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WWE Matches of the Decade 2010-present day.


The Natural

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At the start of June 2014, I made a thread for Best WWE Matches 2010-2014. I figured with three more years to choose from, it was time for an update and here are my twenty best WWE matches from 2010 to the present day:

20. Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan. WWE Extreme Rules 2012, 29th April.

19. Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles. WWE Extreme Rules 2016, 22nd May.

18. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, 22nd August.

17. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks. NXT TakeOver: Respect, 7th October.

16. Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Sheamus vs. Sin Cara vs. Kane vs. Wade Barrett vs. Heath Slater vs. Justin Gabriel. WWE Money in the Bank 2011, 17th July.

15. Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk. WWE SummerSlam 2013, 18th August.

14. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista. WWE WrestleMania XXX, 6th April.

13. Antonio Cesaro vs. William Regal. WWE NXT, 25th December 2013.

12. Daniel Bryan vs. Antonio Cesaro. WWE RAW, 22nd July 2013.

11. Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins. WWE Royal Rumble 2015, 25th January. *****

10. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn. WWE NXT TakeOver: Dallas, 1st April. *****

9. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan/Kane/Ryback. WWE TLC 2012, 16th December. *****

8. The Undertaker vs. Triple H. WWE WrestleMania XXVIII, 1st April. *****

7. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins. WWE WrestleMania XXXI, 29th March. *****

6. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa. WWE NXT TakeOver: Toronto, 19th November. *****

5. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar. WWE Extreme Rules 2012, 29th April *****

4. John Cena vs. CM Punk. WWE Money in the Bank 2011, 17th July *****

3. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels. WWE WrestleMania XXVI, 28th March. *****

2. Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper/Erick Rowan vs. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns. WWE Elimination Chamber 2014, 23rd February. *****

1. John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan. WWE SummerSlam 2013, 18th August *****

Interesting to read your selections...

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Reviews of my top five WWE Matches of the Decade 2010-present day in spoiler tags for size

1. John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan. WWE SummerSlam 2013, 18th August *****

I woke up to watch this show live (1am-4am), it was worth it for the whole show and I’ve always thought this was the best match from it. A terrific match with memorable moments: Bryan putting Cena in his own STF, Bryan smoothly escaping the STF turning Cena into the Yes Lock, the callback to the wrestler (Bryan) vs. entertainer (Cena) promo, how you slap in Japan to fire each other up and THAT finish. Bryan fucking nails John Cena with the running knee for the clean win and WWE Championship. What a way to debut a finisher.

2. Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper/Erick Rowan vs. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns. WWE Elimination Chamber, 23rd February. *****

The fans chanted “this is awesome” before it started. An amazing match with both teams taking control. Luke Harper was the MVP busting out a dropkick, slapping Seth, smashing Dean with a big boot when he saved the match and a suicide dive. The Wyatt Family took out Ambrose/Rollins leaving Roman on his own. Roman broke out of Sister Abigail and you thought Reigns was to overcome the odds again. Harper took a Spear meant for Wyatt allowing Bray to drop Roman with a running back elbow and Sister Abigail for the victory. The best match all six ever had.

3. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels. WWE WrestleMania XXVI, 28th March. *****

I liked how in the opening exchanges, The Undertaker hurt his leg which Shawn Michaels kept going for and Undertaker’s great selling of the leg. Both men hitting and surviving finishers: two Tombstone Piledriver’s, Hell’s Gate, two Sweet Chin Music’s. Undertaker tells Shawn to stay down, we’ve never seen that from the Dead Man. Shawn wants Undertaker to put him away slapping him and Undertaker obliges with a jumping Tombstone Piledriver to end the match and Michaels’ career.

4. John Cena vs. CM Punk. WWE Money in the Bank 2011, 17th July *****

The opening feeling out process and the targeting of body parts with Cena on Punk’s torso and Punk to Cena’s neck. The counters of each other’s main moves such as an attempted Go 2 Sleep, Cena catches the leg putting Punk in the STF which Punk reversed with an Anaconda Vice and the near falls with Punk kicking out of two Attitude Adjustments. The finish as Cena had Punk in the STF, Vince McMahon with John Laurnatius told the timekeeper to ring the bell, he didn’t so he sent Johnny Ace down to do it but John stopped him with a punch. John Cena walked into the match ending G2S. The length of the match, 33:44 all played before a hot crowd.

5. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar. WWE Extreme Rules 2012, 29th April *****

I watched this show as it happened. A unique wild match as Brock busted Cena open at the start of the match with elbows from a double leg takedown. Cena took a beating in the match with those, clothesline, knee to the stomach and Kimuaras. Cena smashed a running Lesnar in the head with a metal chain making Lesnar bleed. Cena delivered an Attitude Adjustment to Brock onto the steel steps and covered him on them for the three. Pro wrestling mixed with MMA.

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I have to go back through a lot. But this is a great list.

My number one is SHIELD VS. WYATTS. That was in-ring wrestling storytelling at its finest. It had three clear acts -- Part 1 was the initial stand-off that was a draw between both teams, Part 2 was the violence getting heightened with The Wyatts taking control, Part 3 was Roman trying to stave off defeat and nearly pulling off the miracle. MOTD and on par with the best matches in WWE History. Their Raw rematch (which was in Chicago after Punk left and the only match the crowd would not swallow up) was also another classic with Rollins doing the walk-out to save The Shield (building to his eventual turn a few months later). Those matches were the peak of the awesome Trios style.

Bryan/Cena is number two, with Punk/Cena a close third. Bryan/Cena led to the amazing "YES! Movement" chase, which propelled Bryan to super-stardom that broke through nationally. Punk/Cena was in front of the best "homecourt advantage" crowd in wrestling history and was the next step in Punk's explosion.

It's cheating, but I'm going to toss Sasha/Bayley I and II in as the same match. Those matches marked the official point where the WWE got out of the stone ages and treated women's wrestling with respect. Both characters have such great viewpoints and are the ultimate Yin/Yang and it resulted in one of the best morality plays. Bayley doubts herself and is naive to the ways of the world but stays true to her core beliefs. Sasha doubts herself but puts on a face of "The Boss" and does anything and everything to get ahead. I actually could very well put that as number two. I might, actually.

One of the Charlotte/Sasha matches also needs to make the list. The two ones that really stand out were Sasha's first win (with the iconic smirk and wave Eddie throwback) and the Pins Count Anywhere with the absolutely sick tap-out ending in the crowd (minutes after Charlotte did an insane moonsault off the desk). I can't believe people were down on that feud just because two women positioned as equals pushed each other to the limits and exchanged a championship a few times. That's a fucking RIVALRY.

Cesaro/Sami 2 out of 3 Falls from NXT needs to get a lot of love. That was the first match in NXT that was a MOTYC and had a "you have to see this!" vibe. NXT before that was really fun. But that match pushed NXT to another level.

A hidden gem was Ambrose/Rollins in 2011 in FCW, and Ambrose/Regal shortly after that. I think they're really influential as I could very well see HHH realizing that a tighter developmental project would lead to a possible third brand.

Sami vs. Neville absolutely is a MOTD type match. An absolutely wonderful morality play. Sami keeps true to himself to finally win the big one only for his best friend to stab him in the back for an Empire Strikes Back ending.

Neville vs. Rollins from Raw is one of the best matches of its sort with two of the best near-falls ever in a match.

The Cena vs. Cesaro match where Cena fucking countered The Giant Swing into a DDT was off-the-chain.

DIY/Revival naturally. Maybe the best tag match in WWE history.

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It wasn't the match of the decade, it's probably not even the match of 2016, but for sheer emotional/hype/memorable value I will always have Zayn v Nakamura up the top. I watched the match half a dozen times that weekend. Nak's entrance alone had me losing it from sheer joy.

It wont win any awards from an in ring standard, but it will always be a 'moment' that I bring up.

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3 minutes ago, L_W_P said:

It wasn't the match of the decade, it's probably not even the match of 2016, but for sheer emotional/hype/memorable value I will always have Zayn v Nakamura up the top. I watched the match half a dozen times that weekend. Nak's entrance alone had me losing it from sheer joy.

It wont win any awards from an in ring standard, but it will always be a 'moment' that I bring up.

Cheers. Great match, by far Shinsuke Nakamura's best WWE natch. Memorable entrance with the violin entrance music, the flashing lights, Swagsuke's mannerisms and da big crowd reaction.

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3 minutes ago, The Natural said:

What's your avatar? Is it the dodgy Renee Young from a WWE game? Likewise Natalya? Hope I haven't made myself look an idiot here.

Close. Dana Brooke from WWE 2K17. One of the most horrendously rendered models I have ever seen in a video game. 

 

Image result for dana brooke 2k17

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All the way back to 2010? Fuck man, I was in college not being disillusioned with my lot in life. 

Okay, give me some time to compile a list because 2010 was when wrestling got good.

Note for future reference, I do not consider John Cena to be a great in-ring performer at all. What makes his matches good is the establishment behind and the idea that the status quo supports his character so fucking much. So any John Cena match that I mention, is not because what he did, but what he represented in the match.

 

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1 hour ago, L_W_P said:

It wasn't the match of the decade, it's probably not even the match of 2016, but for sheer emotional/hype/memorable value I will always have Zayn v Nakamura up the top. I watched the match half a dozen times that weekend. Nak's entrance alone had me losing it from sheer joy.

It wont win any awards from an in ring standard, but it will always be a 'moment' that I bring up.

What? That match was a masterpiece in psychology and pacing. I thought it was perfect. I don't think there's been a Meekmahon match that touches it in ages. 

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Sami/Nak is a great match that I sort of hate. It is pretty much where NXT lost its shine for me. 

The other great NXT matches were all character driven story lines, especially Sami's. The match against Neville was amazing because it was all about Sami's morality and what he would do to win -- and he stayed true to himself, only to have his best friend destroy him at his highest moment. The Cesaro matches were about him trying to earn the respect of one of the best in the world. Cesaro/Regal was about Regal having one last go after his honor was insulted by a man he knew would hurt him. 

What was Sami/Nak about? It's a great debut for Nak. And it is awesome if you already knew who he was (I didn't) but that's about it. 

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1 hour ago, Greggulator said:

What was Sami/Nak about? It's a great debut for Nak. 

At the beginning, the debut is what it's about. Nak shows up, a bit full of himself, happy to taunt and get his stuff in. Zayn, though, is game--physically and psychologically--and fires back. Miming Nak's taunt is the punctuation, here--he has something to prove as well. So, the violence escalates from what had previously been a bit of a friendly exhibition. Nak starts laying it in, even gets a little dirty--kicking Zayn while he's in the ropes, etc. Zayn, however, calls his raise. This absolutely demonstrates his character growth, from a guy who would have previously been insistent on working the "right way", to a guy who will now rabbit-punch a guy in a rope break, without anything on the line but pride. Maybe he won't escalate, but he'll no longer be left behind. Having now established those stakes, the spots build, and we get the strike exchanges that exhaust both men--neither of whom feel they can back down in this context. It also allows them to essentially work to a draw, while still giving Nak the clean win. Both men are nearly finished, it's just a matter of who manages his finisher first. Zayn nearly gets there, but Nak just elbows his way out of the setup. That's the kind of match this has become--no fancy counters, no finisher exchanges, just strikes, over and over, until both men basically collapse. It's a formality then, but Nak ends it. 

It certainly could have marked a shift towards lazy "dream match" booking, but I thought it was a perfect example of character drive ring work, two guys telling a story even without previous interaction. 

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My top 3 is still pretty unshakeable

  1. Cena vs. Lesnar (Extreme Rules 2012)
  2. Shield vs. Wyatts (EC 2014)
  3. Ziggler vs. Del Rio (Payback 2013) (I know, given the rest of the decade for those guys, I'm surprised too)

Bayley/Sasha (Brooklyn 2015), Brock/Roman (Mania 31), and Zayn/Nak (Dallas 2016) are the big new adds for me.

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Won't make a real list yet as that would require me actually going back and re-watching shit. Off the top of my head though Brock/Roman (WM31), DIY/Revival (TO:T), Bayley/Sasha I & II would all make my top ten.

Will say this. I was never as big on Nakamura/Zayn, Cena/Bryan, or Cena/Punk I as others. I thought they were all great matches and can see why some pick them, but I think I lacked the connection others had with some of the wrestlers that made it special for them. Nakamura/Zayn was a great showcase match, but still a showcase in the end. It may have felt bigger than anything Nakamura has done in NXT so far, but I prefer work in the recent match with Roode to anything else from Nakamura in NXT. Cena/Bryan always felt a bit off because Cena had to hold back due to injury. It was a damn fine match but not the level it could have been, and I still maintain they didn't have the true classic they could have had with both men healthy. Never thought the work in Cena/Punk I was as good as their big matches after it. If I were to list a Cena/Punk match it would be the Raw match for the title.

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I'm still partial to the Night of Champions draw. So much brilliant storytelling about Cena being too strong for Punk to keep down but Punk being too talented for Cena to hit the knockout move.

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Oh, wow. I need to see if I posted in the first thread and what I said.

The only things that I'm sure about is that I'd put Bray/Bryan and Shield/Wyatts Elimination Chamber at 1-2 - and only if we're not also adding NXT matches, which would really throw a wrinkle into things. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 28/01/2017 at 4:07 AM, West Newbury Bad Boy said:

You've hit most of the obvious choices. But I would be remiss if I didn't mention Sami Zayn vs Adrian Neville at R-Evolution. One of the small handful of WWE bouts I'd consider worth of calling MOTD.

I considered this match but it fell off my ballot. One of those exclusions you may have messed up on. A top 25 meant I had five more picks to play with.

On 28/01/2017 at 4:32 AM, Niners Fan in CT said:

I feel Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H at WMXXX is superior to the triple threat later in the night.

It's one of Triple H's best matches. I prefer the Triple Threat as Daniel Bryan overcomes the Authority. The biased referee, interference by Triple H/Stephanie, hitting Trips with the sledgehammer, the RKO/Batista Bomb through the table and getting up from the stretcher to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

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On 28/01/2017 at 9:02 PM, Greggulator said:

I have to go back through a lot. But this is a great list.

My number one is SHIELD VS. WYATTS. That was in-ring wrestling storytelling at its finest. It had three clear acts -- Part 1 was the initial stand-off that was a draw between both teams, Part 2 was the violence getting heightened with The Wyatts taking control, Part 3 was Roman trying to stave off defeat and nearly pulling off the miracle. MOTD and on par with the best matches in WWE History. Their Raw rematch (which was in Chicago after Punk left and the only match the crowd would not swallow up) was also another classic with Rollins doing the walk-out to save The Shield (building to his eventual turn a few months later). Those matches were the peak of the awesome Trios style.

Bryan/Cena is number two, with Punk/Cena a close third. Bryan/Cena led to the amazing "YES! Movement" chase, which propelled Bryan to super-stardom that broke through nationally. Punk/Cena was in front of the best "homecourt advantage" crowd in wrestling history and was the next step in Punk's explosion.

It's cheating, but I'm going to toss Sasha/Bayley I and II in as the same match. Those matches marked the official point where the WWE got out of the stone ages and treated women's wrestling with respect. Both characters have such great viewpoints and are the ultimate Yin/Yang and it resulted in one of the best morality plays. Bayley doubts herself and is naive to the ways of the world but stays true to her core beliefs. Sasha doubts herself but puts on a face of "The Boss" and does anything and everything to get ahead. I actually could very well put that as number two. I might, actually.

One of the Charlotte/Sasha matches also needs to make the list. The two ones that really stand out were Sasha's first win (with the iconic smirk and wave Eddie throwback) and the Pins Count Anywhere with the absolutely sick tap-out ending in the crowd (minutes after Charlotte did an insane moonsault off the desk). I can't believe people were down on that feud just because two women positioned as equals pushed each other to the limits and exchanged a championship a few times. That's a fucking RIVALRY.

Cesaro/Sami 2 out of 3 Falls from NXT needs to get a lot of love. That was the first match in NXT that was a MOTYC and had a "you have to see this!" vibe. NXT before that was really fun. But that match pushed NXT to another level.

A hidden gem was Ambrose/Rollins in 2011 in FCW, and Ambrose/Regal shortly after that. I think they're really influential as I could very well see HHH realizing that a tighter developmental project would lead to a possible third brand.

Sami vs. Neville absolutely is a MOTD type match. An absolutely wonderful morality play. Sami keeps true to himself to finally win the big one only for his best friend to stab him in the back for an Empire Strikes Back ending.

Neville vs. Rollins from Raw is one of the best matches of its sort with two of the best near-falls ever in a match.

The Cena vs. Cesaro match where Cena fucking countered The Giant Swing into a DDT was off-the-chain.

DIY/Revival naturally. Maybe the best tag match in WWE history.

Thanks for the great list compliment. Great write up.

John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan from SummerSlam 2013 and Wyatt Family vs. Shield at Elimination Chamber. Two of the best WWE matches ever and all time. Really.

Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Falls Count Anywhere is the best match from their series of big time matches. Sasha's first WWE RAW Women's Championship win is one of my least favourite Charlotte/Sasha matches even with the Eddie tribute and Banks winning this title for the first time.

The Cena vs. Cesaro match you're referring to was in February 2014 and probably still remains my favourite match between them.

DIY vs Revival at NXT TakeOver: Toronto is the highest ranked WWF/E tag team match in my greatest WWF/E matches of all time rankings.

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On 31/01/2017 at 11:15 PM, Go2Sleep said:

My top 3 is still pretty unshakeable

  1. Cena vs. Lesnar (Extreme Rules 2012)
  2. Shield vs. Wyatts (EC 2014)
  3. Ziggler vs. Del Rio (Payback 2013) (I know, given the rest of the decade for those guys, I'm surprised too)

Bayley/Sasha (Brooklyn 2015), Brock/Roman (Mania 31), and Zayn/Nak (Dallas 2016) are the big new adds for me.

I was also surprised by how Del Rio vs. Ziggler turned (cymbal crash) out at Payback 2013.

On 01/02/2017 at 3:34 AM, Eivion said:

Won't make a real list yet as that would require me actually going back and re-watching shit. Off the top of my head though Brock/Roman (WM31), DIY/Revival (TO:T), Bayley/Sasha I & II would all make my top ten.

Will say this. I was never as big on Nakamura/Zayn, Cena/Bryan, or Cena/Punk I as others. I thought they were all great matches and can see why some pick them, but I think I lacked the connection others had with some of the wrestlers that made it special for them. Nakamura/Zayn was a great showcase match, but still a showcase in the end. It may have felt bigger than anything Nakamura has done in NXT so far, but I prefer work in the recent match with Roode to anything else from Nakamura in NXT. Cena/Bryan always felt a bit off because Cena had to hold back due to injury. It was a damn fine match but not the level it could have been, and I still maintain they didn't have the true classic they could have had with both men healthy. Never thought the work in Cena/Punk I was as good as their big matches after it. If I were to list a Cena/Punk match it would be the Raw match for the title.

Agree with your picks though disagree about Nak/Zayn, Cena/Bryan and Cena/Punk Money in the Bank 2011.

On 02/02/2017 at 4:58 PM, Smelly McUgly said:

Oh, wow. I need to see if I posted in the first thread and what I said.

The only things that I'm sure about is that I'd put Bray/Bryan and Shield/Wyatts Elimination Chamber at 1-2 - and only if we're not also adding NXT matches, which would really throw a wrinkle into things. 

NXT counts ; ).

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