10 Best Years In WWE History

5. 2002

Steve Austin Vince McMahon Raw 1997
WWE.com

WWE dusted itself off from the regrettable mistakes of the ECWCW Invasion angle to present a corker of a follow-up year. Their mainstream appeal was waning slightly - but the match quality was almost peerless.

Part of what made 2002 so special was the return of Shawn Michaels. Returning after a four-year absence, Michaels was a different but better wrestler than he was even in 1997. Ironically, his back injury helped him become better.

He was always a fantastic bumper - but he became the best seller in wrestling on the strength of his return match with Triple H alone. His back looked to have been in such bother that it had the distinct air of a one-off, not the start of an eight year run which would give everyone from the Undertaker to Shelton Benjamin their best ever match.

The Paul Heyman-booked SmackDown was an incredible TV show, the smash success of which wasn't simply as a result of the SmackDown Six - Kurt Angle, Edge, Chris Benoit, Eddie and Chavo Guerrero and a debuting Rey Mysterio. Though their matches against and with one another were as exciting as they were nuanced, they didn't carry the brand alone.

Paul Heyman, as he so often did, accentuated headliner Big Show's positives and concealed his negatives by adjusting his look (and thereby removing his stigma) and shortening his matches.

A giant, realistically, should be able to defeat anybody in under five minutes - even a beast.

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!