10 Underrated PPVs From WWE's Ruthless Aggression Era
Change can sometimes be a good thing.
The ‘Ruthless Aggression’ era was handicapped from the very start, since it followed the most popular period in WWE’s history: the Attitude Era. Stars were born from dismissing the typical conventions of what a wrestler was supposed to be, which isn’t easily replicated when you shift your focus to a different demographic.
From 2002 to 2008, Ruthless Aggression symbolised the need for a transcendant all-round superstar: one who had the mic work to carry a show but had more in-ring ability to sell a feud going forward. Superstars such as Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton, and Batista, just to name a few, owe their success to the impact that they had whilst debuting within this era, which allowed for a less risky but more creative edge to programming.
Whilst this period had some disappointments and isn’t looked back on with many fond memories, it is important to recognise some of the incredible programming and booking that made men look like stars.
10. No Mercy 2003
Match of the Night: John Cena vs Kurt Angle
At this point in the year, SmackDown was starting to challenge Raw on a weekly basis for ratings. Seen as the second show compared to their flagship programme, they had more to gain and less to lose from the success of their brand exclusive PPVs. The weekly show was consistently delivering strong storylines and started the build early for WrestleMania by putting the emphasis on talent that would bring SmackDown success for years to come. By the time No Mercy came to be, it seemed every talent had a part to play in its dynamic brand, seemingly knowing that its use of authority figures worked with the amount of personable wrestlers they had.
Big Show would win the US Title from Eddie Guerrero and would hold that belt until WrestleMania XX, where he would lose to John Cena. Cena in turn lost to Kurt Angle at No Mercy, who would then go on to a programme with Eddie at WMXX. This just shows how talented and versatile the roster was at the time. One uncomfortable moment manifested itself in the Vince vs Stephanie ‘I Quit’ match, which typified the Ruthless Aggression era in a nutshell: WWE wanted the edge of the Attitude Era but didn’t know how to define the boundaries just yet. But we were treated to some hidden gems in the meantime.