25/ STING (11, WCW, World Title) "Could help get the company back on their feet if they used him properly and stopped throwing in a fake Sting everytime they don't know what to do with him." Its great to see that Sting is finally putting a bit more effort into his work again. Perhaps it is due to finally getting himself a new angle to work with, maybe the fear of being laid off and being forced to work even harder still for his paycheck is driving him, or maybe God himself threatened the born-again Christian with eternal damnation if he didn't pull his socks up. Whatever it is, I for one am grateful for it. Sting is one of the greatest wrestlers WCW has ever had and his lethargic condition last year made it seem like he was going to fade away like Hogan and Savage before him, before the arrival of the New Blood and finally something worth fighting for. Keep it up Borden, the young 'uns need some veterans around to keep them on the straight and narrow.

24/ SHANE DOUGLAS (32, WCW, WWF Intercontinental Title) "Give credit where credit is due - he certainly has got a lot fatter over this last year." Shane's waistline continues to know no boundaries and further ruin any chances of a decent match coming out of The Franchise (who really should have dropped that nickname by now) but word obviously hasn't reached his brain because he has been working as hard as he ever has done lately. Maybe Billy Kidman is testing him in the ring so much he is being forced to raise his game, maybe he is delusional enough to believe that if Booker T can get the gold then so can he, maybe he doesn't want to be left behind by fellow ECW graduates Mike Awesome and Lance Storm, or maybe (and this is far more likely) the mere sight of Torrie Wilson rubbing his bicep has tapped previously dormant stores of adrenaline. Jealous? You bet I am.

The King Says: Again, bastard....

23/ MIKE AWESOME (NL, WCW, ECW World Title) Turning a man who was feared and respected in equal amounts in ECW into a 'Career Killer' in WCW was generally seen as a good move. When they screwed that one up by having him job to everyone whose name wasn't Kanyon, they changed course and began turning him into an 'amusing' character who is attracted to fat ladies. This is generally seen as a bad move. A stupid move. An imbecilic move of tumultuous proportions that could only possibly happen in the deluded world of WCW...but hey, it might work. Its not as though they have anything left to lose and from all accounts he is getting a generally good reaction out of it. Just as long as they continue to let the man show everybody what he can do in the ring (and in case you haven't done so already, check out his matches with Masato Tanaka from last year...when was the last time you seen Kevin Nash do anything like that?).

The King Says: It does seem a shame to see that Vince Russo has turned a fine and fearsome warrior into an object of ridicule, but it will be interesting to see where he goes - they really should let him loose on Nash at some point.

22/ CHRISTIAN (34, WWF, Tag Team Titles) "Has continued to develop in the ring and astounded everyone by actually daring to wrestle properly on WWF TV." A deserved rise in the ratings for the man who continues to dare to wrestle properly in WWF rings while astounding everyone by actually getting himself a personality in the process. The cowardly heel antics of the current Tag Team Champions are, like, so totally way cool and a sure-fire way of getting heat (the line about JFK committing suicide was a classic). Surely it cannot be too long before Christian is practising his 5-second poses as a singles champion?

The King Says: As is well chronicled, Christian is my favourite WWF wrestler and I have been absolutely thrilled to see his development over the last year. Still a little tentative on the mic, he is getting the much needed practise now and will hopefully continue to evolve into a top star.

21/ GOLDBERG (8, WCW, World Title) "Still easily the most popular man in WCW and the natural choice to succeed Hogan." Recent actions make it hard to see who exactly will succeed Hogan, and at the moment its anyone's guess as to who the most popular man in WCW is. I can think of at least 6 men with good claims to that title. Goldberg, meanwhile, has done himself no favours by doing nobody else any favours - his long, mysterious absences; his refusal to return to WCW until it was clear he could not be blamed for the New Blood's failure to advance in the ratings; his clashes with Vince Russo; his idiotic admission that he would like to go to the WWF; his foolish comments about Triple H...all signs of a man desperately trying to look out for himself at the expense of everybody else. In that respect he has indeed succeeded Hogan. Congratulations, Bill.

The King Says: Never since the Warrior has a man with so much going for him completely shagged it all up.

20/ RIC FLAIR (NL, WCW, World Title) Okay, so he is injured for three months and - storyline wise - 'retired', but Flair has proven himself to be one of a kind yet again recently. He was the only truly entertaining part of the awkward first few months of the Russo & Bischoff led WCW. Unafraid to put over younger talent such as Shane Douglas and Jeff Jarrett, he set a shining example for his Millionaire's Club peers that was cruelly ignored, while giving some of the performances of his life on the mic. He really should not be wrestling at all these days, but he poured his heart and soul into the angle with Vince Russo trying to destroy him and his family, proving that somewhere out there a place is still available for The Nature Boy in 21st century WCW.

The King Says: I am surprised that Flair was kept in the poll, as I would not deem him active - still, I do respect his inclusion through the above comments by Iain - he has worked hard and is not afraid to put people over and for this, he does deserve a great deal of respect.

19/ KANE (17, WWF, World Title) "His character is developing and, despite what we all thought at first, he could be around for some time yet." I will overlook the mysterious absence of Paul Bearer and the sudden, unexplained ability of Kane to speak and praise the WWF on doing an otherwise marvellous job with Kane. When he first showed up everybody thought that he would feud with The Undertaker up until their first match at WrestleMania and then join the likes of The Executioner, Giant Gonzales and, er, The Undertaker in that great graveyard in the sky marked Lame Characters To Feud With The Undertaker. However, they have slowly added more and more of a personality to the Big Red Machine, through friendships (X-Pac), romances (Tori), family (Paul Bearer) and Glenn Jacobs pushing himself to the limit in order to become undoubtedly the most strong, agile and fearsome of the big men in wrestling today. He could yet find himself wearing the World Title again.

The King Says: Kane is still improving, which is great to see. I just hope they don't bury him between the mid card and the main event again. They really should go with having him being involved in the world title picture - I can see him being the number 2 face in the company for quite some time.

18/ VAMPIRO (NL, WCW, no titles) He has a name that 90% of wrestling fans seem unable to pronounce properly (Vam-pee-ro, not Vam-pie-ro), the most useless stable of goons I have seen since Los Boricuas disbanded and a dreadful haircut that is a shining example of why white men just should not have dreadlocks, but I am prepared to forgive him all of this and more because he does what many wrestlers in WCW seem to forget to do these days - he entertains people. Everything he does is unique, no doubt about that, from his constipated style of speaking on the mic to his mixture of every wrestling technique under the sun, it is all wrapped up in one very odd little fella indeed. Sure, the feud with Sting was a bit...'different', but some people like that mysterious, alternative stuff now and then, and its not like you can rely on The Undertaker to provide it these days, is it?

The King Says: He's good, but I could do the gimmick much much better. Just ask Iain.

17/ JUSTIN CREDIBLE (NL, ECW, World Title) Ah, even Paul Heyman cannot resist the lure of The Kliq. I'll be honest here, I haven't seen many of Credible's matches since he became World Champion but I was always under the impression that Lance Storm was the one who made The Impact Players such a good tag team. What makes his title win even more surprising is that he doesn't have the drawing power of the likes of Rob Van Dam, Sandman or Tommy Dreamer and surely now that ECW are looking for a new TV network they would want a more marketable champion? Nonetheless, Justin continues to bury the hideous memory of Aldo Montoya by working his ass off in each and every match. Good luck to him.

The King Says: Yellow Jockstrap. Oh, the hilarity.

16/ THE UNDERTAKER (21, WWF, World Title) "Definitely needs some rest to heal his injuries properly if he wants to stay around much longer." Well, he got some much-needed time off to heal and came back with...Kid Rock? Whatever works for you, I guess. The fans obviously seem to like it (or the song at least) and 'Taker deserves to get a change of pace after a decade of playing The Phenom and feuding with every freak of nature McMahon threw his way. Unfortunately, the American Bad Ass can also currently be described as the American Fat Ass, the American Boring Ass, the American Lazy Ass and the American Retiring-Soon-With-A-Bit-Of-Luck Ass. I'm sorry, but the last entertaining match he was involved in was due to Mick Foley's over-the-top antics (literally), so if the WWF insist on having a boring big man around then they might as well choose the younger and funnier Big Show and certainly not resort to the two of them feuding.

The King Says: The Undertaker has two good things going for him - his new music and his new finisher (quality move). Aside from this, he is overweight, looks stupid in denims (no matter what anyone says, leather and blue denim does NOT go) and has deteriorated massively from his glory days. Call it a day soon, Mark.

15/ EDGE (26, WWF, Intercontinental Title) "Now seems ready to tackle a solo career once he gets out of this feud with the Hardy Boyz." Well the solo career isn't here yet but can only be a matter of time. As things stand Edge has toned down on stealing everybody else's moves in order to build himself a nice little personality to take with him on his solo career, and he is making quite a good job of it. He also has the most fearsome tongue in wrestling. Have you seen that thing? Val Venis has a very lucky sister.

The King Says: My only concern with Christian finding a singles niche is his relationship with Edge - I reckon that the WWF are going to try and push him higher than Chris, which is a shame as Chris is the better grappler. That said, Edge is better on the mic and more charismatic, though he may want to attempt changing his persona a little at times...

14/ KANYON (46, WCW, Tag Team Titles) "Perhaps a change of location would benefit him in the long term?" A huge rise in the ratings for Kanyon, who seems to finally be getting some sort of recognition, but let's face it - there is only so far you can go by mimicking someone else's persona. Will there be any future left for him after the inevitable feud with Diamond Dallas Page upon DDP's return? If WCW have any sense then there will be - Kanyon has shown that he can be as entertaining in those daft 'Kanyon Cutter' skits as he has always been in the ring. However, getting him into a feud with Judy Bagwell is not going to help anybody, as his recent asking for a release goes to show.

The King Says: Fantastic to see a true innovator move up 30 places - WCW really should keep going with this guy as he is one of the hardest working gents in the business.

13/ "BIG POPPA PUMP" SCOTT STEINER (19, WCW, United States Title) "If there is one person in the sport you do not want to piss off, it is Scott Steiner." Scott Steiner - a blessing and a curse rolled into one, for every good quality about him there is a bad one, for example, even though he is very popular with the WCW fans for some reason, there is that not-so-endearing quality of threatening and abusing other wrestlers and officials. He certainly makes for interesting TV, even if only to watch in sheer terror at the thought of what a mentally unstable man that size could do, but there you have the problem. A man that size who clearly has some kind of drug and/or emotional problems should really not be let loose in a wrestling ring on live national TV in such a high pressure environment. Maybe its all seen as part of the fun by Vince Russo, but he won't be saying that if Steiner decides that it is a good idea to whack somebody on the head ten times with a chair then put them in the Steiner Recliner and refuse to let go until they loose consciousness and break their neck simply because they were supposed to get the victory instead of him. Still, with all these cutbacks going around in WCW I wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall when Steiner's contract comes round for renegotiation...

The King Says: This man terrifies me, so I won't say anything bad about the muscle-headed, pill-popping, unamusing, bullying, mentally-retarded moron with the interview skills to rival Ahmed Johnson.

12/ JEFF HARDY (37, WWF, Tag Team Titles) "Desperately needs a change of clothes and to look into getting a credible personality that might inspire the fans." Well Jeff tried and failed on both accounts. Just what does it say about a man that he looks about as pleased to have Terri Runnels or Lita in his corner as he did to have Michael Hayes in the corner? And what is up with those daft vests and bizarre arm-sock things? Its just as well Jeff has such tremendous ability in the ring or such bad fashion sense and blatant lack of emotion would have him taken off TV for life. It seems that another Tag Team Title reign will be in the pipeline for that the Hardy Boy's soon, which makes it less and less likely that they are going to get a chance to take a break, which is more and more worrying. Think of all the crazy bumps that Jeff takes in every single one of their matches - all the table spots, chair shots, leaps from the ladder, senton bombs and more...the human body just wasn't meant to stand that kind of punishment, as J.R. would say, and I just hope that he realises this and tones it down a little bit to get some rest. Nobody wants to stop him from doing all the things that made him famous, but I don't want him to end up like Shawn Michaels, to whom he is so often compared, either and be unable to wrestle again. Do you?

The King Says: As far as wrestlers go, very good. As far as human cannonballs go, excellent. Jeff needs to watch himself - he's going to end up in a wheelchair and having pissed his brother off (due to Matt having NO charisma whatsover and Jeff having plenty) so will have no-one to wheel him around. I'm sure that Katie will volunteer her services (no, not those services, those are reserved for Iain).

11/ LANCE STORM (NL, WCW, United States Title) An absolutely phenomenal turn of events over the past few months have found the former Impact Player with three titles in WCW (of which only one comes close to meaning anything) within months of joining the company. In ECW Lance Storm could always be relied upon to provide everybody with a good match, a pretty dull turn on the mic and the heaven-sent appearance of the lovely Dawn Marie. Unfortunately Dawn Marie is still in Philly, but thankfully Lance has raised his game for appearing on the big stage by remarkably improving his mic skills and carrying on with the same excellent work rate and ring ability that he has always had. His high showing here is a sign that maybe, just maybe, WCW might have found the ability to generate a genuine superstar of their own that does not have an ego the size of Mount Everest. Sounds too good to be true but the anti-USA schtick that worked so well for Bret Hart in 1997 is working its magic yet again and could yet prove to be the most exciting thing in WCW for years to come. A big thumbs-up to Lance Storm.

The King Says: And dare I hope that a program with Bret Hart is awaiting for the Hitman's return? That would be a match and three-quarters.

10/ EDDIE GUERRERO (16, WWF, United States Title) "A fantastic wrestler who could do with an extra dose of charisma to push him into main event territory." Still not in the main-event territory but now free to set his sights a little higher after dropping the European Title to Saturn. Sadly this may not be possible as long as he is a victim of the WWF's "stereotypes rule!" attitude. It may get him over, but the Latino Heat gimmick is even more ridiculous than the Filthy Animals one he left behind in WCW and only marginally better than the Latin World Order one which came before that. Listen up bookers - we all know than Eddie is Mexican, ramming it down our throats is not necessary! I mean The Rock is not pushed as being from Samoa, it is merely stated as a fact while he gets on with things. Do the same with Eddie, what have you got to lose? The man is a natural born wrestler who has found in Chyna (no, NOT Mamacita!) a way of gaining that extra dose of charisma he was missing, so I suggest you do something with it or risk overlooking the next natural main-event candidate.

The King Says: The most exciting thing about Eddie is that he is so close to achieving the top level in the WWF (give him 6 months and a massive heel turn) and this, my friends, means more matches with Chris Jericho. Imagine how well they work together then throw the IC or world title belt into the equation in a ladder match, a sixty minute match or a best of 5 falls bout. Sweet.

9/ BILLY KIDMAN (10, WCW, Tag Team Titles) "Trying to get him over as a chick magnet may be a mistake. Talented he is, handsome he is not." Sex tapes, viagra, innuendo, sex tapes, mixed-gender tag matches, Torrie Wilson, sex tapes...still going for the ol' chick magnet routine then, it would seem. It would also seem that no matter what delights the KidCam may have had to offer, he is still not getting over in the way that he should be. Come on Russo! Kidman is one of the most talented wrestlers in the world and if you want to keep him around then you better come up with a decent program for him quickly before you lose him for good. Oh, and a decent program does not include being beaten up twice a week by a paranoid, balding and egomaniacal Hogan, nor does it mean having to show off his lack of charisma on the mic by trying to get him over as some sort of heelish sex symbol. No, a decent program means coming up with something that will get a decent reaction from the crowd and hopefully one or two clean victories over some big names. As for watching Kidman in action in the ring...one word - poetry.

The King Says: I was delighted when they put him in a program with Hogan but I cannot believe that they did not have him drop Hulk for a clean three count on a PPV. Still, Kidman reminds me so much of a young Bret Hart that you cannot but hope that he hangs in there. It'll have to be over the next year though in WCW, as I can certainly see young Bill fitting in a treat with Jericho, Guerrero, Benoit et al up North.

8/ THE ROCK (2, WWF, World Title) "Unlike Austin, The Rock has the ability to continue surprising and entertaining us for a lot longer yet." Remember when you first heard The Rock use the catchphrases "It doesn't matter what you think!" and "Poon-tang pie" and all the rest of them? Didn't you just laugh at this incredibly obnoxious and entertaining young superstar and find it impossible not to be entertained by anything that this man did? Now what are we reduced to? "Just bring it." Hmm, wow, hardly the same is it. In fact The Rock himself isn't the same. He looks more and more like a man patiently waiting to get this wrestling nonsense out of the way so that he can go off to his latest movie shoot, TV guest spot or celebrity party. Either that or the unthinkable is true and Vince Russo was really responsible for all those once-great-now-tiresome catchphrases. Its a shame, because The Rock has always had to rely on his opponent in the ring and used his charisma to get to where he is now. The charisma is still there, but if his heart isn't in it then we could be seeing the beginning of the end.

The King Says: The Rock is dead, long live the King. Seriously, he is obviously too bought into the celebrity of his position right now and as such is no good to anyone within the WWF apart from publicity. Which is the main thing. Still, it would be nice to see a little more commitment from the "people's champ". I miss the cocky heel of 1998 though.

7/ JEFF JARRETT (36, WCW, World Title) "No matter what you may think of him as a wrestler though, his actions following the death of his close friend Owen Hart showed that he is a man of real courage." Yes, he gained a lot of respect as a man after the tragic accident last May but it is perhaps only afterwards that Jeff began to gain any real respect as a wrestler. Difficult to do when you are reduced to beating up women, but immediately upon jumping to WCW it was impossible not to admire the man. He worked his bleached-blonde ass off trying to establish himself as a genuine main-eventer in a series of superb matches with Chris Benoit (a real shame we won't see those two work together again soon) before finally getting his hands on the gold. Unfortunately the bewildering ability of WCW to blow all their decent opportunities came to pass yet again and soon Jarrett was watching people like Nash, Russo and David Arquette stealing all his thunder. Thankfully things seemed to have settled down now, so perhaps Jeff will be able to get a real run at being a main-eventer. Some people think he doesn't deserve it, but he has paid more than his fair share of dues (remember With My Baby Tonight? Or Steve McMichael?), is coherent if repetitive on the mic, has improved his ring technique tenfold on his last WWF stint and, most bizarrely, is selling plenty of those Slapnutz T-shirts, so it is quite clear that those people know nothing about what makes good wrestling. Hey, its either Jarrett or Nash, which would you prefer?

The King Says: I never used to like Jarrett - I always saw him as an overrated underachiever.. Thankfully, he has proved me wrong with a string of good matches, a couple of world title runs and genuine progression to the main event. Banish all thoughts of the horrific cowboy singer gimmick - this man is a deserving wrestling champion.

6/ ROB VAN DAM (9, ECW, Television Title) "Needs a huge reality check, then maybe he can become as great as he thinks he is right now." I'll never understand it you know. Why is Rob Van Dam, quite clearly one of the greatest wrestlers in the world, still in ECW when he could be putting on five-star classics with the likes of Chris Benoit and Jeff Jarrett while making big bucks in a company that knows the meaning of the word 'lighting'? Because of the drugs or the attitude problem? Well how do you account for Chris Candido, Scott Hall, DX, Goldberg, Scott Steiner and practically the whole godamn lot of them? I guess its simply because he wants to, which is either admirable loyalty or sheer stupidity depending on whose side you're on. Perhaps he is quite happy being a large fish in a small pond, or perhaps he is reluctant to end up like Tazz. Anyway, RVD is truly one of a kind. He may not be as fluent in the ring as he should be, and quite content to do the same move about 5 dozen times during a match (more down to an unfortunate lazy streak than anything else, which is his biggest problem) but the fact remains that you can put in a tape of practically any one of his matches and be guaranteed to see something that will take your breath away. There are not many wrestlers you can say that about, which is precisely what makes RVD so special.

The King Says: Waster. Don't like Van Dam's sloppy attitude. Can't see him going anywhere. Open the floodgates and let the hate mail pour in again.

5/ BOOKER T (20, WCW, World Title) "A tremendous wrestler with great charisma, he desperately needs to be given a bigger push." It may be a bit early to be thinking about Wrestler Of The Year awards, but I'm going to take some convincing to vote for anyone other than Booker. All the crap and misuse that he has suffered in WCW all these years, having to helplessly stand back and watch people far less talented than him get all the opportunities, having to resort to the dreaded GI Bro gimmick, doing all that was ever asked of him without once throwing a prima donna tantrum the way so many of his colleagues will and being voted the number one guy in WCW today by our readers...that takes some serious respect. The way he got the title was and will forever be tainted with controversy but it was, to me at least, just as emotional as Mick Foley's first title victory and he can actually back up everything that has been written about him, making it even more special. Booker has always been entertaining in the ring and he continues to do so today, only with even more vigour now that someone in charge has recognised him for the true talent he is. His matches against Sting, Jeff Jarrett, Lance Storm, Goldberg and more since winning the title have easily been the best of the card as he continues to ignore the political chains that are dragging WCW further down into the quicksand with the dignity that has been a trademark of his career. It is for these reasons and not how many titles he wins, how much merchandise he sells or how many B-movie and cable TV guest spots he lands, that I shall always consider Booker T to be a true inspiration, an icon and a wrestling legend. I keep my fingers crossed that we will be able to see a Booker T .vs. Bret Hart match again, but even if Bret does not make it back I am more than confident that Booker shall carry on with the same values Bret always had. Good on you, mate.

The King Says: Iain has said it all - Booker is one of the few wrestlers that make me proud of the sport and make me think that people do get rewarded for hard work rather than shafted all of the time.

4/ TRIPLE H (5, WWF, World Title) "It seems that carrying bags for friends in high places and a lot of hype can get you further in the wrestling business than true ability ever will." That is a very true statement and one which I fully agreed with until this year. I challenge anyone to watch Helmsley's I Quit match from the Royal Rumble, Hell In A Cell match from No Way Out and Last Man Standing match from Fully Loaded and then say that the man does not deserve to be a World Title contender without lying. Yes, it is true that Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash got him further in the industry than he otherwise would have done, but you can only rely on other people to take you so far for so long. After that you have to prove that you can do it on your own and unlike say, ooh I dunno, Goldberg, Helmsley has shown all his doubters that what he lacks in genuine wrestling ability or personality he more than makes up for with his incredible work-rate and dedication. The following few months are likely to throw up another hurdle for him to overcome - can he make it as a main-event face? All signs point to yes.

The King Says: Triple H as a face again? It cannot be far off, and I think that a series between Kurt Angle and Triple H would hit the spot, but I am more interested in seeing Triple H and Chris Jericho against Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit. Triple H will unquestionably wear the big gold again over the next two years and must be commended for his efforts in reaching his pinnacle: Michaels and Nash did give him the ladder to climb, but HHH climbed the most difficult rungs himself and in very convincing fashion.

3/ KURT ANGLE (NL, WWF, Intercontinental Title) I am going to attempt to write this part of the poll without using any lame "Its true! Its true!" jokes, but please feel free to use them at any point if you so desire as I lay four important facts on the line about your Olympic Hero. Firstly, this time last year he had still to make his on-screen debut in the WWF. Secondly, in his rookie year he has had unprecedented success in winning the Intercontinental and European Titles as well as the King Of The Ring 2000 tournament. Thirdly, when The Rock (now the most popular wrestler on the planet) won the Intercontinental Title in his rookie year everybody wanted to kill him. Fourthly, Kurt has used his charisma and charms to win us all over on the mic and backed it up with some very impressive performances in the ring. So, what does all that tell you? It tells me that Kurt is highly likely to go on to emulate The Rock's incredible success. Well why not? He is easily as charismatic and capable of making even a Kevin Kelly interview worth watching. What's even more special is that he is easily far more talented in the ring than The Rock or indeed most of the WWF roster. True, he hasn't really had any major angles to work so far, but the whole love triangle thing with Triple H and Stephanie was left simmering in the background for months and only recently exploded, hopefully giving Angle that extra boost which he needs to get to the level of genuine main-eventer.

The King Says: My pick for best all-arounder in the world right now and number one overall, Kurt Angle has really impressed me with his command of ability, ring psychology and good old-fashioned catchphrasery. There is bound to be more gold in this gentleman's future and you can't help but hope it comes along with Steph McMahon-Helmsley. Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley-Angle? Why the hell not?

2/ CHRIS BENOIT (4, WWF, Intercontinental Title) "If true talent were rewarded, Benoit would be number one in this, and any other, poll, and would have worn world title belts the world over." Unfortunately true talent is seldom rewarded, Benoit's chances of winning the World Title at Fully Loaded were roughly the same as Scott Steiner pissing 100% natural urine and The Rock continues to no-sell the Crippler Crossface. Still, why are people getting worked up about it? These things take time. For a man who only joined the WWF in January, he has already won the European and Intercontinental Titles, headlined a major PPV, made thousands of WWF fans the world over say "Bret Who?" and, as Triple H has shown, the lack of captivating mic skills is seldom a problem when there is a McMahon in your corner and your heart is in it. Its also good to see that the WWF are pushing him as being the 'best technical wrestler' in the company as it would be a true crime for them to try and rob us of Benoit's gift. I'm not exaggerating when I say that is an honour to watch him in action. When he goes up against a worthy opponent (say Guerrero, for example) the results are at best, breathtaking, at worst, great and now that the WWF's pendulum is swinging back in favour of good wrestling, it seems that Chris Benoit will one day become what he never was in WCW - a true World Champion.

The King Says: Whilst I would not go as far as saying that Benoit has replaced Hart in the WWF's legacy, he is certainly the best pure wrestler that the federation has had since Bret's departure. I was exceptionally disappointed that he did not take home the gold at Fully Loaded, but it can only be a matter of time: heck, anyone who can carry The Rock to a match that good deserves to be rewarded.

Once again though, someone has pipped him to the post in the poll. It was quite clear right from the beginning that only one man was going to win the Top 50.

BREAK THE WALLS DOWN!!!!

1/ CHRIS JERICHO (3, WWF, Intercontinental Title) "The only problem comes with the fact that he seems to be starting to believe his own hype, a deadly problem which killed many careers." Well, we have our first two-time, two-time Top 50 winner in Chris Jericho, the 1998 victor. It is quite astounding to consider all the changes that have taken place in just the past two years as the Lionheart became Y2J. For one thing, the outrageously hilarious heel antics of his WCW days, such as the feud with Dean Malenko (a true classic which proves that WCW is its own worst enemy) have been replaced with a more fan-friendly approach (or merchandise-friendly). Not only has our Chris changed his persona, he has done a lot of growing-up in real-life too - going through every conceivable stage of facial hair a man could, recently getting married and becoming far more professional than ever before in the ring. Sure, he's not going to be competing in any cruiserweight contests anytime soon, but he now knows better how to pick and choose his spots carefully, working the crowd the way that truly great wrestlers and showmen know how to do and becoming more adept at brawling than ever before, as his Fully Loaded battle with Triple H showed. All this has seen Chris rise from the lower depths of the mid-card to the highest levels of the main-event, become one of the most recognisable and popular wrestlers around, and guaran-damn-tee a future World Title down the line. Let's just hope that he manages to keep his ego in check and not believe his own hype after all, because at the moment, as far as you are all concerned, he is the best in the world.

The King Says: Whilst rather underwhelming upon entry to the WWF in mid 99, he finally hit his stride this year, peaking in some tremendous battles with Triple H and Chris Benoit. Continually progressing and getting a better and better reaction from the fans, he has achieved what he set out to do by making the WWF "less boring". The best thing about Y2J is that he has never been a particularly heelish heel or a goody-good face. This means that he can switch sides quicker than Billy Gunn at a Bisexual Gang Bang, and as such, a heel turn and program with the Rock surely must be on the cards. By the time the Rock is headlining movies, Y2J should be headlining the federation, entertaining all with his daft facial expressions, precise wrestling and comical interviews. How long can it be now until...

WWF IS JERICHO.

Once again, the Y2J clock is ticking.

That's it. Thank you all for reading, and especially all those that voted. If you have any comments you would like to share with us, send them to [email protected] for the new and improved version of ByteBack, returning next week!