10 Best Years In WWE History

6. 1990

Steve Austin Vince McMahon Raw 1997
WWE

1990 was, quietly, a year which changed the face of the Federation forever.

The face vs. face match between Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior was the first of its kind (at least on that scale) Vince McMahon had promoted. And despite his proclamation in 1997 that fans were bored of "good guys versus bad guys", the face vs. heel match remains the norm in WWE to this day.

That said, the WrestleMania VI main event paved the way for matches of this type, and blurred the line between face and heel alignment. Though he'd often have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the same conclusion, that he allowed fans to split their loyalty back in 1990 was a marked departure from the days where business could be carried solely by one universally beloved headline face act.

The finish may have been undermined by Hogan's barely-there kickout and look of abject shock, but it was a quality outing between two talents who were otherwise fairly limited.

Elsewhere, Jake Roberts and Ted DiBiase entered into a midcard feud for the ages, one which due its classic storytelling mechanism of rich versus poor stood no chance of similarly dividing fan sentiment.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!