10 Most Underrated WWE Ruthless Agression Era Stars
Ruthless Aggression is often ruthlessly underrated in the WWE history books.
When wrestling fans think of WWE's Ruthless Aggression era, certain names immediately spring to mind: the likes of Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar, Dave Batista and, of course, John Cena. Ultimate superstars of the industry, they didn’t just break through the glass ceiling, they totally shattered it.
All would become a multi-time World Champions in WWE, leading the WWE out of the Attitude Era and into the future. However, for every Randy Orton, there’s a host of Tyson Tomkos; for every John Cena, there’re ten Rodney Macks; for every Dave Batista, there’s countless Ricos; and for every Brock Lesnar there’s a whole line of Simon Deans.
Not every wrestler can make it to the promised land of the WWE Title picture and, for some, it’s a real crime they didn’t. Whether they were a victim of circumstance, wrestling politics, or just poor decision making, there are dozens of main event worthy talents that never made it to the WWE Championship and their respective careers have since been all but forgotten by WWE.
Let’s look back at ten examples of the most criminally underrated stars of the WWE’s “Ruthless Aggression” era.
10. A-Train
With a killer look, a physically imposing build and a believable style, Matt Bloom had everything Vince McMahon could want in a monster heel.
After several failed gimmicks in the years prior, the former Prince Albert bounced back from a number of mid-card partnerships to become an imposing force in Paul Heyman’s SmackDown of 2002. The badass from Boston finally looked set for his big push in 2003.
Teaming up with Big Show and Paul Heyman, the newly christened A-Train would become a force to be reckoned with in 2003 and see Bloom have his first match on the main card of WrestleMania since 2000. Better still, he was booked opposite The Undertaker, immortalising him as one of the names on ‘Taker’s legendary WrestleMania streak.
Placed in marquee matches on SD throughout 2003, Bloom looked on course for a lengthy run as a top heel; however, he was traded to Raw the following March and suffered a torn rotator cuff that ended his WWE career at the time.
Bloom would make a name for himself as Giant Bernard in Japan in the years that followed, returning to WWE in 2012 as Lord Tensai. The gimmick, though well built prior to his arrival, soon flopped and he was back to his losing ways within months, eventually retiring in 2014.