The Best WWE Stars Of The 2010s Left Screaming Fans Breathless
The last decade has been quite fruitful for the WWE. The promotion has vanquished nearly all its competition. More than ever, talent from outside of the WWE has flowed into the organization, creating incredible moments.
The way the WWE promotes itself has also changed. While the promotion, at one time, was all about heavyweights, now wrestlers of all sizes are featured. Women also play a big part as some of the WWE's best female wrestlers now perform at the top of the card.
Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes began the decade as Dashing Cody Rhodes and had some success in the WWE with a nice run as Intercontinental Champion. He also had a notable stint as Stardust, teaming with his brother Dustin "Golddust" Rhodes.
But the grappler has achieved his biggest degree of success by creating AEW. The promotion has given the WWE a run for its money. Rhodes has done well in All Elite Wrestling alongside top performers like Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho and the Jackson Brothers.
CM Punk
CM Punk stepped away from the WWE in 2014. That means that in the four years he actually did wrestle he accomplished quite a bit to end up on this list. The decade started with his infamous Pipe Bomb promo on WWE Raw.
After that, the wrestler engaged in a strong feud with John Cena which ended with him winning the WWE Championship. Following programs with the Undertaker and Kane, Punk retired early in 2014.
Finn Balor
Before he was Finn Balor, the wrestler, whose real name is Fergal Devitt took Japan by storm as Prince Devitt. He made his mark in legendary promotion New Japan as a founding member of the Bullet Club.
He came to the WWE in 2014 and quickly won the title in NXT. He then moved to the main roster, winning the Intercontinental title twice and taking home the Universal championship once. He is still in the WWE, now again on the NXT roster.
Grado
Sometimes wrestling fans can become so concerned with the technical aspect of the sport that they forget wrestling is supposed to be fun. Grado is one grappler that never lets fans forget to have a good time.
The Scotsman is well-traveled, wrestling for promotions like Pro Wrestling Elite and Total Nonstop Action. His highest level of success has taken place where it all started, Insane Championship Wrestling where he held the Championship belt in 2015. Grado may have never made it to the WWE, but we still felt he earned his spot on this list.
The Undertaker
Mark Callaway, better known as The Undertaker, has been wrestling in the WWE since 1989. While he has been full-time for the vast majority of his career, he now works on more of a part-time schedule.
The Undertaker typically comes around for Wrestlemania each year. While his long-time winning streak has come to an end, that doesn't mean the Dead Man can't still bring the fans to their feet. He's lost to Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns since his incredible streak ended.
Sheamus
Sheamus had a rapid rise from bodyguard for U2 to WWE Champion. His tremendous run continued throughout the teens. Earlier on in the decade, he won a Royal Rumble, and took home both the US and Heavyweight Championship belts.
Towards the end of the decade, the Irish powerhouse had a memorable program with fellow European Cesaro. The duo called themselves The Bar and dominated the WWE Tag Team Scene. Sheamus and Cesaro won the Raw Tag Team titles on four occasions and also won the Smackdown Tag Team Championship once.
Kofi Kingston
Beginning his main roster career in 2007, Kofi Kingston has long been a well-admired wrestler in the WWE. He is particularly known for his spectacular appearances in the Royal Rumble each year.
Towards the end of the decade, the Ghanaian-born superstar won the WWE Championship for the first time defeating Daniel Bryan. Kingston also had a 5 year run with the beloved New Day who dominated the tag team division and took home the title on four different occasions.
Sasha Banks
When the decade began, Sasha Banks was a teenager living in Minnesota. By the time the decade ended, she stood as the face of female wrestling in the WWE.
Banks has won the women's title a total of four times. She engaged in prominent programs with wrestlers like Bailey, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch. The "Boss" combines an impressive technical wrestling ability to go along with a rock-solid persona she was aided in developing by her cousin Snoop Dogg.
Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt is likely the wrestler who featured the most personas during the 2010s. He began as Husky Harris, a member of Nexus. After a brief hiatus, he returned as dark character Bray Wyatt and began to regularly appear on top of the card.
Now appearing as "The Fiend," Wyatt has taken home an impressive collection of hardware over the last decade. He won the WWE Championship once, the Universal Championship once and also won tag team championships with Matt Hardy, Randy Orton, and Luke Harper.
Kevin Owens
It took Canadian-born Kevin Owens a number of years to reach the WWE. He began his career as a professional wrestler at the age of 16 and made his WWE debut in 2014.
And Owens has made a huge impact since he's been on the scene. He began his tenure in WWE and had a spectacular program with long-time friend and rival Sami Zayn. Since he's been called up to the main roster, Owens has had continued success winning the Universal, Intercontinental and United States Championships.
The Miz
When you talk about absolute workhorses, there are few wrestlers who have done more for the WWE over the last decade than the Miz. The talented grappler has done a little bit of everything over the last 10 years.
The Miz's decade started at the top of the world when he won the WWE Championship. From there he went on to have tag success with R. Truth and had numerous runs as the promotion's Intercontinental Champion.
Damien Sandow
Damien Sandow, who was also known as Damien Mizdow, was given next to nothing from the WWE. Still, he took the strength of his personality and wrestling ability to turn the little he was given into gold.
Sandow, who became a stunt double for The Miz, turned into one of the biggest stars of the promotion. He had some championship success at the time, winning a tag team belt with Mizanin. Once the program was over, the promotion moved away from the Mizdow gimmick that had been so well received.
Big E. Langston
Big E. Langston is another performer who has worn a number of hats over the last decade. The Tampa-born powerhouse went from a monster heel crushing everyone he came into contact with, to becoming one of the funnier personalities in the promotion.
Big E. won a championship belt during his time in NXT. He also became the Intercontinental Champion in 2013 traded it a few times over the next 2 years. He closed out the year winning multiple tag team titles with the New Day.
Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch began the decade being trained in her native Ireland by future WWE superstar Finn Balor. When she made her way over to the states, she joined a crowded women's division which featured Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Ronda Rousey.
While she wasn't expected to become a star, she quickly rose to the top of the division and got the best of Charlotte to win the title. In 2019, she became the longest-serving Raw Women's Champion, holding the title for 232 days.
Seth Rollins
After a tremendous start to his career on the indie circuit, Seth Rollins debuted in the WWE in 2012. He entered the promotion alongside Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns as a member of The Shield.
Following a successful run with Ambrose and Reigns, Rollins began to take the singles division by storm. The charismatic grappler has become a Grand Slam champion capturing two Heavyweight Titles, two Intercontinental Titles and he has also won the tag team belt a total of five times.
Randy Orton
Randy Orton, son of the legendary Cowboy Bob Orton, has wrestled on the top of the card ever since his WWE debut at the age of 22. To keep the 17-year veteran from getting stale, the promotion has asked him to do a lot of different things.
Of course, there were plenty of WWE and Heavyweight Championship runs for Orton. He also had a well-regarded storyline with the Wyatt Family and had a two year run as the United States Championship.
AJ Styles
There are tons of wrestlers worldwide that fans want to see match up against the WWE's stars. One guy who was always at the top of the list was AJ Styles, who long wrestled in TNA.
Fans finally got their wish when Styles joined the promotion in 2016 and immediately jumped into a feud with John Cena. The North Carolina-born grappler has had plenty of success in the WWE winning the WWE Championship twice and the United States Championship three times.
John Cena
Once stars like The Rock and Steve Austin came to the end of their full-time careers, Vince McMahon looked to find his next superstar. No one wrestler has filled the void quite like John Cena has.
Cena may have his detractors among wrestling purists, but the everyday fans of the WWE have stood by his side since day one. The Professor of Thuganomics has been one of the most successful wrestlers in the promotion's history, capturing the WWE Championship 13 times.
Charlotte
Family legacies matter in all sports, but one could argue, that they matter the most in the sport of professional wrestling. Ric Flair is arguably the greatest wrestler of all-time. And his daughter Charlotte is quickly becoming one of the greatest females to ever do it.
Charlotte combines her Dad's incomparable technical skills with a confidence that borders on arrogance. The dynamic performer has dominated the women's wrestling scene capturing the women's championship on nine different occasions.
Daniel Bryan
When Daniel Bryan first entered the WWE, the promotion didn't seem to know what to do with him. The grappler was one of the best technical wrestlers in the world, but supposedly short on charisma.
The fans of the WWE soon let the organization know that they were all in on the wrestler. Bryan became a major star in the WWE and captured a number of different belts including four WWE Championships, one Intercontinental belt, and a tag team title.
