I was introduced to the world of pro wrestling at the beginning of June 2002, just mere weeks before Cena's debut. So while I've always said I regret missing out on the Attitude Era, the start of the Ruthless Aggression Era in 2002-2003 was a HELL of a time to be a new WWE fan. Such great memories.
I really got into the world of pro wrestling at the turn of the millennium, but I didn't have regular access to the actual programming (I had to piece together almost the entire Invasion era from reading recaps online, for example) until the exact same time you did - early June 2002, when I moved into a house with friends and we got satellite TV. It was indeed a terrific time to do so, the embarrassment of riches on the roster from Attitude Era holdovers, WCW and ECW acquisitions, and (from right around that point) the rising OVW stars arriving meant that WWF/E was waist-deep in talent and stars. Great matches and memories every week and month.
The Attitude era was crazy but the Ruthless Aggression era was no slouch either. It was a lot better than that year after WM 17 too. The in-ring product was also leaps and bounds better than the Attitude era as well plus WWE wasn't PG yet .
Look how far my childhood come watching wrestling and see these guy's age and become HOF legends Brock, Cena, Orton, Benjamin, and Batista wow I'm getting old 😀
these guys probably had to stay in OVW longer than usual due to the influx of wrestlers from WCW and the recent invasion storyline. even so, it is still insane that 4 of the biggest stars of the next 2 decades came from that class (cena, batista, brock, orton )
That's true for Shelton, Cena & Batista but Orton & Lesner left OVW & started traveling with main roster in the fall of 01 but didn't debut on TV until March/April 02.
The talent was there but (aside from Brock) any of them could’ve failed. WWE was gonna let Cena go. Orton wouldn’t stop sabotaging himself, Batista got stuck with a shit gimmick right away. The talent was there but people forget that they still had to put in the work once they came up to WWE. Other than Brock, none of them were handed instant, guaranteed success. Props to them for making the most of their opportunity. Having NXT on TV as a third brand hurts the call-up in a way. I never watched OVW, most fans didn’t, so when they got to WWE they felt new. Going from NXT to Raw or Smackdown just feels like changing brands.
Shelton was the only one out of the guy's mentioned that hasn't been a world champ and it's criminal. Dude was one of the best workers and performers of the 2000-10s
WWE had such an embarrassment of riches on their roster in 2002. From the homegrown stars to the veteran megastars who still had gas left in the tank, to the blue-chip prospects. That's why they could afford to drop-the-ball with youngsters like Rob Conway, Sean O'Haire, Matt Morgan, etc., all of whom they would kill for today.
All those guys they named got super pushes. Except Shelton Benjamin and who ever Reco is. All WWE champs. I believe Blacks have always been held down in the WWE. Some will say the Rock (who says he isn't Black)wasn't, but that's the same a one Black president. Who thinks 1 out of 46 is fair? Some people do. Randy Orton has held the world and wwe title more than the Rock. Smaller draw more title reigns. What a joke.
@@clownafra6088 Not sure if you can say that in recent years but there is some historical precedence for it. Ron Simmons a.k.a. Farouq should have gotten a title run at some point. Hell he became WCW world champion in 1992 and that was Southern promotion. Junkyard Dog used to get pushed heavy in World Class and Mid-South. Ernie Ladd and countless others.
@@anthonyanderson9303 Ron Simmons is dope, but I'm talking about WWE. He didn't win that title. JYD never won it either. Booker didn't Mark Henry didn't Shelton Benjamin never got close. The World Heavyweight Title was a different belt. Different lineage. I don't know about recent years because I stopped watching in 07. Maybe 05. They really lost me to where I just forgot. UFC was the place to be. The champs aren't determined by anything but luck and skills.
These guys were great and according to Cornette the next classes were even better, they just got stuck with awful WWE writers when they got to the main roster
This is a great explanation by Shelton. So many guys these days think they are the bees knees and think they are ready just because they do fun flips or get THIS IS AWESOME chants in NXT. The guys in developmental back in the Attitude/Ruthless Aggression Era has to be on the level of hugely charismatic guys still active on the main roster like Rock, Austin, Hogan, Angle, HHH, Taker, Flair, RVD, Booker T and more.
A genuine world class talent who was likely too nice for his own good. Imo Seth Rollins is successful due to WWE realising how much they fucked up with Shelton. Wrestling ability is what connects them, but they gave Seth the room to be a snot nose heel, if Shelton had been given a genuine, heart on sleeve baby face run I have no doubts he’d have 5+ WWE titles to his name. Instead his own ability and niceness turned him into a spot guy in the yearly MITB. A real shame but I’ll always put him up there with AJ Styles and Shibata as my top guys in my own GM mode lol.
It would be amazing to see Shelton versus Brock versus Cena versus Orton versus Batista. In a Fatal 5 way where Shelton wins the World Heavyweight championship. Even better if he won it a WrestleMania.
If it ain't broken why did they have to fix it? I know many of their training systems have been fairly to very successful, but none to the same degree as OVW. Agree with the person who put Victoria over in the comments. She took to wrestling like a duck to water, and within the confines of women's wrestling before it was really pushed, she was a big deal and like a lot of the guys, I'm certain made OVW's people proud.
I think the problem is that the working rythm of the main roster has speed up since then and WWE cant afford investing so many resources and screentime to develop wrestling characters from zero. As a succesful corporation they have become more and more picky with money and more selective with its talents. Just take a look at how music entrances have been deteriotating since then. Jim Johnston made great themes for basically everyone and now the good songs are reserved mostly for main eventers.
In terms of in ring talent, Shelton might be the most talented athlete out of all of those guys. Its unfortunate he was never given that main event opportunity.
what I didn't realize before looking was Bull Bucannon was off and on the main roster sense 97 as he debuted with the Truth Commission. Once that finished he went back to development, then came back probably in 2000 with Boss Man then RTC.
and in a hilarious turn of events WWE then decided to try and mess with OVW as much as they possibly could instead of leaving Cornette alone to train talent and make them money.
Full interview with Shelton: th-cam.com/video/0-Li8wgVA08/w-d-xo.html
I missed Out I've never seen OVW Ohio Valley Wrestling.
And Love It CVVCLIPS Bro.
Shelton sounds like such a genuine guy.
I'm gonna be pushing Shelton to the top on WWE 2K23 🔥🔥🔥
That 2002 class was so insane.
Met him a few times at the Woodlands mall in Texas. He used to get his phone fixed at a kiosks next to my store, he's super kind and just so outgoing.
I was introduced to the world of pro wrestling at the beginning of June 2002, just mere weeks before Cena's debut. So while I've always said I regret missing out on the Attitude Era, the start of the Ruthless Aggression Era in 2002-2003 was a HELL of a time to be a new WWE fan. Such great memories.
I really got into the world of pro wrestling at the turn of the millennium, but I didn't have regular access to the actual programming (I had to piece together almost the entire Invasion era from reading recaps online, for example) until the exact same time you did - early June 2002, when I moved into a house with friends and we got satellite TV. It was indeed a terrific time to do so, the embarrassment of riches on the roster from Attitude Era holdovers, WCW and ECW acquisitions, and (from right around that point) the rising OVW stars arriving meant that WWF/E was waist-deep in talent and stars. Great matches and memories every week and month.
The Attitude era was crazy but the Ruthless Aggression era was no slouch either. It was a lot better than that year after WM 17 too. The in-ring product was also leaps and bounds better than the Attitude era as well plus WWE wasn't PG yet .
I looked at Ruthless Aggression as a far super in ring product while still pretty damn good promos and stories.
Victoria deserves just as much credit for her contributions as everyone else in that class
fr she was a staple of women's wrestling for years not just in WWE.
No she doesn't, stop talking shit. Everybody knows Batista, Orton, Cena and Lesnar, nobody gives a fuck about Victoria.
Victoria became a world Champ before Orton, Cena, and Batista. IDK why WWE doesn't include her when mentioning 02 OVW.
I think the reason they see them on a different pedestals is fairly obvious if you’re honest about it.
No she doesnt stop lying you didnt care about victoria at all when she was wrestling
Look how far my childhood come watching wrestling and see these guy's age and become HOF legends Brock, Cena, Orton, Benjamin, and Batista wow I'm getting old 😀
I was 10 yrs old when this happened and I can say I was lucky to see this Live, Great memories.
Damn I was 6 🤣🤣
Cornette’s best work.
2002 was an incredible year!
these guys probably had to stay in OVW longer than usual due to the influx of wrestlers from WCW and the recent invasion storyline. even so, it is still insane that 4 of the biggest stars of the next 2 decades came from that class (cena, batista, brock, orton )
That's true for Shelton, Cena & Batista but Orton & Lesner left OVW & started traveling with main roster in the fall of 01 but didn't debut on TV until March/April 02.
I think if Brock could tag with Shelton and go against Sami and Kevin in a tag team feud it would be awesome and benefit everyone involved.
Brock would be great for the tag division
@@vinny1537Brock could legit be one tag team partner he don’t even need a partner 🤣🤣
How would it benefit Brock...? Brock and Sheltons' mic-work both are a bit... meh. It would be lopsided promos with those two vs Sami n Kevin.
Brock doesn’t do tag matches
nope vs Otis and gable
It's wild that from one year of OVW emerged so many legends. Insane.
The talent was there but (aside from Brock) any of them could’ve failed. WWE was gonna let Cena go. Orton wouldn’t stop sabotaging himself, Batista got stuck with a shit gimmick right away. The talent was there but people forget that they still had to put in the work once they came up to WWE. Other than Brock, none of them were handed instant, guaranteed success. Props to them for making the most of their opportunity.
Having NXT on TV as a third brand hurts the call-up in a way. I never watched OVW, most fans didn’t, so when they got to WWE they felt new. Going from NXT to Raw or Smackdown just feels like changing brands.
This is very valid point.
Shelton was the only one out of the guy's mentioned that hasn't been a world champ and it's criminal. Dude was one of the best workers and performers of the 2000-10s
WWE had such an embarrassment of riches on their roster in 2002. From the homegrown stars to the veteran megastars who still had gas left in the tank, to the blue-chip prospects. That's why they could afford to drop-the-ball with youngsters like Rob Conway, Sean O'Haire, Matt Morgan, etc., all of whom they would kill for today.
They really wanted to push Matt Morgan. That guy was right up Vince's alley.
All those guys they named got super pushes. Except Shelton Benjamin and who ever Reco is. All WWE champs. I believe Blacks have always been held down in the WWE. Some will say the Rock (who says he isn't Black)wasn't, but that's the same a one Black president. Who thinks 1 out of 46 is fair? Some people do. Randy Orton has held the world and wwe title more than the Rock. Smaller draw more title reigns. What a joke.
@@clownafra6088 Not sure if you can say that in recent years but there is some historical precedence for it. Ron Simmons a.k.a. Farouq should have gotten a title run at some point. Hell he became WCW world champion in 1992 and that was Southern promotion. Junkyard Dog used to get pushed heavy in World Class and Mid-South. Ernie Ladd and countless others.
@@anthonyanderson9303 Ron Simmons is dope, but I'm talking about WWE. He didn't win that title. JYD never won it either. Booker didn't Mark Henry didn't Shelton Benjamin never got close. The World Heavyweight Title was a different belt. Different lineage. I don't know about recent years because I stopped watching in 07. Maybe 05. They really lost me to where I just forgot. UFC was the place to be. The champs aren't determined by anything but luck and skills.
@clownafra6088 true but in recent years Kofi Kingston, Bobby Lashley and Big E have all been WWE champions.
When he mentioned Bull Buchanan it dawned on me that Shelton was in developmental in the very last days of the attitude era, which is mind blowing.
That line up was stacked, 🔥🔥🔥
These guys were great and according to Cornette the next classes were even better, they just got stuck with awful WWE writers when they got to the main roster
Corny says Shelton is one of his favorite people ever and now I see why
Just to be apart of that class is so goated
This is a great explanation by Shelton.
So many guys these days think they are the bees knees and think they are ready just because they do fun flips or get THIS IS AWESOME chants in NXT.
The guys in developmental back in the Attitude/Ruthless Aggression Era has to be on the level of hugely charismatic guys still active on the main roster like Rock, Austin, Hogan, Angle, HHH, Taker, Flair, RVD, Booker T and more.
A genuine world class talent who was likely too nice for his own good. Imo Seth Rollins is successful due to WWE realising how much they fucked up with Shelton. Wrestling ability is what connects them, but they gave Seth the room to be a snot nose heel, if Shelton had been given a genuine, heart on sleeve baby face run I have no doubts he’d have 5+ WWE titles to his name. Instead his own ability and niceness turned him into a spot guy in the yearly MITB. A real shame but I’ll always put him up there with AJ Styles and Shibata as my top guys in my own GM mode lol.
safe to say all 6 of them are future hall of famers
I didn’t know Victoria was part of the class of ‘02
She was on tv before, but not as a wrestler
@@infinite-sadnessbut she got powerbombs through a table, HARD!!!
It would be amazing to see Shelton versus Brock versus Cena versus Orton versus Batista. In a Fatal 5 way where Shelton wins the World Heavyweight championship. Even better if he won it a WrestleMania.
If it ain't broken why did they have to fix it? I know many of their training systems have been fairly to very successful, but none to the same degree as OVW.
Agree with the person who put Victoria over in the comments. She took to wrestling like a duck to water, and within the confines of women's wrestling before it was really pushed, she was a big deal and like a lot of the guys, I'm certain made OVW's people proud.
Ultimately it was how Johnny Ace really chose to deal with Cornette and OVW that caused the issues with that specific area.
My all time fav victoria
I think the problem is that the working rythm of the main roster has speed up since then and WWE cant afford investing so many resources and screentime to develop wrestling characters from zero. As a succesful corporation they have become more and more picky with money and more selective with its talents.
Just take a look at how music entrances have been deteriotating since then. Jim Johnston made great themes for basically everyone and now the good songs are reserved mostly for main eventers.
Victoria in the thumbnail !😊
Yeah its true about nobody being called up because 2000 to 2001, they were on a hot run and then the WCW/ECW guys came in.
The 2002 class was GOATED
Victoria did her shit
PUT SOME RESPECT ON RICO'S NAME! LMAO
In terms of in ring talent, Shelton might be the most talented athlete out of all of those guys. Its unfortunate he was never given that main event opportunity.
Haha I forgot about Rico lol he would've been bigger in today's era
"I said, John Laurinaitis. Tell you fn creative team to be more fn creative and pretend next time. Thank you, Fyou, Bye" - Jim Cornette
I thought Bull Buchanan was with Big Boss Man before right to censor??
what I didn't realize before looking was Bull Bucannon was off and on the main roster sense 97 as he debuted with the Truth Commission. Once that finished he went back to development, then came back probably in 2000 with Boss Man then RTC.
Victoria was my girl! Loved watching her! That Widow's Peak was a mother🤬!
Should’ve been world champion
410 Fadel Corner
I don’t think ppl understand how crazy talented Shelton was. WWE failed him.
and in a hilarious turn of events WWE then decided to try and mess with OVW as much as they possibly could instead of leaving Cornette alone to train talent and make them money.
254 Lazaro Crossing
156 Pfannerstill Prairie
Bull Boss man.
8042 Oma Knolls