1. Kurt Angle
It should come as no surprise that there were quite a few recurring names on this list, Angle being one of them. He tops the list at number one for most influencing the modern fighting style in the WWE. Angle arrived in the WWE in 1999 and by early 2000 was receiving quite the push up the card. In a similar fashion to the push of Lesnar in 2002, Angle was quickly propelled into the spotlight and given a chance to prove himself worthy of holding a main event slot. As a winner of Olympic Gold in the 96 Summer Games and an immensely decorated amateur competitor, Angle had a knack for body control and plenty of athletic ability to match. What put Angle head and shoulders above the rest was his ability to consolidate those technical abilities with the showmanship and pageantry of a professional wrestling performance. While he excelled as a natural competitor, his charisma allowed him to work well as a foil to the larger-than-life personalities of The Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Though not a technically savvy altercation, Angle's encounter with Shane McMahon remains one of the more infamous matches of his career. Angle's strengths came from the ability to take the nuances of amateur wrestling and turn them into something that flowed nicely with the end product that WWE wanted. The take downs, the Rolling German suplexes, the "Angle Slam" and the Ankle Lock all became signatures of an ideal performer. Angle looked and acted the part of a professional wrestler, but he adapted what he knew to insert a more intense, forceful performance into WWEs main event picture at the time.