Coming out of the Ruthless Aggression, WWE was left with a difficult task. Due to various pressures, the company was moving away from its adult-oriented product and into a new era of wrestling. The company was pivoting to a more child-friendly product that didn’t involve the more violent matches of its predecessors.
Becoming a PG product was always going to be tricky for WWE. They were forced to tone certain things down with an inherently violent product and present a different side of the business. This negatively affected the ratings, but it didn’t stop the WWE from putting together some banging rivalries.
These rivalries helped to usher in a new era and define the careers of a sloth of wrestlers.
The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker were not one to cross paths often but, when they did, it was fireworks. Their Attitude Era spat was a great one but it paled in comparison to the compelling television they produced during the PG Era.
It began with a 5-star classic at WrestleMania. A match that many say is the best in WrestleMania history and what followed was a journey of revenge from Michaels. He couldn’t handle how close he came at WrestleMania 25 and would stop at nothing to goad The Undertaker into a final match.
It took HBK costing The Undertaker the World Championship to bring the two together again. When they finally met once more, they produced an emotional sendoff that had no equal.
Daniel Bryan vs The Authority
Every era has its “hero against the office” angle. It is a proven money program, and it is one that can catapult said hero toward the main event. Eras are rife with these stories and the PG was no different.
Daniel Bryan was the PG era’s golden boy. The indie darling was beloved by the WWE fans and, no matter how hard they cheered, he was pushed down by the office. It started behind the scenes but was soon pushed as a major angle.
Bryan was consistently put down as a B+ player. When he reached the top of the mountain, The Authority would knock him off again. It infuriated the fans, and the rise of the “Yes Movement” began.
The cheers were thunderous, and the support was undeniable. So much so that WrestleMania’s plans were changed, and Bryan finally had the World Heavyweight Championship on his shoulders. It was the culmination of one of the more captivating programs of the PG era.
The Nexus vs The WWE
Wrestling always needs its hungry lions to come in and take over the roster. It is an inevitable occurrence and should be a gateway to bigger things for those lions. When The Nexus formed and invaded Raw, the NXT upstarts were these lions.
They cut swaths through the roster leaving no survivors in their wake. It was the perfect way to introduce the group and ignite their war against WWE.
For weeks no one knew where the next attack would come from. No one was safe – not talent, not announcers, not even the boss. Their tirade against WWE was amazing and made for great television. It was a feud that should have gone on longer but was halted by the SummerSlam fiasco that we all know well.
CM Punk vs John Cena
“The Summer of Punk” was the highlight of 2011. CM Punk‘s crusade against the office was on behalf of many disgruntled fans, and that put John Cena right into Punk’s crosshairs. Cena was the presentation of everything that Punk hated.
Cena was the golden goose who got his push, regardless of the efforts of other talent on the roster. It drew the ire of Punk and sparked him to present his pipe bomb to the world.
During their rivalry, there wasn’t a bad match between the two. The Money in the Bank match was perfection and even their worst match-up was better than most wrestlers could put on.
They met off and on throughout the years and their rivalry always heated up when they did. Their promos were amazing, and their matches solidified their greatness.
Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels
Chris Jericho’s heel persona was perhaps the best character change of the PG era. The fans were weary of the Y2J gimmick and an adjustment was needed.
The sneering heel was a great switch for Jericho but it needed a great feud to make it one of the best. That didn’t take long as Michaels was paired with Jericho, and the rest is history.
Rivalries don’t get more personal than this one. Jericho hated his former hero and would stop at nothing to put HBK down for good. He compared it to putting an old dog down, drumming up all sorts of emotional trauma from the audience.
Their problems also led to Jericho accidentally striking the wife of HBK and ramming Michaels’ head through a television. It produced some fantastic matches and was the best World Championship program of 2008.
The Rock vs John Cena
This was a rivalry that no one in their right mind thought that they would ever see. The Rock and John Cena were the two biggest stars of their time.
They were incredibly popular babyfaces that were money on the stick and entertaining in the ring. No one could throw barbs like these two men, and that is why The Rock’s return started with a bang.
The Great One immediately targeted Cena, and what followed was a deeply personal war of words. No topic was off the table when these two met in the ring. They took the deepest cuts possible to get one over the other.
Of course, this wasn’t just a battle of wits. The Rock and Cena main-evented WrestleMania twice. Once in a better-than-expected match and another that was a carbon copy of the original with a different finish. The attraction of their matches wasn’t so much the action but the lead-up to it.
CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy
CM Punk had floundered for some time in WWE. His pushes were stopped before they got going, and not much faith was shown in the Second City Saint. That is until he turned heel against Jeff Hardy, as the two created a fantastic rivalry.
The high and mighty Punk would always hit below the belt, pointing out Hardy’s substance abuse problems. It took from reality, making Punk look like a weasel for bringing it up and piling sympathy onto Hardy. It hyped up every match they had and made the action mean that much more.
In the ring, their matches were top-notch. A terrific ladder match and an underrated steel cage match highlights a great summer for both men.
Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho
Interestingly, Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho were not put together as much as they were. Their longevity in the company alone should have them in proximity but, for whatever reason, it was very infrequent. This is a huge shame because, when they did enter into a program together, they produced pure gold.
Jericho’s anger at being left out of the main event led him to take his frustrations out on the Intercontinental Champion. Y2J used every tactic he could think of to get under the skin of Mysterio. The most serious being his crusade to rip Mysterio’s mask off.
Of all their great matches – and there were plenty during this rivalry – their Mask vs Championship was the best. It was a beautiful bookend on a mid-card championship program that not many talk about.
Randy Orton vs Triple H
Triple H and Randy Orton have been joined at the hip since they paired up. As members of Evolution, they were an unstoppable force but it was in their problems afterward that they produced some compelling television.
Their rivalry has spanned eras but it was during the PG one that they brought it to another level. Orton was a despicable heel during this time and his war against every McMahon was perfect. Segments involving Stephanie McMahon were hard to watch and increased the personal nature of their feud.
When they stepped into the ring, sparks always flew. The matches were not everyone’s cup of tea but their methodical nature made for engaging matches.
John Cena vs Randy Orton
John Cena and Randy Orton’s rivalry was the best of the PG era. For sheer volume alone, these two need to be ranked right there at the top.
They competed in a staggering 216 matches throughout their rivalry. That tops any other rivalry in WWE history.
Naturally, with that much time in the ring, they were able to develop tremendous chemistry. Their matches meshed perfectly with their styles and there wasn’t a bad one between the pair. Sure, not all knocked it out of the park, but there wasn’t one that could be classified as terrible.
Anytime WWE needed to pull out the big guys for a feud, Orton and Cena were the men to do it. They were chosen to compete for the Undisputed Championship and usher in a new age.
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