10 Wrestlers With The Best Claim To Be On The Mount Rushmore Of The WWE New Generation Era

The New Generation Era name signified what Vince McMahon looked to accomplish during a tough time in WWE history. Iconic top names leaving the company or growing old led to Vince wanting to truly commit to a youth movement. New talents were signed, and hard-working mid-carders were given a chance to move up the card.

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The Mount Rushmore of the New Generation would indicate the top four overall talents with others having a fair argument. WWE giving the spotlight to more talents changed the product for good with stronger work rate and deeper storytelling than the Hogan years. Each of the following names would be most considered for the New Generation Era’s Mount Rushmore in WWE.

10 Steve Austin

Steve Austin was the last breakout star of the New Generation Era to take that momentum into the Attitude Era. WWE originally hired Austin to have Ted DiBiase as his manager, but it was easily realized that he was better on his own.

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The epic rivalry between Bret Hart and Austin played out during the tail end of the New Generation Era. Austin getting a chance against a top name and become one of the hottest things in wrestling summed up what that era in WWE was all about.

9 Sycho Sid

Sycho Sid is often an overlooked main eventer of the New Generation Era when looking back today. WWE brings Sid back less than any other world champion of that time to make it easy to forget just how heavily he was pushed.

Sid won the WWE Championship twice and had the best run of his career scoring victories over Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. WWE trusted Sid to main event WrestleMania 13 putting over The Undertaker as a top heel of that time.

8 Mankind

WWE signed Mick Foley to portray the Mankind character when Jim Ross suggested the hire to Vince McMahon. Mankind got over as a relevant heel in his first program getting to feud with The Undertaker. The character work showed Foley’s greatest skill set, along with his entertaining form of violence.

Mankind broke out during this time with great performances against Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Triple H. The Attitude Era is the time Foley is remembered for, but he was among the bigger signings of the New Generation Era.

7 Yokozuna

Yokozuna was one of the first new talents pushed when the New Generation Era started. WWE gave Yokozuna some huge moments eliminating Randy Savage to win the Royal Rumble, defeated Hulk Hogan in his final WWE match for years, and won the WWE Championship twice.

The peak run of Yokozuna ended faster than most main eventers to rank him lower. WWE realized Yokozuna’s weight issues was negatively impacting his work and health when sending him off screen for a while. Regardless, the success makes Yokozuna an easy candidate for any New Generation Era list.

6 Razor Ramon

Scott Hall changed his career forever when signing with WWE to portray the Razor Ramon character. The gimmick was inspired by the Tony Montana character in Scarface and got over huge within a few months of his debut.

Razor turning face just added to his momentum as one of the most over stars of the time. Even though he never won the WWE Championship, Hall was as important as most main eventers. WWE trusted Ramon to become the most beloved Intercontinental Champion at the time.

5 Owen Hart

WWE pushed Owen Hart in one of the better storylines of the New Generation Era against his brother Bret Hart. The heel turn of Owen betraying Bret out of jealousy set him up for an outstanding next few years as a top tier villain character.

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Multiple Bret vs Owen matches helped define the era with epic in-ring performances. Owen contributed in every area with great matches in singles or tag team action. The Hart Foundation faction forming reunited Owen with Bret for many more great moments.

4 Diesel

Kevin Nash was another of the new talents coming to WWE and getting a massive push as Diesel. WWE took a risk by having Diesel win the WWE Championship on a random house show one day without much of a story.

Fans did enjoy Diesel as one of the most important names of the era in the main event scene. Nash stepped up to have great performances against Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. WWE took it as a huge loss when Nash left for a bigger WCW contract.

3 The Undertaker

The Undertaker was already an established character when the New Generation Era started, but he was finally able to add some depth to this character. WWE moved Undertaker into a bigger role having main event feuds.

This era saw many talents jumping back and forth between WCW and WCW. Undertaker was among the few names to never leave WWE once he joined the company. The New Generation Era even gave Undertaker his first “crowning moment” by winning the WWE Championship in the WrestleMania 13 main event.

2 Shawn Michaels

WWE established Shawn Michaels as a great tag team wrestler in The Rockers and split them up for a bigger push. Michaels instantly showed why he was worthy of a bigger push by having classic match after classic match in a singles role.

Epic performances against Bret Hart, Diesel, Jeff Jarrett, Mankind and just about any other top name proved Michaels was a great main event in-ring worker. The WWE Championship win at WrestleMania 12 showed that Michaels made it to the top of the wrestling world and held a major spot since then.

1 Bret Hart

No other wrestler defined the New Generation Era as much as Bret Hart. Vince McMahon rewarded Bret’s outstanding tag team work in the Golden Era by pushing him in a singles role. The fans bought into Hart becoming a top star and even picked him over the more heavily pushed Lex Luger.

WWE saw Bret becoming the most beloved face of the time with dozens of great matches. Hart helped carry WWE with epic feuds against Owen Hart, Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels and others. The Hart Foundation forming at the end of the era created another legendary chapter to his career.