TOP TEN REASONS WWE IS SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE THAN IN 2000
(Jonny Grunwald of London U.K., Student, 21)

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(10) Brand split

This comes fairly low down on my list, because in theory there is nothing horribly wrong with the concept. But in my opinion, one big roster with one top championship was the ideal situation as it led to a more wrestling-focused product and fewer pointless characters and feuds, which are now required to fill time (including the whole of the 1 hour slot on Sci-Fi).

(9) Hardcore no more

I fully recognise both the dangers of hardcore matches, and the fact that gimmicks are not required for the product to be entertaining. However, for me, the hardcore division provided a fantastic alternative product for those of us who enjoy a bit of gore and the spectacle of two men beating the living hell out of each other with anything they could lay their hands on. Not to mention the awesome comedy which came with it, e.g. the 24/7 era.

(8) Vince Mc*OLD*Mahon

Vince's advancing years could have had minimal impact had he taken a step back. But with the old man still in full control, standards have slipped awfully in all areas, particularly the creative side. The disgraceful "comedy", erratic booking and the constant changes of his mind have all contributed to the decline of the product.

(7) Michael Cole

...Okay, that may be a bit harsh, but my point is about the decline of the announcing in general. Cole is terrible, but he's not where the problems end. The announcing has seen a general decline in quality, in my opinion since the end of the days when we had one heel and one babyface announcer. I for one would be perfectly happy with JR and Lawler (or JR and Striker, perhaps?) providing commentary for every show. As this isn't going to happen, we need more life and more charisma to be shown. And the word "vintage" should be stricken from the dictionary.

(6) Dwayne "The Absent" Johnson, and "Too Old" Steve Austin

...and all those other greats whom we miss terribly. Kurt Angle. Chris Benoit. Eddie Guerrero. The HHH who didn't make me cringe every time I turned on the TV. We love you all.

(5) Where have all the tag teams gone?

Need I expand on this?

(4) No more crimson masks

Again, you don't NEED blood for wrestling to be great, and as the issues surrounding head injuries are just beginning to be understood, it's becoming apparent that head-shots are more dangerous than previously thought. However, it is undeniable that the "crimson mask" adds a certain something to the climax of a great match. Imagine HBK vs Undertaker in their incredible, brutal HIaC match... but without blood. Not quite the same spectacle. And let's face it: stopping a match to allow a participant to be cleaned up is just rather...well, lame. A bleeding shame, you might say.

(3) John Cena

The heel John Cena of old was entertaining, and someone I could get behind. The first few months of a babyface John Cena I could tolerate. Now, I can comfortably say that he is ruining Raw. The man needs a heel turn like I need a night in a hotel room with Jessica Alba. His irritating, cheesy promos, unbelievably limited moveset and in-your-face "for the kids" message haunt Raw and the WWE. I could take Goldberg's streak because I love the guy. But Cena's apparent immunity to losing is, ironically, losing WWE viewers.

(2) No more WCW

...or, more generally, no more competition. It's clear that WWE performs better when competing against a rival company. Look how much the product improved between 1995 and 1999/2000 during the Monday Night Wars. TNA will have to perform miracles to reach WCW-of-1995 ratings, but I hope to God they do, because WWE needs the kick up the ass. A better TNA will mean a better WWE.

(1) PG rating

Now, I'll admit it: I do have a massive problem with the shift to kid-friendly TV. The reason: WRESTLING IS BASED AROUND VIOLENCE. It is based entirely around incapacitating your opponent to the point that he is either unable to respond to a referee's count, or in so much pain that he has to submit. Violence should not be targeted at kids. In my opinion, the move to PG was as stupid as the notion of creating a PG version of Playboy. Absolutely pointless. Look at the utter crap we are given nowadays. DX in Little People's Court. Matches being stopped due to blood. Paul Burchill being seemingly bemused as to who the Hurricane really is, despite Tony Chimel announcing him as "Hurricane Helms" in his first week back in ECW.

WWE's core audience is males aged 18-45. Period. Look at the average age of a WWE viewer. In the 30s, perhaps even the 40s some weeks. So of course, in Vince's mind, the logical thing to do is to change the direction of the product, and target eight year olds. There were kids at shows in the attitude era days. I grew up as a kid watching it. How many of us who were so young then are homicidal killers now as a result of seeing blood? I felt more like killing someone after watching Little People's Court than I ever did after watching Al Snow being cut in half with barbed wire.

Of course, it is true that the actual move to PG was made towards the end of the decade, so can't be blamed for the general decline. But the kid-friendly direction is the underlying reason for so many problems in WWE at this time. No edginess. Scripted promos. Babyfaces who should be heels. And those little things that made us alpha-males look back so lovingly at the late 90s: virtually naked women, a bit of blood, damning promos with "slightly bad" language. They are no more.

Bottom line: WWE needs to stop treating us like morons. Treating us like adults would be a start. I know the attitude era is never coming back. But give us some edginess. Please.

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TOP 10 WWE MATCHES OF THE 2000s
(Adam Delaney)

(10) Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho from WrestleMania XIX - a great precursor to 2008, with Jericho's heelish act at the end leaving fans wanting more.

(9) Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho from No Mercy 2008 - Jericho leaves it all (including teeth) in the ring for this match. Great ladder match.

(8) Mick Foley vs. Randy Orton from Backlash 2004 - Amazing Hardcore brawl.

(7) Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels from WrestleMania 21 - These two are the best. Period.

(6) Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar from SmackDown! on September 16, 2003 - Awesome iron man match with a flow that was not the usual one we came to expect. Great finish.

(5) Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H from Bad Blood 2004 - Best Hell in a Cell match ever. Almost an hour of asskicking amazement.

(4) Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker from WrestleMania 25 - Instant Classic. Nuff Said.

(3) Triple H vs. Cactus Jack from Royal Rumble 2000 - This match made HHH a star. Great hardcore action with a gruesome finish that irks me to this day.

(2) Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit vs. Triple H & Stone Cold from Raw Is War on May 21, 2001 - This match was tag wrestling at its finest with four of the best stars of the day. Great action, great crowd, great finish.

(1) Triple H vs. Ric Flair from Taboo Tuesday 2005 - a forgotten match by most but BY FAR the most intense and realistic steel cage match I've ever seen.

Honorable mention to:
- Stone Cold vs. The Rock from WrestleMania X-Seven
- Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho from Royal Rumble 2001
- Triple H vs. Stone Cold from No Way Out 2001
- Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit from Royal Rumble 2003
- The Rock vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan from WrestleMania X8
- TLC from SummerSlam 2000 & TLC II from WrestleMania X-Seven

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Send your top ten lists on either the year 2009 or the decade of the 2000s based on any criteria to pwtorch@gmail.com. Thanks!

[The Rock art credit Cory Gould (c) PWTorch]

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