I believe an apology is in order. Apparently my paragraphs are too long and seem to last forever, and ever….and ever. I understand there is a human limit as to how much one person can read in one sitting and your eyes need a break. Unfortunately that’s what happens when you are a teenager that loves wrestling, loves to write and has nothing else to do. I have to work on that problem. Hopefully I’ll redeem myself this time with this article I was requested to write. And I would also like to thank the overwhelming support I have been seeing on my articles. You guys are the best, keep it up.
There has been a lot of matches in the history of WWE, I think, like 100 or so, I don’t know. But what I do know is that some stood out more than others. How can I just pluck 10 from out of all the brilliant matches I’ve seen. I have a propensity to re-watch some of the matches that stand out to me. So what I did was get my trusty Macbook, searched the history archives, and see which 10 stood out the most. And before I get to the main list, I’d like to mention a few honorable mentions that literally just missed the cut. And there’s a lot of them.
Shelton Benjamin vs. Shawn Michaels – RAW 2005: That superkick at the end of this spectacle was DBZ-like.
Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle – Royal Rumble 2003 : Excluding this match hurt me more than it may have hurt you.
Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels – No Mercy 2008 (Ladder Match) : The culmination of what I call the best feud of the Ruthless Aggression Era. I don’t care.
Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena – Summerslam 2014 and Extreme Rules 2012 : Any match where John Cena gets beat up for a majority of the match is great in my books.
CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan – Over the Limit 2012 : Classic indie-style, technical wrestling. But do you know what the main event of this PPV was? John Cena vs. John Lauranitis. That happened.
Edge vs. Eddie Guererro – Smackdown 2002 (No DQ) : This omission hurt my soul. Brutal match, but can’t help but feel this didn’t help Edge’s neck issues.
The Rock vs. Kurt Angle – No Way Out 2001 : These two had amazing chemistry, and this was just another example.
Chris Jericho vs. Triple H – Fully Loaded 2000 (Last Man Standing): Watch that match. Now.
Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart – WrestleMania 12 : “Michaels with the cover….one…..two…..yeah!”
Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio – The Bash 2009 : Back when the IC Title had meaning and Jericho’s heel status was second to none.
Edge vs. Randy Orton – Vengeance 2004 : Another IC Title match that stole the show. And later these two would form what would be my favorite tag team of all time, Rated RKO.
Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy – Summerslam 2001: Some of the best usage of hardcore rules came into play here.
Armageddon Hell In A Cell 2000 – Kurt Angle vs. Triple H vs. The Undertaker vs. The Rock vs. Rikishi vs. Stone Cold : The greatest win of Angle’s career.
CM Punk vs. John Cena (Money In The Bank 2011 and RAW 2013) : These two know each other like the back of their hands. Incredible action.
Chris Jericho vs. The Rock – No Mercy 2001: Long overdue win for Jericho.
And to be fair to TNA:
Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe – Genesis 2006 : Amazing, and you saw the passion in each person’s eyes.
Okay, that’e enough. On to the main list. And remember, these are NOT the 10 greatest matches of all time. These are the ten that stood out to me. So if you have AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn for the Divas Title from Payback 2013 on your list, go right ahead.
10. Randy Orton vs. Mick Foley – Backlash 2004 (Intercontinental Championship – No Holds Barred)
– This was the match that jump started Orton’s career and what was most impressive about this match was not only did Orton win, but he did it cleanly. He was thrown off the stage onto tables, placed onto unforgiving thumb tacks, elbowed from the top of the stage, double arm DDT’d, and he still managed to kick out of all of that. People were wondering if Orton was a legit champion and I thought he needed a signature win to silence those critics. Needless to say, this match fit the bill. Not to mention the actual match itself was simply brutal.
9. The Shield vs. Ryback and Team Hell No – TLC 2012 (TLC Six Man-Tag)
– I was curious to see how they were going to utilize this stipulation, and my goodness, the carnage was absolutely amazing. Whether it is scripted or not, I have never seen a team work so cohesively in a match. The Shield managed to have three or two on one situations quite frequently and dominated most of the match. Whether it was Rollins being pulled off the top of the ladder onto tables from Ryback, Kane being speared through the barricade by Reigns, a triple powerbomb through the table to Ryback, or that double suplex from the top of a table, this group made one hell of a statement. It was this match that had me sold on them.
8. Tie: Chris Benoit vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels (Backlash 2004 and WrestleMania 20)
– Oh yea, I’m having these two in the same spot. Sure some of the spots were different, but all three men went out there and gave it all they had. But we need to give credit to Triple H and Shawn Michaels here, who each respectively tapped out to Chris Benoit’s crossface and sharpshooter (Michaels tapped in Canada, no less). Sadly, Benoit’s shining moment won’t be mentioned at all in WWE because he did a certain something which I won’t get into. It’s going to be hard to ignore the history Benoit has left behind. We can’t simply ignore who won the 2004 Royal Rumble, or who did Orton beat to become the youngest World Heavyweight Champion of all time. It’s going to be hard to cover that up.
7. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar – Royal Rumble 2015
– I may get some heat for this. Oh well. I don’t think I marked out any harder in my wrestling fandom than when I did when Rollins hit that Pheonix Splash, or headbutt. Whatever, in today’s WWE, that type of move would prohibited for safety reasons. I think too many people take for granted the difficulty it takes to execute that move without injuring yourself. But all that aside, all three men here played their part extremely well. Cena showed up in another big match situation, Rollins was awesome with his spider man like acrobatics, but Brock Lesnar’s mammoth like power and stamina was on full display for everyone to see. Give it up to all three men here, I cannot conceivably see which match can top this as Match of the Year thus far. Yes, I said it. So what?
6. Triple H vs. The Undertaker – WrestleMania 28 (Hell In A Cell)
Tell me that all of you guys did not think for one second the streak could end when Undertaker took a Sweet Chin Music and Pedigree in rapid succession. I thought for sure that was it. But this match resonated with me for a lot of reasons. HBK, Triple H and The Undertaker are three iconic faces we will remember when it comes to The Attitude Era and The Ruthless Aggression Era. They laid it out all on the line here in arguably the greatest Hell In The Cell match of all time. Yea, it was that good. The way the three hugged each other at the top of the entrance ramp said it all. That may have been the last time those three would be involved together in any wrestling capacity. But we shouldn’t be sad that it ended. We should be happy that we all got to see it happened. Nostalgia kicking in.
5. Rey Mysterio and Edge vs. Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit – No Mercy 2002 (WWE Tag Team Championship)
This is what a tag match looks like. This was when Smackdown was in its heyday, and the Smackdown six started to command the roster with an iron first. If anything, this was the match sent a message to RAW. While RAW may have had more star power with Triple H and Shawn Michaels on the roster, Smackdown proved it was wrestling that people cared about. There was about 10 incredible spots and about 5 incredible near falls in this tag team match. There won’t be one minute you won’t be entertained in this match. Please take my word for it. This match absolutely stole the show and rightfully won Match of the Year in 2002. Incredible action.
4. Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit – Royal Rumble 2001 (Intercontinental Championship – Ladder Match)
– Oh, would you look at that. Another IC title match. You’d think it would have more meaning, but sadly that title is a curse, especially on Bad News Barrett. Now, if you haven’t watched this match. Do yourself a favor, and watch it. Now. Seriously, stop reading this and go watch it. Then come back. There were many brutal spots and it made the IC title feel like it had some significance. These two Canadians had many other great battles in singles competition, but this ladder match was the culmination of great matches these two had. Standing ovation comes after.
3. TLC II: Edge and Christian vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. The Hardyz – WrestleMania 17 (Triple Threat TLC Tag – WWF Tag Team Championships)
– There was a reason why I marked out when Bubba Ray Dudley returned at the Rumble last week. Because he took an awesome bump in the above match listed. Three of the greatest tag teams of all time put their bodies on the line for two tag team belts. But we all know the one moment in this match that defined what risking it all looks like. Jeff Hardy holds on to the belts for dear life hanging with nothing but the unforgiving mat lying below him. Edge climbs the top of another ladder and spears him in mid air. I mean, come now. This doesn’t require any more explanation. And you know it’s a damn shame how far the tag team division has fallen to what it has been reduced to today. Sure, the Attitude Era was much different, but there is no questioning that the quality has significantly dropped. Nostalgia kicking in again.
2. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker – WrestleMania 25
– Watch the video package and tell me that you wouldn’t be pumped with this match. The Biblical references made this match all the more intriguing as Shawn represented the light and the Undertaker represented the darkness. And as we got into the match, I could not help but be amazed at what two veterans were still capable of doing. Randy Orton vs. Triple H was the main event of this WrestleMania? What the hell? When Shawn kicked out of Undertaker’s first tombstone and he kicked out, followed by The Undertaker’s incredulous look on his face, just like Jim Ross, I thought I had an out of body experience. This would be one of a few matches I would rate five stars.
1. Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle – WrestleMania 21
You can make an argument that Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle are the two greatest athletes in WWE history. I have watched this match at least 10 times over. And I still have the same rush watching this match as when I first watched it. This match, I believe, solidified Kurt Angle’s career. I respect Angle because he was one of those heels who didn’t have to cheat to win matches, as shown here. As a matter of fact, it was Michaels who used a low blow to prevent himself being German suplexed onto the floor. That’s how much of a dangerous athlete Angle was. But at the end of the day, this match also proved why Shawn Michaels was Mr. WrestleMania. You can’t talk about the greatest matches in WrestleMania history if this match wasn’t on there. And even though this match wasn’t the main event, it damn well should have been. Their match at Vengeance wasn’t as good, but it was perfect as well. But this will be the one that resonates with me. The near falls, the fingernail-biting intensity, everything was absolutely perfect and that’s why I have this match as the greatest I have watched.
After all this, I can’t help but feel I am missing some matches that I didn’t mention in this article. Please tell me if I did. Oh, and did I redeem myself?
