Ranking Who Was Really The Man In Wrestling Every Year 1990-2020

16. 2005 - Batista

Austin Jericho
WWE

Nothing was worth living through the Reign of Terror, but Batista's rise made you glad it existed in retrospect.

Batista was a gigantic, elemental destroyer irresistible to get behind with the most perfect villain to overcome at the perfect time: Triple H, the suffocating presence who might have been labelled a pantomime villain, were any of it any fun. Batista's success was more than situational, as he proved throughout the course of his long-term programme with Triple H. The match quality improved throughout, considerably, as the novelty of a new superstar gave way to the substantive craft of a Champion.

The first match was the weakest in-ring, but the biggest of all time gauging by one key metric: WrestleMania 21 set a record number of pay-per-view purchases.

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!