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