Wow out of all the people I thought someone would choose, they choose Dave "injured again" Batista. Batista played a good heel but other than that, he's probably one of the most overrated wrestlers ever. His face character sucks and he consistently botched. This is a true example of Vince loving big guys and pushing them. In the era, that's a funny statement. Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, Triple H were all bigger than Batista in that era with big matches and consistent performances. You can also put the Undertaker in there and of course Edge (how did I almost forget him). Jericho could count too, but he didn't have the world title enough. Nevertheless Batista is so overrated and isn't even close.
My pick is The Miz mainly because he came from a background where he had little wrestling ability. Dolph went to Kent State and is a great athlete. Miz worked from the very bottom to improve to make himself relevant. He needed to work his ass off for people to take him seriously in the ring and he finally did. I'm so proud of Miz and his accomplishments, he's incredible.
You know that Dave carried SD without Rey, Edge, and Taker who were on the shelf far more right? You might want to remember how much time those three actually missed and how he was there on UPN and the CW carrying SD. In fact he only missed a prolonged period of time once on the brand, which is when he had to give the title up. They all missed far more time. But unlike them Dave drew when they were still out. He could still get brand only buys and keep attendance high while working with gems like Khali. He was the common theme for the brand the also decade and overwhelming funding source for revenue.
You know that he was the number three draw behind Cena and HHH and SDs number 1 draw period right?
You know he unlike Jericho actually could headline Mania because he was A list star right? As for Jericho, don't even reach here. He was never a real main eventer. He was never a real draw. He could never headline Mania as the face challenger because he could never generate buys and buzz. He had to be the chicken shit heel with a McMahon in his corner so Trips and Stephn could draw for him.
You know that the ratings for his reigns on both brands took a dump on HBK, Taker, Edge, Rey, Randy, Punk, Eddie, Jericho, Show, Henry, Kane, Jeff, Miz, and JBL right?
When it came to selling tickets, getting ppv buys, and getting viewers Dave was clearly only behind Trips and Cena who spent most their time on Raw. His SD numbers trump the other guys best work as does his Raw numbers.
And before this year Orton wasn't a better main event worker. He didn't have the fans behind him like Batista during his matches for most his reigns. And even with the pop he gets the actual attendance, merch sales, and viewership he draws makes him a joke in comparison because those same fans won't put dollars behind him making a joke of a main guy for any brand?
Taker and Michaels were more beloved for tenure and had more longevity but neither were bigger for the decade as a whole. No one came before him outside of Trips and Cena, and no one else came close to him as an actual asset from the rest of the roster, unless if you are going to bring Brock into the discussion, who had a very short window.
