5 Ruthless Aggression Era Superstars who should have been WWE Champion
Towards the end of the Attitude Era, the main problem for the WWE was the number of superstars on their roster. As a result, the company introduced the brand extension, dividing the rosters in two and assigning them to either Monday Night Raw or SmackDown Live.
On the June 24 episode of Monday Night Raw in 2002, Vince McMahon dubbed the new era as the Ruthless Aggression Era. Three days after on SmackDown Live, John Cena made his debut against Kurt Angle and ushered in the new era of the WWE.
Some of the superstars that won their first WWE titles during the Ruthless Aggression era include Cena, Brock Lesnar, Eddie Guerrero, John Bradshaw Layfield, Edge, Rob Van Dam, and Randy Orton. The World Heavyweight Championship was also introduced and it was treated as an equal to the WWE championship.
Some of the superstars to hold it during the era, who were also first time World Champions in the WWE, were Bill Goldberg, Chris Benoit, Batista, Rey Mysterio, Booker T, The Great Khali, and CM Punk. But just like any other era, there were superstars who never won the big one.
Here are the five superstars from the Attitude Era who should have been WWE champion at least once. But first, here are some of the honourable mentions that did not make the list.
Honourable mentions: Bobby Lashley, Scott Steiner, Matt Hardy, and Finlay
Lashley was a monster during his first stint in the WWE. He had a great physique, and despite a lack of charisma, still had bags of potential. He was put into the spotlight early on and eventually won the ECW championship. However, a shoulder injury put him on the shelf in late 2007 and he was released six months later in February 2018.
Just like Lashley, Steiner had the physique of a WWE champion. He can also talk and he had some charisma. The only problem for “Big Poppa Pump” was his age and he was not the same great wrestler he once was. Still, it would have been cool to see Steiner brag about being the WWE champion.
On the other hand, Matt Hardy and Finlay were different cases. Hardy was on fire after getting rehired by the WWE in 2005 and started his rivalry with Edge. It could have led to a WWE title run for Hardy but it was Edge who got the most out of it. As for Finlay, he was already 47 years old when he made his WWE debut. Despite that, he was still very good in the ring and could have been a decent WWE champion around 2006.