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WWEhas often delimit itself by unlike earned run average throughout its cosmos . Each of these places in time represents not only the over - arching philosophy at the metre , and it ’s symbolized by the wrestlers who came to excrescence then . There was the Rock ' n ' Wrestling Era , the New Generation , etc . that were the themes of World Wrestling Entertainment over the year .
In the 90 , the renowned Attitude Era serve WWE win the Monday Night Wars , but what came next facilitate the party germinate and get a lot young . The Ruthless Aggression Era- which occurred from 2002 to 2008 - attempted to keep the fellowship ’s momentum going . While it fell scant of its predecessor , Ruthless Aggression did represent a turning of the pageas Ohio Valley Wrestling ’s noted Class of 2002 begin drink down up on the main roster . That let in John Cena , Brock Lesnar , Dave Bautista , Randy Orton , Shelton Benjamin , and Victoria - all of whom had a huge impact during their fourth dimension in the doughnut .
In hindsight , the Ruthless Aggression Era had a mix of both good and bad moments that make it memorable . consider it now , almost 20 age afterward , dedicate us a clearer perspective of both the pro and cons of this polar prison term in WWE History .
9The Brand Split
Suddenly, the Red and Blue Brands Were Separate
In what has always been considered a controversial decisiveness on WWE ’s part , RAWandSmackdownwent from plainly being different programs to being islands unto themselves . They were labeled as the blood-red brand and the blue firebrand , and the publicity form a second world championship .
While the thought of a party deliver two figurehead and treat the two shows as if they were separate bothered some traditionalists , it fortified the roll . look back , the brand name split up allow more talent to get hebdomadal airtime , as well as change shows if their turn got cold . It also usher in the WWE Lottery , where stars could be call for from the blue side and brought to the red side - and vice versa .
At the clip , it was hard to absolve splitting the company correctly down the midsection . But in the last , it turned out to be a grace for WWE.They took full reward of their 60 minutes of scheduling to contrive two successful rosters at the same fourth dimension .
8The In-Ring Action Improved
WWE Superstars Focused on Wrestling Over Gimmicks
There ’s no uncertainty about it : World Wrestling Entertainment produced some of the very best in - doughnut performers the industry has ever run across . The tight - paced and high - impact moves of grappler like Brock Lesnar , Kurt Angle , Eddie Guerrero , and Randy Orton looked very different from the slower , plodding fighters of the 80s and much of the 90s .
The sweet-scented scientific discipline of operate a professional grapple match was taken to a whole new point duringthe Angle - Lesnar feud , which provided the fan with a looking at the time to come . The two mega - athletes were the prototypes of what WWE would later become - a stocked with cabinet of principal who could match their strenuosity with anyone on the satellite .
7The Oversaturation of Premium Programming
The Chinks in WWE’s Armor Were Beginning to Show
Between summate ECW as a third brand and trying to capitalize on their mastery of the pro wrestling mart , WWE kept producing more programming during the Ruthless Aggression Era . That watered down the product , along with debase fans ' wallets thinner and tenuous .
Perhaps nothing illustrate this more than the re - launch of theGreat American Bashas an extra pay - per - view consequence . It fizzled , as did many of WWE ’s other endeavor to add premium event to the hand-to-hand struggle calendar . Being the only show in townspeople , the promotion had to try and outdo itself every clip out , and that was beginning to become more and more difficult . It was just a short too much WWE , all the metre , and it pop out a trend where fan were more choosy about their wrestling purchases .
6John Cena Carried the Banner, For Better or Worse
Big Match John Was Over-Exposed During the Era
No grappler better defines this time thanJohn Cena . He kicked off the Era by declaring to Kurt Angle that he had ' remorseless aggression ' , before slapping him and giving the Olympian grinder one hell of a challenge . Once the kid arrive on the scene , it was n’t long before Vince McMahon tabbed him as his next franchise musician .
For years,‘Super Cena ' was the poster tiddler of the Ruthless Aggression Era , and he get the bighearted babyface get-up-and-go in the promotion since Hulk Hogan in the mid-1980s . And just like The Hulkster , his function as the unvanquishable good guy begin to wear thin .
Cody Rhodes had his first encounter with John Cena on this week ’s variation of RAW on Netflix , but who won their hot face - off ?
As the old age go by , Cena ’s ceaseless button get to bear on the lover . ahead of time on , he was adored , but by the ending of this period , he had been so overexposed that he was starting to get a line boos . That drift would pass well into the 2010s before even the rooter who disliked him gave him his flowers .
5The ECW Re-Boot Was Extremely Awful
It Never Captured the Magic of Its Namesake
While this topic has been beat to death , it ’s still a part of the Ruthless Aggression era , so it must be mentioned here . Whilethe original incarnation of Extreme Championship Wrestlingwas innovative , its late version in WWE was NOT .
Hoping to capitalise on the winner of their One - Night Stand pay - per - view and a routine of Extreme nostalgia , World Wrestling Entertainment launch a new version of ECW in 2006 . Unfortunately , they never re - captured the same rough border and hardcore trend of the small company from Philly . WWE ’s version of ECW floundered around for a few years and was eventually discontinued in 2010 .
4A Little Too Much Triple H
The Game Dominated WWE Television at the Time
Triple H had a literal chokehold on WWE programming during the Ruthless Aggression Era . It was n’t uncommon for him to kick off an episode ofRAW -walking to the ring with his title belt - then talk for 20–25 minutes before any action begin . It was a formula that began to wear on the fans over clip . Not help the matter at all was the fact that wrestling fans knew that he was married to the boss ' girl . That family connection line the ire of the WWE Universe , especially as he continued to abide on top at all times .
Looking back , however , Triple H ’s so - called Reign of Terroralso had a lot of great bit at this clock time . He want to forge himself into a 21st - century interlingual rendition of Ric Flair . And in many ways , he did . He played an amazing villain during Ruthless Aggression , which was likely fuel by the WWE Universe ’s real - living resentment toward him .
3The Spinner Belt Was Pretty Silly-Looking
The Cartoonish Look Tarnished the Title
An absolute eyesore , the spinner belt , along with all its multifariousness and incarnations , is a black optic on the era . Yes , it was a way to elevate John Cena by give him a backing that was unique to him and his character . But at the same time , it depend ridiculous when someone else was behave it . ( And do n’t even get me started when it comes to Edge ’s Rated - R version , which was even worse . )
Not much more to tot to this one , other than that the travesty of a title of respect looked silly then , and it ’s downright farcical when you view it through the lens of 2025 . It was almost cartoonish . as luck would have it , the championships carried by WWE todayare befitting of the amazing athlete who extend them .
2The Women’s Division Was Better Than It Is Remembered
Groundbreaking Performers Emerged During The Era
While today ’s Women ’s Division is one of the most important parts of WWE programming , it was n’t always that fashion . The early 2000s catch the company veer off from traditional wrestling towards more of the ' Divas ' manner of performing . But that did n’t stop over some very important figures from bust onto the shot .
Most notably , Mickie James , Gail Kim , and Victoria all help oneself form this point in WWE ’s chronicle . Each of them could rightfully be enshrined in the WWE Hall of Fame someday . Along with the newcomers , Attitude Era holdovers Lita and Trish Stratus also rose to the social occasion . So , while it ’s true that this time eventually led to bikini models fighting in Jell - atomic number 8 and even gown matches , there was a splinter of time when the ladies had the prospect to polish .
1The Class of 2002
There Will Never Be a Crop of Young Stars Like It Again
They have been mentioned quite often as part of the Ruthless Aggression Era already , and for good rationality . The assemblage ofstars that emerged from developmental dominion , Ohio Valley Wrestling , has shape the WWE for the twenty-first Century . Most of them are still actively involve in wrestling , 23 years later .
It ’s extremely likely that all the performing artist involve will finally be named to the WWE Hall of Fame , or could at least be mentioned in the discussion . virtuoso like Cena , Lesnar , Orton , and Batista were main consequence stars and headline nearly all the caller ’s premium events for two decades . Their legacy is matchless .
