WWE is by far the most famous, popular and recognisable wrestling company in the world has been for much of its existence.
The company was found in 1953 and was at first part of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) which had been founded five years prior. 30 years later, the company we know today was formed when Vince McMahon bought the company from his father and withdrew from the NWA.
From here, WWE grew rapidly, with the first WrestleMania taking place in 1985 and soon the wrestling business going from “rasslin” to sports entertainment. The 1980s, spearheaded by Hulk Hogan were a boom period for the industry.
Several fallow years followed in the early-to-mid 1990s before the dawn of the Attitude Era, the most popular time for WWE with the likes of The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin becoming household names across the world.
Many would argue that the business has not been anywhere near as good since the fall of WCW and ECW, and the subsequent end of the Attitude Era, but WWE has still had hugely successful stars and shows, with names like Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton and now Roman Reigns becoming some of their best ever superstars. Better days seem ahead with Triple H in charge.
But which years of WWE were the best? GiveMeSport takes you through the 10 best years in WWE’s history…
10. 1992
This year kicked off with possibly the greatest Royal Rumble match ever, in which Ric Flair won the WWE Championship for the first time. The long-time NWA/WCW icon’s arrival in WWE was intended to lead to a dream match with Hulk Hogan but instead he had an epic feud with Randy Savage.
Hogan was away for much of this year as he was phased out of the company, replaced by the likes of Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Diesel, Razor Ramon and The Undertaker as the “New Generation” era began, where in-ring ability became more important than cartoonish antics.
9. 2001
WrestleMania 17
WrestleMania 17 is by most accounts the greatest WrestleMania of all time, and if you cut the year off there, it would top this list. Or right before Stone Cold turned heel and joined forces with Vince McMahon. This, coupled with the end of the Monday Night Wars, signalled the end of the Attitude Era.
Things were not helped by long-term injuries to both Triple H and Chris Benoit, who were involved in storylines with Austin. The Invasion angle was the biggest missed opportunity in wrestling history, and by the end of the year, the company’s boom period was definitively over.
8. 1999
The year in which WWE won the Monday Night Wars and never looked back. However, it was also a year in which Vince Russo’s Jerry Springer-like TV booking went out of control, with constant swerves and title changes hampering the product. He departed for WCW before the end of the year.
The reveal of Vince McMahon as the “higher power” to the Ministry made no sense for example. Still, the year did have many highlights – Mick Foley winning his first WWE title, Stone Cold vs The Rock Part I at WrestleMania, Triple H’s ascension to the main event and his marriage to Stephanie and Chris Jericho’s arrival as the Y2J problem.
7. 1989
The final year of the true wrestling boom of the 1980s and one which featured arguably WWE’s two biggest stars of the decade colliding at WrestleMania as “The Mega Powers exploded.” Hulk Hogan challenged and of course defeated Randy Savage for the WWE Title.
1989 also saw the rise of The Ultimate Warrior, who won the Intercontinental Championship at Summerslam, and would soon be groomed to be the man to replace Hogan as the face of the company.
6. 2002
Perhaps the most transitionary year in WWE history. 2002 started with the company looking to move past the Invasion and Stone Cold heel turn of 2001 and started strongly with Triple H’s all-time great return and then the arrival of the NWO at No Way Out 2002. This led to one of the greatest WrestleMania matches ever between Hogan and The Rock.
By the end of the year, The Rock was finished as a full-time performer. Stone Cold walked out on the company in 2002. Brock Lesnar debuted in March and was WWE Champion by Summerslam, an event that also saw the in-ring return of Shawn Michaels. Cena, Orton and Batista joined him on the main roster. The year also saw the original brand split, with Eric Bischoff shockingly becoming the Raw GM. 2002 was wild from start to finish.
5. 2005
John Cena Batista
The year that saw John Cena shoot into superstardom, winning his first-ever WWE Title at WrestleMania 21. He was joined as a World Champion by Batista, who defeated Triple H at the same event after winning the Royal Rumble. The two men then switched brands as Cena was anointed the No.1 guy on Raw.
Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels had an epic feud and trio of matches, their first meetings in the ring. HBK also faced off with Hulk Hogan in a dream match at Summerslam. The year also saw the best battle of the brands between Raw and Smackdown. The year ended on an extremely sad note with the tragic passing of Eddie Guerrero in November.
4. 1985
The year in which wrestling and WWE went mainstream. Hulkamania had been running wild since the year prior, and only grew with the inaugural WrestleMania in March. The event was celebrity heavy with Mr. T teaming with Hogan against Roddy Piper and Paul Orndoff in the main event.
Muhammed Ali served as a special guest referee, and Cyndi Lauper also appeared, two of the biggest stars in the world at the time. The event was seen by over one million viewers on TV, making it the largest wrestling PPV TV showing ever in the US at the time. The boom had begun.
3. 1997
Stone Cold Steve Austin
1997 saw WWE finally move out of their early-to-mid 1990s slump and move forward with the dawn of the Attitude Era, which officially began towards the end of the year. The year was dominated by the on and off-screen feud between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, and of course the Montreal Screwjob.
Prior to that, Hart and Stone Cold had orchestrated a brilliant double turn at WrestleMania 13, which led to Austin’s rise to the very top of the wrestling world. 1997 also brought the arrival of D-Generation X, The Rock, Kane, the “Mr. McMahon” character, and the McMahon-Austin rivalry. Game changing.
2. 1998
WWE followed up on its promising 1997 with an even better year as they caught up with WCW in the ratings war and soon began beating them. 1998 started with Austin winning his first Royal Rumble. At the same event, Shawn Michaels suffered the back injury that led to his four-year retirement.
His presumed final match was the main event of WrestleMania 14, where he passed the torch to Austin – Mike Tyson counted the pinfall. 1998 saw The Rock capture his maiden WWE Title, Triple H assume leadership of DX, and the McMahon-Austin feud kick into overdrive. Epic.
1. 2000
Triple H
The best year in WWE’s history and Stone Cold was out for most of it, having undergone neck surgery and in storyline “run over.” The “Whodunnit” became a long-running angle throughout the year, with Rikishi and then Triple H being revealed as the mystery assailant(s).
With Austin out, The Game came to the fore, engaging in a brilliant feud with Mick Foley at the start of the year before he and The Rock feuded over the WWE Title for much of the year. The Undertaker returned as the “American Badass”, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit debuted, Kurt Angle won his first WWE Title. The sole disappointment weirdly was WrestleMania, which didn’t live up to the hype.
The best year in company history ended with the most chaotic and star-studded main event possible, a six-man Hell in a Cell at Armageddon. It hasn’t been the same since.