My 10 Favourite WWE Matches

My 10 Favourite WWE Matches

In recent weeks, WhatCulture's Wrestling YouTube channel, WhatCulture Wrestling, have been publishing videos in which some of their staff have detailed their 10 favourite WWE matches. Now, I know I'm jumping on a bandwagon here but I'm just going to get into this list anyway and here are my 10 favourite WWE matches.   

 

DISCLAIMER: There aren't any Women's matches on this list as WWE haven't got a great track record when it comes to Women's Wrestling since I've been watching WWE, except from Lita and Trish Stratus' feud. 

10, Randy Orton vs John Cena vs Edge vs Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship (Backlash 2007)

This match isn't brilliant, I accept that, but what I love the tension that Edge and Randy Orton display, with them both splitting up just a few weeks before the PPV, as they ultimately made John Cena look fairly decent. Obviously taking nothing away from Shawn Michaels, who was hands down the best performer. The finish is slightly annoying, with Michaels super-kicking Cena onto Orton and Cena subsequently retaining the Championship, but the performances of Edge, Orton and HBK make this my favourite fatal-four way and number 10 on this list.

Full Match: https://youtu.be/S6IIsATfkl0

9, Undertaker, John Cena, Shawn Michaels and Triple H vs Cody Rhodes, Ted Dibiase Jr, CM Punk and Randy Orton (10th Anniversary of SMACKDOWN- 2nd October 2009)

 

This match on SMACKDOWN was two days before the Hell In A Cell 2009 PPV and I admit that although it was quite unbalanced in terms of ring-time within developing the storylines at the time. CM Punk looked weak in contrast to the Undertaker, especially when he tags himself out when he see the Undertaker coming in, and it wasn't a surprise that he lost the title to Taker two days later. Legacy were very good, Cody Rhodes in particular displaying a good heel offensive style, but the team of Undertaker, Cena, Shawn Michaels and Triple H being together is something eleven year-old me dreamed about. The final moment of the match came when Orton was surrounded by Taker, Cena and DX, ending with a Tombstone from the Deadman, is a fantastic spot and perfectly rounded off the 10th Anniversary episode of SMACKDOWN.   

 

 

 

Full Match: https://youtu.be/z3HdtZ5DMvY 

8, Randy Orton vs Kurt Angle vs Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship(Wrestlemania 22)

Watching this match, I can't help but feel that Rey Mysterio wouldn't have been in this Wrestlemania match if Eddie Guerrero's death were still fresh in the minds of WWE and their fans. Anyway, this triple threat match is great as all three men really kept the fans on the edge of their seats with many false finishes and Mysterio selling the underdog babyface gimmick that WWE were riding in order to gain the most money from their audience (they are a business after all!). However, it is a fantastic finish to the match as Rey wins the gold and thus completing a fitting tribute to the late Eddie Guerrero.



Ending of the Match: https://youtu.be/SmalWq894dk



7, Undertaker vs Triple H, with Shawn Michaels as Special Guest Referee (Hell In A Cell - Wrestlemania 28)

 

This match was a heck of a lot of nostalgia for myself as these three men had practically defined my Wrestling childhood and I really didn't know what I wanted to come out of this match. There were some awesome moments, such as the three men watching the cell lowering down to the ring, DX trying to screw the Undertaker out of his undefeated streak and fittingly all three men walking to the ramp after Undertaker pinned Hunter to continue his streak to 20-0. It really was the 'end of an era' in terms of a certain growing up, maybe not me, as wrestlers such as Triple H were going to be giving young wrestlers more of a chance, at least in theory that this. But this was genuinely a fantastic match in which the nostalgia factor certainly pushed it up this list.



Full Match: https://youtu.be/2PFSn2iMzbg



6, John Cena vs Rob Van Dam for the WWE Championship (ECW One Night Stand 2006)

With John Cena as the designated heel for this match at the Hammersmith Arena in Pittsburgh, Rob Van Dam and ECW had the opportunity to upset the predictions of Wrestling fans. The match had several Referee run-ins, due to the brand split between RAW and SMACKDOWN, causing Cena to 'heel' it up for this match. However, with Edge's help, Rob van Dam became the first and only man in history to hold both the WWE and ECW Championships at the same time and give ECW their greatest-ever moment.


Ending of the Match: https://youtu.be/02WUftADD28



5, Eddie Guerrero vs Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship (No Way Out 2004)

When you talk about underdogs in Professional Wrestling, Eddie Guerrero is the absolute pinnacle. Coming back from losing his family due to massive drug and drink addiction, caused by his endless travelling across the World, Eddie came back against all odds to climb to the Wrestling mountaintop and win the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar and become the champion heading into Wrestlemania 20. This match wasn't a huge in-ring classic that you would expect from Eddie but it was more the emotional significance that pushes it up this list to the number five spot.


Ending of the Match: https://youtu.be/dkx-p_JpYyk



4, The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Championship (Wrestlemania X-Seven)

This match saw two of the biggest Wrestlers of the late 90's and early 00's main event the best Wrestlemania in history and it also saw the end of the WWF's Attitude Era. The match had some of the best theatrics that WWF had to offer, such as The Rock flipping around like a octopus on crack when taking a stunner from Austin. The near-falls were great but the shocking alliance between Austin and arch-enemy Vince McMahon for Austin to win the WWF Championship was an iconic moment that truly capped off the best Wrestlemania ever produced.




Full Match: https://youtu.be/hOQwtzGIaGc



3, Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker (Wrestlemania 25)

Now this is often regards as the best Wrestlemania match of all-time. 30 minutes, two legends, countless false-finishes, Undertaker flying into a cameraman, it's bloody awesome. It's a shame that this wasn't the main event of Wrestlemania 25, which it really should have been when you watch the slow and boring WWE title match between Triple H vs Randy Orton. Anyway, this match reminds of why Wrestling can so great when two of favourite Wrestlers come together for a legendary match.



Full Match: https://youtu.be/7MRz4yrPjTM



2, Edge vs Eddie Guerrero (No Disqualification - SMACKDOWN - 26th September 2002) 

You might be surprised by this entry but this match is one of my favourites because it has excellent in-ring psychology between the recently returned Eddie Guerrero and the recently-new singles competitor Edge. The spot when Eddie sunset flips Edge from the top of the ladder is fantastic but ultimately Edge winning with the Edgecution from the side of the ladder was the right booking decision to cap off a very fresh feud on the newly-branded SMACKDOWN. As Eddie says in his book, 'He left me laying in the ring, and when I picked myself up the fans gave me a standing O.' Much deserved, Eddie, much deserved.



Full Match: https://youtu.be/gPasZ90HRog

1, John Cena vs CM Punk for the WWE Championship (Money in the Bank 2011)

My favourite ever WWE match and it involves one of, if not my favourite Wrestler, CM Punk. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer gave it five stars in his review of the match (so you know it's a reasonable choice). This match has everything (as you'd expect in anyone's favourite Wrestling match). The atmosphere is electric from Punk's home crowd in Chicago, Cena and Punk put on an fantastic match and the moment when Punk leaves the arena with the WWE title after blowing a kiss to Vince McMahon. This moment broke the barrier between storyline and reality in a way that will never be replicated again, which is proven even more when Punk turned up to ComicCon in Chicago a few days later with the belt, as well as an independent Wrestling show in his hometown. Even though Punk never got the Wrestlemania main event that he deserved, this surely is something that he could consider the greatest moment of his career and is certainly my favourite WWE match of all-time.


Full Match: https://youtu.be/ojd1DIn0kgE

 

 

CM Punk during his entrance at Money In The Bank 2011.