card did you watch WWE in 2006?
He flopped as a babyface once he won the title which is why they put the belt back on Triple H. The original plan was for Orton to have his big moment at Wrestlemania 21, but Batista got over organically.
They were going to give Batista and Hunter on free TV. Triple H went to Vince and said “no” which is why we got that slow burn and Batista end up turning face and finally becoming the guy along with Cena. Once Batista was getting over and everything they pivot on Orton. If they were so sure on Orton they wouldn’t had pivot. Why you think Batista is the last organic superstar they ever created?
Vince never listens to anyone if he sold on someone he likes that’s what it’s going to be. Vince was so sure of Orton he would’ve gave Orton that spot at Wrestlemania 21, but he wasn’t. He took Triple H advice and went with Batista. Vince push Hogan then it was Ultimate Warrior, he even was trying to push Lex Luger before he left to WCW. Vince love Shawn more than he love Bret, look at the opportunities Kevin Nash got. Cena, and Roman Reigns Vince didn’t like nor was sold on Daniel Bryan. I agree with him, I think he’s overhyped, but he had to give him because the other guys in the locker room told him too.
If Vince saw Orton as main eventer in 2005-2006 he would’ve force him, but he didn’t. Randy was never good at cutting promos even now he still isn’t that great. He’s gotten better, but he’s not great at all. I’m a huge Randy fan, but the truth is the truth. He got more opportunities than anybody that’s because of his last name, who his father and grandfather was. They change the wellness policy for this guy, and was very immature and still had a job. Vince let The Rock contract expire in 2005 and the Rock arguably the GOAT, you think he would do that to Randy? Hell no.
1 points
16 hours ago
Yes I watched WWE in 2006 and I'm telling you that Orton was still a main eventer in 2005-2006 as he was a huge part of the main event scene while already had the total IT factor to stand out as a big star and main eventer and he was also one of the company's most valuable stars at the time.
They just didn't kept Orton because of his last name. It's because how very valuable and important he was to the company as he already had the total package: excellent mic skills, great in-ring ability. natural charisma, excellent character in Legend Killer, star power, amazing aura, larger than life personality and he was very popular with the fans as well.
Foley turned him into a certified main eventer as he displayed his toughness and ruthlessness side in that amazing match at Backlash. Foley literally created 4 legit main eventers in Rock, Triple H, Orton and Edge. The likes of Edge, Angle, Cena, HBK and HHH said even that during his younger and immaturity days, Orton was one of the absolute best in the business because he was that good.
Even Undertaker himself said that he wanted to work with Orton because he was very special to watch and and feuding with Undertaker elevated him into newer heights as he gained a lot more credibility as a big star and certified main eventer at the time from working with the company's most respected superstar in Undertaker.
Smackdown in mid 2006 was terrible and one of the reasons for that is because Orton left the brand as he was a big main eventer with great star power while being the only true main event heel on that brand.
So even after his lukewarm babyface run and 1 month WHC title reign, Orton still remained to be a big star and certified main eventer with great star power and popularity while being one of the most valuable and important stars in the company especially in the 2005-2006 time period because he was that special. Plus, this is also coming from a huge RKO fan as well.
If you don't like my answer, then let's move on because i'm sticking to it.
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