WWE gave more opportunities to wrestlers to break out when the Ruthless Aggression started. Things were changing with the Attitude Era running its course and new talents being necessary after Steve Austin and The Rock were phasing out of the ring. A combination of established stars taking bigger roles and new talents thriving found popularity for WWE.

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Faces were especially fascinating with fans choosing the talents they wanted to support. WWE would see their landscape changing drastically due to the star power involved coming with the brand split. Only certain superstars were able to stand above their peers as fan favorites. The faces in question made their impact known during the Ruthless Aggression Era.

10 Booker T

Booker T vs The Undertaker

The WWE run of Booker T saw him primarily playing a heel for the Invasion storyline and in the months that followed. However, it was the face run that helped Booker get over in a major way to become a success story of the Ruthless Aggression Era.

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The stint from 2002 to 2004 made Booker one of the most beloved wrestlers in the company. Booker may have been even more successful as a face if he won the World Championship from Triple H during the controversial WrestleMania 19 feud.

9 Trish Stratus

Trish Stratus vs Lita Unforgiven 2006

WWE started to put together a compelling women’s division around the start of the Ruthless Aggression Era. Trish Stratus was the face of the Raw division to help get over talented heels like Molly Holly, Jazz and Victoria.

The era featured Stratus playing both the face and heel roles, but most of her success came as a face. Trish also had an incredible feud with Mickie James and a retirement program with Lita that showed how much she thrived as a face.

8 Batista

Batista World Champion

The Ruthless Aggression Era was defined by wrestlers like Batista taking the ball and running with it. Batista started off as a heel in the Evolution faction, but the face turn against Triple H made him a top superstar.

WWE utilized Batista as the ultimate good guy for a few years and as the face of the SmackDown brand. Batista started making strides towards the legendary Hall of Fame legacy, which he cemented with years of great matches and fun feuds.

7 Eddie Guerrero

Eddie Guerrero as WWE Champion

WWE saw veterans of the industry breaking out in the Ruthless Aggression Era thanks to the brand split. Paul Heyman elevated Eddie Guerrero into a main event role for the first time in his career on the SmackDown brand.

Guerrero’s lying, cheating and stealing gimmick became a popular fun thing rather than just heel tactics. Fans willed Eddie to the top as a great WWE Champion during his programs against Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle.

6 Rob Van Dam

Rob Van Dam Intercontinental Champion

The Invasion angle failing was one of the final memorable moments before WWE started to move forward in the Ruthless Aggression Era. Rob Van Dam may have been the only wrestler to benefit from the Invasion since fans fell in love with his style.

The entire WWE run of Van Dam saw him playing a face character with his peak coming in the Ruthless Aggression Era. RVD was arguably the best Intercontinental Champion of the time frame and eventually won the WWE Championship as well..

5 Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle World Champion

WWE used Kurt Angle in both the face and heel roles throughout the Ruthless Aggression Era. Angle might have been a better heel, but he still did great things as a face. The second chapter of his feud against Brock Lesnar saw them switching alignments and improving their matches.

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Angle’s best run as a face came when he won the World Championship on the SmackDown brand as a late change due to an injury to Batista. The matches against The Undertaker, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio were some of the best of his career.

4 The Undertaker

The Undertaker at WrestleMania 20

The Undertaker was the most beloved character in WWE once he hit legend status and he brought back the Deadman gimmick at WrestleMania 20. WWE never bothered fully turning him heel again since fans would always cheer him.

Despite having success in three prior eras of the Golden Era, New Generation and Attitude Era, Undertaker improved dramatically in the ring for the Ruthless Aggression Era. Great matches and feuds with Brock Lesnar, Batista, Randy Orton and many others led WWE to great success.

3 Rey Mysterio

Rey Mysterio's WWE Debut

WWE found magic in Rey Mysterio when signing him in the late stages of the Attitude Era. Mysterio had a great run as a cruiserweight for WCW, but he instantly reached a bigger role in WWE working against Kurt Angle.

The fan base fell in love with the underdog and wanted to see him face off against bigger names. WWE elevated Rey into an upper card role for feuds against Angle, Eddie Guerrero and even Brock Lesnar. Mysterio accomplished the ultimate dream of winning the World Championship as the smallest top champ in WWE history.

2 Shawn Michaels

Shawn Michaels Elimination Chamber

The return of Shawn Michaels gave WWE a huge boost in the early stages of the Ruthless Aggression Era. WWE needed a familiar top face when Steve Austin and The Rock were each towards the end. Michaels had an incredible comeback story feuding with Triple H.

The rest of the Ruthless Aggression Era featured Michaels as a face aside from the one short feud against Hulk Hogan. Michaels delivered some of the best matches of his career against the likes of Chris Jericho, John Cena and Ric Flair.

1 John Cena

John Cena vs Umaga

No wrestler took advantage of the Ruthless Aggression Era more than John Cena. The debut of Cena even came when he used that term to answer an open challenge from Kurt Angle. Cena thrived as a face from the rapping gimmick to becoming the face of the company.

WWE invested everything in Cena from 2005 and it paid off to perfection. Cena had dozens of memorable programs against a variety of talents like Edge, Triple H, Umaga and Randy Orton. WWE saw the Ruthless Aggression Era essentially start Cena’s career and get him to the top to carry the upcoming PG Era.

NEXT: 10 Best Home Grown WWE Talents Of The Ruthless Aggression Era