It isn’t what Raven did, it’s what he didn’t do. Though his persona was castrated during his run in the WWF, in ECW and WCW Raven didn’t have to do his own dirty work. Always followed by a Stevie Richards or a Billy Kidman, Raven would launch his initial assaults on his enemies often without appearing himself. An enigmatic cult leader whose mere presence at ringside did more than many failed characters could do in the ring. Early in his WCW run, he wasn’t even portrayed as a WCW competitor, just a poison seeping into the company from ringside, a potential storyline that never truly came to fruition in the company’s heyday. The point is, when Raven actually did anything, it was a big deal. Win or lose, seeing Raven compete was something special in itself. Though this formula would see attempts at replication (Ministry Undertaker may be the most successful attempt), the “Raven Effect” has never truly been duplicated.

18. Triple H

Triple H was a heel for years before really making his name in the early 2000s. The seed was when he and Stephanie McMahon plotted to marry after Vince McMahon used her and the rest of his family to get revenge against Steve Austin. HHH then had a match with Vince and hurt him so badly that Stephanie (and her new husband) took over the WWF. Thus the fantastic McMahon-Helmsley Era was born. He really found his character during this time when he became intense with a smart and brutal mean streak. Helmsley started having incredible feuds and was getting wins over everyone the fans loved like The Rock, Undertaker, and Mick Foley (whom he “retired”). He was even the one behind Rikishi hitting Austin with a car to take him out of action. If you were in his way, he did his damnedest to get rid of you.