5 Best Years In WWE History (& 5 Worst)
WWE is indisputably the greatest wrestling company of all time. This promotion has had memorable moments, hot streaks and golden years, where the product was amazing, with epic matches and interesting storylines, and the fans couldn't ask for more.
RELATED: 10 Ways WWE's Booking Style Has Evolved/Changed Over The Years
However, even the biggest company goes through bad times. WWE has had some bad years, where they didn't have as many superstars, they made the wrong booking decisions and seemed to not care about the fans, overall the product was mediocre. So, without further ado, let's take a look at the five best years in WWE history, and the five worst.
10 Best: 2002
It's hard to find a WWE roster more stacked than 2002. In that year the star power was ridiculous, there were several wrestlers who ended up becoming legends. We are talking about Kurt Angle, Edge, Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam, Brock Lesnar, Eddie Guerrero, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan, the Hardy brothers, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, The Undertaker, Kane, among others.
RELATED: Every WWE PPV From 2002, Ranked Worst To Best
That was a crucial year in WWE history, because it marked the beginning of the Ruthless Aggression Era and the brand extension. In addition, in 2002 there were incredible PPVs such as SummerSlam, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble and No Mercy.
9 Worst: 1993
1993 was a very tough year for WWE. That year the roster was thin, there were not so many good matches and most of the feuds were forgettable. That led to the PPVs (except King Of The Ring 1993) being mediocre. That was the year Yokozuna defeated Bret Hart to win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 9, but Hulk Hogan showed up to take the title and the spotlight away from him.
Also, it was the year Lex Luger defeated Yokozuna by count out and celebrated like a fool despite not winning the title. In addition, Vince McMahon had legal problems. The only good thing about that year was the creation of Monday Night Raw.
8 Best: 1997
Despite the competition, which had nWo and Sting, WWE managed to have an excellent year in 1997. It was then when Mr. McMahon was born, when Steve Austin started to transform into Stone Cold, when Bret Hart was in his prime, when we had one of the best matches of all time (Austin vs. Hart at WrestleMania 13), when Kane debuted, and also the Montreal Screwjob happened. It's also worth mentioning 1998 was amazing as 1997, even though the PPVs that year weren't great, there were several memorable storylines and moments.
7 Worst: 2015
There were good moments in 2015, like Seth Rollins' cash-in at WrestleMania 31 or John Cena's United States Title reign, but that's not enough to save the year. Roman Reigns' overpush, the women's division, a terrible use of monsters like Ryback, Rhyno and The Big Show, mediocre storylines and terrible PPVs like Fastlane, Extreme Rules, Royal Rumble or Survivor Series, among other things, made 2015 a lackluster year.
6 Best: 1987
Wrestling changed completely in 1987, mainly due to WrestleMania 3, an event that featured one of the greatest matches of all time, Hulk Hogan versus Andre The Giant. For the first time ever, millions of people around the world were interested in a WWE match. The company grew a lot that year, and, even though the quality in the ring was not the best, the fans enjoyed the product very much. Also, it is worth mentioning that 1988 and 1989 were great years for WWE.
5 Worst: 2007
In 2007, WWE was overshadowed by unfortunate events that frankly aren't worth mentioning, but those things were so shocking that the product couldn't recover. Yes, there were good PPVs like WrestleMania 23 and Backlash 2007, and there were some good feuds, but overall, the booking left a lot to be desired.
RELATED: Every WWE PPV Main Event From 2007, Ranked Worst To Best
John Cena defeated every heel that challenged him, and the fans eventually got bored with the same thing. The Great Khali became one of the worst World Champions in history, we had the Vince McMahon's illegitimate son angle and several wrestlers got injured.
4 Best: 2000
WWE lost its biggest star (Steve Austin) due to injury, and despite going most of the year without him, the company put on an amazing product. The main event scene was phenomenal, the roster had a lot of depth, the storylines were great, and both the television and PPVs were top-notch. The Rock was the most popular wrestler in the company, Triple H was the biggest heel, the tag team division was better than ever, and there are many more reasons why this was a fantastic year.
3 Worst: 2010
We'd say 2018 was a terrible year for WWE, but NXT was phenomenal that year and there were some great matches on the main roster as well. In 2010, on the other hand, there was nothing to save WWE, not even the all-time classic between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. The memorable matches can be counted on the fingers of one hand, the storylines were mediocre and the PPVs were average overall.
2 Best: 2001
WWE extended its good momentum from 2000 to 2001. Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock carried the company, headlining arguably the best PPV in WWE history (WrestleMania 17) with a phenomenal match. But it would be unfair to give all the credit to the two of them, because there were a lot of talented wrestlers on the roster, including newcomers from WCW. The in-ring quality, character work and great storylines combined to create an exceptional product. TV ratings were up, PPV sales were up, and the fans were more invested than ever.
1 Worst: 1995
Many fans agree that 1995 was the worst year in WWE history. Diesel was the WWE Champion for most of the year, the main event of WrestleMania was Lawrence Taylor versus Bam Bam Bigelow, and practically every PPV was lackluster. There were weird gimmicks like Xanta Klaus, Phantasio or Mantaur. PPV sales were down, house show and event sales were down, and ratings were down as well. WWE was desperate and made decisions that only made things worse.
