Posted in: Doctor's Orders
Doctor's Orders: The Top 100 Stars Of The Post-Attitude Era (#15-#11) - Are We Destined To Overrate Daniel Bryan?
By The Doc
Aug 13, 2016 - 8:42:31 AM


Third Edition: On Sale Now!




About a year ago, a frequent collaborator on “The Doc Says” podcast – David Fenichel - suggested to me a column series that would begin to turn our historical attention toward that which came after the vaunted Attitude Era. With an eye on something fresh, he suggested that we identify the most accomplished wrestlers of the “post-Attitude Era” - from present day back to the night after WrestleMania X-8 as we have defined it. So, welcome to a labor of pro wrestling love roughly one year in the making.

We ranked our top 100 wrestlers based on a point system that involved headlining matches for WrestleMania, Summerslam, Survivor Series, The Royal Rumble, and all other PPVs, combined with a points formula based on titles won and length of reigns. While it was more difficult to ascertain the status of certain members of the WWE – namely tag teams, divas and legends w/ short tenures during this era, we believe that this is as unbiased of a countdown as you are going to find. Chad and I did a tremendous amount of work putting this together for you, so we hope that you enjoy the ride.

20. John "Bradshaw" Layfield
19. Kane
18. Rey Mysterio
17. Chris Benoit
16. Alberto Del Rio
15. Sheamus
14. The Rock
13. Daniel Bryan
12. Kurt Angle
11. Big Show


20. John "Bradshaw" Layfield



Dave: I have to admit that when JBL went from tag team mid-carder to main eventer, I thought it would never work. Never in a million years did I think that he would become one of my favorite heels ever. His main event run lasted less than one year but it was incredibly memorable. His title reign was not only one of the longest in this era, but also one of the most underrated title reigns ever. I could argue that he has top ten mic skills of all time. He was a heel heat magnet, so much so that he was the guy chosen to put John Cena over and cement him as the next huge superstar at WrestleMania 21. Although JBL never regained the kind of success as he had during that year, he’s one of the few guys that maintained his heat until the day that he retired.

Doc: JBL’s career offers hope to anyone who has been saddled with the label “mid-carder for life.” We surely thought that would apply to Bradshaw, the clearly charismatic tag team wrestler from 1996-to-early 2004. Yet, out he walked one random night on Smackdown with a suit on and his financial advice book in hand. A brilliant series of promos across an eight week span later and he had completely redefined himself. The longest WWE Championship reign in Smackdown brand history followed, as did a classic series of matches with Eddie Guerrero that I would rate as last decade’s most underrated. Dave mentioned that he never recaptured that magic after 2004/2005, but I’d like to point out that his headliner status never changed. He was a main-event player throughout 2005 and only temporarily took a backseat in 2006; then he returned for another 16 month run dotted with high profile matches. A true legend.

19. Kane



Kane is one of the most consistent talents in WWE history. There has never been a time in the post-Attitude Era in which he has been completely lost in the shuffle, continuing a trend he began in the Attitude Era. Kane always finds a valuable way to contribute. His peers revere him as a smart guy who just gets it. Surely his career track record reflects that. Even as he’s gotten on up there in age, he has maintained an important position on TV. He has been WWE’s ultimate utility headliner for over a decade, wrestling against the top guys whenever they needed a credible challenger; his 2010 run as World Heavyweight Champion was much deserved. The Big Red Machine is also one of the post-Attitude Era’s most successful Tag Team Champions (a stat that surprises many, I feel); his partnerships with Big Show and especially Daniel Bryan proved very important to his legacy.

There are three certainties in life – death, taxes and Kane being a major player in the WWE storylines. He’s been the model of consistency over the past twenty years, and his #19 ranking on our countdown despite never having a full-fledged main event run is a testament to that. I agree with everything Chad said here. To me, the most amazing part of Kane’s career is that he took a character that has little room for versatility and became one of the most versatile characters in the history of the WWE. A masked giant with an evil side isn’t supposed to be able to do comedy, yet Kane does comedy to perfection. It is his versatility that has allowed him to stay relevant. You name a major superstar in the post-attitude era, and Kane has feuded with him. I cannot say enough good things about Glen Jacobs.

18. Rey Mysterio



Rey Mysterio is the greatest high flyer of all time. To label him as just a high flying luchador doesn’t give him the credit he deserves. Rey Mysterio’s the total package in the ring, and can put on a great match with ANYONE. Some of my favorite matches include his ladder match against Eddie Guerrero at Summerslam, his World Title match against the Undertaker at the Royal Rumble, and his World Title “Defense” against John Cena on Monday Night Raw. Those three opponents with differing are prime examples of Mysterio’s ability to click with anyone. He’s a multi-time IC champion, multi-time cruiserweight champion, and multi-time tag champion with several different partners. Although never a “real” main eventer, I was ecstatic to see him get his due with a Royal Rumble victory and subsequent World Title Win at WrestleMania 22. Rey is a no brainer for the top 20 on our countdown.

Rey Mysterio had a truly remarkable WWE career. So remarkable, in fact, that I would take issue with Dave's statement about him never being a “real main-eventer.” I would argue that, from the time that Mysterio won the Royal Rumble until the Raw in which he won and lost the WWE Championship on the same night, the Master of the 619 was one of the Top 5-10 wrestlers in the business when healthy. He was one of the rare talents in the post-Attitude Era to ascend to that cushy spot atop the hierarchy where WWE never forgot to create a prominent place for him on their cards. Even when he would drop back into the mid-card, it was more so that he was elevating that previously lower position than the other way around. Oh, and the legendary matches! In addition to what Dave already mentioned, Mysterio's matches against Kurt Angle at Summerslam and his work against the rest of the Smackdown Six and the series with Jericho in 2009 stand out to me most.

17. Chris Benoit



Take away the final memory we all have of Chris Benoit, the man, and think back to all the memories provided by Chris Benoit, the wrestler, and it's easy to see why he ranks in the Top 20 of the post-Attitude Era. The Rabid Wolverine had a WrestleMania built around his 18 year odyssey to become the World Heavyweight Champion in WWE; that said Mania ended with the greatest triple threat match of all-time and Benoit making Triple H tap out means that the technical wrestling marvel owns one of the most phenomenal moments in wrestling lore. Sadly, you do have to weigh those memories against the heinous crimes he committed, but I personally have found a way to separate the wrestler from the man. Benoit is one of the all-time best, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Former World Champion, former IC Champion, former US Champion, former Tag Team Champion; main-evented WrestleMania and Summerslam and won the Royal Rumble. There was nothing he didn't accomplish.

I guess I should care more about what Benoit did, but I really don’t. I don’t view professional athletes as role models, including wrestlers. Strictly speaking on his in-ring career, Chris Benoit is the best technical wrestler of all time. I had the privilege of being at WrestleMania 20 to witness Chris Benoit’s greatest night in person. Not only was it the best triple threat match of all time, but I have it ranked as the 2nd best WrestleMania main event ever. WrestleMania 20, although not one of the better WrestleManias, was incredibly important because it was the first step in shaping wrestling today. It was the first time that the WWE allowed the internet wrestling fan to stand up and cheer. Without Benoit breaking the glass ceiling and winning the world title at WrestleMania, guys like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan may have never gotten their opportunity.

16. Alberto Del Rio



Alberto Del Rio’s career won’t get the credit that it deserves. Del Rio’s a guy who excelled and thrived since the day he debuted. In only five years, he’s already won a Money in the Bank match, a Royal Rumble and been in the world title match at WrestleMania twice. With the exception of missing time for a shoulder injury and losing about a year of his career due to being fired, Del Rio has never been lower than an upper mid-carder for his entire career. This has allowed him to headline many PPVs against the likes of Christian, Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus, and The Big Show. Del Rio’s an underrated technical wrestler who can have a great match with anyone. The internet wrestling fan seems to have turned on him, and for the life of me I can’t understand why. To me, I’ve always viewed him as a Mexican JBL.

There are only a handful of wrestlers who have had better careers this decade than Alberto Del Rio. From late summer 2010 until he departed WWE in 2014, you could have thrown a dart at the full list of PPVs and it'd have been hard not to hit one that featured Del Rio in either a match for the World Title or a match with World Title implications. He owned the World Heavyweight Championship division for the majority of three years. I have often referred to him as an automatic three-star match. It's been awfully rare for him not to have a good match on PPV. Though he has rarely had amazing matches, he does own one of my picks for most underrated match of the decade – vs. Christian at Extreme Rules 2011 (a truly remarkable Ladder match). The IWC dislikes him for his lack of promo skills, but I've never been sure why that matters considering his place on the card.

15. Sheamus



Here's another guy that the internet hates and another case in which I don't totally understand why. Sheamus is a very good professional wrestler. Sure, he wasn't much of a babyface, but who is in this day and age? It never hurt the quality of his matches; he played the superhero well enough to churn out a level of consistency on-par with Del Rio and the other elite WWE-style workers. His resume sparkles with four reigns as World Champion, one of which was a dominant, 200+ day run. At the top of the card, his list of good matches was extensive (see vs. Daniel Bryan, Del Rio, Big Show); and when he dropped down into the upper mid-card, his list of good matches was obviously not as distinguished, but was still certainly long (see vs. Cesaro, Ziggler, and Morrison). He basically did everything that Del Rio has done, only just a little bit better and in often higher profile and arguably more memorable situations. I'm a fan of the Celtic Warrior.

Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio have had remarkably similar careers. Like Del Rio, Sheamus has dominated since the day he entered the WWE, and has been either a main eventer or on the cusp of the main event for his entire stay. Like Del Rio, Sheamus won Money in the Bank, a Royal Rumble, and competed in a World title match at WrestleMania. I have several fond memories from his career. First, the shock of him winning his first title against John Cena. This was at a time when Cena simply didn’t lose, and I couldn’t believe that someone so new was given the rub like that. It just went to show you how serious the WWE was about Sheamus. Second, his 2 out of 3 falls match against Daniel Bryan at Extreme Rules 2012. Not only was this Sheamus’s best match, but I believe it was Bryan’s best match as well.

14. The Rock



The majority of the Rock's greatest accomplishments occurred during the Attitude Era. The truth is that he was barely around during the post-Attitude Era, and it’s a testament to the tremendous impact he made that he lands at #14 on our countdown. Every match he participated in was the main event. He enjoyed a short world title run at the beginning of this era, leading up to main eventing Summerslam against Lesnar. He returned the following year to headline against Hogan at No Way Out, Austin at Mania, and Goldberg the following month. He returned years later to main event Survivor Series in a tag match, main event WrestleMania 28 against Cena, main event the Royal Rumble and No Way Out against CM Punk, and close it out by main eventing WrestleMania 29 in a rematch with John Cena. His incredible headlining statistics make him worthy of his top 15 ranking.

The Rock may not have contributed much in the way of time to the post-Attitude Era, but there should be no questioning the impact made by his limited contributions. Some of the largest total number of special event purchases of the PPV Era were thanks to Rock finally coming back in 2011 – buys, by the way, that eclipsed even Attitude’s peak. I’m also a huge fan of the quality of his work in the designated time period, particularly his first match at Mania with John Cena. I have gone on-record and I’ll reiterate it again now that Cena vs. Rock is easily one of the greatest matches of all-time and that anyone who thinks otherwise has placed some odd, self-imposed restriction on its achievement. Actually, all of Rock’s matches this decade have been very good at least. I’m quite glad that Rock made a comeback, bottom line. I hope he’s got one more match in him.

13. Daniel Bryan



Daniel Bryan’s career was truly legendary. His placement on our list speaks volumes about the importance that we placed on main-eventing WrestleMania, as such an achievement has become – more so than the World Championship in this day and age – wrestling’s Holy Grail. The Summerslam that he main-evented in classic fashion against John Cena was a great feather in his cap, but being the superstar who gets the spotlight treatment as Mania fades to black catapulted Bryan to the Top 15. You combine his headlining statistics with his championship trophy case and the incredible performances that he had on the WWE stage from 2010 to 2015 and you will struggle to find a more decorated performer from this or any other decade. So, when it comes to Daniel Bryan, don’t bother with the “what ifs”; just celebrate what was a remarkable run in WWE and beyond. History smiles on him.

The internet whamboo bamboos will be very unhappy with me. Daniel Bryan had an incredible run from Summerslam 2013 to WrestleMania 30. He had a solid career prior to that, including a memorable tag title run as part of Team Hell No and a short but very good run with the World Heavyweight Title. Here’s the truth. His popularity was already starting to fade and his buzz had died down by the time he fought Kane at Extreme Rules 2014. Getting hurt was the best thing that ever happened to his legacy; it allowed the fans to remember his career how they wanted to, instead of how it actually was. Without the double headlining points he received at WrestleMania 30, he doesn’t crack the top 20. To me, his most remarkable accomplishment is that he’s one of the very few people to ever carry Dolph Ziggler to a great match.

12. Kurt Angle



This era contains 12 “big hitters”. The first is Kurt Angle. Simply put, he’s a wrestling machine. There has never been anyone who picked up the business faster than him, both from an in-ring and storyline perspective. Angle main evented WrestleMania 19, headlined the next three WrestleManias, and was a consistent staple as a PPV main eventer for that entire four year run. He won multiple world titles during this time period, and was quite simply the best wrestler on the planet. His match against Chris Benoit at the Royal Rumble 2003 is easily one of my top five all-time favorites. It’s a shame that his addiction to painkillers made him the biggest name casualty to the WWE’s crackdown following several high profile wrestler deaths. Kurt could have easily headlined for another five years and been an easy entrant into the top 5 of our list.

If Kurt Angle had wrestled for another 5 years in WWE, he wouldn’t just be Top 5 on our list, he’d be Top 5 of the entire WrestleMania Era. I blame Mark Henry; had he not put Batista on the shelf for Mania 22, Angle would’ve had a legendary match with Undertaker in Chicago that would’ve started “The Streak Within The Streak” a year early and WWE’s instant glorification of it would’ve allowed corporate’s camp to work things out with my Olympic Hero. I’m kidding, of course (sort of). Angle was an exemplary WWE Superstar; his match with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 21 is my all-time favorite match. It was actually his work with Edge at the very beginning of the post-Attitude Era that made me such an all-time fan of both Angle and the Rated R Superstar; I’d watch their Hair vs. Hair match ahead of 99% of the matches in wrestling history. Oh it’s true!

11. The Big Show



It might surprise readers that Big Show ranks this highly given the indifference developed toward him by the internet community in recent years. For the record, I too would like him to retire because I think he’s made minimal contributions to the product since 2013. That said, he’s had an amazing career; he’s an all-time great. Since 2002, he has been a multi-time World Champion, headlined WrestleManias, carried the ECW reboot on his back (I respect him immensely for what he did during that run), and flipped his character dynamic about a dozen times to variably entertaining degrees. Personally, I have a soft spot for Big Show from about 2003 to 2012. He was an incredibly versatile big man with promo range that few in the business have ever had. His memorable match list is a lot longer than people might be apt to admit as well.

I want to collectively pimp-slap the internet wrestling community every time I hear the “Please Retire” chant directed at The Big Show. The guy’s seven feet tall and over 400lbs. He jumps off the top rope, he puts people over, he plays a face and heel equally well, he does both serious and comedy. What more could you really ask for? Everything that I said about Kane is true at an even larger scale for The Big Show. He is the absolute utility main eventer of this era. It doesn’t matter what the situation is, if the WWE needed a credible main event and another superstar to be put over, Big Show was the guy for the job. If we were being honest with ourself, he has supplanted Andre the Giant for the mantle of best traditional “big man” of all time. “Please Retire”…makes me want to disown the internet.


QUESTION OF THE DAY: Is Big Show the best super heavyweight of all-time?