The Rock | B
The Rock saw 2002 establish him as the undisputed biggest name in pro-wrestling. He reached major success in Hollywood with "The Scorpion King" and instantly became the biggest cross-over star in the history of the squared circle, passing men such as Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin. The Rock did a great job giving WWE publicity and a better name during his promotional tour earlier in the year. In the ring, the Rock was gone for much of the first half, but what he did deliver was great. His program with Hulk Hogan was one of the most memorable and historic ever. Few will ever forget his amazing promo in the ring with Hulk, as well as their WrestleMania match. The Rock also returned to RAW following Steve Austin's departure to give an important interview to rally the troops and the fans. His program with Chris Jericho early in the year was also solid stuff. What he did was mostly A material, but since he was gone so often (coupled with a lackluster feud with the Undertaker in February), his grade drops to a B. .::.Ashish

Steve Austin | F
Steve Austin was the man to ignite the "Attitude era" and bring WWE to new heights, but in 2002, the Rattlesnake saw everything crash down. After going through rather dull programs through the first few months of the year, Austin lost his professionalism and walked out following WrestleMania. Then, after complaining often in the back to get a program with Eddy Guerrero, a program he wanted, he again walked out on RAW and WWE has put him on suspension, with little hope that he will return anytime soon. What Austin did do in the ring through the first half of the year was lackluster at best. His programs with Chris Jericho, Scott Hall, Ric Flair, and Eddy Guerrero did little to rekindle the magic he once had, and he also seemed to lose his touch in the ring. We obviously did not factor his problems outside of the ring since they had nothing to do with his WWE performance, but his grade could not get any lower anyway. .::.Ashish

The Undertaker | B+
The Undertaker, while often not getting much respect on the 'net, did everything asked of him by WWE through the first half of the year. He seemed to always put young talent over, starting at the Royal Rumble with Maven, and going on to put guys like Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy over. 'Taker was also a work horse, usually working both RAW and Smackdown since winning the WWE Undisputed Title in April, and constantly working matches with wrestlers ranging from the low card (Tommy Dreamer, Jeff Hardy) to the high card (Kurt Angle). He made his WrestleMania program with Ric Flair worthwhile due to great promos and psychology. 'Taker's mic work took off this year, as he showed an ability to cut a 5-10 minute promo like never before in his career. The Dead Man seemed to stick with WWE and do what they needed him to do, despite questionable programs. His match work, however, continued to decline as age takes its toll. .::.Ashish

Hulk Hogan | B
While this grade will get us some heat, Hulk Hogan's return to WWE has been much better than anyone expected. Hogan has more or less gone out of his way to "fit in" and do what was asked of him. News has yet to break of him being difficult to work with, refusing to job, etc. He rose above the nWo flop to deliver hot stuff with The Rock at WrestleMania and his face turn brought in some of the largest pops in the history of the business. Obviously age has left its mark on Hogan and his wrestling skills were never great to begin with, but the man has been putting everything he has into his latest run. Business did decline with Hulkamania running wild, but he did what he has always done, and WWE management knew what he could bring and put the Undisputed Title on him anyway. His recent program with Kurt Angle was excellent and showed that Hogan is now willing to be a team player. Lackluster matches (despite his age) along with mostly bad programs with the Undertaker and Triple H bring his grade down to a B. .::.Ashish

Kurt Angle | A+
Kurt Angle was arguably WWE's MVP for the first half of the year. Angle continued to look like a million bucks in his matches, on the mic, and in pretty much every segment he was involved in. His program with Edge delivered great matches, and did more to elevate Edge than WWE's previous efforts. His work with Hulk Hogan brought the best out of the Hulkster, and his willingness to do what was asked of him and be a team player shined through. He even got a good match out of Kane. Angle didn't really do anything wrong in the first half, and excelled in every aspect, making bad programs better and good programs great, as well as constantly getting the most in the ring out of each of his opponents. He made everybody he worked with look better and that is the true mark of a great wrestler. .::.Ashish

Triple H | C+
Triple H's return in January marked a very disappointing time in WWE. From his Royal Rumble win to recapturing the WWE Title at WrestleMania, nothing seemed to stand out. His program with Chris Jericho, revolving around a dog, was one of the worst in recent memory. To make matters worse, Triple H was a very reliable wrestler in the ring before his injury. After returning with added bulk, he has seemed to slow down and lose his ability to deliver solid matches. He still displays great intensity in the ring and through his promos, but has lost much of what once made him great. Playing a face when he is such a great heel doesn't help out much either. His World Title reign was, although short, very dull, including only a lackluster program with Hogan. Triple H has shown a willingness to put over a few younger guys, but always seems to do what he has to in order to keep his spot on top. .::.Ashish

The nWo | D
The nWo's return was one of the most disappointing angles in wrestling history. The original group of Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Hulk Hogan quickly dismantled with Hogan turning face and Scott Hall being fired. The addition of The Big Show seemed to only bring the group down, and their short lived alliance with Ric Flair was a mess. While the Hogan/Rock program was great, Hogan seemed to be more of an individual than part of a group throughout the feud. Nash's injury has forced him to do very little since returning to WWE. Only the recent addition of Shawn Michaels, as well as better promos and a decent program with Booker T & Goldust have kept them from failing the semester. .::.Ashish

Chris Jericho | B
Chris Jericho reigned as WWE's Undisputed Champion for about the first 3 months of the year, but seemed to be neglected by management. He seemed to be overlooked in all his programs and was never given a great chance to thrive as champion. Following his reign, he was seemingly dumped back down to the upper mid-card. While WWE's bookers deserve some blame, they cannot take all. His Hell in the Cell match with Triple H at Judgment Day was great and he more or less delivered solid matches throughout the first half. His mic work continued to entertain and he did his job and was a good part of the WWE team. Obviously this could have been a much better semester for Jericho had he been given the opportunity, but he did fine with what he had to work with. .::.Ashish

Brock Lesnar | B-
Brock Lesnar, still a young rookie, has already made a tremendous impact on WWE due to a massive push that will likely have him headline Summerslam, one of the biggest PPVs of the year. Lesnar made a big debut, showing off amazing power moves. However, his luster has wore off some as his lack of character begins to show. He has yet to show that he can deliver a good match in the ring or a good promo, two key aspects to being a major WWE star. However, he did not ask for such a major push and, for the most part, has done a good job for someone with such little experience. He has shown that he is willing to sell in the ring, sometimes too much. The next few months will be key for Brock Lesnar and his path to stardom. .::.Ashish

Booker T. | B-
I would like to rank Booker higher, because the reasons for a B- are none of his own. For the first part of the year, when he was still a heel, Steve Austin, The Rock, and Triple H made him look like a ridiculous jobber every time out. Couple that with a lackluster tag teaming with Test, and one can easily see why Booker had a rough first part of the year. But when Booker was allowed to start showing off his personality, his popularity soared. At the same time, Booker and Goldust were thrown together as a team, and their backstage skits have become one of the highlights of Raw. Then, he was inexplicably placed in the New World Order, but was kicked out after just a few weeks. Hopefully Booker can continue to get a solid push, as the fans are very much behind him. .::.Jacob Ziegler

Edge | A-
No one has been on as much of an upswing as the 2001 King of the Ring. He began the year in the midst of his fourth reign as Intercontinental champion, but dropped the title to William Regal at the Royal Rumble. He failed in subsequent rematches and fell back to lower card status but would soon recover. Edge pinned Booker T cleanly at WrestleMania in his hometown of Toronto, and then moved on to a feud with Kurt Angle that worked wonders for his career. Angle won the match at Backlash, but Edge won a hair vs. hair match at Judgment Day, and a cage match a few weeks later on Smackdown. All the matches were excellent, as Edge finally made that leap to the upper echelon. He closed the first half by winning the WWE Tag Team Titles once again, this time with Hulk Hogan as his partner. His terrific ring work, hard work, and improvement lands him an A-. .::.Jacob Ziegler

Rob Van Dam | A-
Along with Edge, RVD is the fastest rising star on the WWE roster. He started the year feuding with Goldust, and handily put him away at No Way Out. Then he went on to beat William Regal for the Intercontinental title at WrestleMania, and things just keep looking up for him. RVD began a program with Eddie Guerrero after WrestleMania, and the two men traded the IC title back and forth, culminating in an awesome ladder match on the May 27th edition of Raw. That feud did something rare: elevated both men. RVD then went to the finals of the King of the Ring tournament, only to lose to Brock Lesnar, whom he ended the first half feuding with. He could be a main eventer before the end of 2002. .::.Jacob Ziegler