Most Important People of the Decade

[Big Red Machine]

This is my list of people who have made the most difference in the recently ended decade (2001-2010).

1. Vince McMahon- Changed the entire landscape of wrestling when he bought WCW and ECW. Vince has created stars throughout the decade, and Vince's every decision is headline wrestling news. He has outraged us (McMahonism, the exploitation of Eddie's death in an angle), and he has given us outstanding shows. Vince has faced many unforseen challenges, and taken unprecedented steps to protect his employees (the Wellness Policy, paying for people's rehab, etc.). He has made things happen that we thought would never happen (Bret coming back, and even shaking HBK's hand), and even put on a few very good matches, which is quite the accomplishment for someone who isn't a trained wrestler. How important has Vince been to wrestling in this past decade? In 2000, when a casual fan thought "pro wrestling," he or she thought of both the WWF and WCW (and maybe even ECW). In at the end of 2010, despite the astronomically larger number of people on the internet, and the fact that there are more pro wrestling comapnies than ever before on PPV, to a casual fan, WWE=pro wrestling.

2. Jeff Jarrett- Took some "fishin' talk" and turned it into the #2 wrestling company in the world. He tried out an entirely new business model for airing shows, took risks on some young names, and the rest is history. Over the past 10 years, Jeff has also given us some great matches, and helped carry his company as a heel champion.

3. Samoa Joe- One of the best wrestlers of the decade, Joe was a top guy in the two biggest non-WWE companies of the decade. He was a major force in ROH from its infancy until it's fifth anniversary, almost two years of which he spent as the world champion. Joe also proved that he wasn't just the biggest fish int he small indy pond by going to TNA and instantly becoming a top star there as well. Joe has had outstanding matches against pretty much every major indy, Japanese, or TNA star, including three matches that were given a five-star rating by the ultra-picky, North American wrestling-hating Dave Meltzer. When Japanese legend Kenta Kobashi made a once in a lifetime trip to the US to wrestle for ROH, Joe was the man who was chosen to face him 1-on-1. When Jushin Liger made his debut in TNA, it was again Joe who was given the honor of facing off against the visiting legend. In his first match in NOAH, Joe pinned the promotion's founder and then-champion, Japanese legend Mitsuharu Misawa. Joe simply looks like he belongs in the ring with absolutely anyone, from a giant like Takeshi Morishima, or much smaller guys like AJ Styles and Bryan Danielson (whom Joe can amazingly keep up with despite weighing almost 100 pounds more than them).

4. Gabe Sapolsky- in early 2001, Gabe was still Paul Heyman's protege, doing the same random jobs in ECW that he had done for years, such as holding the fan-cam, creating the programs, and answering the hot-line. A few months later, ECW went out of business, and Paul Heyman went to the WWF. Gabe and wrestling videographer Rob Feinstein realized that they needed a promotion to replace the large chunk of RF Video's sales that ECW had occupied. Gabe came up with the idea of a company governed by certain laws of conduct that would force clean, satisfying finishes. The end result of this, in February of 2002, was born under the name Ring of Honor."
Gabe made the conscious decision to go with only a few well-known names: Mikey Whipwreck appeared as a guest referee, and Eddie Guerrero wrestled Super Crazy in the semi-main event. Rather than these two big names, the main event went to three relative unknowns: Christopher Daniels, Low Ki, and Bryan Danielson, who would use this event to revolutionize the what we now think of as the "indy" or "X-Division" style of wrestling. Gabe also took chances on other relative unknowns: The Briscoe Brothers, Homicide, Amazing Red, Samoa Joe, Doug Williams, Paul London, Michael Shane, Brian "Spanky" Kendrick, AJ Styles, BJ Whitmer, Alex Shelley, Colt Cabana, and CM Punk. Once ROH had proven itself, these sames were supplemented by indy superstars such as Steve Corino and Raven. ROH made its name underground as the best indy in the world if you wanted to see wrestling.
Then, in 2004, TNA pulled all of its contracted talent from ROH, robbing ROH of many of its major stars, including Daniels, and the newly crowned, first ever ROH Pure Wrestling Champion AJ Styles. Once again, Gabe proved his ability to make stars quickly, as in a series of seven shows, over the course of three months, the company was "Reborn," with everything thrown on its head, including the creation of new stars in Roderick Strong, Austin Aries, and Jack Evans (as well as Shelley's rise to the main event). Other names that became more prominent during this time include Jimmy Jacobs and Nigel McGuinness.
A year later, Gabe would once again show his ability to turn a negative into a positive by taking the fact that WWE signed arguably the company's top star, CM Punk, and turning it into the best angle of the decade. The Summer of Punk was an anything-can-happen emotional thrill-ride, kicked off by Punk winning the ROH World Title as a babyface in what was billed as his last night in the company... then surprisingly turning heel, and threatening to take the belt with him to WWE... only to be confronted by the returning (and now babyface) Christopher Daniels. It continued with despicable actions such as Punk signing his WWE contract on top of the ROH World Title, and doing whatever he could to keep the belt against challengers such as Roderick Strong, James Gibson (Jamie Noble), Daniels, and Jay Lehtal, with each show possibly being his last in the company.
A year later Gabe would book the ROH-CZW feud, a masterwork of diplomacy that took two companies that saw themselves as so fundamentally opposite and managed to make both companies look strong not only in their own way, but in the eyes of the others' fans as well. Gabe would prove himself as a booker with other masterworks of booking, including Jimmy Loves Lacey, Homicide's Road to the Title, the Erick Stevens vs. Roderick Strong feud (in FIP, ROH's sister promotion which Gabe also booked), Steen & Generico vs. the Briscoe Brothers, the Aries vs. Jacobs feud, and Nigel McGuinness' never-ending title reign.
Gabe was replaced as ROH's booker after six and a half years (an extremely long time for someone who doesn't also own the company), and soon became Vice President and Booker of Dragon Gate: USA, as well as creating the EVOLVE promotion. Gabe booked ROH from its first show and made it the biggest indy in North America, even getting it a PPV deal. He has been instrumental in the creation of three promotions, has booked a fourth, and is arguably the greatest booker of all time (and the best booker of the decade without a doubt). Gabe is also unique on this list in that he has rarely appeared on-screen (he has probably logged a grand total of less than 10 minutes of air-time in ten years)- and has NEVER been seen even standing inside a wrestling ring.

5. John Cena- An underrated worker with great mic skills who has become WWE's posterboy- and with good reason. John Cena is the most recognizable pro wrestler in the world right now.

6. AJ Styles- I don't think there is much need to elaborate here. AJ has been a major player in TNA since its inception, both as a pioneer of the X-Division as well as a World Champion. He was a major player in the early days of ROH, and has held titles in many other promotions as well. Constantly cited as one of the best workers in the world, AJ Styles has brought us so many great matches that there is no way to accept that AJ is exactly what he claims to be: Phenomenal.

7. CM Punk- One of the best talkers of the decade, CM Punk was a major indy star in both IWA-MS and ROH, both as a singles wrestler and as part of the Second City Saints Punk was the centerpiece of the Summer of Punk, put on classic matches all over the indies with everyone from Raven to Chris Hero to Samoa Joe to AJ Styles. Perhaps more importantly, Punk is a 3-time world Champion in WWE, as well as a champion of the revived ECW. Punk's success in WWE proves that an indy guy can make it mainstream wrestling, and that VInce is willing to give indy guys a chance.

8. Dave Prazak- Prazak has held many jobs. He has been a manager in IWA-MS and FIP, the booker of IWA-MS, and play-by-play announcer all over the indies, and most importantly, he is the booker and promoter of SHIMMER: Women Athletes. Prazak has done what no one else on this continent has done for a long time: give female wrestlers the time that they need to showcase their skills. Without Prazak, we would never have known how good women like Sara Del Rey and Cheerleader Melissa truly are.

9. John Zandig- CZW's founder and a 6-time CZW World Heavyweight Champion, Zandig is important not for his wrestling, but for his promoting. Zandig's CZW was the first indy that became truly widely known among indy fans, and was a pioneer of ultraviolent wrestling in North America

10. Mike Quackenbush- CHIKARA's promoter, and one of the best wrestlers in the world. CHIKARA has proved that both a PG and a gimmick-heavy comedy promotion can have good wrestling. Quack has also trained a hell (or as it would be in CHIKARA: "heck" ) of a lot of wrestlers, including the majority of the CHIKARA roster and a good chunk of CZW's (inlcuded on these lists are such indy stars as Claudio Castagnoli, Gran Akuma, Danny Havoc, Icarus, Jigsaw, Joker, Eddie Kingston, Sabian, and Hallowicked).

Honorable mentions:
KENTA- Easily the biggest foreign draw anywhere he goes, and a main eventer at home in Japan. If you haven'y seen a KENTA match, don't even read the rest of this article. Go to youtube and watch a few.

Triple H: A multiple time World Champion in WWE, Hunter has given us some great matches and feuds this decade, but his biggest contribution has come behind the scenes: In 2002, Triple H came up with the idea of a heel stable whose goal was to create stars by giving them the rub from being associated with himself and Ric Flair. After months of scouting, Hunter and Flair chose Randy Orton and Dave Batista. The goal of Evolution was not just to create stars, but to create stars who would be able to be stars on their own once the stable dissolved. This goal was accomplished, and Orton and Batista became WWE's #2 and #3 guys this decade.

Eric Bischoff- Contributed to WCW, WWE, and now in TNA, Bishcoff's influence in wrestling is definitely felt, even with his four year break.

Jim Cornette- WWE, TNA, ROH, OVW- Cornette has been a major player behind the scenes in all of these promotions this decade.

Vince Russo- Another self explanatory answer. Possibly single-handedly responsible for TNA' poor quality since late 2006.

Kurt Angle- A great candidate for Wrestler of the Decade, Kurt also has the distinction of being BY FAR the most significant jump from WWE, and the buzz surrounding his early run in TNA gave the promotion a much-needed breath of fresh air.

[Y2J]

An excellent read Big Red, however I'd put Kurt Angle much higher up on that list. He made it to the top of two of the biggest wrestling promotions in the world.

[Big Red Machine]

An excellent read Big Red, however I'd put Kurt Angle much higher up on that list. He made it to the top of two of the biggest wrestling promotions in the world.

He was #10 on the list when I remembered Zandig, and the way that indies were before ROH started branching out (very localized), and that CZW was so widely known was such a huge accomplishment.

[BrettBirnberg]

I really liked this BRM, well needed read. I have one question though, shouldn't Gabe be #3, since if it wasn't for ROH, we wouldn't really know who Joe was? Plus he sounds like he has done WAY more for independent wrestling, in my opinion. And also why is Russo so low on the list?

[cero2k]

nice read BRM

[Big Red Machine]

An excellent read Big Red, however I'd put Kurt Angle much higher up on that list. He made it to the top of two of the biggest wrestling promotions in the world.

Also, while Kurt is great in the ring, Danielson and HBK have been equally great in the ring this decade, and they were left off the list entirely. We see great wrestlers rather often. To me, importane and being a great wrestler aren't the smae thing. Kurt makes the list not for being great in the ring, but mostly because of what his jump to TNA (and his great success there) meant for the business.

[Big Red Machine]

I really liked this BRM, well needed read. I have one question though, shouldn't Gabe be #3, since if it wasn't for ROH, we wouldn't really know who Joe was? Plus he sounds like he has done WAY more for independent wrestling, in my opinion. And also why is Russo so low on the list?

I put Joe at number 3 because Joe was the first guy who was purely and "ROH" guy... hell the first guy who was purely an "indy guy" to have success in mainstream wrestling (I consider AJ to be both an ROH guy and a TNA guy when he starte dhaving his success).

As for the Joe-ROH debate, I will give it the same answer I always do. ROH was bigger than just one guy. At the same time, a promotion needs draws to succeed. It is a Chicken Or Egg debate. Without Joe, would ROH have become big? If ROH wasn't so big, would Joe have ever gotten mainstream attention? Joe "built" ROH just as much as Dragon, AJ, Daniels, Low Ki, Punk, the Briscoes, or Homicide, Aries, Cabana, Shelley, or Strong did, and ROH "built" those guys an equal amount (except for Low Ki and AJ).