Greatest WWE Rivalries: Ruthless Aggression Edition

Anything that followed the Attitude Era was going to be met with trepidation. It was an era of unprecedented prosperity with WWE. Some of the best to ever lace up a pair of boots roamed the halls and raised the bar to the point that it would be almost impossible to meet expectations.

The Ruthless Aggression Era was one of change, but it had no problem following the Attitude Era. There were new stars, and those new stars developed some great rivalries—rivalries that created legends and produced some of the best matches that anyone had ever seen. Below are some examples of these rivalries.

Triple H vs. Batista

Batista and Triple H had a slow-burn feud that benefited from patience. The Animal was Triple H’s heavy, but when he was getting his push, Hunter resorted to underhanded tactics to keep Dave away from the championship picture.

This created a lot of heat for Triple H and made Batista into a massively overrated babyface. When he eventually turned on his mentor, the crowd went nuts, and a string of fabulous matches started.

Over the year, Triple H and Batista engaged in a fantastic trilogy of matches. Their WrestleMania, Backlash, and Vengeance contests were the highlight of 2005. They were matches that highlighted the strengths of their feud. A feud that would make Batista into the star he is today.

Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar

The Ruthless Aggression Era focused on wrestling. It was the best way to separate itself from other eras with Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar feuds being the shining spot.

Angle and Lesnar were two men born of wrestling. They were both amateur wrestling champions, and when they were matched, they brought out the best in one another. Their matches had great wrestling but also fantastic brawling.

They used their technical skills plenty but knew when it was time to devolve into an outright fight. It was a great mix that kept every match entertaining.

Outside of wrestling, Angle and Lesnar knew how to tell stories. They were not just about the matches. During their feud, they switched between heel and babyface and provided entertaining segments with all. It was a testament to the talent of both men.

Trish Stratus vs. Lita

In the era preceding Ruthless Aggression, women’s wrestling was never taken seriously. Segments were filled with women parading around in bikinis, and matches were slap fests at best.

It was a dark time for the women of WWE, but the light was around the corner in the form of Trish Stratus and Lita.

Trish and Lita were great wrestlers at a time when no other woman was. They engaged in great matches and showed the world what women’s wrestling could be. The office was behind them, and the crowd was in it.

It was a glorious time that was capped off by the women main eventing an episode of WWE Monday Night Raw. Something that any woman had ever done before them.

Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker

Brock Lesnar needed a great first opponent when he became champion, and The Undertaker was a perfect fit. Both men were imposing individuals, and The Undertaker was the gatekeeper for WWE.

If Lesnar wanted to become a top guy it was through The Undertaker that he was going to do it.

The Undertaker’s and Brock Lesnar’s feud was one of violence. It dominated SmackDown programming and included some of the most brutal matches in WWE history.

Specifically, a Hell in a Cell and Biker Chain match had both men leaving covered in blood. It was a great feud that saw The Undertaker make The Beast famous.

The Undertaker vs. Batista

The Animal and The Undertaker was a feud that no one saw becoming as great as it was. After The Undertaker won the Royal Rumble, he set his sights on Batista.

It was a matchup that hadn’t been tapped previously and presented an intriguing face vs face feud heading into WrestleMania.

Batista and The Undertaker didn’t have a bad match. At WrestleMania, they proved why they should have been in the main event. They followed this up with a better-than-average Last Man Standing Match and one of the best Hell in a Cell matches in history.

Every match was a war, with either man refusing to back down despite being pummeled. These were two beasts who would stop at nothing to prove who was the best.

Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels

The co-founders of D-Generation X found themselves on opposite sides of the ring during the Ruthless Aggression era. HHH had compared HBK to a dog who needed to be put down, and it was up to him to do it.

What began, out of this pity, was a banging feud that would last nearly the entirety of Ruthless Aggression.

Shawn Michaels and Triple H’s feud was as personal as you can get. The two men hated each other to the core and spent every waking moment trying to finish the other off.

This led to some great wrestling as they competed in about every gimmick match that one can think of. Even at their worst, these matches were entertaining; at their best, they were all-time greats. Anything these men touched turned to gold.

Randy Orton vs. The Undertaker

Initially, Randy Orton flopped as a main event babyface.

It was too much too soon for The Viper, but there was light at the end of the tunnel. His metamorphosis into the Legend Killer was fantastic, and it set up the best program of his early career when he faced The Undertaker.

Orton’s cocky youngster was a perfect foil for The Deadman. He got his licks in but managed to avoid a large calamity, thus provoking The Undertaker further. Their first match at WrestleMania 21 was one of the greatest, and it helped to make the streak what it became.

The Undertaker and Randy Orton followed up their classic with another four matches that brought the house down. Because of this great feud, Orton became a top guy.

Randy Orton vs. Mick Foley

Before Orton was taking on The Deadman, he was making a name for himself against another legend.

Mick Foley was the perfect man to face Orton in his first big-time feud. Foley was an unselfish performer who would stop at nothing to smash Orton over. With his natural charisma and ability Orton was primed to break through, and Foley was the man to help him do that.

Their tag match at WrestleMania was a great one, but it was at Backlash that they proved just how special their rivalry was. Foley and Orton’s Hardcore Match was brutal. It was an old-school Foley match, with Orton showing a nasty side not seen before as well.

Randy Orton showed the world just how good he was during this rivalry. It was a dream program that made RKO a star.

The Undertaker vs. Edge

The Ultimate Opportunist vs. The Phenom was the big money program on Smackdown for the better part of two years. It began when

weaseled his way into holding Money in the Bank and cashed it in on a bloody Undertaker. This was an underhanded move but one that set Edge firmly in The Undertaker’s sights.

During their rivalry Edge and The Undertaker put on classic matches, covering almost every type of gimmick imaginable. It started with a 5-star WrestleMania main event, led through an amazing TLC contest, and finished with one of the best Hell in a Cell match in history.

The Undertaker and Edge were the men who took SmackDown on their backs. They were the leaders in the locker room and the leaders in the ratings, and their program made the Blue brand great again.

John Cena vs. Edge

There may be no rivalry that encapsulates the Ruthless Aggression Era more than John Cena and Edge. Two stars were born of the era and set on different paths. Cena was the underdog who became the golden boy, and Edge was the unlikely star.

They were both great in their given roles and, when put together, produced gold.

Edge was the perfect heel for Cena. He was a despicable man who would resort to any tactic to get the win. That played perfectly off the squeaky-clean image that Cena had.

They put together great segments and even better matches, with Edge always cheating his way to victory. So much so that Cena was able to get a rare pop in Toronto when he finally beat Edge in an incredible TLC match.

Cena and Edge were two of the biggest stars of the Ruthless Aggression Era. Their rivalry will be the defining program of an era.

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