Your best year in Wrestling

OK, so what year is it that YOU consider to be the best year in wrestling, it could be pro wrestling in general or it could be a certain orginisation WWF/E - NWA - WCW - ECW - TNA

Everyone will have one particular year that they think was as near as perfect as you can get, whats yours and why?

Also, feel free to add vids to support your opinion, it could also help others who haven't really noticed or saw certain things understand the reasons for your opinions

TNA this year all the new signings new youn talent great storyline whit MEM

can you be more specific kvh?

I think I'd have to say 1997. WCW was on fire for the whole year, in particular with a great build towards Hogan vs Sting at Starrcade.

WWF was about on par with WCW around this time too I felt. Memorable moments for me at that time were the anti-american Hart Foundation, Austin being built up for his first World title reign, and the debut of Kane which was a huge moment at the time I felt.

well hogan bobby lashley desmond wolfe daniels coming back and then Matt morgan and hernadez getting psuhed and wel MEM was just great all year

Guns I'm the same as you, 1997 for me was absolutely brilliant, Shawn Michaels had his best year in that year IMO, top class matches with The Undertaker, Mankind and Bret Hart, he formed DX as well, then their was the re-formation of The Hart Foundation, Brian Pillman, the real emergance of a face (or anti-hero) Austin, The Undertaker/Paul Bearer feud which led to the arrival of Kane, Psycho Sid was also excellent whenever he showed up although shitting himself at WrestleMania definitely was a low point

The Nation of Domination where brilliant and very edgy, The Rock turned heel as well which was the making of him, Ken Shamrock was breaking through as well, the WWF where producing some top class TV week in week out

WCW had the whole Sting/Hogan feud which for me was one of the best build ups in history

Yeah, just a shame they fucked up that build with a bullshit match, one of the things which definitely lead to people switching to the WWF.

I totally forgot about the Nation in 97, they were excellent until they got toned down a bit. never could stand The Rock though.

I think The Hart Foundation and Bret Hart to be precise possibly stole the show with the whole anti-America stuff, Bret really came into his own that year, his promos where excellent, possibly because he was talking from the heart, his matches where good and the entire Hart Foundation where hot as hell, Brian Pillman is the big down point of that year, he could and I believe would have been as big as Austin, I think he was pencilled in for the role Foley took in 98 as the guy the office would back over Austin

I absolutely agree with that. Bret Hart was never a great promo guy, he was good but just not up there with some of the top guys. In that angle though he was phenomenal and drew an insane amount of heat. The matches he had that year were great, with his two against The Undertaker at Summerslam and One Night Only being two of my favourite matches of all time.

not forgetting his match of the year with Austin at Mania

Year ahead I say...1998.

Absolutely amazing year.

I personally feel 99 was a year of too much excess for what was essentially a wrestling show. People had started to use chairs in the middle of matches and such like and the hardcore title stuff had gotten way out of hand and was just boring.

98 struck the perfect balance or wrestling, boobies and blood in my opinion. For me it all clicked 100%.

I'll admit the main event scene was a little bit naked (due to Hart and Michaels disappearing) with Taker, Kane and Austin headlining far too often but this only propelled the middle order with the likes of HHH and Rock who outgrew their respective stables of DX and the NoD.

Shamrock, Owen Hart, X-Pac, D-Lo, Goldust, Taka, Vader and all 3 Foley's were immensely entertaining on a weekly basis and had some really memorable PPV clashes.

Tag division was gimmicky but strong and saw somewhat of an evolution really. The Outlaws really were the new breed and was what people wanted to see. The Headbangers, Godwinns, L.O.D etc were fun enough but it was great seeing the new teams rise up and it was no doubt there success which led to the classic trio of The Dudleys, Hardys and Edge + Christian coming together.

Then of course there was also WCW in full swing.

They brought about the greatest Cruiserweight division of all time and really let them shine. They had a stupid amount of talent there. Mysterio, Benoit, Malenko, Chavo + Eddie, Psicosis, Juventud, Jericho, Ultimo Dragon and I'm sure I've missed some out like the Japanese talent they also brought in.

Wrestling wise, they were streets ahead of WWF's mid-card but their main event was far from stale by this point. The WCW vs NWO shizzle was fantastic and the formation of the Wolfpac gave it a new lease of life. All the main players were still on form and it was fantastic to watch. Raw beat Nitro but WCW really shone at PPV time.

Plus the actual war between the two companies was equally entertaining!

They brought the best out of each other and together they delivered on all fronts, by far my favourite year.
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Not so much my favorite year, but the one I think changed the future of Wrestling!

2001

Royal Rumble had Jericho v Benoit in probably the greatest Ladder Match of all time! Then the Rumble match had everything, Kane dominated, Drew Carey trying to bribe him, The Honky Tonk Man getting his guitar smashed over his head, the mini Hardcore rumble, Kane & Taker teaming up and looking unbeatable and Stone Cold defying the odds after being assaulted by HHH winning the rumble!

No Way out had the epic 3 Stages of Hell match between HHH and Stone Cold!

Wrestlemania X-Seven had TLC 2, Rock v Austin with a very Surprising ending, HHH v Taker

Then we had the Invasion which completely changed the face of Wrestling, not all for the better though! Wrestlers such as RVD, Mike Awesome, Lance Storm & DDP all really should've been much more successful but unfortunately the booking staff didn't see it that way, with the exception of RVD!

Towards the end of the year though it went downhill and in my opinion it hasn't recovered, I'm talking about the Brand Extension!

The Writers really messed up the ending of the Invasion Storyline by introducing Ric Flair as the new Co-Owner of WWF! Because they split up the shows the WWE now has 2 World Titles, which are about as prestigeous as the European Championship nowadays!

The fact that Edge was won 9 World Titles in the last 3 1/2 years is ridiculous! I've nothing against him, he's actually My Favorite WWE wrestler but to win that many titles is a joke!

the beggining of the attitude era and when Stone Cold was wreaking havoc!

I'm in agreement with a lot of people here - my best year is 1997.

The WWF was really on the rise again this year. WrestleMania 13 is an underrated gem - there's a lot more to it than the Hart/Austin bloodbath. Shawn and the Undertaker had a great feud, culminating in the first Hell in a Cell. We had the debut of one of personal favourites, Ken Shamrock as well as Kane. We also had the beginnings of the Mr McMahon character which is a good or a bad thing depending on how you look at it.

My personal highlight was the turning of Bret Hart and the reformation of the Hart FOundation. The idea of having a stable who were booed in the USA but cheered everywhere else seemed totally unique to me at time. It all peaked at the Canadian Stampede PPV which seemed slightly surreal to me with the likes of Austin and the LOD getting booed mercilessly while Bret and Co (not surprisingly) got standing ovations. That whole event and the main event in particular was great too

In agreement with most I say 97 but since wwe and wcw have already been metioned, I'll say that this was ECW's best year, they were on the irse and had their first ppv which had the ending of a great feud with a brilliant build up which ended up as a top quality match at Barely Legal 97 between Taz and Sabu, the match was built up for a year, something that would never happen in wrestling today. Taz looked unstoppable in 97 and despite his size his opponent was always the underdog no matter how big they were.

i would have to personaly say 1998 with the attidude got me into WWF again being all cool and hip and stuff