Many WWE fans view the Ruthless Aggression Era as the best time in company history since the timeline had something for everyone. The losses of The Rock and Steve Austin as full-time performers saw the company trying to build new stars for the main event scene. Raw and SmackDown became their own unique shows with the brand split changing the landscape.

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During this era, there were powerful wrestlers like Brock Lesnar and Goldberg for the viewers who wanted that style. Names like Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho had stellar matches. Triple H and The Undertaker were still around for the longtime fans. The era that is known for Ruthless Aggression also featured plenty of Superstars ascend to the WWE Championship. Looking back, how well does each WWE Champion rank from this era?

12 The Undertaker

The Undertaker vs Steve Austin in 2002

The Undertaker was the first WWE Champion when the company changed names from WWF to WWE and started to usher in the new Ruthless Aggression Era. This was the heel version of his Big Evil character during his time away from the Deadman character.

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Undertaker didn’t have the best title reign, but there was the one incredible defense over Jeff Hardy on Raw. The title reign only lasted a couple of months before he dropped the belt to The Rock and turned face moving forward.

11 Big Show

Big Show vs Brock Lesnar

WWE surprised fans when Big Show was the wrestler to end Brock Lesnar’s undefeated streak when beating him for the WWE Championship at the 2002 Survivor Series pay-per-view. On that night, Paul Heyman turned on Brock to give Big Show the huge win.

There were not any plans for Big Show to have a long reign and he dropped it to Kurt Angle about a month later at Armaggedon. WWE had a history of cutting Big Show’s major pushes short as he never thrived as a long-reigning WWE Champion.

10 The Rock

The Rock vs William Regal

The Rock was already starting to make his impact in Hollywood when the Ruthless Aggression Era started. One of the final big returns for that chapter of his career came in the summer of 2002.

Rock defeated The Undertaker and Kurt Angle in a great triple threat match to win the title again. WWE set up the dream match with Brock Lesnar that saw Rock putting over the new star cleanly on his way out. Rock did as much as possible, but he was only around for about a month before leaving again.

9 Rob Van Dam

Rob Van Dam as WWE Champion

Many hardcore wrestling fans viewed Rob Van Dam winning the WWE Championship as a huge moment for them. RVD was a beloved wrestler who was overlooked for other names until the ECW relaunch provided the right timing.

Unfortunately, the title reign was cut short when Van Dam was pulled over with drugs in his car and had to drop the belt when suspended. RVD did have a great moment beating John Cena and also had a great defense against Edge to make the reign matter.

8 JBL

JBL as WWE Champion

JBL was the most unlikely WWE Champion of the Ruthless Aggression Era. The timeline started with him still going under the name of Bradshaw and using the face character that helped him get over in the APA days.

2004 was the year where the JBL character was created to completely rebrand him. JBL was pushed to the moon as the top heel on SmackDown, holding the title for about nine months before dropping it to John Cena. The only noteworthy defenses came against Eddie Guerrero as his matches missed the mark with any other opponent.

7 Triple H

Triple H as WWE Champion

Triple H stayed away from the WWE Championship during most of the Ruthless Aggression since the World Heavyweight Championship was the belt most associated with him during this time. However, he finally did win back the WWE Championship in 2007 for a one-night reign.

A better run came in 2008 where Triple H was the last WWE Champion of the Ruthless Aggression Era. Triple H held the title for about seven months as WWE started to transition into the PG Era where he continued to dominate.

6 Randy Orton

Randy Orton as WWE Champion

WWE kept Randy Orton away from the WWE Championship for a few years after his first World Championship reign was viewed as a disappointment. Orton won the WWE Title for the first time as a heel in 2007 when the belt was awarded to him following an injury to John Cena.

Orton primarily feuded with Triple H and John Cena over that time as the top heel in the company. The WWE Championship reigns established Orton as a legitimate top star following the prior hiccups.

5 Eddie Guerrero

Eddie Guerrero as WWE Champion

The WWE Championship reign of Eddie Guerrero injected new life into WWE during the Ruthless Aggression Era. Vince McMahon claimed the era would be about new wrestlers seizing the moment and Eddie showcased that to perfection.

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Guerrero getting over with the fans organically saw him receive the huge push of beating Brock Lesnar for his sole WWE Championship reign. The defense against Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 20 added another classic moment to the successful run as champ.

4 Edge

Edge as WWE Champion

WWE found another top star when Edge cemented his status as a main event player during the Ruthless Aggression Era. Edge winning the Money in the Bank briefcase allowed him to cash in on John Cena for a remarkable moment.

The first reign only lasted three weeks since Edge wasn’t in the plans for the WrestleMania 22 title match, but his segments scored massive ratings. WWE rewarded Edge with a longer reign in 2006 that saw his feud with Cena carrying the company as arguably the best rivalry of the era.

3 Kurt Angle

Team Angle

WWE trusted Kurt Angle in a bigger role when the Ruthless Aggression Era started since many of his peers were leaving. Angle was among the best wrestlers in the world and performed at the highest level every night.

The two WWE Championship wins of Angle in this era featured reigns as both a heel and a face. Angle had his legendary rivalry with Brock Lesnar while scoring impressive wins over the likes of Big Show and Chris Benoit at the time.

2 Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar vs The Rock

Brock Lesnar was the first new star made in the Ruthless Aggression Era when WWE wasted no time pushing him. The first WWE Championship win for Lesnar came just about five months into his main roster debut.

Fans were captivated when Brock defeated The Rock cleanly to start his run on top. The rivalries with Kurt Angle, John Cena, The Undertaker, and a few others made Lesnar one of the best WWE Champions of the era.

1 John Cena

John Cena as WWE Champion

Many fans think of John Cena debuting to accept Kurt Angle’s challenge as what most represented the Ruthless Aggression Era. The entire journey of Cena represented the time from the debut to the rapping gimmick to the face of the company.

WWE strategically booked Cena to have his first WWE Championship win to come against the hated JBL at WrestleMania 21. Cena moved to Raw with the title and added more importance to it. The Ruthless Aggression Era saw Cena thriving as the top champ with rivalries against Edge, Chris Jericho, Umaga, Triple H, and many others that led the company to success.

NEXT: Ruthless Aggression: Ranking John Cena's 10 Best Matches From This Era