10 Most Shocking Success Stories In WWE's Ruthless Aggression Era

The changes to WWE throughout the Ruthless Aggression Era made it the most transitionary of every WWE era. Vince McMahon came up with that term due to the ruthless aggression he wanted to see of the new talents joining the roster. Drastic changes came at various points like the brand split starting or the PG rating ushering in a new guideline for WWE.

Some expected successes like Brock Lesnar debuting as an instant star or Evolution getting two new stars over were things an educated fan could have forecasted. However, the unpredictable side of wrestling showed the opposite scenarios unfolding as well. Each of the following success stories were the most shocking of the Ruthless Aggression Era.

10 JBL Becoming Top Heel

WWE had JBL on their roster for almost a decade without ever reaching any success outside of the tag team division. Every Bradshaw singles push of a gimmick change failed ahead of Vince McMahon making a bold move to not only push him as JBL but to place him in the main event picture.

JBL won the WWE Championship less than two months into his gimmick change and held the title for almost a full year. The career of JBL is remembered completely differently than it would have been otherwise without this shocking success story.

9 Stephanie McMahon As Babyface General Manager

The early days of the brand split featured Eric Bischoff and Stephanie McMahon named as the respective General Managers. Bischoff made sense as a great heel character to run Raw, but WWE shocked everyone by making Stephanie a face on the Smackdown side.

Stephanie was a hated heel for years and excelled in that role. The short face run in 1999 was the only time she felt like a weak character. However, Stephanie proved everyone wrong by becoming one of the better face authority figures and a great General Manager character.

8 Santino Marella & Beth Phoenix Dating

WWE pairing Beth Phoenix and Santino Marella together as an odd couple upset many fans at first. Phoenix felt like the most credible female talent since Trish Stratus and was receiving a huge push as the dominant diva in that division.

Santino’s comedy character could have harmed Beth if they didn’t have chemistry, but it was a great result. The chemistry made them a great act bouncing off each other to enhance both characters. WWE even placed them in a fun angle as double champs winning the Women’s Championship and Intercontinental Championship.

7 Rey Mysterio Having All-Time Underdog Career

The signing of Rey Mysterio instantly found success as a tremendous underdog character. There was skepticism if Rey could find as much success in WWE as WCW since Vince McMahon wasn’t known for believing in smaller wrestlers.

However, Mysterio being THE smallest wrestler worked to his advantage when getting the ultimate underdog push. WWE made a lot of money off Rey’s merchandise and pushed him into a top spot as a huge part of the Ruthless Aggression Era.

6 Umaga's Epic Rebranding

3 Minute Warning had a decent run end abruptly in the Ruthless Aggression Era to see both Rosey and Jamal try to rebrand. Rosey had the lackluster Super Hero In Training gimmick before getting removed from television.

Jamal spent some time away from WWE before returning with a completely new identity as Umaga. An idea like this could have easily failed, but WWE and Jamal committed to it. Umaga became one of the most credible upper card heels during that time with some fans wanting him in the Hall of Fame.

5 Eddie Guerrero's WWE Championship Journey

WWE wanted the Ruthless Aggression Era to feel like anyone could become a star with opportunities offered to hungry talents. Eddie Guerrero proved that veterans deserved those chances along with the young stars called up, like Brock Lesnar and John Cena.

Fans completely gravitated towards Eddie with his lying, cheating and stealing antics working well on the babyface side. Guerrero became an unlikely WWE Champion winning the gold later in his career after many years of hard work in the mid-card.

4 Vickie Guerrero Becoming Top Heel Character

Eddie Guerrero’s wife Vickie Guerrero also joining him as shocking success stories came out of left field. The heartbreaking passing of Eddie saw Vickie working with WWE for moments like his Hall of Fame induction or celebrating Rey Mysterio’s World Championship win in his honor.

WWE was impressed with Vickie to bring her in for a more consistent role and turning her heel. Vickie became arguably the most hated character of the Ruthless Aggression Era getting massive boos every week. The heel authority figure position led to her being a great villain and stacking the odds in favor of her love interest Edge.

3 Money In The Bank Briefcase

A rare instance of a concept being a success story for WWE featured the Money in the Bank ladder match becoming a huge part of the product. The idea being announced just felt like a cool ladder match with the prize not being that big since #1 contender spots were often used at stakes in various bouts.

Edge cashing it in for the first time truly shocked everyone not realizing that he could do it after the champ had a match and was unable to fight back. The Money in the Bank match became a huge success with names like Edge, CM Punk and Rob Van Dam benefiting from the briefcase.

2 Mickie James Stalking Trish Stratus

WWE introduced Mickie James as a super fan of Trish Stratus who chased her wrestling dream like her hero. The storyline featured WWE completely copying the movie Single White Female where a stalker tried to completely take over the life of her roommate.

Women’s feuds rarely got time to tell a deep story, and this seemed even riskier with moments like Mickie kissing Trish or pushing her further. WWE benefited immensely from the program as James became a breakout star once they feuded. Stratus also got to be a part of a stronger feud that most of her previous career.

1 John Cena Embracing Polarizing Reactions

The huge push of John Cena paid off when he became the face of the Ruthless Aggression during his journey from debuting with that catch phrase to being the top champ. However, WWE encountered a problem of fans loudly booing him and chanting “Cena sucks.”

Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels received some boos in the role, but they were few and far between. WWE decided to embrace at least half the crowd hating Cena every week. The first case of a polarizing face of the company had his fans and haters clashing every week for a great atmosphere.